Where will I be come September 22, 2012?

Running my FIRST EVER Half Marathon!

That's where.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't petrified. . .

but insanely excited, too.

:)

Its Daddy Day!

We weren't entirely sure the kids and I would make it up to Montana in time to spend Father's Day with Ryan when we initially dropped him off, so this Father's Day was pretty special.

Before we left Logan we had a little craft day and made these bleach t-shirts I found on Pinterest for the occasion- here's Reese's:

We celebrated with a Muffin & Melon breakfast- 
Reese was my shadow and helped with every step of the baking- she was so proud and told everyone she met that day how she helped!

Mr. Bedhead reading his cards

If I were a piece of watermelon, I would definitely be scared of this guy!

Again taking a lead from Pinterest, we tucked this little questionaire into Ry's card from the kids- 

I think it was one of his favorite gifts of the day!

Happy Father's Day Babe!

You are the most amazing dad I could wish for for our kids, and my absolute perfect man!

Thanks for being our rock, cheersquad, ray of sunshine, and lifelong supplier of German pancakes. ;)

We love you so!

The Third Reich opens a pet store

We're big-time animal lovers around here, so it's only natural that, when navigating a new town, looking for pet shops is at the top of our to-do list.

This particular little shop has an incredible variety of dogs to pet and play with (I've decided we are in serious need of all three Irish setter brothers, as well as the English bulldog twins).  

But that's not all they've got-

these people are intense on a level that makes PETA look like a bunch of cammo-wearing deer hunters.  

We can only imagine the carpal tunnel pain  induced by the insane number of handwritten mandates, detailed instructions, and don't-do-this-or-we'll-kill-you-kick-you-out-and-leave-your-body-in-the-gutter signs.

DO NOT tease the monkeys.

DO NOT lift your arms above your head.

Wash your hands between petting or we'll feed you to our reptiles, etc.

Here's the sign posted on their front door-  just beyond the barred steel gate and heavy duty padlock:

It's a happy place where you may get pulled into the back to have your thumbs broken, sealed in one of the people-sized fish food barrels, or be escorted to an undisclosed location by a bunch of Luger-carrying gestapo never to be seen again.  

We hope you enjoyed your time here, and be sure to tell your friends!

Sweet Farmers' Market Love

One of the things I've been looking forward to the very most once we knew we'd be summering in Great Falls is the Farmer's Market- it's 

A-maze-ing!

The Hands down highlight for the kids was their pony ride- excited doesn't even BEGIN to describe the scene we had.

Here's Sam astride Buckwheat- he must have known what was in store for him that morning, because he absolutely insisted on sporting his boots and cowboy hat.

Reese got to ride Copper Penny, and as you can see, she was completely put out about it.

Crashing on the grass, listening to the jazz band

Who says your winter wardrobe has to be drab?

The jewel of the market- 'Lil Porkies' kabobs.  

Excuse me while I get a cloth to mop up the drool.  Yum!

Stands run by Hetterite groups are filled with gorgeous produce, the fluffiest, most perfect Donna Reed Housewife loaves of bread and scads of other baked goods.

And, they all have this really great German accent that's really fun to hear.

Come Fly With Me

We ventured out to the Malstrom Airforce Base this week to see the planes and check out the museum there.  Well, after an hour of waiting (oi!) to get a special pass to go through security, we finally did it.  

Once we'd finished, Reese grabbed my hand and said, 

"Alright Mom, now let's go to the museum to see some dinosaur bones!"

She just gave me a blank stare as I tried to explain that, despite all innermost desires, not all museums contained dinosaur bones.

She looked disappointed after the third time of explaining, so we settled for another trip to the park.  It  was taking our lives in our hands, we knew, but I think Reese summed it all up with her pep talk to Sam once we pulled into the parking lot-

"Ok Sam, now let's NOT be scared.  The swans are NOT going to eat your tummy today, ok?  You just need to be super, SUPER brave.  You can do it!"

We avoided the swans, and settled for drawing a chalk mural of the harrowing tale for passersby to enjoy.

Fowl play

We spent the morning at Gibson Park yesterday and it quickly became the most adventurous trip to the park we've ever experienced.

Ever. 

One of the great attractions of this particular park is the huge pond and water fountain in the middle of it inhabited by a myriad of ducks, geese, and three impressive swans who usually keep to themselves and don't pay much attention to the riffraff (i.e. everyone else).  

You see, they're just so far above the mindless bread-begging that the other birds take part in that they can't be bothered with such pandering to people so little.

So you can imagine our surprise when, after dispersing our bread amongst the squawking masses, two of these gorgeous swans made their way to the pier we were standing on.  

"Look kids, I cooed, "Look at the swans- they're so graceful and beautiful!"

Mere seconds after the words left my mouth and this shot was taken all hell broke loose when Sam, apparently leaning too close to the railing, and wearing a white shirt too much resembling a large slice of bread, teased one of these seemingly calm and collected animals to the breaking point.

Through my camara lens I watched as one of the swans flapped its wings, leaping up out of the water and sending a spray over the birds behind it as it snapped again and again at Sam.  It clamped its beak onto the front of his shirt and, batting its wings wildly in a noisy commotion, repeatedly jerked him against the metal barrier trying to pull him into the water.  I've never loved a piece of metal more in my life!

It was a completely chaotic blur.  Sam was screaming, the swan was all over the place, feathers and water flying in every direction.  Reese went crazy shrieking, "Save Sam!  SAVE SAM!", and thankfully, with the lightening reflexes we mothers are blessed with, I dropped my camera and snatched the back of my baby's shirt, yanking him out of the psycho animal's grip before they both tumbled into the murky water.

And just as quickly as it had begun it was over, the lunatic swans turned and quietly paddled away, acting as though nothing had happened.  I held my two weeping babes close and did my best to calm what I can only anticipate as a new-found, life-long fear of trumpeter swans in the making.
We retreated to a concrete table where old men sit and play checkers and where we gathered our wits over a few peanut butter granola bars.  Sam sniffed and rubbed his eyes as he devoured his snack-- almost being eaten alive by a swan with a sudden overwhelming hunger for toddler can really take it out of you.

Reese spoke emphatically between bites, "Mommy, that was a very, VERY angry swan!  I think he needs some space."

Once we'd all calmed down a bit I asked Sam what had happened.  He lifted his shirt and pointed to his (thankfully) unscarred tummy,

"Disss."  was all he said.

I couldn't have found better words to describe a notably tranquil creature's sudden mental breakdown.

It occurs to me that perhaps I should have contacted Animal Control or the like to prevent a similar event from happening again, but I'm not sure I could pick the culprit out of a lineup.

And also, I'm fairly certain the pond snobs would have stuck together anyway.

Welcome to Big Sky Country!

Three weeks ago we said goodbye to Ryan, dropping him off in Montana to work until we could join him later.  Longest three weeks of my LIFE.  But finally the time came for us to pack up, lock up, and join him for the summer.

Yay!

Here are a few pics from the trip up, and us getting settled into our new home at the Ursuline Centre, a Catholic school/convent built back in 1912.

These are Sam's FAVORITE new boots I picked up at a garage sale a few weeks ago.  

He had no problem embracing his inner cowboy!

Hanging out in the kitchen.  See those smiles?  Yeah, we're eating ice cream.

Visiting Ryan at the Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Center.  

Don't you love Sam's cowboy boots with the shorts?

Taking a look at the Missouri river.

Crazy how much these two are looking alike lately!

This is what we do for a good time here at the convent, and believe it or not, 

it's a BLAST!

Nibblers and Butter-Mongrels