Only A Stone's Throw Away

Crystal Lake Camping

2010-08-19T21:47:00.000-06:00

So here's a post after over a year. Can you believe it? Here are some photos we took when we went camping at Crystal Lake just outside of Lewistown. Friday was really cold and dreary. Brady forgot to put our garbage in the car before he came to bed and we ended up with a critter in our campsite.

I can laugh now but I was scared to death at the time. Brady heard a noise first and flung open the tent and flashed a light around but didn't see anything. He then went to sleep. Of course there was no way in hell I was going to sleep. I laid there and then I heard it. I could hear cans being squished.

I woke Brady up and tell him there's something out there he says yeah. I asked if he put the garbage in the car and he says no. I ask him if he's going to look out there and he just tells me he'd rather have it eat the garbage and not us. I asked if he brought his gun and he said no! WHAT!? He brings his gun to go "ICE FISHING" but not to protect his family from critters in the mountains?!

So he and I both laid there wide awake hoping and praying it was only a skunk or a raccoon. I had visions that a bear was going to rip through the tent at any moment. I was trying to imagine how I would save my girls as they were laying on either side of us on the edges of the tent. Needless to say we were trying to be very quiet.

Then Maggie flipped over in her sleeping bag! I heard the scurrying feet of whatever was in our campsite leave. Thank goodness. Needless to say there was still no way I was going back to sleep and neither was Brady. He and I both laid there just praying the sun would come up and the birds would start chirping. We snuggled and giggled quietly. We're still not sure how long we laid there because neither of us had a watch.

All in all the trip was fun and the girls had a great time. The best part was sitting at the lake and letting them cast their fishing poles and reel them in time and time again. No fish to speak of but they loved the chase.

2009-04-22T21:06:00.003-06:00

Here is a window I decorated for Springfest 2009. Springfest is a fund raiser for the Sacred Heart Catholic School. Each year there is a dinner and auction and there is always some type of table decoration type item they make and then sell as a silent auction item. These items are usually some type of item that has been altered in some way by a local craft person/artisan. One year it was altered/decorated mailboxes. This year it was old windows. Here was my interpretation of the craft. I really liked how it turned out. You'll have to forgive the pictures. I was trying to take them quick before we left for work that morning. I hope you can see some of the details. The idea is that you could tape your own photos behind the glass and they would show through the frames. You can change out the photos anytime you want. All the items were either paper frames or rub-ons.

Hidden Easter Baskets!

2009-04-22T20:57:00.003-06:00

Easter was a bit lonely again this year. We used to travel to Sheridan and spend the time with my sister and her family, but since they have moved to Omaha we haven't spent Easter with them. We did have a good time. The weather was awesome and the girls got lots of great treats.

The Easter bunny brought Abby the High School Musical III DVD and Maggie got the Bedtime Stories DVD. Both movies are good. I know all the muscial numbers (dance & song!) from HSM. I rock! Bedtime Stories is great. Even Brady liked it.

Maggie was sick the whole weekend. She was running a fever of about 103.4 from Wednesday night to Monday morning. Yeuck! It started as the stomach flu and turned to a really nasty cold. We got her on some antibiotics and within a day she was feeling 100% better.

Lori, Dan and Danni Jo did come home for Easter so it was great to visit with them. We all had dinner at Mom & Dad's house along with Grandma Mary, Auntie Carol and Megan. The kids got to do a bit of a scavenger hunt. There were clues to hidden goodies at Mom's, Grandma's and Suntie Carol's. Lots of good chocolate for mommy!

Easter Bunny Houses

2009-04-22T20:48:00.003-06:00

Wow! I think I am the world's worst blogger. I am back and will try to be more diligent about posting. Here are Abby and Maggie decorating some Easter Egg houses I picked up for $2.00. I am such a bargain shopper! They were so cute to decorate. All the pieces came in a box. Even the frosting. They had such a great time designing their own house and picking the colors they wanted to use. I tried to help as little as little as possible. I did assemble the houses but they did all the decorating!

Creativity

2009-01-19T17:32:00.004-07:00

I can't believe it's been since the beginning of September since I last posted. I have just really been in quite a funk. It's a new year and I'm hopeful that I am on my way to being organized and on top of things. No real New Year's Resolutions, too much pressure and guilt to go along with that.

Anyway, as some of you know I started selling Stampin Up products some time last year. I'm having fun with it. I would like to get a few more classes together and push myself to set aside some creative time for myself. I have taught a couple of classes and thought I would take pictures of some of the projects. Let me know what you think.

