Hebgen Lake

This last weeked, Hannah, Andrew, Madison, McKinlee and I headed up to join my mom and Neil at Hebgen Lake in Montana. It was such a nice weekend. I won't say relaxing, because camping with kids never is, but we had a blast. The weather was beautiful and the spot where we stayed was perfect, with the lake just a short walk from the trailer. We started the night off with a wade in the lake and then we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Hannah made an "icky sticky mess" out of her marshmallow. (That's a direct quote)
Andrew always finds things to climb on or in. He was cracking us up because none of the girls wanted to wrestle with him, so he decided to wrestle with the logs. (Notice his attack face) And, I just had to get a picture of him sitting in the garbage can in the trailer.
Hannah and Kin snuggling in for the night... Hannah and Andrew had fun fishing with Grandpa before we got up there on Friday. Hannah caught 3 fish! I wasn't there when she caught them, so I wasn't able to take any pictures. I'll grab my mom's memory card when I see her next and post pictures of her big fishing moment. Andrew had a great time reeling the line in over and over and over... We spent most of the day playing in the lake and out on the boat. The kids had such a fun time.



Some pics of all the kids playing in the lake. Jake and Bonny came up with Shane and Isaac for a few hours on Saturday, so it was fun hanging out with them too. Hannah kept getting stuck in the "icky sticky sand." (Another direct quote - she might watch too much Dora)

My Husband...

I have been tagged by Meggan... here goes!

1. What is his name?
David Martin Reading

2. How long have you been married?
7 years

3. How long did you date?
8 months

4. How old is he?
He just turned the big 4-O in May!

5. Who eats more sweets?
Depends on if I'm on a diet or not...which is pretty much all the time lately, so I'd have to say him at least for now. :0)

6. Who said I love you first?
Dave did.

7. Who is smarter?
He's smarter with some things, and I with others...our brains kind of balance each other out.

8. Whose temper is worse?
We both have pretty fiery tempers.

9. Who does the laundry?
I do. Dave was fired just like Brady was after a hole in my favorite white shirt and a batch of whites that ended up looking suspiciously pink.

10. Who does the dishes?
Neither one of us...that's what kids are for, right? :0)

11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Right when you're laying down or right when you're standing up looking at it? It seems like a trick question. Why am I having a hard time with this? I guess I sleep on the right side (when I'm laying down on it) Okay...I'm an idiot.

12. Who pays the bills?
Dave does. To be fair, I got fired from the bills, just like Dave got fired from the laundry.

13. Who cooks dinner?
I usually do.

14. Who drives when you are together?
Dave does, although this is kind of an issue with us (or maybe just me) Dave assumes he's the one that should drive. However, I like to drive as well, so sometimes I put my foot down and drive.

15. Who is more stubborn?
Depends on which one of us you ask...we both think the other is pretty darn stubborn. But, since I'm the one that was tagged...Dave is more stubborn. :0)

16. Whose parents do you see the most?
We see our moms and our stepdads frequently (about the same amount of time) We live close to both of them. We don't see our dads as often because they live out of town.

17. Who proposed?
Dave did. What a guy!

18. Besides you, who is his best friend?
I would have to say his brothers.

19. Who has more siblings?
Me...I have 4, Dave has 2.

20. Who wears the pants in the family?
We share them most of the time, unless they shrink, then we kind of fight over them. :0)

21. Do you have nicknames for each other?
I guess I'm kind of like Meggan, because I use random weird names for Dave and I throw in the occasional normal endearment. Dave calls me JoJo, Pretty Mama, and the normal honey, sweetie stuff.

I tag Melissa and Laura.

Circus!

Okay, so we went to the circus almost 2 weeks ago, but I'm new to this, and I had technical difficulties getting some of my pictures on. (I'm not usually this dumb on computers) But, we had such a fun time, I wanted to share a few. When I purchased the tickets for a circus in the middle of June, it didn't even cross my mind that the weather would be anything but nice. But, on circus day it was in the mid 50's and the wind was horrible! And, to illustrate just how crappy the weather was, we woke up to snow the next morning. (Fun times in Idaho) I made the false assumption that we would be in a tent (you always hear of being under the big top, right?) We were, however, outside and very sorely unprepared! But, all things considered, we had a great time. I was pretty impressed with the show and the acts for a circus in Idaho Falls. Hannah and Andrew wanted to see elephants more than anything, so I'm sure you can imagine how thrilled they were when we actually got to ride one! It was the highlight of their night. Jacob, Becca, and Rachel were weirded out by the idea, so they just watched...

What would a circus be without cotton candy?! Andrew was in his element stuffing his face. I was holding him, so I'm sure you can imagine the mess all over me. Oh well, the things we do for our kids, right. Hannah got her face painted like a kitty during intermission. In the picture, she's trying to make herself look like a kitty. She's such a funny kid!These are some of the kids favorite acts, but they were all pretty amazing. It was so windy. I was surprised what the acrobats and tumblers were still willing to do. I guess they knew what they were doing though.



We had such a great time at the circus, even though the weather was horrible! (You can tell from the kids' faces and the way they're all hunched over in their hoodies that they were freezing) Spending time together is all that matters most of the time. They all said it was worth braving the elements. (Even though their faces point to the contrary)

Andrew's 2nd Birthday!

Okay...here goes. This is my first entry. I thought I should probably get going since I've had this blog for a couple of months now. Andrew turned 2 this past month, so I wanted to write about him.

I can't believe my little boy is already 2! Time goes way too quickly. Andrew is such a special little boy with a huge heart. He loves to give kisses, hugs and the best snuggles. He says I love you (I ya yoo) constantly and will come up to me and just squeeze my legs so tight...I absolutely love it! On the flip side, he can get pretty wild and rough and he loves to wrestle...the little stink can about drive me crazy! :0) He is into everything, and he's getting pretty creative and smart about it. He can turn just about anything into a step stool or ladder. (Notice the shiner he's still sporting from trying to climb up into the windowsill) I call him my little monkey. In fact, sometimes when asked what his name is, he'll answer: a monkey (a muntee...ooh ooh ah ah!) He keeps us laughing and definitely keeps us on our toes. We're so grateful for our precious little two year old.

Here are a couple more pics from his party...with his cousins and Aunt Amy and with Grandpa Neil and Hannah.

We had a jungle themed party because Andrew loves animals. These are the cupcakes I made in honor of our little monkey. I got the idea off of Sherelle Christensen's blog.