Right after returning home from our cruise, we were blessed to have Alex and his family come up for a week-long visit. He was able to take some time off work, and the weather around here is starting to get really nice, so he and Kaitlyn decided to take a road trip north. It’s been a few months since we last saw little William, and he’s noticeably bigger and more interactive.
I’m pretty sure I’m his favorite grandpa. Or at least tied for first.
Of course we had to go up to Glacier. It’s only open to Avalanche these days, but there are still some nice trails in that area. William enjoys being carted everywhere, and just happily watches the scenery from a backpack.
Ollie has a little backpack of his own, and he loves stuffing a bunch of random toys and snacks into it, then strapping it on. He dons a fun hiking hat and vest, and he’s ready for the great outdoors.
Every kid loves water, and Ollie’s no exception. He loved the rivers at Glacier, and of course Flathead Lake.
There’s a dam south of Polson on the Flathead River (which drains out of Flathead Lake), and in years past we’d heard it was pretty cool. I don’t get very excited about looking at dams, but in the last few days two different people mentioned it’s worth seeing. We decided to give it a go. It was actually pretty cool!
(Ollie was unhappy about looking into the sun for this picture…)
While in Polson, we went to the Miracle of America Museum, which is definitely… interesting. Ollie loved running around all the outdoor exhibits. He thought the derelict boat was fun…
… but not as cool as sitting in a rusted-out Huey helicopter!
On their last night here, we sat outside as a massive thunderstorm rolled through the valley. We don’t get many thunderstorms around here, and the lightning just lit up the sky almost constantly. I grabbed my camera and managed to capture a few shots of the lightning. This one was at 10:30 at night, when it was quite dark.
It’s so fun to see the wonder and excitement of little kids as they experience new things. William is still sort of a blob who doesn’t do much, but now he’s a smiling, laughing blob who’s fun to carry and tickle and cuddle. Grandkids are great.