Our First Garden

We are excited to have the space and have been working hard to get things all ready to plant our first garden as a family.

We shall see how successful we are with Montana's climate.  I sure love my hard working handyman.  Together we make a great team and I wouldn't choose anyone else to partner up with.

Looks good!  Let the growing season begin, can't wait to reap the benefits of our labors!

Taylor Goes to Flippin' Family Fun

The kids love going to Flippin' Family Fun, so when Taylor got the invite to go for a friend's birthday party, he was on cloud 9.  

Taylor enjoying some time with his buddies, at Pizza Hut afterward.

Climbing the rock wall.

What a fun time with good friends!

Accelerated Reader Field Trip

The kids always work so hard reading and then taking quizzes in order to reach their goals and go on the AR Field Trip.  This year Taylor and Kenzie went to the Buffalo Jump followed by a picnic in a park and swimming at the Natatorium.  Instead of the Buffalo Jump, Payton went to Flippin' Family Fun and then met up with the rest of the younger kids, who were slightly jealous of Payton.  It was a great reward for their hard work!

Brielle photo bombed the picture after their fun field trip.

Library Story Time and BBQ

During the school year the local library holds story time including activities and snacks.  For the finale there was a BBQ complete with Root Beer Floats.

Yummy to my tummy!

Gavin is all boy and Brielle loves to dress up and is a total princess.  I love her little hat!

Cousins Have Great Times at the Cabin

I didn't get many pictures, but we spend a little time at the cabin.  These two had fun getting to know each other better.

They are so cute and gentle with one another (for now anyway).

Brielle's Preschool Graduation

This school year, Brielle participated in a fun preschool co-op with a few friends taught by us moms.  Each lesson the moms would choose a book and base our lesson/activities around that book.  It was such a fun approach and worked well for Brielle since she LOVES books.

Smiling big with her Certificate!

I'm not sure I'm ready for her to head off to kindergarten in a few short months...although it is great that she loves learning and is such a social butterfly, always making friends wherever she goes!

An Easy Way to Put Gavin Asleep

Now that it is mowing season again, Gavin LOVES to help and ride along with Mom or Dad.  The other day his head started bobbing as I was driving and low and behold he had fallen asleep!

It amazes me the places kids can fall asleep.

Too cute not to take a picture (but don't mind the runny nose).

What a life!

Gavin's 18 Month Well Check

It is crazy to think that Gavin is now 18 months.

On the way home we got an ice cream cone and Gavin was in HEAVEN!

Here are his stats:

Weight:  21 pounds 8 ounces (11%)

Height:  30 1/4 inches (0%)

Head:  47 centimeters (34%)

 

Gavin is starting to do a little talking, but with 5 siblings around he seems to get what he wants without a lot of words.  He is coming along though!  He is a small little guy and an awesome sleeper.  Our life just wouldn't be complete without Gavin!

Lagoon 2016

Since Allyssa and Ashlee made it back to Lagoon for clogging competitions, we headed back to repeat the fun all over again!

Let the fun begin!  This year the Cannibal was open and although I didn't get to ride on this one due to some maintenance after standing in line for a long time, they had to shut the ride down for a while, Payton and Mckay said it was a blast!  I'll have to do it another time.

The weather this year was a little different than last year (it was a perfect day).  This year was warm and sunny and last year was chilly and rainy.

Way to go Allyssa, we also watched Ashlee but I didn't get a picture.  They are so fun to watch and are growing up before my eyes.

Brielle was a hoot to ride with!  She is a little dare devil and goes on all the rides she can...oh, to be a kid again.

Taylor is another thrill seeker.  If it wasn't for his small stature he would go on every ride in the park!  I love his precious smile in this picture!

Gavin was such a trooper.  We didn't buy him a ride pass this year since he is still so small.  He enjoyed watching others, having snacks in his stroller, and took a little nap.  This picture is him looking through the fence at the bumper cars and dying to get in there himself.

Taylor and Mckay about to go on a fun roller coaster.

Here is a shot of the Cannibal.

They take you in your seats up the elevator and then prepare to begin the ride by coming out of a huge tower and inverting upside down.  Looks thrilling!

The dads took the bigger kids on a few bigger rides while us moms stayed with the younger kids on their rides.  This was McKenzie's first year to ride on Wicked and she loved it!

Brielle riding on an elephant.

At the end of the day Gavin got to finally ride on the carousel.  He thought it was too good to be true!

 What a sweet boy!

Boy did the kids sleep well after a LONG day of playing hard.

The girls crashed.

There wasn't a ride Payton wouldn't go on!  It is fun to watch them be so adventurous.

Made for some tired kids!

We had a wonderful day and a lot of fun being with family!  Mckay, Payton, Dean, Cynthia, and I all went to ride on the ReEntry elevator type ride.  At one point the ride attendant asked them to check on a couple of different seats and mine happened to be one of them and that alone got my heart racing.  Then we went way high and got a great view of the park and I remembered why I dislike these types of rides as I sat there hoping my seat was really functioning correctly and waiting for our free fall feeling drop.  It was an adrenaline rush!  We sure love our visits to Lagoon and already can't wait for our return!

Activity Days with the Stake

McKenzie loves girl time and has really enjoyed being in Activity Days!  Sarah asked me to help in the kitchen along with some others and I was thrilled to join these cute girls.  

What a fun age!!  The girls had different spiritual thoughts, rotated through a few stations, and had a yummy lunch.  It made for a fun time.

Yard Work...Yep, That Time of Year Again

As tax season comes to a close we are usually dying to begin projects again and get our yard looking good after winter.

My handsome man on the mower (we like taking turns mowing).  Mckay even shared his music with Gavin, who absolutely LOVES riding on anything including a loud lawn mower!

Getting a little crowed with 3, but the kids were having a great time with Mckay!

We have also had big plans to put some gravel between the buildings out back as we are turning it into a play area/room for a fire pit and the other half will be for our garden.  Talk about a lot of rocks...at least we have good helpers to help us spread it all out!

We were able to use the tractor a bit to spread some of it without tearing up the weed barrier underneath.

Gavin would come running after hearing the sound of the tractor running, like I said...this kid loves to go for rides.

Having fun working together.

While I was helping at our stake activity days with McKenzie, Mckay kept on working and put the borders in so the rocks won't flow into the garden area.

 

I can't wait to get a fire pit in the back and enjoy many fun nights out there visiting.  It will also be so fun to finally plant a garden as a family!  We are making progress.

Preschool Screening

Each year the elementary does a preschool screening.  I usually have the kids that are not in school participate to see how their progress is coming along and where there may be room for improvement.  Both Brielle and Gavin did really well and Brielle is ready to go to Kindergarten in the fall.

Don't mind that big bump on Gavin's head (he tripped the other day and bumped his head on the tiled flooring) ouch!

I sure love this sweet little girl, not ready for her to leave the nest!