Right in Our Back Yard

On Memorial Day George and I went for a ride. We ended up driving out past the Stillwater Mine - this picture was taken just a few miles beyond the mine. Are we lucky to live in Montana or what?!

Something to Smile About!

Last Sunday night (5.24.09) Dalin was being quite the little performer! I got a snap shot of him in his Hollywood look. What I missed was his dancing - oh to have a video camera! He and the girls were having their own little version of "So You Think You Can Dance" complete with their own judges panel (which by the way was absolutely hilarious to hear their critiques!) Anyway, when it was Dalin's turn to dance, he would sing for himself - wave his little hands above his head, freeze in a silly pose for a second or two, then grandly throw just one hand high above his head and shout "DA!" (Meaning ta-da) It made my whole week - oh and did I mention the seventies headband he was wearing to complete the look??? Flash dance at its best! Like I said - oh to have a video camera!

Friday Picnic 5.15.09

Today Amber and I took the kids to Riverfront Park in Billings to see the baby gosslings that I took pictures of a couple of days ago. Amber packed a lunch and off we went!


Here we go 'round the mulberry bush....


.... and round and round they went!


Oh how I love my babies!



The wind up!




Ageless...timeless...eternal even...the SPIT BATH!



Enjoying the rays!



You dare me?? I'll do it! I'll stick this rock right on my tongue and I'll bet it tastes great!



ohh...yuck....ick.....never mind...that's disgusting!



All you have to say is "Hey Ciara, give me a pose!"




Mommy and Dudie



Where's lunch?!



Cookie Monster (kind of looks like a black upper lip and a big cheezy grin!)

Celebrate Good TImes

On Sunday 5.10.09 we had a family celebration for Mother's Day and a belated celebration for Ciara's golden birthday. Golden birthdays are when your age is the date of your birthday. Ciara was born on the 5th and she turned 5. It was a fun family night for sure!

Princess Ciara!



A kite from Matt and Chantile - but not just any kite - an ELEPHANT kite!



Happy Mother's Day to Chantile!!



The master kite builder - Uncle Matt can do anything!




Jasmine played a song for me for Mother's Day - what a beautiful gift!



Gumbo shree-ump. Fried shree-ump. (Seen Forrest Gump lately????)

This is For You, Dad!

I've mentioned on earlier blogs about ICT's (Ice Cream Trips) with my family when I was a kid and how I still love to go on them. There are a lot of pictures here (I probably should have put them into a slide show, but I can't see slide shows on my dial up modem at home - hope you don't have scroller's cramp by the end!) and I hope you all enjoy them, but this entry is dedicated to my Dad. Dad I can only imagine how you miss Montana ICT's, so here's the next best thing! I hope this brings a smile to your face - enjoy!!

"....and then this big dog came and I just froze.....like this...."


Cute little babies


Vogue-ing for the camera!


This is a golden eagle we spotted just outside of Big Timber


Ever seen a Stealth Fighter plane???



By Little Big Horn Battle Field



This is at Little Big Horn Trading Post - cow skulls - only in Montana!

This is what I see every night driving home from the office - cool, huh!?

Riverfront Park in Billings

A robin and a flicka chattin' it up- you don't see flickas very often!

Ummmmm....a meadowlark..... I think???

So many pheasants this year!

This is a blue heron - they are on the endangered species list but must like it in Montana - we saw 4 the day I took this picture. It's not very good - man are they squirrly critters!

Strut your stuff!

Are these the cutest fur balls you've ever seen!?

"You just gotta squeez 'em" (Mom and dad will get that comment!)

No Rest For the Weary

Last weekend the scouts had an overnight camp out. George had to chaperon a dance on Friday, so he couldn't go on the camp out, but got up early and went out to see the boys on Saturday. Last weekend marked the 13Th week in a row where he had activities on both Wednesday night and the weekend! WHEW! Being young men's president is a very busy calling! But somehow George is holding up and he loves those kids as if they were his own.

The crew



Lots of fun on a beautiful day!

National Geographic Right Here in Montana!

On Monday (5.4.09) I went with George to Crow Agency near Hardin to get some information for a job he is getting ready to start. On the way home we took a short detour and saw these cranes. They are fairly common around here and almost always in pairs - this pair being no exception. What was new however, was the mating dance they were doing. I have never seen that on TV, let alone in the "wild". It was fascinating to watch them hop about and "sing" to each other. I wonder if they would be equally fascinated with human courtshiping?? Yea.....probably not.....

George said the one jumping was the female......but.....with all the effort in the jumping and the sounds it was making and the fact that the other bird was just standing there staring......I'm pretty sure it was the other way around!!



"Look what I can do!!!" (Oh Yea, that is definitely the male!)

I'd Like You to Meet......

.....Chuck.
I was looking through some old photos of last summer thinking it might help me remember what summer was like and I found my little friend that I hadn't thought of for some time. We met last summer in Yellowstone. He actually didn't have much to say, but was quite cooperative for the camera! He was awfully cute as if he knew the drill - posing - eating - too cute!

Chuck showing me how he eats a seed. Thanks Chuck...


Chuck in his boldest pose: "I am the mighty Chuck! I have the eyes of the eagle.....the ears of the white tail....the reflexes of the diamond back....don't mess with me...you may not live to tell the tale......rrrrrrrr......."
Well, he tried to look tough anyway.

Happy Places...

One of things I love about having a digital camera is all the pictures I can keep without having to pay for them to be printed. I love going back and looking through pictures of happy family celebrations, laughing at all the silly faces of my grand children, staring at my kids and wondering how they turned out so well in spite of having a "dork" for a mom, and remembering fun places we've been to.


I can hear the water thundering down the rocks, feel the mist on my face, shiver from the warmth of the sun in spite of the coolness of the air, and smell the pine trees that surrounded me as I snapped this pictures in Yellowstone.
If I close my eyes........
I'm there......

Aaahhh to be Two!

Last Friday - April 10th - Griffin came over to play with me and "Pockee" (George). Isn't it fun how little ones find the most unique names for people and things. I think it is just adorable! Tabby was preparing a wonderful taco dinner to celebrate LJ's birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY LJ! He turned 19 - wow! We had a great afternoon playing in the grass and a wonderful dinner afterwards - thanks Tabby and Joe!

Griffin LOVES being outside.



De plane! De plane!



GQ'ing



Our little cherub.



Best buds!