ND vacation for Carter and Avery!

Carter and Ave got to go on a 6 day vacation with Grandma and Papa Burgman to visit Erica, Landon, and Sean in North Dakota. They were so excited! We decided to take another car and drag Teague on a 9 hour trip would not have been too fun. He and I stayed in Butte and hung out with Chris, Terri Jo, and Drea (who I wish I had a picture of, she's so cute!) at Fairmont and Silver Bow. It was rough on Kyle and I seeing our kiddos go so far away, but we knew they would be somewhat well behaved... Anyway, I think this might be part of Teddy Roosevelt Park. These pictures all came from Mom's camera.

The 3 monkeys hiking around with Sean.

Landon spotted this little white lizard, and Sean picked it up. Apparently Carter held it for a minute but got a bit nervous when it squirmed away from him.

Reunited and it feels so good! Peaches and Herb knew what they were singing about!

Papa always loves a good hike.

This is a very cool view. Who says North Dakota's flat?

This might be the aggressive buffalo they were warned about. They stayed far away - Mom used her zoom here.

Carter has always loved Erica's giant bean bag - it's perfect for a worn out boy.

The next day they played a little baseball at the park before Landon's last soccer practice.

Landon's coach was super nice and invited Carter over to join in. Ave watched from the sidelines and kicked a ball around herself.

Dad said Carter had a blast!

Lando working on his skills.

Ave took a detour over to a cool playground. She loves to climb, and right now she's definitely my most coordinated child!

This picture is just so typical Avery that it made me laugh. Miss you Erica and Landon!

Some more rock climbing. I think this is by where Erica and Sean live.

They made a trek to South Dakota next. Mom and Dad thought it would be cool to take them to Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Ave and Carter told me all about the movie they watched at Crazy Horse, and how they used dynamite to make the monument. They also can name all the Presidents on Mount Rushmore although Thomas Jefferson is a tough one to remember for them.

They look so cute all together.

And again...that tooth that Carter lost kills me. It's a huge space!

Ave always has a cool pose for the camera.

They went to a huge bouncy place the next day. Mom said there were a lot of big kids who just shot them up in the air, they loved it!

A little miniature golf is always fun too. Although Ave had a meltdown there...it happens.

Carter made a hole in one apparently. He was pretty proud.

Ave does look thrilled here!

Carter and Landon did a little rock climbing too. Poor Ave was too small. You had to be 45 pounds, and she's only 32. Carter likes this picture. He was sad he didn't make it to the top, but Mom found out later he was climbing the "difficult side".

Landon looks like a pro here! I'm so glad they got to go visit and enjoy themselves. Maybe next year for the rest of us!

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!