Where does the time go?

So July is nearly over and I have hardly posted at all this month. Sorry, blog, for ignoring you for so long, but here is a nice long one for you.

This month has been pretty busy, even if we're just busy with doing nothing. The Swanz (I'm adding the z because it gives us street cred) went camping this month for the first time this summer, and had a big blast. Camping included lots of awesome food (thanks to Mrs. Violett and her keep-it-new-by-keeping-it-in-the-box cook stove), some fun kids to play with (also provided by Mrs. Violett, and also Mrs. Ballew), and some hiking. Elora hoofed it the whole mile up the trail to find the Pine Creek Falls which were BEAUTIFUL.

Both kids did really well on the hike, but Elora really took my breath away with her observations and her stick-to-it-iveness.

After we got thoroughly filthy on the camping/hiking expedition the 3 gathered clans decided to make a pit stop at Big Timber water park on the way back to Billings/Colstrip. I had almost wiggled out of it when the kids were asleep when we pulled up to the park, but once they woke up we knew our plans to try to escape were all for naught. But after getting my sweaty body into my one piece bathing suit it felt totally worth it to clean myself off for the first time in 36 hours hours using a public swimming facility.

I've never been a huge water slide person, but I think that after this trip Big Timber will probably be a destination for The Swanz (street cred!) again in the future. They have a slide with rafts that we all enjoyed, and the kiddie pool was a hit with the younger Swan. Elora went down lots of slides with her daddy, and looked like she was having a pretty good time.

We made it through our work week after the refreshing and relaxing time spent in Pine Creek, and this last weekend we just kicked at home, Swanz-style (more street cred!). This "style" includes beer, blow up kiddie pools, and usually something Thad has cooked in the smoker. I got to enjoy a kid-free trip to the farmer's market with my MIL Saturday, followed by picking out new glasses at Sam's Club. And my new peeps are going to be AWESOME.

The next few weekends will be pretty much filled with various activities, hopefully including more camping. Colter turns the big TWO August 21, no party planned as of yet but we might find something awesome and fun to do to celebrate it when it rolls around. Any fun suggestions would be appreciated!