Thursday, August 11, 2016

Molly 4 months

Just like that, another month is gone.  Molly is now four months old! She has turned into such a happy, relaxed, and easy to please baby. She's so quick to smile and this month we got to hear her first real belly laughs. She still refuses to take a pacifier and we've officially given up. However, she seems to have found her thumb and is toying with the idea of using that instead! Her smile is huge and infectious. In fact, she smiles so big sometimes it almost looks like it hurts. She also decided this month that she enjoys the swing after all. I'll catch her swinging and looking up at the mobile with a big grin on her face. She greets me after waking up with a smile, even in the middle of the night. She sleeps through the night often (or close to it) but I honestly don't mind getting up with her once at night. I sort of enjoy that quiet time together with just she and I. 

Favorite photos this month:




Trying on the new dress I made for her









Finally moved from the bassinet to her crib this month. Now she has plenty of room to stretch!














It is becoming sort of a tradition for me to pull out the DSLR on her month-to-month anniversaries and having a little mini photo shoot. Yesterday she was in such a happy mood and I thought she looked so darling.








I love her eyes in these ones

This one is one of my very favorites.  






Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Idaho/Montana family vacation

Every year we try to spend a decent amount of time at my parents' cabin. We always wish we had more time up there, so this year we decided to turn it into our family vacation and stay an entire week. We had all been looking forward to this trip for a long time, and it really ended up being such an amazing trip. Usually I am looking forward to coming home and sleeping in my own bed, etc. But at the end of this week I was seriously sad about coming home. The boys kept asking if we could spend the rest of the summer at the cabin. I wish!

 Day 1: Four-wheeling to one of our favorite spots, the Indian meadow, Big Springs to feed the fish, and sunset on the top of Mount Sawtell.

Just like his older brother Bode used to do, Davis fell asleep on our ride:

Bode somehow managed to scare all of the annoying seagulls away with a stick and we got to enjoy our time at Big Springs in peace! We even saw the muskrat, which we haven't seen in a few years.


We'd never been at the top of Sawtell at sunset before and it was so beautiful! The colors kept changing as the sun went down and the view up there is always incredible.




Day 2: Yellowstone Falls and Firehole 

Playing around during our picnic stop in Yellowstone 

Our favorite line of the day was when we drove by a geyser and Bode said, "It smells like hot pigs!" :)

View of Tower Falls at the beginning of the Yellowstone Falls trail





The boys thought it was pretty cool throwing rocks over the edge

 On to swimming! The boys loved jumping off of the rocks in this calmer section at Firehole.

The rapids are always a hit, and Davis even jumped in and loved them this year!

Day 3: Hanging out at cabin, West Yellowstone, Playmill Theatre


Picking out a new rock at his favorite place: the rock shop

Mary Poppins at the Playmill! I hadn't been to the Playmill since right after graduating high school, so it was a lot of fun to go back. The kids liked the music and I caught Bode singing along a few times. Davis was tired by the end and had to be taken out about 20 minutes before the show ended, but overall, it was a good time.

 Day 4: Campfire Lodge, Wade and Cliff Lakes, horseback riding

Not a bad view waiting for our table at breakfast





Wade Lake: such a beautiful place! The water felt amazing and is such a gorgeous color.





Molly had a blow out on the beach, so she got to dip her toes in the buff.



Horseback riding

I should probably do a post about this all on its own because it was so much fun and we have so many pictures! My parents used to take us to the Diamond P Ranch when I was growing up, and I still remember how much I loved it. I wasn't sure what our boys would think, but I was really hoping they would love it too. Bode was a bit nervous about the idea at first, but as soon as we got there, both he and Jackson were so excited. Horseback riding ended up being one of (if not the biggest) highlights of the trip.


Jackson and Turkey, Bode and Hurricane (who he nicknamed "Peanut"), Sean and Lonestar, and Jenny and Nikita



Bode got to ride in the front with our guide, and he loved it. These two chatted the entire time, and I think Bode idolized him a little bit. "Cowboy" was added to his list of career choices when he grows up, so I'd say it was a success :)

These are a few of the photos from the cd we bought from the photographer from the ranch. We don't usually buy stuff like this, but Sean randomly decided to, and I am so glad because there are so many great photos!






I think these two make pretty cute cowboys :)




 Day 5: Canoeing, visiting family





 We saw a mama moose with her twins!

You can see them over Sean's shoulder on the left in this photo:

Seriously perfect weather. Not too hot, partly cloudy, and calm. It was such a beautiful day.

Molly rocking with grandpa on the front porch


 Day 6: Fishing, Virginia and Nevada Cities

Sean and Jackson started their day fly fishing near the cabin. Jackson had never fly fished before and he had a great time waking up early and going with his dad. If you look really closely, they are the two little dots in the river. 


The other boys and I four-wheeled to meet them a little later on. 

Just a cute, random picture of Molly and Sean at the cabin

Virginia City

Checking out the graves of some of the infamous outlaws that were hung and buried on Boot Hill.

A local rock shop owner was talking to us about Montana garnets and how they are everywhere. He offered to take us right outside and show us how to spot them and we were able to collect a bunch!



Homemade ice-cream at a cool shop that had all sorts of cool pulley systems configured to churn the ice cream.

Nevada City

We walked through the old village in Nevada City and unfortunately I didn't take many pictures. The highlights were definitely the music room (a room with a bunch of antique automated music machines), where we played every machine that was still operational, the school house where the boys played the old-fashioned game where you roll a wooden hoop with a stick), chasing a bunny around the town, and this double decker outhouse. 

Bull moose we saw on our way back to the cabin

Davis loved the hammock at the cabin and would yell at you to go away if you disturbed him :)

It really was such a fun week. I may have even cried a little bit going home. So many fun new memories made and such a nice break from the heat at home and the daily grind. Jackson said it best when he said, "I love it here because it's like every day is the weekend." I'm so grateful my parents have this place and share it with us. We can't get back soon enough!