I can't believe it's August!

I don't have too many here, but they are cute. I borrowed Mom's camera until Saturday when she, Dad, Carter, and Ave headed out for North Dakota to see Erica, Landon, and Sean. I'm jealous, but Teague would not have enjoyed a 9 hour trip. He's having a good time here with lots of attention. Ave all of a sudden remembered she had a bike last week. She was quite timid around the block the first time, the next 3 trips she was flying!

Teague did not want to get off his buggy. I love this little face! He's been making some very silly little smiles lately.

Carter was wearing this awesome shirt with a record on it, so we decided to play some records. They thought it was really cool. Carter even put the needle down very carefully. Ave likes Elton John, so we listened to that first. I got out some Led Zeppelin, Linda Ronstadt, Bruce Springsteen, and Jim Croce for next time. Mom and Dad have an impressive collection to choose from.

We've been making late trips to the park. About 7:30 or 8 it's just perfect for these little fools to run and play!

We always have to do all four colors of cowboy swings of course. Here's that silly face again!

And again! He was peeking out at me from the tunnel by the slide.

How can I not take a million pictures of this? He's such a funny little man.

Do you think these two might be related? I  sometimes just look at Carter and can't believe how much he looks like his Daddy.

We went up to Copper Mountain the next night with Grandma and Papa. It was a beautiful night, no wind and no mosquitos up there too (that's rare)! Teague calls this little thing the Post Office and says, "You want some mail?" His Great Grandpa Winks would be so proud.

My pretty girl. I miss them so much. 2 more days!

My Carterman in his awesome ninja turtles shirt. That missing tooth kills me. Apparently he got to go to soccer practice with Landon in North Dakota and loved it. He held a lizard too. He'll have lots of stories when he gets back. I bet they are having a blast!

I got them some fingerpaint for the bath and asked them not to use all of it. Guess what, they did! Oh well, they had fun. Teague got out, and Carter and Avery stayed in forever. It sounded like they were making an infomercial. Carter would paint the walls. Then Ave would say, just use some side effects DNA. It tackles tough stains! It was hilarious!

Lastly, my only picture from the Relay for Life. It was at the Mac this year, and we were mostly inside. Mother of the Year here forgot jackets. We had lots of fun though. We bought our luminaries and did some laps. Then Jordan helped Ave with art projects. Carter did one and then ran like a crazy person around the gym. It's always a great event. Sean's sister was in charge this year, and I thought she did a great job. We are heading to Kalispell Friday and coming back Monday, so look for another Tuesday blog next week!

Mish-Mash...

This blog has pictures from 3 different cameras on it - hence the title! These outside sprinkler ones were the last taken before my camera bit the dust. You can see that nice blur in the middle on some of them. Poor camera. It was with me for 6 years or so though, I got some good use out of it!

My girl in one of her many swimsuits. This one was apparently giving her a wedgie. I just noticed that...oh well, I don't feel like deleting it!

My Teagie Pie got his first haircut this week. Here's the last photo of his curls.

Carter was getting some water from the sprinkler to make anti-venom. Ave was making a grass/dirt pie.

We finally made it up to Sunburst. We had a great time visiting everyone. It was nice not to have to rush back in two days. This kids enjoyed the playground at the school. They have a lot of fun stuff there - tire swing, zip line, octagon prison (that's what Carter called it anyway)!

Tire swings are always a good time!

Teague enjoyed the teeter-totter immensely!

Now time for all 3 on the tire swing.

Grandma and Grandpa Barsness know these kids love a good sprinkler, so they bought a really cute puppy one. It was a great day for it - very sunny! Teague thought he'd help fill it up.

Carter had a blast!

We had a delicious dinner that night with the whole family (we missed Callie and Kevin of course). We had to get a picture of all the Barsness grandkids for Diana's Facebook profile. Last time we took one, there was no Teague! From l-r: Carter, Colten, Avery, Breanne, Kaden, and Teague. Kade and Teague's faces are hilarious!

Having so much fun wears some kids out. I love Ave's hands crossed above her head!

The next day we hung out at the farm, and Carter was in heaven! He followed Nate everywhere! Good thing Nate is so nice. They got a couple tractor rides, got to see the canola, had some delicious Grandma Bonnie food, and chatted with Phil and Mary Jo.

