Free Range Family

Today is my nephew Connor's first birthday! Via I remember this time last year, when I first got the text that Connor was born. We were just about to leave for Canyon Ferry Lake (again) but I insisted on going up there to see them before we left lol. I pulled some strings and we ended up being able to stop by. We had to walk like fifteen blocks to the hospital with Alan to see them IN THE HEAT, but we got there and it was totally worth it. Meeting my beautiful nephew for the first time, and being able to hold him, was one of the greatest things ever. I love my brother and his fiance so much, and my love for Connor is just as big. :) It was cool that Alan got to meet him as well. Alan was a young ten months old, and was a little confused when he first saw Aunt Rachael, as he remembered the big belly previously on her. :) He was even more flabbergasted when Aunt Rachael showed him newborn Connor. Lol I don't think he understood, but he was really into Connor. He loved babies...

Yesterday, Alan hopped on a hopper ball for the first time ever! You know, like the ones with the handles on them? He looked so cute! I was so proud lol! :) Today we will be going to get our oil changed in our Cadillac for our camping trip. I am a little anxious about having Alan there with me for the duration of the oil change, in the super small MasterLube lobbey with no doors! And the heat uggggh. Its supposed to be 80 degrees but we were already woken up this morning by the heat. It feels like it might be 90 degrees out there now. Blah wish me luck! I'm gonna need it! :) Here's Toddler Talk Thursday!! This week's topic: Emergency Kit for your babysitter. Do you have one? What is yours? Lon and I are pretty picky when it comes to babysitting. He has ONE babysitter his whole life, and that is my mother. My sisters and brothers will help out but she is the babysitter. We don't let any random person watch Alan. He has never been watched by a young teenage ...

Found this on Words by Katie's blog and I thought I'd play along this morning. Today is another hot and busy day, I have my Preschool art class today (and art show!) and then I work 2 to 8 in Child Watch. Blaaaah! Last night after Alan went to bed, Lon and I went out on our roof and sat out in the night for a while. :) It was nice, just still really stinking hot! But then it got darker and it cooled down, and it was just perfect! We might do it again tonight, I only hope its not hot tonight like it was last night! This Mama Currently is... Listening... to Alan's squeals of joy as he runs and plays throughout my house. Oh and the two rivaling tvs lol. :) Eating... nothing. Still contemplating what I'm gonna make. Maybe just eggs and toast? We're all out of bacon. Via Drinking... Dr. Pepper. Still trying to keep up with Alan's energy level lol, and I don't drink coffee. Wearing... my Rockin Rudy's t-shirt, bra and undies. Its too hot ou...

I know that I have posted about our plans for the fourth on here before, I think its just been on a blog hop or something. I thought I had already written a whole post on it before, but alas I haven't. So here you go! We are going camping at Canyon Ferry Lake for the fourth. This is tradition with my side of the family to go camping here every year. Last year we went up for a few days, and had a wonderful time! Alan loves to see his family and camp with them! He loves being outdoors! We will be leaving this Saturday morning, around like 11 am and will not be back until Monday night, around like 10 or 11 pm. I will not be taking my laptop with me, nor will I probably have service, so I will be absent from the blogging world for a while. But I plan on keeping a notebook "journal" for each day, so I remember our daily events! I can't wait to bring back many stories and hopefully pictures, I will probably have to do a week marathon of posts! I will not be participatin...

Today should be a crazy day, as it always is on Tuesdays lol. :) I have two art classes, two art shows and work in Child Watch today. Ahhh! I hope I can spend all my extra time today outside. Cos its supposed to be 94 degrees today! Ooh baby! Top Ten Activities to do at Canyon Ferry Lake (Or almost any lake or camping area lol) #10 Fourwheeling or Dirtbiking My dad is a member of the Billings Motorcycle Club, and he is a big dirt biker. He owns a fourwheeler, and several dirt bikes of various sizes. Including a mini 50 bike (Alan could "technically" ride it next summer!!! Not sure how I feel about this!) that is the coolest. And normally the one I choose these days. But anyways, we all will go riding around camp and on the trails. Except for Alan. Lon participated last year though, and he is addicted to riding as well! There's something about dirt biking on trails. :) Love it! #9 Fishing Via I love to fish. I believe it is one of the most peaceful t...

