Dwayne wanted me to show this current photo of the old yellow truck and the one we took on our last family trip to Montana. No wonder the boys don't remember much about that visit, they were only two and four.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Old Yellow Truck
Dwayne wanted me to show this current photo of the old yellow truck and the one we took on our last family trip to Montana. No wonder the boys don't remember much about that visit, they were only two and four.
Gravesites
I visited three gravesites during my time in Montana. The first was the place where my friend Laili's father's ashes were sprinkled on their family property. They had this stone engraved in his memory.
Mom & I went to Grandpa & Grandma's grave in Conrad Cemetery. We were hoping Grandma's deathdate had been added to the stone, but it wasn't done yet.
Grandpa's sister, Great Aunt Lu, just passed away at Christmastime. Her ashes are spread on the ranch between these two trees pictured below.
Montana Relatives
Aunt Tanya & Uncle Glen in their front yard on Sunday morning. They don't even look like hardworking farmers--they clean up beautifully. :)
Mom & I overlapped in our visits. Her 45th high school reunion was the week after mine. (We graduated from the same school!)
Uncle Lyle & Aunt Mary had us up to their place at Crystal Lake where we had a lovely tour of their flower gardens and a delicious meal.
Montana Scenery & Wildlife
It took me a few days to adjust to the time change, so I awoke early in the morning. I was staying with Angel at her parents' home on MacGregor Lake. This is the view from their backyard. Notice how clear the lake is in the foreground--you can see the rocks.
This hayshed is on the Monk ranch where Angel grew up in Pleasant Valley.
At dusk, the deer are everywhere. This meadow is on Glen & Tanya's Lone Lake Ranch.
Tanya & I took an evening walk and spied this doe.
These swallows had tucked themselves in for the night.
25th High School Reunion
Brenda, Angie, Carla, Angel & LauraWe had a lot of laughs and good food sitting under the pavilion by Flathead Lake. As you can see, you need a jacket on during summer evenings in Montana.
Far Away Friends
It was wonderful to see special friends while in Montana.
This is Angel Kee. We went to high school together. She now lives in Oregon on a 28 acre farm and has a handsome husband, two sweet children, one dog and 17 horses.
Angel took me to town to meet Betty Figarelle. We all graduated together. Betty drove the four hours from Great Falls to Kalispell to spend Saturday & Sunday with me. I appreciated it very much. She has a son who just got married this summer, a daughter who is a realtor and a patient husband who lets her travel across the country to vacation with me.
I got to have lunch with my friend Jo Asa at a "soup kitchen". I think we met at Jazzercise, but it's been so many years now that I forget if that's correct or not. She has a daughter learning abroad in Australia, a son who thinks he can get just as good of an education staying in Montana :) , a horse loving pre-teen daughter and a "jewel" of a husband (he's a jeweler, but he must also be a jewel since Jo still seems smitten with him).
Angel took me to visit our friend Laili Komenda. She lives in Dwayne's dream home of a log cabin. Her husband is a great guy and they have two good-mannered, good-looking teenage boys. I think it is unfair that Laili hasn't aged at all over the 25+ years I've known her.
Also, a piece of trivia--Laili is the sister to the woman in Washington whose cow fell out of the sky onto the honeymooning couple (assuming you remember that news story).
This is Angel Kee. We went to high school together. She now lives in Oregon on a 28 acre farm and has a handsome husband, two sweet children, one dog and 17 horses.
Angel took me to town to meet Betty Figarelle. We all graduated together. Betty drove the four hours from Great Falls to Kalispell to spend Saturday & Sunday with me. I appreciated it very much. She has a son who just got married this summer, a daughter who is a realtor and a patient husband who lets her travel across the country to vacation with me.
I got to have lunch with my friend Jo Asa at a "soup kitchen". I think we met at Jazzercise, but it's been so many years now that I forget if that's correct or not. She has a daughter learning abroad in Australia, a son who thinks he can get just as good of an education staying in Montana :) , a horse loving pre-teen daughter and a "jewel" of a husband (he's a jeweler, but he must also be a jewel since Jo still seems smitten with him).
Angel took me to visit our friend Laili Komenda. She lives in Dwayne's dream home of a log cabin. Her husband is a great guy and they have two good-mannered, good-looking teenage boys. I think it is unfair that Laili hasn't aged at all over the 25+ years I've known her.Also, a piece of trivia--Laili is the sister to the woman in Washington whose cow fell out of the sky onto the honeymooning couple (assuming you remember that news story).
Lone Lake Ranch
These are some shots taken at the Brist family ranch, known as Lone Lake Ranch.
Besides the pictured farm animals, there is a donkey named Daisy May, a llama named Weed, numerous sheep, a few peacocks, a pig named Blue and two cats.
Gracie is a sweet and smart little dog. She accompanied me on a lot of walks.
This barn was recently jacked up so a concrete foundation could be poured and everything straightened up. Weed and the buck sheep live in here along with some swallows.
This was Grandpa Freeman's old yellow truck. The sign on the door says "Freeman Brist, Kila MT" in fading letters.
University of Virginia
Dwayne is attending UVA as a graduate student. I somehow neglected to get a picture of him on the grounds, but I did take this one of the boys on the family day they had. It was fun to take a tour, learn about their program and then go to a picnic at a waterpark.
Derrik is SMART
Derrik took a SMART driving course for eight hours one Saturday. They taught him how to shuffle steer, recover from a skid, check tire pressure, tight & sudden maneuvering, getting back on the road if two tires go off road, parallel parking, driving in reverse and many other interesting challenges. He also had to wear fatal vision goggles and drive a golf cart through a course of cones. (He knocked quite a few over.) It teaches many safe driving skills and he enjoyed it. A racing instructor and several cops taught the class.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
County Fireworks Fun
I applaud Spotsylvania County on having the best fireworks display of any we've ever seen. About 25 of us set up our blankets & chairs together to play games and then watch the show once it got dark.
Pictured here are Brandon & Julie (the newlyweds!), Corbin, Brandy and Carla.
Rocky enjoys the kettlecorn the most, but he watches the fireworks for awhile. Thanks Troy for the popcorn treat each year!
Devin, Barry & Derrik played Frisbee until the rest of the kids showed up. Then they rotated through football, volleyball and card games.
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