From This Front Porch

Colter's Birthday-July 10th!

Not only did we get to celebrate Colter's Birthday in Glacier Park, we also got to celebrate it with Grandpa Larry and Linda (she came all the way from Virginia)! Here we are in front of the Lake McDonald Lodge after a wonderful lunch. After lunch we headed out to have a ride on the Lake McDonald Tour Boat. Here is Colter in the very front of the boat (below).

Thanks for the boat ride Grandpa Larry...

Then we headed to Apgar for a some swimming and lounging around on the beach...

Then Grandpa Steve and Grandma Judy joined us for a barbeque supper and birthday party...

Happy Birthday Little Man...

A bb gun from Dad and Mom and bb's from his sisters...

Thanks Grandpa Larry for the RC 4 wheeler and other gift...

Thanks Grandpa Steve and Grandma Judy for the legos' and other gifts...

A parting shot of the lake that evening...

P.S. For those of you who are wondering... yes, you can have firearms in the park this year. The bb gun is only an air gun but nice to know we were totally okay with having it... :)

Looking Ahead to March 5th!

Here are the kids with a picture! They are very excited about this and we wanted to share it with you! Can you guess what the picture is of?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Yes, that is a picture of their new little sister/brother!

Maybe this explains why I haven't been out on the front porch much lately. I'm doing really pretty good and can't complain at all. Mostly tired and sick feeling but am thankful for all my little helpers and my one very big helper (Love you Hon!) Sure doesn't bother me to get out of doing the dishes or moving sprinklers around the yard!!!

The Dr. says the due date is March 3rd but my pregnancy calculator says March 5th. I think I'm going to go with the 5th since that is my little brother's birthday and if the baby comes before that I won't complain one bit!

I had a GREAT weekend and seem to have the extra energy/motivation today to go through my July pictures. I didn't take a lot of pictures but we did have a special visit from Grandpa and Linda in July and Colter's 8th Birthday and a family reunion too. So yes, I do have some catch-up posting to do.

But, just this for now,

Memory Lane Monday: Looking Together

In July we had a family reunion- a result of the union of my Great Grandparent's in the picture above. I will try and post some pictures soon of our reunion and some of our other July happenings.

About this picture. It was taken in Norway. It was probably an engagement picture because they did not marry until they where reunited in America. My great grandfather, Marcus, left Norway to make a life for them in America. His soon to be wife, Borghild joined him a short time later in Wisconsin.

They married on June 23, 1908 in Wisconsin. In 1909 they headed to Minnesota and then later onto Montana where they homesteaded and raised their family. I wish I could share all the pictures with you today of their little homestead soddy, their 10 children, their life of seeming toil and desolation... but more than this, their richness of spirit and endurance, their patience and love of family and God.

When I look at this picture, I wonder... Did they have any idea what their future would hold? I'm sure they knew he would be leaving for their new life soon and she would follow later. They may not have been gazing at each other in love, the kind of unabashed, brazen love you see so much of these days that only lasts for a moment. Together, they were looking ahead, ready to meet the future, whatever it would hold for them, for better or for worse... That's a love that last's the ages. That's a love that we can even share in today as we continue to celebrate the unity of their lives and the love of family.

What's around the next corner on Memory Lane?
See you next Monday!

Grab my button and take your own walk down memory lane every Monday!
(copy and paste this code)
Don't forget to leave me a comment so I can walk along with you...

Memory Lane Monday: Kittens

The kids and I talked and talked this morning about these cute little kittens we enjoyed in the summer of 2007. After breakfast I pulled up this video to show them and then decided to share if for my MLM post since I didn't have anything else figured out. Sorry the video has no sound. The kids are each holding their favorite kitties and someone was coming that night to take 2 of them. That's why Kyla is so sad. :(

Hope you're all enjoying your summer days!

What's around the next corner on Memory Lane?
See you next Monday!

Grab my button and take your own walk down memory lane every Monday!
(copy and paste this code)
Don't forget to leave me a comment so I can walk along with you...

Home on the Range

On the fourth of July, we picked up Mom and Dad for the afternoon and headed to the National Bison Range near St. Ignatius. Mom, Randy, the kids and I had NEVER been inside the range. The last time Dad had been there was when he was in college. We had a great time and saw everything we came to see. Wildlife and scenery! Beautiful! Here are a mix of pictures taken by Randy and I. They are all unedited as I just don't seem to have time to edit right now. Hope you enjoy...

