I wanna go back

I'm physically home, but my mind and heart are still on vacation in the northwest part of the country. I loved the weather out there and it's hot and humid back here in Kansas. I still have pictures from my trip to share, though. My 4GB memory card didn't get full even though I took almost 400 photos. So sit back. Relax. Let's go west, shall we?

While in Bozeman, Montana, I mentioned that I was staying with my cousin Angie and posted one photo of her. But I have to brag on her a bit. When I got to Bozeman and walked into the room where I'd be staying (her oldest daughter, Rebecca, is a college student at Baylor and wasn't home for her summer visit yet so I got her room) there was a gift bag filled with local gifts. The note on the bag welcomed me to Montana. Below is a photo of the bag and gifts. The muffin and quick bread cookbook to the left was something she bought for me when we went to Wal-mart and she wouldn't let me pay for anything. She got one for herself and one for me. The other items are huckleberry taffy, huckleberry candles and huckleberry and chokecherry jams.

This is Roxy, their King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. She's very spoiled, but very sweet. I did my part to spoil her while I was there by getting up to let her outside or inside when no one else was paying attention and by giving her a Beggin' Strip or two. Her whole body shook when she realized what treat she was getting. They got Roxy two years ago right before they moved to Bozeman from their home in Mandeville, Louisiana. They lived through Hurricane Katrina and then about a year later decided to move north.

Here's a picture of Gary (that would be Angie's husband) on the hike we took the first day I was there. Angie and Gary met while working at Dairy Queen in Salina and I've known him since they first started dating. I mention this because their 25th wedding anniversary is next week. Happy anniversary!

This is a shot of the front of their house. A couple of months before leaving, I Googled their address on Google Maps. It didn't know about their street yet because the housing development is so new, even though they've lived in this house almost two years.

This is one of the views from their back porch. There are mountains in every direction you look since Bozeman is situated in the Gallatin Valley. The new construction you see on the left side of the picture is going to be the new middle school in town.

Here's a picture of Michelle (their second oldest) the last night we were there. She works at Famous Footwear and we paid her a visit at work. I love the sign to the right of her that says, "Life is short. Buy the shoes." Michelle and I have that shoe thing in common. She's just finishing up her junior year of high school and was chosen as one of two students to lead the graduates in for graduation this year. It was a big honor and she was very proud.

Here's a shot of Kyle and Gary racing on one of the Wii Mario Kart tracks. Later in the night they made Jenny, Angie and I race. They laughed a lot.

This last shot is of Matthew (their baby) and Michelle. Matthew will be a sophomore in school next year and I think he's looking forward to no longer being a freshman. Both kids are very sweet and while we were all there, Michelle was kicked out of her room (Jenny and Fred slept in her room) and sleeping on an air mattress on the dining room floor. And she had to get up about 5 o'clock every morning to leave for school at 7 o'clock, but she never once complained.

Their hospitality is wonderful. Angie was prepared for a whole menu of meals for us to eat each morning and evening. For lunch we either had sandwiches (the day we were at Yellowstone) or leftovers that were delicious. It was so relaxing and comfortable that I'd go back in a second if I could.