The Gibbons' Family

Week In Review

2012-02-19T15:27:00.005-07:00

Just for fun...in reverse order...

Jason got back from Denver yesterday - he left last Sunday.

Friday night was the school carnival, which I was one of two people who planned the whole event....I was flying solo parenting so after all that work planning and setting up I actually got to just enjoy it with my kids - no manning booths or running around. :-)

Carnival Highlights: stick-on mustaches, face painting, a clown making balloon art, the cake walk (we brought home three cakes!), and the bounce house/obstacle course. It wasn't hard for us to spend $30 in an hour and a half!

St. Valentine's Day: We had a full celebration when everyone woke up that morning (but no pics) and Jessie and I spent the morning with Emmett's class and their festivities.

Learning how to play Red Rover

Centers: Decorating sugar cookies, beading, two crafts, and Valentine Math Bean Bag Toss. Of course they exchanged valentine's and ate lots of sweets too!
Enjoying the mild weather - at least the sled is good for something....it still hasn't been on the snow....

Punky Brewster?

2012-02-01T14:33:00.005-07:00

Today was "Clash Day" at school....

PJ Fun

2012-01-31T19:07:00.004-07:00

I guess it's that time of year - indoor fun wearing pjs!

Emmett had a PJ party in pre-school last week. They brought their favorite stuffed animal or blanket to show at show and tell, and anything else they wanted to cuddle with for a little movie time. They also made "going-to-bed" books, glow in the dark name plaques, made smores in the oven, and Mrs. Sommer read bedtime stories. I'm pretty sure it was the highlight of the pre-school year (so far!). Oh, and I was the parent volunteer that day, so Jessie got to play along too. :-)

Story Time

Making Bedtime Books

S'mores
Movie Time

Rockin' Out

2012-01-24T21:47:00.003-07:00

Our 4 yr old rock star in action. He gets this from his Mom...

The Salon and Roller Skates

2012-01-18T13:43:00.009-07:00

The kids and Jason had a day off on Monday, so I took the girls in for overdue haircuts (I usually trim their bangs, but I still take them in every so often for a professional clean-up!). It was Jessie's first time to have her hair cut in a salon and boy was she ready for the full-meal deal. The stylist thought she was going to fall asleep because she was so relaxed!

Happy Customers!

The school sponsored a "Skate Night" Tuesday, so Jessie was trying out her new (hand-me-down) skates - boy was she excited!
Emmett didn't have as much fun this year...
We had to have Gracie's skates tightened A LOT before she would put them on.

Gracie with classmate Amia.
Winter has finally arrived in Great Falls, but not exactly in the "white" form (we've only had a few inches). Today our high temp. was -10 degrees....tomorrow it's supposed to hit -7!! The snow that's fallen is soooo fine that it takes forever to accumulate and you can sweep the sidewalks, not shovel (I like that). It is absolutely gorgeous in the sunlight or street light at night because everything sparkles like it's been sprinkled with glitter...I guess that makes the super-cold tolerable for a few days! :-)

It's Been Awhile....

2012-01-12T12:47:00.001-07:00

Okay. So I've been a little busy and blogging has gotten the backseat, but I'm back now!
This is a brief re-cap of what we've been doing for the last couple months...

December Light Parade downtown Great Falls

Emmett and Gracie both had school Christmas programs

Visiting Santa....they are still not sure about talking to the merry old fella, but sometimes they'll do anything for a candy cane!

Christmas at Grammy and Pa's House in western Washington - thank goodness it was a great year to travel at Christmas!

Post-Holiday fun

And what would the holidays be without a little family drama....yes, that was a heater, but after the hot tub cover flew off the hot tub during a dinner-time wind storm, it became a piece of abstract art...
Now, we've begun 2012 and things have slowed down (a little), so maybe in addition to keeping up with blogging, maybe I'll even get to my indoor house projects and some outdoor ones too (since winter has yet to arrive in Great Falls).
Happy New Year!

First Snow

2011-11-10T08:57:00.002-07:00

Our first snow of the year was last Saturday and it was just a skiff. We've appreciated the 'long' transition from summer to winter, compared to last year when the green leaves froze to the trees one day and all fell to the ground in 24hrs...

Naturally, the kids wanted to go out and play in the snow. It was also their idea to play football - and why not; everyone in our house recognizes Saturday as a day of football.

I probably should've taken the plastic wrapping off the Poof football, but it was pretty funny to watch.

All's well that ends well.

Halloween video...

2011-11-09T22:31:00.003-07:00

Here's the short movie I shot of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and Bumblebee trick or treating...

Emmett's First Deer Hunt

2011-11-05T12:26:00.003-06:00

Since Emmett's 4th birthday he's been waiting for fall to role around so he could go deer hunting like Gracie. Last week we got all of the gear together we've been practicing with (binoculars and gun) and headed out to the Missouri River for a white-tail doe hunt.

We got there early and sat around in the truck eating snacks, drinking gatorade, and watching a few early deer mill around in the distance until 30 minutes before dark. After a short 5 minute walk we laid down next to a creek where the deer come out of the thickets at a distance of 50 to 200 yards. I think he had a good time.

Buckets of Candy!

2011-11-03T13:44:00.006-06:00

This is probably the first and last year the kids will have "themed" costumes....The girls and I thought it was great, but Emmett was NOT a fan! As you'll see in the video (when I get it to upload...), he changed out of the lion costume and into a Bumblebee (transformer) right after this picture - and was a much happier trick-or-treater!

Yep. My old standby costume - a logger...just missing chest hair and oil stains - always a work in progress! :-)
I'm with my friends Amber (the bookworm), and Kelly (the construction worker with a "baby bump").

Homecoming and Birthday Cake...

2011-10-24T10:04:00.009-06:00

Mom and I celebrated our birthdays together this year (they're one day apart), by meeting in Pullman for a fun-filled weekend of football, shopping, birthday cake and lots of friends and family. I think we should make this an annual tradition (except next year we need a football WIN!!).

These two (Emmett and Cal) were pretty equally matched and with Pa egging them on, they took turns tackling each other for the football.

Gracie with friend Peyton.

The girls were not left out of the pre-func football action...

Bennett trying to get away from the "big" girls who wanted to carrying him around.

Our awesome friends from Great Falls wanted to come to Pullman for the weekend. They are not WSU alums, but they were great fans and can come back with us anytime!

Checking out the raptor club....

Heading to Ferdinand's for some pre-game ice cream cones.
It wouldn't be a pre-game party without homemade sausage on the grill!Touring campus...the "tip of the iceburg"...a fancy skylight for the library. I think Cal was afraid of heights :)

Taking a break in the new CUB

Now, on to the birthday party...

Gracie's Antelope Expedition

2011-10-09T15:37:00.003-06:00

Gracie has always been a great walker and can go and go and go without complaint. I've always had good luck getting an antelope opening morning but I walk-in about 2 miles. Well, this year I decided to ask Gracie if she'd like to come. I've gathered over the last couple of years that taking your kids out hunting is less about the hunt and more about the scenery. With that said, I told Gracie what we were in for and made sure I had everything ready to go the night before. We even went out Friday after school and got her a new pair of 'hunting' overalls.

It had been raining for 2 or 3 days before and Saturday (opening morning) was supposed to be clear and warm... I didn't realize just how wet she got from walking through the grass until later in the day. Oh, yeah, I forgot her fleece coat on the kitchen counter...
We saw around 40 deer and 1 small group of antelope. We got lucky.
It rained a little and I'd remembered to bring her rain coat :)
Whew, she had a good time and was probably more excited about the antelope than I was... antelope aren't that heavy, but they're heavy.

