Playing at the Fair

We took the boys to the fair today and managed to hit all our favorite things. Darreck and Max went on the rides while Luke and I took a ton of pictures and wandered around the fine arts building. We also ate fried food for dinner and got ice cream at the 4H booth. It was also the first year in a long time where the weather was a beautiful, perfect 75 degrees. I was initially underwhelmed by the prospect of going, but I was so glad we went in the end. It's these types of memories that make up a childhood. Sometimes the things we do for the kids are expensive and inconvenient, but I wouldn't trade those memories for anything in the world. I love those boys more than they will ever understand, and I want them to know how important it is to our family to do things together.

Luke's 1st BIRTHDAY!

Today we celebrated our little man- our loving, laid-back, snugly, all-around wonderful Lukey-Lou who we love more than anything in the world. Once again, time has flown by, and I can't believe he's already one. Babies seem to change so much in that first year, not to mention all the milestones they hit, that it goes by faster than seems possible. I know it's a cliche, but it really does seem like he was born yesterday.

We've been so blessed to have Luke in our family this year. He's such a peaceful soul, always content to observe the world. He loves to cuddle, and he's rarely whiny or high maintenance. When he does get upset, he always has a very good reason and, unfortunately, he has been sick a fair amount this year. He's the suffer in silence type, which makes him all the more lovable.

For his birthday we bought him mostly cuddly animals, which fits his personality perfectly. Luke always wants something to hug! For me that means he wants me to hold him multiple times each night- still!- but it also means that he's good for a daytime snuggle, as well. It's an endearing quality.

However, lest you think he's nothing but marshmallow, the boy also knows how to have some fun, as you can see with his cake shots from today. The boy knows how to get down and dirty, and he definitely has plenty of boy in him.

Today we celebrated by taking him out to lunch at On the Border for Mexican food. It probably seems odd to take a one year old for Mexican, but the kid loves guacamole. We rolled with it :) That evening we had a small family party where we let him decimate his cake and open his presents. The party, in spite of being small, was loud and crazy and wild. So, in turn, Max was loud and crazy and wild. It's going to take us a few days to recover.

Here are the cake pics!

After we hosed him down we started in on the presents, which Luke only occasionally got a hand on. Max was... um... let's say, helpful ;)

Here's to decades more of birthdays, snuggles, and loves from our beautiful little boy!

The Yearly Pilgrimage to Choteau

It was another banner summer day for us. We spent the morning at the Farmer's Market and sidewalk sale, a family favorite for the past few years. It's actually kind of funny- I went to the sidewalk sale last year, very much pregnant, and commented to a friend that I was pretty sure that the baby wasn't coming out until he graduated high school. Luke was born that night :) It brought back some fun memories, but I was glad to have Luke on the outside this time around!

After the sale, we went on our yearly pilgrimage to Choteau. My mom was born in Choteau, and we always go back at least once every summer. Today we got our ice cream at the dinosaur museum first and then went over to the park. They have a great, old-fashioned park with a lot of equipment that Max hadn't seen before. He teeter-tottered his little heart out with Darreck and then almost made himself sick on the merry-go-round. Max also posed for some great pictures, even though Luke was a little more reluctant model.

After the playground, we ate dinner at the Log Cabin Cafe, a long-standing family favorite. I love that place! It has some serious Montana charm. We even sprung for pie after dinner and went home stuffed to overflowing. The boys were great on the ride there and back and, aside from smoke from a local forest fire, it was a wonderful summer day. I love visiting these small, Montana towns for a day or so, even as I'm glad I don't have to live there full-time, especially in the winter! Above all, I hope that the boys are still making great memories and developing a sense of family tradition.

More Summer Lovin'

This year has been so unique for our family. It's the first year we've had one relatively independant child, one we could easily pack around, and enough money for gas (which was usually the problem before we had kids)! So, at the outset of summer we created a summer "bucket list" and we've spent the week crossing off even more stuff.

Also, and this is very exciting to me, I got a new camera! Hooray for new toys! I volunteered to judge the 4H fair photography again, which always leaves me yearning for a nicer set up. On a lark, I checked craigslist for a used camera when I got home and found the perfect entry-level DSLR. I'm now the proud new owner of a Canon Rebel XSi. Expect a barrage of pictures in the coming months!

Here are some shots of us hanging out at Giant Springs, including Max getting a little too brave for my taste. Wonder where he got that from? Oh yeah, the monkey man in the tree :)

Here's Max's new wand that Darreck hand-carved for him:

And here's today's expedition to Belt Creek. Max got all the way up to his neck and was shaking all over, but he still refused to get out of the water. Love the enthusiasm! Luke's main focus was avoiding his nap, which he was largely unsuccessful at.