Hunter's Visit

Remember when you were a kid and time stood still? A week felt like a lifetime, and summer lasted for infinity. When you had something fun to look forward to, it never got here fast enough. You know you’re not a kid anymore when time flies by.

It seems like just last week that my cousin Stephanie proposed a visit. Back in February, May seemed like an eternity away. And yet it's already May 27. The week with my cousins has come to a close, and here I sit reminiscing about the previous week.

Growing up, Steph and I were a lot alike. We both had boy baby dolls, we loved to swim, talk late into the night, ride bikes and make mud pies out of the neighboring farm’s corn. We liked to shop, and even enjoyed buying the exact same outfits. Sometimes people would think we were twins, which we were both especially proud of. We’re still a lot alike; both fitness and control freaks, list makers and planners. We love hiking & biking, taking walks, and playing Scrabble, though we don’t enjoy staying up late anymore…yet another sign of our waning youth.

I made a list of things for us to do during their visit, and we both delighted in checking items off. We accomplished almost everything on the list, including riding the Carousel, shopping downtown, playing at Dragon’s Hollow and Westside parks. We walked the Kim Williams trail, ate Big Dipper ice cream, hiked the Rattlesnake, drove down the Bitterroot, and wandered REI. We had drinks and appetizers at the new Tamarack Brewing Company, and hiked the M. To Brock’s dismay, we did not hike the L…mainly because it wasn’t on our list, and it’s really steep!

We also had a bonfire, cooked brats on a pitchfork, and read The Poky Little Puppy so many times I think we all have it memorized. Steph and I played nightly games of Scrabble that turned into a Best Out of 3 Tournament, but who can remember who won??? (Obviously it wasn’t me, or I’d be bragging!) We each drank our body weight in soda and coffee, and sang Sally the Camel and The Wheels on the Bus till Brock could recite the words on his own. We all agreed Glacier should be nixed from the list due to the long drive, and the fact that only 15 miles of Going to the Sun road are open right now.

Deron and I had opposite opinions about whether soda causes dehydration. I ended up Googling it and discovered this is in fact a myth…Deron was right, soda does NOT cause dehydration. And in case you’d like to look it up yourself, there are a couple of studies published in the Journal of American College of Nutrition. This prompted a discussion about DOI’s, and subsequent Google searches to determine their exact purpose. (Which is to provide an identifier for online content, I have to cite DOI's for APA-style papers, Deron didn't have to for MLA/Chicago styles.)

It was an amazing week, I took hundreds of photos, and I’m already missing my houseguests. The house feels empty and lonely now, and thankfully I only have to endure it for the next few hours because I’ll be onto the next adventure tomorrow, visiting Scott in Yellowstone.

Here are some videos and pictures from the visit (and they're mostly of Brock)….