What time is it?

2008-09-02T21:23:00.002-06:00

Does everyone have their trip faces on? Here are the first pictures of our family vacation in Omaha, NE. This is the morning we left Miles City for our 12 hour trek across the midwest. Surprisingly everyone looks pretty happy even though it is the butt crack of dawn (6 am). True Don Bockness style. It wouldn't have been a trip without leaving that early. My dad has always been famous for leaving very early and very few stops along the way to the destination. As you can see we were fairly loaded down on the way there, wait until you see the trip back!

2008 Southeastern MT Fair - A Scottish Fling

2008-09-02T21:04:00.003-06:00

The girls had such a fantastic time at the fair this year. I promised them last year that I would take them to the fair on the night when you could buy the bracelet and ride as many rides, as many times as you wanted. THEY DIDN'T FORGET! It worked out great though. We took them out on Thursday night and they rode everything until it was dark. Abby hooked up with her friend Kinley so her mom and Brady and I walked around the fair and visited while the girls all rode. I think the best ride was the big huge slide. I didn't get any pictures though because my camera died! I loved seeing them on the race track ride. Abby and Maggie giggled and giggled every time they whipped around a corner. They were hilarious!

Maggie is Four!

2008-09-02T20:49:00.005-06:00

Maggie turned 4 today. I can't believe she is already 4 years old and will start pre-school this year. She seems so little some days and then others it's like are you sure you're only 4?! We celebrated her birthday at Nanny and Papa's house. We ordered food from the Airport Inn and celebrated with Nanny Mary, Carol, Megan, Nanny's friends Sandy and Everett. It was fun and Maggie received many wonderful gifts. She and Abby are still playing with the toys, some days sharing are better than others!

Spectacular Firework Display!

2008-09-02T20:42:00.002-06:00

We had cousin Quentin over for dinner tonight, steak, potatoes and corn all done on the grill. It was a fabulous dinner if I do say so myself. After dinner we went down by Jaycee park to light a few of our own fireworks and then sat back to enjoy the VFW Firework show. They did a good job this year. It didn't take quite as long as it has in the past. All in all it was a great 4th of July with just our little family.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-09-02T20:14:00.004-06:00

Here are some photos of 4th of July 2008. It was just us this year. My mom and dad and my sister Stacey's family spent the week in Ennis with my sister Jamie's family. It was sad that we all couldn't be together. We did have a nice weekend though. It was really laid back. After the parade we went to Riverside Park ad spent time partaking in the festivities. These are some of the pictures. The girls got to paint on a big cardboard display which was sponsored by the Custer County Art Center. They were supposed to paint what the 4th of July meant to them. After that we wandered around. There were tons of booths setup with food and games. We ate some cotton candy, jumped in theblow-up thing (not sure what you call it), played with Coach Mcauliffe's parrot named Petri and finally sat down for some lunch. We ate lunch which was sponsored by the Baptist Church and the VFW. We also got to listen to some music from local artists while we ate our lunch. It really was fun and the girls had a blast.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow - 06/29/08

2008-08-20T22:28:00.004-06:00

I think I was seriously sleep deprived at the farwell brunch. These are the only photos I ended up with. Oh well. There were some great pictures, even better times and I will truly miss everyone. Hopefully we won't have to wait another 10 years to see each other again. I love the class of 88. They Rock!

It Seems Like Yesterday! - 06/28/08

2008-08-20T21:55:00.006-06:00

When the Saturday night festivities were over we all headed uptown to the Texas Club. We had fun playing pool, darts, visiting and drinking. I left the bar early and went and got the kids from my aunt's house. I took them home and put them to bed. I took a shower, was in the bathroom picking at my face and then headed in for bed when I heard a comotion outside. I saw a strange person in a hoodie walk across the lawn and then I heard people in my porch so I came down the steps. Mind you I am in my robe and in all my glory!

Brady decided to bring everyone back to our house after the bars closed. I had no food, but no fear Wal-Mart is open 24 hours so Rachelle M. stopped and got chips and dips and frozen pizza. Keri and I spent the evening cookingg pizza. I sound mad but I had fun! We finally shooed everyone out at about 4:30 am. The birds were chirping and the sun was rising. We had to be up the next day by 10 for the family brunch in the park. I think we did pretty well. I was really proud of Brady! Three late nights of drinking and up early! It's jut like we were kids again. Of course it took us the next month or so to fully recover! LOL!