Mini Bolts Soccer

2011-10-09T15:29:00.004-06:00

Today was Emmett's last soccer game of the season. He played on a 4-5yr old team and picked it up pretty quick... he can't wait to play again... maybe this spring if we get up the nerve to do it in the cold and wind :)

Coug Game vs. Idaho State

2011-10-09T15:23:00.004-06:00

Here's a few photos of our trip to Pullman to watch the season opener against Idaho State. A Cougar win is always fun to watch!

Wilderness Hunt

2011-10-09T10:21:00.005-06:00

In mid-September a hunting buddy and I hiked 7-miles back into the Bob Marshall Wilderness for a 5-day elk hunt. We ended up with outfitters in the same area so there were lots of people, which I didn't expect. No elk in the freezer this time but here's a few photos of the expedition.

This area burned over 20 years ago and it still looks like this, kinda park-like.

So opening morning rolls around and I drop Mike off at a nice watering hole, and I slowly head towards a different area that looked promising. A few hours later Mike reaches me on the radio with happy news... it was his 1st-ever white-tail.
Aaah, and the not so happy news...
But the deal is we share the load :)
I'd been exercising with a heavy pack for about 2-months so my feet and back weren't in too bad a shape, but Mike felt it. He ended up with blisters on the 'bottom' of both of his feet.
Somehow, we both made it out in the end with smiles on our faces.
We did see a few elk but nothing we could legally take. I might try this again but will try to find a place out in the middle of nowhere with fewer people.

Fall is Here: Part 2

2011-09-13T19:36:00.011-06:00

First bird hunt of the season. Emmett went dove hunting with Jason last Thursday morning before school.

First corn (mine didn't ripen until Halloween last year!) and freshly earthed spuds.

First Coug game in Pullman.

First soccer game of the season.

Gracie giving Emmett a little soccer advice/pep talk (even though she's never played :-)

Last summer project. Covering the sun room's 1960s acoustic ceiling tiles with faux tin tiles. (It's a summer project because we have to leave all the windows in the house open to accommodate the rubber cement fumes.) We still have to do the foyer ceiling...but I love how this turned out!

Next up, the full-length window seat that Jason's going to build (I already bought the cushions!), crown moulding, a light fixture, and window treatments...I hope we're done before spring!

Fall is Here: Part 1

2011-09-12T11:43:00.006-06:00

Blogger wouldn't let me upload photos, so just the videos for now.....

Emmett's first soccer game. He wasn't quite sure what to do, but he figured it out pretty quick and scored 4 goals! He did great!

If you watch carefully, you'll see Emmett take-out the same kid twice (a good effort by the other kid!:-)

A Day of Firsts

2011-08-31T16:49:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was Emmett's first day of preschool and his first day of soccer.

Boy was he ready for bedtime last night! He loves his teacher and is excited about school. He is also excited to wear the new gear he gets for soccer , he seems to be excited to play too. :-)

(Jessie had to wear her backpack too.)

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

2011-08-24T16:27:00.006-06:00

Gracie started FIRST grade today! This is a pretty big deal for all of us because she is gone all day, every day. It was definitely a little quieter around here (Emmett doesn't start preschool until next week!). Gracie insisted are wearing her new clothes that Grammy bought her - even though it was 97 this afternoon and there is no A/C in the school - she said tomorrow she will wear short sleeves! We didn't cry saying good-bye - she ran off and I was forgotten pretty quickly. No biggy - I am happy for her, but I did get a little nostalgic this morning because after she woke up she put her "kitty" on Jessie's bed and said she didn't need it anymore and Jessie could have it (she has had this kitty since she was born and it was her favorite thumb-sucking cuddly). They do grow up faster than you want sometimes! :-)

Ready to go!

Checking out her desk.

The first day is done and she's still smiling!

With Kitty last summer.

Happy Birthday, Jason!

2011-08-16T15:38:00.002-06:00

#34! (yesterday)

August 11th, 2011

2011-08-12T07:52:00.001-06:00

August 11th, 2001

2011-08-11T15:56:00.009-06:00

Today Jason and I celebrate 10 years of marriage! Wow! It's hard to think that the next 10 years could have more changes the first 10...one dog, five moves/houses, and three kids!

It's amazing to think that I am closer to Jason than the day we were married. He is completely my best friend and I want to be with him more than anything in the whole world. I love you, Babe! :-)

July Recap

2011-07-30T22:33:00.002-06:00

We've had a great July - beautiful weather, visitors from WA, birthdays, barbeques, and family camp-outs to name just a few. We took some time off over the 4th of July to visit friends and family in WA, bouncing around the State for the first 7-days, visiting who we could, then spent the last 3-days at the Weber family camp-out on Blewett Pass. It was a busy trip and the kids and Mommy were good troopers. The 4th of July get-together at the Hinton's was fantastic... thanks for showing the kids how to make explosives.

Dick W Took the Kids for Scooter and Lawnmower Rides

Everyone Had Fun At Cousin Bennett's 1st Birthday Party

And Cal Invited His Cousins To Come Along On the Fire Truck Ride
Thanks, Cal!

A Very Relaxing and Beautiful 4th of July Evening

All 3 Kids on Bob... Good Job, Pa!

The Family Camp-out at Mineral Springs

Guess This Game...?

Cousin Kate came to visit for about 5 days. Kate and Amy made a day trip up to Glacier, went antiquing, visited some of the fun sites close by like Ryan Island, and trekked around town window shopping. I got to play the "favorite" parent with the kids, taking them to the waterpark and on a bike ride.

Charlie M. Russell Art Museum Kid's Day
Everyone Came Home with a Self-decorated Vest, Bandana, and Horse

Ryan Island

Electric City Waterpark

Giant Springs State Park

We wrapped up the month with a Blue Angels air show here in town. It was clear and 90 some degrees but the kid's didn't mind so much after we bought a blowup Blue Angels jet... wish we'd got it at the BEGINNING of the show.

The BEST Kind of Visitors...

2011-06-28T13:52:00.005-06:00

GRANDMAS, of course! One biological (Grammy) and one borrowed (friend Nancy) - two is always better than one! :-)

In true Grandma fashion, the kids were spoiled with sugary treats, trips to the toy store with money, bowling, mini-golf, dinner out, and a hot dog feast when Mom and Dad went out - alone!

Mom, helping me make the girls' room a little more "girly".

The Patio is Crowded

2011-06-19T21:05:00.007-06:00

Last spring we had robins show up looking for a home on the motion light in our back patio. After several days of trying to get the sticks to stay on the slippery light, Jason attached chicken wire to the top of the light and, voila!, the robins built a nest. After the last of the three chicks was gone, Jason carefully removed the nest (still attached to the wire) and put it in our garage for the winter (I had no idea he did this!).
So, this spring arrived and we saw a female robin persistently coming through the patio, looking for her nest on the light. Jason brought the nest out and put it back up, the robin immediately began fixing it up to her liking. After getting the nest ready, she left for about three days (mating), then returned and didn't leave for about four weeks. Since the nest is directly out our back window, the kids and I were obsessed with the birds and watched them constantly. I even set up the tripod and got some video of the action. All four eggs hatched and all four chicks fluttered away - I got a video of the very last one leaving the nest. I haven't seen any of them flying around the yard, so I hope they're still out there....somewhere!

Then, about a week ago, Jason was moving my patio hanging baskets around and found a nest with three eggs in one of the baskets - they belong to a pretty red house finch! The nest is out of site, unless I stand on a ladder, so there won't be too many pictures.
I sorted through all the bird video and put together a mini slide show of the highlights. I learned something new this year about robins and how they keep their nest so clean....you might find it interesting too! :-)

**There is no sound with this video because the music I bought and put in it, is copyright protected and YouTube will not publish it! I was going to find new music and rework the video, but it's already taken me three weeks to get this far, so here is the original video without music!

Graduate in the Hoouuusse!

2011-05-30T21:14:00.007-06:00

Last Friday was Gracie's last day of school - Emmett finished on Thursday.

