more PRO- around here

Niall has always been a hard kid into which to get protein! He's pretty "vegetarian" in his tendencies (although he doesn't love vegetables), eating a varied "white" diet (with main protein sources of tofu, including raw tofu, cooked [hard-boiled or "cheesy scrambled" eggs, and variations of dairy including full-fat milk and yogurt).  He doesn't love commercial shakes, even though I've tried various chocolaty brands (Orgain, Premier, and Fairlife), but I recently found these high-protein fruit yogurt drinks at Safeway and I think we have a winner!   

We really have been watching his growth as he's very little including in weight/height (but growing, slowly), and I'm sure nutrition has a big role. While the rest of us eat meat (mostly chicken and beef, but sometimes pork, turkey and fish [except Iver, who boycotts seafood]), we always have to have a "non-meat" meal option for this kiddo.  I'm hoping the addition of these drinks in the morning will help fuel him during the day.  

I also found some higher-protein pancake/waffle mix which was a hit last week for "breakfast for dinner."

I have also been focusing a lot on protein intake during my midlife stage (goal around 1g/kg/day), both for maintaining muscle mass/bone (which are dwindling since my twenties it seems by the literature), and also managing my satiety and weight, the latter of which has been increasing despite my high amount of weekly exercise (10- 20 miles a week running!), which is kind of disheartening (but frustratingly apparently normal in my forties. I've also never been someone who regularly "lifts weights" but am trying to add this, too). I really do feel better on a diet high in protein and low in carbs (although I love me some morning carbs with coffee!), and have been doing a lot of morning smoothies (including almond milk, cashew butter, protein powder, collagen, and creatine), as well as overnight oats (similar to this recipe, with protein-rich yogurt, added protein powder, chia seeds, flaxseed, and fruit). I have a pretty good recipe for air-fried garbanzo beans for a savory snack, and I'm trying to eat a lot of seafood, tofu, and eggs as my dinner protein, allowing for some variety for the other family members' taste preferences, along with my usual high-fiber fruit and vegetables which are never hard for me to get.

My counter looks like this!

 If you have any other tasty high-protein meal ideas to share, send them my way! 

Noble IX

Kellie and I reached out to one another almost simultaneously to find a time to plan our annual family trip to Noble Blueberry farm. We went for the ninth time this year in July (previous trips documented in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, only missing the pandemic year in 2020). 

Our kids continue to like blueberries (as do I), and we again had sunny, warm weather in Fieldbrook (and were also joined by Karen, Joe and their kids). 

Growing kids on the scale

Kids climbing piles, after throwing around a football in the parking lot.

I've been making lots of high-protein smoothies, breakfast bowls, and even tried overnight oats with blueberries this week (and may freeze some of ours). Yum! The tradition continues!  Until next year... 

Sip 'N Paint

  was stuck at the hospital with high risk inductions for ~48 hours straight this weekend (:().  The kids and Kelvin "did their own thing," (FaceTiming me twice), which included a "Sip and Paint" event at Fieldbrook Winery (which tends to be warmer than the coast) on Sunday.

                                                                

Even the kids got involved in painting on canvas!

(Pizza, not wine, for the kiddos)

The final paintings!

Fieldbrook has canoes and paddle boats

"What could go wrong here with 3 kids in a canoe?" - Marissa

The crew!

On our wall!

Looking forward to free weekends when I can join the fam!

Altar serving

Iver has been altar serving at St. Mary's for a few years now. Niall recently decided he was interested and joined his brother.

The books and cross are heavy! 

This is what they wear under their robes :). 

Montana, Part 4: North Fork and Good-bye

"But in every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks." 
- John Muir

 

On our last full day in Montana, we headed up the North Fork of the Flathead River to the northwestern section of the park. We hit gravel roads and this was a much less popular area of the park to visit (fewer people, yay, although a timed entry pass was still required!), but it was still so, so beautiful.

We parked near Bowman Lake (greeted by a few deer), and hiked a mile up towards Quartz Lake, followed by a lakeside stroll. I learned on a trail closure notification app that the Quartz lakeshore was closed due to nesting loons.

Searching for lakeshore moose

Panoramic shots

We then hit Hidden Meadow Trail (missing the turnoff initially), which was a really quiet, secluded trail with lots of wildflowers, berries, and (unfortunately) mosquitoes which ate me alive!

'shrooms 

We made a lot of noise to scare off any bears, as this was the most remote trail we'd been on yet this week.

Mountain strawberry (and other, possibly one huckleberry?) picker!

The tiny town of Polebridge has a happening Mercantile (a shop known for its huckleberry bearclaw and other pastries at the bakery), and apparently had a fun 4th of July parade, which we missed by about an hour. The kids (and Kelvin!) enjoyed the see-saw.

We ended the day with a visit to a riverbank area near West Glacier, which our host Gerry told is popular with the locals. We watched as several people (including rafting guides in stars-and-stripes speedos!) jumped off the bridge into the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, a popular rafting site. We skipped it-- the water was COOOOLD! 

Unfortunately, Iver (against our request!) tossed up Niall's croc shoe from a rock below, and the shoe bounced into the river... where we thought it was lost forever since Iver was frozen in place and didn't lunge after it (the river is cold but he can swim and we urged him to do so to retrieve the shoe!).  However, the croc drifted downstream about 100 meters as I hustled alongside the river, emboldened to ask if, by chance, a passing raft could snag it, and one did (phew! Even if it was lost forever, it would have made a good Montana [and blog] story). 

We tried to get last-minute rodeo tickets for a Thursday show in Columbia Falls, but alas, they were sold out and it wasn't meant to be. Fireworks are a big thing in Big Sky country, but we slept right through them, tired from our long days on the trails. Before we headed back to the airport on Saturday, we stopped at the Huckleberry Patch in Hungry Horse for a delicious Huckleberry shake and some last-minute Montana gift shopping.

Montana has the best bathroom art!

Niall is totally enamored with his "bear paw" slippers, which he was eyeing the whole trip and bought with his own money at the Lake McDonald Lodge as a special souvenir.

The kids tallied the "wildlife" count (of animals spotted on this trip) and edged us adults out by about twenty points (= one bear!). We saw 3 black bears, the kids saw a grizzly, and we spotted lots of mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and deer (alas, no moose or other big mammals). 

Not captured in these photos are the backseat roadtrip fighting ("STOP BREATHING! YOU'RE PROVOKING ME!") as well as countless conversations, laughs, and quality time we spent while on the trails for hours (Niall cracked us all up with "Twins-- they sound the same, look the same, and taste the same!").  Niall and Iver were obsessed with singing versions of Lady Gaga/Bruno Mars' "Die with a Smile") which definitely kept the wildlife away.  We played some hiking versions of "The Price is Right" and "Family Feud" to distract the kids from the miles of walking as well as had innumerable chats about sports and basketball trivia (Iver's current obsession).

We had a truly perfect week in Montana with everything I need in a vacation (time in nature, mountains, lakes and beautiful scenery, hiking, wildlife, good sunny weather, being unplugged from technology, and enough time to rest and read).   The kids said this beat out our Banff/Lake Louise trip last year (I agree. And it’s not just because we didn’t have to evacuate from a wildfire!!).  Glacier National Park, with its >700 miles of trails and ~762 named lakes, is definitely my favorite national park (with Yosemite second and Grand Canyon third).  There were a few trails (Iceberg Lake and Grinnell Glacier Trail) I wished we could have made it to, but the distances were a bit too long for our kids and there was too much restricted entry access.  Maybe I'll have the chance go back again in 30 years or so (and maybe there will be a glacier or so left).