Adventure Experienced

Our Montana trip was a true adventure of sorts! It started off with a LONG drive through North Dakota and Montana. We wondered what we were getting into when the first mile marker in Montana on highway 2 was the Number of the Beast!!! Thats 666 if you didn't know...

We arrived at our planned hike in point on Tuesday morning. We were at the Meadow Creek Trailhead on the south fork of the Flathead River south of the Hungry Horse Reservoir. We got everything ready and took off hiking with the dogs only to find the trails poorly marked and our map even more poorly marked! After about 3 hours of aimlessly hiking back and forth trying to find the right trail - we DID find the right trail. Then I got crabby. Really crabby. I could blame it on being pregnant but that would be a lie! I just wanted to know how much further we were going to have to hike -- this was an answer no-one had!

Turns out it was a mere three miles until we dropped in by the river and found the perfect site to set up camp! Here's a pic. of our site. Maci is standing near the water on a rock.

We quickly settled in at our site and got ready for a few days of doing a whole lot of nothing. We actually did a little bit of fishing but mostly a lot of nothing. Emily and Aaron caught about 20 fish (all cutthroat trout). I tried once but Aaron took the fly off my line because I just kept wrapping it around my body. So I got to PRACTICE casting (it's not easy when you're fly fishing) without any dangerous hooks attached to my line. Below is a pic. of Emily fishing in our main fishing hole.

This is a picture of me and my dogs after I woke up from a nap on the rocks. I had to use my Therm-a-Rest to get comfortable (this is evidence that I am not a TRUE Flatau). Aaron and Emily were able to sleep right on the rocks. Those Flataus can sleep anywhere! Maci and Rowdy both preferred the Therm-a-Rest as well.

We actually ate very well during our stay in the wilderness thanks to Emily carrying in all the food. The Mountain House freeze dried meals are quite tasty and QUITE high in sodium. We were always full and even had food left over. Below is a picture of me preparing some tasty barbecue/bean/turkey/rice/hamburger sort of thing, along with a side of delicious Maruchan instant lunch. Aaron and Emily did all the cooking so I owe them a big thank you....

We hiked out after 3 nights of relaxation. We weren't very clean so we bought $8 showers in West Glacier and they were worth every penny! After the showers we started the long journey across Montana again.

At the very end of Montana we realized that there were indeed 667 miles of Highway 2, not the aforementioned 666. I still think we would have been allright even if there would have been a beastly 666 miles.

It turned out to be a fantastic trip -- just what I needed. Since visiting the wild my energy and general sense of well-being has returned. Hooray for Montana, mountains, and wilderness!!

Love Realized

In a recent post I wrote about love and how it would be involved with our vacation up north. It was an awesome trip and we did realize a lot of love!! The best things were Brett & Carri's wedding in Faribault, visiting the Zinter's in Faribault, and visiting family in Minot and Perham.


Here is a picture of the wedding party. Aaron is 2nd from left. The rest were Kyle, Jesse, Jonathan, Luke, Brett, Carri Ann, Heather, Sayward, Leah, Chrissy, and Heather. It was a beautiful wedding -- casual yet formal!

It was so FUN for both Aaron and I to hang out with Brett again. He's such a good friend -- we were thrilled to share in Brett's big day!

After the wedding was over we quickly made our way up to Minot after a short stop in Perham.
The highlight of our Minot trip was of course seeing Sydney! We were lucky enough to go to dance lessons with her and see her shake her booty! She's the 3rd from the left in the picture. It was quite a performance. Not only does she know all the moves but she sings all the words to the songs while they dance!

We had a quick photo shoot after dance lessons... from left to right: my niece Sydney, sister Kristi, mom Di Ann, me, aunt Linda. It was good to visit family!
Shortly after the above photo was taken we hit the road (the very LONG road) to western Montana.....

Contest

This deserves posting before we leave......

Today the indoor archery range in the attic was utilized for the first time for a shooting CONTEST (we're Flataus - everything is a contest).