Gracie had a Kindergarten graduation ceremony complete with caps with tassels, gowns, and diplomas! The kids were so excited - it was very cute! They only have half-day kindergarten at her school, so going up to first grade is a pretty big deal. She explained it as getting to have lunch at school and THREE recesses instead of only one!

Emmett and Jessie were tired of cooperating by this point...so I guess being silly is better than being angry!

Nothing like being in the wrong place at the wrong time - I was asked to make the graduation video way back in the fall, of course I said yes! Even though I have never done anything like that before on our Mac. I almost backed out of the deal, but decided I needed to buck up and learn the iMovie program (I'm so glad I did!). This is what I came up with for their graduation...

Show Girl!

2011-05-22T21:17:00.005-06:00

Last night Gracie had her very first full-production dance recital. It was titled "Seusicca" and held at the Mansfield Theater in Great Falls - they have many professional concerts and shows there. She has been taking tap and ballet since January at Miss Linda's School of Dance. There are 230 students who take classes there and they all performed last night. I have been complaining about all the expenses/fees that seem to be never ending with this show, but Jason and I were both very happy with last nights' performance and enjoyed seeing all the kids perform. And most of all, Gracie LOVED every minute of it!

In our frugality's, Jason and I decided not to have Gracie's dance pictures taken by the professional the studio hired - crazy expensive! So, before the show last night, Jason set up "Studio Dad" and took pictures of Gracie and her friend Hayley (they are also in Kindergarten together). I LOVE the shots he got - about 225 in all. Now I just have to decide which ones I want to frame....

Gracie and Hayley in their "Penguin" costumes for their tap routine

Fishy costume for the "Red Fish Blue Fish" ballet routine

Very excited to receive her first flowers

FABULOUS 4!

2011-05-08T22:06:00.007-06:00

May 8th, 2011

Emmett is 4 years old! That means we left Guam four years ago, and two years ago I had a brand new baby girl. WOW! Where does the time go?!
Emmett is officially done being a baby/toddler and I can hardly believe it! He is my busy bee. He still hums while he eats (just like when he was nursing), loves hugs and wrestling around, and is becoming quite the helper setting and clearing the table at dinner time. He loves socializing at school and is anxious to be writing like Gracie. He is fearless, athletic, and can be very dramatic!
We love you, Buddy!

8 Days Old

#1 Look at those cheeks!

2 Big Ones

3 and Counting...

Fabulous 4!

Still growing off the charts!
At his checkup yesterday he measured 44 inches tall (off the %tile chart) and weighed 43 lbs (93rd %tile)

SUPER 6!

2011-05-04T12:08:00.004-06:00

My beautiful baby girl is turning into an even more beautiful young lady! She is kind, loving, very helpful at home, loves school, and can't wait to start the first grade next year. We love her so much and are so happy that she is ours!! :-)

One-month old

One-year old

Two-years old

Three-years old

The Big 4

Five and counting

Super 6 (May 1st, 2011)
I made a "crown" cake per her request!
New soccer net in the background, and my cabinet with the "missing" doors...

Daddy's Post

2011-04-10T21:25:00.016-06:00

I've tried to get the kid's outside ever since the temperature rose above 10 degrees... signaling Spring is almost here. It's felt like a long winter so as soon as the pond on base was ice free, out we went to help feed the fish. In between fishing and working I sometimes find time to do other fun things with them...

End of March

Us at a swim party for a friend.

Short-order hot chocolate maker... just this Friday.

Trying to follow in Pa Hunter's footsteps

Crawdad hunting when the fishing's slow... today

Finally a nice fish, Gracie's largest yet at 15". One reels while the other nets.

And Emmett with a 10-incher.

Big, slimy fish... but she loves eating them :)

More 2nd Birthday

2011-03-31T21:46:00.005-06:00

Jessie has been packing a book around that is all about the life cycle of ladybugs, so I had to do a ladybug cake!

Show me the cake (definitely Jessie's favorite part of the day!)

Emmett was beside himself because Jessie was taking so long to open her presents! Just wait until next year, Buddy! :-)

Jessie is 2!!

2011-03-31T10:21:00.003-06:00

At 11:17pm tonight, Jessie will be exactly two years old! We moved to Great Falls about six weeks before she was due - I can't believe that was two years ago! Jessie is our little Hamster, the Daisy, and our family would not be complete without her - who would Emmett fight with then?! :-) She always makes us smile and often surprises us with new words, her independence, and love for her brother and sister. We are so excited for all the joy she will continue to bring our family in the coming years. We love you sweet pea!

Two-Year Stats

Length: 35.5 inches, 90th %tile
Weight: 25lbs, 6oz , 33rd %tile

She is working on potty training - I think we're really close, but now it's up to Jason and I to fully commit and knock it out! She moved into a big girl bed a couple weeks ago and loves it - especially when she doesn't want to go to sleep, she just walks out of her room....not sure if I like that! She wants to do everything that Emmett and Gracie do, but will spit on Emmett if he tells her no - this makes him very upset! (and she just keeps doing it until I put her in time-out, stinker! :-) She loves to be a helper in the kitchen, but is fully satisfied if I just put her on a stool in front of the sink and leave a drizzle of water on for her to play in - we're both happier that way! She loves Elli, will help me feed her and often shares her snacks with her - Elli loves her too! :-)

She is very excited about her birthday today (Gracie and Emmett helped with the hype), so I'll be sure to post more pictures of the day, later!

Big Girl Bed!

2011-03-20T09:58:00.004-06:00

We are officially a house without a crib! It's been in constant use for six years, so I am a little sad to see it go, but I'm also very excited for Jessie! :-) She has spent two nights in her big girl bed and has slept peacefully for about 11 hours each night - yay! When she wakes up there is no more crying or yelling for Mom & Dad, she just opens her door and strolls out with "blanky". Gracie will be joining Jessie in her room, sometime in the next couple months (hence the bunkbeds). This will be a fairly huge adjustment for all of us, but mostly Emmett because he will be left alone in his new room - he's already very worried about it, so we might wait until school is out. Of course I will be making his new room pretty special and "boyish" so I hope he will like the change.
Now, on to the potty training..... :-)

Those Pesky Leprechauns!

2011-03-17T21:21:00.008-06:00

Today is a very special day for us, now that Gracie is in school. Her school is named "The Fighting Irish" represented by green shamrocks, there happens to be a St. Patrick's Day parade in Great Falls, there is a breakfast at her school put on by the Ancient Order of the Hibernians, and sneaky leprechauns always visit the classrooms in her school (I had no idea this could happen, but I'm sure I'll be prepared next year!).

It all started last weekend when her homework assignment was to create a leprechaun trap for her classroom.

She painted the entire box with shamrocks, rainbows, gold, and many pretty colors. Daddy rigged a string as a trip-wire that was connected to a weighted bowl that would crash down on anyone/anything that released the string. She used hanging gold "coins" as lures to the trap. Unfortunately, no one in her class actually caught a leprechaun this year, but he did spring all the traps, leave sweet treasures for everyone, and gold coins. The leprechaun who visited some other classrooms turned desks over, sprinkled gold dust, left green-painted footprints, colored the water in the cooler green, and turned the toilet water green with his green pee!! Quite a day!

Waiting for the parade to start.

Gracie's school always enters a school-bus float in the parade - all the littlest kiddos have to stay on the bus, but the bigger kids walk and hand out candy. Gracie has the ribbon "wand" and blue sunglasses.

Happy with all the candy!

It was a great day! But, boy was I glad to have everyone tucked in because they were very cranky at the end of it! :-)

Indoor Fun

2011-03-08T13:17:00.006-07:00

So, I've had a hard time keeping up with my blogging since the kids have been using the computer to watch movies a lot - we are still waiting for it to warm up enough to go out to play! Here are the pics I just got off my camera.

