Bambi in our backyard

My son Michael was walking around our property with my camera the other morning, and took these amazing and adorable pictures.   I am going to have to start framing some of these!  Well done, Michael!!!  

Great Times in Glacier

Our family took a quick trip to Glacier National Park last week.  It had been a few years since we had been to the park, even though it is only about 4 hours away.  I guess we didn't go the last couple of years because we had sold our camper, we were in the chaos of selling our house, and it's just a bit stressful trying to hike and camp with little ones.  But this year, with our youngest child being 3, we decided that all the boys were capable of doing some hiking, and we were right.  They all did great!  Even little Isaiah did most of the hiking on his own, and he only needed to be put in the backpack for short periods of time.  We hope to go back next year and try some of the longer hikes and stay a few extra days.  I'd love any excuse to go again, so if any of you would like to come visit Montana, you could sure stay at our house for a few days and then we'd take you up to Glacier to see some of God's most amazing handiwork!  :)

  

   

Running Eagle Falls--it's so neat how the waterfall comes through a hole in the rock

Isaiah looking sweet at Running Eagle Falls.

He is growing up so fast, so I'm trying to enjoy every ounce of his little boy sweetness!

A unique tree near John's Lake.

Happy boys hiking John's Lake Loop.

Even though this hike didn't have any amazing waterfalls, the dense forest was beautiful and reminded us of the woods that Tolkein's elves and ents inhabited in Lord of the Rings.

The most exciting part about the John's Lake hike was this huge buck that came up the trail and walked right by us.

His velvety antlers were beautiful.

He would be wise to stay in the park during hunting season.

We also saw this buck, whose rack was a bit lacking on one side :)

Our favorite hike was the hike to Hidden Lake at the top of Logan Pass, 

where we saw many mountain goats and majestic views all around.

We even had to hike through some snow!

How neat it was to hike alongside mountain goats!

Michael and a mountain goat--both very handsome :)

A sweet baby mountain goat walking through a mountain meadow.

Paul and I with Dominic, Natey, and a baby goat :)

Paul in his element.

I fell in love with him partly because he was an outdoorsy hiker,

so it brings back those twitterpated feelings when I see him hiking and happy in the great outdoors. :)

My boys sharing the road with mountain goats.

A hoary marmot at Logan Pass.

A pretty doe that posed for us on the hike to St. Mary Falls.

Nathanael at St. Mary Falls.

Paul with our whole crew of boys at St. Mary Falls.

Wildflowers growing in wet rocks at St. Mary Falls.

Our boys sitting peacefully (a rare moment) at Virginia Falls

Virginia Falls

Paul and I resting for a bit at Virginia Falls.

Michael posing after he cooled himself off with a hat full of glacier water on his head :)

This is the Forest Service cabin that we rented near Glacier.  It was AWESOME!

We sold our camper a few years ago, which is part of the reason that we haven't gone to Glacier in a few years.  But then some friends told us about these Forest Service cabins that you can rent for cheap.  We will be renting a lot more of these now that we know how great they are.  This one had 2 rooms with 6 beds, electricity, a refrigerator, a nice outhouse, a creek, and tons of space for the kids to run around without worrying about disturbing any neighbors (because there were none).

The big boys playing catch, the little boys chasing each other,

and Paul starting a fire in the background.

Everyone is happy!

Paul starting a fire near our very own creek.

The boys found a caterpillar at our cabin!

It's funny how they get just as excited about seeing a caterpillar as they do about seeing a mountain goat! :)

Our crazy kids at Zip's Place cabin

Summer Blessings to all of you!!!

Michael, my Nature Photographer

Our new home with its beautiful surroundings has brought out a new side in my son Michael.  He has turned into a nature-photographer!  The other morning I took all the boys outside with me to weed the garden, and Michael asked if he could use my camera to take pictures while we worked.  As an animal-lover and wanna-be photographer myself, I was delighted by the request (even though it certainly slowed down his weeding progress).  Here are some of the best ones...

A male mountain bluebird bringing home breakfast for his babies

2nd breakfast

still more breakfast!

In flight!

Open wide!

Whose turn is it?

You can see a hungry baby crying out for more

Daddy is off to find more food to fill these hungry little beaks.

The beautiful mountain bluebird standing guard

A male Western Tanager...

So bright and beautiful it almost looks like a tropical bird to me.

We were so excited the first time we saw one of these in our yard.

The male Western Tanager perched in the sun

The male Tanager with a mouthful (I mean beak-full) to feed his hungry babies

The female Western Tanager---not a bright, but still very beautiful

The female Western Tanager staying near her nest to protect her chirping chicks

 a yellow swallowtail butterfly on our apple tree

One of the many noisy and cute squirrels on our property

A white-breasted Nuthatch about to fly away in search of food for his little ones

The Nuthatch is notorious for climbing down trees head-first.

He is bringing home a tasty and bright treat for his babies.

This one made me laugh :)

The caption could read:
"Ha-ha, not hunting season!"

I have to admit that I prefer my sons shooting these animals with a camera rather than a gun! :)