A Tribute

On April 21st of this year my sweet Grammie passed away after a hard fought battle with cancer. She played a significant role all throughout my life & I will always cherish the memories I have of our time together. I'm incredibly thankful to God that I was given the opportunity to know my Grandmother in ways many people do not & also thankful to have been given the chance to say goodbye to her. I've made a small video in honor of her & hope it will be a blessing to all of us who are still here with her life & story written on our hearts. Please enjoy & share it with whomever you'd like in remembrance of our lovely Mary.

Click this link to view the video:    http://youtu.be/CRAbD7bCP88

A Little Bit of Sweetness

This post is long overdue but better late than never, right?  We have been quite busy and preoccupied the last couple months and much has transpired that I cannot take the time to hash out right here and right now but I will fill you in on a very exciting and sweet happening that occurred in our family a few weeks ago. 

Our beautiful baby Evelyn was born on April 12th weighing in at 8lbs 5oz! She transitioned into this world very smoothly and was welcomed into our family with arms and hearts wide open. The boys adore her and love to help change diapers and hold her and she already has Papa wrapped around her little finger! We've tried hard to include the boys in things and make this transition as enjoyable as possible for them. To help them celebrate their new little sister we had a birthday party honoring her first week of life. The boys made birthday cards for her and helped me make brownies then we all sang "Happy Birthday" after dinner. They thought it was great! 

Our cups are full and we are so grateful to God for His abundant blessings and grace.

Little Miss Evelyn

This funny little girl hates pacifiers and does not like to be swaddled!

First bath at home... she did great!

Papa's Princess

"So you're my big brother!"

The boys were proud of the cards they made and thoroughly enjoyed eating the browny batter (see below).

A bit of fun outside

Can you tell they're brothers?

A Weekend Getaway

A few weekends ago we traveled over to Missoula for a cousin's wedding. We got to stay in a nice hotel (thank you Mom & Dad) and got to visit all kinds of family from Brian's side that we haven't seen in quite some time. Cedric got to meet his Great Grandpa & Grandma Schultz for the first time along with several other family members and the boys had lots of fun splashing in the hotel swimming pool. We all enjoyed ourselves and the boys did great even though their schedules and naps were thrown out of whack. Here are a few pics from our trip.

"Wow, Mom! Look at this huge leaf I found."

Brothers

"I bet if I keep trying I can climb all the way up this rope and get on top of the tent!"

"Mmmmmmm. That was a yummy cupcake!"

Visiting with family during the wedding reception.

Ben eating a lemon during lunch one day.

His reaction!

Ricky's reaction after eating a lemon!

The boys and their Great Grandma & Great Grandpa Schultz

A Nice Visit

Brian's brother (aka Uncle Jeff) came to visit last week from Phoenix so we got to spend some good time with him and Mom & Dad Schultz. They all stayed with us for a few days and we filled our time with brewing beer, swimming in the lake, and celebrating Jeff's birthday. It was really nice seeing Jeff again as it had been nearly a year since we'd seen him last. The kids had a lot of fun with their Uncle! Here are a handful of pics from the time they spent with us:

.

A Birthday Splash

This weekend we drove to Bozeman for Alivia's 11th birthday party. Mom took everyone swimming and Ben was quite pleased to be included in the fun. Auntie Aubrey drove over from Billings for the occasion and was Ben's swimming buddy for the day... He had a LOT of fun with his Auntie!

"Happy Birthday to you..."

Auntie Livvi and Ben before jumping into the water.

Mom and Ricky hanging out on the poolside.

GrandMary also came along for the fun. We couldn't talk her into jumping into the water, though!

"I'm gonna get you with my wet hands, Momma!"

"Look at me swimming... This is so much fun!!"

"I love my Auntie Aubrey so much!"

