Pretty day—such a nice improvement weather-wise. Still, we take it kind of easy—vacation, after all. We keep an eye on mother bird and the second hatched chick. This one fell out of the nest, too, but BW saw it and put it back quickly. She seems okay with that, and so far so good. Another egg has a little crack so maybe we’ll spot the next baby.

I grab some work time and some reading time—a nice combo for me.

Griffin gets a trip to the Apothecary to make slime. To make the class, he needs to get up from his nap. He seems confused by this. Like, you make me go to sleep when I’m playing, then you make me get up when I’m sleeping.

Lovely afternoon with SUN. Kayla and I go along. Griffin doesn’t seem interested in slime-making right away, but Kayla is. Michael, the instructor, has a Broadway Disney playlist going, and such a sweet way with a not quite convinced toddler.

The boy IS interested in the little things that can go in the slime. Tiny donuts or lemon wedges, orange slices and so on, and takes them one at a time from Michael, examines, then hands off to Kat.

Meanwhile, Kayla’s making some pretty cool slime.

The view is gorgeous, sunlight over mountains, hills and fields.

It’s a fun hour on a sunny afternoon, and we have two jars of slime to take home. Later, Griffin shows interest in the completed slime. I’d say it’s hard to resist playing with.

BW and Kayla go off for a ride and some photo ops. The camera loves the girl.

A little more reading time, then change for dinner. A restaurant meal, and we think to eat inside—but the hearty Montanans have the AC on—it’s maybe 67 degrees. As a group we decide to grab a pod in the warmer. And the sun is strong and embracing.

We have Alaska John for our waiter, and he’s as interesting as his name. Normally he’d be bartending on a train in Alaska over the summer, but Covid changed his routine.

Jason and Griffin take off to run around, check out the play ground area, hang out by the fence, watch some cattle go by. It’s a really lovely evening for a leisurely outdoor meal with good food and happy faces and our interesting waiter.

We stay for dessert—again—and again, I can’t resist the huckleberry ice cream. So home a little later than usual, and nearly time for the Daddy Dance. The boy’s ready for it, and his head plops right down on Jason’s shoulder. When it comes around, he sleepily sings the chorus for C Is For Cookie.

But then, it’s Cookie Shark time. He revives for this with a grinning, head shaking boogie at the end. Despite the revival, he goes down without a fuss.

Nice sunset, and a promise of a 70 degree day coming up after an early, quiet night on the ranch.

Sun again. Workout done, breakfasters back as Jason and Kayla have a riding lesson this morning. She’s got my cowboy boots—the tall, lavender ones, and looks ready to ride.

Gotta get myself going, too. Kat and Kayla do the ropes course this afternoon, and I’ll go to watch. I don’t do heights.

Nora