Flathead Summer 2010

While Andy went to Peru, the kids and I took the train out to Montana with our dear friends Betsy, Karl and Olivia. Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries on the first day and I forgot the charger. So although I took pics with Betsy's camera and my phone, I will do my best to record the trip in words so it can be remembered in the future.



Betsy and the kids spent 3 days on the train (wow!) while our trip was a merely 26 hours. It was fun. We found train people to be laid back and very understanding. The space was good and it was fun to be with friends and be able to move around a bit. The kids even got to sleep flat on the floor and slept OK I think, all things considered. At least better than the adults! An added bonus was the "rails to trails" program which brought on a Native American musician and story teller going through North Dakota and a Park Ranger in Montana with all sort of cool stuff and info about the land we were travelling through. I was particularly surprised with the size of a grizzly bear pawprint that she had, like 18 inches across! Really amazing!



Of course I packed a plethora of healthy snacks but the kids only wanted sugary stuff. Oh well, the poor things were tortured with dried fruit, nuts, cheese and pita briead after the good gorp, peanut butter balls, and Betsy pringles were gone. They were in good spirits for most of the trip, just got a bit testy toward the end but were happy to watch movies in their movie theater fort. I had packed the bota of wine for Betsy and I which worked perfect (although I think I drank most of it) since we never would have been left alone to have a complete glass together. One or the other of us was needed by some kid or another pretty constantly so I tried to savor the moments that we were granted.



Jake and Donna's place on flathead lake was beautiful in so many ways. Just the layout of the house was smart and not excessive. The view from the loft, where the guest bedrooms were, made you feel like you were on the bow of a cruise ship. The house is so close to the shore that you can't see the land outside the door from that height so you almost feel like you should be rocking with the waves. Flathead lake is cold and clear and has the most colorful beautiful rock bottom I have ever seen. I wonder how many of varieties of rock are there, I came back with a collection! They have created a very warm place and welcomed us into their ever changing family. The gardens were amazing. Donna has a beautiful flower garden outside her kitchen window (no better place!) full of interesting and dazzling plants. They are growing tons of vegetables as well to feed the family who come there for pilgrimage every summer. I was there to share in the large amounts of spinach, kale, potatoes, and cabbage that were ready to be eaten. Unfortunately I left before the raspberries and cherries came in, but I took some spinach seed and will put it in my garden as a remembrance of theirs.



The rhythm of the days at Flathead lake was restful. Our kids were always the first ones up although they did eventually adjust to the later nights. They started out waking at 6 am but it was down to 7:30 by the time we left. I tried to keep them quiet with varied success but Donna and Jake were usually up early as well. I want to remember the sight of Jake out weeding the garden in his bathrobe at 6am. When not weeding or exercising the morning activity for "Grandpa Jake" was the puzzles in the paper. Somehow he managed to draw everyone in to the solving of it. Some of the puzzles stayed out all day (Betsy solved that one after lunch) and some were "too easy" and took less than 5 minutes. Regardless, it was a fun conversation topic over coffee in the morning sunshine. In the second week I would steal away to the lakeside for a bit of yoga "sun salutations" which I found to be the best way to start the day and it gave me the patience to deal with the kids. Donna also likes to exercise in the morning and I respect how she manages to carve out a little time for herself. She keeps the house to the highest standards and is always putting something away or cleaning. She creates the most amazing meals for an always flexible number of guests and seems to enjoy the quirks of personality that everyone brings to her table.



The kids played the morning away while we chatted, knitted, read (I read most of "The Spectrum" while there) or did chores. After lunch all kids had some quiet alone time -they usually needed it- and Isaac and I got in a nap, heaven! After naps we took turns helping Donna with dinner and supervised kids in the lake throwing rocks, playing in the sandbox, swinging and creating drama. After dinner was usually spent cleaning up, enjoying a campfire or more free play. One evening the kids put on a "show" for us. Although that was fun it was not repeated due to conflict in the production and directing staff.



Sofi and Olivia and Karl and Isaac played pretty well for the most part but there were often issues. Someone wouldn't let someone else play or took someone elses toy....but actually that only happened a few times a day which wasn't really bad considering they were together constantly. The girls developed elaborate stories and dramas with the polly pockets and princesses and holed up in forts, gifting each other various toys to express their love. Isaac followed Karl around and worshiped him. Karl read to Isaac and included him in all sorts of games, mostly involving superheroes. Although I did pack 3 days worth of clothes for everyone, with the intention of washing, I couldn't get Isaac to wear anything other than his batman shirt (no surprise really). When I did manage to convince him that it needed to be washed, he did agree to wearing the superman shirt, with cape, that he got from Karl. When the big cousins came and Isaac had to share Karl's attention, often losing him temporarily to golfing and water sports, Isaac had a bit harder time breaking into the girl's games and fort. But he proved to be flexible and hold no grudges, welcoming any attention he could get.