Today was a sad day for Alan and I. Alan's BFF Korbin and his family are moving to Seattle on Wednesday, and today was Korbin, Keanu and Erica's last day at daycare. :\ We threw them a potluck party and I tried to make them chili but we didn't have any meat. And the bean chili tasted nasty lol. So I brought pop. :) Alan and I had a talk about Korbin moving this morning, and I think he understands. He tried to be really nice to him all day today (sometimes they rough house and fight like brothers) and even gave him hugs and kisses. They played cars and dinosaurs together. And they shared their snack (even though it was the same thing lol). They even played ball and tag with the big kids. Unfortunately, Alan fell asleep in the high chair and Korbin left before he woke up. :( But I talked to Erica and maybe we will meet up just before they leave town to say goodbye for real. I am so sad though! Alan's last really good friend moved to Arizona when Alan was nine months...

Today, here are three wonderful quotes from the brilliant Helen Keller. She overcame so much in her childhood and her life, what an amazing person. Enjoy! "When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us." Helen Keller "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." Helen Keller "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do." Helen Keller

I'm not feeling that hot this morning. I was up all night last night with a gruesome stomach ache. :\ It finally went away at like seven, you know, an hour before I had to wake up. Blah. At least today I only have one art class and work only from 3 to 8 in daycare. I might be sleeping the rest of the time... Ha! I wish! Here's Meet Me on Monday! What is your favorite food? Probably spaghetti. Ooooh I love me some spaghetti! Any pasta really, but there's something about how easy it is to make (SUPER EASY) versus how delicious it is (SUPER DELICIOUS) that makes me just want to eat it all the time. Yum! Too bad Lon feels the EXACT opposite way about spaghetti. So we eat it like... once a month. Boo! What color scheme is your bedroom? We do not have a color scheme. Lon is an eccentric inventor and I'm a hippie (duh lol) so we don't believe in conforming to a specific color scheme for just about any room. In our bedroom alone, we have my purple tapestry, bl...

I am super exhausted from today! We just got home for the first time since like ten this morning and I am just beat!! :) My feet are killing me and I feel like I carried twenty men, instead of just one toddler. I could very well possibly be sunburnt. And Alan? He's still running laps around me lol. Ahhhhhh, where does all that energy come from???? :D We did have such a wonderful day today though! It was all worth it!  This is funny: I let Alan pick out his clothes again today, and in spirit of the Cars 2 movie he chose a Lightning McQueen pajama shirt and Cars swim trunks. :) We let him wear it the whole day, we are such awesome parents!  Anyways, the morning started with Alan and I waking up early to watch Cars lol. You know, we had to refresh our mind from... yesterday when we watched it. :P Then we went and got the tickets. Alan was so smart he started asking, "Cars? Cars?" when we were walking up to the theater. Little did he know we were only getting tickets an...

Today was another hot one. 84 degrees almost right away when we woke up at 7:30. I had to work this morning in Child Watch and teach my Kindergarten art class plus Lon was finishing up his sixth folf basket, so Alan came with me to daycare. The first hour Alan was the only kid in there, so he got to decide which side he wanted to play on. He changed his mind about every... ten seconds lol. But then more kids started showing up, including on of Alan's older friends he hadn't seen in a while. They ran and played ball together, and had a wonderful time. I had to leave him at daycare for my art class and he didn't even care! :) Lol art class was good. We made Summer Collages and Hand print Birds (I feel like I've already typed this before lol, maybe earlier in the week!) and my chatty girls finished their kites from last week. We will be moving this classes' art show to the Saturday after next, due to one student's absence for the holiday weekend. But we still dis...

