Goodbye Zach

Zach doing a back flip off a round bale : )

This past week we went home to Billings, MT. Yay!!! Zach leaves for his mission in two weeks, so we wanted to make a trip to say goodbye. We siblings haven’t been together since November 2006, so it was about time! We left Thursday after Braydan got off work and drove to Missoula. We didn’t get to our hotel until 2am! Pretty miserable--especially because Kaleb was supposed to fall asleep at 7 or 8. It was more like 11 before he crashed. He cried and cried that he wanted to get out and sleep on the floor. Poor guy. And poor us : )

Friday we made it there at about 3 pm and spent the rest of the day outside on the farm. Josh and Kaleb feeding GabeI think Kaleb tried out every single tractor
Josh and Kaleb
Me catching a ride :)
Saturday Alisha and I went shopping while the boys rode horses. I bought Kaleb this John Deer hoodie and he wore it everyday and slept in it too! We eventually had to pry it off. Sunday we went with Mom and Dad to church and got to see lots of old friends in the Shepherd Ward. Two people even mentioned me in their testimonies! I felt very loved. It made me grateful for our 11:00 church though because Kaleb was awful without a nap and even fell asleep in nursery!

Monday we branded cows. Roping him down

Ouch! (The smoke is burnt hair. Smells nice :)

I stayed long enough to take pictures then ran away. I hate watching those poor babies cry.

Later, we went shopping again and the boys went gun shopping and land shopping. Grandma Smith babysat Kaleb and spoiled him good.

Tuesday Braydan and Zach went golfing and then came back and burned ditches all day with Dad and Josh. Boy did they STINK!!! I seriously don't know why Braydan was looking forward to that???? We made them hurry and shower so we could do family pictures in the afternoon. It was really hard getting a family picture done!! Hard to get everybody dressed, happy, and out there at the same time. The wind was blowing like crazy so our hair was wild. All well, we tried. After, we all went to the temple except Alisha (she babysat). Zach got endowed a few weeks earlier, but it was still neat to go through a session with him and visit the temple where we were married! I haven’t been to the temple for MANY months, since before Eliza was born.

Wednesday the boys got up early and went to the cow auction in town. Everyone came back for lunch, but Josh stayed all day and bought eleven head!! We were all worried about him because he never answered his phone, he had no brake lights on the trailer and it was dark and stormy. But, he made it back late and we helped him give shots and tags to the new cows. Josh let me bottle feed a baby calf he bought. During the day, I got see my good friend Heather and cute little girl. Then Braydan, Zach and I went to Pictograph Caves and hiked around with one of us always packing Eliza. It was her first hike!! She's a natural :)

After, we surprised Alisha at her work and it was fun to see what she does everyday.

May 7th is our anniversary so Mom made us celebrate a day early so she could babysit. We went to dinner and it was quite an adventure. While we were waiting for our food, Braydan ran his hand through his hair and a tick fell out on to the table. I almost screamed. That’s what he gets for running around on the farm (this is what he was doing right before we left . . . hmmm??) Yuck! Okay, so if that didn’t make me lose my appetite, we got our food and Braydan’s eating his riblets and accidentally swallows a rib! Gross! He didn’t feel so good after that, but we had some good laughs.

Thursday we packed up and said some tearful goodbyes. All week I tried not to think about Zach leaving, but then the moment finally came. It was hard. I love you Zachy!! You will be a great missionary!! Zach and Eliza

We spent the rest of the day driving to Spokane. What a romantic anniversary. It seems like every year we’re flying or driving on our anniversary! Maybe for our five year we’ll do something cool . . . . .(doubtful). Friday we drove all day too and we're finally home now!! Anway, the drive and everything was worth it (now that it's over!) We had so much fun and Kaleb especially could’ve stayed forever. He really loved Alisha. Whenever she left for work he cried and said he missed her. He loved playing with her and chasing her!!! Here’s a video:

Thanks family for everything!! I love being home on the farm!!