Monday, July 25, 2011

Kalispell fun!

My little Teague has found his tongue. He was hanging it out all weekend! He thought it was funny when we stuck our tongues out at him too.
We went to Kalispell on Friday night to visit Aunt Diane and Uncle Art. We always have fun up there. We went to the Woodland WaterPark on Saturday. Here are the big kids in their life jackets squinting in the sunshine.
Teague took a nice little nap on Poppa while I took the kids on the lazy river. Mom forgot her suit and Erica's was falling apart - so it was just me in the water for awhile. They were good about taking turns though.
Diane, Avery, Mom, and Carterman floating the river. We had a good time. The water was nice and warm too.
Erica and Landon having a snack break. Starbursts were a big favorite this weekend.
My Avers getting all nice and warm. The wind was a little chilly at first, but it warmed up nicely. My sunburnt back will attest to that!
No, there were not boulders in the grass at the waterpark...
It's Carter! He thought he was pretty hilarious when Poppa didn't know where he was.
After the water park, we went to the playgrounds and to feed the ducks. Erica gave my arm a break (thanks!) and gave me a chance to get a happy smile picture.
This picture is tough to see because of the shadows, but Ave was killing me with her running. She was throwing her elbows back and off to the side. She did that later running around Diane's yard, and everyone was laughing. She's my little comedienne.
The ducks and geese enjoyed some of our leftover hot dog buns. Ave was throwing giant chunks of it and the boys like to throw it at the poor animals!
Diane and Art had a fabulous time with all the kids. Here they are with Teague in the beautiful park.
We played outside all night at Diane and Art's house. It was gorgeous! We had pizza and the pool was nice and warm. The swimsuits were being washed, so Ave decided underwear would work!
You can see her little hernia she was born with in this picture. Dr. Graham said it's nothing to even consider fixing until she's a teenager. He said it would take about two stitches...poor Boo.
Dana, Jason, and the girls came over. Yay! They brought over stuff to make Italian sodas for everyone.
The underwear kids having fun in the pool - so cute!
Ave was the only one brave enough to plop all the way in there.
Landon was being Ursula from the Little Mermaid. It was so funny - he kept saying "Bow to my power"! while he swirled around the water.
Art loves babies. It was so cute to see him and Teague together.
I told Dana her kids looked like drug dealers! They had some little fizzy candies that they were sharing with everyone. They are cuties.
Avery was making Poppa imitate all of her crazy noises. It was quite amusing for all the kids. You could just hear them laughing and laughing!
Afterwards it was cookie and milk time. They were all so good together. I bet Dana's kids passed out the minute they left. They all must have run back and forth in the yard at least 20 times!
We tried to get a picture of all six together - not an easy task. Awfully cute though! L-R is Landon, Avery, Carter (with Teague), Madelyn, and Jada.
Teague decided he'd rather just roll away! I love Jada's smile in this though.
And we're home! Thank you so much Diane and Art. We had a ball! The kids were very excited to get home and see Daddy (and eat these dinosaur popsicles). He had to work 4pm-4am shifts Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for Evel Dayz in Butte. He missed his babies big time.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

