Chief Mountain or bust.

Monday July 2, 2012 was the day. I had been planning and looking forward to this day for a few months. I knew it wasn't going to be easy. But I was determined to give it my best shot.

We headed out with a group of 15 people. Four boys between the ages of 9 and 12, two women, and 9 men. Us women couldn't keep up with the pace of the men and boys.

My fabulous husband had stayed back with us, but at one point we told him to just go on and we would do what we could. He ordered us to stay at the ponds when we got there because he didn't want us getting lost in the rock field that had covered the path. He's climbed this mountain 4 times already. He's been itching to get back on it for 5 years but the weather and timing just hasn't worked out. This was his year, and I didn't want to be the reason to keep him from reaching the top. So we told him we'd stay and off he went to catch up with the others.

The pond we did not stay at

Well when Donna and I got to the ponds we weren't ready to be done yet. Going at our own pace we found the going so much easier. We saw where they had climbed up to the next ridge, so we decided that we would head up that way and see what we could see. If we couldn't see where they had gone then we would stay. When we got to the top of the ridge, there was no sign of them or where they had headed, but we still weren't ready to be done. So we picked a landmark, a big huge rock, and we said we would go on to the next ridge, and as long as we kept that rock in view we could get back to the ponds. When we got up on the next ridge, we were a little tired and a lot hungry and there was no clear sign of which way to head from that point. So we sat down and had lunch and enjoyed the beautiful view.

View from our lunch spot.

The view of Chief from our lunch spot.

 After about an hour we looked around and said, "what if that path just picks up over this ridge?" We discussed for a bit, and then decided to head on over the ridge to see what we could see. This became a theme. We would pick an obvious land mark and then head on to the next ridge, if we felt we couldn't or shouldn't go any farther, we would make our way back to that landmark. Ponds, Big rock, Grassy ridge where we had lunch, Grassy knoll, Black earthy hill, Another big rock. (it kinda sounds like it's right out of Dora the Explorer). As we pressed on I'd see an area that looked like it could be a path so we would follow it, and then I'd see foot prints so we'd keep following them until we'd lose the path in the rocks again.Then we would just stick with what looked like the easiest route through the rock. We ended up on the back side of the mountain where we could see others climbing up the scree to the summit. At this point we knew we shouldn't go any farther.I knew that the way wasn't marked and without someone who knew the way it would just be stupid to even try, not to mention the fact that it was now 4pm.

The view from where we waited for the men.

The view of Chief from the back.

So we sat and waited for the men to come down off the mountain. About two hours later they started to come down, slowly a few at a time, but then we saw two of them head back up the scree. Immediately we knew something was not right, someone must be hurt. NOBODY wants to head back up the scree after already having been up once.

Donna and I waiting

We hoped it was one of the boys and not one of them men. Not that we wanted anyone to be hurt at all, but if someone was, it would be easier to back out one of the boys than one of the men. It ended up being my 9 year old nephew. He had fallen on the scree and cut up his hand and leg pretty REALLY badly(6 stitches in his hand and 16 in his leg). Thankfully his dad, an avid hiker, was prepared and had a first aid kit. So he bandaged him up and they got him down off of the scree. When they got down to where the others were waiting, it was suggested that he should be given a priesthood blessing. Seeing how all but one in our company was LDS, there was a pretty good chance that one of those men had oil with them. I wasn't there to witness it, but my husband says that he was blessed that he would get off the mountain in a timely manner and that he would get the care that he needed. You should have seen those men move with that 75lb kid on their backs. They took turns piggy backing him out, and we couldn't keep up with them.

So I didn't make it to the summit. But that's OK. The overall outcome was phenomenal. The experience was amazing and the company fabulous. Would I do it again? Yep, but my husband says I have to give him at least two years to recuperate.

Let the Wind Blow

I originally created this post for a friend for her Summer Camp series on her blog. You can check out my guest post at Welcome to the Madness and then you should look around and check back each week for a new Summer Camp posts.

