Swinging through Summer

The swings Ryan installed on the kids' play structure were worth every penny.  They've seen quite a bit of use this summer.   

Lane has figured out how to pump his legs and can get himself going pretty high now.  He's pretty pleased with himself.

This little guy points to the swing and demands "IIINNNG, MOOOOOMMMMAAAA."  Then is quite happy to be strapped in and pushed.

This little munchkin...well, she adds her own flair to the activity!   

Fishing with Bumpa and Grammy

The kids and I squeezed in a few days at Bumpa and Grammy's this past week.  We played in the pool, on the slip and slide and blew gigantic bubbles.  We got dirty in the sandbox, flew the Styrofoam plane and harvested vegetables out of Grammy's garden.  We helped Bumpa on his latest project in the garage, emptied out the toy closet, and read every Berenstain Bears book in Grammy's library.  All this and more.  And every last picture is on Grammy's camera. 

So instead, here are a few pictures from our camping trip at the end of the week:

 Dinner with a view.

The intrepid explorers return!

Lane was very excited to haul in a fish.  We found a good spot full of walleye and kept Daddy busy keeping lines in the water.  Grammy stayed busy netting the fish and Bumpa's pole was the most popular.

Mommy even pulled in a fish.  The fishing came to a halt when Bumpa's phone received an emergency alert for nasty weather.  Nasty weather indeed.  Let's just say we had a white-knuckle trip back to the campground and made it just in time to save the campsite from blowing away. 

The next day the skies were brilliant blue and we kept assuring the kids that puffy white clouds were not storm clouds.  So we headed out for some more fishing.

Another one!  Apparently, this is becoming his signature pose.(:  Our stockpile of walleye in the freezer is getting bigger!

Thanks Mom and Dad for a great week!



10 Years Together

On Friday (yes, Friday the 13th), we marked our 10th anniversary.  It was a lovely day.  The next day was great too.  Don and Darlene very kindly offered to spend the day with the kiddos so we could go for a hike together.  We woke up to the sound of rain and it reminded me of a day almost 11 years ago.

On that day, I groggily answered the phone to hear Ryan on the other end asking if I wanted to go for a hike along the coast.  "Umm...it's raining?!"  Wrong answer.  He assured me he'd checked the weather.  It was sunny at the coast and he'd be by in 10 minutes with breakfast.  True to his word, he arrived on my doorstep a few minutes later with bacon and eggs wrapped in tin foil. 

On the drive across the Coast Range, he seemed especially nervous and he seemed to be getting worse the closer to the trail head we got.  I wasn't sure what the problem was and it wasn't until we reached the edge of Cascade Head and sat down to bask in the sun that it became apparent.  He fumbled in his pocket and produced a lovely watch and asked me to marry him.

"What?  Are you joking?"  I spluttered.  One look at his 'does it LOOK like I'm joking' facial expression and I quickly amended, "I mean YES!!!"  (I was expecting the question, it's just that I was expecting the question a week later when he brought me home to the farm for Thanksgiving.)

Here we are, newly engaged and no longer nervous.  Cascade Head, Oregon Coast - November 2001

And here we are, newly married in my parents' front yard - July 13, 2002.

On Saturday, we woke up to the sound of rain but instead of calling the whole thing off (it's not very often we get an entire day to be together by ourselves!), Ryan calmly added the rain gear to his backpack before heading out to here:

Roman Nose Lake.

Being out in the great outdoors brought smiles to both of our faces.  Hiking has been put on a back burner since the kids have come along.  It's probably been 6 years or more since I've laced up those hiking boots.
 

Lunchtime.  A five star view even if you don't consider ramen noodles 5-star dining - although everything always tastes better when hiking or camping.(:

The rain started up in earnest shortly after we finished up lunch.  We added a layer of rain gear and then continued on down the trail.  As we walked along, the observation was made that in another 10 years we'd have 2 teenagers and a pre-teen in our home.  We decided to not think about that just yet.  If how fast the past 10 years passed by is any indication, it'll be here soon enough!

Then and Now

Five years ago, we met Ryan's family at Fort Peck.  I thought it was fun to compare the family pictures we took then to the picture we took this year:

July 2007

 July 2012

The grandchildren are growing - in numbers and height!

Fort Peck 2012

The 4th of July was a week long vacation for us and it was extra special to spend it with all of Ryan's family!  It was a lovely time and here are a few of the bazillions of pictures we came home with. 

We started our trip out with some time on the farm with Dad.  Out came the 4-wheeler and the trailer and before too long, there was hooping and hollering from kiddos who were overjoyed to be released from their car seats.
   

We checked out Grandpa's wheat crop and the kiddos disappeared into the stand.  That's some tall wheat!  Won't be too much longer and it'll be ready for harvest.

It was nice to be with Great-Grandma Ruth on Sunday and again on Wednesday night.

On Monday, we made it to the campground and the kiddos enjoyed the freedom to ride bikes and explore.  I loved watching how well they all got along and especially the older ones including the younger ones.  They were busy, full days!