Class of 1988 - Brady didn't make it into this photo. He was too nervous trying to get ready for the memorial video that he helped put together. It was in memory of the classmates they have lost. It was really nice but very sad. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. They will all be missed!

Sacred Heart Shammies - These were the kids from Sacred Heart Catholic School that had to transfer to Custer their Junior year. They closed the high school jsut as I was graduating from 8th grade so I had to transfer to Custer my Freshman year. Our transition was easy. We had a great class. I think it was a bit harder for this class but they still did great.

That's not where that goes!
Keri! What are you doing?!
The sprinkler!
Todd, Jody, Andy, Brady
Eric Bechtle, Alyssa Taylor, Joanie Curry Bechtel (Bechtel's are my sister Stacey's in-laws. Joanie is Steve's sister. They are so nice. I spent quite a bit of time visiting with them. Wish we would have had more time and a quieter place to visit.)

Kris & Guy Kailey - Kris that's not what ladies act like! Oh who the hell are we kidding there are no ladies here!
Air Guitar!

OMG! It's contagious!

Brady, Craig Miller, Mike Maldonado
Keri and Brendan Schwartz
Kinsey Creeps! - Sherri, Marcie, Rachelle M., Kacie, Brady, Rachelle N.

And the Oscar Goes to... - 06/28/08

2008-08-20T21:06:00.005-06:00

Here are photos of the award winners at the banquet Saturday night.

Mike Maldonado - Most Changed
Joanie Curry (my sister's, sister-in-law - I know, small world!) - Least Changed, Female
Todd Lucas - Least Changed, Male

Guy Kailey - Least Hair
Keeley Montgomery - Most Grey Hair
Kevin Hanson - The Coolest Job! - He invented Post-Its! Just kidding he does the yellow line they use in televised football games. All the guys gave him a standing ovation!
Michelle Malloy - Married most number of times
Linda Nelson - Most Changed

Anne Lucas - Most kids
Todd Lucas - Traveled the furthest
Bill Sonneborn - Most Famous
Matt Smith - Longest Married
My Darling Brady - Biggest Beer Gut - I do have to say I think this is a bit unfair because it's not really beer, it's all the good cooking I do! It's a pasta gut. Now that's Italian!

We're Gonna Party Like It's 1988 - 06/27/08

2008-08-20T20:25:00.003-06:00

Brady's 20 year class reunion was this summer. We had such a blast. I really had a great time seeing all the old friends. We all went to high school together. I was a freshman when they were juniors so our class and their class partied together. Did I mention that all my friends dated the boys in that class? Way too funny. A few of us even ended up married.

On Thursday afternoon friends started to roll into town so we sat at our house and visited a while (and drank). Then the guys all went uptown and hung out (and drank). I stayed home. They got a ride home from Mrs Marum. I hear they made her get out of the car at 2 am in her PJ's so they could give her a hug. She was everyone's English teacher as well as Andy's mom. She is a super fun lady!

Friday we gathered again at our house during the day. It was nice to visit and let the kids play.

I haven't seen Mike Maldonado or Brendan Schwartz since they graduated so that was a highlight for me. Even better was finally meeting their wives. All Brady's friends wives are super nice.

We love the Kailey's (Kris & Guy). We used to see them more often when they lived in Billings but now they are in Bozeman. We have been trying to keep in touch since the reunion so maybe we'll get together at a Cat game this fall (although I would prefer the Griz!). Keevan and Kendra are the nicest kids. My kids are still talking about them

Brendan and Kari Schwartz live out in Oregon. They were a blast! I want to move to Oregon or maybe they would move closer! She and I really connected. She's a crafter too! I think she and I could do some major damage to our pocket books if we were together. Their kids didn't make the long trip but we look forward to meeting them.

Mike and Andrea Maldonado live in Omaha which is awesome since we will be going out there in a few days. My sister lives there now too so we will be able to visit them a little more frequently. Mike hasn't changed much at all since high school. Gosh I miss those days! Their kids were sweet too. My girls liked playing with them at the house.

Andy and Lisa Marum live in Salt Lake City and we usually get to see them at least once a year. Andy made sure we had plenty of mood music for the occasion. He burned several CD's with tons of 80's music. It was awesome. It really brought us back! Lisa is a peach. She is so sweet and unbelievably mellow!

