2-24 to 3-2, Montana trip

It seems like quite awhile since I've posted, so therefore it seems like so much has happened since then. For the past few months, we've been closely monitoring my grandfather's (dad's dad) declining health. We made the decision in early February to go back to Montana to spend time with him and the rest of the family. The 2-week wait between booking the tickets and actually going on the trip seemed to pass so slowly. It was the first time Nikolas had flown since he was 5 months old and I hadn't flown since our house-hunting trip in 2005. Nikolas was very excited to be taking TWO airplane rides on his birthday. I have to say that February 24 was one of the longest days we've had in quite some time. We left our house by 7 AM, departed Baltimore, had a layover in Denver, and flew into Spokane. Then from Spokane we had a 3+ hour drive to Hamilton. We arrived in Hamilton at 8 PM (factoring in a 2-hour time difference between MD and MT). We were thoroughly exhausted, but after coming this far we couldn't wait to see grandpa any longer. We were surprised at the condition he was in, but very thankful that he was still with us. Our 6-day trip back home, consisted of a lot of time spent sitting with grandpa at the rest home, spending time with other family members, and even a little sales time for me with my As Eye See It business. It was a good trip. It was also a hard trip. Saying goodbye (especially if it might be a final one) is never an easy thing to do. But, I got what I wanted-- time with my grandpa.

Our birthday boy! We can't believe he's already 7!

This is the view out of Grandpa's room-- too bad he's not really in a state to enjoy it. Sven and I just kept staring out at the mountains...boy how we miss them.

You can't really tell from this picture, but Grandpa usually only opened one eye. I don't think he really liked me calling him "One-Eyed Jack" though.....

Thad had some time off from flying and was able to spend a few days with us. We stayed with Grandma O. and he stayed with our Granda G. It felt so good to be with family again.

Here we all are having dinner at Grandma O's house.

I LOVE this picture!! Thursday the guys had decided to go skiing. Much to our surprise, we woke up to snow in the Valley! It was beautiful and still coming down. This is a picture I took of the guys as they hurried out the door. The smile on Nikolas' face is priceless.

There's my grandpa! He even has both of his eyes open! When things are looking pretty bad, it's amazing how two open eyes and a glimmer of a smile can mean the world.

Hurry, hurry! Pictures with everyone while Grandpa is awake!

Here we are in Grandma G's driveway saying goodbye to Thad before he drove back to ID. Things sure got quiet after he left!

This is the house that I grew up in. My cousin nows lives there with his family. I just can't get over how beautiful the mountains are with that new layer of snow.

So I have never, ever used any of the panoramic capabilities in my cameras. This is my first attempt....with obviously a lot of room for improvement. Nevertheless, the mountains are still awe-inspiring.

This is my Uncle Darryl, my dad's brother. He's the only of the 'kids' that still lives in Hamilton. As you can see, Grandpa's eyes may not be open, but his hands are holding on. Once he gets a grip on it, it's like arm wrestling to get your hand back. He sure has quite a grip.

A trip home is never complete without a visit to Aunt Patti's children's store, Me and Mom. Nikolas was very excited to go shopping with his own birthday money. He came home with this paintable dinosaur. It kept him occupied for a few minutes at least!

This is my Aunt Vickie (my mom's sister) and her grandson Kade. Kade is the son of my cousin Kyle and his wife Kirsten. They are the family that lives in the house that I grew up in. It's always interesting to go home and see how many changes they have done to the house. It looks so different and they have done a wonderful job of remodeling.

What a cute picture of the kids: Kade, Lauren, Layne and Nikolas

This is Kade's dad (my cousin), Kyle.

Kade, Nikolas and the Gator (Grandpa G. would be so proud....).

There's that one eyed-Jack again! This is my cousin Kyla. It was amazing to see the connection she has with Grandpa. He perked right up when she was there and he was so happy to see her. (By the way, Kyla, it must be you because your little tip didn't work with me =).....). Can you see why we love being back in MT? We have so much family......it's great.

This is my cousin Kendra with her nephew, Kade. Boy, there's one thing that I haven't mentioned about going back home......it sort of makes you feel old! The last time we were home a year and a half ago, Kirsten was pregnant with Kade and Kendra was just a little girl. Everything sure changes......and quickly it seems these days!

Who's growing up faster, Kendra or Nikolas?!?!!

Kade, Vickie, Nikolas and Grandma G.

Grandma O. LOVES to watch basketball. Here she and Nikolas watch a game together (although secretly I think Nikolas is just trying to postpone bedtime....).

This is Main Street, Hamilton, Montana. I'm sure many of you have wondered, now you can actually see for yourself! What a great place to grow up and call home.

Is it already time for us to say goodbye, too? Wow-- not already!! NONE of us wanted to leave. At least we were postponing the inevitable by driving to Thad's before flying out the next day. Another sad goodbye..... Maryland is just way too far away.

Uncle Thad even had snow on the ground in Idaho. That made Nikolas so happy. He loved just being outside jumping in it and kicking it!

Don't you just wonder what Nikolas is thinking? I'm thinking he wishes he had a dog...or two. =) These are Kelly's dogs. They are just about the cutest things. She brought them with her to Thad's house for dinner. They were quite entertaining!

Aren't they ADORABLE??

The flying, the driving, the time changes, the activity level, all sure had its toll on us. Poor Nikolas....this is him sacked out at Thad's house. He's going to need that sleep. The next day would be LONG.

Look at those mountains!! Hopefully it won't be long until we can get out west again and see them again.

In contrast, back to the bright lights and big city. Here we are about ready to land (at 0030) at Baltimore Washington International Airport. Is our 'vacation' really over? I'm homesick already.....and not for the one we're getting ready to drive to either!!

WELCOME HOME, right?? This is probably the last thing Sven wanted to be doing at 1 AM when he has to be up at 6 AM to go to work. So you know how I say that it really doesn't snow much out here? Well, weren't we LUCKY that there had been a snow storm that day and our car was like a giant ice cube? So very lucky......

So the nice mommy that I am let Nikolas stay home from school the next day. I THOUGHT that he could use a day to rest up and get acclimated to the time zone changes. Yeah, right. FAT CHANCE with snow on the ground outside!! Oh well, what can you do? And this, my friends and family, ends the post for our trip back to Montana. I wish I had more pictures to add because that would mean that we had stayed longer! But, I suppose as they say, all good things must come to an end. Until next time.....!