Into the great wide open...

We just got back from a week in Bozeman Montana. It was amazing. We rented a large house with my parents and my siblings families.(11 adults, 6 kids, 2 infants) The house was very luxurious, with a steam shower and giant tub. We could have just stayed at the house and played together but the area had a lot of fun places to explore.
First we hiked thru the Lewis and Clark Caverns. It was a 2 hr tour thru the caves and super fun. Then we hit the famous Musuem of the Rockies. They have one of the biggest collections of dinosaur fossils and different varieties, because they were all found in Montana. Owen was in heaven here. It was very interesting to everyone actually. Owens favorite part was a statue outside the building however. We took a hike in the mountains to a 40 ft waterfall. I have never seen a bluer sky. It felt like heaven.
The area has 3 hot spring spots so we decided to check one out. My previous impression of hot springs was a little hot tub with clothing optional hippies around. I was very mistaken here. It was a great family spot. The one we went to had 2 huge pools indoor and out with perfectly warm water. Then they had about 7 large hot tub type pools with temperatures ranging from 59’ to 100’. We went there 2 times and stayed several hours. I am a big fan now. I love that they have no chlorine. We visited an old gold mining town, Virginia City, that is now a fun touring site. The kids took old time pictures and panned for gold (they found some too!). A few days in someone in are party saw a skunk scurry underneath the porch of our house. We continued to see a few skunks and realized there was a nest under our porch with 2 babies and a mommy skunk! I was actually excited to see these cute little guys. The other adults, not so much. Happy to say no one got sprayed. Dave did some fishing of course, but it was a bit early in the season for that.
All the adults played cards late into the night every night. Good times.
Perrie loved spending time with cousins and exploring.
Owen caught a snake! He loved waking up to a household of uncles and aunts to play with.
Callie was a star. She loved the big party and slept great, except for the last 2 days she had a fever =(.

Perrie kept a wildlife journal. Here is what we saw:
10 hawks
18 deer
10 eagles
3 snakes
6 sandpiper-like birds
5 ravens
15 magpies
3 skunks
26 pelicans
9 gophers
8 rockchucks
14 antaloap
1 blackbear
1 moose
3 osprey We were sad to come home. It was a great adventure.

come meet your dinner

I'm trying to entice the children to want to come to dinner instead of me forcing them. Tonight worked pretty well. I told them there was someone in the kitchen for them to meet. (mr pizzahead) This could be a fun game. Im also collecting fun dinnerware, like little espresso cups, fancy chanpagne glasses, and fun plates to spark a smile.

We are loving the warm weather from the moment we get up till the sun goes down. Perrie likes to make forts, climb trees, play indian and collect items for her nature store.
Owen enjoys being as naked & as dirty as possible. Our yard is full of holes, his "dinosaur excavation sites". He has swiped my dustbroom, painting brush, shovel & screwdriver for his passionate search of dinosaur fossils. He also likes to sing at the top of his lungs. His latest song is one from Perrie's school concert- Catch a Falling Star. One of these days he will finally catch a bird too. He is loads of fun.

Callie is such a love. She is truly so happy beyond reason. She is starting to squeak and squawk alot as she discovers her voice. She puts up with her super loving brother and sister great. Lately she is grabbing everything in reach and trying hard to sit up.


Catch you later!

carefree

I used to look at kids with food all over there faces and think “what is wrong with that child, or what is wrong with that parent to let them look like that.” Now that I have more pressing issues most of the time then wiping my kids faces (Owen is especially messy) I have gained some perspective. I am in fact jealous of that child to be so carefree and unbothered by such trivial things. They don’t worry about their looks or what other people think of them. They are still very innocent. They only need to worry about having fun. It is a very sad thing to me to see a child who is afraid to get dirty. Fortunately my kids don’t have that problem.

Spring Has Sprung (I hope)

Warmth, ahh. My bones are finally thawing out after this cold winter. It is wonderful. I literally went outside and shouted “whahoo!” on Sunday(65 degrees). I only hope we are not being teased by Mother Nature. We broke Callie in on her first hike. She slept the whole 3 hours in her moby wrap. I even tried to nurse her on the trail but she wasn’t too interested. Perrie is an awesome hiker. We call her “Soaring Eagle” because she likes to run up ahead then back and forth. She is tireless. Owen on the other hand we call “Grazing Buffalo.” He enjoys wondering off the path looking for dinosaur fossils, running back down the hill we just climbed or sitting down and resting- anything but FORWARD. In theory this is great for him. He goes his own way, does not give into pressure and enjoys the journey not so much the destination. In reality this can be very frustrating for us. We did not make a lot of progress unless Owen was carried or enticed by a sweetie. Last summer we were able to carry him in the pack a lot and it was great. He is too big for that now I’m afraid. Our dreams of adventurous hiking all summer long just went up in smoke.

How sweet it is to be loved by you!

playtime

When I get frustrated being a parents I will often grab a new parenting book at the library for one or two new ideas. I am loving my latest discovery called Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen. His approach is to use humor & games to lighten up a tense situation, (and we have had our share here lately.)When kids are acting out, they are really looking for some attention. Kids love it when you play dumb, fall down, be super silly and exaggerated. Really play on their level. I have already used many of his ideas to turn a certain 3 year old from yelling at me to belly laughing on the floor in seconds.

Perrie loves it when I put on my witch hat from Halloween and pretend she a princess locked in the tower and must do all the chores. Owen loves it when we pretend a doll or stuffed animal is him and talk to it. We were having problems with name calling and I said “Well, whatever you do, don’t call me my secret name, Rice Crispy Princess. And especially don’t tell the birds.” Owen went from being mad to giggling and yelling my secret name out the window. The author has a whole chapter on the importance of wrestling. I am still reading it, but just loving all his advice. Do you have any fun games you play with your kids?