Day 8 (June 30): Some good, some bad, some ugly

Let's start with pictures today.

Merry-go-round fun 

Ali loving the carousel

Happy Henry

Grabbing the ring for a free ride

AC and Library time 

Love the eyebrow

Still smiling

If you skipped the captions, the recap is that we woke up AND went to sleep in Missoula today. There was terrible hotel breakfast. There were hours in the in-house waterpark, at the end of which the kids were literally dragging themselves out by their elbows. For Lily/Jon, there was going to church with our beloved former nanny, Corie, whose birthday we were here to celebrate. Corie's father is the Pastor and it was special to feel so welcomed by the community. There was picnic lunch in the riverfront park, followed by four rides on the original/authentic carousel. There was shopping and then a visit to the public library. Then there was Corie's birthday party, which was overwhelmingly celebrated by the families Corie has nurtured over the years. Then there was more waterpark play. Then there was the discovery that none of the kids had eaten at the party, which basically means they had no useful nutrition on board. Several showers and one 9pm trip to fast food later, we were ready for a major emotional conflict among the children several hours after they should have fallen asleep.

So as soon as the laundry gets done in the hotel dryer, I'll be able to finish packing, then I can load the van. Then I can shower. Then sleep. Tomorrow we drive from one end to Montana to the other. Hopefully tomorrow's Good:Bad:Ugly ratio will be better.