Robbi & Todd Lucas now live in Orlando. They live the furthest from here now. They are doing great. Robbi and I have known each other since we were 5 years old. We grew up right next door to each other. Brooke, their oldest daughter, is so grown up. I can't believe she's almost graduated from high school. Makes me feel really old! Nick and Ellie are sweet kids. They were able to come play with our kids when we were at my mom's after the reunion. Nick is quite the little talker! He was sooo funny!

My sisters won't believe it but I really did have fun. I drank some but stayed pretty sober. I let Brady "ENJOY" the weekend. These are some pictures from Friday night at registration. Brendan was hilarious, he spent most of the evening by himself playing air guitar to 80's rock! So Brendan. I remeber that at all the parties in high school!

After this Brady and I, Kris and Guy and Keri and Brendan came back to our house and I made breakfast. I made scrambled eggs with ham and cheese in them and toasted bagels. Everyone said it was the best they'd ever eaten. I'm sure being drunk had nothing to do with it.

Brady was up early the next day and was quite the trooper. He went golfing hung over and actually made it through 18 holes. They finished just in time to come home, shower and head out for the banquet.

Brendan and Brady on air guitar. Boys, I think Guitar Hero is the new in thing!
Brady, Guy and Shawn drinkin and talkin
Here's some of the boys - Todd, Andy, Brady, Guy, Shawn
Guy, Lisa and Andy
Brady and Shawn

Kris and Guy
Kris and I - I miss you Kris!
Ronda Jo and Jackie O
Brendan, Kris and Ronetta
Andrea, Lisa and Andy

Fore!

2008-08-20T20:20:00.002-06:00

Abby took golf again this summer and loved it. These are pictures of her coming back to the clubhouse pushing her 3 golf clubs and it looks like someone else's golf bag. Golf Caddy anyone?! It is such a great program. The Miles City Town & Country Club sponsor a Junior Golf Camp which runs about three weeks. They even build a golf club for each of the kids to have. It is such a great program. Now if only I would learn to play golf. Someday. Maybe I can go spend a few weeks with my brother-in-law and he can teach me the finer points. Oh Lord that will be a lot of work!

Curry Chaos - 06/27/08

2008-08-19T16:35:00.003-06:00

The Curry family came to visit for about a week in June. It was great to have them here but I felt bad because I didn't get to spend as much time with them as I would have liked. My busy time of year at work! These were some photos taken at my mom and dad's house. Everyone is getting so big and so old! We get to go visit them at the end of August (only 5 more days!)!

Abby's First T-ball Game - 06/10/08

2008-08-19T16:30:00.004-06:00

The first t-ball game of the season was today. They were still trying to figure out what the game was all about. Each team took two turns at bat. No-one keeps score and everyone gets to play at this age which is nice. At least they can decide if it's something they want to do. Her team was sponsored by Generations which is owned by one of the coaches wives.

Abby did great this year for never playing before. I think she was a bit timid at times when throwing the ball because she was afraid she would hurt someone. She has a good arm and can hit the ball pretty well she just needs us to take her out and practice with her. There's just never enough time in the day!

Lemonade...Get your ice cold lemonade! - 06/01/08

2008-08-19T16:23:00.002-06:00

Here was Abby and Maggie's first lemonade stand of the season. We made raspberry lemonade and sold Girl Scout Cookies (yes they freeze beautifully!). The only customers they had that day were Brady and I, nanny and papa (because we called them and asked them to stop by) and the neighbor Greg. The only reason Greg bought any was the girls decided to go door to door selling their lemonade. Thank goodness they got bored and quit or who knows how many doors they would have gone knocking on! I think I still owe them some money, which Abby reminds me of every now and again. She doesn't forget anything!

Wild About Dance - 05/31/08

2008-08-19T16:12:00.003-06:00

The theme for this year's Studio M Dance Recital was Wild About Dance. It was really cool because Maggie and Abby's class ended up with costumes that matched. Pink and black leopard print. They were so cute! Maggie's Tippy Toes Class danced to Teddy Bear's Picnic. Abby's class did two numbers. The tap was to Shake your Tail Feather and the ballet was to the Waltz of the Flowers. Very cute performance.

This year there was an all boy dance group, CCDHS Key Club, that danced to a music compilation. It was called Dancing Through the Ages. They did about 30-45 second dances to music through the years. It was hilarious. They did dances to songs like Greased Lightning, Macarena, Shook Me All Night Long. So cute!

Goodbye Frankie!

