2nd entry for Ainsworth trip

This is another beautiful view picture.  What we can see from our motel room.

There are 3 pools at the hot springs.  The Caves are 106 degrees, the main pool is 98 and then there is the cold pool.  They say if you are in the hot pool and go in the cool pool, that it's cleansing.  So we all tried it, but it actually hurts.  As you stand in the pool all the blood rushes to your feet, they get really tingly and painful.  They say this blood rush cleans your liver.  This picture below is Mark in the cold pool

This is Rick visiting, notice his glasses on still.

This is an old building.  Inside we could see through the windows it was all set up like an old store.  Really neat, but closed.

These are are nice pudding desserts

Monica's coffee drink.

This is the large pool

This is Monica and Mark in the cold pool, saying: hurry take the picture fast!

The caves start out with tile, but as you go back it's a very dark cave with the mineral staglites and dripping ceiling.  It's really hot in there, like a sauna.  

Monica made the batter before we left home for this chocolate pudding cake.  We baked it in the toaster oven.  We bought spray whip cream which is a very special treat for us, and fun to decorate everything.

Ainsworth first part of the trip

Our weekend trip to Ainsworth started actually on Wed evening.

 

 I have had some really stressful weeks of late and a lot on my mind, so I'm was really looking forward to trying to really take some time off.   After the 5 births in one week, 4 births being in 2 days, lots of prenatals, and this Wed. was a class day on going through labor.

So Tue I should have been getting ready for our trip and the class, but instead we were trying to help Gina buy a car and for some reason  I got this notion that I needed to clean out a closet at the birth center !!  

   

 So Tue I cleaned out a closet all day, and  found Gina a car.  Wed I had a class with a good turn out.  I always bring something for lunch, but didn't really have anything prepared.  I brought a spinach , tomatos, feta cheese and an Asian dressing.  Mishael was there and put it together while I was doing prenatals.  :)

So Wed. after class we  headed to Kalispell in the van and Gina's new car, we had a very nice evening at Martha's house. Maria, Moriah, Gina were there.  Gina was so excited about her car.  It's a Buick Century.  It has 6 seat belts and it's not a real little car.  It's  a 1991, but only has 53,000 miles on it.  Hopefully it will be a good safe car for her.

Thursday we had appointments and meetings all day in Kalispell.  We slept at home Thur night and I woke at 5 am worrying about clients.  I knew I needed to be able to make sure everyone was OK so I could relax for the weekend.  A few more phone calls, pack the car with food and clothes and off we go.

We left about 11 am, finally free and easy about everything at home.  Time to enjoy family and views and truly relax.  As soon as we hit Canada no more phone calls!!!

Monica, Mark and James had never been to Canada, so everything was new for them.  Strange because  we used to go to Canada quite often with the older children.

The first thing we saw that I wish we could have gotten a picture of was a huge male elk.  It had a big beautiful rack.  I've seen lots of Elk, but never one with a huge rack.  It was amazing.   

The pictures are mixed up a bit, but I'll give you descriptions.

We got to go on a free ferry.  It was 40 minutes long.
We picked up some skate boards for the boys in the first little town we were in.  Some things are cheaper up here, but most things are more.  We do get $1.25 for every $1 American, so that helps a little with the high prices.  So in this picture the boys are fixing the new skate boards to make them better.
Monica is unloading the ice chest.  It's a good thing we brought food.  There is only one restaurant in this little place and a typical dinner is $24 a plate!  The motel has a kitchenette and I brought a toaster oven.  We picked up some really nice partly prepared food at Costco.  Egg rolls, Mandarin orange chicken.  Orange juice, bagels, cream cheese.  We couldn't bring produce over the border, but I thought I would buy them up in Ainsworth.  I didn't realize how small the "towns" were up there.


This picture is Rick very happy, because after months of looking for his meter, calling all his friends, buying a new meter, here he found it in his suit case.  Why did he bring it with him last trip.  Rick is famous for bringing too much stuff with on trips!

These pictures are on the ferry

This is a glass house made of embalming fluid bottles!  Strange!

we live in an amazing area

We have a moose hanging around the house.  We used to have them around and hadn't seen them for years.  Now it's  around almost everyday.  Not right in our yard, but across our street.  It seems like a pretty mellow one, as he hardly pays attention to us.  

Here is the moose with her baby.

James and his friend Jake. They were sledding down this neat hill.

We get these neat ice falls.  Actually I don't know what they are called, just they are all over.  Miniature waterfalls that freeze in the winter.

I had 2 postpartum visits on the W. Kootenai.  Which is about 70 miles from Libby.  It's always such a beautiful drive.  I always think it looks like a postcard.

March weekend

Moriah and James.
Eric 4 yrs old

Eric being silly
Mishael and Gareth
Rick, Miriam, Jon with a Heidi (Cody's sister) in the middle.

This is the coal car.
Grandpa gave Eric his own special cantainer of ice cream!  :)
The engine
The amazing train cake.

We hated to eat it after it was all done.

Moriah and Joe decided to come up for the weekend.  it was Jon's birthday on Sat. and Eric's on Monday.  We all had a great time.  Joe brought his snowmobiles up.  I made a lasagna dinner and cheese cake for Jon's birthday.

Sunday Moriah and Mishael made this fantastic train cake.  Train cakes are a tradition in our family.  Just about everybody had a train cake at one birthday or another.  Well this one was pretty fancy and it turned out really nice.

The whole weekend I didn't know if I would be able to be home.  It's been a crazy couple of weeks because I ended up with 3 overdue mom's and 1 due today.  That's 4 ladies that can and should be having their baby's any time.

Finally Wednesday one of them had their baby and the next 3 went in labor on Sunday!  Yep!  All 3 started labor the same day.  

But God helped the timing.  One of the labors quited down, the other one delivered Monday morning, the next one Monday afternoon.  We have 2 birth rooms at the birth center and we juggled people and stuff around and had 2 babies born on the 9Th.  Now it's Monday evening and the last mom is on her way in.  The only problem is I've only slept maybe 4 hours.  Hopefully I'll be alert enough to make wise decisions.