February activities included swimming lessons, President's Day, and bowling with friends. Last Friday the Home and School group (I'm on the committee) put on a Mardi Gras carnival - it was awesome! The kids had a blast and we made money for the school too! The only pictures we got were the kiddos on the mini-carousel, but there were LOTS of other traditional carnival games like a cake walk, fishing, bottle toss, etc...

Great Shot, Julie!

2011-02-24T09:57:00.001-07:00

My nephew Cal was in the newspaper this week....thanks to a great picture by his Mom, Julie. Check it out here.

18 months = 5 years

2011-02-18T19:06:00.004-07:00

When Gracie was a couple years old, I started to wonder if she might have a speech delay, but I didn't want to rush her, so I didn't have her tested. After we got to Great Falls (Gracie had just turned 4), I was still concerned about her speech and then one day I read an article in the paper about a local clinic that offered FREE help for children that are too young for help via the school system. I called and set-up an appointment for Gracie to be tested. She tested in the 7th percentile for her age - putting her speech equivalent to a two-year-old. In August 2009 she started weekly sessions at the Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorders Clinic.

Last Tuesday, Gracie had her last session at the Clinic. She finished above the 76th percentile with speech equivalent to 7/8 year-olds! She had to work really hard to get through all her issues, but I am sooo proud of her! She hardly ever got frustrated and always loved to go learn from her therapist, Miss Martha. We are so grateful to the Scottish Rite Clinic for the services they provide, free of charge. They help over 75 children each week in our community - with a very wide array of speech disorders. We will be committed to their cause for as long as possible!

St. Valentine's Day

2011-02-18T18:51:00.008-07:00

I'm a little late, as usual, but we had a wonderful Valentine's Day! We were mostly all healthy (unlike the week before) and the entire day was lovely. The kids had a few goodies waiting when they woke up and I made them heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast. Then, Gracie was off to school where she had a simple party - mostly delivering and opening cards followed by mounds of sugar-filled treats (the best kind of party!).

Jason surprised me with a few chocolates and a beautiful knee-length sweater I had mentioned casually a few weeks before. (wink,wink!)
I made hot crab dip with crackers, wilted lettuce salad, and foccacia bread for dinner.
A perfect day!

Making cupcakes for school.

Numbers of the Week

2011-02-10T13:00:00.004-07:00

We've had a challenging week around here. And it all started with Jessie last Thursday...here are the numbers:

Doctors' visits: 2
Days Gracie missed school because she had the flu: 3 (and the entire weekend)
Number of ear infections: 3
Videos/cartoons viewed: probably close to the 100's
Inches of snow: 12
Lowest temp. outside: near -20

Days Jason has let his beard grow on his quest to be a "true Montanan": 34
(yes dear, I'm counting...)

Boy, am I ready for FRIDAY! Everyone is on the mend and the outside temps will be warming up. So kids, no excuses you are going outside!!

It's All Relative

2011-02-01T10:04:00.002-07:00

This is from the front page of our newspaper today. I think it's kind of funny that a high of 10 is considered "warmer". However, it was -17 degrees when I woke up, so I guess 10 above zero will feel like spring!!

A Weekend of Firsts

2011-01-31T19:27:00.004-07:00

FIRST #1

I've had the little potty sitting in the bathroom for quite awhile. Gracie and Emmett never used the little potty, but Jessie will sit on it (fully dressed) while I'm going to the bathroom...until last Friday when she told Jason she had to go potty, he took her in, sat her down, and she went!! She's been peeing on the potty several times a day since! I'm so excited, but very wary because she isn't even two yet. We may be intensifying the potty training over the weekend and see how it goes...
Eating a congratulatory cookie!

FIRST #2

Last spring, Jason and I bought a two-night hotel stay at an auction. I was so excited - maybe we'd finally get away (even though the hotel is in Great Falls!). Then, I realized that trying to get someone to stay overnight with the kids was going to be almost impossible - family is too far away and can you really ask a friend to do that?
It took eight months, but we did it! Our wonderful neighbors watched the kids for us and we actually got away for an evening and one whole night! It was the first time in almost six years (since Gracie was born) that I have been away from ALL the kids overnight. Jason gets away for work several times a year so he was well prepared for the hours of FREEDOM that were ahead of us! It was fabulous and I truly hope we don't have to wait another six years to do it again! Maybe we'll go for a week next time....! :-)
The second night of our weekend, we took the kids with us. We swam in the pool/hot tub, had a picnic on the hotel floor, watched basketball on the big screen TV in our room, and didn't get a wink of sleep all night (well, I didn't anyway)!! The kids had a great time too. I guess we all needed a break from the "routine".
(We totally forgot the camera, so we don't have any pictures of our weekend away - typical!)

Bath Time and Somersaults

2011-01-23T19:21:00.005-07:00

Two little water bugs!

Emmett has been doing somersaults for quite awhile, but Gracie only mastered them when she HAD to...When she started dance classes a few weeks ago, there is a short portion where they do a little tumbling and Gracie was the ONLY person in her class of 15 who could not do a somersault! We spent the next week working on it and she finally mastered them the night before her second class! Now, we can't get her to stop! :-)

Jessie can almost do them - hers go more sideways than forward...it won't be long!

Skate Night!!

2011-01-19T20:39:00.003-07:00

The school's parent group sponsored a "Skate Night" yesterday and the kids got their first swing at roller skating - it was a blast! :-) All I can say is, "thank goodness for ratchets that tighten skate wheels for beginners"!!

Gracie with school-friend Adrianne
Emmett did make one lap with skates on, but that was enough for him!
Jessie kept running out on the floor - she was ready, but I wasn't! I was pretty sure those big kids would run her over!

New Year's Resolution

2011-01-09T15:48:00.003-07:00

Okay, it's not a resolution exactly, it's more of an unwanted annual chore that I did not complete last year, so I'd better get it done this year! Fortunately, Jessie and Emmett thought the shredder was great fun and helped with the file clean-out.

Christmas Happenings

2010-12-29T08:48:00.006-07:00

We had a fabulous Christmas! This is what we were up to...

Watching for the train that brought Grammy and Pa.

The Fam

Showing off her adorable new outfit from her Godparents John and Beth.

Christmas morning gift frenzy...

Gorgeous, warm Christmas afternoon (in the 40's), so we went sledding.

Walking along the Missouri River.

Ice jam on the river - it caused flooding along the River Road.

Christmas Dinner: Prime Rib, au gratin potatoes, and beanie bundles with fresh apple and chocolate cream pies for dessert! YUMMY!

Another Milestone

2010-12-21T09:22:00.006-07:00

Gracie has had her first "wiggly" tooth for at least 6 weeks and for the last two weeks has had a very wiggly tooth. I have been trying to pull on it (when she would let me) and get that sucker out! Jason couldn't stand the sight or to even talk about it without getting queasy. (He can have his arms up to his elbows in deer guts and not be bothered at all, but a little tooth gets loose and he's jell-o!) To his defense, it was pretty gross the last couple days!

The Tooth Fairy Comes Tonight!

Heavenly Echoes

2010-12-20T13:48:00.004-07:00

Gracie had her school program on Friday - it was FABULOUS! The kindergartners stole the show and Gracie did a great job singing and doing all the hand motions.

Before it was their turn to go on, they had a party in the classroom with red and green pancakes, ornament making, and pin-the-nose-on-Frosty. It was a lot of fun!
Now, we are ALL at home ALL day - quite an adjustment (for me, at least!). Just a preview to next summer, I suppose!

Mr. Claus

2010-12-12T08:37:00.006-07:00

Emmett had his first Christmas program on Friday. He was a fabulous Santa Claus in the Magical Christmas Village performance!! Great job Buddy!

What a GREAT big sister!

