In the spirit of Christmas...

We were getting Nate some new sun glasses today and Teresa was keeping Jace entertained by putting different frames on his face. She put these glasses on him and we couldn't stop laughing. He looked just like the kid from The Christmas Story - "You'll shoot your eye out!" Way cute, I had to share. I hope this photo helps everyone to feel some Christmas joy!

Happy Halloween!

Just a random truck that had some cool Halloween graffiti art on it. Of course I had to have Jace stand up next to it for a pic. :)




We took Jace to a pumpkin patch this last week. They had a straw maze for the kids and a little train for them to ride around on. Jace had a blast.


Jace found his cousin Beckam and started giving him all of his candy. It was pretty cute :). He likes to share!









If you can't tell, Jace was a Giraffe for the Halloween festivities. Here are a few pics from his first trick-or-treating experience. He caught on fairly quickly to the idea. It only took a few times before he was the one walking up to people with his hand out asking for candy. Little Stinker!

Jace update

I can't believe how fast this little man is growing up on me. He is currently in the stage of "I want to get into anything that is dangerous for me", "I like to climb up on high places", "No and Mine are my favorite words", and "I want to do everything BY MY SELF". Fun Times! And I am not just being sarcastic. They really are... This kid make me smile everyday... I love him!

Hiking the Middle in the Teton Range

We hiked the Middle of the Teton Range (it is the peak on the right) this last Thursday. Nate hiked it two years ago and then the Grande last year (the peak in the middle). He talked me into training with him this summer and to be honest... I consented but did not think I would ever be in shape enough to actually hike the Middle with him. But... the more I trained the better I felt and the hike became MY goal. We kept having to push our hike date out further due to weather issues but finally had a good day on Thursday. We went with our good fried BP who knows the trail pretty well.  We left our house at 2:30 a.m. and got to the trail head by 5:30 a.m.. We listened to the elk bugle and watched the sun rise as we hiked up. It was an amazing view. We saw 7 deer and elk and a couple of other animals. A good chunk of the hike is full of large boulders that you have to hop (which is very pleasant for the knees). Towards the end there is a pretty steep assent to summit. I am not usually afraid of heights but this really freaked me out. We also had gusts of wind of up to 75 mph... that was probably my least favorite part about the hike. We reached summit at 2:00 p.m.. Watched the sunset and listened to the elk bugle as we descended and got back to the car at 8:30 p.m.. It was 15 hours of constant hiking. (The guys can do the hike a lot faster than that but I slowed them down. They were very patient with me and I thank them for that.) It was a wonderful and miserable :) experience all at the same time. We got back home at midnight and I have been "in recovery" ever since.

Here is our little hiker once we got home. There is nothing better than coming home to this little guy!

First Cello Recital

I had my first recital a few weeks ago. Overall it went pretty well. It is interesting to learn an instrument as an adult. This picture shows more of the adult section of our group but the majority are little kids. It just feels funny to be playing in a group with mostly young children that are much more talented than I am with their instruments... makes me feel a little out of place. It is never too late to start though and I am really enjoying it.

A day in the sun!

This pool was just perfect for Jace's first experience. Thank you Andrew for your thoughtful gift!
He was a bit afraid of the bigger pool, it took him a while to warm up to it... He never did like the dolphin spraying water in his face... maybe when he is older.

My boys mowing the lawn!

Road trip to Swan Valley

Check out Jace's face in this one. Ever since he turned one, he has developed quite the attitude. He mad-dogs people like crazy. It is a look of disgust almost. It cracks me up!


While Paula was visiting, her and Nate took a motorcycle ride to Swan Valley (Jace and I followed behind in the car). We stopped at the falls and then had a Sunday picnic dinner.

4th of July

I love the 4th of July around here. This city is so festive! And... thanks to good ol' Frank who likes to share his wealth, we have awesome fireworks. We had a blast with lots of family and friends. Jace actually stayed awake the entire time... quite amazing for him. Our new word for sparklers is "sprinklers". Not because Jace says it that way but because Nate says it that way! He came home on the day of the 4th and said "I bought sprinklers for tonight." and I said..."why on earth did you buy sprinklers?" and he of course meant to say sparklers but now we get to make fun of him for years to come!