shop til you drop

And, that is what we did! I have 3 wonderful sisters and an amazing mom. We all love to shop (especially if there are good deals) so whenever we get together, we always arrange a gal's day of shopping! My gracious dad volunteered to watch all 3 of mine and my sissies' hubbies, also, "took one" for our shopping addiction by taking care of all their children. So, we left our house at 7:30am and drove down to Missoula to meet Abby for shopping, lunch, shopping, dinner and we got home at 10pm. Whew- it was a long day of shopping but lots of deals and memories were made! SUCCESS!!! ;)

I am so blessed by my four favorite friends (FFFs) and I treasure these moments we share together. Love you all and thank you, Bapak, for spending a special day with my kiddos!

the grandkiddos

Whew- all caught up, again, with the next 3 posts! 12 grandchildren in 10 years makes photo-ops... LOCO (CRAZY in Spanish:))! My mom used to pay to have professional photos done, every year. But, we decided that is a waste of money since it is nearly impossible to get one picture with all 12 looking and smiling. So, here's our candid attempt by Flathead Lake!

I am so glad we came down this summer as my kids have had tonz of time with these fun cousins!

randomness

We finally got to meet Taylor who is super easy-going and sweet! Savannah and Taylor are only 5 months apart so I'm sure they will grow up to be good little buddies. Right now, Savannah just squaks and scowls at her, hopefully that will change next summer!

We spent one morning at the local park and Parker really wanted me to take a pic of him on this tire dragon!

Savannah could swing all day, if she could, but since there were no baby swings- she got to be a big-girl-swinger!

Eli, on the far right corner, turned 4 yesterday. So, most of the boy cousins celebrated with Eli at Dairy Queen. He gets his real bday party on Sunday.

Isn't this a wierd site... the 2 year old pushing the 10 year old cousin! Poor Kiersten slipped and bruised her tailbone so Noah was more than happy to get out of the stroller and push his cous!

Another pic, my sister sent me, of Noah and I on July 4th!

Circus with Cousins

The other night, Bapak, Nana, Abby and I took our kiddos to the Shrine Circus. At first, we were thinking it would be a waste of our time and money because the clown was lamO and it seemed a little dippy, but it was actually cool! I don't think the Circus comes to Alaska very often (if ever???) so I didn't want to miss our chance of going. Our boys were amazed by all the lions, tigers and bears (oh my!- I'm not just copying Wizard of Oz... all those animals were seriously there!) I don't remember ever going to a circus, either, so I also loved seeing all the shows. Holy cow, those people that do all the tricks on the long hangy-sash-things make my stomach ache! I soooo hope none of our children will be dare devils- or I will be a nervous wreck! Parker and I smiling during intermission.

These elephants were so cute! We loved watching them jig to the tunes. I have always been impressed by animal trainers. How do they make them obey and teach them tricks when they don't speak the same language??? I can't even do that with my own children, on some days!!! They even had about 10 poodles that were spray painted pink and blue who were so cute and intelligent, as well.

Noah was very confused by all the loudness and tricks so he was taking it in very seriously with Bapak's explanations!

These tigers and lion were pretty stikin' cool and their trainer crazy for being in that kennel with them!

What a fun night at the circus!

fly with Bapak

Blogging marathon... Ok, now I am all caught up with our Montana trip with the following 4 posts:

My dad is a fabulous pilot and I have always loved going on rides in his li'l airplane. So, this was the first time our boys got to fly with Bap. Noah loved wearing these headphones and talking to Bap through the li'l mic. I loved seeing my li'l guy smile from ear to ear throughout the whole flight. Then, as we were landing I asked him if he had fun and in Noah lingo, he exclaimed... "Ya- I wan MO!"

Parker is equally excited as he got to sit in front and see Bapak maneuver all the many buttons and levers.

Here's Bap's sharp airplane landing next to the Flathead River.

AND, this is what our fun li'l flight did to Parker- put him to sleep! He wasn't bored, just tuckered out after a week of crazy days and late nights! I don't think I'll ever fly with Parker if he becomes a pilot! :)

This was Malea's first flight, too. You can tell she is super pumped to fly in Bap's plane! We love your plane rides, Bap, THANKS!

4th with family

I love Independence day because it always means we are doing something with my family. I am so glad we traveled down here because it would have been very hard to spend the 4th, alone, in Alaska. Here are 6 of the cousins all geared up in their red/white/blue on a gorgeous day.

This was one of my favorite 4ths as we all had a blast boating out to Wild Horse Island in the Flathead Lake. Noah is Bapak's li'l shadow- life is fabulous when he is by Bap's side and I am so thankful he gets to bond with his Bap!

More posing with Bap, Nan and Malea!

Here is Noah and I taking a spin on my sister's SeaDoo. I could not believe it when Noah chose to hop on with me and THEN he LOVED it! YAY- I have a brave one- anytime I would slow down for the boat waves, he would say "No, mommy, GO!" :)

After our fun-filled 4th, we got back to the house around 9pm to light off our own fireworks. Parker was just extatic to see all the fireworks lined up but then he was not as excited to hear them pop!

Malea loving her sparkler. This li'l girl is such a blessing to our family- she is adorable in every way and I LOVE her sweet and fiesty personality

Parker amazed by his first sparkler. Fortunately, no one's clothing or hair caught on fire!

Splashing galore

Malea, Kiersten and Parker look like they are swimming in the tropical waters or at a 5* hotel. Nope, my dad built this li'l splash pool/pond last summer and it is a humongo hit with the cousins. It is only 2 1/2 feet deep... so, our children are able to goof around and stay cool while us sissies sunbathe on the grass. Perfect for both parties!!!

Savannah is very slowly getting closer to the pool- she is not super brave!

And, here is the view from my parents' deck. Aren't we lucky- thanks Bap for all your hard work for our kiddos.

The kids love to see these deer visit throughout the day. It looks like there is also a sea snake but it is just a black hose that moves around the pool to keep the deer from sharing their nasty germs!!!

cousins!!!

YAY for cousins. My kiddos are so blessed to have 9 cousins that are so sweet and helpful! Here is Madison lovin' on Savannah!

Noah loves to be cuddled and catered to! Kiersten is great at both of these jobs.

Bapak found white sand for the sandbox this year. It's awesome as it keeps our children cleaner and it stays cooler on the 80 degree days. Noah could push trucks in this sandbox all day!

Down time with cutie Carson. We have been busy, busy, busy and here are the two blondies vegging together. They are only 3 months apart and I hope they grow up to be best of buddies.

More cousin down time. Notice Noah is being cuddled by his sweet cous... Kiersten!

three toddlers traveling

My family lives in Montana, so I have made the trek down there every summer while Kep goes commercial fishing. Each summer, the trek gets more stressful (and expensive) but it is all worth it once we arrive with all the cousins, aunts 'n uncles and Bapak 'n Nana. This summer, I thought I was a little too scared to make the trip with a 15-month old, 2 1/2 year old and 4 1/2 year old. But, four days before Kep was scheduled to leave... I realized I would rather be stressed for a day and spend the extravagant airline prices in order to see my family. So, here is li'l sissy excited for the trip! And, it was actually a very pleasant trip. Savannah decided to make herself heard loud n clear for 10 minutes ;(, but other than that... our 3 toddlers rose to the occasion and kept me from falling apart! And, now we are having a blast with the cousins!