2010-12-11T15:09:00.003-07:00

Gracie is such a fabulous big sister! She loves helping Jessie, reading to her, and playing with her. This is her showing Jessie the ornaments on the tree...

Lots 'O Turkey!

2010-12-06T08:41:00.011-07:00

We spent Thanksgiving at my parents house in western Washington - it is becoming a tradition that we would all like to continue. It's usually the last good time to travel over four mountain passes, I get to go shopping with my Mom and engorge myself in the abundance of clothing choices, and Jason gets to process all the fruits of his hunting labor (with Dad's help) by making summer sausage and pepperoni in my Dad's smoke house.

However, this year, while avoiding sub-zero temps back in Great Falls, we had snow and sub-freezing temps in Washington. Which led to a very long, stressful 17-hour trip home with snow almost the entire way!
It was worth the stressful driving to spend time with Grammy and Pa on the farm and my brother and his family for a few days.

Dad carving the 24-pounder that came with the "Turkey Dinner for 20" my parents bought at an auction. We all love the home-cooked Thanksgiving, but it was a treat not to have to spend two days cooking (we still had a lot of clean-up)!
The Fam:
Jessie in the front, Grammy, Amy, Jason, Julie, Ian, Gracie, Cal, Emmett, & Pa (on the Kiddie side of the table :-). My other nephew, Bennett, slept through dinner, so he's not pictured.
Visiting my Grandpa Joe Thanksgiving morning. We took him homemade pie - his favorite.
Other fun stuff we did this week:

Our Little Cowgirl

He wasn't totally convinced that this is a fun activity, but at least he tried it! :0)

Winter Has Arrived!!

2010-11-16T21:51:00.004-07:00

Winter made itself known today. We started with rain through the night followed by lots of wind (not the lovely Chinook winds that warm everything up - the other kind!). It was 39 degrees when I woke up and dropped to 23 degrees by noon (it's 18 degrees right now). Leading to lots of ice topped with powdery snow and lots of fender-benders on Jason's way home from work.
There was enough snow on the ground to dig out all the pants, gloves, and boots this evening. Jessie took one look outside after her nap and said, "Whooaaaa...". She loved every minute of the white stuff, until Jason dumped the crew off the sled and she got a face full of it! :-)

Jessie is 19 Months!

2010-11-05T09:08:00.007-06:00

(Okay, she was 19 months old on October 31st and I started this post last week, but I was waiting to upload a few photos....)

We are having so much fun with Jessie at this age! She is very busy and always moving, but she makes us laugh all the time. She is talking much more than the other two did at this age and she has a lot of wavy brown hair - also unlike the first two kiddos. I can't bring myself to cut her hair, so we have to clip it or band it everyday - sometimes that's a fight! She is learning lots from Gracie and Emmett - good and bad. She understands competition and is often fighting with Emmett over my lap space - this is where she learned hitting....unfortunate, but inevitable! Some of her new words include pumpkin and spider.
Here is the busy little bee!
(When she sees a camera, she smiles big and says cheese :-)

Mommy's Helper
Playing Outside
Our Little "Linus"

Trick-or-Treat!

2010-11-01T10:18:00.004-06:00

Jessie with our scarecrow "Butch"

Show me the CANDY!

Jessie didn't quite know what she was in for, but she did know she wasn't going to be left out! Here she is trying to get herself up some steps. She insisted on carrying all her goodies in her bag, so it was getting a little heavy. She didn't say trick-or-treat, but she did always say 'thank-you'!

Square-Foot Gardening

2010-10-26T12:02:00.016-06:00

Now that we finally live in a climate that is suitable for vegetable gardening, I was VERY anxious to get one planted this year. However, living in an area where the growing season is less than 100 days, produces many challenges that I still have to figure out!

Last spring I read an article in our paper about a local woman who was using the square-foot gardening method by Mel Bartholomew as written in his book "All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space". I immediately got his book and started reading. I liked most of his ideas and tried to follow his suggestions fairly closely - at least for our first year. I also attending many free classes sponsored by the Master Gardeners at Ace Hardware in town - a wealth of knowledge for the local growing conditions!

Overall, the garden looked great and did produce some very yummy veggies, but the season was very late and cool this year so my sweet pepper, jalapenos, and corn just never had a chance to get anywhere.

We planted a total of 80 square feet with the following veggies (some crops I planted multiple times throughout the summer):
lettuce, spinach, radishes, broccoli, cucumber, cabbage, cauliflower, kholrabi, tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes, carrots, corn, winter squash, pumpkin, sweet peppers, jalapenos, onions, green onions, peas, green beans, marigolds, and small dahlias

We also have two whiskey barrel planters with herbs and 15 strawberry plants next to the garage (not remotely comparable to western WA strawberry production, but the kids liked them!)

We started by using Mel's recipe for a good soil mix and built raised beds - he insists that you only need 6 inches of soil to grow all vegetables (except potatoes and carrots). His mix includes equal parts of compost, vermiculite, and peat moss.
We made a grid system over the soil to maximize growing space and built trellises for the vines (I trained the cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, and peas to climb the trellis - was unsuccessful getting the squashes to climb because their leaves are so big).

Due to the location of our garden and the fact that we have three curious kiddos and a curious dog, we built chicken wire cages to protect the soil from digging and from our neighborhood birds and squirrels from stealing the seeds. We also used the cages as a frame for clipping the plastic frost-barrier (we needed that until July!). Once the seedlings were big enough, the cages came off and a mini-fence/electric fence (for the dog) went up. Jason also installed a drip irrigation system on a timer so I wouldn't have to remember to water twice a day.

Removable cages - worked great to keep soccer balls and ornery one-year-olds out! We had three trellises in our garden. This one is for the zucchini (never got it to climb), the tomato (only one plant, but it took over the whole trellis), and the cucumber.

Plastic frost barrier clipped to cages with clothespins.

Jason installing twine in a lattice pattern to stabilize the corn in wind (which we get here!). It worked great! The corn finally produced ears in late September, but we had our first hard freeze about a week before they would have been edible - bummer!

The zucchini taking over the sidewalk and the tomato taking over the trellis. Cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower plants in the background.

The far bed had potatoes and carrots with marigolds planted in the center - they help deter the worms that like to munch on the underground veggies. The potatoes did great, but most of the carrots never got big enough to eat.
The fore-bed has lettuce, spinach and cabbage-family plants (in addition to the climbers). We had quite a bit of lettuce, but it didn't get very big and no spinach - it never got above 2 inches tall. The cabbage/broccoli/cauliflower plants produced a ton of leaves, but not very much vegetable.

New red potatoes.

And the Yukon golds...

Our tomato went crazy and produced great until the first hard frost. Our family doesn't like fresh tomatoes, except in salsa, so that's what I used them for. The neighbors liked them on the grill and my friend really liked to eat them like candy! I chose this variety because the nursery grower suggested it for sweetness and climbing ability. It was a little tricky to use in salsa because these are a cherry-size variety (they are tangerine color when ripe).

I didn't get many late-season pictures, but this one of the kids shows that the corn did actually get tall and the pole beans on the trellis next to it. We also got one pumpkin, two acorn squash, and a steady supply of zucchini.

Okay, lessons learned...

I love the square foot gardening concept and will definitely continue to use it here. It is applicable in any setting or environment. I tend to be on the obsessively organized side so the square foot grid system was perfect for me and very easy to organize the large number of veggies I wanted to plant.

However, after a disappointing production of several of the crops (including carrots and spinach - my favorites) I decided I needed to test the soil nutrients to see if that was a contributing factor in poor production. Mel insists that his soil mix - if done correctly - will have everything the veggies need to produce abundantly - I no longer believe that! Nitrogen was non-existent, phosphorous was very low and potassium was also low. We also discovered that our soil is very alkaline. I realize that soil composition changes depending on which crops are planted in it, but I didn't think everything would be depleted! It is hard for me to believe that there were loads of nutrients before I planted, but I didn't test for them so I don't know for sure. Before the spring we will be adding some soil amendments and raising the beds up to 10 inches deep using soil from our yard to fill-in.

