G.G.'s 81st Birthday

On March 8, my Grandma Lois (G.G.) turned 81!  The boys helped me make her birthday cake.  They also helped me frost the cake.  Then they helped her blow out the candles on her cake.  I think G.G. was a little nervous about all the candles on her cake.  It was either that or she was nervous about how Garrett is a little pyro and was liked looking at the cake with all of the candles on it.  The boys love all of their grandmas!  They really like it when they get to help their grandmas do things.

Wrestling with Jeff

Tyler and Garrett love to go with Justin when he goes to see his friend Jeff at his house.  Tyler and Garrett love to attack and wrestle with Jeff.  Jeff is a big kid like Justin and he just encourages the boys.  Usually the boys will take turns and tag team Jeff.  One day while we were visiting, Jeff jokingly tied the boys up.  First he tied up Tyler.  Garrett helped Jeff tie up his brother.  Tyler and Garrett just laughed and laughed.  Afterwards, Garrett helped Tyler get free.  Then the next thing you knew, the boys were attacking Jeff again.  While they were wrestling, Garrett kept asking Jeff to tie him up.  So, Jeff tied him up for a minute.  Tyler and Garrett just laughed and laughed.  I kept telling the boys to settle down, but they were having fun.  Jeff was just laughing at how the boys kept coming back for more.  I have always said, my boys are all boy.  I love them to piece but there are many times, I just sit back and shake my head.

Over view of February

I am sorry that I have not posted anything for a couple of months.  Life continues to be busy with the boys, work, home life, dogs, etc.  Add to that, my camera broke and I don't like to post stuff without pictures. 

During February, we went to Powell, Wyoming to visit Aunt Alana, Uncle Pogo, and Telesse.  Kathy and Earl were there visiting from Utah.  We were there over Valentine's day weekend.  Tyler and Garrett were excited to go see everyone.  They helped Aunt Alana and Telesse gather eggs one day.  Tyler did not like all of the chickens coming close to him, but Garrett had no problems going in there and collecting the eggs. 

The boys liked it when the doorbell rang and their Valentine's gifts were left on the doorstep.  They thought that was neat.  It did not help that they were spoiled as usual.

The boys and I made a couple of day road trips to Missoula and Deer Lodge in February.  Other than that, life was normal...school, church, work, going to the babysitters.  We live a fairly boring life with the exception that the boys are very active with very active imaginations.  In February, the boys were carrying around calculators for a few days.  Garrett kept saying he needed his PDA.  We could not go anywhere without the PDA (calculator).

Family Love

As Valentine's Day approached, one heard lots of commercials about love and how much do you love your husband, family, children, and friends.  This Hallmark holiday made me think about how important family is to me and that I may not always let my family and friends know how much they mean to me.  This Valentine's Day, I wanted to acknowledge my special family.

Every night, we have the boys say their nightly prayers (Garrett is better about this than Tyler, but we are working on it). The boys ask God to please "bless my family near and far".  This is what Tyler will say, but Garrett will then name everyone in his family.  Even though we are not always near our family, we think of everyone often.  I have realized as I was working on this entry, I don't take as many pictures of the family we see often.  It seems that I make a point to take pictures of the boys with family who are visiting or when we go places, but I do not have many pictures of the family we see the most (including me and the boys).

I am thankful for all of Justin's and my family members.  Each and every one of our family members are unique and special.  They touch our lives and make differences for us without sometimes realizing they are doing it.  No matter what life may bring, we always have family we know we can count on.

I am thankful for my family and I love everyone.  Tyler and Garrett love their parents, their grandparents, their great-grandparents, their aunts and uncles, their cousins and all of the other family members I did not mention.  We hope all of our family knows how much you mean to us and that we love everyone, even if we are not close together physically.  We hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day!

Ice Fishing

On January 2, 2010, we went ice fishing with our friends Robie and Kurt on Canyon Ferry Lake.  Their nieces were there along with some of their other friends and Kurt's dad.  We invited a friend of mine from work and her two kids to come along too.  Mike also went out with us.  The ice was 15-16 inches thick that day.  We all had lots of fun.

There were six fish caught while we were out on the lake.  Everyone had caught at least one fish except for Kurt's dad.  He caught two fish while we were there.  Garrett loves to help dig the holes in the ice.  He also loves to hold the fishing poles and jig them.  I am always truly amazed that he sits still for that considering Garrett usually does not sit still unless a movie is playing that he likes.  Garrett seems to like fishing more than Tyler.  Tyler likes to be on the move.  Trish's little girl loved to help catch the fish along with Garrett. 

Besides fishing, people were playing hocky, ice skating, four wheeling, and sledding.  Kurt brought out his tiny grill and we grilled hotdogs and drank hot chocolate.  Tyler was playing hockey and he fell on the ice and hit his head.  We had him put on his bike helmet to protect his head.  It seemed like a good idea until he fell and hit his cheek.  After that, Tyler had to wear his four wheeler helmet when he was playing on the ice.  Even though Tyler had a few little mishaps, he had lots of fun!  He enjoyed playing with the other kids and getting out.  We all had fun out playing on the ice.  This was one of the first times when the wind has not been blowing when we have been out on the ice.  It was a beautiful, fun filled day spent with good friends.

4 Wheeler Sledding

On the Sunday after Christmas, we went over to Jeff and Shawna's and let the boys play in the snow. Jeff's house is in a cul-d-sac where there is no traffic. It had just snowed and it was pretty slick out. Jeff invited us to come out and let the boys ride in the sleds behind the four wheeler. Needless to say, the boys were pretty excited. All three of them! Justin and Jeff took turns taking the boys up and down the street. Justin was the first one to dump the boys into the snow. Tyler and Garrett just laughed and got back on the sleds. Tyler and Garrett love to play in the snow. They enjoy it even more when their dad is playing in the snow too.

Rocky Puppy

This year for Christmas, we got my mom a husky puppy. His name is Rocky and he is a cutey! Rocky loves our dog, Miley. Rocky tried to sleep with Miley in her kennel, but after we moved his kennel next to Miley's, he was quite content to sleep in his own kennel. We keep both Rocky and Miley's kennel doors open and they will put themselves to bed. The boys love both Rocky and Miley, though Tyler and Rocky are special buds. Tyler and Rocky will lay beside each other on the floor. Rocky is very mild mannered. Both boys love to give the dogs their puppy treats and their chew bones. I enjoy watching the boys with the dogs. Needless to say, life is never dull around here.