She's growing up so fast...

I took this picture of Kerrigan the other day -- she's just growing up so fast. It seems like time has just sped up a notch since we got here.

Little Bear is BACK!

Yes...Little Bear is back in action and here with the family. We moved all our belongings into the house and Little Bear came with them. So...here he is. Who would have thought the little guy would get so popular?

What a cutie

Mom sent Lily a dress up dress which she really loves. These are just of the few pictures I took of her -- she loves it!

Feelin' Tired?

When was the last time you were THIS tired? Joshua barely finished his cracker and then I noticed him with his head leaning straight back and breathing heavy...by the time I got the camera he was just a bit more comfortable. This guy can sleep anywhere.

The Team

Kerrigan is having a great time with soccer this year. The first game was today and I've never seen a group of kids work so hard! You have to love it when the kids are having so much fun. I'm really proud of her.

Backyard Soccer

We've watched a bit of soccer lately but this game was the best. At games end it was Momma 3, Kerrigan 2. These two will have to go head to head again -- best entertainment in town!

Morrell Falls

We had a great little trip to Mullen Falls this weekend. It was perfect -- except that Leigh Anne and Joshua were not with us.

Best things about camping in Montana? Not camping in a campground! Nobody there but us! Location! Location! Location! I loved the trails, the lakes, the waterfalls, the creeks and the views. What did the girls love? They loved the fire, the smores, sleeping in the tent and hot chocolate...oh, and Lily still seems to love the 'climbing'!

Climbing

Lately the girls want to climb -- climb anything. We went up Pattee canyon last Sunday afternoon where I thought they'd love the forrest. Well...we never really made it down the trail.

Lily started climbing the Forest Service gate to the trail and had so much fun going over it over and over again that we spent most of our time there. Josh was a tad tired so he never gave it a try.

DOWNTOWN Kayaking?

Now this has me really interested. This is Kerrigan standing downtown next to a local Kayaking spot. Everytime we head down to Caras Park for the Carousel I can't help but walk to the observation deck above this spot. Someday I've got to try this. Who knows...maybe Kerrigan will be up for it too....

It's just cool that they've got this downtown.

What's a spray park?

I'd never seen or even thought of a spray park before. Alan tells me they are all over the place but I'm just happy there are some here. So is Joshua!

First Day of School!

Remember your first days of school?

Today was the first day of school here in Missoula for Kerrigan. She was anxious and worried as any third grader in a new town would be -- but as expected it was a GREAT day! Lots of new friends and fun was all we heard about.

There are just some hilarious moments you have to be there to appreciate. There's no way I can reproduce either the taunting or the laughter with words or pictures! I am reminded though that one way to get Leigh Anne to do something is to DARE HER!

The house we are currently in has these really deep egress windows. Leigh Anne commented that we should cover them for safety -- if one of the kids fell in they would never get out! I laughed and said that if she fell in that SHE would never get out...and then the game was on. I really didn't think she'd make it out because there's not much to hold onto but she did it. The pictures don't do justice to the white knuckles, the grimmaces or her bare feet after she took her shoes off when they kept slipping. Good thing I didn't bet her, cuz I would have certainly lost this one.

Blodgett Canyon

We wandered to Blodgett Creek this week and had a little adventure. Nice place. The highlight for Lily was "Rock Climbing"! She was pretty courageous on those boulders. I think the rest of us loved playing in the creek though!

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin!

Lot's of new things to do here. This is Kerrigan posing in a position she's shown me a few times outside...but the smile isn't always there when she lands it on the asphalt! She's actually been doing great and is about ready be out there on her own.

the Cedars of Lebanon

I always thought cedars were small, scrubby little trees. I know the wood smells great but the bark seems like it's 50 percent dirt. The'yve always just been the scrawy, twiggy short trees. I've never really been impressed -- until now.

When we were up in Glacier we camped next to "Cedar Loop". It was a beautiful stroll for the family through cedars like I've never seen before. It was a walk through a forest of tall, beautiful and majestic cedars. I felt a bit like I did walking through the redwoods at Muir woods. albeit on a smaller scale. This is a little family pic of us all tucked inside one of the smaller ones.

Finally now the "Cedars of Lebanon" makes sense. I remember wondering why Solomon would want to use Cedars to build his temple. What good would the scrawny trees from Arizona be when building a temple? I suspect the cedars of Lebanon must have been more like the cedars we saw a Glacier. I suppose the men who brought them had the woodworking skills to shape them and create the pillars needed to make a beautiful temple.