I will be planting cool-weather crops much earlier than Memorial Day (this year I planted after Mem. Day) and just keep the frost cover on at night as long as I have to - hopefully I'll get some spinach next year!

We will also be eliminating the removable cages - too big of a pain. And instead just "wrapping" the garden with two feet of chicken wire fencing along with the electric fence - that worked great! We won't be able to keep basketballs and squirrels out, but we're going to take our chances and see how it goes.

I think I will forgo the idea of trellising the squashes and just let them run free through my flower-beds, but not on the sidewalk! That will give me more trellis space for cucumbers, peas, and beans.

Like this year, I will buy and plant as many seedling starts as possible. I had starts for cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, cucumber, tomato, winter squash, and all of my herbs. Our growing season is so short that I will try anything to get them a head start. I don't have the space or equipment to try it myself...maybe I'll get a greenhouse, someday...

I will continue to compost all organic waste - I just have to be diligent about turning the pile and keeping it moist.
This was our third attempt to build a compost bin that could keep the kids and dog out - it works great!

It's Finally Fall!

2010-10-19T16:03:00.009-06:00

Fall has finally arrived in central Montana. We've had several "hard" freezes so my garden is officially done and the days have been gorgeous with crisp nights - my favorite! Of course other signs of fall in our house is when I become a "hunting-widow" on the weekends and I add another year to my age. For some reason this birthday was a little harder on me - I definitely feel older this year - maybe because I'm not pregnant or breast-feeding for the first time in five years, hmm......

Ready to make birthday cupcakes with Daddy

Jessie finished her cupcake and ice cream before anyone else, then provided a little entertainment...

The kids have been doing "shows" for evening entertainment. Jason patiently sat through a dozen of them one night - even when it was getting cold and dark outside.

7 Staples....

2010-10-13T18:59:00.004-06:00

Well, we got a new camera and just about the first pictures on it are of Jason's head-wound. Jason has always been a little accident-prone, but today was the first time he had to get stiches/staples. The wound was 2.5 inches long and felt like he'd been hit with a baseball bat, but overall he's doing great now and looking forward to having tomorrow off of work (doctor's orders).
What in the world did he do, you might ask - well, he dropped a post-pounder on it at work (installing posts for the girl scouts to hang birdhouses). The safety office isn't quite sure how to do a follow-up on this one...is a hard-hat really necessary PPE (personal protective equipment) for using a post-pounder?
He may be re-writing the rule book on this one! :-)

It looks like Halloween, so don't look if you get queasy at the sight of blood....
(I didn't post the really gross one...)

No Pictures For Awhile...

2010-10-06T13:05:00.004-06:00

Well, my periodic blogging might become even more periodic until we get a new digital camera....someone dropped ours in 12 inches of water while duck hunting - along with his cell phone... :-b
Here's the last of the recovered pictures...

We've been enjoying our gorgeous fall weather and the changing of the leaf-color this year - we had a really hard freeze last year and the leaves fell off the trees still green!

Gracie LOVES kindergarten and is learning a ton. Emmett likes preschool and wishes he could go more than two days a week. Jessie was 18 months old at the end of September and amazes us every day. Her new word yesterday was "ME"! She learned that from Gracie and Emmett who were trying to get me to give them their snack first by saying "me, me, me!". Jessie caught on quickly and immediately ran up to me with her hand extended yelling "me!" - clear as a bell! She also maneuvers stairs very well and got her first pair of rainboots this week - she loves the mud! :-)

Pictures to come soon....I hope!

Old Wood-New Look

2010-09-29T10:29:00.010-06:00

In June I decided I couldn't stand the light-colored carpet anymore (in our dining and living rooms), so one day when Jason came home from work this is what he found:

(Well, actually he did help me move some furniture first!)

And this is what we had underneath:

We spent the summer adapting to the much harder and noisier/squeaky floors and made sure we liked them. We knew they had been under carpet for at least 30 years and that the wood was a very thin/narrow maple that they don't make anymore, so I wasn't totally sure what they would look like, but anything was better than white carpet in the dining room!

Finally this week, the time came for them to be re-done and yay - we love them and they aren't nearly as "squeaky" now, so double yay!

Our "new" refinished floors:

Sanding (viewed through plastic)

Sealing (2 coats)

Finishing (2 coats)

Before

After

Now, we add a small piece of trim to tidy up the edges and move furniture back in - hopefully we never have to move the piano or hutch again!

September SNOW?!!!

2010-09-17T16:51:00.005-06:00

Well, I guess we do live in Montana, but snow in September is NOT acceptable! I'm still hoping for a few more days of summer! (Which we were sorely lacking this year.) The forecast for today was high of 44 and low of 35 with lots of rain. It started out as rain, but was only 33 degrees when I took Gracie to school. I think we warmed up to 36 by mid-afternoon, but only after several hours of white slushy falling from the sky. The kids were ready to pull out the snow pants and try it out - I refused! Guess the garden is done for the year....

About 11 this morning.

A little later at 2pm.

La Vie en Rose...

2010-09-12T17:34:00.004-06:00

Jessie loves to wear these pink swimming goggles around the house - it cracks me up!

Jessie is 17 Months Old!

2010-08-31T07:56:00.010-06:00

Jessie Kay is 17 Months old today - I can't believe it! Jessie is growing up so fast and always surprising us with new words and accomplishments. She is so funny and of course I think she is sooo cute too! :-)
Words: Mommy, Daddy, Pa, Elli, Gracie, Emmett, hi, shoe, no, ball, thank you, maw (milk, but also for any drink), weee (when swinging or spinning), mmmmm (when she is served food)
Will shake her head yes and no. Makes lots of noises for words I don't understand and points to things. Will make noises for some farm animals. Will say "stinky" and pinch her nose. Says "owie" and points the owie or bandaid. Can count to three if I say 'one'...
Blows kisses and knows how to brush her teeth.
Knows everything you say to her and loves to help when asked.
Will climb any playground ladder (on her own) and go down the slide on her tummy - feet first.
Starting to run.
Loves her blanky and must have it to sleep.
Still sucks her two middle fingers when she's tired.
Loves to dance and play with Gracie and Emmett.
I still haven't cut her hair - it's so crazy when not pulled back, so I have to keep it in ponies. I love it! :-)
She's our little firecracker and we love her so much!

Emmett Starts Preschool!

2010-08-27T17:04:00.005-06:00

For Emmett the wait was finally over! He started preschool on Thursday morning. He has the same teacher that Gracie had last year, but this class is only for 3-year-olds. He had no problem saying good-bye to Mom and is ready to go back for more!

Great job little buddy! :-)

Ready to go in his new classroom

Getting settled

Coming in from the playground (it was 95 degrees, hence all the kiddos with red faces)

Did he have fun? :-)

First Day Interview

It's Official: Kindergartner In The Hoouusse!

2010-08-25T12:14:00.005-06:00

We made it! We all survived the summer together, and now my oldest 'baby' is starting KINDERGARTEN! Gracie was/is soooo excited. I am so happy for her and can't wait to see what the year has in store for her! :-)

Ready to Go!

Checking out her desk

Done with her first day!

Well, did she like it? :-)

Happy 33, Jason!!

2010-08-21T17:23:00.007-06:00

Well, his birthday was actually on the 15th -I'm a little behind on my blogging! :-)

We had a very nice day starting with biscuits and gravy made from scratch, the dinner of his choice, then mocha truffle roll/cake for dessert (it's a very "involved" dessert that I usually only make for his birthday!). Of course the gifts couldn't wait until cake-time so we opened them after breakfast.

