it's Been Awhile Now Hasn't it?

I have been a bit remiss on the blog posting. Sure there have been funny stories to tell and cute pictures to post, but I have been a bit on the depressed side or something.
We recently went to see my parent's new home, and the kids had a blast. Javin couldn't quit talking about going there, and when we headed home he kept telling us that he wanted to go back to Pumpa's house.
My sister and her daughter went with the kids and I. There was movie watching and game playing and graham cracker houses built. Orissa wanted to be attached to her Pumpa's hip. She thinks he is the cat's pajamas! I can't say that I blame her, I think he is pretty stinkin' cool too.
I am just so happy they finally decided to settle back down in one place. I guess I will let the pictures do most of the talking!





I love the Christmas season. I love the focus that my family places on Christ's birth and the glorious gift He gave us. I am grateful for all the time we have to spend with those we love. Merry Christmas to all who come and read....I know there aren't many of you since I am such a lazy blogger!


Here are the final products! Javin and Shaylee had so much fun making them, and we all enjoyed watching them do something we did every year. I think it wasn't until I got married that I worked on an actual ginger bread house...it was always a graham cracker house...one year it was even a huge village!

Crazy Cat...wait, I mean hopper! My photo story for Friday

Hosted by Cecily and Kelli

I don't have much in the way of dress up clothes. I don't know why, I just don't go out of my way to buy them. A few months ago I bought a funny little hat thing at the craft store, I couldn't resist.
It has become a favorite that all of the kids wear around and fight over. I suppose I should have bought more...maybe I will someday.I thought parents were suppose to have eyes in the back of the head!

The other day I looked up from the game I was playing or book I was reading, or was it a show I was watching, anyway, and there was my Orissa traveling around the living room with this hat on her head giggling her head off and playing, I think, in character. It was too cute to not capture. I just had to do it.
I am not sure why she was sporting the pacifier...hasn't used one of those in nearly a year...maybe it added to the look!
You might notice that her hands are wrapped...she had a minor run in with the open oven door while I was taking the rolls out. They are better now.

Over the last few weeks Orissa has decided to become the nearly two year old that she is. Her language skills are still behind, but nothing else. She knows she isn't a baby and lets me know when I start to baby her. And let me just tell you, I am kind of glad she is still so small cause she is a climber. Being small like her limits how high she can get!
I love watching her learn and grow and everything else.(well maybe not the fits that she has taken to throwing with the swinging arms and kicking legs)!

Turnbull National Wildlife Preserve. My Photo Story for Friday

Hosted by Cecily and Angie

whatworksforus
We found a beautiful area really close to home a couple of weeks ago. Ok, so it isn't a secret spot, just somewhere we had never taken the time to check out before. Turnbull National Wildlife Preserve. I don't really have a reason for neglecting to go there sooner, it is just outside of Cheney, Wa.


We have been trying to come up with places close by where we could go with the kids to spend time, and find interesting picture opportunities. Who knew it was there all the time. The entrance fee is only $3, and if you have a national parks pass, it is covered. They have paved and unpaved trails to walk and see the local wild life. There is a driving route to view from too.
Mostly there are the birds to see, and they even have some built-in binoculars for spotting the birds, which Javin and Daddy just HAD to check out. We mostly saw ducks and some geese. I think at other times of the year there is a bigger variety. I didn't have the time (or patient enough children) to stop and wait for the best shots of the birds though.

We all loved it...Ok, Orissa wasn's a huge fan, but I think that had more to do with the fact that it was super windy and she was stuck in a stroller for most of the time.


Javin was running nearly the whole time. He stopped on occasion to capture a picture of this or that, but mostly he loved the space to run, run as fast as he could with the wind in his hair.

As we were finishing the small walk (about a mile and a quarter) Aaron spotted a turtle coming up out of the water and onto the trail. Oh, Javin (and me too, I admit it) was in heaven! He ran to the stroller and snapped several pictures of the little guy.

Aaron and I both were snapping away too. For the rest of our time out at Turnbull, all that little guy wanted to see was more "turrles, Mamma, where are the turrles?"
I have a feeling this is going to be one of those places we travel to on a regular basis. What a wonderful place so close to home!

Argh and Bah Humbug! Just a bit of Venting!

