Back to Great Falls, Montana

Little did I imagine when I moved from Great Falls, Montana thirty-seven years ago after my freshman year at BYU, that I would be returning to visit my son's family who is stationed there with the Air Force. Even though we lived on base, nothing really looked familiar to me. All the old housing where we used to live has been torn down, and even the back gate to the base that I used to drive out to go to work and seminary, seemed to be in a different place than it was in the 1970's.

The airport was definitely bigger and nicer than I remembered. Garrett and Daniel came to pick me up from the airport, and it was fun to see Daniel waving at me through the glass inside the terminal as I came out from the gate area!

 It had been eight months since I'd last visited Garrett and Krystal's kids, so I was very happy to see them again. (In spite of how it looks in this photo, they were happy to see me, too!)

By the time I got my camera, Adam was out of the cupboard on the left. It would have been a cute picture.

Adam's daddy was out of town on his first birthday, so they kindly waited until I came to have his birthday party.

Krystal made a very cute chocolate teddy bear cake,

which Adam really liked, of course.

Adam opened his presents with lots of help from his older siblings.

We walked to the park one day, and though it was sunny, the wind was very cold.

This was the entourage on the way home from the park. I did help push the stroller when I wasn't taking a picture, so I didn't make Krystal do all the work.

Daniel and Makayla discovered they could fit in the space between the back door and the screen door.

They have a little play set in the back yard. I thought Adam looked cute in this picture with his arms hanging on to the sides of the swing.

Great Falls has a nice Children's Museum. Daniel and Makayla liked playing in the cockpit of the airplane. Looks like a hitchhiker is trying to catch a ride on the front window!

I liked this picture because the whole family is in it.

What kid doesn't like playing in the laundry basket?? Makayla's look is pretty funny.

Nice picture of the happy family before going to church.

Adam wasn't too sure about having me hold him, though he was pretty good about it most of the time I was there.

Daniel and Makayla making hats for themselves. They were so good about playing together.

While I was in Great Falls I was able to see my friend, Katrina Carpenter. She and I first met when we were in junior high school living in Grand Forks, North Dakota in 1972. She was my best friend for many years, and is definitely the friend I've known the longest in my life. She and I both moved to Great Falls when we were in high school, then both lived in Germany back in the late 1980's. Her family moved to Montana several years ago, so after I bought my plane tickets to Great Falls I called her and set up a time for us to meet. It was wonderful to see her again.

I had a great time in Montana and look forward to going again this summer when Kent can join me!