Great Falls Parade-July 4th, 2009

River's Edge Trail with Grey

What's really funny is all that was packed into my suburban

just minutes before the picture was taken.

Noah had scout camp all week, but Friday he didn't have to go until the afternoon, so we went on the river's edge trail and rode down to the skate park.

Sam and Grey getting ready to go down the hill.

They all lined up and took turns going around the outside of the skate park.
I was really embarrassed about the graffiti that was in the bottom of the pits. I promptly steered my kids away from them.

Little poser

Love that cheeser and her cute crinkled nose.

Noah wheelin' We all had a great time there, even Noah.

Mara in the background cheering Caleb on.

He was so brave and really got going on those hills

Max was just a flash as he speed by me.

He went down the first hill and didn't quite make it up the next, and got scared.

He said he wasn't going to do it anymore. After I made him, he loved it and speed all over.

After staying at the skate park for as long as I dared.(I think the skateboarders were getting bugged that there were five bikers on their turf) We walked down the trail to the park.

Swung on tire swings!

Climbed to the top of the towers!

walked across the top of balance beams!

Tried really hard to keep Emma from falling off! and watched as she climbed up the huge slide from the bottom. She and Noah and Caleb definately come from the same gene pool, they can climb anything, and I mean anything

We made a squish sandwich on the slide...Yes Noah is crying!

His legs got stretched a little too far...He really was hurtin, but the picture is cool!

We really did have a great time with Greyson here, I didn't post all that much, because we were having fun!. The first weekend he was here, we went to Loggin' Creek to camp and had a great time even with the rain. I took the kids up Thursday night and Ryan joined us Friday night.I didn't get pictures, but the high-light definitely was climbing the mountain that was straight up. The boys climbed it about four times, and I went up it with the girls twice before Ryan got there. I had Emma on my back and was hanging onto Mara's hands with her walking right in front of me. We had to slide on our bottoms all the way down. It was pretty fun.

The next weekend was the father's and son's campout and Ryan's parents came up. Ryan took the boys (5) and his father and off they went leaving LaVone and me with just the girls. We went to dinner and watched "confessions of a shop-a-holic" It was really fun. The boys had a great time as well. They got home saturday and that night we headed to the Lewis and Clark Festival.

The interperative center was free on saturday, so we went in and the kids had a great time playing with the furs and costumes.

Max was posing and Sam was trying to eat him with a animal skeleton.

Mara trying on the outerwear of the era!

Noah sporting a wolf skin-yuck!

Emma petting the wolf with Caleb's help

Just as we were leaving, Emma climbed up on the bear skin and layed her cheek on the softness. She was so stinking cute. she just stayed there for quite a while. They had a great time and I think that Scott and his brother Paul and Ryan's parents had a great time as well. Later that night Paul brought out his knives that he makes out of antlers and obsidian, and the boys were facinated for about two hours while he talked to them about how he makes arrow heads out of the rock and carves the antlers and makes the leather. It was great fun! Thanks all for the great time.

Puppy Love!

Ryan and I were turning in for the night and went to check on the pups.

This is how we found them.Three grouped together,
Two on top of each other,

One laying on the edge...How stinkin' cute is that

Just after this picture was taken the sweet little thing rolled right off it,

It was so funny.

Caleb has offered to give me all his money if he can keep this one (above).

It's hard to explain to a child that no amount of money can purchase sanity and that if we kept one, my sanity would be lost. I simply cannot do a puppy again. I just got out of the puppy stage, and refuse to enter it again.

The problem is that Caleb has these gorgeous brown eyes that seem to melt me...hold strong, I must hold strong!

Oh to Play...

...with Isaac was all Caleb wanted to do! Luckily we were able to.

Caleb and Max got to go down to "The Ranches" and play at the Beckman's. They were in heaven and since returning home I have heard more than once..."why did we have to move?"
Sigh...it was so nice to have such great friends to live so close to, but June 15th was our official two year anniversary for living in Montana. Ryan said when we moved here we needed to give it two years. The vote was taken and the verdict is in...We love it here, have met really great people, and will stay, even though we really miss friends and family.