Praise God for Good Friends

This last weekend some good friends of ours from Spokane came to visit and although we didn't do a whole lot while they were here, we sure enjoyed it. We are always quite encouraged after any time spent with them and are extremely thankful for their friendship. Charlie and Brian went to college together at Montana Tech and have been great friends ever since, and Charlie was the Best Man in our wedding. He and his wife Margaret had a baby boy (Charles the III) on July 5th so it was really fun meeting him and introducing them to Cedric also. It will be a lot of fun as the boys get older being that they're so close in age. Here are a few pics from the weekend:

Charles and Cedric having "tummy time" together.

Are they not two of the sweetest looking babies you've ever seen?!

Charlie, Margaret, and baby Charles during our Sabbath meal.

Ben during our Sabbath meal.

Can you tell that he enjoyed it?!

A Day With the G's

On Saturday the boys and I drove over to Helena to visit Grandpa and Grandma G. for the day. We just hung out at the house, had a nice lunch, and let Ben play outside while Cedric took a nice long nap. We even got to see my cousin Andrea and her two boys Christion and Devon. It was great to see everyone! Here are a few pics of our day:

Here's Ben moving rocks with this front loader... what fun he had!

Ben and Grandma G. taking a walk in the yard.

Grandpa G. helping Christion and Devon fly the super cool kite. Unfortunately, the wind wasn't blowing quite hard enough to get it flying for long, but it was fun trying!

Visiting Great GrandMary

A couple weeks ago we went over to my grandma's house (GrandMary to the boys) and had dinner. It was quite fun for all of us. Ben had a cheering squad during dinner that he got quite a kick out of, Cedric got a fun pony ride from GrandMary with singing to go along with it, and we all got to eat a tastey supper together. Here are a few pics from our enjoyable evening.

Thanks Grandma for having us over - we love you so much!

"GrandMary is so much FUN!"

Ben had fun playing with this fire truck. He liked to watch it roll down the hill.

Grandma has a nice flower garden alongside her front porch. These are some of the sunflowers growing up her railing... so pretty!

A Full House

... I wasn't kidding!

This past week we had family come visit from Jackson Hole, Utah, and Massachusetts. My mom did most of the hosting and even though she has a decent sized house it was packed to the brim. Thankfully she has a nice backyard that the kids retreated to a lot of the time which gave the adults a little more space. My great Aunt and Uncle were so generous as to treat us all to dinner one evening (I don't even want to know what the tab came to) and we sat around and told lots of stories. It was so nice to see everyone - I only wish we could see them more often.

Cousin Dustin with Ben.

Cousin Dylon with Cedric.

The whole gang after dinner one evening.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho... To Helena We Go!

This last weekend we took a little road trip over to Helena to visit Grandpa and Grandma G. Ben didn't care for the ride in the car which makes it hard on everyone, but we survived and it was well worth the trip. Helena was having it's summer fair and parade while we were there and it just so happened that Mindy was forced to be in the parade for work... so went to cheer her on! I think Ben's favorite part of the parade was all the candy he got to try for the first time. He enjoyed Tootsie Rolls, Smarties, Starbursts, and even his first Grape Ice-pop! Other high-lights from our weekend were riding on a four-wheeler, taking the boys swimming, eating tasty food, relaxing with Dad and Mindy, and seeing my cousin Andrea and her family for the first time since Thanksgiving. Also, Ben saw his first water snake up close and personal and he wasn't afraid at all! It was a great weekend that went by way too fast.

Ben and Grandpa at the parade.

Here are my cousin's two boys (Christion & Devon along with a friend Cody) watching the parade and patiently waiting for candy.

Brent, Brian, and Cedric keeping cool under a tree.

Here's the truck Mindy rode in during the parade commemorating the 75th year of the NRCS.

"Get me out of here!" she says laughing.

Going for a little ride.

Hanging out on the porch swing Sunday morning.

"Nice kitty."

"What big teeth you have!"

Examining bear claws.

Bay Watch Boys look out!

Having a little conversation.

Cedric goes swimming for the very first time!

"Mama... the sun is so bright!"

Warming up with Grandpa after the swim.

Sharing watermelon - yummy, yummy!