I have decided this internet thing is a two-edged sword. Bear with me on this one. Some of you may disagree with me. You might say I am silly or crazy or any other adjectives you can think of, but at least hear me out.
I have times when I love the internet and all the fun ways it has created for getting and keeping in touch. I love that I have a place to write my stories down and where people can, if they like, read them and even comment at times. I love that it is a place to share my opinions and fears and excitement and so on. But on the flip side of the coin, I hate that people think it is a great place of anonymity, where they can say things that they would never say to some ones face, because they have the shroud that is the INTERNET to shield them and keep them secret.
Maybe it was that whole lesson that I learned from not only my Mum, but Thumpers mum too...the old adage of "If you can't say nothin' nice, don't say nothin' at all."
So I recently participated in a meme, and I really over joined the linky thing like I linked to it more than 30 times. I am, contrary to what some might think, and still others might write, am not a lame brain or confused or what have you person, I was dealing with a grumpy nearly two year old who wanted so bad to be a helper bee and do all my typing for me. To make matters worse for me the link adding thing wasn't responding to any of my (or my toddler assistant's) clicks. Thus I thought, as I am sure you might even understand, it was malfunctioning. So click after click I watched as NOTHING happened. After several frustrated, why does this link thing hate me so much, clicks, I checked the other host's blog, to find, much to my dismay that it had indeed been working. I felt VERY silly and tried with all my might to get rid of the unwanted links, yet to no avail. I then wrote a comment apologizing for the mistake(s) and left it at that.
Several hours later I went back to see if they had been able to remove the extras...nope, there they all were, staring me in the face. I clicked on the comment button, intending to add one more sorry for my silly mistake comment, but then I stopped short as I read other peoples comments. Some were joking and some were not, about the over enthusiasm of my linking. I got a bit upset, set the computer down for a bit, picked it back up, and well, here I am writing this post.
Yes, I over linked, NOT to be a jerk, not looking for extra people to show up cause I was the only link there to click on, but because I made an honest mistake that others have made in the past and still more are doomed to repeat. I was hurt, I even contemplated never participating in the unnamed meme again. Who would I be kidding, I love to share my stories and love to read others. I am hereby asking you, my few readers, to think before you make that witty sneaky mean thing, that snide remark or blatant out right mean comment. Think before you ruin some one else's out look on life, think, "Oh wait, I have done that before"...or... "I do silly things too!"
I have a love hate relationship with this here internet. I love the friends I have rediscovered and the new ones I have made. I love to share my experiences and share in others. I love to laugh as I read the funny anecdotes and cry with them as they share their heartfelt sadness. I hate the meanness and the harshness and the other wrong and bad things that the internet holds. I hope that we don't get caught in the stickiness that this NET (cause it is a net after all) can hold!
Some of you may still think I am being silly and others may agree a bit with me, but hey, these are my thoughts, my opinions and the way I see it. I promise, my comments come from my heart and I have always held the advice that Thumper's mum gives as good.

Labor Day Weekend At Glacier! Woot Woot! A PhotoStoryFriday

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

(Bowman Lake, Glacier National Park...and one of my FAVORITE places on Earth.)

We have no school aged kids so the first weekend off, or for some the last weekend before isn't the reason we made sure to do something, it was the three day weekend that did it. Summer was so busy and full that we had little family time, you know, just the four of us doing fun family things. September is turning into a super busy month at Aaron's job, so it was a "now or never" trip.
We didn't leave for Glacier until late Saturday morning because we spent Friday night at the best musical ever...Fiddler on the Roof, with Topol playing the lead in his farewell tour (but this is another story all together).
The trip from Spokane shouldn't have been too bad (after all it is only suppose to be a four and half hour ride)but it seemed like forever... what with Orissa thinking car rides just suck, and Javin, at just three and a half has learned the fine art of the "ARE WE THERE YET" question! But seriously, I loved every minute of it. Being back in Montana and the Mountains was wonderful.
(We there yet? I get out now?)
Once we got to the park, we decided to go for one of the primitive campsites off the beaten path....seriously off the beaten path, dirt road with huge potholes, boulders and downed trees!
(He lights up my life! Or in this case our campsite!)
Oh but the site was so beautiful and perfect for us. There were VERY few campers near us, and they were our kind of people, the kind that camp for the experience and didn't NEED showers and electrical outlets! Aaron thought they miss labeled the site cause it had an out house, he was figuring primitive was, dig your own (if'n you know what I mean)!


(Our site...see the outhouse in the back ground???)
I was just so excited that there was a fire pit and no burn ban! Yay, real camping with a fire and not a gas grill! I was on cloud nine, heck I got to cook over the open fire....I love, love love, doing that! Call me crazy, but that's just me!