A quiet summer week

Teague's starting to like the Bumbo chair. I think he feels like he's one of the big kids in it. They usually came over and check him out when he's in there.
It's kind of tough to tell, but this smiley guy is wearing his 5 months sticker! Hard  to believe that my little man is getting so big!
We decided to go to Stodden for a little bit last Friday. It was kind of a windy day, but the kids had fun. They like to try out new playgrounds. Now if only the pool at Stodden was still open.
Landon and Carter really liked these rings. I could totally see Landon being a gymnast. That boy is strong!
Carterman just liked to hang around and kick his legs. He's really in no hurry to grow up...and I'm fine with that. I still can't believe he's 4.
What a perfect slide for the 3 big kids! They all really liked the middle "bumpy" part the best though.
On Saturday my friend Alicia came in from Vegas for a baby shower that her mom set up. The Antonovich's have a great back yard for the kids to play in. Dana and I brought our girls. Ave told Carter and Landon that it was a girl party, and she dressed up for it!
Alicia is having a girl too - in October, so they'll be one to add to the mix. I love Dana's girls' hair. They got along great with Avery too!
This is kind of a serious face, but Teague was looking fantastic in his blue dinosaur outfit. We had a couple kind of chilly nights last week.
That's a better smile! Try to ignore the giant chocolate yogurt stain Avery put on the couch. I scrubbed it off afterwards...just look at the boy in all his glory.
Two brothers. I really do think Teague is going to look a lot like my handsome Carterman. Nothing wrong with that!
Teague has quite the grabby hands. He's very good at getting a grip on stuff - whether it be toys, blankets, Mom's hair, or Dad's face!
Avery wanted me to put Teague on the floor so she could show me that she's way bigger than him. Got it Ave!
I love this picture! The only way it could be more perfect is if Avery were actually clean. She never is though, so this is fantastic and realistic. I've got great kids!
We had a little going away party for my friend Margie at our friend Cristin's house. She is going to architecture school down in Arkansas. My friend Mariya and I have kids all about the same age, and they had a lot of fun together. This is Carter (4/11/07), Michael (10/17/06), Molly (7/22/08) and Ave (1/1/09).
Mariya, Cristin, and I all have baby boys. They are all so cute. Teague is the oldest, Shamus (Mariya's son in the plaid) is 4 days younger, and KR (Cristin's son in the baseball outfit) is a month younger. They are both bigger than my guy, but Teague is a mover!
My guy with the giant drool spot was rolling over and trying to eat Shamus's head. He's going to crawl sooner than Carter and Ave I think. He loves tummy time! Anyway, these boys are darling.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Salt Lake City!

