A little Decorating

Gracie was able to decorate her locker yesterday.  She hasn't gotten her photos into her magnet frames yet, but she certainly has some sparkle going on with those crystal magnets, pink and gold mirror with rhinestone decals and a pink caddy covered with pink stones.  

5th Grader!!!

Lily Grace started 5th grade today!  I still can't believe that.  She was so excited!  We've had a wonderful summer and kept busy enjoying every minute of it.  She's become quite the cook this summer and along with shopping, pedicures, swimming, summer trips, hanging out with friends, going to the movies and a slew of other activities, we've made the most of it.  
This year she has her closest friends including best friend Lily B in her class.  Oh mercy! She also got the homeroom teacher she was hoping for.  This year she starts changing classes with the other fifth grade and how could I forget to mention, LOCKERS!!!!  She and her friends have been beyond excited knowing that this year they enter the world of lockers.   
She was all smiles this morning and we met up with Lily B and Rebecca to start the first day.  
It still tugs at my heart each year when we send her back to school.  I cherish our time together and savor every moment.  As Matt and I dropped off that cutie sporting silver glitter Converse, we left as two proud parents of one amazing 5th grader.  We love you Gracie Cakes!!

It may have been rainy first day this year but it certainly didn't dampen the excitement,  

Precious...inside and out!

What's better than starting the first day of school with your BFF?  Having your BFF in your class again this year!!

Gracie and Mrs. Bowman 

Gracie Cakes...official 5th grader!

She's been Promoted

Gracie went out to check the mail today and got a special surprise.  
Her cousin Mason is getting married in April. Sarah, Mason's fiancé sent Gracie a cute dress shaped invitation in the mail asking her to serve as her Junior Bridesmaid.  Well you have never heard and seen a little girl so excited.  She was beyond thrilled.  According to Gracie, she's been promoted.  (She has served as a flower girl up to now.) She also informed me that the best thing about being a Junior Bridesmaid are the beautiful dresses and that she looks good in any color.  Lucky for Sarah.  HA! HA!  The girl is just too funny.  
Thank you Sarah and Mason for making one little girl feel quite special.  

23 Years

Mark 10:8"....and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. "

Today marks mine and Matt's 23rd wedding anniversary.  We have spent over half our lives together.  We were merely teenagers when we met back in college.  When I think about our time together, it's this picture that Lily Grace took of us in MT that sums us up.  Matt and I had no idea she had taken it until she shared it later in the day.  Matt had come out to help me wade back to shore as I had gotten a little "stuck" in the current.  This picture is so representative of  marriage.  Sometimes we get stuck, and can easily get swept up in the current of day to day life, but I know that Matt is always there for me and I him, no matter how big or small.  It's being able to count on each other and being vulnerable in front of one another that makes us stronger and truly one flesh.  We have seen and been through a lot over 23 years and thanks be to God, we are more in love today than the day we met and so blessed by each other. We have grown in our faith, in offering forgiveness, in saying I'm sorry, in learning not to worry about the small stuff,  in what's truly important, in love, as parents and as a couple. We aren't perfect by any means, just getting better as we tack on the years together.  
Gracie often talks of when she gets married one day and it really fills my heart with joy to hear her talk about how she sees Matt and I as a married couple and how it's what she seeks.  *On a funny note, Gracie and I had gotten Matt cards for his birthday in July.  She asked if she could read what I had written inside my card.  I told her that she could.  After reading it, she asked if she could save that card after her daddy's birthday.  I was curious about why and she informed me that she would like to put that up and write that same thing to her husband. She said that it was so sweet and so good that she wouldn't have to put any thought into the one she wrote her own husband.  First it touched me that she could read the heartfelt sentiment in what I had written.  I was also happy that she could see the love between her daddy and I and that she had that example of love and marriage.  However, it gave Matt and I quite the laugh at how she thought it would be good enough to just "pass along" to her own husband.  That poor man!  No worries, I have already started praying for him, whomever God may send along for her. 
Special thanks to you Gracie for this very sweet picture, what a beautiful surprise!  I adore this picture and daddy and I love you to pieces.
Thank you God for the blessing of our marriage and for the examples of unconditional love that you have given us throughout the ages.  Gracious Lord, please continue to bless our marriage and guide us as the head of our lives together.  

Part 9: Goodbye Montana

*Note: This is one of nine posts on our recent trip to MT.  You may want to start with the first one which is on the previous page.*

This morning was our last day in MT.  We woke at 5:45.  Matt and Lily Grace wanted to spend one last hour on the river just like last year.  While they were gone, I gathered the last of our things and made breakfast. 

We are now at the airport for our layover in Minneapolis on our way home with memories and laughs to last a lifetime. 

Thank you God for this blessing of vacation and time with one another.  Thank you for the beauty that has surrounded us the past nine days. 

Precious!  

Their last morning on the river was a very chilly one.

Part 8: Montana Days of This and That

Lily Grace hooked her finger for the first time and learned what comes with being an angler.  She asked me to take this picture. Honestly, I think she was proud of this little wound but don't worry, she also milked it for all it was worth. HA!

Look how adorable she is!

We could stay out there for days on end.

LG loved this hammock out by the house.  In the evenings we would come off the water and enjoy a warm cup of tea.  I think this girl got spoiled!

God is good!

I love the double rainbows after an afternoon storm.

