Big Sky for the 4th of July

We went to visit Justin's dad, Tom, and his wife Judy in Twin Bridges, Montana for the 4th of July this year. We opted to fly up this time since we didn't have a lot of time off work. We got picked up at the Bozeman airport and headed straight for McKenzie River Pizza because we were starving. Justin's friend Jaren met us there and the two of them shared a big plate of loaded nachos, since apparently that's what they always do when they get together. Hmm...

Oh and I should probably say that we got new phones this week...Verizon Droids. We got a killer deal (buy one get one free) so we had to get them. This is Justin's first Smart Phone experience, so life is pretty entertaining for him now. He can check baseball scores every minute if he wants. It's like Heaven. Anyway, my "Incredible" has a pretty incredible camera on it so I was playing around with it most of the weekend, which is why I feel I have to explain myself.



When we got to Twin Bridges, Justin was put to work mowing the lawn. Was he upset about it?...absolutely not! I think the thing that excites him the most about owning a home is also owning a lawn tractor to take care of the grass. He was in heaven...obviously!



We took a tour of the house and the property so I could gain an appreciation for the "toys" that are there. There are all kinds of tractors and attachments to them in a large garage built specifically for that purpose. Justin pointed out the corals that he and Jason pounded poles for. We checked out the 4 horses and made plans to ride the next day. I got to see the shed full of Justin's Tonka trucks and loaders that he took such great care of because they "might come in handy some day." I also got to see the books and books of baseball and basketball cards that he collected when he was little. It was incredible! That night we just took it easy at the house. It was so great to be able to just sit around and talk and relax. I forget how beautiful it is here!

Happy 4th of July! When we woke up this morning, Judy asked what we wanted for breakfast. She showed me her pantry and gave some options. I noticed an Ebleskiver mix and asked if she had a pan. I explained that mom used to make them for us for every birthday, so I thought this day would be fitting. We broke out the pan and mixed up a batch. They were as delicious as always!



We went to church today with Tom and Judy in the Sheridan ward and then took off to celebrate the 4th in Virginia City.



Virginia City is an old mining town an hour away from Twin that has been refurbished into Museums and shops. There is an old steam train that takes passengers for rides up the valley. There are old fire wagons that they use to take people on driving tours around the town. We walked up and down the main street, stopping in all of the little shops and historical sites along the way.



We got some delicious home made ice cream and ate it while we watched a man turning the big handle that churns the cream. It was really fun!



We headed back to the house to relax for a few hours before returning to Virginia City to watch the fireworks. Justin took me out in the big black and red Ford truck that they drove in high school. We drove all over town and he relived some old memories. We drove down some back roads to look for deer. It was so amazingly green and beautiful there.



While we were driving, we saw close to 100 bucks out in a field. They were pretty close but we didn't get a good picture of them all. As we drove off, two of them on the other side of the road from the rest of the herd started running along side us. We figured they were trying to outrun us to get across the road. They aren't the smartest animals because one of them jumped the fence, got is antlers stuck in the fence, and got whipped around and slammed into the ground right in front of our truck. He jumped up and ran off pretty quickly but it was intense.



That night we saw the fireworks from the steps of the courthouse in Virginia City. There were a few drinkers out so it provided some nice entertainment as they yelled at the fireworks. They were pretty neat for a small town.

We headed home the next day and had a flight through Seattle. As we made our way from Seattle to Portland, the pilot got on the PA and informed us we had a few extra minutes so he wanted to take us on a detour. We ended up flying around the rim of Mount St Helen's. I was so excited about the picture I got from my cell phone from the airplane window. It was really cool to see it that close.