Big Sky, Big Fun

This September of 2009 we took our gnome back to MT, the mother (and father) land. It is always such a joy to cross over the Washington/Montana border and smell the sweet pine scent that seems to only come from the Rockies. This time we wanted Finley to get a taste, so we stopped at the top of Lookout pass and let him soak in his first bit of MT.

We headed to Missoula to spend some time with my Grandma Mabel who Finley sometimes looks like. We didn’t get a chance to get a picture of them together, but here’s one of a morning where Grandma busted out her keyboard for Chad and he accompanied her on the mandolin. She also painted this lovely picture of starlings, for the band The Starlings that Chad toured with last fall, which was very cool. Chad and Grandma have a lot in common with a talent for music and art.

We have a couple of friends in Missoula that just had babies within a month or two of Finley so we stopped and spent time with them. It was strange and so much fun to spend time with friends from our youth in our role as parents. We’ve all maintained our core personalities but have also mellowed and softened, and it’s such a thrill to see our own features and personalities reflected in that of our children. It’s unfortunately a little blurry but I had to post this picture of Jesse King and Chad because they completely spontaneously threw their feet up onto a bench so they could admire their boys side by side. Proud papas if I’ve ever seen ‘em and so thrilled for each other too. And we don't want to forget the mamas!

We moved on to Townsend where Chad painted the inside of his parents house. Finley loved spending time with his Grandparents and even got to stay with them alone while Chad and I had a lovely date night in Helena. He also got a taste of the farm life because Grandpa Hinman was hard at work combining wheat. Here’s a little video.

My sister Dana and her daughters Morgan and Taylor live in Belgrade, which is right near Bozeman where Chad’s Grandpa Ed is so we made a trip up there as well. I was slacking with the camera again at Dana’s so no photos but here are some of Grandpa Ed. His middle name is Wiley and he can be quite flirtatious so when Finley gives me a sly grin I call it his Wiley look. He definitely has Grandpa Ed’s ears and I think we might see in the future that he has his eyes (because Chad does) as well.

All in all a great trip that went much too quickly. We are looking forward to the next one where maybe we will even make it to the cabin in Glacier Park, a spot we absolutely love. We are excited to see many of the same people this Christmas in Las Vegas and show off Finley’s new skills. He’s growing so fast, cliché but true, so I’m glad we have the opportunity for family and friends to see him periodically and for him to see them, especially the wizened ones.