4th of July camping trip

I think I may say this in every post but -- this one's a little late, it's been busy around here -- :)

The 4th of July has come and gone this year with not one firework. We went up to Noxon reservoir with our friends Todd, Tracy, Amy and Randy. It was a great weekend with a little fishing, a little boating, some tanning and a few nights with great fires. The 4th we actually spent at camp sitting around the campfire and eating one too many s'mores. Is it just me or do those things get better as you get older? I know one thing: if there are leftover s'more makings it is best to send them home with someone else. I took on the task of eating 2 bags of marshmallows, 2 packages of graham crackers and 3 chocolate bars. Brent didn't even offer to help....strange! Oh, and Amy taught us that you can use chocolate covered graham cracker cookies and you eliminate some of the work. After taste testing the 'old way' vs. the 'new way' Brent and I both determined that the 'new way' actually produced a tastier s'more -- Cash can try it out next year!

Cash is such a great little camper! We put up the tent and set up his pack 'n play in it and the little guy slept like a rock. Not a peep! He caught his first fish (no pics, sorry)....I was reeling in a tiny one from the dock and Cash felt that it was the right moment to grab the pole, so that was his first fish -- or so the story goes. I see a lot more camping in our future!

As a matter of fact, we did a little camping this last weekend as well. We spent Friday through Sunday camping in Superior and watching softball. Brent was in a tournament all weekend so Cash and I hung out and did a lot of cheering, but mostly hung out in the kiddie pool. Cash had an absolute blast....even in the cold water! It was pretty warm out so I think it was a nice way to cool off for the little guy. Oh, and a Cash update: when he gets upset he'll start saying "dadadadda" -- working on his first word. I think it'll be Mommy! :) hahaha

I am putting up a slideshow of the past few weeks just to cut down on the whole uploading of one picture at a time. There's a few pics of Cash's first 4-wheeler ride, a nice tall buck in our front yard, some Superior softball and a few from the 4th.

Keep watching....one of these days I'll put up some pics from the 1/2 marathon (July 12) and review each step with ya! It'll be fun....probably about as fun as running 13.1 miles all at once. I know this may sound a tiny bit sick, but it was actually FUN!

We're Chicken Farmers!

Last year, or maybe it's been longer now....either way....I convinced Brent that we should take 7 chickens from a coworker that was getting rid of them and their little coop. So, we spent about 3 hours chasing chickens around a HUGE chicken coop. I am actually surprised that some of them lived after being pounced on! They made our place a home....a few died....a few were added and we are now the proud owners of 6 hens and 1 rooster (Rudy). Just a few weeks ago we added 5 little chicks to our little family. They are the cutest! I can't believe how fast they've grown! They're not half as cute now, but we still love 'em.

Play ball!

Most of our weekends are spent at the softball fields in Missoula during the summer....oh, and our Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Last year I would've included Fridays in there, but the co rec team plays a bit too late for Cash. He loves going to the ball fields -- I think it's all the girlie attention that he gets. A face only a mother could love....poor little homely kid....not once have I gone to a game where someone didn't scream "Cash!!!" and run over to give him extra lovin'.

This past weekend (after being too rattled to drive home post Missoula driving) Brent played in a 35 and over tournament (yep, it's official, he's playing 35 and older.....it happens to everyone!) and Cash and I went down to do some cheering. Turns out, it's not only the girls that love the little guy, most of the guys on Brent's team offered or asked to hold Cash. I couldn't believe it! Of course, this is the girl that held only one baby before Cash was born....I think Wyatt was pushing 9 months the first time I held him or saw him. I would've never asked to hold someone's baby. I couldn't believe that someone, especially a man, would be so comfortable with baby time.

A picture of our buddy Joe -- their team had a game in the early morning and then had to sit and wait until late afternoon to play, so he came over to cheer our boys on!

Oh, I forgot to mention -- Brent's team took 1st place! Champions! A shirt for everyone.

88-88-95

Cash had his 6 month appointment yesterday. He's officially 20 pounds, 27 inches and has a big head (I don't remember the exact number). He fell into the 88th percentile for both height and weight and in the 95th percentile for his head. He barely made a peep during the shots and spent most of the time chewing on anything that came near him, including the Doc's stethescope. The Doc told us he was perfect. Thanks Doc, we already knew! :)

Father's Day!!

A late Happy Father's Day to everyone! Wow...am I ever behind on this blogging! :) At least I'm getting it together now. Really, the only reason I'm getting back on the wagon is because I was supposed to go home to see Mom and Dad this weekend, along with Cash and Mika, but plans have changed. For what reason you ask?!? Because I drove in the city today. Downtown Missoula....city. No more driving for me, only blogging.

