Fishin', Four Wheelin', and the 4th of July

My Blog is a MESS!! Anyone that's an expert, help me find out how to work this bloody thing!! These pictures are all over the place and I can hardly title :(

We spent 3 days this week camping with Mike's parents and sister and her kids.  We had a great time!  Kids "caught" their FIRST fish!!  We had some fun 4wheelin' rides, playing in the creek, eating way too much, fun times with cousins, and staying up well past bedtime!
Grandpa's fishin' buddy

Spottin' the fish jumpin'

 Kade reelin' in his fish...and I LOVE his face when we tried to get him to hold his!!

 Beauty :)

 Wish I had a better view of her excited face!

 NOT about to even HOLD the line!!

 4 wheelin fun

Absolutely LOVE these pictures.  I need to figure out photoshop to see if I can get that helmet out of the way!

S'more time, conversing with Grandpa, and game time

Creek time ;)

Teepee Time

Yep, Kade feeding the dog, time!

We came home in time for the 4th of July, which at our house means a parade that Reagan is so terrified the entire time she hides behind a bush, which is behind a crowd of people, a toddler who loves everything too much and insists on getting high fives from everyone, catching all the candy, and then pushing his "curbside" rule.  The kids and I went with some friends, and then we went to her Aunt's house to swim for a bit.  Naps, dinner, and "boring" fireworks at the house.  Those were Reagan's words. That coming from a child who is afraid of clowns, mascots, sirens, and FIREWORKS!!  Kade was still a little freaked out as well, and that's probably why we don't attempt the "real" wireworks! I'm hoping another year and we can join the masses.  Either way, it was a totally fun week!

Rea & Ava (her little BFF)...probably the only minute she paid attention...can you see her little eyes a-wanderin', on the look out for any clowns...this GIRL!!

S

And then she is SIX!!!

We live for birthdays at our house :) Reagan has only been counting down the days since Kade celebrated his birthday.  She doesn't understand why her birthday is last in our family!  If only she knew, she was our "first" love!
June 27th, 2006 will always be one of the most amazing days for Mike and I.  I remember every second and hour leading up to the second they laid her in my arms! How insanely beautiful she was, how the nurses kept coming in to look at this beautiful baby, how we were trying to discover the perfect name for her, and how crazy it was to be driving the few blocks home from the hospital with this tiny, tiny little girl and knowing that she was with us from that moment on.  It's been an awesome six years. 
Obviously challenging in some ways, but those don't even amount to what a wonderful girl she has been. 
What we love about Reagan at SIX years old!
Her beautiful brown eyes
Her smile lights up a room
She is SO charismatic
How she is so full of life
Loves singing, dancing, being the center of attention
She has a kind heart
Other kids gravitate towards her
She is outgoing
She is smart
She is caring and worried about others
She loves to make people laugh
She is OURS and we LOVE her :)
This year she wanted to have her swimming party returned.  But, of course, I had to have a theme to center things around so we (or maybe I) chose a Rainbow theme :)
Here she is in all her RAINBOW glory! Hair clippies and coin purses for the guests of honor.


Rainbow Fruit Tray

Of course the Skittles!

Cake turned out Perfect!

She had fun opening presents...Dad got her this skateboard...eek!

Then painted rainbows, made rainbow jewelry, and then they had water and trampoline fun

And finally he sleeps...

Kade is a go-er...from when the sun rises until it sets.  He sleeps good and hard when he sleeps.  And he's very, should I say "focused" instead of tunnel visioned?  If he wants to sleep in the chair, he'll sleep there ;) Or with a golf club....

The Blue Butterflies

Tball season is over again.  It was definately a smart decision on our part to opt out of coaching this year.  We were unsure how much Bozeman would occupy Mike's time, and I knew I didn't want to do it alone!  Usually, Reagan's game entailed one of us either chasing Kade, or trying to wrangle him and distract him, or he was in the car watching a movie the entire time, which meant we were constantly checking on him.  Reagan had 2 teenagers coaching her team, 12 and 14, but they did a great job and she was more interested this year and did better paying attention, which I'm sure was the fact we weren't in the picture!  I'm glad she loves to do all sorts of things...I'm also glad it's over :)

Fishin'

I worked the day shift yesterday and Mike ventured to the fishing pond with the kids:) Reagan threw one cast and then was only interested in making a new friend (should that surprise us!), and Kade insists on carrying the poles, throwing in the line, and fiercly moving it back and forth (again, should that surprise us!). They had fun though and ultimately, that's all that matters :)

