GGO

I haven't had a chance to mention that Grandma and Grandpa Olson made their way out here -- at least a month ago now....I am NOT on the ball.  :)  But -- we had a fun time and got celebrate Grandpa Olson's birthday right here in MT.  We did sneak in a bonfire night, although I think that the eye in the sky was onto us -- just waiting to slap us with a fine for lighting up the state of MT.  Not us though.  We kept it tame.  Good times had by all! 

Grandma and Grandpa Olson should be up to 3 grandbabies within the next few days -- no, not us, but Bryan and Angie.  Congrats you two!

How time flies

Oh boy, time is definitely flying!  Can you believe that we are sitting at the beginning of hunting season already?!?  Brent took off this morning for a week's worth of hunting with Joe, so the kids and I are flying solo.  Not too bad so far....

Speaking of how time flies.  Cash is in PRESCHOOL!  Holy crap.  It wasn't so much the dropping off at preschool that got me sad, it was the fact that he's already 3 1/2 that got me sad.  He had a great time and was super excited to hang out with his new friends.  On his first day he:

**Made and played with play-doh....
**Made a fruit loops necklace....
**Practiced his scissor skills (thank god someone is brave enough to do this because it doesn't happen at this house)....
**Sat on the front step, holding his little backpack....
**Learned about listening and being on time.....
**Developed trust issues.....
**Wondered if he was enrolled in all day preschool.....
**....and so on....and so on....and I'm a horrible mother.

Yep -- I left my child at preschool on Thursday morning at 8:30 and was supposed to be back by 11 (although I thought 11:30)....so I'm driving by the school, thinking, 'I'll just let him hang out with his buddies and not be the mom that yanks him out of school early'....and I see a little boy sitting on the steps.  Cuuuuutttttte!  Look at that little guy with his little backpack....what a cute little kid....he's probably about the same age as Cash....in fact....he looks an awful lot like Cash....SHIT!!!  Oh yes, mother of the year.  I walk in and there's Cash with the ol' Teach and NOBODY else.....waiting for me to show up.  She gave me a maybe somewhat knowing look (or maybe it was the look of, don't worry, CPS has been contacted) and said not to worry, that she figured that we had thought 11:30.  Ugh.  Mother. Of. The. Year.

And now for some cute little photos to show that I am a doting, loving, caring mother.

CHEESE!

 

Update:  Cash had his 2nd day of preschool today.  He was dropped off at 8:30 and PROMPTLY picked up 5 minutes early.  To heck with being the mom that doesn't drag her kid outta the place!  Never, ever, ever again.

 

When I walked in, they were all playing outside and they had their little pictures hung up to dry in the sun.  I browsed through all of the beautiful paintings, a little paint here, a little paint there.  I asked Cash which one was his and he searched for a minute, coming to a stop at a piece of paper that may have one time been white, but was now covered from one corner to the next with green.  'There it is!'.  Aha....and what is it?  'It's nothing....just green'.  Maybe we're not heading down the art road at this time.

Chariot's of fire

Mo is our little roman, while Cash plays the chariot.  Look, she's even got the stone faced roman emperor look!



 

 

Comin' through!

Yaw mule!

What's your breakfast?

Yogurt, you like it??

Ol' Cinderella

My wood getting buddy.  The hard work paid off with an ice cream cone.

Poster child for giardia?

Dad and I took a day to head to Cody and check out Buffalo Bill's Museum as well as FNAWS (wild sheep headquarters where Dad's sheep is on display) during our ride through Yellowstone.  Holy crap, was it ever hot down there!!!  Even icy cold water is half a second from boiling in 100 degree weather, strapped to a harley.  There is no way we could have passed another waterfall.  Giardia was not even on our list of concerns at the time.  Once we were fully hydrated we chatted about the chances of it happening and figured, if we haven't gotten giardia from the creek while hunting on Nelson's land or drinking from an irrigation ditch in Frenchtown (don't ever, ever run 14 miles without water handy), then we certainly weren't going to get it from the pristine waterfalls of Yellowstone. 

Fill 'er up!

Liquid gold

Giardia free!!