(See, I really did cook over the fire! Yay!)
Javin was INSTANTLY happy when we pulled up and he realized we were going to stay there. That boy LOVES the good 'ol out doors! He had sticks to find, rocks to throw, trails to run, and the tent to open and close and open and close and on and on!
(My family on one of our hikes! Javin actually did a great job...one mile in and one mile out...not too shabby!)
(Javin throwing rocks, this was taken with the LensBaby....thus the strange effects.)
Orissa wasn't all that excited about the hiking and stuff, but if she was on the ground and there were rock for her to eat and fire pits to try to crawl in, she was in heaven!
(She headed straight for the water every time I put her down. She loved the beach here, and the rocks!)
(Orissa eating rocks. I am pretty sure it is one of her favorite activities.)
As for Aaron and I we were in heaven the whole time. Glacier National Park is such a wonder and a beautiful place. One of those places you can see God's handy work in all of it's splendor. I mean really...Lakes, creeks, mountains, glaciers, trees, and well, I think you get where I am going on this. It is a photographers playground, even for those of us who WANT to be photographers!
(This is a spot on McDonald Creek...so magnificent, I had to slow down the action so the water would be smooth, I can't help trying it!)
(Glacial Run off...the Glaciers are getting smaller and smaller, but the beauty still remains.)
(McDonald Lake...the Road to the Sun follows this lake for a bit...beautiful!)
(the berries and leaves and, well, everything was covered in rain! This looks better bigger...check it out!)
If you have never had the pleasure of taking your family there, DO it! Even my little ones loved it. Javin was begging to "DO it again", before we were even half way home, he was wanting to go back.
(Oh, did I mention the weather? It was every thing while we were there! We had sunshine, rain, sleet, hail, snow and wind. Love the mountain weather!)

(if you look closely you can see the snow against Javin's dark colored jacket!)
(and this is a two foot high wave on St.Mary's Lake...the wind was literally pushing me down the trail!)

Oh my Heart Aches

Ok, I had to take this picture. I know that I must seen like a meany for taking it, but Javin is my sweet little one, no matter the instance or the occasion. he was playing on the train at the park with a friend when he came running to me, crying. I look over and see blood streaming away from him, and ran to him and hugged him and kissed him and made sure he was Ok, then I wrapped him in his towel and, well, snapped a picture or two. Every time I look at it, it makes my heart ache for his pain, yet I think, what a adorable little boy the Lord has given us!

Forget the Reception, Papa has Tractors Mamma! A photo Story Friday

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Last week Aaron's little sister got married! We, unfortunately weren't able to make it for the temple sealing in Portland, but we did make it to the reception a few days later. Javin was SO excited to go cause it was at Nana and Papa's house. We told him the day before we were leaving that we would be going to Papa's house. He was so excited he wanted to leave that very moment. I was eventually able to convince him that tomorrow was a better time to go cause Daddy still had work and then we would go.
Well, the next morning came and the first thing out of his mouth was, "We going to Papa's house now? With tractors and dogs and dogs and tractors? We going now Mamma?" I told him that we needed to wait for Daddy to get home from work first and he said, "make Daddy come home NOW Mamma!"
It went like that all day until Aaron finally got home! Yay, we were off to Nana and Papa's! We tried to explain we were going for Rose and Will's reception, but to him there was no greater reason to go then the tractors and dogs!
The reception was nice and the bride and groom were gorgeous, of course! But all my boy could do was focus on getting up in those tractors! So the next morning that is what we did! Papa has a really cool fancy John Deere. To most of us, one tractor is pretty much the same as any other, but this one was super cool! You see, it can be set to go at a snails pace, literally! The thing goes as slow and .03 of a mile an hour!
Papa fired it up (Javin was already properly atired...ear plugs...he is NOT good with loud noises), Javin was in the drivers chair, and Aaron in the jump seat!
(Here is Papa starting up the engine!)

(Look at the concentration on that boys face! He was making sure he was doing what daddy said!)
(Ok, now turn this way!)
(Javin looking just so confident behind the wheel of the tractor...now he thinks we should let him drive the car!)
(Orissa wanted in on the tractor action, so I handed her up and they took off again!)

And off they went! Javin was driving, yes you read that right, my three and a half year old was driving the tractor! Aaron told him which way to turn the wheel and what direction to go, but he was DRIVING! I think he was pretty sure his birthday had come twice in one year!