While in Utah we also got to play with cousins that my kids are lucky enough to call their best friends...I of course left the camera and didn't get pics, but thanks Arkoudas' Erickson's and Rees' for the great time at Wade and Cherish's and at the bounce house.

Love Those Ladies!

Since I was in Utah...I had to go to Park City!

(Gymboree had way too much cute stuff) I was lucky enough to have my dearest friends accompany me!

I love these ladies! They are great inspirations for me, and I love being with them!

They totally make me giggle inside and laugh outloud! I really miss them and hope they soon get the memo that they need to move to Montana!

I could never ask for better friends! I hope that they know just how much I treasure their friendship and can't wait for the day when I can just twinkle myself to be with them.

We ate at my favorite Mexican Resturant Baja Cantina! Love "The Hoist" burrito, ate the whole thing. The waiter was hilarious in that he obviously was new and had no idea how to get a good tip. He kept saying..."we charge for that" about everything...lettuce, sourcream, the complimentary chips and salsa that they always set out... We kept waiting for him to charge for the water as well...What a nut!

I am so grateful to Addy for tending my chillins so that I could go!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

I had to go to Utah for a conference for school, and we were lucky enough to be there during the open house for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. I had not brough church clothes, but with help from Greyson, the boys didn' t look too bad.

I was so grateful to be there and be able to take my kids through. It was so beautiful. My favorite part was going through the brides room and telling Mara that this is where she would get to come to be a princess on her wedding day! She was so excited. What princess doesn't want to get married in a castle?

Caleb, Porter, Mara, Max

Walking into the tent. Cami and Chloe, Porter, Grey and My mom and dad came as well.

I took a pic of my mom holding Emma and taking a pic of us. :)

Love those little kids in front of the fountain.

So glad we got to go there and feel a little of peace here on earth.

Six Kids...Six puppies!

So it has been a crazy birthing adventure for me lately. My mom left on Wednesday night to go home and Thursday I attended two births. Friday the kids got out of school and we went to Dairy Queen for Blizzards like the rest of Great Falls. Seriously everyone had the same idea. We quickly ate and raced home for a waterfight with the Giles and the Cranes! It was tons of fun. In the midst of the water fight Miya was acting really strange...I knew it was go time. I got her a bed already and Ryan and I headed off to have dinner with friends. We were almost there when I got a call that two more ladies were headed into the Birth Center. There was already one lady there, so two birth rooms + three ladies = a lot of shuffling! Luckily it all worked out really well and everyone was healthy and happy and Ryan was at home birthing puppies! HEHEHE! five of them. And from the looks of them, the mystery black and white border collie is the father, not the german shephard across the street. I got home at 2:00am and checked her and her cute five puppies were doing well. Then in the morning before I had to go back I checked on her again and five turned to six. Who knew?

They look like little rats, cute but ratty. Mara stayed up with Ryan the whole time and kept saying "Daddy...another one" in her high pitched squeal. Sam made it for most of them, but finally gave in and went to bed. So summer has arrived and I now have six kids and six puppies to keep track of.

Really, Does anyone want or need a cute puppy that comes from a great mom?

Family Home Evening Doughnuts!

So Caleb has my mom wrapped right around his little finger. On Saturday he wanted pancakes, Sunday he wanted crepes, Monday he had his heart set on doughnuts. They are so messy and take so long, but she graciously jumped at his command. They were so good, and it really was fun to make them. We made plain, maple and cream filled (my fav) when I was a kid we used to take our little wagon full of doughnuts around the neighborhood and sell them. That's how we bought Lagoon passes and how I got point shoes for ballet. It's a really fun memory, and the kids are always begging me to let them sell doughnuts...the problem...I've never made them by myself.
This batch was delicious! and Emma would not stay off the counter. I would take her off and she would crawl right back on.

Caleb helped most of the time, but I didn't get a picture of him helping. We took them to the neighbors. (my real intent of taking them across the street was to find out if their dog was the one who got Miya pregnant? It's either their german shephard or a little black and white border collie that I have seen once.)

Looks good enough to eat!