Pumpin Patchin It

Our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch with the Hazletts.

Grayson and Greer on the train.

Brad and the kids.

Greer was soooooo mad he couldn't do it himself.  He threw a flinging fit.

Sheri riding a big kid trike.

For the Love of a Friend

My dear friend Lanell was diagnosed with breast cancer this summer.  She underwent a double mastectomy and reconstruction.  The cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.  Her treatment began with chemo and she was told that she would lose all her hair after the second treatment.  The night before her second treatment I cut off all my hair.  Anyone who knows me knows my hair.  It is really a big part of me.  A place I hide.  A place I feel safe.  It defines me.  People know me by my hair.  It was very long and blonde and very healthy.  I loved my hair.  But, I love Lanell.  What could I really do for her.  The answer was a profound one.  Cut my hair.  So I did.  On the day I decided to cut it I told my friend Amelia, also a co-worker and friend of Lanells, what I planned to do.  Without missing a beat, she replied, "I'm in."  Amelia also had very long, very beautiful hair.  So, we cut our hair.  When Lanell arrived at work a couple days after receiving her second round of chemo, there on her chair were two very beautiful braids in the shape of a heart.  Then, from around the corner we stepped.  She was shocked and touched.  She cried and cried.  We hugged and snapped photos.  Our gift inspired her.  She threw together a head shaving party.  All her friends gathered at her house on Saturday morning.  There was food and laughs and we all took turns shaving Lanell's head.  It is what she wanted.  She had changed a very upsetting event into a party.  Four men shaved their heads in solidarity.  Her dear husband Greg, now very bald, lovingly held her hand. She slipped on her new wigs and embraced her baldness.  I love Lanell.  She is an inspiration.  She will kick cancer.  It doesn't have a chance.  

Fall Fun



Greer and his buddy Lander enjoying the leave pile at Terri's house.



Papa Skip Turns 80!! Hooray!!

Papa Skip is 80!!  Do you know how awesome that is?  It is fabulous. It is wonderful and miraculous.  And, a definite reason to celebrate.  Sue and I had discussed bringing the folks to the Flathead for a few days.  Sue had checked out hotels and John had agreed to drive them up in his van.  To top off their mini vacation was going to be a trip to Spencers for steak, spaghetti and hopefully a chat with every ones favorite waitress Lynn.  Sounded good.  But, we were shot down.  And, I have to admit that I understand it.  When we drive to Dillon to visit, it is a major undertaking.  You don't sleep well and by the end of the trip there is the inevitable exhaustion.  They are comfortable in their home.  They are safe in their home.  They have their own beds and the stress level is much lower.  So, plan two.  Meet in Butte, dinner at Lydias.  Nope, shot down again.  In the end, Dad wanted to dine at the Den with his Family.  And, it was brilliant.  Uncle Mel and Bo came down and the lovely Lanes joined us.  It was nice.  Happy Birthday Papa Skip, we love, love love you!!



Uncle Mel brought the kids some great books.  Greer's favorite was Muddy Truck.



The Birthday Boy and his little Grasshopper.

Nana and her little man Greer.

Last Camping Trip

As the summer began to draw to a close we itched to get into the woods one more time.  The smoke was awful as fires burned all around.  We couldn't even see across the lake.  But, it was all good.  We did some trailer crafts.  We pug chugged up and around the campground.  And, the kids rode their bikes up and down the road.  Once the wind died down we were even able to paddle around the bay.  Very nice way to end our camping season.

Things 1 and 2

Picnicing with the Fam



Hrrummpf

 

Yay!!



