A trip to Breckenridge for Mimi - Summer Part 7

Josh's mom Debbie loved the mountains. She loved Colorado and would find any excuse to escape to the mountains - a quilting retreat, a family vacation, or just a getaway. Since her passing last December, we all knew she wanted her final resting place to be in Colorado, so this August, on Jon & Deb's anniversary, all the Viets family met in Breckenridge to take her ashes to the summit of one of her favorite hikes - McCullough Gulch.

The trail wasn't long, but it was steep and rocky in parts, so we decided to leave the younger kids home with babysitters. It was just Jon, the 5 sons and wives, and Beckett, Ethan, and Emma. We took our time to take in the beautiful scenery along the trail.

We reached the lake, and knowing what we were there for caused us all to pause and reflect and just take a moment by the shore with our mom. There was such peace in that valley, and no one there but our family. We felt her presence, shared our memories, and knew that this was where her heart was. We all had a chance to say our final goodbyes and spread her ashes in the lake. All of the daughters-in-law have lockets with a little vial of ashes to keep with us, inscribed with Always in My Heart. 

It was a beautiful day, a great hike, and though that day was a little somber, the rest of the week was about pure family fun. And everything is more fun with cousins. We shopped and swam and ate and played hard every day.

We spent a day up on the mountain exploring the Breckenridge Summer Fun Park. There was an alpine slide, a coaster, a bungee trampoline, a maze... all sorts of kid-friendly activities. These were some of their favorites.

Papa Jon even splurged on a rafting trip for all of us, down Brown's Canyon. It was so fun to see the joy on the little girls' faces!

We also rented bikes for a day and explored the bike trail that runs along the river. It was a fast and easy ride out, but the girls were pretty tired coming back.

 

Thanks for a great week Papa Jon.

You are so loved. 

 

Our epic summer part 6 - Lydia's Baptism

We are so proud of this girl. On August 9th, just after her 8th birthday, Lydia was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She made a covenant to be an example of Jesus Christ, to remember Him, keep His commandments, and be worthy of the Holy Spirit. For this special occasion my mom made her baptism/confirmation dress. And the best part about it - she made it from my wedding dress. She also used lace from her own wedding dress. This dress will be used for all 4 of my girls when they are of age. I love it.

Lydia was baptized by her dad, who has the Melchizedek priesthood. She even got to be baptized twice because Josh missed one of the words in prayer, and our church is very particular about the exact wording! Lydia didn't mind, but Josh felt bad. He was so worried about mixing up the wording with that of temple baptisms, that he missed something simple.

 Shortly after her baptism she was confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. My dad and Grandpa Rumsey and members of our bishopric participated in that blessing. She was blessed to heed the promptings of the Spirit, to grow into a strong daughter of God and to be an example to those around her, especially her sisters.

 It was a wonderful event, and actually very crowded with all the family and friends that came to support Lydia. There were 4 other baptisms that evening, and we happened to have a visiting Apostle (Elder Nelson), so the baptisms were moved to the small Avenue D Chapel near downtown Billings. Nobody seemed to mind. We were thrilled with the support of our ward - the Echo Canyon Ward - who filled up the chapel.

 

The week was full of fun and family and friends - all for Lydia.

This happened to be her "Golden Birthday" as well - she turned 8 on 8-8

 We had a golden family birthday party, and we also had a party with friends after her baptism.

During the week, with my family in town, we were busy playing in Montana. We went to the zoo, went fishing in Red Lodge, and hit the lake.  

We all had so much fun, we're not ready for this gorgeous summer to end!

Our epic summer part 5 - girls' trip to SLC

For Lydia's upcoming 8th Birthday I decided to take her on a girls trip to Salt Lake City. She is my girl who loves shopping, and also loves having mommy to herself, so it was a real treat.

 

I was also eager to do this trip when I learned that one of my best friends from Scotland was visiting family there! Amelia was my first, and best, friend when we moved to Aberdeen. She helped me find my way in a new country and find my way in this thing called motherhood.

 

Lydia and Evie are the same age, but all our girls played together when they were little tots. Can't believe this was 6 years ago!

Also in Utah, we met up with our dear friends the Milnes for a pool playdate. I cherish those friendships that last even after we've both moved away from Texas. Lydia and Addy didn't miss a beat, even though it's been almost two years.

 

While in Utah we did some major shopping too. We hit the City Creek Mall downtown, and ventured into the mega-sports-store Scheels.

But most importantly - Lydia got her ears pierced! She had been anxiously awaiting for this day and handled it like a champ. I could tell she was nervous, but the second that they were pierced she said "...that didn't hurt!"

 

 We couldn't leave Utah without a visit to good 'ole Provo. Lydia got some BYU gear, and we took Madison to the city waterpark for an afternoon.

 It was a fabulous weekend with my Lydia, and well worth the 8-hour drive!

 

Our Epic Summer Part 4 - summer in Montana

There's no place I'd rather be in the summer than Montana. The kids are out of school and spend all day outside because the weather is perfect.

 

We used our annual membership to the Zoo to visit often

 

 

We went camping with friends.

 This was at Canyon Ferry Lake with the Scherffius family. Their kids are older but they are so so good with our girls!

We let dad go four-wheeling with some buddies from church. A bunch of old men riding through mud and absolutely loving it.

 

We spent afternoons at the local pool/waterpark 

We went on lots of bike rides. Scarlett just learned to ride, and she's not even 4 yet! And Claire and Lydia like to race down the hills.

 

Josh's long bike rides are sometimes interrupted by wildlife. He's been on the road with porcupines, wild horses, deer, and even a herd of buffalo.

We enjoyed America's pastime - baseball

And we explored some of Montana's beautiful lakes - Cooney, Deadman's Basin, and our favorite - Yellowtail.

 

And add to that swimming lessons, park playdates, tennis, and gymnastics - that makes for one busy summer. And some happily exhausted kids too.

Our Epic Summer Part 3 - Whitefish

 

On our way back from Seattle we decided to take a mini-vacation in glacier country. We stayed at the Kandahar Lodge at Whitefish Mountain Resort for a couple nights and explored the beautiful country around us.

We went to Glacier National Park... but the infamous Going-to-the-Sun Road was closed - still - because of snow and risk of avalanche! SO we just drove through the park for a bit and stopped for a short walk to some waterfalls. It was enough for Hadley.  

 

We spent the rest of our time shopping and playing at the mountain resort. The girls loved the Alpine Slide, especially when they were able to go together. I usually went with Scarlett, which was a little scary because that girl never used the brakes, and we went fast.

And the ride back up the hill on the chair lift was just as fun.

There was also a playpark for the kids to spend some extra energy

And while the big girls played, Hadley and Josh went on a special hike up the mountain. There was still a lot of snow at the top, which Josh wasn't quite prepared for! But Hadley slept the whole time, and woke up happy :)

My beautiful family on the scenic gondola ride