Camp Liberty!

On Thursday we cleaned up the house and packed up for our camping trip. But first I went to the doctor at 1:45pm. I had a good visit with Dr. Reid about my recent head and body aches. She suspects it's my migraines returning with a vengeance, but wants me to have a CT scan on Monday morning. She prescribed me some medicine that costs $20 per pill with insurance, so I told the pharmacist to only give me two of them ($40) until I know if I even need them! I think I will talk to the doc about going back on the Imitrex inhaler if it's migraines--those are a lot cheaper! She ordered a bunch of bloodwork, too, so all of you that chastised me for not going to the doctor should be satisfied now :).

So I left the clinic and went right into the van and out to West Boulder via Big Timber, MT. It was a beautiful day--so clear and green--and we really enjoyed the ride. Soon we turned off onto West Boulder Road, crossing the Brokaw's ranch, which was full of these darling brown cows...

How now, brown cow?
At home on the range

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Toward the end of the road, you hang a right and next to the Boulder River there's a fabulous forest service cabin...

It has a rustic little kitchen and electricity...

plus a dining room ,wood stove, and lots of beds and cots, for only $30 per night!

Here, Grandma Rosalie briefs the kids on the rules of the campout Abby & Addie watch as Grandpa's dutch oven dessert bakes on the fire...
Heidi in the smoke
Bubby snuggled with Daddy Thursday night/ Friday morning

during the big thunder & lightening storm

I did Addie's hair in the morning Grandma served a delicious skillet breakfast of eggs with sausage and fruit...
...and the kids fueled up for our big Independence Day hike
James loves fruit snacks!

Here are all the kids in their CAMP LIBERTY T-shirts...

Abby, Marshall, Heidi, James & Addie

My three cutie punkin's!

Our Family at the trail head
Daddy & Heidi along the trail
A beautiful meadow recovering from the 2006 fires
make way for horses!
We reached the bridge after a little more than a mile

Abby over the Boulder River
Marshall over the Boulder River
Addie on the bridge
On the way back down the trail, we cooled off in a creek!

James chased a butterfly all the way down the road and into the grass
My hikin' boy
After our hike we had quiet time--naps, painting, legos

It was a nice afternoon, and it got overcast so it wasn't too hot.

Later, after Uncle Mike's afternoon fishing lessons, we had a yummy dutch oven chicken pot pie!
And after dinner we tried out our awesome new camp shower!

Addie and Abby got really clean and really giggly
Game night after showers and s'mores
and forest-safe "fireworks"...

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It was a WONDERFUL trip!

Thanks for planning it, Mom & Dad Melin!!!

Here's Swingley Road on the way home...awesome!
Bye, bye, West Boulder! (That's the Brokaw's on the right)
Those California fires are giving Livingston lots of haze...sunset Saturday night
Happy Trails!

Round 'Em Up!

So we made it to (and thru) the parade, except I forgot to take the camera. Luckily we sat with Aunt Jenn Claar, so I'll get some photos from her. The kids had a ball and scored all kinds of candy and weird novelty swag, like American Bank frisbees, beach balls, and Ty stuffed animals from the Animal Shelter float. It got pretty hot out there (90 degrees IS HOT for us, stop laughing Arizonans), but we had plenty of water and popsicles and it was really fun. The heat sapped my energy, though, so I had to pull myself together, cool down, and report to work at the hotel about 45 minutes after we got home from the parade. Rich had the kids all settled down in the cool downstairs family room watching "James and the Giant Peach" when I left. I think they're having pizza for dinner and packing up for camping tonight. I hope I get to sleep in my bed with Rich tonight--I miss him! Heidi keeps comng in our bed and he doesn't like sleeping with Heidi, so instead of moving her, he just goes and gets in her bed. Last night I had Heidi and Abby in my bed, Marshall on the couch, and Addie on the family room floor (which left an empty queen bed and a empty twin bunk--punks!).

On a total tangent, I gotta tell you how much I love me some Amy Winehouse! That girl is just such a crazy crack whore with such a smokin' voice! I keep waiting for her giant beehive to just topple her 97-pound body right over (she looks totally top-heavy, doesn't she?). I was watching "I Love the New Millenium" last week and they said some hilarious and totally true things about her. First, somebody said, "That girl is, what, a buck-five? [105 pounds] And she sings like a 300-pound black lady!" Another person said she's like our generation's Janis Joplin--a totally talented, can't quite blossom because of her drug problem. I recorded a concert on VH1, the 46664 concert for Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday. After reading rave reviews about Amy Winehouse's performance there, I was excited to watch it last night. Sadly, my homegirl was still slurring and gazing off into space as usual. I guess if she reamins upright it's considered a great show, eh? I quite enjoyed the rendition of the Special's "Free Nelson Mandela"--remember that song was quite the anthem for me-n-my-peeps back in the 80's. Anyway, God bless poor Amy Winehouse and her drug habit...tried to make her go to rehab, she said, "No, no, no!"

Today, so far

As you may have learned by now, July 2nd is The Big Day here in Livingston...it's the Roundup Parade (see the 2007 , 2006, 2005 archives) and the kick-off for all of the fun Independence Day Celebrations. We just stopped home to grab some lunch before heading out to our parade spot, so I thought I'd post some pix of our day so far... Abby slides down "the water hill," dodging James, while Addie looks on and Marsh preps his ride.
Nicole helps Heidi
Ivy helps Heidi
...she's "the ice-blocker that could" (there's Marshall, too)
Marshall getting ready for take-off with Heidi in front of him

Heidi & james
Go, Abby!
Addie made it to the bottom!

James climbed up the hill and sat by Gracie...
...cheering on the sliders
...and trying to take the blocks back up the hill! What a cutie!
Go, Marshall!

Abby & Addie perfected the belly slide--so much fun!
Two cute girls
Giggling at Marshall's wipeout
Addie about to wipe out
Bubby loves Aunt Abby...he can say "Abby" but for some reason he calls her "Lala."

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So that's part one of our fun day! Stay tuned for Parade pix, and then we'll be out in the woods at the West Boulder Forest Service Cabin for the rest of the week. Yee-haw!