Mischief and Mayhem

This post has been a long time coming.  The title mischief and mayhem refer soley to our all too happy, recently turned "fwee", modern day Dennis the Menace, Greer.  So far "fwee" has been tough.  So tough I wonder if little dude will make it to four!!  In his defense I will concede that the last month have been sorta upside down in our house.  Todd and I got a much needed break when I tagged along to Disney World on his recent conference there.  Auntie Jodi and cousin "Jofess" watched the kids for 5 days and Auntie Sue-Sue rounded out the week.  When we got home, Todd watched the kids for a week and then was off on his next trip and a babysitter watched the kids.  Then there was another trip and then he was home.  There was first one, then another babysitter.  It was probably all quite confusing for little dude.  I however received the product of all the chaos in little dude's always surprising antics.  There has been several pooping pants during naptime episodes that turned out to be epic messes when he changed himself, wiped his hands on his bedding and attempted to hide the prize.  Ugh.  Then there was the peeing in the Lego box, standing on the bed...and, you guessed it, peeing, and general, run of the mill, potty accidents.  He is also doing the opposite of what he has been told on a quite regular basis and spending significant time in time-out.  After one hair pulling incident that landed him in time-out, he was throwing his mandatory "I don't want to be in time-out" fit and he smashed his little face into a nearby chair.  The goose egg that erupted was really awful and as I iced it I wondered if perhaps he had fractured his cheek bone.  He is healing and sporting a multi-colored shiner at the moment.

I am happy that he is healthy and happy.  I do know that his behavior is related to our upside down house and the fact that he is "fwee".  Lord, please give me patience I need to see my boy to four!! 

The Wonder of Disney

I was soooo extremely happy to accompany the hubby on a trip to Disney World last month, minus the littles.  What?  No children you ask?  Yep, and I hardly feel bad about it. 

Todd had a conference to attend at the Dolphin in Disney World.  Because we knew that I could not possibly manage two littles in the magic of Disney alone, we decided that this would be a mommy and daddy retreat.  Daddy worked.  Mommy shopped and took in the sights.  We were there for six glorious, mind numbingly hot, humid, days.  Todd and I were able to drive up to Universal Studios one day.  Our main purpose was, of course, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  We sucked down butter beers in the heat and cooled down with a Jurasic Park boat ride that left us dripping.  It was a blast.  On my "alone" days I toured Epcot, Downtown Disney, and the Animal Kingdom.  I even slipped in a spa day at the Mandera Spa and delighted in the Balinese Bamboo Massage....the best massage I HAVE EVER HAD!!  It was amazing.

And the kids??  Well, they had a little vacation of their own.  Aunt Jodi and Cousin "Jofess" watched the kiddos Monday through Friday and then Aunt Sue-Sue had them over the weekend.  They kayaked, did pottery, went shopping, saw a movie, and even attended the PowWow with Aunt Sue-Sue and Sheri.  They had a marvelous time.

Best part of all.....I managed to de-stress and actually built up my dwindled patience store house. 

Jurasic Park Boat Ride front row...Drenched

Epcot

My furry Gorilla friend at the Animal Kingdom



G's favorite Princess...Mulan

  

Hogwarts



Best pizza since Rome at Italy in Epcot



He's Fwee (3)

Happy Birthday to our little dude!! We love, love, love you.  You are a handful for sure, but also sweet, loving and funny as heck!  Thank you Ethiopia for blessing us with the final piece of this family's puzzle!

Sunday Morning Paddle

Pure Bliss!

My favorite folks!

Happy Paddler

Love this picture of my silly, silly girl!

Happy 4th of July from Lost Trail Hot Springs

A fishing we will go!

Watchin' Dada fish

One of 20 little cut throat the gang caught

Little fishy!

We loved, loved, loved the pool!

Beautiful Bitterroot Mountains

Our little fisher lady!

We got the heck outa Dodge for the holiday.  Away from the fireworks and heat.  Into the mountains.  We swam...alot!!  Grayson and Dada fished.  We relaxed.  And then we swam again.  Fun. Fun. Fun.  And, we were the only folks around for miles.  Had the pool to ourselves.  Ahhhhh bliss!

Finally...Summer Has Arrived

Beautiful Dickey Lake

Despite the faces, the kiddos loved the boat!

Greer loves his buddy Bad Brad

Smores..the Morstein way...with Reeses peanut butter cups!

Two weeks ago we loaded the kiddos and drove north to Dickey Lake.  Beautiful little crystal clear lake near Eureka, Montana.  A bit out of the way, but worth every mile!  We were joined by our bestest, bestest friends Brad and Sheri.  We felt like foreigners.  Though still in Montana we were surrounded on all sides by our Canadian neighbors.  Apparently Dickey Lake is a weekend destination??  Anyway, the weather was splendid and we ended up spending an entire Saturday boating on the lake.  The kids loved it!  The adults loved it.  Todd and Brad skied until their arms gave out.  It was so nice.  Hard to drive the hour home to civilization.  Finally the sun has decided to come out!  Yah!

