He's a Growing Boy

Our little man is continuing to grow! I took a few shots of him last week standing as he hung on to his dresser drawer (he loves to stand while hanging on to just about anything). Notice the new little gasping noise he likes to make at the end of the video - kinda funny. You gotta love that diaper butt, too!

And here's the video:

The Tucker Family Visits

This last weekend my Uncle Bill & Aunt Becky came to visit from Jackson Hole with their two little girls Gracie & Danika. They came to compete in a triathlon up at Highlight (yes... they're crazy!). Unfortunately, the competition took place on Sunday morning so we weren't able to watch it, but I hear they did very well. They both took 2nd in their age groups! While they were here, we celebrated Gracie's 6th birthday so the girls had a lot of fun. Also, we had the treat of eating dinner at my mom's a couple evenings and we were spoiled with some really tasty food! Here are some photos of the weekend:

Danika

Gracie watching her birthday candles be lit.

Aunt Becky

Uncle Bill, Ben, and Danika

As usual, Ben was not hurting for attention - he really enjoyed playing with the girls.

Esperanza girl

This summer Alivia (my beautiful little sister) has been participating in a summer camp at Esperanza Center. She's learned skills about riding horses, gardening, and building things and yesterday they had a performance for the kids to demonstrate what they've done over the last 6 weeks. So, of course Ben and I went to meet Granny and cheer Alivia on. She did such a great job on all of her projects which included making a miniature boat, a scarecrow, and a root box growing carrots and beans. She also showed us her horse skills and the garden they've been working in... We are sooo proud of her! 

Alivia and her scare crow

Ben and Mama

Alivia showing her horse skills - she did great!

Alivia giving Titan (the horse) a hug thank you.

Granny and Ben

Mmmmmm good!

Ben sure enjoyed his dinner the other night as he was very helpful in making sure the food touched every part of his body! I couldn't resist sharing these fun photos of our messy messy boy!

Praise God for Good Friends

This past weekend our good friends Charlie and Margaret Dowers from Spokane stopped to visit for a couple nights. They were on the last leg of their trip home from a 7,000 mile road trip. They've been gone for a month - talk about fun! They had lots of fun stories and photos to share with us and we always enjoy the good conversation that transpires when we're with them. They are so refreshing and encouraging. Although it was a quick weekend, we were able to drop Ben off with Granny for a few hours on Sunday and go watch the new Harry Potter movie on the big screen. Also, we were so honored by our guests as to be allowed to spend their first anniversary with them, so I tried to make a nice dinner to celebrate the occasion. Charlie and Margaret share their anniversary with my father and his birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!

Here are a few photos from the weekend:

Charlie

Margaret

Charlie and Brian looking at photos from their trip

Margaret and Ben - he sure enjoys both his Uncle Charlie and Aunt Margaret!

Crazy Kid!

Last night Ben was sooooo energetic right before bed time. I had to share this little clip of our crazy kid! 

  

Schultz Fest 2009

So, unfortunately, I don't have nearly as many good photos as I would like of our weekend trip to Spokane for the Schultz family reunion, but here are a few I thought you might enjoy. It was a great trip full of visiting and meeting MANY family members. I kid you not, I think there were around 90 people that attended this thing and even Brian didn't know most of them. We drove up and back with Brian's parents so we had some good quality time with them and Ben got to see quite a bit of Grandpa and Grandma. Thanks again for everything, Dad & Mom!

The sign says it all!

Ben with his Great Grandma Schultz!

Dad and Ben visiting.

Grandpa and Grandma Schultz

Mom and Dad Schultz

Ben will play with anything he can get his hands on!

Papa and Ben having some quality time together.

Grandpa with all of his surviving siblings.

Handsome Grandpa Schultz

Bath Time!

Benjamin LOVES his bath time so I thought I'd share some of his glee with you. He loves to splash and squeal and chew on his toys!

Our Fourth of July Weekend

I know you all love pictures so here are several for you to look at from the weekend! For the 4th we traveled over to Butte to visit much of Mom Schultz's side of the family who came from all over to celebrate the holiday. Ben was able to meet quite a few new family members and experience his first thrill of fire works! It was a very enjoyable weekend for all of us.

The whole crew.

 We had family traveling from Arizona, New York, Seattle, and more! 

Here Ben is hanging out with his Great Grandma Mugglie.

Ben had fun sitting on this bench which was just his size! Just had to take a picture of my growing boy sitting all by himself.

Puppy kisses!

Playing in the grass - he likes to study it by picking one blade at a time.

The gymnast.

Brian's cousin Nick put on quite the show for us in the back yard.

"Aren't I stylin in my red, white, & blue?!"

(Thanks for the hat Granny Parker.)

It's not an understatement when I say that he was our entertainment for the weekend!

Sitting with Daddy during the fire works show. He was glued to them!

A little concerned at times but still glued to them!

The Newest Addition To Our Home

Last night we warmly welcomed the newest addition to our home... a big, beautiful, super comfortable, king sized bed! We have patiently (ok, not so patiently) been waiting for its arrival for the last two and a half weeks and it's finally come! We knew it was going to be quite a bit larger than our old bed (a queen) especially considering we purchased a nice head and foot board to go with it, but I'm not kidding when I say this thing is gigantic! When I stand next to it, the top of the mattress nearly reaches my hips! We almost have to take the expression "jump into bed" literally! It will be quite entertaining for Brian when I'm trying to "jump" into bed the next time I'm pregnant. I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there. The comforter set we got is really pretty also although it's pretty hard to get a real feel for it from the photos. It's a rich chocolate brown color with lighter paisley type print on the top. In addition, I've found some fabric at Jo Ann's that I'm dying to make some throw pillows out of (and if I can really push it... some curtains also). 

Praise the Lord for his abundance of blessings and provisions! I am always in awe of his incomprehensible goodness to us. 

Ben likes it too!