Montana Trip

Story told by: Brody

We went to Marion, Montana this weekend to see the Strickler family! It was a blast!

It’s a 5 1/2 hour drive, but with bathroom stops (like this one at a familiar rest area of ours) and food stops, it took us about seven hours.

Another stop involved bribing Henry with candy if he went poop in a gas station bathroom. He did it (and Lainey and I got to benefit as well from his victory)!

Once we arrived we were instantly out riding bikes to stretch our legs.

The really special thing about the day we arrived is that it was Oliver’s fourth birthday!

We got to sing to him, and then dig in to some delicious cake! (And because Oliver’s mom is the nicest person ever, she made an egg-free cake so even Henry could enjoy a piece.)

We’ve been loving non-fiction books lately, so we thought Oliver might like them too. We got him a book all about bugs for his birthday present.

There is a fun play set in their backyard, so we went out to play way past our bedtime.

I slept in a room with Mommy and Daddy (because they’re no fun and won’t let me join the big kids), but Lainey, Oliver, and Henry got to sleep together. Until the boys wouldn’t stop messing around. And then everyone got separated.

Oliver got a new drum set for his birthday, so the next morning, Lainey and Oliver performed a concert for everyone.

After the concert, we went to a lake that is just a couple of minutes from the Strickler’s house.

We spent some time throwing rocks.

Daddy and I had a snack.

The adults took pictures.

And then we got out the canoe!

Henry went first!

Lainey went next.

And then, after begging and begging, it was my turn. I thought I’d love it, but turns out that’s not the case.

After heading home for lunch, we all had naps and rest time.

I eventually went to sleep, and everyone else continued to have fun without me. Not cool.

After naps, we got out the water stuff.

Otter Pops!

Otis loved his cold treat on a hot day!

After baths and a delicious dinner of ribs, we went outside to do some fireworks.

I was okay with Pop-its, but once the louder stuff started, I wanted to be with Daddy.

Then we went into the backyard to try out sparklers.

Unfortunately our sparklers were duds, but we were persistent, and were able to still have fun with them.

I was a little nervous around them, but after seeing how much the other kids liked them, I decided to give it a try on my own.

After fireworks, we roasted marshmallow for s’mores!

I dug right in and had chocolate everywhere.

After the kids went to bed, the adults stayed up to sit by the fire and play the Lolz game.

So much laughing!

Today we had breakfast with our friends, and then had to say goodbye. We will miss them a lot! Our drive home was VERY successful, and we only made two stops. One of those stops was to take this picture of Henry’s Restaurant. It wasn’t meal time when we passed it, but next time we’re going to stop and see if they’ll let Henry eat for free (because how could you refuse the namesake of the restaurant?!). Thank you, Stricklers, for hosting our crazy crew, and we’ll see you in September!