Nothing is better than spending the Fourth of July in a small town that bursts with national pride and pure Americana. Ever since our Fourth of July excursion to Ten Sleep, Jacki and I have been itchin' to get back to a rural setting to celebrate America's birthday. Small towns make up our country's backbone.
This year, we were fortunate enough to get thrown an invite by our good friends, Andrew, Jacque, and Libby Rose, to visit their hometown of Seeley Lake, MT. Upon arrival, we were ushered to the boat ramp to enjoy an afternoon of puttering around Seeley Lake. Andrew and I tubed a bit (my arms are still incredibly sore) and Colleen drove us around the lake. The lake was very refreshing, and the beautiful surroundings made me wonder how many lakes can you go boating in that are closely surround by snow capped peaks.
We then went up to the shoddy cabin where we roughed it for a couple of days. Jokes! We stayed up at Jacque's parents' house, Colleen and Bill. Unfortunately, Bill was unable to join us, but Colleen demonstrated unsurpassable hospitality. The house was gorgeous and located a ways up the hill above the town of Seeley. Off the deck we could see a stunning panorama of the Swan Mountains. The view was so beautiful, it looked like it should have been a screen saver. The only down part was the Jacki only slept 2 hours the entire weekend out of fear, because a bear had recently broken into the house. That's an exaggeration, but I could tell she constantly had bear on her mind.
The next morning we went into town for the parade. Eli figured out how to suck out of a straw, and I don't think that it was a coincidence that it was out of my huckleberry milkshake. The kid loved the milkshake and couldn't get enough. We watched the Seeley parade and enjoyed all of the floats put on by the Seeleyites. We also pushed Eli to the max outside in the blazing sun, but he was a trooper and put up with it for awhile. Despite several latherings of sunblock and attempts to keep him in the shade, we still took E inside the quilt shop for the end of the parade to escape the sun's rays.
After that we visited another rundown shack for lunch. Joking again. We went to Loren and Pam's house, Andrew's parents, for elk burgers. The food was delicious, the scenery even better. We even had a little fawn right outside the fence to keep us company. The workmanship on the house was stunning, as the entire frame of the house was made from reclaimed wood from a barn constructed in 1890.
That evening, we went down to the lake to watch Andrew's favorite band, Mr. Bebee and the Crooks. After that, we decided to stick around and watch the fireworks. (Joking again, the band sucked, we went for the fireworks). The display was pretty good, but what made it fun was that after the show, the cabins on the lakeshore shot off incredible amounts of fireworks. It was as if a naval battle was taking place right in front of us.
Its times like this weekend that we are reminded of how blessed we are to be living in such a beautiful state and wonderful country. People can complain all they want, but there is no other nation in the world where I'd rather live. The only thing that would have made it better is if we could have celebrated with family.
Elijah enjoying the boat!
He wasn't very smiley after this...
those darn life jackets aren't too comfortable, the sun was hot, and it was naptime! :)
Mama and her boy
Silly Grins!
(thanks Oma & Opa for the AWESOME hat-- perfect for the boat ride!)
Adorable Libby in her pink life jacket!
The wonderful Rose Family:
Jacque, Libby, and Lance Cpl Andrew Rose, USMC-- true american hero.
Our little family!
Lovely way to spend the day...
Riding on the front of the boat with mama...
even with the choppy waters and very bumpy ride...
he managed to fall asleep!!
My lovely dear friend, Jacque and me
Goofing around on the boat
Simply gorgeous day
Staying hydrated ;-)
Finally home at the cabin to play and crawl around!
Breathtaking view off the deck...
Not a bad view for a yummy spaghetti dinner!
The Kiddos enjoying bathtime!!
"Hey, what u lookin' at!?"
E was down for a nap... but we got a few good pics on the 4th
with the gorgeous view in the background
LOVE my husband! <3
Not a bad view at all.... ;-)
Little Miss Libby-- ADORABLE 4th of July baby girl.
(have I mentioned how badly i want a GIRL...
so I can dress her up and do do fun things like this!?)
Elijah LOVED the huckleberry milkshake! :)
The mamas and our little loves!
Waiting for the parade to start!
My very beautiful friend Jacque and her freaking adorable daughter, Libby!
Me and my little man-- he's still a stud--
even though I didn't have a girl to dress up in a tutu! :)
My boys!
The babies... this was the best photo we could get..
trying to get them both to look and smile!
Happy Birthday, America!
He liked the fire trucks (we took this pic for Uncle Jakey)
He liked them until they honked their VERY loud horns right by us.
He then decided he did NOT like them and proceeded to cry... :)
The Jacque/Jacki's :~)
SO blessed for great friends!
The kids are REALLY over this whole posing for pictures things...
Neither one is looking, but i still Love this photo.
Eli is trying to figure out what all this itchy fluff stuff is ;-)
Have I said how much i LOVE Libby's tutu!?!?!?
stinkin' CUTE!
Don't worry...she got oogled about ALL day
by everyone that walked by and saw her!
E and Daddy playing in the lawn
Another stunning view to have for dinner....
Waiting on the hill by the lake for fireworks to start! :)
Colleen was sweet enough to stay home with the sleeping babies
so we could enjoy some ice cream, beer, wine, friends, and fireworks.
Love this!
Cheers!
God Bless America! :-)
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