Daniel's Uncle Chris and Aunt Linda live in Yorc (right outside of Helena). After a 14 hour drive we pulled onto their beautiful property. Talk about picturesque! (Of course we had to wait until the morning to actually see it because it was 11:00 pm when we got there).
Chris and Linda had a place all set up and ready for us (even though we showed up a day before they were expecting us). They have a large fifth wheel that they completely turned over to us. It was like a little home away from home. We had hot running water, electricity, air conditioning, you name it. We were so comfortable. It was parked right next to the stream, so we went to sleep each night to that peaceful sound.
The kids had a blast while we were there. They got to tube down the creek, ride the four wheeler, collect rocks from the river, hike, and best of all, play with their relatives.
If you notice there is a rope tied to the tube. Mic (Daniel's dad) thought this would be a safer way to ride. Linda and I kept trying to convince him that they didn't need it because the bridge would stop them from going to far, but he informed us that it was his right to be protective over his grandchildren. Of course the kids only wanted to play on the cautious side for so long . . .
Here, Brian (Daniel's brother) and the 3 older kids decided to try riding down the river all together. It kind of reminded me of the nursery rhyme "Rub-a-Dub-Dub", except there were 4 in the tub.
It was so much fun until they hit the "waterfall". There was a large rock in the middle of the creek that created a small dip in the water flow. Small though it was, it caused just enough of a tip to capsize the vessel. From our vantage point on the porch it was quite the comical scene. All of the sudden where 4 happy children use to be was the bottom of the tube. Then in the next second , Brian climbed off of Christopher, and then pulled Kira (bottom side up) out of the water. At the same time, looking every bit as much like a drowned rat, Briona crawled up onto the bank sputtering and crying. Later as we talked about the incident, she informed us that nobody pulled her out and that she "didn't survive".
As you can see the trauma didn't last too long.
Linda had gone out of her way to make sure that the kids felt comfortable and at home. Over the past few months she has been stocking her house with toys and games she thought the kids would enjoy. The tinker toys were a huge hit! Every one from Michael to Grandpa, got in on the action.
Of course we couldn't leave all the fun to the kids. In fact, on the fun scale I might have topped the charts. I got to set aside some of my usual titles, like cook, housekeeper, and chauffeur and trade them in for farm girl and biker babe.
I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite activity. My Aunt Linda lent me some of her biking gear so that Chris could take me for a ride on his Goldwing. Kira and I got to man the tractor. We moved rocks, smoothed out dirt, and had fun trying to learn the controls (now which way is up?). I sped down the road at high speeds (shhhhhhh, don't tell Chris) on the four wheeler.
I think my Father-in-law and Uncle were trying to convert me to farm life. They seemed to get almost as much pleasure out of giving me these experiences as I had doing them. It was a real treat!
I think Daniel might have got the short end of the stick, but he didn't seem to mind to much.
In the evening of the 4th we drove down by the reservoir and parked by a large field. From here we could see the entire valley. It was amazing how many different places were letting off large fireworks. It was impossible to see them all because they we being launched from one side of the valley to the other. It was definitely a sight to see!
