It's Curtains for Cassie!

While my Mom and Dad were here, I managed to get curtains made for my 6 year old niece. Mom was so helpful...she unloaded the dishwasher every day, sometimes twice a day, folded laundry, read books, helped with meals (or suggested take out!) AND cut out ladybugs and flowers. Dad played with the kids, read books or played the harmonica (which seems to enthrall the kids).

Here are the curtains...(looks like I'm into ladybugs these days!) The ladybugs and flowers were a print pattern. We cut out the individual bugs and flowers, ironed on heat transfer stuff (you can tell I am a seamstress, right?), trimmed them all again (20 ladybugs, 24 flowers), heat transferred them onto the white fabric, then sewed around each ladybug and flower. Then I put the two fabrics together, folded over for the pink edge, and hemmed. Voila!

The best part about it? Cassie likes them!

Toys from Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa O came to visit for Annisia's birthday. They brought something special. A homemade toy box! All of their grandkids have received one of these and they are great. They hold lots of toys, (or a few blankets with a few toys stacked on top!)




Jonathan got this wheelbarrow for his birthday too. He thinks it's pretty neat. He even parks it like Daddy parks his, upside down.

Annisia's Birthday Cake

Well, here's the cake I made for Annisia. It turned out really cute. And it was SO easy.

I baked two 9" round cakes, then froze them. On the day of the birthday, I pulled them out, cut the rounded top off one and made the ladybug's head with pieces of the cake I cut off. I frosted the body and head of the cake with dark chocolate frosting. Then I cut the other cake in half, laid it on the "body", frosted it red, squeezed some red stars onto it, and laid peppermint patties on it for spots. Licorice made great antennae, and the M&Ms are supposed to be grass.

Kayla, Jonathan, and Annisia posing with the cake. Jonathan really wanted some of those M&Ms and licorice!

Yummy! The frosting is the best part, Mom!

Can I have some more?...please?! Will it help if I grin at you?

Annisia Turns One!

Here's Annisia 5 days old. She was so little; 10 little fingers, 10 little toes, skinny legs, black hair.

Here she is...the birthday girl! Annisia has turned one! She's modeling her sweet sundress on Jonathan's trike. (and probably thinking she'd like to get one!)

Grandpa brought the watermelon in to be cut and Annisia wanted to carry it. She actually was able to move it!

And she enjoyed hanging with her sister, Kayla, at her birthday party. Two beautiful girls...

ERGObaby carrier

I found something that is great! The ERGObaby carrier...go to the site and check it out. I really like mine. Shop around though. This link isn't necessarily the best priced. I actually got mine at Baby Wise.


This is a soft carrier, baby's bottom just nestles in to the pack. The straps are sturdy, yet soft. There is a hip strap too, just like the frame packs have, but comfortable for a woman. My baby is old enough that I will likely only carry her in this back position, but you can use it as a front carrier (with an optional infant insert), hip carrier, or back carrier. Check it out!

Anniversary Trip - On to Lewistown

We left Kallispell on Wednesday, the 18th, drove through Big Fork and got 20# of Logan cherries and 5# of Rainier cherries, and are now desperately trying to eat them all! YUM!

Anyways, our next destination was Lewistown where my best girlfriend, Debbie, lives. She and I have been trying to get together since January for a girls' weekend in Billings, but circumstances keep foiling our attempts. Finally! I got to see my friend! We got there in time for a quick dinner and off to Bible study. It was a late night as the boys really wanted to play a bit before bed. Debbie's boys were excited for "baby Jonathan" to come and visit. I got a kick out of them...they wanted to carry him around.

We went for a hike the next morning. It was a 2 mile hike up to Lewistown Overlook. A pretty hike with lots of pine cones to interest the kids!

Debbie with her three boys, Michael and Jonathan posing on the trail.

Jonathan enjoys hiking too. Especially if he has a walking stick! His little legs sometimes make him slower, but he does really well. He fell once, hopped up and said, "I'm OK. I just took a digger!"

Debbie and the boys...

A nice little family photo...

Then we went back into town, ate Subway sandwiches and went to the pool. They have great waterslides in Lewistown! Jonathan got such a kick out of going down the slides with Daddy. He'd laugh all the way down, then squeal when they splashed in the water. I took him down once, but I couldn't stay sitting up, so we laid down on our backs. The only problem was he went under with me at the bottom! Gasp, gasp! He wasn't impressed...

