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Tag: Montana
Ride ’em Cowgirl
The first week we arrived in MT, Baylor was scheduled for riding lessons with a friend’s wife. She is a teacher and she and her family have an arena and a pony perfect for lessons. I skipped the first lesson and I was totally shocked at the second lesson how amazing she did! Our friend, Carolyn, also noted that she seemed like a natural. She has a calm yet excited respect for the horse, Duke. She listened to everything Carolyn told her and she did each action, even the scary ones, happily. I’m excited to find her a stable at home and keep up her skills. Can’t wait until we can go out for rides together.
Leading Duke to the arena
Each lesson starts with her turning herself around in her saddle while Duke is lead by Carolyn. It is to teach balance and this kid must have been a cat in another life because she does this like she’s done it every day of her life!
You gotta love having a school teacher teaching riding. Carolyn put the letters of her name on signs around the arena and B had to ride Duke to each letter in order.
In just three lessons she had Duke in a trot and was neck reining all around the arena! I’m guessing by the end of the month she’ll be jumping him over obstacles…
Big Sky July
In a moment of stressing about packing lists, I realized how far we’ve come and how much we’ve done in a short time to make a dream of ours come true.
Let me back up to last summer. After a long flight and drive to the ranch, Peter and were sitting in rocking chairs on the deck waiting for Auggie to doze off. It was after 10pm and the sun was almost down. It was cool and quiet and…perfect. We started seriously thinking about how we could make a transition that would allow us to spend more time in Montana. After a lot of conversations, we came up with a plan.
In just under a year, Peter has passed the Montana bar, been admitted and we have booked a rental house for all of July. We can both work from here and he’s working on a Montana client list – ensuring lots of summers in Big Sky country to come – and I’m sure a few “client meetings” during hunting season too…
The logistics of getting here were a little daunting. We settled on having Peter drive the 18ish hours with Mac and all our crap stuff while I flew with the kids. I’ll save you the details…but there was a barf bag involved in my part of the trip. But we made it all in one piece! The house we rented sight unseen has turned out to be great (with a few additional baby proofing measures post Auggie’s minor tumble down the stairs. Hearing Baylor scream “Auggie fell down the stairs!!” was as close as I’d like to come to knowing what a heart attack feels like).
We’re unpacked, settling in and awaiting the arrival of our friends/house guests! And this morning, we’re waking up to this:
Lake View
Ok, ok, okay. I’m sure you’re tired of seeing pictures of Montana. But I’m not so here are a few more 🙂
One of the prettiest hikes at the ranch, in my humble opinion, is the trail around the lake. It’s about a mile and a half and there is little elevation change so it’s pretty easy for Baylor to do and I can carry Auggie in the backpack AND walk. The scenery is spectacular – you walk through fields of wild flowers, duck under dense, dark forest and hop over small streams. It’s really amazing. 
The Quaking Aspen trees shimmer and shake as the breeze blows
The wildflowers are amazing
The view of the lodge from behind the lake
So the theory goes that Baylor will hike the lake. The reality is that she spends most of the hike on Peter’s shoulders. Translation? Mom and Dad are wiped out from hiking with an additional 40lbs and 30lbs (Augg plus pack) and the kids are well rested.
Nothing puts that kid to sleep like a hike in the backpack
Taking in the view
God Bless America
There are few things that feel as patriotic as the 4th of July in Montana. There are purple mountains majesty, amber waves of, well grass, but still and all the cowboy hats too. Hubbard’s always puts on a cookout that screams holiday and Mike has a fireworks show that is second only to professional displays. Watching the kiddos run around in their red, white and blue is really the best.
Aunts Sarah and Nancy. Auggie is a big fan.
Thank goodness we had a professional taking our picture. Vern (his real name is Eric. However the summer he worked at the ranch there were too many Erics so they started calling him Vern. Why? Because he’s just such a Vern) literally took 40 pictures and there were only FOUR where A) everyone is looking B) Peter’s eyes are open C) everyone is smiling and or not crying. I’ve realized also that Augg has inherited PW’s squint and head tilt.
Seriously. Look at those eyes.
Again, the cuteness.
Cousin Madi, Sienna and Baylor with Madi’s patriotic press on nails.
Pig roast! It always tastes delicious, I just don’t like knowing what my dinner’s face looked like so I make Peter get me a plate.
This was the first year that B did sparklers and I didn’t have a heart attack. We were spelling out her name.
