Summer Therapy

I know it has been awhile since I have blogged, my sincere apologies, I will be catching up on summer events as I plan to print a book from my blog..so I need to have it up to date!

Summer began, not as we had anticipated. Mike had taken a nice 3 weeks off starting the second the girls were out of school. However, little James got some terrible flu bug the sunday before school let out. It was so not fun..he was really a sick little guy. We eventually took him to the childrens hospital because he was not able to stay hydrated. After receiving IV fluids for a few hours he was able to get a boost in recovering from the virus. However, we were due to leave for Montana in 2 days and we didnt know if he would be well enough. We had a uhaul rented so we could transport a bunch of stuff to the new cabin (more on that later). So Wednesday came and we decided to load up and see how James was doing on our day of departure...Thursday. Mike and I stayed up late Wednesday night loading the uhaul and we had it packed full ready to go. We were so excited and we were all in need of some time together. Wednesday night...both Stephanie and Paige woke up in the night SICK!! I was devastated. So Mike went ahead as scheduled to Montana and I remained behind to care after my 3 out of 4 kids that were sick. This was a sickness unlike anything I have ever seen or care to see again. The girls just laid on the couch with their buckets throwing up every 20-25 minutes. It was heartbreaking. And it lasted FOREVER. They just couldnt seem to get rid of the virus and I soon feared that I would have to take both of them in for rehydration. Sunday came and they still were not great..the throwing up had basically stopped but they had no energy and just laid around complaining of aching stomachs. By Sunday night, I lost it. It had been 1 week of constant throwing up and caring for sick kids, I had not left the house not to mention the 24 hour a day laundry. I decided we would leave Monday morning hoping we were over the worst. I knew I could not take one more day on my own...

So Monday morning we left....

And we took a chance that the Going to the Sun road would be open...and it WAS! I was so thrilled. This road is in Glacier National Park..and is absolutely breath taking. It had just opened 2 days previously and I was so excited. This was truly therapeutic for me as I unwound from a terrible week.

The road passes by 2 beautiful lakes and the views along the way are stunning.

Now I have driven over this pass so many times. I never get tired of it...I am always excited to return! It is my favorite part of the drive. It is different every time you drive it. There is a wall called the 'weeping wall'. In June it is overflowing with water and I drive right under to soak the kids with the sunroof open....by late summer it is hardly weeping at all. The wild flowers are crazy beautiful all summer! The wild animals are always fun to spot along the way..Mike rode his bike twice over the pass this summer and both times was just a few feet away from a bear!

Sorry for all the photos (remember its for my book)...but this was a truly therapeutic way for me to start the summer. We got off to a rough start but it was all perfect from there on out! We had an amazing summer and I cant wait to share it with you!