The first weekend we were there we travelled to Butte for the National Folk Festival. The drive was a bit long (3+ hours in a full van) and was an additional challenge because Karl was carsick. Looking back we must have looked like a cartoon with Karl in the front seat throwing up halfheartedly and continously in a sloppy big plastic bag, Donna driving frantically, me trying to help from the seat behind, Isaac asleep, the girls glued to a DVD player and Betsy trapped in the middle of the back seat trying to stir up excitement for the festival by reading bios of the groups. I finally just had to ask her to "please stop", even though I know she was trying to help - sensory overload I guess. This experience inspired me to be perhaps hypersensitive to whether or not Karl had dramamine and a good bucket before long trips in the car.



It was a treat to stay in Betsy's uncle's 19th century hunting lodge tucked back in the hills. It was heavy and gorgeous, decorated with antiques and set in beautiful landscaping with horses right outside. Isaac was very excited to feed one and Sofi enjoyed climbing on the rocks surrounding the house with Grandpa Jake. There we were treated to sourdough pancakes made from 100 year old starter that has been kept alive by Pete, Donna's brother, who is a good oldfashioned Montana outdoorsman.



The folk festival was a bit challenging to navigate with 4 children. The first day we went from scorching hot sun to the wind whipping up the sand and storm showers. The kids enjoyed a melodrama about mining on Montana in the early 1900's and Betsy and I got to dance to a couple zydeco tunes (the great Gene Delafoze! So Tight!) while the kids sat down on the dance floor in protest. There were so many people there that it was difficult to find cover from the wind and rain and so we ended up leaving earlier (rushing through the rain and then resting in borrowed shelters) than we had wanted and going out for pizza. The next day at the festival was more enjoyable with less people there and better weather. We ended up splitting up and that went better as well, I think there was less to negotiate and it was good to spend some time alone with Sofi and Isaac. We saw and heard some great Native American song, drumming and dance and enjoyed mining for gold, decorating hard hats and browsing the arts and crafts. The kids got great body art (Sofi an angel mask and Isaac a spiderman arm) and I bought a beautiful silk scarf.

Betsy and I stole a morning to visit "Mission Mountain Winery" just down the road from Jacobsons house. We walked there and did some wine tasting, had a fried food lunch at the local watering hole and went back to buy a case of wine. We both enjoyed their "Cocoa Vin" dessert wine and their Reisling. The time with her was wonderful, chatting about the past year and the coming one. The kids, the family, and all that goes along with that.

The kids and I also enjoyed a little outing to play miniature golf, see some buffalo up close and then the kids got to eat some too (in the form of buffalo burger)! I know, leave it to the vegetarian mom to point out the connection, but it didn't faze my carnivore kids!

I often miss Betsy, but especially during Wednesday night zumba classes and on Saturday mornings during rummage sale season. We got to attend a great sale at a little town on Flathead Lake, Lakeside, which was fun. They have this huge festival with a rummage sale (no clothes -I mean no clothes for sale, not that everyone was nude :-) , silent auction, and crafters. We all had a great time and everyone got some treasures. I got a great necklace for $2 that I am particularly fond of...

The airplane ride home went remarkably well. Doug drove us through some beautiful country early in the morning (3 hr trip to Spokan WA) and delivered us safely to the airport in good time. We checked in and breezed through security. The kids were very well behaved the whole day, and it helped that Betsy made sure I was well stocked with an assortment of bribery candy :-). They loved the airplane take offs. People around us laughed as they expressed their excitement in roller coaster type vocalizations. We had no trouble with ear pressure on the first flight to Denver and the kids enjoyed a movie. In Denver we got some pizza and ran off some energy in the airport before getting on the next flight. I gave them some new coloring books (Toy Story for Isaac and Princess and the Frog for Sofia) which amazingly occupied them through the whole second flight, which was a treat. The last landing was a little rough because Sofia and I both had lots of ear pressure pain, but Isaac was fine. We were happy to see Andy and Grandma Diane at the airport, and got some subway to eat at a park before the drive home. It was a long day but we were happy to be reunited with Dad. We all missed him, especially when he was back in LaCrosse and we were not.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to spend some full on time with the kids and do some travelling to a remarkable place. I am grateful for the hospitality which was such a gift and our friendships with all in the Jacobson-Holtz clan. I am grateful for all the ways in which they enrich our lives. And I can say that in this case absence does makes the heart grow fonder.