Gorgeous Glacier National Park

My sister, Moe, came to visit Montana for a long weekend... so of course I whisked her away to Glacier.  We live about 2 and 1/2 hours from East Glacier.  This is our third trip to Glacier since we moved to MT in June.  But this was the first time remembering a camera! It is torture to be in Glacier without a camera!

 

It snowed in the park a few days before we got there.  We had gorgeous, warm 60 degree weather so it was fun to play in the snow but be warm.  I was actually wearing flip flops while we were making these snowmen.  My kids, Oliver included, ate handfuls of snow.  Moe and I refrained.

We stayed at Many Glacier lodge.

 

 

 

We spent the evening enjoying the views and the lodge.

Sunset at Many Glacier Lodge...

Sunrise

 

The next day we hiked the Swiftcurrent Pass Trail to Redrock Lake.  There were several moose sightings on the trail that morning, but we are a bit noisy with three kids in tow (and two chatty sisters) to see any.

 

 

 

 

Come again Moe! Come again!

ONE

Oliver turned one on July 25.  We celebrated with cupcakes.

Oliver loved the cupcake.  He is our big eater.  He out eats Clark at almost every meal.  He skipped the frosting, but ate all of his cupcake.  His favorite foods are fruits... any and all fruits.  He doesn't like the typical kid stuff like crackers yet, he just wants fruit.  He'll eat an entire banana or nectarine already.  We go through so much produce these days.

 

Oliver crawls all over the place.  His crawl has progressed from a tummy scoot/crawl, to a regular crawl and now to a run-crawl.  He crawls around like baby Tarzan with his arms and legs straight.  He pulls himself to standing but hasn't let go yet.  He says mama and dada but not much else.  He's a big time jibber jabber and will tell little stories.  He is also a screamer and screecher.  It's not pleasant.

 

Momma is his favorite, but he also adores Dad, Clark and Willa.  When Matt gets home from work he screams until Matt picks him up.  If Matt puts him down, he follows Matt around screaming until he picks him up again.

 

Oliver is a good sleeper.  He sleeps 12 hours at night and then takes 2 decent naps during the day.  This is great on days we are staying home, but hard on days I need to get stuff done.  It seems like someone is always trying to sleep at our house right now. 

 

He loves cars and trucks.  He loves to crawl around pushing a little vehicle.  The playroom is his favorite spot in the house.  It's in the basement so he can't get there himself.  When I open the gate to take him down, he gets all excited and squeals and kicks his legs.  He loves to swim and loves taking baths.  He loves musical instruments, banging things together, and anything else that makes noise.  He loves playing outside in the grass and swinging.

 

He is stubborn.  There is no point ignoring his demands or making him "cry it out" because he will scream and go on and on until we give in.  He is definitely a third child.  He has learned to entertain himself really well and do "big kid" things like using straws and sippy cups way earlier then my other kids.  He is full of energy.  He has no interest in sitting still very long so church and road trips are a nightmare. We love our Ollie Oliver!

July 4th

 

Great Falls did not disappoint.  Small town parades are the best! 

First sucker.

Clark's Accessories

If anything out of the ordinary happens in our family, it seems like it always happens to Clark.  He's the guy who has had a million things go wrong.  As I go through our pictures from Albuquerque, I find a lot of pictures that go along with that tradition...

Who broke his arm two days after we moved to Albuquerque? Clark

 

Who got glasses? Clark

He will probably be a life long glasses wearer.  He has three things going on with his eyes (1) he's near sighted, (2) has amblyopia, and (3) esotropia.  (Willa added a few accessories of her own to this picture of Clark.  For a year or so, he put up with Willa dressing him up and enjoyed the attention.  He doesn't go for it anymore.  Good thing we captured a few of his outfits on film.  Cute Clarky!)

 

 

Who has to wear a patch to train his brain to use both eyes? Clark, of course. 

 

 

Willa thought the patch looked pretty fun.  She tried it out but only lasted a few minutes.  Clark, thankfully, has a personality where he can tolerate the patches.  He is super stubborn and independent in most situations, but he is willing to follow a doctor's directions.



Sandia Man Cave

Our days left in Albuquerque are getting numbered.  It's April and we are moving in June.  We are excited to move, but I also want to see as much of New Mexico as we can.   We found ourselves with a free Saturday this past weekend, so I googled and found a close hike to check out.

We visited the Sandia Man Cave.  It took about an hour to drive there.  The description on the national forest site says... 

"The Sandia Man Cave is located on the north end of the Sandia Mountains high up on the steep cliff walls of Las Huertas Canyon. It is a 0.47 mile hike from the parking lot to the cave.  The trail leads to a concrete staircase, then to a limestone ledge in the cliff, and finally to a metal staircase that spirals up to the mouth of the cave.  A daylight visit is advisable, as well as appropriate clothes and shoes.

"The cave was discovered in 1936 by a University of New Mexico anthropology student.  From 1937-1941 UNM excavated it.  Found in the cave were stone arrow and lance points, basket scraps, bits of woven yucca moccasins, and skeletal remains of Ice Age animals such as the mastodon.  No human remains were discovered." 

According to another website, the cave is "one of the earliest known habitats for early man."

Sounded cool so we checked it out. 

It was a pretty drive and a pretty hike.

 But we were not prepared for the cave.  It was a little janky and very invaded by man.  The metal cage and staircase were an eyesore.  There was graffiti all over.  And the cave is filled with yellow dusty dirt.  We were not wearing the appropriate clothes and did not have breathing masks.

 

It was completely dark inside the cave and not kid friendly.  Oliver and I stayed in the entrance.  Clark, Willa, and Matt tried to climb deeper into the cave, but came out pretty fast since they couldn't breathe with all the dust in the air.

 

 

They came out so dirty.  Fail!  Oh, well.  At least it made for an exciting Saturday and lots of laughter.