This is possibly the dirtiest my children have ever been. I had to wash Carter's hair three times. Oh well, they had fun, and it was bath night anyway!
Poppa, Carter, Teague, and I took a walk last week. It was perfect weather and for once the mosquitos weren't too bad! Teague enjoyed the stroller for the first time. Usually he wants to be out of there.
When I came home from work Friday, this is what Daddy had Ave in - two leotards, and three skirts. She looked gorgeous!
My parents asked us if we wanted to try Salt Lake this year instead of Yellowstone - why not? It was quite a spontaneous little vacation. Here we are at the lovely Hampton Inn, all my boys were happy to be out of the truck.
On Saturday when we got there we took a little walk to a huge mall with so much stuff in it. The kids's favorite spot was the Children's Discovery place. They stayed there until it closed. They had all these different tubes for plastic balls right when you walked in. The two vacuum tubes did some awesome stuff to Ave's hair! That's a band-aid on her neck - she's obsessed with them right now.
They really liked the construction zone. Carter went back to it about four times.
Lando looked great in his chef gear. They all liked the mini house. Avery looked so funny sitting on the tiny red couch. The kitchen was lots of fun though.
They made us some delicious meals. Landon fried some cheese, Avery boiled some milk, and Carter gave me a whole fish. Yum!
The little store was awfully cute too. Carter was the cashier. Avery had a cart full of stuff - mostly bread and peanut butter. It was just a really cute place. I didn't get many pictures because Teague was passed out on my shoulder. There was also a rock wall, a farm with a giant horse to sit on, a gas station, a waterfall thing with boats and ping pong balls. Tons of stuff!
Carter played us some awesome music before we left. He always has his tongue out like that now - I'm not sure why. We did go upstairs to the second level too. They had a little news set you could sit at. I should have got a picture of Carter there. He looks way better than most of the reporters I work with!
Sunday was the big day...the zoo! We spent almost 4 and a half hours there. It was awesome. When I looked it up online, for this summer only they have 15 animatronic dinosaurs scattered throughout the zoo. They were awesome! This is the first thing we saw when we came in - a triceratops.
Teague got a new hat right when we got there. I had a blue one for him, but it was way too big. His new Hogle Zoo hat was perfect - he didn't mind it at all either.
This dilophosaurus was definitely a favorite. It (and it's baby) squirted water out of their mouths to cool everyone off!
The big kids got some binoculars and squirting fans too. Ave used her binoculars a lot...she's so cute.
They had a dino-photo op. It was cool. How many kids get to sit on a T-Rex. Carter loved it and he looks so little. It makes me laugh!
These kiddos had a fine time together. Here they are with a gorilla. They were good about letting us take a couple pictures. They all wanted to go in different directions though!
They had a giant wooden elephant that squirted water too. Good thing - it was hot!
Our best attempt at a family photo. Oh well, you get what you can! We were watching the elephants so it was a bit distracting.
There's a couple of the elephants. I didn't get a good picture of the baby though. They have a baby girl elephant that was rolling in the mud. She was so cute!
This was a nice little cool off moment. We got some water, I fed Teague (who was the best baby ever), and the kids went on this giant shady carousel. It was huge. Carter and Avery picked giraffes. I think Lando was on a snake, but he was on the very inside and I couldn't catch him.
Not the best picture, but these lynxes were so cool. They were pretty tired, but one of them sat up and looked at us. I love their ears and their big eyes. Reminded me of my days as a Lincoln Lynx!
I think the giraffes were my favorite (the tigers were cool too, but they were just lounging). I just couldn't believe how huge they were. I know they are the tallest animals on earth, but it was amazing to see.
This gorilla was quite amusing. Right when we got there, he flopped down and covered his face with his hands. No pictures please! Sorry buddy, just one.
The ultrasaurus was cool looking. It was really neat how they turned their heads. Even their eyes looked pretty lifelike. Whoever made those, Bravo!
They had a nice little playground in the middle of the zoo. Surprisingly the kids only played there for about ten minutes! Kyle got this nice picture of Carter and Ave in an egg. Can you tell they were enjoying themselves?
Our last adventure at the zoo was the train ride. Here's a very cute picture of Poppa and his granddaughter. They are pals.
They were trying to wait patiently. They did a pretty good job. What cute boys huh?
This is my train picture. Sorry Mom, I only got your hands. Kyle, sleeping Teague, and I were in the last seat. The train was very cool.
The gift shop was our last stop. We had to have some souvenirs of course. Two dinosaurs and a couple snow leopards and we were ready to roll! So so much fun!
We thought the kids would be passed out on the way back, but we were wrong. That's okay though. The hotel had a great pool. We had lots of fun down there.
Landon got this fishing pole and some little plastic fish at the zoo. Carter played with it a ton down at the pool. Carter also had an alligator and rescue boat from the zoo gift shop. Mom and Dad got Teague a tiger onesie and some cute dishes. They are spoiled kids!
There are some pictures where Landon and Erica look so much alike it's scary!
We had such a day of fun on Sunday. After swimming, we decided to try out this place called the Hollywood Connection. It was an indoor amusement park, which was perfect since it was quite rainy. They had a good deal ($5 each), and they could go on everything. Bumper Cars (Carter's favorite - he was hilarious going after his dad), a little dragon roller coaster, this huge spinning balloon ride, another big carousel, a huge obstacle course. It was awesome!
They also had a giant mini golf course (that sounds like an oxymoron). Carter held his golf club like a hockey stick, Landon was pretty good at it, and Ave just threw her ball with her hand! Grandma and Erica looked like pros of course!
On our long ride back on Monday, we stopped at Idaho Falls. We had a tasty lunch and then Poppa remembered a little park by the falls. It was really nice and wore the kids out effectively. What a great vacation - thanks to everyone!

July - August 2019

My friend Michelle was in town from Las Vegas. Her brother and sister-in-law always have a fun barbecue for everyone here in town. Dana, Jas...