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!

Daddy, read me a story!

Like father like son - Ben enjoys books! Ok, so he doesn't necessarily get the whole sitting still to be read to thing, but I think he enjoys the bright pictures (of course). Most of all, though, he likes to eat the books. They must all taste different because every time you read him a story it's a constant battle to keep the book in your hands with the pages open and not in his mouth! I'm sure he'll grow out of this soon enough, but I have to say it's a pretty humorous struggle to  witness. Anyway, here are a few photos of Daddy reading him a story. 

Going in for the kill!

Grandma's Music Box

During our camping trip last weekend, Brian's mom brought along a drum filled with musical instruments that she bought for Ben... He loves them! I've posted a couple photos and a video to share with you his newfound joy in making music!

"Mmmm... I don't know what it is, but it sure is tasty!"

"This is SO COOL!"

Introducing the premier of "The Mini Music Man"!

Camping

This last weekend we went camping along the Big Hole river with Brian's parents and some good friends of ours. It was a lot of fun except for the fact that we got rained out on Saturday and didn't have a chance to take the raft down the river. Brian, Ben, and I went over on Thursday so we at least got a couple good nights in before we had to retreat. Ben really seemed to enjoy himself as he experienced new and fun things. He got to camp, ride on a four wheeler, ride in his big hiking back pack, experience a big camp fire, and made friends with the mosquitos all for the first time! We were pretty spoiled in that Brian's folks kindly let us stay in their camper while they slept in a tent. We felt a little guilty about it but it was sure nice having a warm and dry place to retreat with Ben when it was cold and rainy outside.  They are so incredibly gracious and giving toward us and we are so grateful for them! Here are some photos of our little excursion:

"Whoah! Mom, check out how tall I am!"

Here my wonderful husband is cooking me breakfast on Friday morning. Notice how he's flipping the food in the pan - quite the chef!

Ben's first time on a four wheeler.

We strolled up alongside the river while it was nice out so Ben could watch the water shimmer and move. He loves it! It was pretty fun watching him - you could almost see the wheels turning in his head!

The mighty hunter! Here Brian is practicing shooting with his bow.

Little Bugger

As you know, traveling with an infant creates new and different challenges than you might experience at any other time. With this said, while we were on our trip to Idaho Falls this last weekend Ben had a rather difficult time taking his usual naps. First, because we were visiting family so of course there was so much going on that the little bugger just didn't want to miss a thing, and second, because we shared a hotel room with three other people so it was a bit of a challenge to find a quiet place with no distractions for him to rest. Thankfully everyone was really understanding and supportive when I had to cut ourselves off and kick everyone out of our hotel room so he could get a little sleep. Even then, however, he had a hard time letting himself relax so I just let him cry for a while to let out some of that energy. (Yes, I was a little hesitant about letting him cry in a hotel but thankfully we didn't get any complaints!) I caught a few photos of him peeking up out of his crib to see if anyone was around to have sympathy on him. Why does it have to be so hard to let them cry sometimes?!

"Is anyone listening to me?"

"There you are Mom - Let me see if I can melt your heart with a little pout and a few tears."

"Aha! It worked! Here she comes to the rescue."

Off to see the Falls - Idaho Falls that is

This weekend Ben and I took a little road trip with my mom, sister Alivia, and Grammie to Idaho Falls to see family. One of my cousins was supposed to be playing in a special baseball tournament there so all of my mom's siblings and their families travelled over to watch. Unfortunately, the tournament was cancelled due to bad weather so no one got to watch him play but we were all able to see each other, some of us for the first time in years! It was a fun trip! While we were gone, Brian was able do a little R & R without any distractions. He was pleased to announce that on Saturday night he got nine straight uninterrupted hours of sleep! (I can't even remember what that's like!)

This was a cow moose and her calf that we saw near Big Sky on our drive home yesterday. A pretty neat way to end the trip!

Sleepy boy.

Here are the cousins doting over Ben.

Here we all are! If Aubrey and Brian would have been there it would have been a complete photo of the immediate family on my mom's side.

My crazy, silly, and cute cousins - they're a lot of fun!