Anyhow, we went to Yellowstone and did the Old Faithful run as a family for Father's Day, stayed with my old buddy Barney and his wife Edine (what a great dinner they made us!!!), then fished between the lakes (Hebgen and Quake) on our way home. Brent and I both caught HUGE fish....okay, okay....they were little whities, but a fish is a fish! FISH ON!!!

I was a little worried about wet wading with Cash, but after watching Brent fish for a little bit, I just couldn't take it any longer. I had to fish! So I braved what I thought would be freezing cold water (turned out it wasn't so bad), waded out to the 'hot spot' and landed a monster! Brent and Cash waded across to the little island that I was on and caught the action on film. Unfortunately, Cash and I headed back to the pickup before Brent landed his monster, so I only got pics of him yarding one in before losing it centimeters from the net!

Wilkins Wedding

Our good friends, Scott and Katie got married just outside of Bozeman at Cottonwood Lodge on June 19th. We loaded up the family cruiser and headed over that way on Thursday....rolling into Bozeman with just enough time to pick up Brent's tux and head to the rehearsal in the park. We met so many great people at this wedding and I'm pretty sure that we've added a few hunting partners to the mix.

The wedding itself was probably the most beautiful wedding I've ever seen -- okay, so I've only really seen 3 including mine and my brother's! I can't believe that I'm 28 and have only been to 3 weddings....at least only 3 that I remember. Am I that old already?? The lodge was beautiful, the bride and groom looked amazing and the food was to die for. Oh, and not to mention the great tunes and lots of dancing!

Cash had a blast dancing and even got a haircut that night. We decided halfway through the reception that it was time for Cash's comb over to disappear. It just so happened that our new friend Xannie was there and she is a hairdresser by trade. Perfect. Cash went to the dressing room (boys only) and we prepared for a little screaming, some crying....something. And then....there was nothing. Cash thought it was pretty funny! He laughed and smiled the entire time while he lost about an inch and a half from his 20 long hairs. He looks much cuter now (not that he wasn't the cutest to start), Brent and I both are very impressed.

Girls Weekend

What a month this has been! Chaos. The second weekend in June had been chosen earlier in the year as our girls weekend. It turned out to be a beautiful weekend and we got to float the Blackfoot, go to Glacier, eat lots of good food and catch up on life. Ashley came over from WA, Amy from CO and Cat from OH.

We hit the Blackfoot on Saturday afternoon -- Cat and I sat in the front of the raft and directed the boat to every little ripple we saw. What a great time! I don't know that everyone else was as excited as we were to hit the good rapids at the beginning, but by the end we were all professionals.

The following day we drove to Kalispell and met up with Cat's grad school roommate, Michelle. We ate at the world renowned Moose's Pizza, then stopped off at the store after a quick hike to grab salad makings. We spent the night enjoying good food and playing dominos. Who knew that the Mexican Train Game could be fun after the age of 6? I'm pretty sure that the box said for ages 6 and older. I guess we count as 'older'. We all got to sleep in a little (while Michelle worked on the ranch....bums), then made the drive to Whitefish for a little shopping and then on to Glacier. Brent doesn't know how close he came to owning half of the antique and pottery store in Whitefish!!! We finished off the weekend with a hike to Avalanche Lake. It was soooo beautiful! Next year we'll add more girls....start planning!

I would've had more pictures on here, but I forgot to charge the camera battery....so that's all I've got! Just the rafting....our guide for the rafting trip was Cat's brother Seth; he brought along 2 friends and his girlfriend so we had a nice, full boat. The picture of Amy Simpson is post 'mosquito beach'. We had to shove off and pick her up in the water because the mosquitos were so bad -- she came running down the hill, splashed into the water and then I pulled her in. At least we know where NOT to stop next year!!! :)

Snaggletooth....for real!

Cash is soooo much fun! We couldn't have asked for a better baby!!!! He wore his Skechers from Wyatt today, still a little big, but he's getting close. Brent weighed him this morning on our scale and he was at 20.2. We'll see what the doc's scale says in a few weeks.

Cash has an actual tooth now. It has been confirmed, he bit Brent! :) It's been a big weekend for the little guy --- he rolled over for the very first time on his own yesterday (Grandma and Grandpa Olson got to see him do it minutes before they left), we found his tooth this afternoon and he was full on giggling this evening (Grandma Hobbs got an earful!).

Grandma and Grandpa Olson were here for the past week. Perfect week for them to come over -- our daycare lady has been on vacation in Hawaii for the past 2 weeks. So....Cash got extra G&G Olson time! Brent and I got to spend a few nights out and I think we've decided that we'd rather stay home! :) We got lots of new clothes from Grandma and Grandpa, plenty to grow into. My birthday present came early....a Brett Favre Packers jersey! Thanks grams and gramps! Now we're ready for our big one year anniversary gift to come. We're going to be going to the Green Bay/Vikings Monday night football game. Gotta go to the dome. I'll be wearing my Packers gear and Brent will be in his ViQueens gear. I'm thinking I should make a sign to take with, "a Vikings/Packers love story"....or, "yep, he married me!". We'll think of something!

