Losee Reunion - Day 2 Downata Hot Springs

The rest of the reunion we spent at Downata Hot Springs in a group of covered wagons.  There were six wagons in a group so each family got one wagon and it turned out to be the perfect place for our group.  The wagons each had a king size bed and 2 sets of bunk beds with and ac/heating unit and fridge in each one.  They were awesome!  And because we used all the wagons, we basically had the whole place to ourselves including all the open grass area and the fire pits.  It was such a fun spot.  

We spent the day doing crafts projects with the kids and looking for bugs and creatures with some little exploration sets that Grammie gave each of the kids. 

We played games and more games all day long.  The favorites of the weekend were Splendor and Cover your Assets.  The kids (and adults) couldn't get enough game time in!

We also got to go to a Bison Ranch while we were there.  Justin has a connection with someone that owns and runs a ranch and he set us up with a private tour of the place.  It was really fun to see the bison up close and personal! They are huge, beautiful creatures and the kids had such a good time feeding them and getting to be right up close.  That was something we'll never forget.

We celebrated Papa's birthday that night, had teen Bingo, roasted marshmallows and starbursts, and stayed up late looking at the stars and enjoying the beautiful summer night!

 

Losee family reunion - Day 1 Steadman Farm

The Losee family reunion officially kicked off today bright and early! We gathered at mom and dads house and began our caravan north to Idaho for the rest of the week. 5 vehicles in a row - Big white in the lead, Steph’s Tahoe, then our big van, Chad and Britt behind us and then Mom and Dad bringing up the rear in the truck. Unfortunately the tailgate on dads truck was down for the first 15 miles or so...we may or may not have lost a couple of bingo gifts out the back but no one will ever know! Only a couple bathroom stops along the way and we made it to Steadman Farm around noon to spend the rest of the day. This was the coolest place! Huge slip and slides down the hills with tubes and raft for everyone to use. The kids had THE BEST time! And us adults too :) I couldn’t believe how no one tired of going up and down over and over and over all day long. It was a blast. We had a couple of really good runs at a “cousin train” and almost got everyone down at the same time run of the runs. We couldn’t get enough of this place! 

After swimming for the day we packed up and left for Downata Hot Springs to stay for the next couple nights. We were tired and hot but the cousins were having a great time together! Pizza for dinner then kids bingo before we turned in for the night! Perfect day to start off the reunion. 

Marching band camp

Rease was asked to be on the high school marching band this coming year and has been so excited to do it!  She is going to be an 8th grader so technically not a high schooler yet, but she plays an instrument that the band needs (mellophone) and so special permission was given for her to be able to join.  She could not be more excited for this opportunity! This we was the start of 3 different band camps that they will have this summer to get their competition show learned and perfected for the season that starts in August.  This is a whole new world for all of us and we're excited to see how it goes!

 

Sunrise

Love these summer sunrises from our neighborhood...

 

Father's Day

These boys are just beginning the journey to become the man that they look up to every day of their life.  They couldn't have a better example...

Happy Father's Day to our dad who we all love to death!

 

Black ridge Trail

Liev, Rease and I went on an early morning bike ride today on the Blackridge Trail just up from our house. It was a beautiful morning and we had the best time riding together. These two are getting so good at their mountain biking!

Garrett and Rachel's wedding

Garrett and Rachel got married this weekend and had a beautiful backyard wedding at her parents' home.  We have loved being able to welcome Rachel into the family and are so happy and excited for them!

 

Amazing Race 2020

We held our annual Amazing Race this week - though we took some extra precautions this year due to COVID.  Since we're supposed to be social distancing still, we put teams together as couples instead of splitting everyone up individually.  We also gathered outside to eat and mingle before and after the race so we weren't in a confined space all together.  We did our best and in the end, I think it turned out amazing!  I think everyone loved being with their spouse which they typically are always separated from each other on different teams.  But I got lots of comments about how fun it was to be with their husband or wife so that was a plus!  We also got to include Chad and Britt in the race since they are here for a while and it was awesome to have them with us.  We teamed them up with the Chalks and I think they had a great time as a team.  

Hayley and I love putting these on for our neighborhoods and this year was fun because we had the clues all along Redwood Road.  So teams were passing each other and running into other teams all night as they looked for clues.  It turned out great.  And in the end, it came down to the orange team and the yellow team racing back to the house at the same time trying to be first.  We though yellow had it, but orange ended up pulling into the driveway first and took the trophy (which was a super soaker this year).  Yellow got here just 30 seconds later than orange for 2nd place.  And the White team claimed the 3rd spot.  

We LOVE this time we get to gather as friends and neighbors and especially appreciated being together this year since we haven't been able to get together often.  Thanks to everyone for making it a great success!

 

Sid comes to visit

Sid and Jackson made an impromptu trip to Utah and we enjoyed their company for a couple days while they were here!  We had a bbq and swim day and Andy and Kristi's and took Sid mountain biking one morning.  Man we wish they lived closer...

 

Shaving the beard

It was finally time to shave the "Corona Beard" and Josh had a great time figuring out how much of it to keep...

 

Too big for the tub?

Looks like they might be too big to take a bath together...