Happy Birthday, Jason, the love of my life! :-) XOXOXOXOXOXOX

2010-08-08T19:51:00.002-06:00

Four new posts today, so be sure to keep scrolling down to see them all!

Weekend Happenings

2010-08-08T14:00:00.008-06:00

We had a great weekend starting with a trip to the ballpark to watch the Great Falls Voyagers (White Sox farm team) play on Friday night.

There was a thunder storm complete with 60mph winds and rain that blew over, we were under cover, but Emmett still covered his head with his mitt...

Jessie didn't make it to the 9th inning (none of us made it to the end - it went to 13 innings!)

A trip to the island/park at Ryan Dam (15 minutes down the Missouri from Great Falls)

Guam Friends Reunion: Keystone, CO

2010-08-08T09:14:00.011-06:00

We left Guam in July of 2007 - Emmett was 6 weeks old. But, while we were there, we made some of our best friends. There were a whole group of us young-married-no-kids couples, so we always had beach outings, game-nights and New Years parties where we could actually stay out until midnight! :-) We've stayed in-touch with some of our closest friends and finally set-up a "reunion" this summer. Everyone couldn't make it, but it was great to see those who could. We rented a house in Keystone, Colorado and had a fantastic time! The kids got along great and we even had a couple adult game-nights while we were there.

When's the next one?!

Kids at mealtime - thanks goodness for a large table!
Celebrating Ava's first birthday (a few days late)
Exploring a great playground - they had fun even though it was raining.

The guys worked in a couple days of fly-fishing. This our friend John.

Friends John and Cory.

Jason bringing in a "big" one.

Here it is!

The kids building a fort in the firewood box (gas fireplace doesn't need real wood...).

Cory and Angie with Beth and John

Yes, drinking adult beverages was necessary at all hours of the day with six children in the house. I might even have two drinks in my hand...

On the second to last day of our stay, we went to the Keystone Lodge to use their Spa facilities (we had a mouse run through our rental house, so the manager comp'd us a spa day complete with massages for the "girls"). While the ladies were being pampered, the guys took the kiddos swimming and when we were done we joined them in the hot tub. I had only been in the hot tub two minutes when Emmett slipped on the tile floor and cracked his head open - blood gushing. The spa manager insisted on calling the paramedics. We had already decided that butterfly strips and liquid bandage were the route we wanted to take, even after they recommended stitches. So, they patched him up, complete with a head-wrapped in gauze, hot wheels car, and orange juice - he loved it (even though he doesn't look happy in this picture - he was). Ten days later the cut is almost gone and I don't even think there will much of a scar to brag about - just a cool story. :-)

Emmett (3yrs), Jessie (15 mos.), Gracie (5yrs), Sophie (2.5yrs), Canyon (4yrs), and Ava (12mos.)

Fun with Grammy and Pa

2010-08-08T09:06:00.007-06:00

Before heading out to the family reunion, we spent a few days at my parents house.

Future Cowgirl: Gracie - first time on a "big" horse. She loved every minute!

Emmett walking out to Pa's zip line with gear in hand.

Weber Campout 2010

2010-08-08T08:14:00.014-06:00

This year the Weber Family Reunion/Campout was at Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island. We had a great group of family (including some of our "Hunter" extended family - sooo great to have them too!) and a great campsite - except for the VERY stinky pit-toilets! :-( As is customary for every trip to Deception Pass, several people in the fam spent most of their time "fishing" for dungeness crab (Jason included!). We had a fabulous fresh seafood feast on Saturday night that included crab, shrimp, grilled oysters, and steamed clams.
Another fantastic trip!

Happy Camper!

My cousin Joshua with kids Wesley and Jillian

Down to the Beach

Keeping a watchful eye...

Grammy, helping with the "gear"

Meal Time

Adventures in Crabbing: Thanks a bunch Capt. Hinton!

Thank goodness for shallow water - it wasn't too cold for taking a swim (at least for the kids!).

Another Nephew!

2010-07-03T17:23:00.002-06:00

My brother Ian, his wife Julie, and their son Callahan welcomed a new baby boy to their family on the 1st of July! We are so happy to have Bennett Nash in the family! Julie posted more details and pictures on their blog here. I'll post some pictures of our first meeting (in a couple weeks) - can't wait!

JUNE Update: Lots of FUNNY Videos!

2010-06-25T19:35:00.008-06:00

We've been busy over the last couple weeks as the weather is finally getting nice. The day after the rain stopped, Jason wanted to put up the new tent and have a campout with Gracie and Emmett. They eventually did fall asleep and stayed out there all night - bring on the Weber Campout! :)

Gracie's Game

Playing with our neighbor Cody

Sprinkler Fun

One night before bed, Jason decided the kids needed their first lesson in tackle football. Here is Emmett running for a first down.

Second down....

Third, fourth, and fifth downs....yeah, I know, but he's only 3! I didn't get it on video, but he did eventually score (he had to get to the rose bushes - never too young to want the roses.... :-)

Gracie and Emmett just finished three weeks of swimming lessons. They were taught by the high school girls swim teams (they're certified instructors) and we lucked out with very small groups - Emmett was the only kiddo in his group this day.
Gracie showing off her back float.
Jessie enjoying her snacks and climbing on the bleachers.

Emmett on the slide.

Jumping off the diving board.

So, the day that I finally remembered to bring my camera to swim lessons, Jessie, finally decides to walk! We are almost there - yeah!

Whew! All caught up.

Discovering the Art of Mud Pie Making

2010-06-14T19:24:00.004-06:00

The kids love that Elli's outside water dish automatically refills when emptied, hence supplying a constant pool of water for mud-making...

It was hot this afternoon so the water dish was a magnet for exploring toddlers:

Exhibit A

I just hosed her off outside and took the clothes off to let her dry before bringing her in - she loved every minute of it!

Sisters, sisters...

2010-06-14T19:22:00.001-06:00

Rockin' Robins

2010-06-13T14:03:00.007-06:00

It all started on a VERY windy day in mid-May. Jason saw a momma robin scoping out a nest location right outside our kitchen window on top of the motion light. For two days she unsuccessfully tried to build a nest - the wind blew everything down and left a large collection of twigs on our patio.

We were thrilled to see that a robin wanted to nest there - almost any other bird would not have been welcome (too messy!). So, Jason went out and carefully attached a piece of chicken wire to the top of the light so that the nest twigs had a place to hang onto. Within 48 hours the pair had completed a nest right outside our window. We were worried that going in and out of the back door would spook her off the nest, so we trained the kids to be very quiet and not scare the momma away (turns out, she was very hard to spook).

She was finally sitting on eggs - we didn't know how many. And over Memorial Day weekend while we were gone - the babies arrived! We couldn't see them, but we saw momma bringing worms, so we knew they were up there! Finally Jason snuck-up to the nest on a ladder and took a picture - there were 3! Every time the mom or dad robin came with a worm, the kids would get excited and watch the babies stretch their necks and chirp for food - very exciting times around here! And finally yesterday, the first baby flew out of the nest. The other two left this morning. We haven't seen any of them since, but we're hoping they're running/hopping fast to keep away from the neighbors cats! Robins can have up to three clutches in a year, so maybe we'll have some more baby robins before the summer is over!

Sitting on the Eggs

New Arrivals

Feeding Time (the male and female took turns bringing food about every 3-5 minutes!)

Almost ready to leave the nest!

Last One: This one sat on the edge of the nest all morning today and kept stretching and fluffing its feathers like it was ready to go. Finally the female came to feed it and must have given it a nudge because it finally lept out!

Hopping Around: It finally made it into the boxwood shrub - not sure if it's still in there...