2008-08-18T20:29:00.004-06:00

The last day of school also marked another last day of sorts. Abby and Maggie have been going to daycare with Frankie Johnson for about a year. Frankie has been doing daycare as long as I can remember. She even watched me and my sisters when we were little. Here are some farewell pictures of her and the girls. She looks about the same as she did way back when only a little whiter hair. What an amazing career. I wonder how many kids actually passed through her doors. We will miss you Frankie!

Goodbye First Grade! - 05/29/08

2008-08-17T09:09:00.003-06:00

Ms. Oster was Abby's first grade teacher and Mrs. Hill was the classroom aide. They were both really good to the kids. Ms. Oster was firm but a great teacher. She made the kids learn to be a little more responsible for themselves. Great life lessons. These are some shots of the last day of school. Now it's on to second grade.

Abby's First T-ball Practice - 05/27/08

2008-08-17T08:54:00.002-06:00

Abby joined t-ball for the first time this year. Her coaches are Wade Miller and Seth Lockie, both friends of daddy's. They were great coaches and the girls had fun. This is the first practice for the year. It was still a bit rainy and cold. They walked through the basics on the first day. Way too funny. Abby's growing up so fast. I can't believe she's already old enough for this!

Horse Play

2008-08-17T08:21:00.004-06:00

The one day, the day we were leaving, when we could actually go outside for a few minutes and do anything. These are the Burley's horses, Star and Angel. The girls really wanted to ride them. Thanks Dan, Lori and Danni Jo for the great hospitality! We had a great time even though we were inside for most of the weekend.

Cards Anyone - 05/24/08

2008-08-17T08:15:00.002-06:00

After dinner we played some poker. Real high stakes stuff as you can see. Pennies and nickels, maybe even a dime or a quarter. We're serious about this game!

Pass the Pigs Please! - 05/24/08

2008-08-17T08:04:00.003-06:00

We spent Memorial Day Weekend 2008 in Lewistown at Lori & Danny's house. We brought the camper but really didn't do much camping. It rained non-stop the entire weekend! I brought some games for us to play which was great since we spent the entire time in doors. This is a great game to play and kids of all ages can play this. It's called Pass the Pigs. The game comes in a case no bigger than a calculator and has two pigs, score cards, pencil and card showing the point values of the pigs. The idea is to shake the pigs like dice and however the pigs land determines the number of points you get. It was great fun. You know it must be fun when everyone is hexing each other at the table in hopes that you lose all your points. Way too much fun!

Bucking Horse Sale Parade - 05/17/08

2008-08-17T07:49:00.004-06:00

Here are some photos of the annual Bucking Horse Sale Parade. Abby walked and danced with the Highland Dancers. It was a great day for a parade. Both girls got sunburned heads because mom wasn't thinking about sunscreen yet! Mom and Grandma Mary look comfortable sitting in their thrones while the boys look on! I liked this picture. Who's that other guy...it's Brady's twin brother from a different mother. That's Bankey (Jared that is). He and Brady are good friends and we like to have him around. He loves our girls even if he won't admit it. There's a picture of Brady niece Sydney and nephew Garrett. We don't get to see them very often so it was nice to visit. Here comes Megan in her kilt. She always looks so beautiful!

Happy Mother's Day Great Grandma Rilla!

2008-08-16T19:34:00.003-06:00

Today we joined Great Grandma Rilla and Auntie Eleanor at the Friendship Villa for Mother's Day Tea. We had different types of tea out of beautiful (breakable) tea cups (mom was a little nervous about that). They also served cucumber tea sandwiches and scones with clotted cream. I don't think the girls were too excited about the food but they had fun and Grandma Rilla loved having the girls come by to visit.

The Little Red Hen - Abby's Spring Play - 05/09/08

2008-08-16T18:53:00.004-06:00

Abby was the narrator for one of her classes play's this Spring. She read so well and loud for everyone to hear her. I was so proud of her. Her reading has come a long way. I took a little video of it and I tried to get it to upload but it's not working. I'll try again later.

Maggie's Pre-School Discovery Day - 05/07/08

2008-08-16T18:48:00.005-06:00

Maggie will be starting pre-school in the fall at Sacred Heart. She is so excited. This spring they hosted a Discovery Day where the kids could come in and meet the teacher. She will have Mrs. Erickson. She was Abby's Kindegarten teacher and we really liked her. Very kind and patient. She read a book to the kids and gave them a puzzle to put together. Maggie and Abby both got to join in the fun.