 

The twins' blessing

Caleb blessed the twins today and though the meeting was done over zoom, we were lucky enough to be invited to be there in person.  It was a really special day to see these two sweet babies get beautiful blessings.  And Hayley crocheted these darling outfits for them which was pretty amazing!  Love these babies!

 

Rease's 13th birthday

We have a teenager in the house! Rease turned 13 today and officially stepped into teen mode.  We love her dearly and hope that being 13 doesn't change her too much too fast!

She wanted a 2 tiered cake that wasn't quite so little kid-ish and helped me pick out the colors and the frosting design.  It was definitely big enough to feed the whole crew that came to celebrate with her!  After opening presents and having cake and ice cream, we had a late night with some of her besties - Izzy and Riley along with a group of Rhen's friends and cousins and little brothers.  It was quite the group but we had a great time!

 13 year old stats from Dr. Erickson:

Height: 5'6" - 94%

Weight: 174 lbs. - 98%

My favorite things about 13 year old Rease:

1) Rease is my right hand gal.  She helps me with anything and everything and is always happy to be by my side.  She loves to try new things and is up for whatever crazy thing we're doing or trying.  She isn't afraid to do something new and has become a really great mountain biking partner for me! I love being with this teenager of mine and hope she is my friend for life!

2) Rease is smart and a hard worker.  No matter what it is she's doing, she is doing her best.  She does well in school, has loved learning the french horn, practices her piano hard, reads like a maniac, works in the yard with her dad and plays hard when the time comes!  She has the great quality of doing things all the way when she decides to do them.  Love that about her!

3) Rease is the best oldest sister.  She has a great relationship with her sister - though there are times that they can't seem to figure out who's turn it is to clean their room (which is always a mess).  And she is really good to her younger brothers.  They all look up to her a lot!  Best of all, she is a very reliable babysitter and does great when she's in charge at home or if she's babysitting for a neighbor.  I never have a worry when I know Rease is home and in charge!

Rease, we love you and made you promise today that you wouldn't act like a teenager even though you officially are one now.  Remember that a few years from now when you actually start getting an attitude would ya?! 

Happy Birthday!

Kingston Idaho - day 8-9

For our last two days we drove away from beautiful Kalispell and back down to the small town of kingston Idaho. We found a cabin in the woods that looked so charming I couldn’t resist it! It was just as charming as I had hoped and immediately the girls spoke for the attic room and the boys took the basement. It had two sets of tiny spiral stairs and a treehouse out back. Just the place to be to end our road trip. We took a hike the evening we got there and found lots of beautiful wild flowers and tiny pine cones.  

The main reason we chose this rural Idaho town is because we wanted to bike the Route of the Hiawatha. It’s an old train route that goes through the mountains over bridges and through tunnels in the mountains. We’ve heard a lot about it and that is amazing so we decided to give it a try. Beck and Desh each had a tag along bike that hooked to our bikes and it was the perfect way to go. The trial itself is 15 miles downhill so it wasn’t difficult and the kids all thought it was great. The first tunnel we went through is a mile and half long tunnel. The temperature is 46 degrees all year long and has a small canal running on each side of the trail with runoff from the mountains running alongside. It was wet and muddy inside and so so cool. We each had a headlamp to wear inside the tunnels and even with those it was super dark! 

As we rode we couldn’t get over the scene that we were riding through. It was incredible to be on top of the mountains looking down at the trees and valleys below and to see the trail and bridges that we would be riding on. 

A couple of the bridges we crossed were over 200 feet high! It was quite the sight to look down from those bridges. And of course the boys took the chance to throw rocks over the edge and count how long it would take to hit the ground. Some of the kids climbed up on the rocks next to our lunch spot and got stuck up there on the shale that kept sliding off under their feet. Josh assured me that they needed to be able to figure these things out but my mommy heart skipped a couple  ears as I watched them try and get back down. Josh ended up rescuing them when keen slipped and scraped up his leg a bit. Dad was the hero of the day getting the kids off the side of the mountain!

We had perfect weather for the day - warm and overcast. Only about the last 20 minutes of the ride the sun came out and we got pretty warm. The kids were tired and hot and muddy from riding in the tunnels by the time we got done but they told us that the bike ride was one of their favorite parts of the whole trip. I have to agree! It was fun and adventurous and gorgeous and such a very unique way to see the countryside. We all loved it. And it was a perfect way to end our road trip. Tomorrow morning we head back home to Utah. It’s a 10 hour drive and we’ll probably get up early and head out. It has been such a fun getaway for us and we’ve seen parts of the country that we haven’t explored before! Lots of memories that we’ll never forget!

Kalispell Montana - Days 4-7

After we left the ranch we headed to Montana for the next few days of the trip. Some good friends of ours, the Laytons, have a house on lake Blaine near Kalispell that they let us use for the week. It was absolutely gorgeous and we enjoyed the drive the whole way up. We were excited to have the week to explore this part of the country we haven’t been to!