Logan doesn't seem to think he's a toddler.  If the other kids were doing it, he wasn't going to stand around and watch!

Near the campground is the Fort Peck Interpretive Center and we spent one morning checking out the dinosaur skeletons and 'digging' for bones.  It is a really neat center and definitely worth the stop if you ever find yourself in NE Montana. 
  

We were glad there was swimming nearby.  It was a perfect way to beat the heat.  And those goggles make me chuckle!  Grandpa Larry got a tube for the grandkids to enjoy, and enjoy it they did!  Morgan wanted me to join her so I even got in on the fun.(:

Logan was all ready to go too, but he always seemed to end up back on the beach.  Good thing he had willing playmates there too!

Good buddies!

Campfires require roasting something.  We had marshmellows, foccacia bread (yummy!), and enormous hot dogs.  The boys didn't mind sharing.(:

When Morgan wasn't looking, Logan confiscated her bike and helmet and Grandpa provided the power.  Melita and Logan were so fun to watch.  They're just a couple months apart and as long as she stayed away from his pacifier, they got on great.(:

This was a special evening - I met a friend I've gotten to know through blogging (Monique - in the purple shirt).  It felt like we already knew each other but so nice to meet face to face.  It was also nice to meet Whitney (far right) who has just moved up to Dad's area with her husband and 8-month old daughter.

  

The kids were quite successful fishing for bluegill.  I loved seeing Josh and Andrea (on the right) and their boys.  They stopped on their way to their own family reunion.  It was great to catch up.  We sure miss not seeing them more often!

The fishing was pretty successful too.  So the guys kept us entertained recounting their stories and the boys enjoyed talking 'shop' with Grandpa.

If this gets any longer, you'll probably feel like you were there with us!  Happy Summer to each of you!



Kid's Workshop

Lane has a kid-sized tool bench that he loves to play with.  Bumpa Ted made it for him and set it has been a hit.  Lately though, Lane has been begging his Daddy to help him build something real.  So imagine his delight when he and Morgan accompanied Ryan to Home Depot on a recent Saturday.  They have a kids workshop and projects for the kids to complete.  Real projects.

The man in charge couldn't have chosen two better suited projects for these two kiddos.  A bug box for Lane and an organizer for Morgan.  When they got home, they were higher than kites and were tripping over themselves trying to describe their experience to me.

The bug box was toted around the rest of the day.  Lane collected flowers to feed the bugs and then (with Daddy's help) introduced a beetle and a spider to their new home. 

He was very proud of his project, so proud that he really wanted to take it to bed.  Thankfully, he agreed with me when I mentioned that bugs are used to living outside and should probably remain just outside the front door.  Whew! 

Here's little Miss Organizer herself with a new home for her bears.  These creatures are used to being inside so she lucked out and they got to sleep on the table next to her bed.  I'm guessing that a few more Saturday trips to Home Depot are in our future!

Summer Play

Carefree summer days are here.  Yay!!  The park is becoming a favorite destination of all three kiddos and the slides are the main attraction (the swings a close second).  So of course Mommy had to try to capture the grins on camera.

Success!  Our smiley girl.  And in case you are wondering, she does seem to wear her bike helmet quite often.  She LOVES her bike and rides it constantly.  This particular park has a great paved trail around it and so Mommy gets her walk in while the kids ride and then we end up at the playground.  Lane will take his helmet off, but Morgan simply does not slow long enough to remove it.

Logan is quite pleased to be able to go down the slide too.  He just requires a little encouragement ...

and willing hands to catch him.  What a sweet big brother!

The Rock Project

We have been busy this past month or so working on a big home-improvement project we've been wanting to get done since we moved in here almost 4 years ago.  It has been a big, time-consuming, back-breaking job and we now know why good masons command good pay!  Ryan has always been a gung-ho DIYer but when he was asked recently if he enjoyed masonry, he replied, "not particularly."  However, he would have enjoyed paying someone to do it even less, so there you have it.  We did it ourselves.

We started out trying to lay everything out in the first section.

 Eeny-meeny-miny-mo...

We discovered it was much easier (and faster!) to lay rock on the fly.  So I would try to stay a few rocks ahead of Ryan and he would come behind and mortar them in. 

One little helper was quite pleased to find a 'shu-vel' although his Daddy wasn't happy to see his trowel disappear.  I know I've mentioned it before, but toddlers add a whole new dimension to home improvement projects!

Lane liked the puzzle part of finding the right sized rock.  He had his own section laid out quite nicely on the table.

 Kicking empty boxes was entertaining as well.

Now for the tricky section.  Look closely and you'll notice I actually made it into a picture of the project - well my reflection did anyway.  There's no proof I actually helped, you'll just have to take my word for it...(:

A before picture - Fall 2008

At present.  There have been quite a few projects to bring it to this point.  It's fun to look back on the 'before' picture and see how far we've come. 

A little closer look at the rock work.

The next project is getting those railings (and the ones on the back deck) to code.  We had planned to work on that this summer too.  We shall see...