It really is Big Sky Country
There were friends and friends of friends at the lodge for dinner and they thought that the sparklers were the fireworks. They about lost their minds when they saw Mike’s AMAZING firework display. Peter is always the fireman at the docking station. I’ve asked him not to tell me what happens down there because I never like hearing about how he almost lost an eye or a finger or is now deaf. Baylor always watches with her hands over her ears and I was anxious to see what Augg thought. Thankfully he loved them – and by that I mean he didn’t scream so it goes down as a win in my book. Fireworks? Check!
Cowgirl Up
Ms. B has been dying to ride horse since taking the Mini Horse Hands class last summer at the zoo. When we went down to feed the horses some carrots, she began begging us to let her ride. Thankfully, Uncle Mike agreed to take both B and cousin Zoe for a spin around the corral.
The Barn Bar
Big man trying out a saddle
Star, Cahl and Seabass (my favorite)
Auggie was unexpectedly not a fan of the horses. He literally shuddered when he pet them. Hopefully it’s only a temporary reaction.
Ready to ride!
Can’t stand the cuteness
As long as he was not actually touching the horse, he was happy
Ring Around the Rosie
This picture summarizes the whole trip for Baylor. She was loving her independence and cousins to pal around with!
Fire on the Mountain
Tuesday afternoon I got a call from my mom telling me that there was a fire at the ranch. Her voice was all I needed to hear to know that it wasn’t good and that they had no idea if their homes, business and escape route were about to go up in flames.
Montana is experiencing the same drought most of the west is having and everything was crispy dry when we were there in July when the norm is lush and green. It was dry to the point that the annual 4th of July fireworks that my step brother puts on (and that rivals most municipal fireworks show) had to be canceled. And now hearing how quickly a small fire in a tree went to structure and life threatening in under 10 minutes, it was a good decision.
Because of the rural location, fire support is hard to come by – or is unconventional to say the least. A neighbor has a water truck, but if the neighbor doesn’t answer the phone, there’s no water truck. The closest fire department is a half hour away and the forest service has to scramble helicopters to come to the rescue. Thankfully the ranch boarders Yellowstone National Park and sits on an 80 acre lake so once help arrived, they were able to gain control of the situation.
This is a picture from last summer of the Paradise Valley
And this is a picture of from the height of the fire yesterday – you can see how yellow the grass is.
Thankful for the forest service and the three available slurry bombers – this picture is about 50 yards from the parent’s deck
The aftermath. The estimate was about 100 acres burned. The sad part is that it will take close to a decade for this to become lush and green again.
I think it’s safe to say that the family is feeling blessed that this wasn’t worse, but sad that it happened at all.
Livingston Round Up
This year was Baylor’s first trip to the Livingston Round Up Rodeo. We go every year and it’s a blast – the childless version can be seen here….But being pregnant and with Ms. B means we had the slightly less rowdy version this year. However fun none the less! B made it all the way to the spectacular fireworks display complete with patriotic music (the sun doesn’t set until after 9pm so the fireworks started around 10pm). Such a trooper!
Getting to sit with the big girls
The Noni
PW in his rodeo finest
Titi, cousin Zoe’s mom
I had a chance to experiment with my camera and the speed setting a little. The results were pretty darn good!
This is my favorite.
Steer wrestling…this guy is a Wranglers model so I felt a picture was necessary.
And this is the funniest part of the whole evening – this is the rodeo clown with 4 dummies strapped to himself that move like puppets -they all do the YMCA. It was hilarious and just a pinch disturbing.
I Love a Parade
No really, I do. I love the silliness, creativity and pageantry. And in a small town parade, it’s taken to a whole new level – not necessarily a better level than say the Rose Bowl Parade, but a new level just the same.
Poor B had maybe 6 hours of sleep the night before the Livingston 4th of July Parade. She got over an hour of a nap in her bed and then napped the 45 minute drive to the event – I had to wake her up when we got there…which explains why her pigtails are crooked and she looks less than pleased in the first few pictures.
Getting into the spirit
Cousin Zoe!
Cousin Madi. One half of the “big girls” B was chasing around all week
Learning how to pick up candy from the big kids
Noni, Momma and her girl
See? This is why small town parades are the best. Where else are you going to see a plumbing company advertising by putting a toilet on top of a trailer AND making it shoot water like a fountain?!
Wild Montana Skies
Calling Montana the Big Sky State is no understatement. Some of my favorite pictures are always of the sky, clouds and sun. If I only had a camera that would capture the night sky – I can’t even begin to describe the amount of stars and planets that can be seen each night.
At the rodeo:
About an hour later:
At the rodeo, to the east:
At the ranch, after a rain shower:
View from the ranch over the Paradise Valley:
The Goon Room 