Many months ago, I gave some thought to what I'd like to do to commemorate turning 40. Jason had done a great job with his, and I wanted to follow his lead and do something really special. I thought about my life and realized that I had one major regret, not visiting my friend Linden when she lived in Oregon. I sent her a text asking her if I could come, and with my family's blessing, I booked a flight for June 6-9!
So, here we go, all the love I've been storing on my mind, heart, and phone for the past three weeks, thinking about a truly amazing 40th birthday trip to see my friend Linden in Montana.
It made me so happy!
First stop--drove down to Brant and Chris's home on Sunday afternoon and enjoyed spending time with them. YUMMY food (we made about 3 different Blue Apron meals and fed the missionaries last minute, too). Took a walk around the neighborhood with sweet little neighbor girls. Greyson was a cutie, and so was their new dog Penelope. THANK YOU for the cozy night stay, the taxi ride to/from the Ontario airport, and the "free parking" of the van in front of your house for a week! Loves!
Second stop--We bought the round-trip ticket for this adventure SEVERAL months in advance and got a killer deal doing it--under $250.00. That meant a long layover in Portland, Oregon, about the only downside.
I was sitting there at the airport, getting really bored really quickly, and decided I'd take a walk on the wild side and go get a donut in Portland at Voodoo Doughnuts, a place I'd seen a few times on TV food shows. I had 4 hours to kill! I remember taking a big breath, getting my suitcase and purse, buying a MAX rail pass, and exiting the airport. After a nice 40-minute ride, I got off at the Skidmore Fountain exit, walked a few hundred steps, and bought a McMinnville cream donut for a buck or two. Ate the donut with relish, and then walked right back to the tram and headed back to the airport, haha! I had my luggage with me and everything. Was it worth it? YES!
Funny thing happened (I can laugh about it now) coming back through airport security. I did the body scan thing, and then a security guard pulled me aside and did the WHOLE SHEBANG on me because my crotch lit up on the computer scan. What the heck was that? !%$##? They swabbed my hands for residue, checked my clothing, checked my body, and found NOTHING. CRAZY.
I arrived in Kalispell about 7:00 pm. And my friend Linden was waiting there for me. I could see her on the other side of the glass as I entered the little airport, and we gave each other a huge, huge hug. It felt so wonderful to be with her after so many years!
That first night I met the Wendle children for the first time--Charis, Will, and Anna. Enjoyed talking to Andy and Linden, too. They gave me this huge bedroom to sleep in downstairs, and a beautiful guest bathroom to use. The kids were funny when I said we could share it: "Oh, no," they said, "that bathroom is JUST for you."
I slept SO WELL that night. Seriously, the best sleep I've had in a long time!
The next day was busy. Andy went off to work, Will and Charis went to school, and Linden went to an interview for a little while. It was a LOT of fun for me to hang out with their 5-year-old daughter Anna. We played lots of games and she showed me her stash of kindergarten supplies that they were putting together. She was a cutie!
When Linden returned, we got ready to visit Glacier National Park. Linden packed a nice lunch, grabbed the bear spray, and off we went. Bear spray is no joke--it's like a bottle of pepper spray on steroids. Thankfully we didn't have to use it. :)
Glacier Park is beautiful. Even though we didn't get to go too far into it (ice/snow was blocking some roadways), there was still PLENTY of gorgeous scenery to see. Some of my favorite things that day were:
Having a picnic by the lake
Seeing a snake and daddy-long-legs
Making several stops to see the river up close
Getting delicious huckleberry lemonade at the gorgeous Glacier Park Lodge
Looking for different state license plates
Hearing Anna's ghost stories
The tree with a "nose" on it--see the cool picture below!
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| Had a great picnic at Lake McDonald! |
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| One of my favorite pictures from the trip |
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| "Nose" tree--so funny! |
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| Huckleberry lemonade at the Lodge HIT THE SPOT! |
That Tuesday night we had fajitas for dinner, looked at old yearbooks, and visited. Those Wendles sure know how to make a person feel loved. After dinner, they brought out a bowl of birthday ice cream and cookies for me and sang Happy Birthday to me--so fun!!!
I also got some huge belly laughs with tears when Linden told her kids about the buried Sheen "tradition" of bumb darts--an embarrassing phase that we went through--but, boy, her kids wanted to know all about it and how to do it. I was CRYING with laughter and embarrassment, haha!
I also enjoyed saying grace with them at dinner time--"God is great, God is good" to the tune of the Indiana Jones theme song--love. And I thoroughly enjoyed participating in their family devotional before bedtime, where every person shared about the day, telling a happy moment, a sad moment, where they saw God, and something they looked forward to. It was really lovely and special for me to do that with them! Went to bed with a huge smile on my face.
Wednesday was the twins' last day of school! We dropped them off at school and then Linden, Anna, and I drove up to Whitefish. I had the BEST CREPES of MY LIFE there and enjoyed looking in some great shops. The pottery shop at the end was awesome, too!
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| I just had to get the "Darth Bacon" crepe! |
We got back in time to pick Will and Charis up in the afternoon. I loved the school's tradition of waving to all the kids on the school buses as they drove away. If I'd known I'd be there during such a busy time for their family, I might have rescheduled, but Linden and Andy and their kids were so kind and just included me in everything. I loved that!
That day I got to see more of the surrounding small towns of Lakeside and Somers, some huge homes, and the Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp right off the lake. And I loved getting a tour of the church right next door to the Wendles' home, Eidsvold Lutheran Church, where Andy is the pastor. It's a beautiful, old church with lots of history!
That last night we thought about getting in their family's boat and going out on Flathead lake, but some thunderclouds rolled in. Instead we had a delicious last-day-of-school dinner at a local pizza place (Mackenzie River Pizza?). I shared some Thai-inspired pizza with Linden and Andy and it was good!!
That night we drove around looking for wildlife, played games outside, looked at the garden, and had all kind of different s'mores around a campfire. My favorite was the s'more using a marshmallow and Reese's peanut butter cup--YUMMO!
Andy shuffled the kids inside after that and let Linden and I have some time together outside by the campfire for a while. We went inside and did the family devotional time, and then Linden and I looked at photo albums. She showed me the picture of the last time we'd seen each other--it had been 16 years!!!
Being with Linden, as adults, brought back so many memories from our middle-school/high-school years. How grateful I am for her friendship during that time, and for the continued friendship over the years. I haven't been great about keeping in touch, but this visit reminded me that my friendship with Linden is eternal, and worth strengthening. She is an amazing wife, mother, and friend, and I'm so grateful she is in my life!
THANK YOU, WENDLES!
I loved every minute of my Montana visit!!!!! Love to you all!
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| Flathead Lake, very close to the Wendles' home |
The flights home were uneventful and quiet for me. I didn't want to talk to anyone, just sit and absorb the incredible time I'd had in Montana with Linden and her family. I loved every minute of it! Chris picked me up in Ontario and graciously sent me on my way quickly, knowing I was anxious to get back home, too. Thanks to Jason, Rhiannon, and Wade for letting me go and holding the fort down so well in my absence! What a great 40th birthday trip!!!