Big Boy Bed

Big Boy Bed.

The Empress and Lil Dude checking out the new  bed.

All tucked in.

Dude is ready.  He is a good sleeper.  12 hours a night, straight through.  He has been waking up dry and is potty trained.  So, big boy bed.

We talked about buying a bed.  I had a style in mind.  Todd insisted that he could make it, and it would be much cheaper than buying it.  I knew he could make it, he is a very talented wood worker.  But, did he have the time??  Hahaha.  Time is something Todd never has enough of, so I was rather skeptical.  He insisted and for the past two weeks he spent his free time (hahaha) crafting a bed.  He made it out of Poplar.  Lovely bed.  

So today is the big day.  The big boy bed day.  Little dude was sooo very excited.  Hopefully we have picked the right time to move him to a bed.  I hope he understands that he is not to get out of the bed.  All the rules have been explained.  He seems ready.  Fingers crossed.

Sorta sad.  My baby is growing up.  He has become a little man.

Banana Bread Babies

My kids love Banana Bread.  Little Dude often asks for "Nana Bread" the minute he wakes up in the morning.  We continually buy bananas and let two or three get over ripe just so I can make banana bread.  The kids generally park themselves in front of the oven and watch, which is good for us all as it takes an hour for the bread to bake.  I sometimes think I bake it just for the peaceful hour.  Yummmmmm.

Garage Kayaking

We had planned on remodeling the kitchen this summer.  It is in great need.  I despise my kitchen.  Very small, no storage, etc....etc.  So, we located the cabinets, decided on the flooring, even looked at sinks, faucets, drawer pulls, lights, and counter stools.  The remodel would also include new flooring in the entire upstairs, as our carpeting is pulled up, stained and generally awful.  But, time became the question.  When and how were we going to squeeze this in?  We also needed to redo the fence.  T is gone much of the summer working.  The remodel, minus the flooring, was going to be all him.  So, I conceded.  It would be done next year. 

The trade off.....well, the kayak we have had our eyes on for a couple years.  We have one sea kayak, and up until the arrival of little dude, we had used the cargo hold on it as the empress' seat.  Since dude's arrival there has only been one little outing and that was in a demo of the kayak we ultimately bought. 

So, I am sad about the kitchen, but happy about the kayak.  At the moment it is ensconced in the garage as the weather has yet to cooperate.  This weekend we are planning our maiden voyage...rain or shine.

Wet Weekend

Despite the weather we loaded up and headed to the woods for Memorial Day weekend.  We knew it would rain.  We hoped to get some breaks in the diluge in order to kayak, hike and enjoy a campfire.  Good news is, we were able to build a fire, roast hot dogs, and make messy smores.  The bad news is...it was short lived.  Saturday night, after we all slipped into our cozy beds, it started raining....and it never stopped.  It poured.  It dumped.  Ughhh.  So, Sunday, we had a cozy, relaxed day in the trailer.  Two parents, two kids, and a rain weary pug.  We watched movies, played games and napped.  By evening we decided we all needed some air and ventured into the wet woods.  We sloshed.  The pug paddled.  At the end of our walk we were all drenched.  But, in the end it was about spending time together, as a family.  We talked about staying home. But had we, I would have cleaned and washed, the kids would have played and Daddy would have worked.  In short, we wouldn't have spent much time together.  Not what we planned, but the wet woods turned out to be just what the family needed.

The Hair Affair

Well... before I continue I have to apologize to Nana Zana.  She has been patiently waiting for this post for so very long now.  Sorry Mom....I just haven't been able to carve out a single spare minute for a post. 

The Empress has had several (three to be exact!) prior hair mishaps.  She has been banned from the use of scissors for the very reason that she seems drawn to cutting her hair.  First time was in Dillon while visiting Nana and Papa, the second time involved a call from her school and another little girl's missing hair, and the third involved some gum and sneaking scissors outside to dispose of the problem...see, she is also not allowed to have gum.  When the most recent hair affair happened we had just finally successfully grown out her bangs and her hair was nearly to her bum.  Long, dark and lovely!