We brought our bikes on the trip so the first day we jumped on our bikes and rode around the country rides by the house.  Lake Blaine is super low this year so we weren’t able to get in the water but we did love riding around it and looking out across the water. We drove out to the other small towns around the house and our favorite place to walk around was Whitefish. It’s a small ski town up in the mountains and it was fun to walk around the little streets and shops. Josh and I snuck away one evening and had dinner in Kalispell at a restaurant called Tamarack. It had such good food and it was fun to be on our own for a couple hours. What we loved the most was the view from the house - looking out to the beautiful mountains just out our window and the gorgeous open fields. Josh and I went for a walk/run every morning and just loved being outside in the country. There were lilac bushes all over and the lodge pole pines were so tall and straight and we kept our eyes open for eagles that we caught a glimpse of every once in a while. 

One day I took the older kids to the Strawberry Lake trailhead to ride our bikes and explore the trails. We got most of the way up and got stopped by a fallen tree across the road. We were only about a mile and a half from the trailhead so we decided to park and just bike from there. It was a pretty steep mile and a half up and it took us some time to get there. But we did it and without too much whining even :) When we got to the trailhead a couple of guys were there and told us that the whole trail was covered with fallen trees and it was not possible to bike it. They had tried and ended up stashing their bikes and just hiking the trail. We decided not to even try it but just hung out there and played in the river for a little while to cool off. The ride back down to the car was quick and easy and even though we didn’t get to ride the trail we were glad we got to ride at all!

One day we drove over to the Hungry Horse Dam. It was super cool to see and the dam is so high the kids thought it was amazing. The reservoir behind the dam was really awesome and looked like a great reservoir to boat on. We all promised that we would come back and boat there one day!

We stopped for ice cream and lunch in the small town of Hungry Horse and Liev got out his new rocket launcher to play with. We played flies up on the grass with the rockets and had a blast just being outside on that gorgeous day. 

When it was time to say goodbye to our house in Kalispell none of us wanted to leave. It was the perfect place for us to relax, explore and experience the Montana way of life. We loved every second we were there!

Road Trip 2020 - Day 1, 2 and 3 Kooskia Idaho

Our road trip for the year has arrived! Since corona has thrown off all sorts of timing for the school year we ended up being done two weeks early. And it couldn’t have come at a better time - we are all ready to get out of town and feel a little bit of normal in our life! We thought long and hard about where to go this year and ultimately ended up going north to a part of the country we’ve never been. Northern Idaho and Montana is the destination and we packed up looking forward to some beautiful scenery and cool weather. Dixie and Scott just bought a ranch in Kooskia Idaho so that’s where we spent the first days of our trip. And since josh is also working from home and able to connect and work from anywhere, he decided to join us this year which is a special treat for us all! We have recently got into mountain biking and the kids love it. We found a bike rack to hold all our bikes and strapped that on to take with us too. Driving through northern Idaho was absolutely gorgeous. The big fields, open space and small towns were just charming and we enjoyed the whole 10 hour trip up. Dixie and Scott have a house right on the Clearwater River. You can see it across the river from the main road and they have a small private tram that we loaded into to ride over to the house. It was pretty late when we finally pulled into town so we all crashed on the floor as soon as we got there. 

The next morning we got up early and took a hike and explored their property. They have 100 acres and it is just gorgeous land up there. We loved the wild flowers, the mushrooms, the fallen trees and everything. We even found huge mushrooms growing on the trees that were big enough for the kids to sit on like a seat! And of course as soon as one of them tried it, they all wanted to sit on it too!

We got to the top of the hill that looked down into the gulley that includes their land and just looked at how beautiful it was and how lucky we felt to be there!

We also found snakes and squirrels and lots of other creatures that my kids thought were pretty awesome. At one point Milo their little dog had treed a squirrel and would not let that thing down for anything. That poor squirrel was scared out of his wits!

We spent our Sunday doing all things that seem fitting for the sabbath. We enjoyed the beautiful surroundings and loved being with family. We had a church service around the campfire and heard Nolan share some stories from his mission. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and had lots of yummy food. All in all it was a day full of memories for us!  

Monday morning we got up early and packed up to go. The kids took a couple last four wheeler rides and then back across the river we went in the tram. None of us wanted to leave and Desh said it best... “I’ll just stay here with aunt Dixie.”  Kooskia was a place to remember! Thanks to Dixie and scoot for letting us start out our road trip with you guys!

Beck end of school

Kindergarten is over for this boy!  Beck loved having Mrs. Hernandez this year and we are certainly going to miss her!  But Beck is so excited to be a 1st grader and be able to eat lunch at school with the other kids.  So proud of Mr. Beck and his hard work at school this year.

 

Keen end of school

Keen has loved being in Mrs. Butterfield's class this year!  She has been such a good, positive, fun teacher for him and she had nothing but good to say about this boy of mine.  2nd grade down for Mr. Keen!

 

Liev end of school

Liev is such a good boy and really has loved 3rd grade this year.  He works hard and tries to really do what he can to learn.  So proud of him and all his effort!

 

Rhen end of school

Rhen was excited to have this year over because she knows next year she's going to be the oldest in the school!  Goodbye 5th grade - hello 6th grade dominance!

She did amazing with her class this year and always has glowing reports from her teachers.  Keep it up Rhen!