It's all Grandma Pamela's Fault!

This is the result of staying with Grandma for a week in Idaho! Okay, not really, but I gotta blame someone! Jenna can now climb out of her crib so today she officially moved into her toddler bed. Can you believe it? At Grandma's house the crib that she sleeps in has to be right next to the bed in the spare room. Jenna realized that she could roll out of the crib onto the bed and then climb down. She got out from her nap yesterday here at home but I wasn't sure how she did it. She did it again this morning but I put her back in and asked her to "Show me!" It was soooooooooo cute, she put her little legs and bottom over and then held onto 2 of the bars and slid down them. It was a little iffy till her feet found the drawer below and then she stepped down. It all happened pretty quick. So here she is taking her afternoon nap in the toddler bed. She did great. I heard her get up and start playing with her hairbows but I hollered up the stairs to get back in bed and she did. This afternoon I threw that quilt together to commemorate her first night in a big girl bed (It was already cut out). Dustin put the kids to bed tonight while I was visiting with a friend and snapped the silly photo for me. She's a big girl now...next is nailing down the potty training!

Photos of Idaho

SeaWorld Photos!

We got SOAKED by Shamu!

Uncle Billy's Catfish Pond Patterson, GA

Waycross and Patterson, GA

Hanging out at Aunt Susan's Pool.

Dustin, Renee, and Susan

Aunt Virginia and Uncle Billy (I'll post some photos of their Catfish pond next!)

Our second Summer vacation...

Wow! We just got home this past Friday morning from our second trip of the summer and I am really looking forward to staying home for a little while. Dustin and I have both said we'd be rich if we could just stay home! On August 6th the kids and I drove to Boise to stay a few days with Grandma Pamela. We had a great time going to the water park, visiting cousins, checking on their horse Jackpot, going to Chuck E. Cheese, etc, etc, etc! Dustin flew in the following Monday and on Tuesday we flew to Orlando, FL. We checked out SeaWorld (again for FREE!) and then drove to Waycross, GA. Dustin's uncle James had passed away on Tuesday morning so we attended the viewing on Thursday and funeral Friday. Uncle James was Dustin's dad's brother. We were sure there was a happy reunion for them, their other brother Wiley as well as both their parents. Only the sisters, Renee and Susan, are left. After our visit there we drove back to Lake Park where we used to live to visit with our adopted Nana, Vi and her family. It's so nice to go home although this time it was bittersweet as our adopted grandpa, Pick, had passed away in December. I felt him nearby in the yard though and that was comforting. We also visited his grave while there. It was clear to my heart that he was not there, although his body was resting there. Then it was back to Orlando, in the midst of Tropical Storm Fay, to fly home. Thank goodness our flights were not delayed. I hope you enjoy the photos!

Aren't these pics super-cool?

Look what Mom got...

So a few posts ago I talked about how spoiled my boys were. Today I am letting you know how spoiled I am. I love my sewing room. It's super big, I had a desk for sewing, a desk for scrapbooking, a dresser for fabric and shelves full of supplies for all my projects. This room is also home to my treadmill. In the wintertime, when it's -30F outside I love having it there. The only problem with my sewing room is that it's in the basement and when we used the treadmill all we had to look at was a concrete wall and when I was crafting (usually alone after the kids are bed) I didn't have any company and I love to watch movies while a craft. I would usually bring my tiny portable DVD player down but that was annoying because it wasn't very big, very loud, and it didn't have a permanent place so it ended up being in the way. Well, those days are OVER! Dustin got a big TV from a co-worker for free. We put that one in the family room and I got the 19" for my craft room. Dustin then bought me a wall mount TV stand and a new DVD player and the picture tells the rest. Now I can walk and watch just like at the gym and have company while I craft. It's so great! Now my sewing room is perfect!

My Three Kids

My friend Lacie thinks I am funny, but I love to dress my kids up and take their pictures in the yard. Many of them have been posted on this very blog. When I saw these yellow shirts for the boys at Target for $1.24 I had to get them knowing that they went with an outfit I had just got Jenna at the Children's Place Outlet in Oregon for only $1.97 for each piece. So I told them it was picture day and we went outside. When I showed Dustin this photo later that night and told him it was the best one, he made some comments about what could the others look like. I think it's cute. They are all growing up so quick.

Yeehaw! It's the Montana State Fair!

Dustin took the boys this last week to the Montana State Fair. It's held here in Great Falls and we've gone every year we've been here. Lately Dustin has been working ALL THE TIME. And I mean ALL THE TIME. He finally got a day off last Thursday and took the boys out for the afternoon and evening. (Jenna and I went shopping at the mall and then to Cub Scouts.) They had a fabulous time. They did all the cool fair stuff....they rode the rides, they ate Fair food, they saw all the animals, they visited the model train museum, they rode the train that goes around the fair (train is code for trailers with seats pulled by a tractor), they saw a hokey stage show, they saw Batman, and, of course, they watched the famous racing pigs! Wow! I am so glad that they got to have so much fun together! Those times are super special!

Come on in, the water's great!

The boys just finished their swimming lessons for the summer on Friday. Henry will move to level 3 and Jeff is still working on level 1. Back at T-Hills, where I used to work, they had half levels but not here. If we were there, Jeff would have moved to 1 1/2. Anyways, they had a great time. I tried teaching them myself but they didn't want to "work" during Open Swim so we put them into group lessons. They love the water. The rules are a lot more lax here than back home as well...they let me hang out in the deep end treading water like crazy while Jeff jumps off the diving board and I throw him back to the side. Henry can get to the side himself but likes to know that I am close by. Even Jenna likes to play in the deep end. Needless to say, I am exhausted after all this. Here are some fun photos of the boys jumping to their teachers. Enjoy!