Anniversary Trip - Glacier Views

Even more pics of and from the Going-to-the-Sun Road. My previous posts have a link that tells about the building of this road. It's fascinating to see. These photos are just some of the views we enjoyed.


I think this is Birdwoman Falls. It comes from a hanging valley (if I am correct.)

This is Hidden Lake. This is taken from the Hidden Lake Overlook, an approximate 2 mile hike at Logan Pass, where we were headed when we saw Big Horn sheep and mountain goats.

This is Heavenly Peak. The glacier was gleaming...kind of looked like aluminum foil. The glaciers are rapidly retreating. They feel they will be gone in 25 years.

Anniversary Trip - Family at Logan Pass

Our little family at Logan Pass. The area is absolutely beautiful. Go when you can.

Anniversary Trip - Up to Logan Pass for a hike

We enjoyed seeing this Big Horn sheep run down the glacier. We got another video of a sheep following him, and really moving, but it won't upload. Sorry, you'll have to come here to see it!



These mountain goats were so laid back. They walked out onto the snow and the two mamas laid down. A few moments later, two golden squirrels ran out onto the snow from the other side of the glacier. They ran towards the goats, and, all of a sudden, the babies ran over and chased them off! Later, we saw the babies play a little. Cute little buggers...

I gave Jonathan a disposable camera and he got a kick out of taking some pics. Here he's getting a photo of me and missing the antics of the baby goats behind him!

Well, he's almost got them in the viewfinder...

Our sweet toots with his own Camelback. He really thought that was neat. It holds a liter.

Mystery solved!

Remember this? Well, Jolene solved our mystery. It's called a "Lady's Slipper". Thanks Jolene!

Anniversary Trip, Glacier Nat'l Park

Here's the list of anniversary "doings":
1st - back to Glacier National Park, where we spent the first part of our honeymoon,
2nd - to Boulder, CO, and climbed the 2nd Flatiron,
3rd - to Billings, MT, to the water slides, because Kayla, Michael's daughter, was getting married 4 days later!
4th - 9 months pregnant, out to Oliver's in Sheridan,
5th - to Billings with our 11 month old, stayed in hotel, went to Costco on our anniversary!
6th - at least 11 months pregnant, attended the parade and Basque festival, went into labor the next morning in meeting!
7th - trip to Kallispell, MT, Glacier National Park, and Lewistown, MT. Following is a synopsis of our time...

We left home on Friday, the 13th. We made it a few miles beyond Big Timber and parked the camper in a campground beside the Yellowstone River. Now, when you think of this kind of campground, you imagine burbling water, crickets chirping, birds cooing...don't you?! Well...let me tell you, we had that, and mosquitos, AND, (cool for the kids, except we wanted them to sleep!) a train that went by about every 20 minutes ALL NIGHT LONG, thank you! So, one restless night later, we traveled on to Kallispell. Michael's longtime friend, Keith, and his wife, Jolene, and their kids now live there. They had spent that week moving into a new house, so they were living amongst boxes. We got there, set up our camper, and the guys left to do some things, Jolene was at the "old" house cleaning, so I had our two kiddles, and two of theirs. We had a good time playing in the driveway, because the house was only marginally cooler. When we got really hot, we'd go into the camper and sit under the air conditioner! So, these friends, and are they ever friends, entertained us despite the move.

Sunday, the 15th, after meeting, we went to Famous Dave's restaurant with Keith and Jolene, et al, then to the Sportsman's Haus to get life jackets. Then we drove into Glacier National Park, to Lake MacDonald. The cool lake felt good on this 90 degree day. We had a chance to try out a kayak, and Michael is hooked! (I think I'd feel better if I had a life jacket on!) Michael took Jonathan out about a mile and back.

Elton Jonathan in the back of the truck. What a sober guy!

This is the next day, the 16th, going up the Going to the Sun road. There were some landslides this spring, necessitating road construction, but it was completely open. It's a must to see and drive. (or ride in one of the Red Cars)

We drove up to Many Glacier where Keith had a short meeting about replacing some glass, then we all hiked around Swiftcurrent Lake...2.8 miles on a relatively easy trail. This is a view of the Many Glacier Hotel from the opposite end of the lake.

