Kirtland, OH
On the way home we stopped in Kirtland to finish off the sites. We found out the tour was hours long, but what the heck, we wanted to see what was there.
This is us in he Newel K. Whitney store in the School of the Prophets room. This is a very sacred place and the kids had a hard time sitting still, but I was thankful to be there and feel the spirit.This is a picture of the ashery that they have reconstructed in Kirtland. In the 1830's this was a booming business and many people in the area used it and the sawmill. I thought Ricky did a great job with this photo-it is beautiful!

This is one of my favorite church history sites. It is the John Johnson farm in Hiram, OH about 30 miles from Kirtland. This was our last church history site on our trip. These are the steps where Joseph Smith was pulled from his home and tarred and feathered. He then stood on these steps the next day and preached a sermon. So inspiring, and we got to stand there!!

Well, after we left Kirtland we had a long drive home! It took us about 30 more hours to get home. We drove all night at got home about 5:00 on Monday. Needless to say we are still exhausted, but it was so worth it!!

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
So I was going to blog about the rest of our Montana trip,but I have so many pictures and it would take me forever!
I decided to just blog about our last day there. Ricky and I went on a 12 mile hike with his brother Ryan and his wife Leah. It is called the Highline Trail and oh my goodness it was amazing!!!
The views from every angle were breathtaking and everyone had to keep waiting for me to take pictures.

This little meadow is right at the beginning of the trail. There are all these pine tress that are small. It looks like a little christmas tree village. It is one of my favorite views in Galcier.

As we were hiking we came across this goat. He was just sitting on the ledge chewing his food, completely unconcerned about the four of us watching him.

This young buck was my favorite animal we saw! Ryan walked around the corner and this is what he saw. This buck would keep its body against the wall and peek around the corner to see what was there. You can see how thin the trail is and we were against a cliff. There was a drop off on the other side, so this deer had to walk right by us. We got as close to the wall as we could and then he walked right by us. It was awesome!!

We all loved this baby goat!! It was with its parents and they also walked right by us on the trail. It is amazing to see wildlife so close up! I guess they are use to people because they just kept walking despite all the people on the trail.

There were a lot of snow patches along the way. It was crazy to hike in snow in July! We hall had ski poles which helped tons, despite our skepticism in the beginning.

You really feel like you are on top of the world when you hike up here. It seems like you can see forever and the mountains are so majestic!

Ricky named this the Brook Emily. I felt so honored!

This is at the chalet where you stop after about 7.5 miles. We rested for a little while, but it started to absolutely pour rain. It was awesome!! The thunder was super loud and it actually hailed too. We left while it was still raining, but it didn't last too long. If you ever have a chance to go on this hike, don't pass it up. It is breathtaking!!

Montana #1
Well, we have been in Montana for almost two weeks and have had so many fun adventures! My sister-in-law lives in the woods and the views all around her house are amazing!!They live right by Flathead Lake which- this is the view from their deck. Awesome!!

There are 14 grandkids so meal time is crazy!! All together there are 23 of us. This is the boys table...

and I accidentally deleted the girls table. Oops!!

This is all the kids loaded up to go and play in the lake the first night we arrived. There is lake access on the property.

Our dogs Duke and Turk think they have died and gone to heaven. They have 5 acres of woods and grass to roam on. They ran down to the lake to play with us.

These next few pics are the kids playing in the cold, cold water. The coldness doesn't bother most of them.

This is Ricky's sister Lisa (she lives here), his sister Amy and his mom. Us ladies like to watch and observe the fun. Although, Amy slipped and fell completely in the lake. It was very, very funny!!

One of the funnest things for the kids is the trampoline. They never get sick of jumping-never! This is about the only time that just Brad and Ash have jumped alone. Bradley is trying to copy Ash and do a front flip. Very funny!

Landon, Paityn and Ellie actually getting along for a few short minutes.

My brother-in-law Bill put in this 20 foot bungi swing before we arrived. The kids love it! It feels like you are flying when you are on it because if glides and goes so high.

This is the view from the front of the house. I never get sick of looking at it and often catch myself just looking at how pretty it is up here.

One of our favorite things to do here is to float the Swan River. It is so much fun, but this year was a little different. First of all it was ice cold. I mean it is the coldest water I have ever been in. Second, it rained and hailed on us as we floated along, but it was such a blast!!

The adults aren't in the pic, but the kids are Burke, Brett, Ellie, Haley, Emily, Braxton, and Lindsey. So much fun!

They're Off!!
My parents finally left for their mission about 3 weeks ago. We had great experiences as a family before they left! They have loved being in New York and are enjoying the pageant and all that goes with it. I am so proud of them and excited for all the great things they are doing.

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

I have started a tradition that we do a hike each year on the last day of school. This year we did my favorite hike which is to Stewart Falls. It ended up taking way longer than I thought it would, but it was a beautiful day and the kids did great!!This was our first snack break which was only about 20 minutes into our 4 hour round trip experience-yes I said 4 hours.

There is a water tank towards the beginning of the hike and the kids all thought it was pretty neat.

It has been a lot colder this spring then usual so a lot of the trees hadn't bloomed yet, but the mountains were still so beautiful! I love being up here. It is one of my most favorite places one earth!!

We finally made to the falls after a long journey, and more complaining than I thought was necessary. I was very proud of Bradley. He walked almost all the way in which is 2 miles. Needless to say I carried him all the way back and he fell asleep about half way back and slept all the way home!!

This is a spot where the kids decided to slide down over and over. Ashton was in heaven. What could be better than dirt and rocks?

Apparently my kids are not afraid of heights. While I was at the bottom with Brad these three found there way all the way up the rocks to the upper part of the falls and back down again. They were awesome!

Ashton was not about to be left behind and he also made his way up the big hill and back down. I will admit I held my breath a little as I watched them climb without any help, but they did great, and no one got hurt. So much fun!!

Brad was content to stay with me and throw walks in the water-he is only two. It was a rewarding hike, and it wore us all out, but it was worth it!!

PRESCHOOL GRADUATION
Ellie and Ash had their little graduation this year and it was so cute!! Ellie looked so grown up to me which made me sad, but she did a great job. She sang all the songs and did great!! She can hardly wait for kindergarten in August!Ashton was cracking us up. He looked so cute, and his hat kept falling in his eyes. I don't think he sang one note through all the songs, even though I know he knows the words. He just looked around like he didn't know what was going on. He was quite amusing.

Their teacher is Miss Rebecca and she is fabulous!! She does such a good job and I am sad Ash won't be going back to her school. She made it a great year!

This is Ellie and her friend London. They have been best buddies for last few years and loved going to school together. We will miss London when we both move in the next two weeks!

It was good for Ellie and Ash to go tot he same school. It was fun to see them learn on different levels and see what each of them brought home every day.