Summer Highlights

Well, it has been a long time since the last post. We had quite a summer. It took us quite a bit longer to seal the deal on our house in Livingston but we finally did it! It was great having some quality time with our friends and family in Livingston.

Here are just a few of the highlights from our summer.

Biker Boys
Rowan got a bike seat and we rode all over town together. We got loads of funny looks.

I think most of the sideways glances could be attributed to Rowan's massive helmet.



Pine Creek Hike
We took an epic overnight hike to Pine Creek Lake in Paradise Valley with Rach and Kelly.


The hike in was only ive miles long but over 3000 feet in elevation gain. We all got quite a workout.... except for Mr. McNaps.


It was mid July but we still had to walk across some snowy patches to get to our final destination.


We all jumped in the lake to "refresh" ourselves once we got there. When I hopped in, the water was so cold, I thought my muscles were going to seize up and that I'd sink to the bottom of the lake. I honestly wondered if I would survive the experience.


The scenery was so beautiful, we wished we could have stayed another night by the lake. It was truly awesome. It was Rowan's first camping and my first real backpacking adventure. Hopefully we'll be able to do a bit more next summer.




Yellowstone
Grandma Ethel worked one summer at Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park over SEVENTY YEARS AGO!!! Calley, Rachael and I took a trip with her into the park for her ninetieth birthday. You often hear people saying, "I hope I never make it to 90, that's too old!" If I'm still able to get around like Ethel Jones does at 90, I wouldn't mind it at all. She told us some crazy stories about days gone by at Yellowstone. Ethel said she used to dip weenies in the geysers to boil them for a snack. I'm pretty sure that would be a federal offense now. So, I wouldn't recommend putting your weenie in a geyser. We had a grand time.



MD meets MT

Jimbo, Mom and Dad came to visit us in Montana and see our new house. Their first stop, however, was at Terry and Dennis's cabin in the woods. Jim, Dad, Dennis and I went on an epic ATV ride through the hills while Calley and Rowan's Grandmas zipped together a sharp-looking chicken quilt. Thanks for the hospitality, Terry and Dennis!



Hospitality
I don't know how we would have made it through our home purchasing ordeal without the support of Calley's sisters and their families. Thank you again to Megan, Jason, Abigail, Rachael, Kelly and Tiken Jah. It was great to have a welcoming place to stay and good company during our stressful time.

Not only was Rach and Kelly's yard a fantastic spot to relax it was the source for numerous tasty greens and veggies. We munched some fantastic salads that were whipped together with fresh greens from the garden.


Meg and Jason's new house is beautiful. Nice work, Jason. They have the best view in Livingston. Rowan tells me that the back porch is a great place to splash around au natural in the kiddie pool.


Over Already?
We were frantic in our preparations to return to Sudan. After packing everything up and getting our house squared away we spent the evening chatting in the yard and making plans for next summer.

Rowan managed to squeeze in plenty of QT with his favorite cousin Abbey. When it was time to leave Livingston we were very sad to say goodbye to everyone... but we were especially sad to say goodbye to Abbs.




K-town Return
So we're back in Khartoum and we're happy. This is our third year here, so things are coming a bit more naturally. School is in full swing and we are settling into our groove. We'll try to be a bit more regular with the blog posts.... incha'allah.
-Ross