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The girls and I decided to make these fun tie wind socks again. We had made one a few years ago, it has long since been blown to pieces, but I have a box of ties left over from that project that have been waiting to be used for something wonderful. So why not recreate the original something wonderful?

So this is what you need; sour cream container, old ties, glue gun, fishing line, scissors, knife, a heavy big needle and pliers.

First you cut the bottom off of your container with a knife. 

Cut each tie in half .

Now glue the cut side on the inside of the container and then fold it over to the outside and glue it down. Don't be afraid to use LOTS of glue, especially if you live in a windy area like we do. If you are ambitious you can finish the edges of the cut tie with a sewing machine, or do like we did and just use more glue gun glue to hold it all together.

We alternated between the fat end of the tie and the skinny end of the tie. When that was all done, we glued the skinny end of the tie all the way around to give it a finished look.

The next step is to thread the fishing line through the needle and using the pliers push it through the top part of the wind sock to make the hanger.

Now go hang it up and let the wind blow...or go jump on the trampoline with it.

And here they are blowing in the wind.

I'll get back to you...

For Mother's day, my oldest daughter gave me a "Mommy and Me" journal. The idea is that we'll write little letters to each other. When we've made an entry we leave it on the other's pillow to find. Since school is winding up, in my last entry I asked her a series of questions about the past school year and a few about what she'd like to accomplish next year. She answered my questions, and then in response she asked me "What would you like to accomplish as a mother next year?" I don't think she realized just how deep the questions was. It's a good question. And at this moment, I just don't know how to answer it.

She's a real chef

For Christmas this past year, Kathryn asked for a cook book.  I headed over to Chapters and looked through their kids cook books. There was only one that caught my eye. It was beautifully put together with beautiful pictures and recipes that actually sounded kid friendly AND good. So I bought it.

Kathryn has made many of these recipes. But today I am certain that she made the best recipe in the book. She made the "Best Hamburgers". And they were GOOD. Honestly I am convinced they are the best homemade burgers I have ever tasted. This recipe is a keeper. It is simple enough for a kid to make, but it is bursting with flavour.  I would love to share the recipe with you all, but I  believe that is considered a no-no when it comes to copyright laws. If you want to give the recipe a try, you will either have to borrow the book from me or buy it yourself.

Gold Butte and my fascination with old things.

I have always been intensely fascinated with old and dead things. Not recently dead thing of course. I'm talking dead for decades, centuries, and longer.  From a very young age I wanted to visit ancient ruins, especially the pyramids in Egypt. I can't ever remember not wanting to be an archaeologist. Every time I drive past an old abandoned house, I yearn to go inside to see what is left to tell me the story of who once inhabited the home. Ghost towns enthrall me. I want to know their whole story. Why they came to be and how they then dwindled and eventually died.

There is such a place not to far from where I live. Just across the border into Montana right in the heart of the Sweetgrass Hills. The place is called Gold Butte. As the name suggest, it was once home to a mine in pursuit of gold. The mine, of course has since been boarded up for safety reasons, and there is very little left to indicate  that there had once been a small town complete with a hotel and mercantile. But indeed it once was.

We recently went out to visit Gold Butte again. We wondered around the hills looking for anything to tell us a story. First we visited the old cemetery. For some reason I wasn't yet in picture taking mode, and so I don't have any photo's to share. I read each and every marker, many of them unknown, probably miners come to seek their fortune in gold. Unfortunately that fortune was never found.

Here is the story we discovered on this visit, in picture form.

The inscription reads "Remember me as you pass by, as you are now so once was I, as I am now so soon shall you be, prepare for death and follow me".

An interesting story goes along with this marker. You can find it here http://www.montanaheritageproject.org/edheritage/HE_01win/pages/dafoe.htm

Possibly on old well or cistern.

Taking care of business in an old outhouse.

The roof off of something. 

Possibly the something the roof belonged to.

likely a part of an old refrigerator that I neglected to take a picture of.

Some old mining equipment

The company who made the mining equipment

Oh look, it's a Dodge.

I would love to know more about Gold Butte. I have googled it but I can't come up with very much information about it's actually existence. I did happen upon some fabulous pictures. Here is what Gold Butte looked like at one time.