Abby's Day at the Farm - 05/07/08

2008-08-16T18:32:00.003-06:00

Abby's first grade class (Ms Oster) took a field trip to Fort Keough here in Miles City. It is a livestock research station run cooperatively by the Federal Government and the State of MT. The school kids have been taking tours as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I remembered seeing the cow with the window in its stomach. There is still one there (hopefully it's not the same one! Hee, Hee, Hee!) They don't show the little kids that stuff yet. We kept to all the baby animals. Brady and I went on the tour also. It was fun. The kids did a great job (remember they are only First Graders!).

Brand New Scooters - 05/03/08

2008-08-16T18:28:00.001-06:00

Today was a beautiful day to ride the brand new scooters we bought for the girls. They had a great time. Maggie had to try it out with all the gear. Elbow and knee pads, until they cut off her circulation!

Highland Dancer's Appreciation Luau

2008-08-16T18:17:00.003-06:00

Every year the Miles City Caledonian Society puts on a potluck for a Dancer Appreciation Party. This year was a Luau. We had just had about 4 inches of heavy wet snow the day before so this was a welcome respite from the cold!

The cupcakes have worms...and spiders...and...ladybugs!

2008-08-16T18:10:00.003-06:00

Here are some cupcakes I made for the Highland Dancer Appreciation picnic this year. They were a big hit! You'll notice someone picked the bug off one of the cupcakes! Garossssss!

Brittany& Clint Cecil's Wedding - 04/26/08

2008-08-16T17:42:00.009-06:00

Here are some photos of the reception for Brittany & Clint Cecil. I totally forgot the camera for the wedding ceremony. The reception was nice. I helped with the decorations for the wedding. The reception hall turned out beautiful. Anything that wasn't moving ended up with lights and tulle or tartan fabric! Yes it was a very scottish theme can you tell?! Brittany's dad's side of the family is Scottish. They are also involved in the Caledonian society. (Another reason we got involved in Highland dance.) It was a nice wedding! Good luck Brittany and Clint!

Brittany's Bridal Shower - 04/05/08

2008-08-16T16:20:00.004-06:00

Our cousin Brittany got married April 26th, 2008. Here are some photos from her bridal shower. Auntie Carol did a great job hostessing. Tavee jumped right in and helped with a couple of games. The one I thought was really sweet was each person was given a letter in the alphabet and they had to come up with a piece of advice for the soon-to-be newleyweds. There were some good ones. Grandma Mary had "X". Now you're thinking how in the world could you use "X"...Never watch x-rated movies! Way to funny coming from your Grandma but I think hers was the best!

Maggie's Tippy Toes Ballet Class - 03/31/08

2008-08-16T16:10:00.003-06:00

Here are some photos of Maggie's Tippy Toes Ballet Class. They are so fun to watch and way too cute!

Easter Egg Hunt - Home 2008

2008-08-16T15:51:00.004-06:00

We hid a few plastic eggs with money in them for the girls. They had a great time finding them over and over again. They divied up their loot at the end. Had to make sure they had exactly the same! Here's a picture of Brady's mom and grandma. They came over and joined us for Easter dinner. It was nice!

Easter Basket Hunt 2008

2008-08-16T15:36:00.002-06:00

I just loved the Easter baskets the girls got this year from the Easter Bunny. They brought me back to my childhood when the Easter Bunny used to bring each of us girls the hollow chocolate bunny with the funny yellow and blue eyes (carzy eyes!).

Decorating Cookies

2008-08-16T15:27:00.006-06:00

This will be a short post. Here was a cookie decorating kit nanny Kathy gave the girls for Easter. They were so pretty it was hard to eat them!

Dyeing Easter Eggs

2008-08-16T15:21:00.003-06:00

This was our shot at dyeing Easter Eggs. They turned out really bright and very pretty. Daddy even helped out! He's such a great dad (and might I add a great husband! Don't tell him that enough.).

Easter Egg Hunt 2008

2008-08-16T15:10:00.002-06:00

This year was the first year in a while we haven't spent with my family. This year mom and dad went to Omaha to spend the holiday with Stacey and Steve and their family. Jamie and Pat weren't able to come home so we spent the holiday by ourselves. It was nice but just not the same. Here are a few photos of the city Easter Egg Hunt. It was cold that day but beautiful blue and sunny skies. It was a nice day to be in the park. Abby met up with a couple of friends which was nice. Maggie was very shy and timid (for those of you that know her that's hard to believe) and in turn didn't get too many eggs.

