Grandma and Grandpa Johnson

After too many years, we finally made it back to Montana to see TC's grandparents. Karlee was just about the size of Zach when we were there last time so we were way overdue for a visit. Since we saw them last, Grandpa has had a very serious health crisis from which he is still trying to recover. He moves much slower and quieter now. Grandpa loves little kids especially kids right around Zach's age; he spent much of the weekend trying to win over his grandson.

Oldest to youngest.

We had a wonderful time with them and the other family members who cycled in and out of their house. TC lived with his grandparents for a couple of years when he was a teenager. Montana, his grandparents and farm-life are high on his list of favorite things. Other than any and all farm talk going completely over the head of this city girl, I have to agree that Montana and the relatives who live there are pretty great.

TC's Aunt Jayne

TC's great aunt Bev

Can you tell how much the girls loved everyone?

In addition to all the wonderful people to visit with, there were many awesome things to do on the farm. The only activity I don't have pictures of is gopher hunting. No one wants to see pictures of that!

The kids played on the haystacks so much that they constantly had hay in their hair and on their clothes. As our girls seem programmed to do, they made up games to play in the stacks and turned a few corners in to hideouts/clubhouses.

Another favorite of the weekend was the four-wheeler! Once a day or so we would all head out for short trips to find the horses, to watch the water coming down the canals or to go to the neighbor's house where a nine year old girl lived.

And finally, there were the horses. On our last morning there, Tim, who works with Grandpa, and his wife brought their horses down for the kids to ride. It was their first time on horses; they have ridden on ponies at the zoo, but I am not even sure if that will appeal to them anymore now that they've been on horses. Tim kept saying that a couple of them seemed to really take to the animals and we would have an expensive and time-consuming activity on our hands. The likelihood of us getting into horse shows and such is microscopic, but it was a good first-time experience for the kids.

We were very sad that we didn't have more time to stay and visit. TC had a hard time leaving Montana especially since we didn't get to go to the mountains. It's always a good reminder for me to see him in that environment. He loves farm-life; the openness, the hard work and the satisfaction of working the land. Of course it helps that Montana has no humidity and plenty of wind to keep you cooler on warm days. I doubt very much that he would love farming as much in Iowa.

The next leg of our trip took us to see my grandma in American Falls, ID then on to Fish Lake, Utah for our family reunion. Stay tuned!