One of Many Reasons I Will Always Miss Montana

The main reason I miss Montana is my family. I miss being near them and in a way I am jealous that they live in such an amazing place. I love the mountains and could move there in a heartbeat. Yes, that includes living there during the winter.

One of the things I love about being in the mountains is the late summer thunderstorms. I have so many wonderful memories of sitting with my dad while we were on vacation in Provo or Yellowstone or anywhere in the mountains for that matter, watching the lightening and listening to the thunder as storms rolled in. They are some of the best and most cherished moments.

Just this past week, a fantastic thunderstorm rolled through the Gallatin Valley. My dad, the wonderful photographer that he is, captured some beautiful images as the storm came in. When I saw them, I knew I needed to include them on our blog. Oh how my heart aches for weather like this and the mountains of Montana. At least through these wonderful photographs I can enjoy them.

While I may not be there with him, watching the ligtening and listening to the thunder, its like we are once again enjoying those storms together, as we did when I was a little girl. Thanks Dad!

Spanish Creek and Spring Snow

After a busy day yesterday, the girls and I decided to take it easy and just relax. Thanks to the thin, fresh mountain air the girls slept in and so did mommy! The day was expected to be another gloomy and wet one and my parents both had to work, so we didn’t have anything big planned.

By mid-afternoon Jillian, the girls and myself were tired of being in the house so we went for a drive. We stopped for a bit of food and then headed up 19th Avenue close to the mountains and to see if Hyalite Canyon was open. It wasnt so we had to figure something else out. That is when I decided we would drive out to Spanish Creek so that Abby and Ellie could see the Bison on Flying D Ranch. Flying D Ranch is a full time ranch owned by Ted Turner. When it was purchased, Turner agreed to keep the road, which leads to a state park, open to the public as long as visitors stayed on the road. The portion of the ranch on which the road runs through is home to many of the bison that Turner breeds and owns. Abby loves “buffalo” and my dad had been told many of the babies were out.


When we got to the Spanish Creek road, the temperatures dropped and it began to snow! The babies and females were not out, that we could see, but there were several large males hanging out by the road. They looked so pretty as the snow began to fall and appeared to be completely unaffected as well.


The falling snow made a place I had been several times before so picturesque. It was great to see it in a different light. While our drive was just something we decided to do last minute it was a pretty one. Its amazing what you can find so close to home, well… close to my families home!

Thank You Nancy!

I want to say a special thanks to Nancy Mason! She is the lovely mother of my dear friend Mackenzie. If you have followed my blog for a while now you probably recognize the name Mackenzie, although we generally call her Auntie Kenzi. She, along with Tommie and Kelli, are honorary Aunties to Abby and Ellie.

After my sister left to head home, Mackenzie came over several days in a row to help me with Abby so that I could have a little more time to recover. On one of those visits, Nancy came along to visit and take some pictures of Ellie. She loves photography and loves to photograph babies and in my oppinion she had an adorable subject to work with. Her pictures were adorable and I wish I could post all of them on here, but that takes time. Time is something I don’t have a lot of. Instead, here are four of my favorites. I will try and post more when I can. Thank you again Nancy!



Bird Watching In Montana

During our last trip to Montana, we spent some time driving and exploring some of the back roads of the area. During our travels we had the fortune of spotting Osprey and Eagles, mostly Bald Eagles but at times we were able to spot Golden Eagles. On one occasion, we had a Golden Eagle fly across the road right in front of us and land in a field nearby, just out of sight.

Each time, despite our patience and perseverance, we were unable to capture these amazing birds on film. Avian photography is difficult and really takes the right moment, patience and generally pure luck. Well my dad’s patience finally paid off, with a bit of luck as well. On a recent drive he captured the following photos of an Osprey and then a Golden Eagle, sitting and in flight. I wanted to share them as these birds of prey are amazing and beautiful to me. The Golden Eagle is impressive just by its sheer size, not to mention its beauty and power. I am so glad he was able to capture these images. Even though I did not personally take them nor were they taken during our particular encounters, its wonderful to have them as a reminder of what we did see during our trip. Thanks Dad, your photography is amazing!



Other People’s Pictures

I just had to share these photos with every one. My dad just sent them to me last night as we were chatting online and I love them. Who doesn’t? Abby is such an adorable little girl and of course you have to have some bath time pictures! My dad took these the first night we were in town while Abby took her first bath at Grandma and Grandpa Taylor’s house. Because we arrived on Easter Sunday, Abby had a few new toys to play with. The “Easter Bunny” gave her a set of Farm Animal Bath Toys that fill with water and I am sure when she gets older shell love squirting mommy and daddy with them. For now Abby is happy just chewing on them and splashing around in the tub.

As you can tell Abby enjoyed them immensely and still does! Most of the time she plays with them outside of the bath tub. As a mom I have to say they are a great toy. Brightly colored and perfectly sized for kids ages 6 months and over. All of them captured her attention but the pig and the lamb seemed to be her favorites.

One day these pictures will completely embarrass Abby, so until then I will enjoy the fact that i can show them off to everyone and she wont throw a fit. Thanks dad for capturing such adorable pictures! Jillian, I am still waiting on yours! Love you all! More to come later!