Mammoth Caves, KY

We have enjoyed spending the last couple of days with my brother Erek, his wife Laci and our nieces, Kali and Kijanna in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

Today we went to Mammoth Caves which has 326 miles of underground caves.




We are heading home tomorrow.....back to reality.....

Did I REALLY just do that....twice.....

We went to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio on Friday with Gerry and Missy Mindek and their baby Nolan and the Kentucky Gillespies (Erek, Laci, Kali & Kijanna).




Cedar Point has 2 of the top 10 highest and fastest roller coasters in the world.

Kali, Kijanna, Maija and James with Millenium Force in the background (300 feet tall!)


Kijanna and NolanMissy and James in front. Maija, Kijanna and Kali in the 2nd row of Raptor.

The highlight of the day was a ride called Top Thrill Dragster. Below is the video of us on our first Top Thrill Dragster ride (first for all of us except James)....I was really really really really nervous. The ride catapults you to 120 MPH in 3.8 seconds then you are launched skyward 420 feet with a 270 degree twist barely cresting the hill before plummeting straight down as you twist again. The whole ride is 23 seconds long . It was scary but sooooo much fun. So fun that we had to ride it twice. I was amazed that my nieces Kali (13) and Kijanna (10) went on this ride....and all the other big roller coasters.

PS. James rode Top Thrill Dragster four times on this day....he is a junkie!!!

Say a little prayer for me....

We are going to Ohio and Kentucky later this week to visit our friends Jerry & Missy and my brother Erek and his family.

We are all going to Cedar Point amusement park on Friday to ride the Top Thrill Dragster...check out the link for a view of the ride and start praying for me that I don't die from a heart attack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJwWdqgpY3A

Maija

Oh Canada

We went to Victoria BC this past weekend to celebrate James' birthday. We went over on the Victoria Clipper which leaves from downtown Seattle.



We stayed two nights at the Fairmont Empress which is a historic hotel that was built in 1908. It is in the inner harbor and close to downtown.





On Saturday we walked around the city.


and found a great beach on the south end of the island in Beacon Hill Park.



At night they light up the Parliament building in the inner harbor.


On Sunday we went to high tea at our hotel to celebrate James' Birthday....

and had delicious tea, finger sandwiches, pastries and chocolates.




Then we walked to Craigdarrroch castle.

We had a very nice relaxing weekend in Victoria. It is a beautiful and charming city.

Happy Birthday James!

July 4th, Canyon Ferry Lake

We spent the last two days of our vacation at Julie and Arden's house on Canyon Ferry Lake. In true Montana fashion we had a rain and hail storm on Friday night.




We had a great time out on the lake. We went tubing (Maija and Olivia)....



wake boarding (Julie)...


and surfing (James)...


then had a party with lots of food and friends.


We ended the day with a beautiful sunset and amazing fireworks. What a great holiday and a fabulous end to our vacation. We hope to make the Bruce's July 4th party our annual tradition.

Life on the farm

This farm has been in the Scoffield family since 1956.


The house is 110 years old.





Ward let me drive his tractor and do a couple of rows of plowing.




James calls this "Maija's Wheat"--I asked Ward this spring if he grew white wheat (he didn't) so he decided to try an acre this year. I am hoping to get some of the grain this fall (it's my new favorite flour for baking).


James, Tristan, Ward and Hunter at the dry farm.


The boys baling and stacking hay.



Tristan and Hunter in the attic of the barn. This is a HUGE pile of pigeon "droppings". EWWW....


Life on the farm has been fun!

M

If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes.....

We have spent the last few days relaxing at Big Sky (a ski resort near Bozeman). We hiked to Ousel Falls....
























James and I took a fly fishing lesson. It was actually very fun but harder than it looks.


























We went to dinner at a dude ranch for all you can eat bbq. Very tasty and incredible scenery.





The weather at Big Sky was CRAZY! In the morning, during our hike, it was warm and sunny with a beautiful blue sky. We got back to the condo and it rained buckets for several hours (luckily during nap time). In the late afternoon as we started our fly fishing lesson it rained a little but then the sun came back out. James and I went down the mountain to dinner and it was still nice weather. As we headed back up to the condo we noticed that it had hailed and there was snow/hail on the roofs and the side of the road. We woke up the next morning to more rain and cold (maybe 40 degrees). By the time we left around noon it was back to sunny and 72. It's is true what they say about Montana weather---"If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes".