Sunshine Makes Me Happy!

Oh how good it felt to get out for this ride on Saturday. The air was crisp and cool, but with the sun on our shoulders we stayed quite warm. Here we are with Mt. Teewinot in the background.

The inner park road is clear for biking and walking all the way to Signal Mt. now (~15 miles). We only road into Jenny Lake and back as I am so pitifully out of shape!

When Keith rides at my pace, he can go hands-free. Here I am trying to imitate him. Before long, I'll be leaving him in the dust - ha!

After our ride, we drove up to Lost Creek and checked out this guest house that THB is just finishing. It is the cutest little "cabin in the woods" I've ever seen. The interior is all made to look old with barn wood panelling on the walls, a stone fireplace and exposed log beams. The appliances are old-timely looking and extremely cute, but Keith says they cost a fortune (~$40,000 for a fridge, dishwasher, range, and hide-away microwave.) Yikes!

Sunday our house came alive with visiting and kids having a great time.

Thanks everyone for making it a wonderful weekend!

We Are Expecting!

Most of you would already know, but I'll put it in a post anyway - we are expecting "Baby Benjamin #3." We are nearly 15 weeks along now and the due date is September 15th. We do not plan to find out the gender; we'll let the anticipation build till the big day! Tyler is pretty certain he'll be getting a baby sister. Boyd just points to the ultrasound picture and says, "Not yet." And I'm so thrilled to have an appetite and some energy again, now that the 1st trimester is past!

Smiling Again

Their noses are still a bit sniffly and still a cough here and there, but they are almost back to good health! Yay! We said goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma Saturday morning and had a good drive home. The boys did so well and we arrived home in 9.5 hours! It was a beautiful day to travel. We are so happy to be home and reunited with Daddy, but we keep thinking about and talking about our time with Grandma and Grandpa, Auntie Alison, Kyla, Colter, and Maya. Thanks so much for all your wonderful hospitality and care!

Slow and Steady

Saturday evening Grandpa asked the boys if they wanted to go out and help clean up the wood pile. They could not refuse! Boyd, especially, had a blast! It was good to get a little fresh air.

Here's Tyler Sunday evening. He spent the entire day on the couch - no energy and an enormous amount of coughing. He improved Monday morning, but the fever and coughing returned in the evening, so I took him to the doctor Tuesday morning. Sure enough, what probably started out as RSV had turned into a good case of Bronchitis, on the verge of Pneumonia, as well as infections in his eyes and ears. Though he was showing some improvement, the doctor prescribed some strong antibiotics and nebulizar treatments to speed up the recovery. He's had several of these treatments now and a couple doses of the antibiotic and is doing much better. He's so weak though, and I suppose it will take awhile to get his strength back.

Here's Boyd with his popcorn bowl Sunday evening. He's slowly but surely getting back to his happy, silly self.

A nebulizar treatment for Tyler early this morning. He wakes up with an awful cough and the treatment helps to open the airways and calm the cough. The first time he used the machine, he thought it was pretty cool and pretended to be a steam-puffing-locomotive. Now he's not so patient with the process, but with some coaxing I think we'll get through it. Sure feel sorry for the little guys - I want to get them better and NEVER get sick again! - Ha!

Rest and Recuperation

Well we no more than got to Kalispell, and Boyd got sick. He seemed to have it all: fever, runny nose, coughing, and throwing up. He was miserable. Here we are Sunday morning at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Boyd purked up a little Monday morning, so we spent a little time out in the crisp spring air.

Playing with grandpa in the evening.

Bedtime stories.

Lunch with Grandma on Tuesday. Boyd is feeling pretty punchy still and Tyler soon came down with the same bug.

On Wednesday, Kyla rode the bus to G & G's after school and spent the afternoon and evening with us. The boys just adore her. Poor Colter and Maya were sick at home. Wish we were all healthier so we could spend some quality time together. It's Saturday afternoon now and, aside from a raspy cough, Boyd is getting back to normal. Tyler is still quite under the weather though. So, we're still taking it easy, resting, and recuperating. What an unusual vacation!

Meeting In Missoula

This one's for you Keith. On our way to Missoula, we found this shiny new quad in a gas station at Rexburg - quite a distraction!

What fun to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa, Maya, John and Karrie and the girls. We had a yummy supper at Cracker Barrel next to our motel. Here John and Dad swat Co-op stories. Did you guys ever imagine you'd have so much in common?

Playing with Kyla, Colter and Maya after breakfast at the C'mon Inn.

We took a little tour east of Missoula Friday morning. Here's the house our family lived in for the first 5 years of my little brother's life. Many good memories were made here.

My sister and I in front of our first elementary school at Clinton. I went two years here and Alison went three.

My beautiful niece and copilot for the day.

Lunch at Perkins - down town Missoula. Boyd just loved this horse Kyla shared with him.

Let the celebration begin! John and Karrie both turn 30 this spring. John's birthday was Friday and Karrie's not till May, but we surprised them both and had a wonderful party!

The three siblings Saturday morning at the Carousel.

John, Karrie, Sarah, and Emma. What a sweet little family!

All the grand kids, plus sweet little Hanna. We just happened to run into Hanna and her dad here as they were celebrating Hanna's birthday too!

An old pro.

Burger's at Fudruckers. It was John's first time - very yummy!

Kyla trying to get a handle on her gigantic bun.

John, Mom and Dad outside the hospital where John was born 30 years ago. Very special to have spent this time with all of them and to take a trip down memory lane. We left Missoula after this, headed for Kalispell. The boys slept the entire 2.5 hour drive. It was absolutely beautiful and I enjoyed it in serene silence! More pictures to come of our time in Kalispell.

Reunited! And Other Fun Stuff

Here we are: Tammy (my roommate @ U of M), Jeanette (our dorm mate) and me. Jeanette has been living here for 6 years and we just ran into each other a few weeks ago. She has kept in touch with Tammy through the years and Tammy happened to be visiting here this week. Wow, I had not seen or talked to her for 13 years! It was very special to be reunited last evening!

Building a snow fort with Daddy on Sat. morning!

Snuggle buddies.

The morning circus!