Free Range Family

Our last day of vacation was full of driving, car repairs and rest areas. It was another stressful, long trip but we tried our best to enjoy the scenery and each other's company. We were definitely happy to be back at home lol! There are no pictures for this post, so bear with me lol! We were too distracted by the car to take any! Day Five: Driving Back Home We started out the morning at a decent time, the kids woke up with the sun, once again. We took turns showering while the kids bounced on the beds and watched Disney Junior. Then we packed up and went looking for breakfast. After checking out, we discovered that this hotel only had a continental breakfast that ran only until 10:30, a half hour after we had checked out. So breakfast at the hotel was not an option. We drove to the closest gas station, grabbing muffins and donuts that would have to suffice. Then we were on the road again. We made good time, hitting Bozeman before lunchtime. Around Bozeman, I received a text...

Next week is a wild week for me. Actually, if you really want to get technical, starting Saturday is just craziness for us… probably not slowing done at all until school starts up in September. Gah! Benton is still in town with us, Natalie has surgery tomorrow and will be heading to town Sunday most likely. Saturday Lon and I have the Train concert to go to, Sunday we will be headed to the fair with Aunt Natalie and Benton. Monday I start Cheer and Dance Camp, Tuesday and Thursday I have my gymnastics class showcases. So crazy! I may not post that much next week because of how busy we are, but stay tuned because I will do my best! As for our vacation, let's catch up on the last two days! Day Four: Enjoying Flathead Lake We were all exhausted from the big celebrations last night, so Sunday we had a calm day. We woke up late, had a breakfast of steak and eggs, and cleaned up camp some. Lon and I decided that we would be leaving that night for Butte, due to the car's problems...

I don't have too much to say about this day, except for it was one of the best days of my life. I do, however, have a bunch of photos to show everyone all the love and beauty that made this day so special. I love my sister more then words can explain, I love my nephew to pieces and I love my new brother-in-law. I am so very happy for them to begin this journey of marriage, it will definitely be a wild ride for them! But they both have a great love for wild rides and dirt bikes, so that is right up their alley. Love you Aunt Natalie, Uncle Jake and Benton! Day Three: Natalie and Jake's Wedding Day My sister and her husband were married at Mission Mountain Resort, just a shot away from Flathead Lake. It was a cute, small little resort ran by a elderly couple. There were so many different trails leading off everywhere, we went on several throughout the whole day but I don't think we ever covered half of the many trails! The resort was snuggled up into the Mission Moun...

Sorry its taken me so long to post, I have had to do soooooooooooo much catch up this past week. Apparently four people being out of town for four days equals a week's worth of extra work. I had to do several loads of laundry, catch up on missed work, make sure the kids are bathed and brushed consistently (we aren't so strict on hygiene while we camp, gross I know but we are outdoorsy people) , subbed for several people at work and Benton is here with us too. I am also preparing for next week's Cheer and Dance Camp, Alan's last week of preschool camp, Theatre Camp and getting ready for school to start! Insert stressed scream HERE!  Our trip was well worth it though! Day One: Driving from Billings to Bozeman Day one was actually quite short for us, we didn't start traveling until after eight o'clock at night. I had to teach my Tumble 2 class before we could leave, then we had to pack the car/load the kids in the car and get gas. By the time we left Billings,...

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone! Three years ago around this time I was laboring myself lol, about to have my beautiful Alan Mikael. :) He will be three on Wednesday, I just cannot believe it yet! We aren't doing anything special for Labor Day weekend, we usually try to go camping with my family but don't have any desire too right now with a newborn lol. But I hope that my dad and siblings have a fantastic time camping at Reedpoint this weekend! Be safe and have a blast guys! :) Sunday, we are taking pictures for some upcoming (and EXCITING) changes to this blog. We are doing family pictures at Phipp's Park most likely. I can't wait to see them turn out! Speaking of pictures, if you haven't already be sure to check out Anna's Newborn Photos that I posted on here yesterday. She did such a good job during them! I was so proud!   Here is this week's Five Question Friday! Enjoy and have a fantastic Labor Day weekend everyone! Please be safe! Don't dri...

Thursday, I watched a documentary on PBS called Nature's Child. It was about nature and how it affects and benefits childhood development. Of course being the hippie that I am, I already knew this lol. But it was still a very interesting show to watch and I learned quite a bit from it. In this day and age, most children spend their time indoors either on the computer or at the television. Gradually, less and less children are spending quality time outside. If they do get outside, it is either at school during recess or for an organized sport. While these are also good development teachers, they are not enough. Children need to play outside in their neighborhoods, like we all did as kids. But this is happening less and less. Why is this, you ask? Well there is one theory that I have found to be pretty feasible. Some believe that modern day parents are being conditioned by the media to be afraid to let their children play outside in the neighbor, whether by themselves or with other...

