Great Falls to Helena

 

Way back in June (really, almost four months ago?), we took a two day road trip.  Our destination was Helena and the ordination of our friend, Charlie Harball, to the permanent deaconate of the Catholic Church.

We spent a day in and around Great Falls before we headed to the ceremony.  We stopped at some of the places Brendan and I had seen in April, like the First People's Buffalo Jump, so that Rita, Anthony and Karl could see them.  Brendan wanted to put his hand in the great Missouri River since he had seen so much and learned so much of it in the past two months.  He finally got his chance.

We were so blessed to witness the ordination of Deacon Charlie, the culmination of five years of hard work and dedication for him and his wife Claire.

Where Did July Go?

Well, it's the 1st of August and it seems like a minute ago we celebrated the 4th of July in our back yard.  It's been a wonderful summer so far, so busy that the days are flying by.  Brendan reminded me that school starts in four weeks.  I know moms get excited about the return of school, but there is something wonderful about having all the kids home and lazy summer days.

Holland Lake Falls

Since we had to make the four hour round trip to Legendary Lodge to retrieve Brendan's laundry, we decided to make a day of it.  After we secured the laundry, we drove to Holland Lake and hiked to the falls.  It was a great day and Chad was delighted that he got to go.

Legendary Lodge

This was the first year for Brendan to be able to go to camp at Legendary Lodge, the camp run by the Diocese of Helena.  It was a weird week for me to have him gone and not be able to contact him.  He had a great time and when I picked him up on Friday, he looked exhausted, a sure sign of having fun.  He was so tired in fact, that his bag of dirty laundry was forgotten and got to spend an extra couple of days at camp.  Pictures (taken by Brendan with a disposable camera) pending getting them developed.

Hank the Cowdog

If you have never read any of the Hank the Cowdog books, I encourage you to do so, whether you have kids at home or not.  Reading these books together will be one of my favorite memories of my kids' childhood.  I read to them and now Brendan is old enough to read to us.  It's great to have something to laugh out loud about with your kids!

Working So Hard

Karl had the task of fertilizing the lawn.  A long and boring job.  So he decided some refreshment was in order.

Haircuts!

The straw that broke the camel's back came one morning as I tried to do Rita's hair.  She has told me over and over "I want Tangled hair", which means she wants long flowing hair like Rapunzel in the movie, Tangled.  However, she does not want to sit still to have her hair wrestled into some semblance of neatness.  Every morning we battled and I would get compliance only after I told her "if you don't want your hair done, then we need to get it cut".  This would buy me just enough time to get a ponytail.  Her hair is so whispy and thin that within minutes she would again look like an orphan. 

So, one morning we were having the battle of the hair and the straw came.  Rita cried at first but actually didn't fuss at all during the haircut.  This isn't the greatest picture.  Her hair looks cute and sassy and matches her personality.  While we were at the salon (OK, it was Great Clips :) ), Brendan decided to cut his mop.  He looks so different without that wild hair!  Great for summer though.