Today is another hot one lol. Ugggggh! Today we probably will go run through the sprinklers at Grandma's house and then I work from 2 to 7. Not too busy of a day lol. Tomorrow we will be going on a playdate with two of Alan's friends at Sacajwea Park, and then we will be going swimming at Rose Park with Grandma, Unlce Kalvin, Erica, and Korbin. Keanu will probably also be there, but he won't be swimming lol. :) And then Sunday we plan on taking Alan to see Cars 2. The Symphony in the Park is also Sunday night, which we will be attending with my YMCA crew (Erica and kids, Sarah and kids, and Kari). Lets hope this weather stays nice and not too hot because we will be outside almost ALL weekend. Yahoo! :D I can't wait to see this movie! They are going to Japan! Sooooo cool! Via Oooooooh can't wait for this weekend! Saturday get over here!!! :P Ahhhhh, he's Five Question Friday for you now. What is your current favorite tv show? I don't really have a...

I can't believe that I forgot to mention this morning that today is also our two month anniversary. But it is! The only reason I mention this even is because my wonderful husband surprised me with a homemade steak and potato dinner for us, for our two month anniversary. I knew there was a reason I married that guy lol! :P Just joking! Wow these first two months really flew by for us, but we have been through so much in that short time. It has only made us stronger though. I feel like we are still so much in love too! Lon is always doing little sweet things for me like saving the last pop in the 12 pack, or waking up late when Alan fusses. He is such a sweet guy. I love him. :) He is a wonderful father to Alan as well! Oh I love how much they love each other. You can just tell! I got really lucky when it came to picking the perfect dad for Alan, because no one else could ever replace Lon! They are perfect for each other! Happy 2 month anniversary Lon! I love you so mu...

Today is a hot one. I didn't have any art classes to teach today, so we thought we could sleep in a little. NOT! We woke up pretty much when the sun did, because of one thing. THE HEAT!! Ahhhh I've been up for like three hours now and its only getting warmer outside. Why don't we have AC????? Where is the nearest swimming pool???? Is it considered offensive if we continue this somewhat nudist colony when we got out in public???? Cos its too hot for clothing! :) I can't wait until it gets to be a hundred and ten degrees.... NOT! It is a month away from my birthday today! I will be turning a wild 22 years old lol! :D Not really... When I go out for my birthday, I will be going out to drink only for the third time ever! I hardly did any drinking when I was 21 and I think it will be the same when I'm 22. So not really wild at all lol. But still, tune in to see more birthday posts, because I am still excited for my birthday! Here's Toddler Talk Thursdays guys! ...

Today at my art class, one of my little girls brought me flowers that she and her father had picked together from their garden for me. :) This is seriously the sweetest thing! The flowers are so pretty and they smell delicious! I will keep them in my kitchen window until they start to wilt and then I will hang them upside down like I do with most of my flowers (the other I press in books). But this made me smile and completely brightened my day! This is why I teach! I love and care and think about each and every one of my students, and its nice to be reminded that they love me just as much. Simple gifts from the heart are such a blessing that I will never take for granted. Thank you again sweetheart! :) I forgot to mention this the other day, but Alan used sidewalk chalk for the first time! We bought some Crayola Giant Chalk from Walmart and Alan responded really well to it! I was a little anxious about him not liking the chalk dust that would cling to his hands, clothes, etc. But he...

Today is a crazy day for me, I'm surprised I even get a chance to get on here. With my art classes and Child Watch combined, I work from 10 to 8 with an hour break. Ahhhhhhhhh! :) No outside time today for me, unless I convince everyone to go outside at daycare. Which I might... :P Here's Top Ten Tuesday! Enjoy! My Top Ten Favorite Bloggers!! Before I start this list, I want everyone to know that I read like 100+ blogs a day lol. So if you made it to this list, at all, your pretty special in my book. :D But this are my favorite bloggers, who I probably check their blogs at least once a day. Some of them I acutually know, and some are just blogging friends. But they all are wonderful ladies with amazing stories to share! Check them out! :D #10 Jodie@ Its All Good in Mommyhood I love this gal. She makes me laugh almost all the time! :D She is a bit older than me and has three more kids than I do, so I like to go to her blog for advice sometimes. Or for just a goo...