I am happy to tell you all that we are both giardia free and well hydrated!!

Surfer chick

Hobbs time

BEST. TIME. OF. MY. LIFE!!

The view from the back of Dad's helmet.

Time to roll

Dad & I at the falls

We're here!

Biker and babe.  :)

Beauty.

Thanks dad!  Not a chance for a better trip....unless we tacked a week on!  :)  I love you and am already planning our next ride!

Where have we been??

EVERYWHERE, MAN!!! We've been on the run and I've been boycotting the computer! So.....here's some pics, minus all the idle chatter. I'll give a good rundown on life in general after Dad and I get back from our trip to Yellowstone on the Harley! Until then.....

Not in sequence....but this is what happens post sugar high.

That's right....6 kids....900 square feet....one rocker....2 days.  And we all survived!

This doesn't do it justice -- I love Pullman!  And I'll never drive and take pics again.

Big cleaning day -- I'm pretty sure she pulled off the full 8 seconds.

Perhaps a bigger bench for shoe time??

Yeah??

Snack time with Landyn.

This is what a sugar high really looks like.

Grand Menard Discovery Trail

We're prepping for hunting season -- gotta make sure that Cash can hike a fair distance because I doubt Brent will be able to shorten his stride or his overall distance (although he swears he'll do short hikes).  We took a short drive up to the 9 mile ranger station and checked out the Grand Menard Discovery Trail.  Mo was all for hiking, every time we stopped she'd start fussing and throwing herself around.  It's one thing to pack 25 pounds of Mo and maybe 5 pounds of pack, but it's another to pack it in constant motion.  She can be my workout partner for the summer.

I'm hoping to hit all of the hikes in our new hiking around Missoula book. We'll see what the summer and all of our legs allow.

Let's roll.

A mini Bridges of Madison County....

The boys.

Testing out boots.  Time to get some that fit.

We also had a boot fest in the house the other day.  Cash was seeing if his boots fit yet and Mo had to see if hers fit yet too.  A negative on both.  Time to shop around.

Memorial day campout

We had a campout in the backyard the other night.  Brent and Mo slept in the house, Cash and I made our beds in the tent.  Cash laughed and laughed about calling his sleeping bag a fart sack.  We had a great night of yelling 'S'mores!' for picture taking in place of 'Cheese' and threw in a few 'Fartsack!' cheers for good measure. The neighbors must think we're the biggest hillbillies in America with our tent in the front yard whooping and yelling around the ol' campfire.  Of course the pig farmers below us might give us a good run for our money.

Everyone needs a little Mo.

Fire up the bonfire!!

Say S'mores!!

S'mores!!

Yes!!

They're better than we remember.

Picking out our hike for the next day.

Happiness.

The Steak River

At the steak river.

Do bears bite??

Typical family fun....Cash pouting.

Wow -- when I'm not in school, I'm terrible at blogging!  Go figure, I should be studying and I'm blogging instead.  That's what gets the A's....

Ok -- so a little catch up.  I took the kids to Pullman to see Grandma and Grandpa Hobbs and Great Grandpa Hobbs.  We had a great trip!  The kids got to go to the park to feed ducks and play, we went to the Steak River Dam (that's what Cash is telling everyone -- it's really the Snake River for those that aren't sure), and we got to spend some time with the grizzlies.  And don't forget Molly B's Polka Party -- what a great time I had, thanks Grandpa!!  The things I learned from that trip:

• 2 children under the age of 4 are impossible to keep quiet at 6 in the morning.
• Maci's screams are louder in a house with low ceilings -- although I would've thought they'd have been muffled in comparison to the echo that our cavern puts out.
• Rhubarb gives little kids the runs.....don't give it to them raw even if they seem to like it.
• Owning an all black car with no tinted windows is not conducive to afternooon drives.

The girls

Grandpa's chair takeover

Peeling eggs for potato salad -- I might have promised not to put this pic up....sorry ma!  Your hair looks fine!  :)

The jokesters.



Peas in a pod.

Pure.  Sweet.

Follow me, Grandma.  I got this.

Whine again and I'll toss ya in.  :)