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-02T10:14:00.006-06:00

We left Thursday and drove 13.5 hours to Sedro-Woolley to visit my family for the long weekend. It was raining in Great Falls when we left and rained/fogged the entire drive - it was great for driving and keeping the kiddos mellow. But, it did not stop for 3 days!! We had a 4 hour break on Sunday morning, but otherwise it rained the whole weekend. At least we weren't missing good weather back home - it rained here the entire weekend too! I could tell because my grass was 8 inches tall and the flower/vegetable gardens were mud! We made it back in 13 hours. The drive wasn't as bad as I expected so we'll probably do that again - all the way without an overnight stay. Loved seeing my parents, Grandpa Jack, and several cousins, so it really was a great trip!

Jessie, happy to be facing forward - finally!

Gracie and Emmett packed their own activity bags....Gracie can't go anywhere without her "accessories"! :-)

Emmett, chillin' in the back

We went to the beach on Saturday - it was FREEZING!

This is Pa teaching Emmett how to sink in the wet sand...

Looking for baby crab - NONE to be found! I've always found crab under the rocks - where were they?!

Happy to be in the rain-free fresh air!

Lilacs and the Last Day of School

2010-06-02T10:09:00.004-06:00

Great Falls has a challenging climate to grow - almost everything - due to late frosts, late snowfall, and the wind. But one thing that is native here and absolutely fabulous this year were the lilacs - WOW! Almost every house in town has a lilac bush, many have hedges like this one at our church/school. Talk about intoxicating fragrance - love it! They were not this amazing last year, must have been that late super-wet snowfall(s) we got in May....

I took this picture last Wednesday - Gracie's last day of pre-school.

Gracie is Hooked!

2010-06-02T10:02:00.007-06:00

Last week Gracie got to go fishing with Jason - right after they stocked the pond with hundreds of hungry trout! Gracie reeled in 6 fish in about 10 minutes using canned corn and worms for bait. Then she came home, cleaned the fish, Jason bbq'd them and she ate 3 of them! (They were small.) Emmett missed the outing because he was sick, but he's ready now, just waiting for Daddy to have time...

Wonderful Mother's Day

2010-05-10T09:54:00.004-06:00

Jason got up with the kids (5:55am) and took them downstairs to make cards and eat breakfast so that I could sleep in ('til 7).

Best of 5. I wanted a family picture, but not everyone was excited about it...(yes, Gracie, I mean you!)

Just what I wanted: a full day of yard work and painting! (I'm totally serious - I know, that's weird...)

Dinner: hot dogs on an open fire
Dessert: S'mores

Jessie is climbing EVERYTHING! And even thinking about walking - a little.

Thanks to my wonderful husband and kiddos for a great day! I love you!

Emmett is 3!!

2010-05-10T08:49:00.009-06:00

On Saturday, Emmett turned 3!
He was very excited for his turn in the spotlight and praying about what he wanted for his birthday every night! One night last week, he stopped mid-prayer, looked at Jason and Gracie and said in his deep, husky 'serious' voice, "You don't open my presents, right guys?". Jason and Gracie looked at each other and said, "Nope, Emmett. They are all for you!". Too funny! I just hope we can make it a few months without ANY birthday talk because this last year was "exhausting"!!
Emmett enjoyed his full day of fun. After his choice of breakfast food (cinnamon rolls from a nearby bakery) and opening of family presents. He and Jason headed out to the "animal store" (Scheels sporting goods) to "shoot" animals in the shooting gallery - success! Emmett shot a bear, a skunk, and a fish!
After the outing, we were at home enjoying some overdue sunny weather and Emmett was trying out all his new outdoor toys. We had cheese pizza for dinner followed by a chocolate football cake and one more present from our neighbors. It was a great day!

He was very excited to get several new football-themed shirts.

Plasmacar with helmet

Trying out the new wheel-barrow.

Grammy, he's ready for a badminton challenge!

Gracie Turns 5...Going on 13?!

2010-05-02T14:28:00.013-06:00

Gracie turned 5 years old yesterday and had her first "friend" birthday party. We had 8 little girls come over for two hours of screaming, running around, food, and fun! She had a "Garden Party" with hot dogs for lunch and a flower-shaped cake for dessert. I think all of us had fun - except Emmett who was very upset about all the girls taking over his space AND that it wasn't his birthday so he wasn't allowed to open the presents (his birthday is next Saturday, so we'll make up for it then!).
Throughout the day Gracie was showing signs of turning teenager rather than kindergartner. She was talking back, saying "no" to EVERYTHING, flipping her hair and insisting on applying more "lips" (lipgloss) every 5 minutes saying that is was coming off already!! She almost went to timeout several times during the party for being rude to her friends and talking back. I hope this is just spring/birthday fever and it will pass before we're together all day/every day for the summer! I will go CRAZY!!

Despite the recent attitude changes, we love to see Gracie grow up and turning into a beautiful little girl. She loves being the big sister (the "boss") and helping me in any way that she can. She is so funny and very social. She loves school, art projects, digging in the garden for worms, and dancing for us in the living room. We can't wait to see what God has planned for her! :-)

Very excited about getting some new dresses. Now...which one to wear first?!

She is explaining to me that this dress doesn't have "arms" and this top part goes around her neck....how does she know this?

Polly Pocket with Pop-Out Camper - she won't stop playing with it! (Great gift Uncle Ian and Aunt Julie!)

Party Gift Bags

Garden "Decor"

Party Mayhem - good thing a couple other moms stayed to help out!

Pinata

The Birthday Cake - Gracie picked the colors

Cake and Ice Cream

Cute as a...bug?

2010-04-26T12:44:00.003-06:00

Perhaps a ladybug?

Spring is HERE!

2010-04-26T09:18:00.004-06:00

As usual, I'm playing catch-up on my blogging. After the 13.5 inches of snow - that melted in about 24 hrs - we had five days of 75+ degree weather, so we were enjoying it to the full extent! (Except for the days the kids had the stomach flu-eeww!)

Enjoying the replenished sandbox

Apple Blossoms
We only have about 6 scrawny branches left on our tree because we cut it WAY back last summer as it was growing into the power-lines.

Future Cougar Football Player

Look at the "Pretty Pretty Princesses"!!

More Snow

2010-04-17T10:12:00.002-06:00

April snow showers brought 13.5 inches of fun in 24hrs last Monday/Tuesday... The next day we were up in the 60's and had 73 degrees yesterday. Are there more than 4-seasons?

Monday afternoon

Early Tuesday morning

And a white view out our front window...

Here's a snapshot of storytime (minus the little squirrel) at the Gibbons' house.

One-Year Check-Up

2010-04-09T14:16:00.007-06:00

Jessie had her one-year check-up on Wednesday - everything was great!
Here's how she measured up:

19 lbs., 4 oz. (19th %tile)
29.75 inches long (70th %tile)
Head size: 46 cm (75th %tile)

These are a sample of pictures Jason took of the kids on Easter....not a single one in the bunch with everyone looking at the camera and smiling! But still cute, I think! :-)

Emmett's measurements at one-year-old:

25 lbs., 5.5 oz. (97th %tile)
33.5 inches long (95th %tile)
Head size: don't know, but I know it was/is A LOT bigger than Jessie's and had almost as much hair!

Gracie's measurements at one-year-old:

19 lbs., 10 oz. (25th %tile)
30.5 inches long (90th %tile)

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T09:06:00.005-06:00

It was a little colder this Easter... upper 30's maybe. The kid's had a blast and of course were awake and looking out the windows for eggs by 6 a.m. The bunny was able to sneak out while some cartoons were on, but we think Gracie was a little suspicious. Should a bunny really have to be up and at 'em before daylight...?

Who's going to get there first?

Okay, where is it? Jessie found it...

Did I mention it was really cold out? Thanks for letting me post this, Honey.

We might have to get the kid's bigger baskets... or use fewer eggs... nah.

Ahh, sugar time. Happy Easter, everbody.

Jessie's Birthday Videos

2010-04-01T08:45:00.005-06:00