More July

Ethan took 2 weeks of mountain bike courses. He is in LOVE.

Elliott and I got to spend the mornings just enjoying the gorgeous weather. 

We took a walk and threw pine cones. 

It was fun watching him try to get them as far as he could. 

He was over it after I showed him a spider and her egg sack inside of one.

This was from week 2. 

He graduated! :) 

This guy, well let's just say he's pretty proud of his back yard.

It looked so nice, and he put in quite a bit of work in the small amount of time he had.

East Helena is by far my favorite place we've ever lived. Small town parade day is just one of the reasons why. It reminds me so much of growing up in Sheridan. 

Of course gathering candy is the best part of a parade. 

And in East Helena, they also hand out beer and sodas. Haha. 

The boys got a pretty good haul. 

Then, our lacrosse club put on a summer camp. It was so much work, but totally worth every minute.

We had water balloon games. All the kids, big and small, had so much fun. 

I was worried that Elliott wouldn't be able to make it through the camp days and keep up with the big kids, but he did. I was so proud. 

And everything Elliott does, he has his tongue hanging out. 

Every. Single. Thing. Ha! 

Ethan, of course, did great. 

He worked hard and learned a lot. 

I really do love watching the kids play sports. It always amazes me. 

Isn't he so cute when he concentrates? 

Oh yeah, did I mention his tongue is always hanging out? 

This picture of Ethan is one of my favorites. 

Elliott did every drill that the big kids did. 

Ethan always puts in his all. 

This is Elliott compared to the other players. Scott is a high school player who volunteered his time to come out and help. 

Tye-dying was everyone's favorite part. 

None of us knew what we were doing. 

But we faked it pretty well. 

And the boys have awesome t-shirts to show for it. 

The next morning, Ethan joined me on the deck for coffee.

I guess he could have used some of the coffee. 

Joe and Tyler came to visit for a couple days. We enjoyed having them here. 

We took them on the tour train. 

I can't get enough of these two. 

This is what the capital building looks like in the summer.

The flowers spell out "Montana 2013" 

Then I took all 3 boys to Symphony Under the Stars. 

The camera flash was a little too much in the dark. 

Then we went to work on some target practice. 

Even Grandpa Joe got in on the action. Ethan beat him though.

Elliott still needs a little help. 

Tyler had to show off his skills too. 

Elliott was the spotter. 

More shooting. 

This kid is a sharp shooter. 

Our friend, Tasha, came over to spend some time with us one morning, and caught this. 

Needless to say, July was pretty fantastic. 

it's all ours

July 5th started early. Mostly because we were so excited for what the day was going to bring. We started with a celebratory breakfast, then a little walk.

After breakfast, we dropped the kids off with the Herman family (who they love), and Jason and I signed our lives away. Then we picked up the boys, and we got to go take the sign out of the yard of our new home. It's not the first home we've owned, but this one is special. We know that we are going to be here for a long time, our kids are going to grow up living here, and we are going to make so many memories we won't be able to tell them all. We couldn't be more excited.

We did some of the moving after we closed, but had to wait for some extra man power to get it all. That meant one more night in our apartment, and the kids camped out in the living room. 

Jason and I started early the next day, but the boys were total slackers. :)  

No pictures, but we had a long day of moving. Thanks a million times to Erica, Bryan, Trish, and Kyle for the help. It made it so much easier.

And Papa Jay saved the day with a pizza dinner for us. 

We love our new deck and backyard. It's perfect. 

Did I mention the deck and backyard? This is how I love starting my days. 

Then unpacking began. 

First up was the kitchen. Done. 

The next morning I had a visitor with my coffee. 

And we got furniture delivered for our new sitting room. No tv, just sitting. 

My favorite room in the whole house. 

Love the couches we found, but love that we got a smoking deal, even more. 

We are more settled now and have even done a few projects. More on that later. We are so happy in our home, and it's been home since the day we saw it. It's the perfect house for us.

July 4th 2013

July 4th was another great one for us. We spent it as we have the past couple years, in the mountain at our friend's home. It's gorgeous there, and we love spending time with them.

The boys always have a great time.  

And the sprinkler was perfect for that hot day. 

We are always fed great food too. How cool is this fire pit grill? 

A table full of goodness. 

But a sad reminder that our "Mimi" is deployed, when we have to eat store bought potato salad. 

There was a lot of playing. 

And Papa Jay loves the boys. 

They are show-offs for him. :)  

Papa Jay has the most amazing flower garden I've ever seen. 

And Steph and I got a fresh bunch of peonies. They smelled wonderful. 

The boys took the dogs to the river to play for a bit. 

And what's 4th of July without s'mores? 

Gooey goodness. 

Mmmmmmm 

Then it was time for the fun. 

I am shocked that this kid was lighting fireworks. He used to want to sit in the car and hide until it was all over with. 

Gotta have smoke bombs. 

And sparklers. :)  

Then we set off the good stuff. 

It was a bummer that Mimi and Chris couldn't be here this year, but we had a great day, and look forward to next year.