The year was 2009. Our friend Micah had discovered this secluded beach about an hour away from us. In South Korea, "secluded" was a luxury that we hadn't experienced in a while. Dusty and I and five or six other couples enjoyed a whole day on the beach--a bunch of Americans on a Korean beach--with no Koreans! We found starfish, did handstand competitions, drank (a lot), and I'll always remember Micah building a raft out of a bunch of trash he found and paddling his kids around on it. This was a day that all of us would cherish and talk about for years to come. For the last thirteen years, we never imagined that history would find a way to repeat itself. As a young married couple, stationed in Korea, Dusty and I did everything with our DUSTOFF family. The team of medevac Blackhawk pilots and their families were closer than any other group we've been around during our entire military career. Most of us had dogs and no children, but there was one couple with two sweet children that we all looked up to. The Helsers were the coolest. Micah and Katie were adventurous, easy going, talented, creative, insightful, resourceful, fun, and they were amazing parents. After Korea, they spent a few years at Ft. Drum before exiting the military to live their dream. They bought a plot of land in Montana and became true homesteaders. They lived off the grid in a horse trailer while building a house, and, over time, dug irrigation ditches; put up fences for horses, chickens, and cattle; planted their garden; and so much more that I will never begin to comprehend, all while raising two children. Sadly, as all their dreams were coming to fruition, Katie was diagnosed with cancer. She recently passed away, but Micah, Natalie, and Jake have kept her love alive on this farm. We lost touch with the Helsers over the years, but our bestie from Korea kept in contact with them. "Uncle Mike," as our kids know him, even though they have only seen him a few times, drove four hours to Wisconsin to visit us as we passed through in August. He had missed us so much that he knew a few days with the Ramseys wasn't enough! (Isn't that right, Mike?!) He had the bright idea to call up Micah in Montana and ask if we could all come out for a big reunion. The plan was set, so September 1, Mike and his kids and the Ramsey family showed up on Micah's doorstep ready for some fun! In all reality, none of us knew what to expect from this stay in Montana. We hadn't talked to Micah and the kids since 2010. Mike's daughter had come to see us in Wisconsin, but we hadn't seen his son since he was a baby. Our kids are all the same age, but would they all get along? Micah's kids were all grown up, freshmen and seniors in high school, and who knew how they would respond to these 10-12 year olds running around their house.Turns out the feelings of love and welcoming on this farm are palpable and it took no time at all to get comfortable. As Dusty, Mike, and I got the RV all set up, Micah had all four of our kids out on a farm tour, then jumped on the trampoline with them for about 20 minutes until his kids got home from school. All six of the kids jumped into friendship like they had all known each other forever. Literally, the kids jumped into friendship. Within an hour, these adrenaline junkies had given up on regular trampoline activities, and decided to start jumping off the roof (no, really...literally). Natalie and Jake were so great at engaging with the kids. In Banana's words, "I thought they would be like every other teenager I've ever met and only play on their phones, but they were so cool!" Seeing the three families interact together after never having met each other was...heartwarming, to say the least.
On Friday we took it easy all morning, then went to cheer on Natalie and Jake at their cross country meet. Afterwards we went to Polson, on the southern end of Flathead Lake, spent some time diving off the dock into deep clear water, and chilled on the shore for the afternoon. You might be wondering how all ten of us traveled together. Let me introduce you to Lil Buddy. Several months back, Lil Buddy came across the Helser's radar in a For Sale ad and they couldn't pass up the opportunity to own this 1988 fifteen passenger luxury van, equipped with a ladder and roof rack. The ten of us cruised around the Flathead Indian Reservation, windows wide open, enjoying the views and good company with big smiles spread across our faces. Saturday, we celebrated Mike's birthday by loading Lil' Buddy up with a rowboat and a canoe and heading out to Finley Point on Flathead Lake. Locals always know the best places, and the Helsers did not disappoint for this special occasion! Tucked between million dollar homes on the lake are small slivers of public land you wouldn't even notice if you didn't know they were there. We pulled Lil' Buddy down to the shore, unloaded boats, paddles, life jackets, lunch, swimsuits, and towels, and got ready to launch. Now, I feel like we're a pretty adventurous family, but we took the risk factor up a notch or two this day. Imagine this: ten people. All our gear. One canoe. One rowboat. The goal: row out to three tiny islands a half mile off the shore of Flathead Lake. We donned as many life jackets as we had and threw extra floatation devices (aka pool noodles) into the canoe and hoped for the best. The trip out was a little touch and go, but we all made it to the remote islands safely. (Thank you, Jesus.) Then we all had a ball! Here we were again, three former Blackhawk pilots and their families on a secluded beach. These three tiny islands are essentially piles of huge rocks covered in pine trees and shrubs. Parts of the surrounding lake are deep enough to dive in, while others are so shallow that you can walk most of the way between the islands. And so we passed our day swimming in the fairly cold water, relaxing on the pebbly beach, and watching all of our kids explore the islands together. The kids named our island "Lost Pants Island" because as we landed ashore, we found someone's pants (including photo ID, cash, credit cards) laying behind a bush. After a few hours, Ryan Spencer finally came back to retrieve them, but he sure did give us a lot to laugh at in the meantime! Eventually the kids got a wild idea to build a raft out of huge driftwood logs. They worked as a team to roll the logs out of a debris pile. They sourced a few ropes from the row boat, put their knot tying skills to good use, and successfully created a raft, christened the S.S. Rosehip. (Funny how history repeats itself.) All six of them paddled together around the islands, and could have paddled all the way to shore if it weren't for an oncoming storm that made us grown-ups a bit nervous. Sunday, before the Hendersons left for the airport, the kids organized a talent show. Everyone had to participate and it gave us a chance to see just how talented the group was. We had a lot of laughs as we found out that Dusty could *almost* guess numbers, Mike could *almost* read minds, and Micah can reach any goal he puts his mind to. The kids did magic tricks, gymnastics, sang in Gaelic, juggled knives, won staring contests, and made rose hip tea. We cracked up at different skits and were almost worried when Natalie and Jake performed a sword fight complete with fake blood as the finale. The whole weekend with the Helsers and Hendersons was perfect. Being together again was surreal and watching our kids form bonds was absolutely magical. Seeing Little Natalie and Jake all grown up and getting to know them again was...overwhelmingly special. For the grown-ups, it was like a lifetime had passed, yet no time had passed at all. We all left reluctantly, but with hearts full of gratitude for such special friendships.
Mike, thank you for initiating this weekend and flying out to Montana. Micah, Natalie, and Jake...none of us can thank you enough for your hospitality and the gift of spending time with your amazing family.
4 Comments
Lorna R Stachowicz
9/11/2022 02:20:30 pm
What an awesome story! I loved reading it and what great friends to come all that way to meet up. I love the scenery....the mountains!! I can't take it...I want to go there and see them for myself!
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Joni Ramsey
9/12/2022 12:13:03 am
Mike is a great friend! I know you’ve heard stories about him before over the years. He drove 4.5 hours to visit in Wisconsin, then flew out to Montana to spend more time together. He definitely deserves a prize!
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Maxine Holmes
9/11/2022 02:40:12 pm
What an amazing visit you had with your friends . I Love hearing about all the adventures and experiences all of you had together ! Your stories should be made into a book for anyone to read , so very interesting . I almost cried when the visit with your Friends ended !
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Joni Ramsey
9/12/2022 12:11:03 am
We almost cried when it was time to leave as well. Our hearts were all so full. ❤️ I’m glad you’re enjoying the posts. Thank you for following along!
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