Not Hannah....Montana!

Blonde Joke Of The Day:


A blonde, redhead, and brunette were looking at a dictionary for the hardest words they knew. The brunette's word was quizzical. The redhead's word was photosynthesis. The blonde's word was dick.

- Courtesy of:


http://jokes.comedycentral.com/random_joke.aspx?joke_id=3334




Hello everyone in blog-land! Having just returned from our annual family vacation to Montana, I'm ready to update. Quick question....anyone out there ever traveled 22 or so hours in a car with 2 kids?? I thought vacations were supposed to be relaxing...NOT!

Anyway, we stayed in Helena, Montana for a little over a week with my parents. We also traveled up to Kalispell to meet my brother and his family, and it was great to see my neices and nephew. Hi to K., K., S., and N.! They grew like weeds while I wasn't looking!

Here's a quick list of things we did while in Montana:

1) The Hubs went fishing for Walleye - He caught 30 or so the first day, releasing all but 9. Nine Walleye is the legal limit, and he gave those to a new fishing buddy he met on the lake. He was amazed to find out that the locals use leeches to catch these fish. The guy who showed him how to catch Walleyes was first amazed, then disgruntled as J. (Yes, this is hubby's initial) proceeded to catch all the fish in the vicinity, while he caught nothing but a big ol' skunkeroo. (For non-fisherman, this means ZERO fish)

2) Saw the Lady of the Rockies - A big white statue above Butte, Montana. Dedicated to women everywhere, Wikipedia lists it as America's largest Madonna. You can see it at night as well.

3) Refereed in numerous fights - OK, just the ones between the kids, but that counts, right?

4) Went to Walmart - Interesting to see the local wildlife, especially the couple having the big fight in the sporting goods aisle. Lady, I know it sucks to look at man stuff for hours on end (Damn, do I feel your pain!) but calling your honey those kinds of names in public...let's just say my hair is more curly now than it was before!

5) Lewis and Clark Caverns - Just....wow. The hike up to the Cavern's entrance is ONLY .75 of a mile....they just don't tell you it's frickin' straight up all the way. (Yeah. I exaggerate....a little)
Two hours of walking through the most amazing formations underground. Stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and "cave popcorn". No other word to describe it except 'stunning'. So what if the guide's warning "Watch your head here...pass it back!" gets passed back a little on the late side...the lump will go down eventually. Definitely a 'must-see', and at $10 a person, a great deal.

6) Ate at The Jade Garden - We were famished after hiking the caverns all day. The server at Jade Garden was awesome, the food was great and plentiful. Thanks to L.T. from the pawn shop for the recommendation, it was great!


Great fun was had by all, and spending time with my parents was awesome. The state of Montana generally just rocks out loud. If you like the Great Outdoors, Montana is the place for you. We had deer outside our hotel room right in the heart of Helena. So go already!

PS - OK, I was just going to let this slide, but one thing in Montana wasn't good. We ate at a chain restaurant, we'll just call it Jerkins. The food was great, but we had 3 different servers throughout our meal, no drinking water, waited forever for our food, no children's menu, and the list goes on....and on. Everyone around us got their food wayyyyyyyy ahead of us. And staring at my bi-racial son like an insect...Did you order a knuckle sandwich for here or to go? I did restrain myself, and my dad even tipped. But it was only one incident in a fun week. Other than that, I'd definitely recommend vacationing in Montana. Just don't eat at Jerkins!