I am linking up with Jen and Motivational Mondays this week! I will be sharing another excert from the Dhammapadda titled Thousands. These mantras are aimed at making a distinction between quantity and quality in life. Enjoy! Thousands Better than a thousand sayings composed of meaningless statements is a single meaningful statement on hearing which one becomes calm. Better than a thousand verses composed of meaningless lines is a single line of verse on hearing which one becomes calm. Better than one who recites a hundred verses of meaningless lines is one verse on hearing which one becomes calm. Though one defeats a million men in battle, one who overcomes the self alone is in fact the highest victor. For one who is self-controlled and always disciplined in action, victory of someone like this cannot be made into defeat, even by a god, an angel, or a devil. Even if someone performs ritual sacrifices a thousand times every for a hundred years, if he honors a self-cultivated...

First I want to say have a wonderful trip to Java @Never Growing Old, who hosts this blog hop! I hope you have a great time in Mexico!! :D I also wanted to wish Miss Sophie a happy first birthday today!! :D Saturday was her birthday party, but today she is officially one! I will have to get Alan to stop calling her "Baby Sophie" now (he's been calling her that since she was born lol)! Happy first birthday beautiful girl! We love you so much! Today will be a good day. I have one of my Kindergarten art classes this morning and then I work in Child Watch from 3 to 8. If the weather stays nice (it looks like it could rain) then we will be playing outside again all day! Yes!! :D I love these summer days! Here's Meet Me on Monday!! What feature of the opposite sex do you notice first? Their eyes or their smile. For Lon, it was actually his hair lol, but that was only because he was wearing sunglasses and he had GORGEOUS blonde locks back then. *Swoons* Ooooooh...

Today instead of going to a park like we planned, we went out to Great Grandpa Andersen's ranch. His ranch is about a two hour drive from Billings, out by Forsyth. We went out there with Grandpa Steve, Aunt Ariel, Uncle Tyler and Uncle Chase. Great Grandpa Floyd and Great Grandma Joyce were out there camping in their motorhome. Alan fell asleep on the ride out there so when we first arrived at the ranch, Great Grandma Joyce offered to watch him so that Lon and I could sneak out on a walk. We walked out into the foothills and surprisingly, got lost. :P Lon swears he knew where we were but after about an hour of walking around in the hills, we were found by Grandpa Steve in his truck. Then Steve took us to go see Turtle Hill. Turtle Hill is this cool rock structure on top of a hill that looks like a turtle peeking its head out of its shell. It was the coolest looking thing ever, there were even indents for eyes! We climbed to the top of it and the set up a gun shooting range acro...

Lon just woke up to a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast and watermelon from me. Alan spent the night at Grandma's last night so we could enjoy our wedding date, and once he gets dropped off here, we are gonna get going. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the oil changed in the car, so we will not be going to Red Lodge for hiking. :( But I still have grand plans. We will be going to either Riverfront Park or Phipp's Park or maybe even the Yellowstone River for a picnic lunch and a little hike with Alan. Then we will be going to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a barbecue dinner. Grandpa won't be home from camping until around then and we want to spend time with him as well. :) Sounds like a good day! Via To my father: You have always been there for me, since day one. You taught me how to ride a bike, tie my shoes, ride a dirtbike and four wheeler, drive a boat and play football. I know everyone says that Natalie is the daddy's girl, but I think I am as...

I felt like a chicken with my head cut off all day today, but I enjoyed the majority of it. I started the morning with one of my Kindergarten art class. We made Father's Day cards and Kites. This Kindergarten class is an all girl class, were as my Monday Kindergarten class has one boy and two girls. So the girls got a little chatty about their beloved dad's so I decided to start writing down what they were saying. I heard adorably funny things like, "My dad is the best ever. My mom is also the best too though." and "I like when dad makes me eggs and lets me use chopsticks." or even "He taught me how to ride my bike and now we ride bikes everywhere!" Then Alan, Lon and I went to our second cousin Sophie's first birthday party at Pioneer Park. They were having a barbecue, and while we waited for burgers Alan and I enjoyed strawberries and cantelope. Yum! Alan was really shy and wouldn't go wish Sophie a happy birthday, even though we had be...