The end of school brought a great sigh of relief, yet anxiety for a LONG summer! I apparently wasn't prepared for Kindergarten graduation and took a camera that was empty of a battery, bummer....Mike did take our little hand held camera so I need to download at least a video of all the cuteness going on that day. She's excited to be moving into first grade and after meeting all 3 teachers, I think she would do awesome with any of them. I'm excited to have her going all day and all the stimulation she will benefit from. We are continuing to read and do "homework" during the summer to get her ready for first grade! Luckily, she loves doing it and she loves going to the library. I officially got an Idaho License a few weeks back so now we can load up on books at the library. We have an fun filled summer planned and since I'm not usually one for staying home, we venture out daily to different parks, pools, & activities. I try to run the monster ragged so he still collapses for a nap! Now, if we could have more than one sunny, not windy day a week that would be fabulous!! June 1st was the opening day of the new store in Bozeman, MT. It went really well and we are excited to finally be up and running. Here are a few pictures of the store. Of course, Mike did all the work but it looks great and all his hard work has paid off. Our manager is doing awesome and loves the city so that is always a plus! Mike's mom came up to watch the kids so I could go for the opening. My drive through Yellowstone and Big Sky was absolutely beautiful. I did stop and take a few pictures but even those don't do the beauty justice. One of the most fun things about moving here has been reconnecting with an "old" high school friend. We lost touch for several years, but have enjoyed starting up the friendship where it left off. These are pictures of her crazy kids when they were over for dinner a few weeks back...welcome to our blog Stella and Jake :) Camo has been adjusting...he's lucky to still be around! I'm not a big fan, but I'll tolerate him for now. He's still an "inside" rabbit but we are adjusting him to becoming an "outside" one. He is quite cute and he adores Mike ha ha. Kade tortures him, Reagan has nothing to do with him, and I get to tend to him most of the time. Go figure. Chillin'...

Catching Up

Oh my goodness it's been a while. I'm not even sure anyone but Jennifer reads this blog anymore (hey friend!). So let's do a little catching up! (but I'm totally confused by the new format they have now and no idea how this is posting because I can't preview for some reason).... Easter was nice. Stayed home and celebrated just with the kids and ourselves. Saturday was freezing cold and we went to 2 cluster messes of hunts. What ever happened to the old school ones instead of hey, let's get a thousand kids in a tiny little place, spread thousands of eggs and count to 10 for it to all be over! The kids both had fun finding eggs and a little treasure hunt that Dad so graciously orchestrated. They also made a nice fat mess coloring eggs (which I dislike), and were satisfied with what Mr. Bunny left. Pictures for proof...

Mother's Day weekend we spent with our Moms :) Some how, I only managed to get pictures of some fun in Grandma's tub.

He's also discovering lots of boy things and that includes tools. He loves to "fix" things..unfortunately, he's also tried to fix a light socket...with a screwdriver!! And he loves his "goggles"!

Reagan had a field trip to Bear World before school got out. This was awesome because it was really, really cheap and it gave her the "bear" fix she needed. She was able to hold a bear cub that was only 8 weeks old prior to this and they had grown so much in the few months since then. Man are they cute! Man would I not want to meet one on a hiking trail!

Meet Como...the newest member to our family. Long story short, Reagan became obsessed with getting a rabbit. Started saving her money, which led to us actually thinking about it, which let to Mike doing all sorts of "rabbit research", which led us to Como (previously named Camo but Reagan read his name wrong so Como it became...Mike thought he should be Michael Jackson ;) He's a mini-lop but still quite large!! He is littered trained, sort of, even cute, but deathly afraid of the Kade and I as of today. Kade, because he usually chases him all over yelling "Raaawwwrrrr", me, I have no idea but Mike says "Bees and Rabbits smell fear" ;) It's now been 2 weeks and he's getting better. He's currently housed in Reagan's room, smells not to bad, and will sometimes let you pick him up. He likes following Mike around, eating dandilions, and hiding behind the toilet. I'm waiting for Reagan to bore with him. Numerous years ago I always wanted a rabbit. Bad thing is...they aren't necessarily "pets". You can love on them and they scare most the time. We'll see how this all pans out!

Yes, that's the potty, yes he's naked :) He's started to "peepee" in the potty, when he decides it's cool, but will stand 3 inches away and poop his pants...I've decided I'm procrastinating for a few months...maybe several :)

These 3 are the loves of my life!

I've got plenty more to upload, edit and blog :)