Introductions are in order

Allow me to introduce two very important parts of my life for the next year. 1st my boonie cap. Amber will be the first to tell you she hates this hat. That could be partially why i posted a pic. I do like it though and it will spend many many many sweaty days in paradise with me.

2nd I would like you to meet . . . . my mustache. It is on day 20 of growth. I am really proud of the effort this time. It is finally long (full) enough people can actually see it to point, laugh and make fun of it. My mad lip hair growing skills are finally coming around. Check back and see updates. I am trying for one hell of a hockey playoff 'stache. yea right......

trip #2, arizona part 1

This has been our first (almost) week at my mom and dad's in Phoenix. It is FLIPPIN HOT here! Note to self: only visit in the winter or spring from now on. 

Of course the boys headed straight for the pool as soon as they could. :) 

Elliott wasn't too sure about the water, so he was on the side shooting the big boys with water guns.

 

The next day, Grandma coaxed him in. He still wasn't too sure, and had a death grip on her. 

But he liked standing on the step and splashing with her.  

There was a lot of jumping in. 

And going down the slide. 

Elliott likes this step that he can lay on and "swim" aka: kick his feet.  

Papa came home last night and played in the water too. He made Ethan and Dominik hide behind the slide while he hid the dive sticks for them to find. 

FOUND THEM! They are quick! 

Elliott is getting brave and lets Grandma give him rides around the pool, he especially likes the "cave". 

He even kicks his feet to help her out. :) 

Ethan loves playing with Papa. 

Papa thought it would be funny to splash Ethan, and Ethan got him back. 

Today, Papa had a surprise for the kids. An ostrich ranch! 

Here they are getting the feed for the animals. 

There were deer. 

And goats. 

The ostrich were nasty! Kyah got bit, and you pretty much just had to throw the feed into the dishes for them. 

The donkeys were my favorite. They were so sweet.  

Then the birds. Elliott got his own personal helper. There is nectar in the cups, and the birds LOVE it. 

Almost immediately, this guy landed on Ellett's arm. You can see that he took the lid off the nectar all by himself. He knew what he wanted. Haha. 

Papa had 4 on his arms all at once.  

Dom wasn't too sure he liked it at first. 

Ethan loved it. 

Kyah and Elliott mostly fed the birds on the fence, then Kyah wanted one on her arm, so the lady helped her out. She was so happy. 

Of course Elliott couldn't be left out. His bird didn't stay on long though when he tried to pet it. 

Papa got a great big thank you. Everyone had a really fun time.  

I leave bright and early to fly to Louisville, Kentucky. Trip #3 for me. The boys are staying with my parents. I hope they have a great time. I'm sure going to miss them.

trip number 1

Our 3 week vacation has begun. First stop, Sheridan, for rodeo weekend. 

Our trip to Sheridan started a little rough. Elliott locked my keys in the car while we were loading up, then we were stuck in construction, which added extra time in the car for us, plus it was raining for the first 1/2 of the trip, but we made it. 

Friday, we got up and headed downtown to the parade. We aren't professional parade goers, so we didn't save our spot in the shade the night before, and were stuck in direct sunlight instead. It was still fun. Hot, but fun.

After a restful afternoon, Joe took the kids fishing and to dinner and I met up with Jenny and Gwen for some Sandford's dinner. Yummy fried pickles. :)  

The next day was my 10 year reunion picnic in the park. It was nice to see so many people I haven't seen in years, and of course we had to get some ice cream at the ice cream stand. It was just as awesome as I remember it. 

It was super hot in town, so Gwen and I took the boys out to the lake.

You guessed it, rock skipping. :)  

And swimming. 

It was the perfect way to cool down and enjoy the beautiful day. 

I took the boys to the rodeo in the evening.  

It was a full house, and super hot, but it was fun to hang out with my boys. 

We were going to leave Sunday, but the kids really wanted another round of fishing, and I wanted to join them. So we spent Sunday just hanging out and then went fishing. It was nice and relaxing. 

Ethan caught the first fish (and about a dozen more after that). 

Elliott has no fear. He loves the worms....... 

And the fish. He caught a couple. This was his first! He was so happy. 

I had Ethan remove the hook from his own fish. This picture was right before the fish wiggled and he screamed. LOL. 

He got the next one by himself though. :) 

Monday, we drove to Billings. We stayed the night with the Childers Family (thank you all), ate great food, the kids swam, and had some great laughs. 

On Tuesday, Erica took us to the airport (thank you), and the trip from HELL began. We made it to Phoenix almost 3 hours late, with tired and hungry kids. My mom is the best, and met us at the airport with a nice cool car, and food. It made it all better.

We are safe at our second destination of our vacation, and had a great first day. Pics to come soon. 

Black Hawk Dust Landing

Dust landing training in New Mexico.

history museum

Who knew that Helena would have the most interesting history museum in the state that I've ever been to? Ok, it doesn't have much competition since it's the only one I've been to, but I was still impressed. 

The first part was all "hands on". 

There was cowboy stuff.... 

And Indian stuff. 

Hehe.  

All three boys had a really good time, and I loved how they were so interested in everything. 

Thank goodness for big brothers. Elliott wanted nothing to do with the wolf den, but Ethan said he would go in with him. 

This is the UGLIEST buffalo ever, oh wait, I mean this is a very rare albino buffalo (it's ugly......really).  

This had to be the Ethan's favorite part. This is outside the museum, and the second we pulled up he pointed it out and told me, "that's just like the skull on daddy's stuff!" Jason's unit logo is a red cross with the skull in front of it, so of course we HAD to have a picture. This thing stands 7 feet tall. 

There was a whole floor dedicated to the military stuff too. The boys were most impressed with the giant bullets. 

Ethan is already talking about going back. I think it's a must.