Lucky

CONGRATULATIONS to my sister Maegan! She just won an all-expense paid trip to Tokyo, Japan & Seoul, South Korea! Holy Cow!! I am so excited for her - she really deserves it!! (ok, so maybe I am just a little bit jealous too!)

This is Maegan & her boyfriend Dylan, who will be accompaning her on her little adventure...

I miss my pilot tonight...

Goodnight Captain Bullard, wherever you are...

Skater Boy

For Dillon's second birthday, his awesome cousin 'Sammo' made Dilly the coolest, (& cutest) tiny little skateboard. Sam worked so hard & spent so much time on this board. It has a big 'D' on the front, and a Dill Pickle painted on the back.
Aunt Tasha, Jake & Maddie hooked Dilly up with the rest of the gear - helmet, knee pads & elbow pads.
Brian - the original skater boy - took Dilly skating the other day.
Here are a few pics...

First Day of School

Yesterday was Ava's first day of school! This year she is starting full day Kindergarten! She was really excited to go to school & she was really happy when she came home!
I was so worried about the long day being too much for her, but she seemed to do okay. I think it was probably longer for me, Dillon & Brian waiting for her to finish school & come home!



She is pretty happy that she gets recess 2 times ~ one in the morning & one in the afternoon, a little rest time in the afternoon (they sit at their tables & lay their heads down on the table for 5 minutes), and that she gets to eat lunch in the cafeteria!

Ava & I found a cute little lunch box and had fun decorating it with rhinestones & ribbon.

When I told her that I wanted to take a picture of her with her lunch box, she started doing all these little modeling poses! She was so serious, & she came up with all sorts of poses! If you know Ava, that is not like her at all, so it was pretty funny & really cute!

Ava wanted to make her own sandwich for her lunch, so she went to the kitchen and got everything out to make a sandwich all by herself! She did a really good job. I had one of those moments where I kind of freaked out at how big & capable my little girl is getting ~ it is happening too fast for me, but I am also so proud of her!

I love you Ava Bug!

Summer Vacation (Part Three)

I have been wanting to post this part of our vacation because it was one of the best parts! Waterton National Park has always been one of my favorite places on this earth! I have been there so many times, and each time it seems even more breathtaking & beautiful than before. (Maybe I am just learning to appreciate things more now that I am older...)
Here are a few of our Waterton pictures...

My Dad, LuAnne, Me, Bri, Ava & Dillon in front of Cameron Falls. This is always one of our first stops when we get to Waterton, and we always take a picture in front of the falls. We have pictures of us in front of the falls from when I was a really little girl.

We took a short little hike up to where we could look over the falls, and Brian ended up with the both of the kids on his shoulders at some point...

Ava at the bridge by Cameron Falls...

Dillon by Cameron Falls...
I know it is never very interesting to look at other peoples pictures of wildlife, but this was such a highlight for Ava & Dilly! We saw so many deer, including a doe & her 2 little fawns. The kids even got so excited every single time they saw a squirrel or a prairie dog (or 'hairy dogs', as my kids think they are called)...

The next thing we did was go to Waterton Lake. We had the best time finding the ideal skipping stones on the rocky shoreline. We spent a long time there, and then had a picnic lunch by the lake. Food never tastes as good as when you are outdoors picnicking or camping...

The kids & Brian were brave enough to take off their shoes and wade in the freezing water. Then Dilly & Ava made Brian walk them back & forth in the shallow water so many times!!! Brian loved it though...

My pretty Ava by the lake (I love her freckles!)

Balancing...

More of the family at Waterton Lake...

More exciting wildlife pics! Except these mountain sheep were amazing!! They were just standing kind of by the edge of the road and as we drove closer, we must have kind of scared them. They absolutely bolted straight up this sheer cliff and then stopped and just stood on the tiniest ledge of rock. One of them was a baby, but it kept right up with the rest of them.

Later that day we drove up to Cameron Lake. So beautiful....

Some more beautiful scenary...

Love you Bri Bri...

Love you Ava & Dilly...

We rented a row boat for an hour and Brian & my Dad took turns rowing it. They were such good sports because it was really hard to row in the wind, and Dillon literally screamed for 55 minutes of our hour boat ride! I was totally freaked out to even move, because I hated to feel the boat rock at all, so I was trying to keep Dillon still as he threw his big fit!!! Ava sat in the front of the boat with LuAnne and had an awesome time though! As nervous as I was, it was a really amazing way to see the lake & the mountains around us. I really felt small and in total awe of the grand beauty around us...

Our view as we paddled away from the shore...

And even farther away from the shore...

And this is Dilly, happy to be on dry ground! (I think we all were!)

Happy Birthday Reuben!

Today is my little brother Reuben's birthday. I call him my little brother, but maybe I should say younger brother instead, he is 6'5", definitely not little!
I can remember when Reuben was born, finally a boy in our house full of girls! Reuben was so sweet and he put up with a lot of teasing from his sisters. I think that is how he came up with his best defense, his "lick, kick, punch machine"! It really worked, it kept us away....
We tease Reub that everything must have happened when he was 3 years old. Starting when he was about 4, he would say 'I remember when I was 3, I did such & such'...

Reuben is such a unique, smart person. He has the gift of expression - through poetry, writing, art & even just the way he speaks. Don't even try to match (or sometimes understand) his vocabulary! He also has a way of calling it just how he sees it. Refreshing honesty.

Reuben has a passion for the outdoors. He has been an avid fly fisherman for years and he ties his own intricately detailed flies. He recently returned from a 2 month journey up the California coast. He & his girlfriend, Bethany, walked from San Diego to the Northern border of Oregon.

I've always admired the way that Reuben is friends with everybody! He has always had an extremely diverse group of friends, & he will talk to just about anyone, in any situation. He has always been incredibly loyal to his friends too.

Reuben is confident & acts pretty tough, but he is still really sweet & tender hearted. He has a big, loud laugh & I love it!

Happy Birthday Scoob! I Love You!

Dilly's Haircut

The other day we decided that Dilly needed a haircut. We also decided that we did not want to spend $20 at a kids salon just to have him scream & wiggle & end up with a crooked haircut! We could do that at home!
So... Brian got out the clippers & scissors & did a pretty good job! I distracted Dillon with his own little pair of scissors & we cut paper snowflakes while he got his haircut!

Way to go Bri! Way to almost hold still Dilly!