Celtic Celebration

2008-08-16T14:58:00.003-06:00

Here are some photos of the Celtic Celebration in Glendive, MT in March 2008. It is usually held the weekend closest to St. Patrick's Day. The Miles City Highland Dancers are asked to dance every year. It always turns out to be a great trip. We hang out with Chapwekse's and go a little early to shop at K-Mart (you know you're a redneck if...you go to Glendive to shop at K-Mart!) and then have lunch. This year we had lunch at the Mad Hatter. It's a great pub type dining place. They have a really cool room with lots of black & white photos of the city in its beginning. What a great historical reference. Abby and Josie danced and had a great time. When we came back to Miles City we went out with Chapweskes. We went to the tavern to eat corn beef and cabbage and drank lots of beer! We had a great time. Every once in a while (a very long while cause I certainly don't like the next morning) it's fun to let our hair down!

Girls Night In

2008-08-16T09:11:00.004-06:00

This really isn't much of a family event but I would love to share some photos. I am a Brownie Girl Scout Troop Leader for Troop #141. Tonya Chapweske is my Co-Leader and she is a great help. She keeps me on task and helped tremdously with the structure of meetings. (Thank you Tonya!) It will be my third year as leader starting in September 2008. Each year the Girl Scout Service Unit (all the Girl Scout troops) plans certain events for all the Girl Scouts to attend. One of those events is the Mother/Daughter or Father/Daughter event. Our troop planned the Mother/Daughter event this year and it was called A Girls Night In. It was a blast! We had 6 stations setup in the gymnasium at a local church. There was makeup, nails, hair, food, photos and games/movies. Rhonda Holland, a local Mark Kay demonstrator, provided makeup instruction. The girls put makeup on mom's and mom's put makeup on daughters. Wow, was that fun! I never new I liked blue eyeshadow! The nails were self service, moms and daughters put polish on each other. For the hair station, which took the longest, we had 7 local hair dresser's volunteer their time to do hair for all the momas and daughters. Sarah Bice, Kathy Lawrence and Georgina Long from The Rave; Tanys Taylor from the Mane Cut; Jaci Sloan from Imagine That ; Jillian Gentry from The Cottage Salon; and Beth Watts from The Escape. They had the hardest job and all were wiped out by the end of the night! We had fondue and Italian Sodas for food. Alex Holland and a friend and 3 kids from the Highland Dancers, manned the food booth to make sure everyone was able to get what they needed. The last stop were games and movies. Everyone played games together and some of the younger girls watched movies that played continuously. The last station that anyone visited was to get photos. Lori Fahrenbruck graciously came in at the last minute and agreed to do photos for us. She did an amazing job and everyone had a great memento of the night. The evening was a big hit. Everyone had such a great time and I have already had requests to do it again next year. Now that I have this one under my belt I know what we could do different/better next time!

Making of the Crown!

2008-08-16T08:58:00.002-06:00

Brady is going to kill me when he finds out I posted these pictures. Abby had a great idea this winter, we would have a family day for all of us to be together. She planned games and activities for the whole day. She was so cute she had a list and checked it off every time we finished an activity. This was the craft. We all had to design a crown and then we did a parade when it was all finished to show off our work. I have to admit I had fun. It was the best to see what Brady came up with. He was so sweet. He really worked hard on his crown and did it all by himself! Anyway, if we can't laugh at ourselves who can we laugh at. Enjoy!

Bobby Burns 100th Celebration

2008-08-16T08:15:00.003-06:00

The Miles City Caledonian Society is a group that supports Scottish heritage. Each year they pay homage to poet and lyricist Robert Burns with a celebration of his birth (January 25, 1759)usually the last weekend in January. The celebration includes dancing, pipes, singing, poetyr and dinner. January 26th, 2008 marked Miles City's 100th year hosting a Bobby Burns celebration. The society also includes the Highland Dancers, which is a group for children ages 5 and up to learn Scottish Dancing. Abby has been dancing now for two years and we are so proud of her. My husband used to dance when he was a child so we thought it would be a great thing for Abby to do. She absolutely loves it and Maggie can't wait to join her. Here are a few photos of the 2008 Burns celebration. You may be wondering what the green thing is. It was the final dance with the whole group. Abby's class was the Lochness Monster. It was way cuter in person!

Sledding

2008-08-16T07:48:00.004-06:00

I can't believe the last post I made was in February! I'll try to update a few of the fun things we've been doing since then. Here are some pictures of a sledding day we had. It was perfect. We took the girls sledding down by the Park Shop where Brady works. He pulled them behind the 4-wheeler and they had a blast. It was nice because when we got cold we went into the park shop and warmed up. It seems so long ago now that we're enjoying 90 degree days now!

