A Laugh Before Dying

He has a fever. And a slight cough. So he lays, pathetic, on the couch.

He beckons to me to come closer and whispers, "I'm dying...I'm trying to hang on, though."

As I stifle my laughter he continues to explain, "When you're super, super sick...you die."

I tried, to no avail, to explain that he is not "super, super sick". 

We've agreed to disagree.

The Canadians Are Melting!

Seriously?

I took this shot right before it bumped up to 101˚. Then 102˚.

Ridiculous.

So Long, Farewell

We said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa in Canada...

and hit the open road. (Meanwhile every insect in the state of Montana seemed intent on hitting our window.)

Somewhere in the middle of Montana, Curtis decided he wanted to share his lunch with all of us. Unfortunately, it was the lunch he had eaten an hour or so earlier. Up it came. Horrified, I dove into the back to try to...I don't know...do something. There was nothing to be done. Driving through a teeny town we spied a hose on the ground next to cafe. The owners graciously let us soak down our son, his clothes, and his carseat and sympathized with us...while a perfectly healthy boy ran around gleefully, like this sort of thing happened every day. (Heaven forbid!)

We finally made it to Blackfoot. Though we were tired, we figured we would stop at the local hot spot and snap a photo.

We spent the evening and next morning with Grandma. She became quite a hero by letting the kids have some spiffy cowboy hats and sheriff badges.

Grandpa showed up for breakfast and also earned his own little fan club by letting them all take turns riding on his new motorbike.

Then it was time to go. Another family picture on Grandma's steps (one of these days we'll have to count how many we have there) and we were off. 

Headed for home, sweet sweltering home.

Oh, And We Met a Bear

On our way into Waterton the day before, we stopped and talked to a guy who took people out on horseback rides. My girls have BEGGED me for years to let them ride a horse. Since a) we don't live on a farm, b) we don't own horses, and c) most places have an age-limit of 12...we haven't done it yet.

For our new friend, Ty...age wasn't a problem. We were sold. We set up our hour-long horseback ride for 1pm the next day.

Shortly after arriving, the girls met their new companions. Ellie was saddled up and perched on "Hero".

Lindy couldn't have been more happy. Her choice for a horse was "Blue".

Curtis rode with Daddy on "Freckles". Here he is, on Lindy's horse, showing how much he enjoyed the ride. (Being on a small saddle with another person, having the pommel consistently pummel you in a sensitive area wasn't his idea of fun.)

The girls loved every minute of it. A dream come true. Unfortunately for Lindy...she ended up being quite allergic to her favorite animal. She wasn't very happy about it.

After riding, we made our way into Waterton once again to visit another favorite place, Red Rock Canyon. 

On the way out of the canyon, we met a nice black bear.

(If you haven't guessed by now...it wasn't a real bear. But we sure shocked both grandmas when we pulled out these pictures. Neither of them were too pleased with us, I'll tell you that much.)

Waterton

Our fourth day in Canada found us in Waterton Lakes National Park. It is a typical destination for the Jones family while visiting Canada and remains on my list of top 5 favorite places on this earth. 

It was a gorgeous day. There's usually a lot of wind roaring through this place, but it was calm, clear, and sunny for us. Our first stop was at the Prince of Wales Hotel. The hotel was built in 1927 on a hill overlooking the Waterton townsite. (We rarely pose for pictures at this spot for fear the wind will throw us over the edge of the hill. In this picture I am trying to convince Curtis that he does not need to run full speed down the hill and into the lake.)

We ventured to a new picnic spot by the lake and, after eating our lunch, spent a long time throwing rocks. This beach was covered with the most perfect sampling of skipping rocks we've ever seen. (Ian's arm was sore for days.) Once again, the kids spent the better part of our time there with their legs firmly planted in the frigid water.

There were mounds of driftwood just ripe for the picking. The girls were on a quest to find "the perfect walking stick" for everyone.

Here's Ian with his "perfect" walking stick.

A little hike around the lake brought us to a place the kids dubbed "Seagull Island".

Soon we made our way into town for our newest family tradition (started last summer). We rented this 5-person surrey bike and tore through town. I sat peacefully in the middle seat, not pedaling, because Lindy was bound and determined to help Ian wheel us around. (Why would I argue with her?)

Our last stop was the ice cream shop. It is home to some of the best waffle cones I've ever had. (And, if you're lucky enough to be walking down the street at 5am, you might find a bear licking the sidewalks out front of the store...but that's a whole other story.)

Delicious.