And here we are at Logan Pass on the way home. Michael, me, Elise, Jolene holding Luke, and Keith. Jonathan, Annisia, and Kyle were all sleeping.

Happy Anniversary!

Well, we've made it 7 years! Hard to believe that much time has gone by. We went on an anniversary trip last week. More on that in a later post...

This is the pic we like to call our Prince and Princess photo. I think Michael looks like a prince with his bow tie and tux. I'm just the girl who got lucky enough to get him...

This is our formal wedding pic.

We went to Glacier National Park for our honeymoon. This is on the Going-to-the-Sun Road in a field of wildflowers.

And this was the next day before we rode up the Going-to-the-Sun Road...16 miles uphill from The Loop to Logan Pass. Puff, puff! This year on our trip, we saw the results of the fires of the past few years. The beautiful green pines you see in the background are all gone...well, burned out sticks actually. I believe that fire was in 2003...could be wrong.

The Little Boy has found the Water Hose!

Well, Jonathan has been a big helper with watering for over a year, but it was only this week that he truly discovered one of the best things to do with a water hose in the summer...get wet! Daddy sprayed him one hot afternoon/evening, and it's been a riot ever since. He even grabbed the hose and got me one afternoon! Here are some funny clips...



In this one, he starts by the garden. He is already wet and when I ask what he's doing, he says, "shaking like Bella" (our dog who got a haircut and bath in the yard on Saturday). I love the look of shock on his face...luckily he was really truly enjoying himself!

The Pooh Truck Travels

Annisia climbed on the Pooh truck and Jonathan started pushing her. Initially, he wanted to really move out, but took our words of caution to heart and slowed down. He really got a kick out of this as you can see partway through the video.



Then, the sweet girl she is, Annisia wanted her turn to give Jonathan a ride too. Who is having the most fun...Jonathan, Annisia, or Mommy laughing in the background?

Annisia is Walking!

Here she is...from 2 steps on her 11 month birthday, and every now and then taking a few more, to 5 steps on Saturday, June 30. Sunday, she took about 5 after meeting (when nobody was looking but Mommy!), then started cruising that late afternoon. All of a sudden, she walked down half the deck. Since then, there's no stopping her! She's found her feet and she ain't lookin' back!

Eat your vegetables!

Need I say more?! ;-)

Cody Convention

It was sure fun to see Aunty Leilani. A few days before convention, we were packing the camper and just generally getting geared up for the time. So I would tell Jonathan what I was doing and remind him where we were going. The night before we left, we were all kind of geared up. Jonathan couldn't fall asleep, so he was laying on our bed (which is his newest stalling technique, btw!) Michael and I were excited about potentially seeing, and then did see, the space shuttle Atlantis orbiting behind the International Space Station. Two white blips cruising across the sky...

Anyways, I was sitting with Jonathan on our bed and we were talking. I said, "Do you remember where we're going tomorrow?"
"To convention."
"Who do you think we'll see there?"
"Just Maynani (Jonathan-speak for Leilani)"
"And did you know Leilani's mommy and daddy are coming too?"
"Yes!"
"Who else do you think we'll see?"
"Albert and Sheri?" (our elder and his wife)
"Yes! And who else?" He named a couple more folks from our meeting and then...
(me)"And who else do you think will be there?"
"Probly God will be there, Mommy."
"Yes, God will be there, won't he." I was SO proud of my little son at that moment.

Kari D took a few shots of Annisia and I. Kari and I both lived in Vancouver before I got married and she went in the work. So it was nice to see her. Annisia is 11 months old in these pictures. She took a couple of steps this day!

All Dressed Up!

OK, OK!! So I think my kids are cute. Sometimes I just have to take a picture "just because".

Annisia got this sweet outfit from her Aunty Janice and is it ever (yup, you guessed it) cute!

And now for a little soberness.

Not to be outdone, Jonathan becomes the elusive ham. "No, Mommy, don't take my picture" (but I'll ham it up for you anyways because I really DO want you to take my picture!)

"And now I am going to be coy, innocent, sweet, mischievous, and all those other 2 year old behaviors."