So, Friday morning a couple weeks back I prepared breakfast for the Empress and then, like usual, went back to her bedroom to pick out her school clothes for the day.  I immediately noticed candy wrappers in her bed.  Very unusual as I was unaware of any candy in our house, and she is not allowed to eat candy on any sort of regular basis.  So, I snatched up the wrappers and headed back towards the kitchen.  Before I could even open my mouth to reprimand her for the candy in bed, she popped out from behind the corner with a pair of scissors in one hand and in the other a fistful of hair.  What??  I was literally away from the kitchen for 30 seconds.  Apparently, according to her rushed attempt at an explanation, she had crawled up into the cupboard and found a bag of candy we had collected last year at the Labor Day Parade.  Hmmmm.  Didn't even know that was there.  She fell asleep with a sucker in her mouth and it had fallen out of her mouth and tangled itself in the underneath part of the back of her hair.  Ugh.  I was mortified and I quickly explained to her that I could of gotten the sucker out with a little warm water.  After my mother's tirade regarding lying, candy, rotten teeth, and missing hair poor little thing was reduced to tears.  I felt awful, she felt awful, and her hair...welll, her hair....looked awful.  In my limited and very sporatic wisdom I deduced that an apt punishment would be a haircut.  A short, short haircut.  So, after school I picked her up, we went to the salon and she got all of her hair cut off to her chin and had bangs cut in.  She loves it.  I love it.  So much for punishment!  And, it was free as we were able to donate a very long, dark, beautiful braid to locks of love.

So, the moritorium on scissors in our house stands.  Candy has been banned.  Hoping that we don't have another mishap as there is not much hair remaining!

Still Laughing....

Greer:  Daddy, I am gonna ask you for a nacho. 
Greer:  Daddy, can I have a nacho?
Dad:  No.
Greer:  Daddy, I am gonna ask you for a nacho, again.
Greer: (very slowly)  Daddy, can I have a nacho?
Dad:  Um, still no.

Little Dude is a riot.  He truly is very, very funny.  At the moment everything that comes out of his mouth is followed by "...isn't that right Mama?"  He is also very polite which is a pat on the back for Terri, cuz he surely didn't learn manners from his Mama.  Little Dude is also loud.  He talks in a very loud, almost high pitched voice.  Sweet, perhaps.  But, since he talks incessantly, the sweetness soon morphs into something like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard.  I have attempted to have him bring the volume down a bit by instructing him to use his inside voice.  It works for all of a couple seconds and then the octaves climb.  I have also told him that we need quiet time and he is not to talk at all.  That doesn't last more than a second, if that.  I have joked that he is only quiet when he is asleep.  Now, Little Dude repeats that but it sounds something like " I only quiet when I asleep...isn't that right Mama?"  Funny Little Dude.

Introducing Our Fiddling Phenom

Six months ago the Empress began violin lessons. Technically, fiddle lessons. What I would refer to as hoe down music. In the beginning, definitely not my first choice. I, of course, had envisioned my beautiful, petite violinist playing lovely classical scores. But, I reasoned that fiddle would probably be more enjoyable for a child, and not as big a snooze for a beginner. So glad I made that decision. As I may have mentioned in previous blogs, my little Empress leans to the lazy side of things. She is very willing to take the easy route, so practicing was often times a match of wills...hers against mine. Then one day a couple months back, she saw the trophies on the wall of her instructors house. She asked about them and how she could get one. And, in that very moment she decided that she would enter and win a fiddle contest. She wanted the prize...she always goes for the prize. Jump ahead...

Saturday was the Annual Glacier Fiddlers Contest. Our Empress, the youngest contestant, won third place....her first trophy (more like a medal, but she still refers to it as a "trophy."), and a check for $10. She was sooooooo excited. Sooooo, sooooo excited. She turned to me and stated that she loved the violin and was going to win her next competition! And, you know something, I believe she just might!

We are so very proud of our little fiddler!! Great job G!