Armed with these photos, I want to go back and map out what is what and what was where and see what other interesting things I can find. If anyone out there is this wide wide world knows anything more about Gold Butte Montana, I would love to hear about it. 

The boy and his dinosaurs.

I'm not too sure how it happened, but two years has past since this little man came into my life.

The boy is boy through and through. He loves dinosaurs and he loves to roar. When Daddy comes home the boy will roar in greeting, and daddy will roar back, and then the boy will roar, and then daddy will roar...and it goes on and on. I love it. He also loves trucks and anything with wheels. He lines up his little ones all in a row. It cracks it me.

There was no question as to what we would be getting him for his birthday. Saturday was his actual Birthday. We let him open one gift but because Daddy was going to be at work all day, we had decided to save the cake and other gifts until Sunday when we would celebrate with family. We gave him a super sized mega blocks set that came with a couple of cars. He likes to play with the mega blocks, but the cars were his favorite part. He put them down for anything.

On Sunday, I let the kids choose what gift to give him first, they gave him the gift with the dinosaurs in it...I should have thought that through a little more and made sure that he opened the books first(a dinosaur book and a truck book), he loves books, but not as much as he loves dinosaurs. After he opened the gift with dinosaurs he was in heaven and he didn't care what was in anything else.

Little dino's lining them up all in a row.

Because he was so in love with his dinosaurs, the kids helped him open his books and most of the other gifts, including a dino stuffy that Kathryn had created for him.

No thanks, I've got my dinosaurs.

We saved the gift from my mom and dad for later. He just really didn't care about anything but his new dinosaurs. When we did give him his last gift, the kids had to help him at first to get him interested, but as soon as he saw this

he dropped the dinosaurs and was in heaven all over again. See that green button on the cab? When you push it it makes all kinds of truck noises. My dad finds great pleasure in buying noisy toys for his grandchildren. He figures it is his duty to make sure that we, as parents, get to "enjoy" all that he and mom "enjoyed" as parents.

Check out his birthday cake

 I think it is appropriately boyish, don't you? It was all edible except the trucks and the little Lego guy. Sometimes I simply amaze myself.

When it was bedtime, he would not go to bed with out his two big dinosaurs. And just now when I put him down for a nap, he had to have them. What a crazy kid.

Mother's Day Treasures

Oh how they all spoil me! On Saturday Daniel brought home these beauties.

The kids made me pancakes and chocolate milk with a side of strawberry apple sauce and brought it to me in bed. Then they showered me with precious home made gifts. The one that made me tear up was one of Kathryn's. She had painted some rocks a pearly white and wrote on each one a reason that she loves me and then she put them in a pretty velvet bag. Her own idea, her own creation and so very special.  Kathryn had also made me a necklace at a church activity as well as a "Mom and Me" journal where we can share our thoughts and ideas with each other and leave it on the pillow of the other to read. Tansley gave me a treasure box that she had painted and inside she had put some precious treasures, pretty beads, a dandelion, a bracelet she made and a "Super Mom" badge. Along with all these gifts were a myriad of home made cards. For me, these are the gifts that mean the most. I don't need anything fancy from the store. These simple gifts created from the heart of my children express their love for me in a far greater way than anything that any factory can produce. I get all teary just thinking about it.

 And then they sang me this song that Kathryn wrote.

I had to be to a meeting before church so I printed off these Mother's day questionnaires for them to fill out while they were waiting. Too much fun. They did some for the grandmas too.

From Kathryn, age 9 1/2

From Kymberly, Age 5(almost). Kathryn wrote out the answers for her.

From Tansley, Age 7

As requested here is a translation of Tansley's

My Mom is 35 years old.

My mom weighs 32 pounds.

My mom's favorite colour is Green.

My mom's favorite food is Pancakes.

My mom always says "I love my kids".

My mom cooks the best spaghetti.

My mom's job is sewing.

My mom laughs when I smile.

If my mom had time, she would love to read outside.

My mom and I like to play.

My mom really loves to sew.

I love my mom because she is awesome.