The stakes:

1. If Lindy wins Aaron has to buy her ice cream at Oberweis (YUM)
2. If Aaron wins Lindy has to buy him the beer of his choice and he gets to drink it (we've been trying not to keep any in the house since it's not fair to the expectant mother who is unable to imbibe)

The contest:

1. 5 warm-up shots using yew and elm reflex-deflex bows and cedar crested wood arrows
2. Best of 3 shots closest to the agreed upon mark using the same bows and arrows

What really happened:

1. Lindy outshot Aaron on the first two shots easily winning the contest
2. Aaron admitted that he was convinced HE would win
3. They decided on one final shot for all the marbles.... If Aaron could outshoot Lindy he could also have his beer
4. Aaron convincingly outshot Lindy on the third and final shot (duh, it was for beer)
   
5. Shortly thereafter they drove to Oberweis and bought ice cream (two scoops of cookie dough in a chocolate & sprinkle dipped waffle cone) then went to Schnucks and bought Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen
   
6. Everyone was happy and ready to leave for a little love & adventure
   

To the wilderness!

This will be my last post for a while as we are leaving tomorrow for a little love and adventure!

"Love", you say, "how so?" Love will be involved in our vacation in a number of ways....

1. Love will be celebrated in honor of our 5th and Kristi & Eric's 11th wedding anniversary on August 18th
   
2. Love will be remembered in remembrance of my Grandma Virginia Johnson's birthday on August 18th
   
3. Love will be shared as we visit family and friends in Minnesota & North Dakota
4. Love will be witnessed as our friends Brett & Carrie exchange wedding vows in Faribault, Minnesota on August 19th

The adventure begins on Tuesday when we reach the Bob Marshall Wilderness area in western Montana. We plan to do some backcountry hiking, camping, and fly fishing with Aaron's sister Emily. I have the official "go ahead" from the OB doctor and I'm ready to go!

Here's a map of where we're going (click on it to see it better):

(Credit: http://www.wilderness.net accessed 8.17.06)

And here's a picture of what it should look like:

(photo credit: Cal Tassihari, Swan Ecosystem Center)

We ask that you pray for our safe travels, and after our lovely adventure I'll be sure to post some pictures and have some stories to tell!

Heartbeat!!!

We had our first doctor's appointment in St. Louis today and were able to hear the heartbeat again! It is so reassuring to hear and the doctor said it sounded just right! Yay for heartbeats!

We have THE ultrasound scheduled on September 12 but don't worry, we're still NOT going to find out if it's a boy or girl. You'll have to wait until February to find out, just like us!

Growth?

OK, if you don't believe me that I AM starting to grow a little belly.... here's the proof. The following pictures are at 5 weeks (baseline), 10 weeks, and 11weeks. I think you'll see that something is happening....

Baseline (above) -- not too much to see there.


Now if that's not a bump, I don't know what is...


And one week after the last picture... Whoa, those jeans aren't going to fit much longer.

I am currently 13 weeks along and am enjoying (?) the ups and downs of being pregnant. I have had pretty much no energy for the past 2 months and am eagerly waiting for that to come back! I really want to resume running but all I've been able to do is walk a little. Hopefully within the next couple weeks I'll be feeling better and able to be more active.

We've heard the heartbeat of the baby once and go the doctor for the 1st time in St. Louis next week. I'm hoping to hear the heartbeat again because it is very reassuring!

And NO, we are NOT planning on finding out the sex of the baby. Of course we can always change our minds but I don't think that is going to happen. I think it'll be one of lifes most amazing to surprises to find out when the baby is born!

St. Louis

We made it! We're settling in at our house and have most everything put away. The house is working out well with lots of storage, a garage for the MR2, and a basement for the dogs to run around in. The BEST thing about the house is the 15 yard archery range in the attic (see below).


Maci has settled in quite nicely...

...and now has a new friend to play with! This is our new puppy, Rowdy. He is a german shorthair pointer and is so cute! He's a lot of work but is quite fun. Aaron has been teaching him how to fetch.

This is Rowdy fetching. He LOVES to do it! He doesn't get it 100% of the time, but is doing well for being only 12 weeks old.

Here's the hand-off to Aaron... Note Maci in the background; not too interested in fetching! She prefers to watch.

Amongst other new things, we traded off the Durango for a Saturn Vue. It's a nice car (complete with Honda engine/transmission), and so far we're pleased with the trade. This car will save us $$$$ on gas compared to the Durango!!!
After moving in and making a few changes to our life, things are settling down a bit! I've been back at work for a week. It was an easy transition back to St. Mary's and it's been lots of fun getting re-aquainted with old friends!