Visiting the Museum

On Saturday we spent a few hours at our local museum. They had a new display and a new play room. The display was okay (all about wolves and dogs) but the play room was the big hit. It was set up to be like Yellowstone National Park so had geysers, old faithful, mud pots & hot springs set up all around the perimeter. The kids liked playing in the old fashion kitchen the most and dressing up :-) Audrey enjoyed her outing and was very good. She spent most of her time in the Beco with me or with daddy in her favorite "hold". She loves to be carried on her side and usually falls right to sleep. So cute!

Madison the construction worker

Isaac the fireman

Hannah the chef

Hannah was busy preparing food on her awesome old fashion stove. Wouldn't I love one of these at home for her (or for me) :-)

Isaac enjoying the food Hannah has served

Hannah slaving away at the hot stove while Madison and Isaac wait to be served. Isn't that life for the little sister :-)

Of course, she didn't mind. She loved every minute of it :-)

Up the Mountain

We had amazing weather this weekend - sunny and low 80s. We decided it was a perfect time to take the Razr out and explore some trails.

This particular trail led us to this beautiful spot. The trees, the rocky ridge and the fall colors were awesome.

Brock drove, Madison and Isaac sat in the back, I put Audrey in the Beco and she and I sat in the front also. Matt and Donna came with us so Hannah rode with them. Audrey did great. She slept the entire time and probably reminisced about the many times she went up the mountain while in my tummy :-)

Grandma, Madison and Isaac exploring

We saw this stream and had to stop and enjoy it. The kids were in it right away and thought for sure they could swim here - despite the fact that it was only inches deep :-)

I love how this picture captures their excitement as they run to enjoy the stream

Hannah and her pretty bouquet of flowers - she was very proud of them :-)

Grandpa, Grandma and Hannah herding the cows off of the trail. We ran into cows multiple times and had to spur them on so we could get through. Isaac loves cows so he was pretty thrilled about this :-)

This tree was HUGE!! It was so cool and of course Brock had to climb it and Madison had to try (she decided getting down would be too hard so gave up)

Looking up into the canopy of the tree was so cool - it was like a huge maze!

Family Fun

Last weekend we went camping and had a great time. We were near Big Sky and it was so beautiful. We had a big rain/hail storm each day but still had plenty of great weather and sun. I have lots more pics of our time that I will post later.

We went for a ride and could see our campsite from way up above. We were right along the river so enjoyed lots of wading, swimming and unfortunately horseflies & mosquitos :-)

We packed a lunch and had a picnic as far up the mountain as we were allowed to go. It was beautiful up there and I couldn't resist taking some pics!

We were going to go for a trail ride (instead of on the road) but each time we thought of going it looked like rain was coming so we hit the roads around our campsite. Next time we will check out the trails :-)
My fellow passengers. They had fun pretending to be driving and singing at the top of their lungs!

The kids and I getting ready to do some off-roading (just kidding - I play it safe when I drive) :-)

We have had so much fun camping this summer. We can't get enough of it! It is such a fun way to spend time together and still enjoy the beauty that is all around us!!

Slowing Down

Our summer has been busy already so it was nice to slow down for the day and enjoy a beautiful drive and easy hike last Saturday. We began our day at 5:30 am (which wasn't so fun after staying up late visiting with company) because we needed to pick Madison up at a church camp she was attending that was 2 hours away. We were thrilled to see her - we missed her TONS! She had a GREAT time and we are very proud of her for heading off alone to a place she had never been without knowing anyone. I am sure we struggled more than she did :-) It was hard to let her go and once we finally agreed she could we missed her constantly!

The camp in the background. It was very rustic and beautiful.

The drive to camp was BEAUTIFUL! It was so green and filled with animals. We saw elk (in pic below), antelope, deer and a fox. We were even caught in the middle of a cow herd being herded to another spot. They were going right down the road and just slowly walked around us :-) I forgot to grab my camera and take a picture.

Along the way we saw a beautiful spot that required exploration :-)

The path was high above the river which dropped underground for a while then burst out further down the path. It was so pretty.

There were no other hikers around so we went crazy taking pictures :-)

The hike went on one side of this canyon then back around the other. Once we walked to the opposite side we were able to see the water coming back out of the rocks (on the left of the pic) - it was really cool!

Had to get a picture of the baby - 30 weeks today!! Yippee 10 weeks left :-)

A really good view of the water resurfacing after being under ground (or rock) for quite some time. Brock took this picture and I thought it was a really cool one.

Taking pictures of Hannah is a challenge - these are the "smiles" she gives when we say "smile". We usually have to try make her laugh so we can actually get something natural.

My handsome guy who I love like crazy!! Still hard for both of us to believe we are here - living in a place of such beauty, happily married for 13 years, soon to be blessed with a 4th child and completely loved by the CREATOR of all things!! We are TRULY BLESSED!

Sledding the Day Away

We headed up a nearby mountain to go sledding this past weekend. We found a great spot (complete with a jump) and all had a blast!
Madison easily won the award for the most wipe outs :-)

Hannah loved sledding and when she wasn't sailing down the hill she was digging in the snow creating "snow rocks"
I stayed busy trying to capture pictures of Brock, Isaac and Madison sailing over the jump. We laughed and laughed as they each flew over it in a variety of positions. Ouch - looks likes a painful landing!
Isaac flying in his "little red rocket". We realized Hannah's little sled worked pretty good for Isaac :-)
Madison's turn to soar!

I kept my feet on solid ground! I never have been a thrill seeker. The kids definately get it from Brock :-)
Isaac got a double jump. I love Brock's "YEAH" position :-)

A couple more wrecks under her belt :-)

Isaac had a couple good wrecks too - he didn't find them as funny as Madison found hers :-)

I was convinced to take one ride down the hill. It was fun until Isaac walked right in front of me and I ran into him :-)