Here's the last installment of American Camping Week. To see the other two, click here and here. Also, be sure to tune in tomorrow for my Month in Review post! Have a great night! :) Via Today started out even earlier with the heat! I swear it was even hotter than yesterday! Happy fourth everyone! We woke up at eight and once again were the first ones up. Aunt Natalie and cousin Lex woke up shortly after us but while we waited for the rest of the family to wake up, we went for a walk down the beach. A lot of the campers and tents were loading up and leaving, so the beach had cleared up quite a bit. It was a nice walk, and it was awesome to step in the water every once and a while when it got hot! :) Then once everyone had woken up, we had breakfast of watermelon, grapes and cantelope. Hanging out with Grandpa Kevin Alan wanted to play with the rocks and sand some more after breakfast, so we put him in his suit and set him out by the shore. I took tons of pictures of him...

Here's the second installment of my American Camping Week posts! Enjoy! Via The morning started out nice and early with the heat.We woke up around nine (sleeping in a tent will do that to you lol) and as soon as Alan and I got outside, he ran to the lake and started throwing rocks again. Only Great Grandma Mary was awake, so we talked and watched Alan play. One by one everyone else woke up, until only Grandma Melanie and Uncle Kalvin were sleeping. Everyone was hungry so we sent Alan in the camper to wake them up. He proceeded to run back and forth, screaming their names lol. Woke them right up! :) We had a quick breakfast of cantelope and grapes (Yum!) and then we set off hiking, this time into the hills. While walking through the hills, we found the coolest (kinda) house! Its really just the foundation, but when you get close you can see that there's a basement with cellar steps! We explored and figured out which way the front door was, etc. We had a blast! Lon and...

Its American Camping Week! Welcome everyone! :D Lol please enjoy this journal entry I wrote about our first night camping! Via The trip to Canyon Ferry was pretty uneventful, thankfully for us. I'll admit that I was a little nervous about taking Alan on a three and a half hour car ride, but he did great! We left at noon, a little later than originally planned but alright nonetheless. Alan fell asleep before we even hit Laurel lol! Silly boy! He slept all the way to Bozeman. Once we got to Bozeman though, we woke Alan up for lunch at DQ. While waiting for our lunch, I got to watch a grown man (most likely mentally ill) throw a fit at the poor cashier because he didn't have enough money for 3 medium blizzards. Wow. I was actually a little scared at the time too, because the man was really creepy. That teenage girl handled it so well but I still have to say, I'm glad I left Alan in the car with Lon! I was quite unnerved. The last half of the drive was also uneventf...

We just got back into town from our camping trip- it was great, we didn't want to leave lol! Will start my week of camping posts tomorrow, I'm exhausted from the drive. :P I really wanted to stop by to wish everyone a happy fourth of July though! Via Happy birthday America! You may be an old 235 year old, but I think you look gorgeous for your age! :P I hope everyone had a great time with their loved ones, I know we did! You will hear more about that later though of course. :) And last but certainly not least, I want to thank all the men and women who serve our country! Thank you for our freedom! To celebrate, we are watching A Capitol Fourth 2011 on PBS. We got back into to town too late for either fireworks show in town and Alan is still afraid of the loud noises that the fireworks make, so we will just be celebrating this way. :) Alan likes these fireworks better anyways, not as loud. Its cute because he won't stay away from the tv and let us watch it too lol! ...

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...

Happy Friday everyone! I am so glad that its Friday because this week has drug by soooooooooo slowly and has been so stressful for me. I just can't wait for the weekend! Plus today is Uncle Kalvin's birthday party at the Reef. Alan and I will be making a short appearance there since its right during his nap time lol. :) Tonight I work only three hours at Child Watch and then get to go to Bryson's Photo Studio to view my wedding photos! :D Then Saturday I work all day (blah to the max lol) and Sunday is Mother's Day. :) So who knows what Lon and Alan have planned for me, they've been being very secreative lately. And now for Five Question Friday!! Enjoy! Have you ever had roommates? Have I ever lol! I have had seven different roommates throughout my adult life. How many names do you/your children have? (i.e. Prince Charming William Phillip Arthur Louis John Jacob Jingleheimer-Schmidt) We both only have three names, but that almost wasn't the case for A...