2011 - First Quarter

I know, I know, I haven't posted on here for a little while. Life has been busy. Our house is now on the market and we are praying that it sells quickly so we can get going on something new for our family. I am not really going to go clear back to where I left off and post about Thanksgiving and Christmas...let's just say we had a fabulous holiday season! Today was Carter's birthday so I was going to post pictures from his party and I realized I never posted any from Pason's birthday so here goes. Pason just had a family party this year. Carter turned the big #5 this year so he got to have about 10 friends over for a pirate party. It's a good thing the party only was an hour and a half, cause that many kids in our house was pretty crazy. But lots of fun!

Signs of the Season

A sure sign the holidays are here...too busy to post. But I need to pause for a minute for a real quick update. Thanksgiving in Cut Bank this year. We actually made it throught the trip without anyone getting sick. Good food, good family, not so good shopping, but hey, that's what the internet is for right! Got to celebrate Jared's parent's anniversary with them...which meant Scott walked around the restraunt with crabby Eli while the rest of us finished eating. Sorry about that but glad we got to spend more time with them. Made it safely home despite not being able to see where the road was the last 30 miles into Billings. Boom it's December...I didn't eat lobster at Jared's work party, or shrimp, or stuffed mushrooms...desert was fabulous! The next week was the ward dinner which I was in charge of. It's always crazy, but it went great! We had a great turnout, and great food. Kept it simple this year. Now I am waiting for the phone call that brings a new calling since the activities committee no longer exists. Christmas shopping is mostly done, a few odds and ends left. I haven't even started my Christmas baking/candy making yet. Eli's stocking is still not done, which is what I should be doing right now so just want to wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! Be sure to take the time to count your blessings and give thanks for our Savior who is the real reason for this oh so busy season. Remembering Him and what he has done for us is the real joy of Christmas!

Happy Halloween!

I have to admit, Halloween is not my favorite holiday. When I was a kid I loved it, mostly because I liked all the candy. Now it is trying to figure out costumes for the boys, and then dealing with them after they've had too much sugar! That being said we did have a really fun Halloween this year. We carved our pumpkins for Family Home Evening last week. Pason did his pretty much all by himself this year, the designing and the cutting! I helped Carter with his scary ghost, and Jared did the haunted house for Eli's pumpkin. I thought they all turned out great!














Costumes this year were pretty simple, but were oh so cute! The boys dressed up as the Chipmunks - Pason/Simon, Carter/Alvin, Eli/Theodore. Jared was Dave. They were adorable and their personalities fit so well with their costumes!



























Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, we only did Trunk-or-Treating at the church Saturday night. Then on Sunday/Halloween I made a special dinner of snake, brains and bloody eyeballs, rotten fingers, and witches brew. We turned off all the lights in the house and ate by candlelight. Then we watched a few Halloween cartoons, took turns trying to scare each other in the dark, and then went to bed. We had so much fun with our dinner that I think we are going to make that a Halloween tradition, so if you have any good recipes for finger sandwiches let me know!

Happy Birthday Jared!

Well since Jared's birthday falls a week after the October deadline, it seems we are always doing something fun for his birthday. The last two year we were at Disneyland, but this year we stayed a little closer to home. We went to Missoula for a Griz game. Actually Jared had to work. He went to some tax thing put on by the U of M Law School all day Friday and Saturday morning. We got to do some birthday shopping Thursday night, had birthday dinner with the Gage clan Friday night, and of course the Griz game Saturday afternoon. Friday while Jared was in class, the boys, Grandma and Grandpa Gage, and I went to the Children's Museum. The boys had a blast engineering water fountains and pipelines, digging for dinosaur bones, and creating paper projects. I did get a few pictures at the museum before the battery on my camera died, but I haven't got them off my camera yet. Since we hadn't had any cake or anything in Missoula,I made a pumpkin roll for Jared on Sunday. It was a fun weekend. It's always good when busy season ends and we get to spend more time with Dad! We love him so much and hope he had a very happy birthday!

"Good Time" Prayers

I love listening to my kids say prayers. It is such an insight into the way their minds are working and what is important to them. Carter usually asks that we can have a good time at least 3 times if not 4 or 5 or 6 times in his prayers. Whether it's for everyone in general, or for Pason at school, or dad at work, or Eli, Mom, and him at home, he always blesses us to have a good time. I sometimes wish that I could go back to being 4 1/2 years old when the most important thing you had to worry about was having a good time!

More Pumpkins

For Family Home Evening tonight we made these super easy pumpkins. The boys were so excited that they got to make their very own Halloween/Harvest decorations.

Pumpkin Fun

Carter's Perfect Pumpkin



















Isn't that the saddest pumpkin you've ever seen.



















The 3 amigos Owen, Carter, and Gage.














We got smart after freezing our rear ends off at the pumpkin patch last year and decide to go a little earlier this time around. So this year we were sweating in 80 degree temps as we followed a bunch of 3, 4, and 5 year olds through the corn maze. Luckily they had a good sense of direction and we made it through pretty quickly. We also actually got to pick our pumpkins out of the patch rather than the barn this year because we haven't had a freeze yet. Carter had a good time trying to find the perfect pumpkin. Eli just liked any pumpkin he was close to and tried to pick them up like the big kids.

Fall Frenzy

Whew! Does anyone else feel like they haven't been able to stop and breathe since school started. Here's what we've been up to for the last 4 weeks....taking Pas to school, picking him up from school, doing pre-school with Carter, PTA meetings and responsibilities, canning salsa, freezing corn, making jam, apples waiting to be made into pie filling and applesauce, church callings, and meetings, doctors appointments, flag football, all those outdoor tasks that need to get done before it's too cold to do them, football games, homecoming parades, plus the usual laundry, cooking, cleaning, bill paying, shopping, diapers, and trying to spend some time with my kids (occasionally I even get to see my husband!)....it's nice to be busy, I just wish I had the energy my kids have to keep up with it all!

1st Day of 1st Grade

Pason started 1st grade on Thursday. He is excited to be back in school with friends. Carter is lonely but we are doing pre-school at home and he is enjoying that. Mom can't believe how fast summer went and is looking forward to getting back into a regular routine!

Campin' in the Beartooths

We did make it camping once this summer. We drove up the road a little ways and couldn't believe what we saw. If you have never been over the Beartooth Highway, put it on your bucket list. I can't believe we've lived so close for 6 years and never took advantage of the beautiful scenery and campgrounds. I won't even post pictures of all the lakes because my pictures don't do it justice but it was awesome! It was Eli's first camping trip and we invested in an infant backpack so we could do some hiking. It was a fun weekend filled with tinfoil dinners, smores, hiking and mosquitos. Can't wait to go again next year!

Carter and his 2-Wheels!

Carter really wanted to learn to ride a two wheeler this summer, so earlier this month we took him to the church parking lot and off he went. He still needs a little help getting started, but once he's going...look out!

Yellowstone 2010

On our way home from Idaho we decided to go through Yellowstone Park and make a day of it. We told the boys no dvd's because we had to watch for animals. They weren't too happy about that at first, but we gave them a map that also had all the animals you can find in Yellowstone and the search was on! We saw elk, bison, pelican, deer, chipmunks, and yes....even a bear. It took all day and a couple near misses. We just missed seeing a grizzly wtih 3 cubs at one point, and another time there were two adult grizzlies and two cubs, but they were too hard to see without binoculars. We had pretty much given up on seeing a bear and we were headed home when we came upon traffic stopped right in the road. Jared told me to get out and see what it was. I got closer and realized there was a black bear right on the side of the road. I am not a bear fan so I hurried back to the van and Jared, Pason, and Carter got out to take pictures. Hooray, we could leave the park with no disappointment! The boys also really enjoyed seeing all the thermal features. We did Old Faithful and then walked about 3 miles around the loop to see some of the other geysers. They did pretty good, but towards the end they had to take turns getting shoulder rides from dad. Pason asked if we saw everything and when we told him there was lots more to see, he asked if we could go again. I am glad that we could tell him we would definately do that.

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

So Pason and Carter left with my parents after Eli's birthday party to spend the week with them in Idaho. It was SO quite here that week. I loved being able to clean the house and have it stay clean for longer than 15 minutes, but we missed them. Especially Eli. He kept crawling to the gate by the stairs and looking to see if the were downstairs. However, I do think Eli enjoyed being at the center of Mom and Dad's attention for a whole week! Pason and Carter had a blast with their grandparents. They went for a picnic and hike (which was unfortunately cut short by Pason's allergies), went bowling, mini golfing, saw a movie, played in the water with uncle Erick, jumped on the trampoline, etc. Jared, Eli, and I drove down late Thursday night. Friday got up and all went fishing. We tried to do this last year with Grandma and Grandpa, and it took us several hours to catch one tiny fish. This year Grandpa did his research and found a stocked pond to go to. This time Pason caught a fish on his 2nd or 3rd cast. No one else even had their line baited yet. A few minutes later Pason had caught another. Then cousin Natalie caught one with Pason's pole. Carter was starting to get worried because he hadn't caught one, but a few minutes later, after Jared took him to his "lucky spot" he had caught one. Then another. Then Pason caught another, so of course Carter had to catch one more. If we hadn't been waiting for Erick to catch one I think we would have been done in less than an hour! Anyway they loved it! They even like eating the fish. Saturday we had family pictures taken and then had dutch oven dinner with all my siblings. Sunday my youngest brother Erick spoke in church before he was to leave for his mission in Guatamala. It was very enjoyable to visit with family. Monday we got up fairly early to go home by way of Yellowstone Park. I was afraid the boys would sleep the whole day after such a busy fun week, but they surprised me. I'll post more about Yellowstone later. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Rowan for such a fun time!

Eli is One!

My baby is already one! It is so unfair how that just happens so fast. It was crazy getting ready for his birthday because we only got home from the lake a few days before. Trying to figure out what to get him was tough. With 2 older brothers it seemed like we already had all the cool boy toys. Luckily we had gone through the toy boxes a month or so ago and thrown out some old and broken toys. So we no longer had any firetrucks. It was perfect! He loves pushing cars and trucks around right now. We also got him some stacking cups, a book, and pajamas. Grandma and Grandpa Rowan came up from Idaho to celebrate with us. They did the same thing they did for Pason and Carter, and got Eli his first teddy bear at Build-a-Bear. Pason and Carter really had more fun than Eli did...so did Mom! Now we have Bernie, Bagley, and the newest edition, Baxter! Eli was more interested in the cake than the presents. I made him a puppy dog cake, (sometimes I call Eli "Puppy" because he likes to crawl around with my slipper in his mouth!). After we sang he very hesitantly stuck one finger in the frosting. After doing that a couple of times he stuck two fingers in the frosting, then four fingers, and when he realized no one was stopping him he went for it with his whole hand! Isn't it funny how any other day that would just be a mess, but for a first birthday we take pictures, and laugh, and encourage it! Shortly after the party was over Grandma and Grandpa left, taking pason and Carter with them. So Eli got to be the center of attention for a whole week. He is my little buddy, at least when daddy's not around, then he's Daddy's little buddy. We love him so much!

Nothing beats the Lakewater!

We really debated whether to go to the lake for the 4th this year. The weather forecast was more like early May than the middle of summer, but since we stayed home last year we decided we would brave the cold. It didn't really warm up until the day we left, but we had fun anyway. As always there was good food, family, chatting by the fire, golf, boche ball, boating, fireworks, and injury. Jared tried his hardest to make it to the ER, but thankfully came just shy each attempt. The first night we were there he reached into the cosmetic bag and took off the very tip of his finger on his razor. Then Sunday morning he used the wrong contact solution and burned his eyeball. Luckily there happened to be an optomotrist sitting in front of us at church who gave us his cell # and looked at it later that day (yes on a Sunday, and on a holiday, and didn't even charge us! what a saint!) Anyway despite the injuries Jared still skied off the dock 4 of 5 tries. What a stud! Pason and Carter also had their first taste of water skiing. They put the trainer ski that Jared's cousin brought to good use. Thanks Katie and Matthew! It was really nice because they didn't even have to get wet(the water was only like 58 degrees). They both did good and had fun, but it seems Carter is more daring than Pason. He kept wanting to go again and even learned how to use his weight to turn. Eli kept everyone entertained with his jibber-jabber and he even learned how to climb stairs. Yikes! We didn't spend hardly any time in the water obviously, but I think everyone still had a good time. Maybe next year summer will arrive on time!

Super Swimmers

The end of June was swimming lessons for Pason and Carter. They both did very good. Pason can now float on front and back, and do the basic front crawl and backstroke on his own. They aren't technically great yet, but he's not drowning! He learned SO much. I finally felt like the money I shelled out for lessons was worth it this time. Carter also improved. He was able to go all the way under the water and was getting his floating down pretty well. I was really impressed with the lessons at the gymnastic school. The lessons were only 30 minutes long, but they were so organized and effective. Now we've just got to find time to make it to the pool once in a while so they can keep practicing!