WOW! Where Have I Been?

Well, since I last blogged, forgive my slackness, I don't feel like we have had a busy summer but I guess we have had lots of fun!  My sweet cousin, Lauren Cross, married the man of her dreams at the end of July, which brought lots of family to Montana from IL!  My dad has 6 siblings including his sister Mary here, and basically 3 siblings and their families came out for the wedding plus my grandma!  That was a ball and all my family came except my dear brother-in-law, next year we are going to get his butt out here!  Pardon my typing!  My family and my cousin Laura were blessed to spend time up at Flathead Lake at the Cross' cabin.  Tom, Titus and I camped one night in the yard there!  We all went to Glacier Nat. Park from there and did an amazing hike at Avalanche Lake there!  I was so excited to show my family the beauty of Montana and to make sure they had a good time.  We came back to Missoula for the wedding and before they all left we did some bike riding and we took my nieces to a sweet park and the Carousel while my parents and sisters went rafting down the Alberton Gorge!  My nieces are 8 yrs. and almost 2 yrs. and both of their first times here and Titus had a great time with them.  Gracie was a great helper with the two younger ones and Bella said Titus' name with the cutest ring to it, I miss hearing her say his name!

We also went for about a 20 mile bike ride on the path along Hwy 93 from Lolo to Florence and back!  When we pulled up to Subway in Florence to eat, this is what Titus was doing in the bike trailer!  So cute!  I thought I was going to die that day and I WASN'T pulling the trailer, Tom was!

We have been enjoying all kinds of food and smiles this summer!

Including trout on the grill and zucchini!  Mmmmmm!  Go hubs!

We went for a hike along Cache Creek Trail down off Hwy 12!  Titus loved the water and loves throwing rocks in the water (or down the neighbors stairs).

We made our first homemade ice cream with the ice cream attachment for the Kitchen Aid (we have had it since we got married in 2009).  Mmmmm!  Homemade Flathead Cherry Ice Cream!  Go hubs!

Labor Day weekend we traveled over to WA and visited some dear friends, the O'Dells, in Spokane.  Titus is missing due to the fact that he had not woken up for the day yet and this was at about 9 am their time!  Yes these 5 adorable kids are all theirs!  (L to R: Acacia, Naomi, Adelyn, John, Justus, Joyalise & Beth)

Once Titus woke up that morning, we headed on to Richland where Tom's brother and family now live.  We enjoyed our time with them as well and the girls definitely enjoyed showing us their ballerina moves, thank you Zowee and Noelle for always being ready to entertain us :)

We got one night of real camping in, which was interesting, Titus woke up and it felt like he was awake for about 2 hours before I could get him back to sleep!  Like our Jumbo Marshmallows?  The smores that night were terrific to say the least!

Our campsite out at Trout Creek off I-90, yes we have a little 2 man tent, which we love and stay warm that way on the cool Montana nights!

Our little camper and his poking stick that he loved walking around with!

Grandpa & Grandma's Visit!

It was so good to see Rich and Carol the 3rd -12th of June here.  They made it just in time for Titus' 1st birthday party and spoiled him rotten the rest of the time too!  Tom had to work a couple of days while they were here, so one day Grandpa & Grandma took Titus and I out for breakfast at one of mommy's favorite places, Paul's Pancake Parlor!  We actually all got pancakes, usually I do not!  I tried their strawberry Swedish crepes, Carol tried their German pancake and Rich got some other pancake that looked more normal than ours but I forget the flavor!  Titus' liked my Swedish ones!  Tom and Rich went fishing a few days that they were here, the first two tries though they got a little wet from the rain but the last day on Saturday that they went, they got to go on a boat with a friend of ours up to Browns Lake near Seeley and they brought home 3 trout to eat!  Mmmm so yummy!  Meanwhile during the boy's fishing Grandma got to play a lot with Titus and she had also brought some of her art supplies with her and she made a beautiful watercolor picture while she was here of a nature scene!  I wished she had grabbed a local Independent paper to see what all was happening around town on those days that the boys were gone.  Grandma, Titus and I could have got out a little and enjoyed some stuff around Missoula!  Next time I will remember!  We did make a trip to Costco hoping to get Grandma some chips but that was unsuccessful, she needs the real salty ones for when she gets low on sodium.  On Saturday before the boys left for fishing we did all go to the market which was fun.  I had wanted to show a couple of neat vendors to Carol while there but we didn't find them!  But we got some fresh rhubarb and I made a pie that night for us to enjoy after the boys finally returned around 10pm!

This was just the neatest little "garden" I thought, this vendor uses mortar in the bottom to hold the rocks together and then she plants plants in them.  This one she called a "fairy garden" with the little fence and there is a clothes line!  So cute, she said she would be there all summer, but she wasn't when we took Rich & Carol!  And she had really reasonable prices!

I thought this coffee table was super cool!  Did not see this vendor there again but I had not asked them if they would be there all summer!

I loved these lamps, but this vendor was from WA and just passing through the weekend we saw him at the market!

