Camping Pics

Camping Family

Cheesy Pason

Carter Enjoying Biscuits and Gravy

Beautiful!

The Great Outdoors

We finally got to go camping in our new tent last weekend! We left Friday afternoon and after what seemed like an endless drive on a dirt/gravel road we made it to a wonderful, beautiful campsite (Jared said not to tell where, if you want to know you'll just have to go camping with us sometime). It really wasn't that long of a drive, but Jared wasn't exactly sure where he was going and I was sure we were lost. We found a campsite and began the job of setting up the tent. It is a huge ten-man tent and it took us a little while to figure it all out, but now that we've done it tle once it shouldn't be so bad. Next came my favorite part of camping...the food. Pason and Carter roasted hot dogs. Then we had to move to the back of the van to eat while a thunderstorm passed. Luckily it didn't rain hard enough to put out our fire and when the storm was over our tin foil dinners were perfectly done! We then went for a short hike and came back for smores and dutch oven cobbler. Carter was so excited that he could be just like his big brother and pee on a tree. In the morning we had hot chocolate and biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Then we broke camp and went for another hike before we came home. The hikes were pretty short with a 4 and 2 year-old, but it was a really beautiful hike. You were right alongside the river with it's rapids and little waterfalls set deep down in a canyon. We got some good pictures. We all had fun and wish we could have stayed longer!
Having trouble uploading again. Photos coming soon!

To Bunk, or Not to Bunk?

That is the question. Saturday we bought new bunk beds for the boys. I thought that we would put both beds in Pason's room in an L shape. They don't fit that way. We could put them parallel on opposite walls, but that doesn't leave much room. Pason of course wants them bunked. That would leave plenty of room, but I am afraid we will end up with broken limbs. Carter is fearless and I can just see a couple of super heroes thinking it's fun to "fly" off the bed. Right now I am leaning towards keeping both boys in their own rooms. They don't want that, but it's the only way we would be able to continue nap time/quite time.

Potty Training

We are one week into potty training with Carter. It is slow going, but we are seeing progress. He doesn't do very well remembering to tell us when he needs to go, so it's more Mommy-training with me taking him to the bathroom every half hour. He does go almost everytime we put him on the toilet and there have been a few times in the past couple of days that he has gone in the bathroom and got on the toilet all by himself. I think he'll catch on because he loves to do everything on his own. The biggest surprise of all was when I picked him up from nursery yesterday, certain that his pull-up would be wet after 2 hours, and found him dry! I am excited about the prospect of not having to change diapers for the first time in 4 and a half years!

4th of July Fun!

We had a great time at Flathead Lake last week for the Pfeifer Family Reunion. I think there were around 45 people at the height of the weekend. We golfed, waterskied (I kneeboarded for the first time!),ate, did fireworks, tubed, ate, played croquet, threw horseshoes, ate, visited, hot tubbed, ate, golfed, skied, and ate some more. We also got to leave the kids with Michelle one night and go to Big Fork for dinner and a show. We saw Footloose which was good except for the lead who played Ren was a little flat and couldn't dance. How can you have the lead in Footloose and not be a good dancer? I mean that's what it's all about! Okay I know I may be a little over critical being a dancer myself. Really it was very enjoyable. The next day we took the little boys to see WALL-E. Most of the adults were unimpressed and even a little bored, but Pason and Carter liked it. Kyler loved the popcorn! I've never seen such a little kid eat so much popcorn in one sitting! The boys liked the fireworks this year although the later it got Pason complained that they were too loud and too bright. They both fell asleep before we were through. The excitement of the night came when one of the fireworks got tipped over and shot right through us. We took cover and sheilded the young'uns. Grandpa's boat got hit a couple of times, but luckily no one was hurt, including the boat. As always, the week went by too fast. It was good to see family and a big thanks out to everyone who worked to make it happen!

Sharing the Gospel

Okay, so I guess I got the message. On Wednesday when I was changing the background on my blog I saw these graphics with links to church websites and thought "maybe I should put one of those on my blog". Then yesterday the July Ensign came. I sat down and skimmed through it as usual and came across Elder Ballard's article about using the internet to share the gospel. I thought "I really should put one of those graphics on my blog". Last night we fed the missionaries and after being grilled about who we could share the gospel with I thought "I am going to put one of those graphics on my blog". So if you will notice, on the right side of my blog...ta da! I am also going to encourage anyone who reads this to add a church graphic/link to their blog if you don't have one already. I think pretty much everyone who reads my blog is a member, but maybe that won't always be the case, and I'm sure it's not the case for all of you. I found this at www.leeloublogs.blogspot.com. It's a small thing we can do, but sometimes sharing the gospel starts with just small things right?

Quick Update

We had a great trip across the mountains last week. Jared had a conference in Kalispell and we all got to go. Grandma and Grandpa Gage were there too. We went to the park, saw Kung Fu Panda, and swam in the pool everyday. I put ear plugs in Carter's ears because with his tubes he really doesn't like water in his ears. When we were out of the pool and sitting in the hot tub Grandma took the plugs out of his ears and Carter said, "Oh! Now I can see!"
On Friday afternoon we headed to the lake (Flathead Lake). Unfortunately, due to the cold spring the water was freezing! Only 62 degrees! So we just made cobbler, had a fire, went for a couple boat rides and golfed. I think 18 holes was a bit much for me. I just hope this sunburn turns into a nice tan! We are so lucky because we get to go back and have more fun at the lake next week! Hopefully the water will warm up a little so we can enjoy it a bit more!