"Did I just hear a discouraging word?"

Although these great animals are truly called Bison, they have been referred to as Buffalo for so many years that the two terms can be used interchangeably. Here are the true differences between the Bison and the Buffalo...*

-Bison have a hairy fur coat on their body which grows thicker in the winters as a protection from the rugged environment they live. Buffaloes do not have thick fur.

-Bison have very sharp horns which they use for their defense. A buffalo's horns aren't very sharp but are longer than a bison's.

-Bison have a huge hump over the top of their front two legs which Buffaloes do not have.

-Bison also have a thick beard that circles around their rib cage but Buffaloes do not have a thick beard.

-A Bisons' temperament is associated with its rugged structure and it can be a very attacking animal when threatened, Buffalo, on the other hand is a peaceful animal. This is also the reason why it is domesticated.

-Buffaloes grow up to 5 feet in size while Bison may grow to 6 feet.

-Bison can run faster than Buffaloes.

-Buffaloes can weigh between 800-1200 kgs while Bison can weigh up to 1400 kgs.

Thank you gkey for reminding me of this great old song to play along with my post. It fits perfectly!

*this information comes from here.

At the Circus

These kids have never been to a circus before. They really enjoyed seeing the lions and tigers, the bears and the elephants. The trapeze artists, jugglers and tight rope walkers were pretty impressive too. And the balancing act-WOW!

My photography was not all that impressive however-what with the pouring rain, the chain link fence in our view, and only my wide angle lens on.

So I wanted to share only this one picture of the kids enjoying it all.

They Came to Visit OUR Tiny Dot!

There are many many "little tiny dot's" all over this planet we call earth. I often wonder about them and what surprises and wonder's they hold. I've gotten to know about one of those tiny dot's over the last few years- a blogging friend Amy over at Our Tiny Dot. She and I have been corresponding through our blogs, email and phone calls.

Amy and her family stopped by on their way home from an Alaskan Cruise to check out OUR tiny dot. It was just an overnight quick stop but it was enough to have a wonderful time together and to feel like we are really, truly friends now that we have finally met in person! ;)

They were kind enough to let Mom and I and the kids accompany them through the park the next day and show them a few of the sights. After a late lunch, we parted ways at St. Maries and they headed on their way back to Indiana. It didn't take long for us to miss LaRon's sense of humor and Aaron, Luke and Sarah's iPhones and iPod Touches (thanks you guys for sharing them with my kids), and the enjoyable visits with Amy.

Here are a few more pictures from our time together...

Thanks again LaRon, Amy, Aaron, Luke, and Sarah for stopping by to see us. It was so great to finally "meet" you!

Until we meet again,

and family

P.S. Be sure to check our Amy's awesome pictures of Alaska. Click here.

A 4th of July Message From Colter

I love this little video I took of Colter saying the Pledge of Allegiance back in May (please ignore the clothes dryer noise in the background.) I thought it would be fun to post it for the 4th of July.

Our 4th of July plans include staying home and enjoying some things around here.

-yesterday we went to the Shriners Circus and last evening we had ribs for supper and played basketball and baseball with the kids in our own yard.
-today we are hanging out in the house and watching the rain and hail pound the garden, kinda glad we're not camping. I'm about to make hambergers for lunch.
-tomorrow we'll enjoy Union Meeting here and then go out on an excursion to see a place in our valley we've never seen before with Mom and Dad. For the evening we'll wait for it to get dark and then light off a package of fireworks together.
-We haven't decided on Monday yet but were very excited to have Daddy home for the day!

What are your 4th of July/Canada Days weekend plans?

Hope you all have a great weekend where-ever you are...
hugsfromus,

More Privilages

The above picture was taken by Randy on a walk we took one afternoon last Saturday while we were enjoying more days of convention over east of the mountains. Below is Colter and his new found friend Tristan...

and here is Kyla and her new found friend Taylor...

We were so excited to meet Heidi! She is the definition for "sweet"!

We had just more wonderful day at convention. Hope to keep all these things we've heard and experienced close in our hearts for the coming year. Fair are the prospects all ahead...

Hope all are having a great 4th of July weekend, or Canada Days, etc!