Caught these cuties having breakfast.

Now that Matt has a beard, he has to give it a good trim at the end of each week. I happen to catch him out on the porch trimming it up Saturday evening.  I thought it was so funny that he was using Gracie's pink mirror.  

Part 7: Kayaking Wade Lake

Wade Lake is by far one of my favorite places to visit for its clear blue water and surrounding mountains.  It’s just beautiful.  This year we decided to kayak Wade Lake.  Gracie and I had never kayaked so I was a little worried.  She and Matt started in a tandem to get the feel while I was in a single.  Surprisingly, I didn’t tip over and got the paddling down with relative ease.  It was a beautiful day and we saw two bald eagles.  On a side note, the bald eagles have been in abundance for viewing this year.  They would fly up and down the streams and they were just majestic and so beautiful.  After a few minutes Gracie wanted to go it alone and being a strong swimmer, Matt agreed to let her.  She and I traded spots and I have to say, she may be small but that girl was quite the natural.  Well, that is until the big winds started and we had to paddle upstream to get back.  We ended up tying her up to us and so we could all paddle back.  Let me clarify here, Matt and I huffed it with the paddling back and Lily Grace sat back in her kayak singing to the top of her lungs laughing as she videoed Matt and I paddling back. When uploading pictures that evening, we came across the video she was back there making. Hilarious!

We did make it and Matt swears he would never do it again.  I won’t lie, the burn was real!!!!  My arms were like Jell-O.  It was a LOOOOOOONNNGGGG  way back up stream.  LG on the other hand, has put a kayak on her Christmas list for this year.  Ha! Ha!  Now let’s get back to that ice pack once again.  After we got back from kayaking, we headed down to the river to wet a line.  We were wading out to a very slick spot so Matt had put LG on his back because it got deep and he didn’t want her to fall.  I thought it was so sweet that I stopped to snap a picture of him carrying her.  As I moved around to catch better light for my picture I hear the yell and I see them go down.  Matt hit hard on his knee as he slipped on the rocks and went down.  You can see Gracie yelling "Daddy"!!! in the photo below.  I happen to snap the picture as they were trying to get back up.  I made my way over and got LG who is frantic because Matt has just fallen so hard and is in the water.  While trying to get her, she falls in and gets soaked and it’s cold.  She and Matt had left their waders at home and decided to wet wade.  We manage to get everyone out and as we turn to look at Gracie, she is standing their worried to death about her daddy with water spots all over her glasses and face and we all can’t help but laugh.  And the laughter really erupts when we realize that we need to get Matt home and ice his knee because it's swelling…. and you guessed it, this ice pack is about to get another workout.  We have laughed so hard about this and even felt like we just had to bring that crazy thing home.   The next day, he still had a limp and a bruised up knee, but Matt was fine and back on the water.   After all, it’s vacation!

On our way to the lake, this cow stood his ground in the road and for a moment, thought about head butting the car.  

The water is so clear and blue at Wade Lake that Gracie and I got a picture of this fish underwater.

Gracie was quite good at kayaking and loved it!

Just as last year, Matt got to celebrate his birthday in MT.  Gracie and I started his day off with cards that we had brought from home.  LG made him this card with a Montana theme.  So cute.

Look at Gracie's face.  This is when Matt fell and hit his knee hard on a large rock.  This is also when he would cash in on use of the now popular ER ice pack.

Part 6: Yellowstone National Park Up Close

We once again returned to Yellowstone National Park this year.  This park is massive and you could visit every day for a week, stay all day and still not see the entire park.  We revisited the Grand Prismatic, which is one of the most colorful attractions.  Luckily we went last year and hiked up the mountain parallel to the Grand Prismatic to see its circles of color from above.  I had read about hiking this mountain on social media.  I’m so glad we did because this year, Yellowstone marked off access to the mountain.  They are building an official lookout point on the mountainside in lieu of the “social” path that many have been hiking for years.  I have to say, the view from eye level this year was amazing.  The wind was blowing just right and we could see the colors so vividly.

Of course we stopped by to watch Old Faithful erupt and it is still super exciting. 

We hiked the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone this year for the fist time.  Last year we hiked to the viewpoint up top.  This year, we hiked all the way down the lowest access point and boy was it worth it!!!!!!  It was really something to see.  I won’t lie or make light of how hard I gasped for breath on the hike back up that thing but it was totally worth all the huffing and puffing.   

On our way into Yellowstone, we love stopping at the Running Bear Cafe for some delicious pancakes.

Lily Grace took this really cool panoramic of the Grand Prismatic.

Below the Grand Prismatic

After lunch at a cute general store in the park, these two tackled a milkshake each.

On our way to watch Old Faithful erupt.  Of course those two are lugging those shakes and Gracie has that walking stick in tow.

LG took our eruption picture this year. 

Here we are near the top of the Yellowstone Canyon.

One of Gracie's cool panoramic on the way down.

Making our way down

It got steep in places as we would wind down the mountainside.

Stopping for a break

I loved how interesting the bottom of this old fallen tree looked on our way down the canyon.

Here we are after making the hike all the way down.  Look how beautiful the waterfall is in the background.

We made it!  This is your reward for hiking down and back up, the most amazing view!

This shot shows how far down the mountain we came.  The trail starts up in the tops of those trees.

Here is how far we had to climb back up and this is just the stair portion at the very bottom.