Payton's Aviation Merit Badge

Payton has been working on his Aviation Merit Badge.  It has been a fun one for him!  Pam and Brian Haynes help the 11year old scouts and Brian actually has his pilots' license and has been a huge help in order to get this badge accomplished.

Payton in front of the plain he is about to fly in.  (I'll admit that we were a bit nervous to let Payton actually fly in a plane).  I had no need to fear, the boys were totally safe and the boys who did fly had a blast.  Their pilot was a young kid and made a fun flight for the boys. 

Looking official Payton!  He played a game of rock, paper, scissors for the front seat in the plane and was happy to get to ride up front.

Payton said he could see our house and everything seemed so small.  It was an awesome experience!

Shane, Blake, and Payton flew together and had a great time.  One thing I appreciate about merit badges is that it gives the boys different experiences and helps them to start looking into their interests and possible career paths for their future.  This made being a pilot sound fun for Payton, time will tell what he will eventually become!

Hunter's Education

Recently, Payton took a Hunter's Education class.  He enjoyed the class and thought it was more like a camp.  I remember taking the coarse when I was young, how can my son be this old?!  

He passed and now can go Hunting!

He is beyond excited to be one of the HUNTERS in the group now!  I think this fall Payton, Mckay, and Dick are going to have some fun adventures, and Payton can hardly wait!  He loves everything outdoors!

The Game of LIFE

Since the drone didn't work out for Taylor's birthday, we went to Amazing Toys and Taylor found some "Thinking Putty' and "The Game of Life".  Turns out he wanted both so we ordered the game on Amazon since it was a better deal.

Taylor was happy when his package arrived!

He couldn't wait to play his new game with some of the family.  Taylor enjoys playing games and has a competitive edge!  It is always fun to have some birthday money and be able to pick what you want!

Taylor Earned His Bobcat

Taylor has been so excited to be in Cub Scouts.  He is great at memorizing things and so earning his Bobcat was no trouble for him.  He was thrilled to get this award and get something on his uniform.

Hanging him upside down to put on the Mother's pin and then once he does a good deed he can put it right-side up and give it to me.

He is a fun kid.

Scouting is a family effort.  Grandma is the Cub Master and that adds to the fun!

Silly Taylor!

It is so cute to see a brand new scout so eager to be a part of the program!

Way to go Taylor!

St. Patty's Day 2017

Brielle was invited to a friend's birthday party at a bowling alley in Great Falls on St. Patrick's Day.

The rest of the kids and I did a little browsing and checked out a pet store for fun.

Kenzie was loving the bunny!

While this puppy had the kids' wrapped around its.....paws!

They sure wanted to take him home and he sure was giving them the puppy face.

Then we met up with Mckay and did a little shopping while waiting for Brielle to finish up.  The kids had some money they were hoping to spend.  After picking up Brielle we tried out Mings with Dick and Sarah (it was yummy and everyone enjoyed it).  It made for a fun St.Patrick's dinner together.

Can't pinch these kids in GREEN!

Then we headed to the new Walmart and the kids thought it was fabulous!!

PS:  Kenzie set a trap and although she didn't catch a Leprechaun, the kids did get some green and rainbow snacks and Dino Egg oatmeal.

Loving Lila

Lila has been such a great cat.  She is so good to let the kids hold her and carry her around, she is very patient...actually I really thinks she loves and adores their attention in return!

Gavin is all smiles while holding Lila.

Pure Cuteness!!

She stays outside but loves any of our attention.  We think she is going to have kittens and the kids just can't wait!  It melts my heart watching them love and take care of her.

Wood-Hauling Helpers

After school and homework, we hurried over to Grandma and Grandpa's to do a surprise service project.  We hauled wood for them and filled up the carrier next to their house and some inside as well.  The kids felt great about it and it was nice to be working outside!  With so many helping hands it only took us 20-30 minutes.

Taylor, Muscle Man!

These girls were happy to help too!

Gavin was entertaining the cat (it looks so much like our cat Lucky did, Gavin actually thought it was Lucky).

Payton with a heavy load.

Well done kiddos!  They had great attitudes and loved the way they felt after helping their grandparents.

Payton's Trouble with a Tooth

As Payton has gotten older, he has also been starting to pull his own teeth once they are loose enough.  He rarely has needed our help, however he had a tooth that was loose on one side but still connected on the other.  Both Mckay and I attempted to pull the problem causing tooth out with no luck.  Poor Payton hardly wanted to eat and the tooth was causing him pain and lack of sleep.  The next day we made a quick trip to the dentist and he pulled it out in no time.

Payton is all numbed up and when the feeling came back he was sure feeling relief!

Even the dentist said, "No wonder you couldn't get it out".  It had a long root that just was anchoring the tooth in place and causing Payton discomfort when he would bite down.  Looks like yet another visit from the Tooth Fairy!

Our 13th Anniversary

 The years just keep getting better and better!

I have surely been blessed by marrying this man.  These 13 years have been the best in my life!

For our anniversary we went out to dinner and did a little shopping.  Dinner was perfect with Mckay by my side.  Payton is getting older and it has been great using him as our babysitter.  We went to the Montana Club for dinner and it was delicious!  Actually my dislike for onions finally payed off...I ordered my dish without onions.  Our appetizer, soup, and salad came quickly and then we waited for a while for the main dishes to come.  After a bit the waitress mentioned they had made it with onions and so they were redoing it and apologized for the wait.  Later we found out that most of our meal had been taken care of due to the long wait!  Yahoo!!  It turned out to be a pretty cheap meal but oh so good.