Feeling Scrappy Class Continued

2008-02-19T21:22:00.002-07:00

Here are the other 2 cards!

Feeling Scrappy Class

2008-02-19T21:12:00.004-07:00

I just completed a great class on-line at http://www.feelingscrappy.com/ . It was a card making class using monograms. We completed the box and six cards. There were some bonus cards to make but I haven't been able to complete those yet. I do plan on finishing them also. Check out this website for upcoming classes. The projects are neat, the ladies are enspiring and the atmosphere is way too much fun. I had a great time doing this project. Best of all I got to be creative and actually completed something! Here are some photos.

2008-01-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

2008-01-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

Bowling Night Continued

2008-01-14T20:37:00.001-07:00

Here's some more pictures.

Bowling Night 2007!

2008-01-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

It seems as though our family has created a new tradition. On the weekend that everyone comes to town, we try and coordinate a family bowling night. This was a great way for us all to get together and also interact with the kids too! They sometimes get left out with all the hustle and bustle. Sometimes I wish we could just slow down!

This year I didn't bowl. I threw my back out (...or did I?) so I got to sit back and watch everyone and take pictures. Well, let's be honest I did do some snickering too! Wow, we are not a family of great bowlers. The kids did great but they had bumper pads. No Fair!

Christmas Decorations

2008-01-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

I promised I would post pictures of how my house looked after all the hard work decorating. I ended up with two big trees, one in the living room and one in the dining room, and another small one (if you can really call it a tree) in the kitchen. It seemed like it took forever!

I hosted our family Christmas Eve get together and everyone loved the house and the food. We had a great time. I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone. It goes by so quickly! I just took everything down yesterday and now my house looks so bare in comparison. But all the clutter was starting to drive me a bit batty.

Hope you enjoy the photos!

O Christmas Tree!

2007-12-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

Here is our lovely family Christmas tree and the hams that are helping to decorate. They love the fact that they get to put breakable stuff on the tree. Abby & Maggie were great helpers and so patient to wait until Mom & Dad could get the lights and ribbon just right! Check out the lovely branch with 101 ornaments on it. Can you guess who might have done the honors? She was so sweet about decorating and worked so hard. I didn't have the heart to rearrange all of them so there they will stay until we take the tree down in January. Good job Maggie! Good job Abby (such a special little helper!). I'll post more pictures as I get the rest of my house decorated. The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!!!!

Merry Christmas to all...

2007-12-04T22:14:00.001-07:00

This is the Christmas card I made for an exchange I participated in with the members of my card making class this year. It's my first attempt at an exchange. I think the card turned out pretty good. All the ladies loved it! There are of course a few things I might have done different. On the inside I included a CD of Christmas music that I burned. They especially loved the CD and it worked out great for my class because we listened to it all night while we made cards! Hope you like it.

2007-09-04T20:12:00.000-06:00

Abby's first day of 1st grade! Sissy had to of course share in the lime light. She still thinks she is going to big girl school. Abby is into the 2nd week of school and still loves it. I think they must have had a drill at school today. It was a "lock down". I'm hoping it was just a drill (I was out of town for the day). I think she was pretty scared though. She said she shook. I think the jest of it was that they were supposed to get into the corner of the room away from the doors and windows (in case somebody would be shooting at them). What the hell has this world come to?! It is so scary to think that's what our kids have to worry about. I will have to find out a bit more about the incident tomorrow.

2007-09-04T20:05:00.000-06:00

Saturday was Jamie's bridal shower. One month until her big day! I can't believe it's almost here. Here's a picture of the fantastic bouquet I designed. I shouldn't quit my day job! Later me, mom, dad and Jamie went out for the batchelorette party. It was nice but kind of lame. I wish we could have had more of Jamie's friends and Stacey there. It does however re-confirm why I do not drink so much anymore! Let it be known I wanted to stay out but everyone else wanted to go home at 10:00! Thank goodness we did. Who knows what kind of hangover I would have had.

2007-08-31T22:54:00.001-06:00

Happy 4th of July! I thought I would post this picture. It was such a great day. We were waiting for the parade. We thought it started at 9 but it didn't start until 9:30 I think. The girls were very patient. It gave us time for Abby to join the Caledonians while they walked down the parade trail! She had a great time but it was very hot!