The Horror!!!

Some of you who are alive may have heard about the shutdown of the U.S. government. As a member of said government, I am one of the many, too many, federal employees who have been furloughed, which is a fancy American term for vacation time with retroactive pay.

But since at least one reader of our blog likes me (hi mom) I thought the least I could do is to update you on my travails.

Well...First I had to go to a stupid parade (Annie and buddy Krista skipping rope in U of MT Homecoming Parade):

Then I was forced to walk for miles (We live in the crotch of that valley yonder. I looked it up; valley crotch is the correct geographic term):

Oh My God, Boys and Cake! (Jacob's 10th. It was really loud. Like Metallica concert loud).

And then, just today, I had to paddle this watercraft around a small lake and catch countless fat, colorful Cutthroat trout. Annoying!

So please, pray for the federal government and all its many, many suffering employees. In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you filed your taxes early. I need a new canoe.

PS - Carrie's been too busy to keep up the blog. Why just last night she forgot to pick up a six pack on her way home! So I'm writing the blog until school-teaching-things settle and she can get back to it. If you want to reach her, shoot her an email her. If you appreciate my writing, buy me a beer.

PPS - I know there are federal employees who are suffering, and others who can't wait to go back to work. But really, it's all a giant farce, so please, NSA, don't deport me.

Happy Fall!

The weather in Montana has turned cold, wet, and windy with the arrival of Fall. Things have picked up since the start of school and we're all busy running from event to event. The kids have their sports and scouts and friends' birthday parties; Carrie has a lot of busy work as a new 4th grade teacher; and Brian just spent 16 days on the road for work.

We spend a lot of time running from Jacob's football practices three nights a week and to his game on the weekends. He loves football. He's playing right guard, which is a good position for this age because he gets to play all the offensive plays.

Annie is in soccer. Thankfully soccer is a lot more low key, so we don't need to run quite as much. She's enjoying the game, but I think most of the girls are there for the socializing with their friends.

Aunt Annie came up from Tempe for a visit this week. Us adults all went to a concert together (Citizen Cope) in downtown Missoula on Wednesday night. It was great to get out for a little nightlife, or as much as we could with kids and babysitters and work the next day.

That's it for here: just a quick update until something exciting comes along. Not that all of this isn't exciting enough for us. 

For Grandpa John

Jacob's first fly rod trout. A cutthroat. Taken on a purple haze parachute Adams with his dad's 5 wt T&T fly rod. He caught another one after this. His dad didn't catch anything.

Annie Is 8 Today!

Happy Birthday Annie! Can't believe she made it to 8 years old, given how stubborn she is. But she did it! We had her birthday party about a week ago, so that her best friend, Tess, could attend. Tess is away with her family this week so we had to do everything a little early. But we had a fun birthday party for her and the girls and it was a pretty big hit, except for the part where Annie got stung by a yellow jacket, and then missed an egg in the egg-toss game and had it land on her head. But no pictures of that nonsense. Just happy times smacking the candy out of a pinata:

Since it's Annie's Day, we'll make this all about her. We went camping this weekend at a beautiful spot, and Annie, as usual, was totally appropriately dressed for the occasion:

And hey, if you're going to dress the part, no sense in walking around. Find yourself a ride:

Overall, Annie's 8th was pretty easy on us. Jacob turns 10 in October, and that has us a little freaked. But for now, we'll just take things as they come, let the kids be kids, and see how much fun we can have as a family before they decide their parents are dorks (and we are).

Colorado Road Trip 2013 - Part 2

There was a time I envied the people I'd see far overhead, cruising along at 37,000 feet in their airplane, wondering what cool place they were flying to. But then I started cramming the family into the car and driving the empty highways of the West. And now I'm fairly certain most of those people far overhead are straining their eyes, looking down, trying to see what they are missing.

Those who think America is crowded need to take a drive from Missoula to Steamboat Springs. Let me show you what you'll see from your car window for approximately 400 miles:

That's not entirely fair of me. We drove through a lot of beautiful country between Montana and Colorado. But it's always a thrill to drive those long, lost stretches of highway, plentiful in the West, where at any moment you could be a 3 hour wait for a tow truck. My advice is to travel with a full cooler...

On the back side of our Steamboat visit we traveled farther south, into central Colorado, a place Carrie and I really wanted to see. Our first post-Steamboat camping site was spectacular. We drove a road called Kebler Pass, per a recommendation I had received at the KettleHouse in Missoula, and traveled through forests of Aspen...

...to reach our campsite - Lake Irwin at 10,500 feet elevation - to be rewarded with this view from the back Forty from our tent:

Lake Irwin was a great spot to camp, and we wish we could have spent a little more time there. Jacob, who has recently taken up fly fishing, really wanted to stay on.

But we had other sites to see. We first visited the ski nirvana of Crested Butte...

...and then lunched in Gunnison, so I could meet up with an old friend. Following a few beers, we headed to Blue Mesa Reservoir at Curecanti NRA for another night of camping. We really wanted to see Curecanti, a national park very similar to our old home at Lake Powell, and it didn't disappoint. 

We love camping. Much better than a hotel room (although we did spend a night in a hotel on the way home - the shower was much appreciated). Where else can you have so much fun? All these great places, out in the middle of nowhere. We were far often more alone than crowded. And we had a great time along the way...

If ever you want to join us, just drop a line. We're already packed...

Colorado Road Trip 2013 - Part 1

Another summer, another Sweatland family road trip. This year we returned to Steamboat Springs to spend time with Carrie's family and do a little camping in the mountains. It was a great visit and the kids enjoyed hanging out with their cousins. Here's a family photo from taken at Stagecoach Reservoir:

Steamboat is a fun little town. We spent our days fishing, swimming, and running around town, and filled our evenings with dinner, board games, and lots of pool time. There was a little pond just down the street from the place we stayed, and Jacob, his cousin Johnny, and the men spent many a day fishing. Here's Jacob and Johnny with the catch:

Annie and Carrie must have spent 80 percent of their time in the pool. Truth be told we all spent a lot of time in the water. The weather was hot and sunny and the pool was a great relief from the heat of July.

Here's a photo of Annie and cousin Kelly, with Annie doing what Annie does - enjoying a soda:

Being a family, there had to be a little friendly competition, so we hit the putt-putt course for a quick game. Carrie and the McVay clan played pretty well, but unfortunately I don't think Jacob will be earning a golfing scholarship to college.

 With family spread all over the states, it was really nice for Carrie's dad to get us a place where we could spend time together. We'll definitely plan more family get-togethers like this in the future.

Heat Wave!!!

Another weekend in Montana: Another family camping trip. This weekend was supposed to be special, as the dire forecasts rolled in about a massive heat wave. So we went to a shady, cool spot with a nice, cold mountain lake.

Well, this is what a Montana heat wave looks like: The temperature goes from this, with a tree on fire at 9:00 a.m.:

To this by 10:00 a.m., as we all scurried for shelter under a rain tarp and warm clothes as the temps plummeted:

All turned out as planned though by late afternoon, and Jacob took to the water in a way he never takes to his bath: joyfully (That's Jacob floating away. He floated clear to the other side of the lake, ended up tremendously upsetting some poor Loon, and then kicked his way back).

P.S. By "Loon" I do not mean one of his parents. I mean an actual Loon. As in bird. They are quite rare, but call this lake their home.

Some more action shots.

Carrie in action:

Annie in action (note the camping fashion style):

Brian in action (kids in bed. Feet up over the fire):

Well, we're getting ready to head to see Carrie's family in Colorado in a few weeks. Might not be much to report between now and then, so please keep in touch with us!