Lil

Oh goodness...I could eat this girl up.  I took family pictures for my sisters family and I couldn't keep myself from take pictures of this little lady in the car on the way back to Grandma's.  The picture we tried so hard to get her to hold during the shoot ended up in her hands and she stared.  Then she was pulling on her shoes and I couldn't help but document those little chubby hands that won't stay like that forever.  She's going to be such a sweet big sister! 

Later that night My Dad was doing what Grandpa's do and handed Lily some cookies.  She was memorized by her Grandpa; trying to raise her eye brows just like he did.  We were all laughing so hard because she was doing it so well.  I wish we lived closer and could be apart of family time like this always.  Maybe it's a hidden blessing though, because I find myself being so grateful for the fleeting moments because they don't happen everyday.  Every day with my Dad and Mom and any of my siblings is a precious gift to me.  I love them all.  

Paul's Birthday

These two are two peas in a pod lately. As soon as Paul gets home Audrey wants to have nothing to do with me.  She prefers absorbing every minute she has with him.  I get ignored.  Tonight I asked her why she doesn't want to spend time with me after her daddy gets home.  She said, "It's okay Mom, I just really miss him and I don't get to see him very often."  I love that she loves him.  That bond is going to serve her well in her teenage years.  I don't know what I would have done without my Dad, and I'm so glad Audrey has a really good one.  

Paul once again bought something for himself for his birthday before I had the chance to.  We went simple on the day of his birthday.  Paul said he didn't want gifts but what's a birthday without a gift or two.  Audrey helped pick them out of course.  When we hit the birthday isle she begged to get some things to make her Dad's day more special.  She thought batman was the best choice and I would have to agree.  She was so excited to dress up and Paul was so good to oblige.  I'm not sure we will ever out grow themed birthdays while this little one is around.  To finish off the day we went out to eat and ate some really good cake.  Happy Birthday Love!  I'm so glad that I was lucky enough to spend the last year with you!

First Missing Tooth

She is getting so grown up.  Time has flown by and now I have a daughter that feeds herself lunch when I don't get on it fast enough, she bakes with me and does most of the work.  She often asks to read to me instead of wanting me to read to her.  I still have those little things that I'm still holding onto.  Her need for a hug after being in time out, a song every night for bedtime, and she still needs words of encouragement from me when she's trying to do something that's hard for her.  That last one may never go away.  I still often call my Mom when I'm struggling to get through something that's hard for me.  I hope she always needs me in one way or another.  

I realized today that I never got around to posting her end of school photos (below). Doesn't she look so grown up?  

In case you weren't in the know...loosing a tooth is a right of passage for a 1st grader.  During the school year all of Audrey's friends were constantly talking about how many teeth they had lost.  They would often point her out saying that she was the only one who hadn't lost a tooth yet.  Just a few days after school ended I was brushing her teeth and noticed that her bottom tooth was really loose.  I told her she'd probably loose it within a couple days.  

The next day I had forgot about her loose tooth and cut apples up to go with her lunch.   She came running over to me and said that she swallowed something hard.  After looking in her mouth I noticed that her tooth was gone.  When I explained that she had swallowed it she had this horrified look on her face.  The horrified look that comes only when you've waited a year to loose a tooth, a year to get a note from the tooth fairy, and a year to get accepted into the missing tooth club at school.  She was distraught.  I told her that this kind of thing happens all the time and that the tooth fairy would understand.  After a couple hours she decided that she would write a note to the tooth fairy (letter below) and all would be well.  

For the next several days she told everyone that she knew about her missing tooth.  She couldn't have been prouder about her new achievement.  

Hopefully she'll get a better look at her next tooth. 

Yellowstone

Since moving to Montana, one of the things I have really wanted to do was see some of the unique wonders of the world that can only be seen in Yellowstone.  Some things you cannot find anywhere else in the world.  Living so close, I thought it would be a tragedy not to go.

My parents were super helpful putting the trip together.  They have some friends that own a cabin just outside of Yellowstone and were gracious enough to let us stay there - which was awesome.  One of the great benefits of staying there was we drove through a part of the park every day that doesn't see a lot of traffic, and therefore were able to see more wildlife.

Getting to Yellowstone was a journey on it's own.  Another bucket list item was to drive the Beartooth Pass.  The drive is a lot of fun and you get to see some beautiful scenery/vistas.  It's not for those who don't like narrow roads with huge drop-offs though.  If it bothers you that the only thing keeping you from certain death is the skill of the driver a thin piece of sheet metal...this is not for you.  If you look at the pictures below you will be able to see all of the snow.  The pass is only open part of the year...and even in the middle of summer there are parts with 10+ft of snow.  I think the funnest part was driving above the timberline.  It was very weird to be driving on top of the world with not a single tree in sight...it was like another world.

Another great part of the trip was no cell coverage.  AT&T, Verizon, and TMobile had no coverage.  It was awesome.

I did not appreciate the size of Yellowstone.  The place is huge.  It takes hours to cross the park.  I didn't mind the driving, it was just more than I was expecting.  The views were great along the way, so it was no problem.

We were able to see lots of bear, bear cubs, elk, deer, antelope, fox, bison, snakes, birds...lots of wildlife.  There was a buffalo that was blocking the road and wouldn't let us pass.  Once he finally got off the road we slowly started to drive past and as we were passing, Emily rolled down her window and the bison did not like that!  I thought I was going to get a bison horn signature on the side of our van.  Thankfully we made it out okay.  

One thing we have been trying to do for a long time is show Audrey stars - lots of them, like you only see out in the country. We woke Audrey up in the middle of the night so we could go outside and look at the stars.  Using my dad's telescope we saw the moons of Jupiter and a bunch of other stars.  Audrey thought it was amazing.

Driving home we got to see a bunch of waterfalls and the remains of an old hydro power plant that supplied power to an old mining town.  That was really cool.

Overall it was a great time with amazing people, beautiful views, and wildlife.  I am so glad we went.

-Paul