Glacier National Park

I'm embarrassed to admit that when we started planning this trip I had heard of Glacier National Park but had no idea where it was. And as I started to tell friends about it I realized I was not alone-- "I've heard it's beautiful! And where is it again?"-- but now that I know where it is and I have spent time there I highly recommend it. It is an amazing place.

One of the many glacial lakes

We couldn't help but attempt to skip some rocks, and I discovered that my husband is a master rock-skipper!

Just a couple of the many pictures we took of our incredible surroundings

Not the greatest picture, but I just love the look of excitement on London's face

Grandma and Grandpa Allen, who made this trip possible!

A picnic lunch

We made several stops as we drove through the park, but I have to say the most memorable was Logan Pass. We were all amazed by how much snow there still was and thought we might have to abort the hike to Hidden Lake that we had planned to do:

Since we were there we decided we would just go part of the way,

But the kids were such troopers we just kept trudging along in the snow.

We took this picture of Grandma and Grandpa with all of the grandkids near the top, and once we were there we decided we might as well go all the way!:

I LOVE this picture!

So fun to be there as a family

This view of Hidden Lake was totally worth the steep and treacherous hike in slushy snow

But it was a tough hike! A much-deserved rest afterward for this little 4-year-old

And guess who wasn't tired because she had a nice nap in the carrier?

Allen Family Trip 2011

It has been a fantastic summer for our family. When summer break began I had grand delusions of lazy days-- hanging out at the pool, playing games with the kids and reading lots of books-- and while there was some of that, who was I kidding, our summer days were more hectic than they were during the school year! With school starting in just over a week, I decided it was time to chronicle our summer of 2011. My plan is to work my way backwards in a series flashbacks... we'll see how that goes.

A few days ago we returned from our big trip with the Allen clan to the beautiful state of Montana. This trip has been in the works for a very long time, and it was worth the wait!

We made the long drive up north over two days, and spent a night in Butte. Since none of us had ever ventured to Montana before, we made several stops, including the state capitol building in Helena:

And finally arrived at our destination, Marion, which is just outside of Kalispell:

We had luxury accommodations at the "Magic Moon Lodge". Some friends of Grandma and Grandpa Allen have a beautiful cabin on a lake and were so generous to let us stay there. Here are just a few pictures of the place:

The back side with the dock

The massive deck with magnificent views of the lake

The bunk room, where all of the kids slept

And the attached play room

The family/dining room off of the kitchen

There was a lot of quality family time spent:

And there is never a dull moment when the cousins are together:

The grown-ups played a lot of games at night after the kids went to bed

And we enjoyed a lot of time on the lake:

Justin and I went kayaking on the lake together and couldn't get over the beauty of the surroundings

Siena and Grandma

Chelsea

Brighton

canoeing

Roasting hot dogs and marshmallows at the fire pit

But ask any of the kids and I'm sure they will tell you that their highlight was the zip-line. Uncle Sam was a good sport to go back and forth with them dozens of times:

We also spent time at Glacier National Park, but that deserves a post of it's own-- coming soon.