The Eldredge Seven: VACATION 2011 (part1)

So we decided to go on a vacation after all this year. We had been debating it for months, because we are really trying to get out of debt and our car just would not make it very far. However, after hearing the news that my sister in Montana got a new job as a CEO and she and her family would be moving from beautiful Libby, MT, we decided we needed to go visit them one more time. Plus, we really wanted to get out of the heat! Plus, we also needed to get a new car anyway (more on that later). We are so glad we made the trip! So many wonderful memories made!

I will try to condense the 1500+ photos and try not to bore any of my fabulous followers out there. :) Remember, this is for posterity.

We left Mesa on July 19th - our 14th wedding anniversary! What better way to say Happy Anniversary then to spend ALL day driving in the car with 5 kids?!?! Right??? yeah... But we made it to Orem, UT without too much stress.

The next day, Richard decided that it would be great fun to hike to Timpanogos Cave with all the kids. I didn't know any better so we went. We packed a picnic and ate in the forest before we started. The kids were all excited to see the river. An actual RIVER! Whoa!

Here we are at the start of the trail. See how eager we are! I am even carrying Megan in the carrier. Little did we know how steep and long and hot the trail was....

But we made it, slowly but surely. Towards the end, Richard had Megan on his front, the backpack on his back, and Jonny on his shoulders. Who needs a pack mule? The cave was cold and refreshing, but kinda dark and cramped. That was not easy for Becca (aka Miss Worrywart) to handle, but eventually she calmed down and later enjoyed the cool formations. I admit I was a bit clostrophobic too, especially when they mentioned the earthquakes...

We survived. See. This is after the cave tour.

And this is after the hike down. Fun stuff.

We then drove around BYU and tried to talk the kids into someday attending. :) We had a yummy dinner at the Brick Oven Pizza place close to campus. Then back at the hotel the kids jumped in the pool for awhile. Good day.

The next day was my 35th birthday, and so we decided it would be another great day to drive. All. Day. Long. But Richard insisted that we stop and have a steak for linner/lupper and I didn't argue. Here I am with my birthday cheesecake!

We arrived in Libby late but that was a great birthday present. We LOVE to be at the Gentry's house! We were there for a little over a week. The kids had a great time together. Almost every day they all went to the creek (or crick) about a block away. (My kids were so happy to be able to go outside and not die of heat!)

Being silly together and eating...

Birthday celebration dinner: MOOSEburgers!

Celebrating Jeanie's 50th birthday!

It was so much fun to go to the beautiful sites around Libby one more time. This time with all 5 of our kids. Here we all are at Kootenai Falls.

And the swinging bridge. No one fell in. ;)

Such fun!

Breanna (and Richard) learning to ripstick.

And that was just the first two days in Libby. The next day we all packed up and headed over to Glacier National Park. We stayed in a cabin that belongs to one of Jeanie and Tom's friends and is inside the park right on the lake. It is so beautiful there. The kids had so much fun swimming and boating. This is right after Richard threw Jonny and Katie in. That water is cold!

Even Megan got in a bit!

It is here I must digress and mention our car. We bought this 3 days before we left on our trip.

It was a good price but it needed more work than we orginally thought. I won't go into all of that, because honestly, I can't remember. But it has a dvd player so that's nice. Unfortunately, the morning we were to drive to the top of Glacier NP it decided not to start. Turns out it needed a new fuel pump. But Richard and Tom found someone to tow and fix it that day, so crisis averted. Always something....

While we were figuring out the car stuff, Jeanie took the older kids into the village for some fun. Ice cream and shopping! We love Aunt Jeanie!

Then most of us piled into Jeanie's car and drove up the Going to the Sun road (Tom and the boys decided to stay and fish). The kids had a great time playing in snow in July!

On the way back down, Richard decided to ride a bike (that he found lying around at the cabin). The road is very steep and winding but he didn't die and got some great shots.

Believe me, I am omitting lots of pictures!

So then the next day, we packed up and headed back to Libby. But first Tom and Richard got to go ziplining at a nearby ski resort. The kids and Jeanie and I went to see Cars 2. It was mostly fun. Jonny is 3 though and was not cooperative. Oh well. We then met at McDonald's to get some wiggles out and then made our way back to the Gentry's house.

The rest of the week was spent playing and helping pack the house a little. And eating.

Tom loves guns...and ice cream.

On our last full day in Montana, we went to this beautiful little lake and the kids went fishing and swimming. Tom helped Jonny catch his first fish. He is still talking about it.