Carter, who lost a top tooth the day before, is sure he drove this all over by himself...because Phil taught him last year. He told Kyle and I that over and over again! Thanks everyone. We had a wonderful visit.

We went on a hike today up by Roosevelt Drive. It was a great day for it, there was a nice little breeze. There is my little explorer Teague. He did pretty good for a 2 year old man. He fell asleep on my shoulder on the way down! 

Ave and Carter were sure every little weird mark on a tree was made by a dinosaur. Carter is pretty sure he found an Iguanadon thumb spike too!

Time for a quick little rest on a stump. We had a nice 2 mile hike.

Look what we found! This tunnel was pretty awesome. They were all excited to go through it. Kelsie and Erica, we weren't near the trestle! I told Dad I didn't want to go there with these 3!

Made it to the other side! Looked around and then went back through. It's pretty cool. The ends both have nice smooth concrete, but the middle is all natural rock.

We found some old rusty train souvenirs. We used to always take the spikes home when we were kids. They stayed outside, we'll try to clean them off tomorrow.

Lastly, Papa's birthday was yesterday. He and I feasted on garlic pork, salad from my garden, and Kale chips. The kale was from my garden too, and we were surprised how good the chips turned out! Mom, little Kyle, and Big Kyle were all gone so we had a big family dinner tonight. Steak, macaroni salad, and pie. Yum! Happy Birthday Papa!

 

Finally!

Sorry - computer is fixed. Ave is quite the artist. She and Carter made a clubhouse with their bunkbeds. It was filled with original Avery artwork as you can see. From L-R, we have a rainbow, a snail with eggs, a house, a hula dancer, 3 ants, a brachiosaurus, and I can't remember what else. They are awesome though.

Teague wanted to sit on her doll bunkbeds from Abb and Jord. It didn't work out as well as he thought it would!

He was being the "king" down at C Street park. He would yell, "Come visit the king!" I told him I was a peasant begging for land for my family, and he said "Here's a bag of land!" He kills me.

We took a nice walk on the trail that night and saw a deer!

Mom took this picture. We have Teague with his walking stick on my shoulders and Ave next to us. Then Dad, Carter, and Uncle Kyle met us on his bike. It was a beautiful night.

We went to the theatre early Thursday morning. They are replaying old kids movies. This week it was Rio - one of Teague's favorites (Carter has a Rio shirt on too). For $16 we watched the movie and got water, popcorn, and fruit snacks! What a deal! We are going next Thursday too for Madagascar 3.

Dad's chair broke, and he told me to take a picture. I think he was actually more comfortable like that. He laid there for about 20 minutes I bet!

Waterfight time!

Yay! It's Folk Festival time! My camera had a weird spot in them middle in some of the pictures. It's dying. Most of the time when I turn it on, it says zoom error and closes. Sad :(   Anyway, back to the fun. Here they are with their favorite thing about the Folk Fest - snowcones galore!

This is mixed up...we went to Father Sheehan Park after the movie on Thursday. I like their faces here!

The view at the Original. I love the Folk Fest. Everyone is friendly, the music is good, the food is awesome, and it's so good for Butte.

Listening to some gospel music from the Birmingham Singers. Kels you would have loved it (I know how you like choirs)! Gospel isn't normally my thing, but their voices were awesome. Mom said it reminded her of the Temptations. 

 

The next day we made it up for some of the kids activities. These little fishing ponds were cute, and the kids enjoyed the candy prizes.

One more out of order one. Mom ordered some garlic fries when we were up there. They were delicious! Teague really thought so too. He loves to try new things. 

Carter and Avery made some beautiful bandanas. Teague used one for a towel this morning while he was pretending he was at the beach! 

Ave has the best smile. She really does!

Abb, Jord, Terri, and Ken are back from Vegas! They did great (two 6th places and a 7th) - pretty amazing for a dance group out of Butte, Montana. They met us up at the wading pool where we were having a picnic.

Carter kept stealing Ken's flip-flop and standing under the mushroom with it. He thought he was hilarious!

Teague was being a crocodile again.

And having lots of fun splashing his buddy Jordan!

It does wear a guy out though!

He's so cute...and messy! Look at that face! Also, Happy Birthday to Uncle Kyle! He turned 26 yesterday, and I couldn't get my camera to work for a picture. It was fun though. I got him an awesome Game of Thrones shirt that says "I survived the Red Wedding." Good stuff!