We did take Grandpa & Grandma to some our favorite places to eat, like Vietnam Noodle & Fiesta En Jalisco for some good Mexican on Sunday before they pulled out of town to head home! Thanks Rich and Carol for coming to visit! Titus really loved playing with grandma and it was so enjoyable to watch!

P.S. They stayed out at those Jellystone Cabins which were really nice for anyone that may have family coming to visit sometime but the bed was not comfortable for them so they used our air mattress with the mattress on the bed and that worked well for them. 

I Captured a Sign of Spring!

I was so excited to look out our living room window yesterday and see a whole flock of these beautiful Bluebirds making their way through our gully!  This picture doesn't do it justice as to how blue they really are!  So beautiful!

Oh I thought I should write on the fishing day from last week! Tom did not get any pics cuz it was kind of cloudy and rainy from what I heard. Another guy that went with did get some pics but we have yet to see them. He said that surprisingly the day was really slow, 2 other guys went with him and 1 of them got skunked! Tom caught his limit but ended up throwing one back cuz it was smaller than the other 4, significantly I would guess. And Wayne caught his limit too but it took them both all day to get their limit, that is how slow it was. He also said that there were tons of people there fishing besides them so I'm sure that contributed to the slowness.

I also sold my car exactly a week after listing it on Craigslist!  So happy about that!  It went for $450 and off to Helena!  I waived goodbye as it rode off on a trailer!

The Big Catch!

I am so excited because today Tom is on his annual Spring fishing day to never never gonna tell ya land to catch his tasty limit of 5 BIG trout!  They don't even have to wade in the waters at this place they go, they just catch them from the bank!  I have already invited my parents to join him for next year but if anyone ever wants to come to Montana for Easter and participate in this special fishing day, let me know!  Tom had started teaching a student in youth group some casting techniques for fly fishing and was hoping to take him along today because he said it is the perfect opportunity for him to know how it feels to catch them and all that jazz.  But that shows how easy it is where they go cuz the fish are spawning!  So hopefully tomorrow I will be able to post some pics.

Titus is now working on getting his 7th tooth in!  He is so sweet and handsome, that boy just melts my heart!  He has the cutest grin and giggles!  He's beginning to test his climbing abilities!  Sounds like some stories I have heard about his dad!  He loves music whether it is at church or we are listening and dancin in the living room to some of moms favorite artists.  He is finally just about over his cold, I have been bathing him every night to help him get rid of those icky germs and still drinking my 'great tasting' Emergen-C, I think I like the Raspberry flavor the best!  The nurse also suggested to make some saline solution drops for his nose which has helped a lot!  But other than that she said there isn't a whole lot to do at this age for them other than what I'm already doing.  He has been happy and playful and without fevers pretty much the whole time he has been sick.

Titus also LOVES it when mommy reads to him, each morning we read about 4 books right before he goes back down for a nap and he has become mommy's big helper and he turns the pages for me!  I LOVE IT!  So cute!  He also LOVES it when daddy practices walking with him, he likes to do that every night when daddy gets home from work.

Well here is the picture of 'our big catch' for Titus!  It is so nice and rides so smoothly!  Right now we just have the jogging kit attachment for it and Titus seems to love it so far!  Much more roomier than his regular stroller was.  This summer we want to get the cycling kit for it so that we can not only do lots of biking with him but we would love to do the Route of the Hiawatha with my family when they come to visit in July.  The adjustable suspension system for the weight of the passenger(s) is such a great feature too!  And the storage bag in the back can hold up to 8.8 lbs. which will be nice when we go to the local farmers/peoples market this summer!  We picked the 'avocado' color thinking that would best match our bikes plus they carry the red one in the store and we see that one everywhere!

Well I best be going, think I might have my car sold!  Got a response yesterday after putting it on Craiglist Saturday and she seems pretty interested after I sent her some pics!  Pray for that please!

Ice Fishing happenings....

Tom went ice fishing yesterday with our good friend Brian Blevins.

His morning started at 4:00 am to get going on the road a couple hours to Georgetown Lake, where they would begin their hunt for some nice rainbow trout. Their limit was 5 a piece and Brian got his limit while Tom got 4, 3 others had gotten away on him! They left around 12 noon to head back home with their lovely catches. We had dinner with Daisy and her lil monkeys and enjoyed some of our fresh fish. Mmmmm.

His Abundance

I am so excited about Toms fishing trip today, I just have to let you all see the sweet way God provides some great fish for us. Mmmmmm. His brother, Kevin, and a friend of ours, Wayne Benson, and he went fishing again this spring (today at one of Toms traditional spots to go in the Spring (this is his 3rd yr going) and between the three of them they brought home 15 fish! They are whopper trouts, 2 to over 4 lbs. and about 20 inches long! Last year he and Wayne and another friend had brought home 11 and we fed our rehearsal dinner with them and still had some left to eat later in the year. They caught them fly fishing from the shore, I am so impressed by my husband, he is a good provider for me and lil muffin. I am so excited to sink my teeth in, Tom is preparing one now! Gotta go :)