Jenny & Jay!!!

Yipee! Our good buddies Jenny and Jay made it out to God's country to visit! Jenny is officially Cash's 'Godmother' and got to spend some great time giving him extra loving for a day or so. We made it over the mountain, saw some turkeys with their babies, ate great steaks at Lolo Steakhouse and made it to town to check out the competition (tea shops). What a great time! Thanks for coming to see us you guys! We're so proud of both of you and all of your accomplishments and send extra thank you's for all of your service....we're glad you're home! Loves!!! :)

1 Year

Happy anniversary to us! Yipee! One year and counting. Big night of pizza and movies....and a little relaxation.

I think this might be where we do a little reflecting on the past and what brought us together:

Brent and I met through softball in Missoula. It turns out we may have even played on the same teams (or possible against each other) years ago. So there I was....sitting in my spot on the bench (all the way at the end, sitting on my glove, usually being very quiet - yes, not the 'real' Amy we all know and love). Brent came up (he was one of the bat boys for our team that year) and informed me that my tag was sticking out. I informed him that I was starting a trend and to watch, it would soon catch on. And it's all history from there! We enjoyed a lot more softball that summer, lots of camping trips, 4-wheeler rides, fishing, hunting, good friends and family.

What's next? Ring shopping, of course!!! I cried. Yep, we went to the mall and Brent was being all sneaky, asking me if I were to have a ring, what would it look like. Well, we went to probably 6 different ring shops and there were crazy women (and men) pulling out thousand plus dollar rings and asking when we were getting married and how we met and all the bull that they're trained to bring up for small talk when trying to sell you an overpriced diamond. So....I cried. I hated it, I hated the rings, I started to wonder if I really was a 'woman'? I don't like diamonds, what kind of girl am I? The kind Brent still loved, even after my little show in the mall. So, to get that off of our chests, we went to the hockey rink. Brent had a game and I did lots of cheering and tried to put ring shopping out of my mind. The next week Brent contacted Pandora, a great little ring shop downtown and told them about his girlfriend who hated ring shopping, people oogling and hated diamonds. He asked if I would go with him to this shop and he must have given them the perfect rundown on me because it was a wonderful experience! We picked out my stone (white sapphire) and the setting, ordered it and headed home in less than an hour. Whew. Not so bad.

The big proposal.....drum roll......bring in the star of the show......MIKA!!!! One night Brent kept calling Mika to come over and I kept telling him that she wanted to lay in her spot. She always hangs out at night in the same spot and doesn't need a whole lot of lovin, so I was telling him that he should leave her alone. Well, he finally got her to come over and she had a new necklace on, with my ring hanging from it! How perfect? My favorite dog and the perfect ring. I couldn't have asked for anything better! And, well, the rest is history. Cash came a little earlier than we expected, but we wouldn't change anything.

So here we are one year later, married, parents and just as happy as we were a year ago.....check that....HAPPIER!! Thanks for a wonderful year Brent! Looking forward to the next 50!! :)

More peas, please.

I don't know that rice cereal is Cash's favorite. The other morning I was feeding him some of it and he started gagging and 'dry heaving'. I'm guessing we're going to have to mix that with something! He ate sweet potatoes the other night and wasn't too impressed at first, but after a bit he decided they were pretty good. He was even letting out little yells and pounding his hand on the table to get Brent to feed it to him faster. So the newest food.....PEAS! Brent figured if he was anything like him, Cash wouldn't go for the peas. But, turns out he's more like his Mom (and Grandma Hobbs)....he loves peas! When he's older maybe we'll make him peas on toast. It's been a long time since I had those, might have to make a trip to Grandma and Grandpa Hobbs's place! Get our beds ready! :)

I'm not tired, Dad!

Brent was trying to take a nap the other night and Cash wasn't having it!

Nap time

This wasn't some sick idea of a great photo op....he went to bed with his blanket and his little dog blanket and this is how we found him!

Happy 5 monther

For Cash's 5 month birthday party (5.18) we took him down to Frenchtown pond and enjoyed a little picnic. Cash got to eat some of his new 'puffs' (which he sometimes likes and sometimes does not) and even got to go down the slide with Dad. He wasn't all that impressed with the slide....we're thinking that might be more fun in a few more months! We love you Casher!

Is that the blog??

Cash was helping dad with the computer last night.....

Rice cereal

Tried rice cereal in a bottle....wrong nipple - nothing came out.

Bought new nipples.

Tried rice cereal out of a bowl. Nothing stayed in.

Put rice cereal in the bottle, new nipple.....sold!