The Robles': Montana in a nutshell

I had envisioned making a separate post for each activity we did in Montana however; life has gotten in the way. When we got home from 6 weeks of vacation our basement got painted, Spencer started preschool, my stake calling got serious, Casey competed in races, and who knows what else. Needless to say I haven't made the time to do my individual posts so I'm doing one humungous one. Get ready.......here it goes......

Eleanor at 4 months old

Throwing rocks at the nearby creek was one of the boys favorite activities. It's amazing how much time they could spend just throwing rocks.

Sometimes they would find me on my run and join me for a few minutes. They are the best support/cheer squad.

Down the street from my parents house is an enclosed playground. The boys love the old and new equipment.

Spencer always goes for the digger first. We should put one of these in our backyard:)

Olliebug loved Grandad's fish a little too much. One morning we heard some noise so we went downstairs to check. This is how we found him. He had his hand in the tank trying to pet the fish. This by far is not safe to do and we don't recommend it. No fish died and the grandparents never knew about this moment until now. Sorry Grandad! Can we come back?

Casey loves to put the kids pants on their head while he changes them. Eleanor wasn't sure about it though.

We hiked down to the Kootenai Falls and Swinging Bridge. I think Spencer was bummed because he wanted to go to the Swinging bridge first.

Yeah! Eleanor and I made it into a picture.

The Swinging Bridge has been updated a lot however; I was still nervous about Olliebug crossing. He is so wild I knew he would find a hole in the siding or just jump over the side so I made Casey keep him in the carrier. I don't know how my parents let me cross when I was little. There were boards missing and absolutely no side netting.

Casey and Olliebug

Eleanor and I in the middle

Before we left town we brought the boys to Uncle Levi's shop to look at diggers. The boys were beyond excited when Levi said they could drive them around. I don't know who was more excited the boys or Casey! Thank you Uncle Levi!

Spencer and Casey hard at work

Eleanor just chilled on top of a garbage can while the boys played.

The rodeo was in town so we had to go. Part way through I took Olliebug home cause he was tired but also starting to get to crazy. We didn't want him to get inside with the bulls.

Aunt Riki with Eleanor. We had a great time hanging with Riki and Bowyn while we were in town.

Me with my newest, cutest niece. Bowyn I love you!

Eleanor with Grandpa Jim. I wish we could have spent more time with him but the week went by too fast. And, if we would have stayed longer at his house they boys would have broken everything. He had too many fun things for the boys to touch!

We were lucky enough to have the Chautauqua in town. You might be asking yourself right now "what is a Chautauqua?". Well, it is a group of people that travel from town to town and share their talents with the community. They stay for 3 days (in tents) and offer different classes to the community. They also hold a breakfast or lunch on the first day which helps them get to know community members. On the last night they put on the show. All the proceeds go back into the community. They don't keep any of it! It's pretty amazing what they do. So for 3 days we did everything Chautauqua.

We were the only ones on the street for the "parade". They had about 20-30 people under a tent walking down main street. After they got part way down the street a cop came to guide them and more people showed up. The boys were confused. They were expecting candy, firetrucks, and everything that a typical parade offers. We just couldn't stop laughing.

We went to a few of their mini classes. The boys enjoyed juggling.

Casey enjoyed balancing. I think we also took a class called "everything is a puppet" and "magic 101". Definitely a different culture and not one I'm sure I could be a part of, but I'm glad I experienced it.

My parents kicked us out of the house one night and said go have fun. So Casey, Eleanor, and I went on a date which consisted of seeing a movie at the Dome Theater and getting dessert at Mike and Dave's. We ended up in the cry room at the theater because Eleanor wouldn't stop crying. I'm so grateful for old theaters that have cry rooms!