Fall Happenings

We recently made an attempt to snap a nice family photo on our new front deck and this is the best we could come up with before everyone completely lost it while using a tripod on the camera.

Not terrible, but we'll be trying again later!

The boys got a new arts & crafts desk from Grandpa and Grandma Schultz and it's become a new favorite project spot.

The boys... had to capture this tranquil moment of the two actually sitting calmly and nicely next to eachother!

Yesterday the boys and I went to a small pumpkin patch and picked out a few pumpkins to bring home. They each picked out their own and had lots of fun painting them.

It's a good thing they make non-toxic paints these days!

As you can imagine, both boys received baths promptly after painting was finished.

A pumpkin for each of us!

Cedric's pumpkin is the bigger of the two painted pumpkins. Ben was adamant about bringing home a very small pumpkin!

I printed off some recipes yesterday of various things calling for pumpkin. Can't wait to try out some Pumpkin Chili and am really looking forward to having some toasted pumpkin seeds to snack on!

HAPPY FALL!

Life is Busy Busy

Yes, I realize it's been a while since the last post and for that I apologize. It seems we've been really busy with all kinds of random things. As there have been to many things happen in the last month to tell you all about them one by one, here is a brief summary of what we've been up to.

The boys waiting patiently for brownies to come out of the oven after helping me bake them.

Having fun throwing everything out of the toy box!

"Giddy-up horsey!"

"Whooaahhh!"

"We love our Grandpa!"

This picture was taken outside of Absarokee when we drove over to visit my Great Aunt who was visiting from Alabama.

The boys and I went and stayed with my sister and her husband in Laurel at their new house for a couple nights and while we were there we took them to Zoo Montana. Here are a few pics from our time at the zoo:

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:

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A Little Something

It's not much, but here are a few random pics of the boys for those of you who have been waiting for a new post. It seems we've been quite busy, though I can't quite tell you with what except that Brian has torn down our front porch and is getting ready to build us a nice deck in its place... I'm quite excited about it! We're hoping to get the project completed before summer is over and I'll be sure to post pics of the final product. In the meantime, here are a few things our little troopers have been up to in recent days:

my eager little helper

Cedric learns lots from his older brother and is now into playing with trains...

and chocolate pudding!

A Special Celebration

Last weekend we celebrated Mindy's 50th birthday! Her birthday was actually on June 28th but Chris and Aubrey wanted to join us in the festivities so we waited until they could come to Helena before we had a party. We started the day by going to the lake and swimming and boating until the afternoon then later in the evening we had a party for her at our house. It was a nice time and it was fun getting to celebrate this special occasion with someone who plays a special role in our lives. We are thankful for the life God has given her and look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with her.

Happy 50th Mindy!

Yes, these were trick candles and boy were they stubborn!

Ben helped try to blow them out.

Christian watching the fun with great enthusiasm!

Brent & Andrea

Aubrey

Chris

The fascinating "Gurgling Water Pot" given to Mindy by Chris & Aubrey. Simply by the way it's made it gurgles when you pour the water. Quite entertaining!

The boys got rather preoccupied by this bubble wrap and continually jumped on it to hear the popping sounds. It was a little comical.

Devon enjoying some ice in his cup.

Aunt Cathy (Mindy's sister) came over from Twin Bridges to celebrate with us.