Surprise Candlelight Dinner for Two in the Mountains

You have time for a short story? It is a story of what a family here in Montana did for Kelly Jo and I in honor of our 25th wedding anniversary!

The Lockwood family attend the Sun Valley Church near Florence, Montana. They are a great family that we have been acquainted with for a few years and we love to be around them. They invited us over to their house for dinner this week and we were glad to go. When we arrived Sis. Lockwood met us outside and told us to get back in the Jeep and follow her.

We followed her out Hwy. 12 toward Lolo Pass and then up Elk Meadows Rd (which is gravel) for several miles. We turned off Elk Meadows onto another gravel road for a couple of miles and then one more turn to an absolutely beautiful place overlooking the mountains. We arrived to a most wonderful surprise.

The Lockwoods had set up a dining tent with a candle lit table set for two.




Bro. Gary Lockwood (King of the Grill, according to his chef hat) was cooking up the steak....as everybody else was scurrying around with all the final preparations...

They prepared salad, steak, baked potato, green beans, cheesy bread, black olives, carrots,peppers, flathead cherries, a slice of orange, peanuts, sparkling apple cider and a fabulous desert. I am sure I missed a few things because their attention to detail was amazing.

The whole family presented this fabulous meal with impeccable service and it was wonderful! I hated to eat without them but they insisted that this was our special day so I forced myself to eat every bite of food they offered. Everything was delicious!

The Lockwoods also provided the after dinner entertainment. They had prepared an elaborate skit based on a blog I posted on our Anniversary in June. (Link to that post) They presented our lives from kids in Harveysburg church all the way to our marriage. It included comedy, action, drama, romance, an actual church service and even a wedding ceremony. It was hilarious! I laugh till I cried or cried till I laughed, I'm not sure which.

This is Blake and Rachel as Davy and Kelly Jo (Notice the Big Blue Eyes) riding the first Boggs Mobile!

The whole cast from left to right. Blake-Davy, Sis. Lockwood-Aunt Hulda Livingston, Bro. Lockwood-Narrator, Ben-The Preacher, Joseph-stage hand, Rachel-Kelly Jo

The place they presented all this is amazing. The road dead ends at a flat spot and then a cliff. It is on public land but it is a spot that have become special to the Lockwoods through the years. They have had lots of family times up there camping, cooking and hanging out with extended family. We appreciate them including us in their family memories and sharing that extraordinary place with us.

I wish I had taken more pictures of the beauty but we were really overwhelmed by all that was going on. It was a surprise after all. I did take a couple of pictures of the surroundings that I can post.

In this one Sis. Lockwood is pointing out some of the beautiful scenery. I was trying to get her to back up about 6 more feet for the perfect picture but the drop off is pretty severe! You can't see it but her foot is right on the edge.

This is Joseph posing on the rocks for me.

Thank you Bro. and Sis. Lockwood, Rachel, Blake, Ben, and Joseph for your thoughtfulness, kindness and generosity you have shown our family. We will never forget that night on the mountain. May God bless you for blessing us!

That's all for now.

Davy and Kelly Jo