190 pictures later

We made it back from Montana!  What a fun trip it was!  My mom, Holly, Emmy and I drove up Wednesday morning and the rest of the crew joined us on Thursday.  It was a long ride for a 1 year old but we made it.  At one point mom, Holly and I were all crammed up front in the Yukon to give Emmy some "space" in the back seat and let her fall asleep!  There were lots of laughs and lots of pictures taken on the way as well as during our stay. 

I have so many pictures I want to share and stories to tell but I'm still getting caught up on laundry and life since we got back late Sunday night.  Here are just a few pictures to "hold you over."

11 years ago

11 years ago we went to Montana for a family get together.  Tomorrow, we leave for the Montana to make more memories.

I found some pictures of our adventures last time we got together with this bunch. 

This is us, my family, 11 years ago.  The kid on the end is my brother's good friend Jon.  He came along.  I seriously can't believe Heather and Holly were so little!   I just think of us as all the same age now!  Sweet mini van huh!  Oh, and see that BIG dent in the hood of the white car in the corner?  Yup, Dave did that right before we left.

The most memorable activity of the trip was tubing!  It was super fun and super hilarious.  We still talk about getting caught in the middle of the river!  Here are a few snap shots of the group.

(We miss you Gram and Gramp P!)

Oh, Uncle Larry.  What are you going to surprise us with this year?

Some of the cousins at dinner.  Let's see, all but one of these ladies is married now (Holly, it's your turn. wink-wink)

We had a BBQ at my Aunt and Uncles.  YUMMY.  Don't you just love my dad's sweet glasses?

When we got the invite to the "Montana Mountain Bash 2010" I saved the date and have been looking forward to it ever since.  I absolutely LOVE getting together with this side of the family.  I think I heard only 40 of the over 100 of us will be there, but that won't make it any less fun!  I am so blessed to have such wonderful family!

We'll miss Brian and my brother Dave on this trip though.  Too bad they are responsible and have to work and go to scout camp (Brian).  I'm sad Brian won't be around to chat with family and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  I think he's a bit bummed too.  Maybe we can head up again sometime.

I had better get packing!  It's hard packing for Emmy.  I know I'm going to take WAY TOO MUCH but I just have no idea what she'll need. 

Catch you later!

in a glance

Is it just me or does July always seem to fly by?  When July comes around, it's bitter-sweet.  I look forward to the month because it screams "SUMMER" to me!  I love all the hot weather, snow cones, patriotism, summer get togethers, parades, family time, watermelon, etc...but because it's such a jam-packed month it always flies right by.  Then August comes and summer starts to end.  I wish July had 50 days! 

We've been busy around here with all of the above mentioned as well as other random summer activities and even a BIRTHDAY!  I'll try and keep the photos to a minimum here. 

Emmy and are LOVING being outside! We go for walks, play in the yard, go get ice cream or snow cones and we occasionally do productive things like weed, water or wash the car. Here's Emmy playing in the car while I washed the outside.

We really enjoyed the 4th of July this year. I get so excited to celebrate holidays with Emmy now that she's a little older. We had a small group watch the fireworks with us this year but that didn't make it any less fun. Emmy loves playing with her cousins and her Aunt Holly.

I'm all about tradition so when my parents asked if I wanted them to put down blankets to watch the Cruise-In of course I said yes. It seems like it's getting to be the same cars or a lot of hybrid or fancy cars instead of the oldies, but I still like to go. It's something we've always done and I just love enjoying the summer evenings here.

It was Brian's birthday on the 14th! I feel bad I haven't posted about it till now. We celebrated with his family the Sunday before.

Brian's parents have been working really hard cleaning up their land and canal.  We all went out and enjoyed the evening and admired all the hard work they've been doing!

Emmy just loves dogs!  This is one of Brian's hunting dogs, Tasha. 

Daisy enjoyed being outside with us.  Too bad that isn't just mud she found!

Kaylie got brave and tubed the canal!  We decided there need to be a tad more water and a few less large rocks. 

And let's not forget the "orchard." I don't know who is more excited for these babies to grow, us or Brian's parents?  Peaches, pears, apples, cherris, apricots and nectarines. YUMMM! I know it will be a fun tradition for us all to get together and harvest this delicious fruit!

That's just a little of what we have been up to!  There's only 2 weeks left in the month and I know there's plenty of family time, picnics, playing outside and making fun summer memories left to do! Better get to it! 

HAPPY JULY EVERYONE!

french vanilla

When I was in college I made a little summer goal one year to try every flavor listed on the snow shack window.  I went to the same place each time so I could keep track of my success.  I can't tell you which was my favorite but I can tell the U.S.A. is delightful.  Also, the sugar free flavors were surprisingly not too bad! 

For my birthday that year some of my dearest friends gave me just enough envelopes to finish my goal.  In each envelope was the correct amount of money for a small snow cone and a little note that said something about why they liked me or thought I was a good friend.  It was the best gift ever!  That was a good summer! 

I took Emmy out for her first snow cone the other day.  I tried to get a color that wouldn't stain her clothes but ended up having the guy add some color cause it's not nearly as fun to eat a white snow cone than a red or green one! 

I think she liked it! 

Maybe one day she'll try all the flavors too!

Gosh I love summer...especially enjoying it with my sweet little Emmy!