Tyler's friend Paige turned 4 recently, so we went to her party.  He ended up being the only kid there (other than her little sister).  

Rosemary situates the hot dog.



Birthday parties must be hard on little kids.  They have to watch someone else open lots of fun presents.  I promised Tyler that in a few months he would have a party (or a couple).  He didn't believe me.



Claire and Tyler had front row seats to the unwrapping.




Someone there told me Tyler was a "gentleman."  I hope he stays that way!





Tons of Tyler fun

We didn't want to sit around at home while Shawn was campin and fishin, so Tyler and I packed an overnight bag and spent the night in Missoula.  He rode his bike, went to the carousel, saw the new Cars 2 movie, and did some shopping.  I got to go to the Farmer's Market, shop, eat a yummy breakfast, and chase a 2.75 year old around.

On the hotel room balcony, where he spent a lot of time lining up matchbox cars.



Mmmmm...vanilla latte I love you. 
(It made me less aggravated with the disobedient kid in the background eating jelly packets)




Riding along the muddy river.  It was so nice to have a paved place to ride, he was getting tired of our dinky gravel driveway.



squash haiku



30 degrees and frost on June 26



Squash in my garden

ev'ry summer a failure

Mother Nature wins

A Great Day Hiking

I am leading school kids on local hikes again this summer.  Our first hike was on an 80 degree, sunny day--the first one of the year! 

Native American "Medicine Wheel" that is just off the trail.

Co-Worker Linda and I made it to the top, but not without a little sweating and a few breaks.

No one complained!!  Everyone was upbeat and cheerful hiking the 1.5 miles up hill.  It was like they wanted to be outside and using their muscles.

In the car on the way back to the office we saw this BIG black bear

At the top of the Pass, and the turn around point in the hike there were STILL some snowbanks.  Funny how 2 months ago we all hated the sight of snow, and on this day it was a cool relief to the hot hikers.

A teacher, a bus driver, a few kiddos, and preggo me.

Why can't all "work" be this fun???

Hello Summer

I'm not exactly sure why, but this morning I woke up at 5 am.  It must have been the summer vibes that pulled me out of bed.  I went outside to mist my squash plants, since it was 34 degrees and I thought it might help them avoid frost.

It's not that quiet at 5am, with the birds chirping and horses nickering and the world waking up.

This sunny weather is really appreciated, since we have had such a cool and wet spring.

The horses think I am going to head right out and feed them.  Sorry buddies, you'll have to wait for Shawn.

Saturday we went fishing and Shawn and Tyler tag-teamed the reeling.

Bike riding has become Tyler's new obsession.

And here are the most beautiful colors of eggs.  We are lucky to have a diverse group of hens!

A Birthday hike

I wanted to get out and stretch my legs this weekend and not worry about yardwork or gardens or neighbors, so I suggested we go to the First People's Buffalo Jump that was just over an hour from home. 

It was a good way to celebrate my birthday :)

The 3 mile hike took us across a prairie, and we were able to watch Thunderstorms rolling around in the distance.  I have decided I love prairies (but I also love trees!).

Tyler walked over half of the time.  We were so proud!  But he refused to get up and stand next to this.

Did I mention I didn't have my camera and Shawn's camera batteries were dead so I had to use my cell phone to take photos?

32 years old and still smiling.

 The title of this photo is:

"Get your butt back on the mowed pathway because there are snakes out there!"

Who dressed these two?

It's a....

BOY!!!

And he has a head, a spine, two arms, and two legs.  PHEW!!

This is what both Shawn and I had guessed, so it wasn't too much of a shock. 

No names picked out yet, we will probably wait until he is born to share that :)

Next week my doctor will tell us the real details.  I am happy he looked so good--we had been trying for a while with no luck, and for some reason I was much more apprehensive about the pregnancy up until now than with Tyler.

Batter UP

Tyler started Tee ball last night.  He is a little too young to know what's going on, but he gave it a good try.

I think they liked break time more than anything.  This night was rainy, and they all liked sitting under the tree.

Let's hope he gets a better fitting helmet by the next practice.

Today is the day of our first Ultrasound.  We are hoping that the images show a very healthy baby! 

Any guesses as to whether November will bring us a boy or a girl?

from http://www.pinterest.com/



Around the Cabin

Shawn didn't take a fly-fishing rod to the cabin this weekend, thinking the water would be too high and muddy.  As we were driving along it though he kept saying "it's fishable."  He scrounged around and found this "pocket fisherman" fishing pole.  Its delicate size made the fishing challenging.

The rest of us took walks and bike rides while Shawn fished.

We admired the blooming wildlfowers (shooting star)

Tyler liked sittin' by the river like a bump on a log.

Aaaand....Shawn successfully caught several trout and whitefish using that dinky rod. 

As they say "it's not the size of the wand, but the magic inside it."