A Little More Randomness

Helping Papa mow the lawn... Ben is such a good helper!

Cedric's first ride on a four-wheeler.

He wasn't quite sure what to think of it.

"Geesh, Mom. It's a bit windy on this thing!"

All smiles and mess.

Evidence of a boy who's played hard and had fun!

"Mmmmm. Yummy banana bread batter!"

Ben is a great help in the kitchen when it comes to baking. Probably because he likes the special reward of eating the batter before it goes into the oven... I wonder where he could have possibly learned that!

What We've Been Up To

Here's a bullet list of what's going on for our family currently:

• Spent much of this week in Butte visiting Brian's Grandma who just had back surgery. She's doing marvelous and it was so fun for all of us to spend some time with her.
• Learned how to knit the other day from Brian's Grandma... FUN!!! I'm looking forward to my first project.
• Brian has been building a fence around our very large backyard. He's nearly done with it and we are all quite ready for the project to be completed. He's doing a great job!
• We become members of the church we've been attending here this weekend. It's very exciting for our family.
• We look forward to celebrating Ricky's 1st birthday next Saturday (May 28th).
• Still working on getting the house put together and organized... it's never ending!
• In addition to the fence, Brian has been working on getting the garage cleaned out. He and his dad are getting very anxious to start brewing again.

I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting, but that's a bit of our lives right now. Here are some recent pics:

A Little Fun to Share

This video was taken a couple months + ago while we were still staying at Brian's parents house before we moved into our new home. It may be a tiny bit outdated but it's too fun not to share. Hope it puts a smile on your face!

This video was taken a few weeks ago and although some may not find it real interesting, I get a kick out of it. It's always fun for me to see my boys playing with each other / taking care of each other and here is an instance of both. May it tickle you as much as it did all of us!

For Many Reasons

We love our new home for many reasons. One of them (as I'm sure we've mentioned before) is that we have our own yard and room to run and play. Since we moved here, we've discovered that Helena is rather windy, especially in the Spring and Fall. However, it's a bit drier up North where we live so we haven't gotten quite the snow and rain like everywhere else. There have been a few beautiful days so far this Spring and we've tried our best to take advantage of them. Earlier this week the boys and I had a picnic lunch on the front lawn. It was quite fun and made for easy floor clean-up... I love that! We look forward to lots of time outside this summer when the weather is nice, the wind is calm, and the calling for outdoor projects can't be ignored!

The Picnic:

"Quick! Maybe I can steal some of Brothers mac n' cheese while he's not looking."

A Few Milestones

So the last few weeks have been quite full for our family. Not just because of our move but also because of a few major milestones that have been passed by our little boys. A few weeks ago Cedric took his first steps and since then has been practicing very hard to improve in his newfound skill. Below is a video from a couple weeks ago when he was trying to get things figured out. Since then he has improved quite a bit and now travels all over the place without falling over! Crazy how quickly they catch on once they figure out the basic steps. Here he is strutting his stuff:

Ben has also passed his own milestone recently. I'll not explain it in words but rather let you see for yourself... enjoy!

We are so proud of both our boys!

A Little Update

For those of you wondering, we've moved into our new home and have begun the whole settling in process. Nearly all boxes are unpacked and we're in the middle of arranging and putting things away. It seems a little daunting at times but we've made a lot of progress and feel as though this house suites us very well. The kids are adjusting wonderfully and in recent days have enjoyed our acre of land to run, play, and dig. Ben has discovered the fun of pulling Cedric in a wagon and does it much of the time spent outside. Cedric does not yet like the feel of grass so is quite content sitting in the wagon as long as Ben is around to pull it! We have been thoroughly enjoying the amazing views from our house particularly at night when the landscaped lights of the city twinkle into our windows. We have a lot of work to do this summer with fencing, landscaping, and and building a deck, but we are looking forward to the tasks ahead of us and already feel "at home". I am continuously blown away by how utterly gracious and generous God is.

Looking off our front porch:

Looking off the back porch:

The boys at play:

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!"