Santa Claus

Yesterday we went to take pictures with Santa. Tyse and my niece Keelie were the only ones that would actually sit on Santa's lap, but Lex would have nothing to do with him. It was really funny and cute!

Introducing Baby Henry!

We are very excited to introduce "Henry" into our cattle family. Alexus' cow "Bubbles" had her calf ten days ago. He really is adorable but with the sub-zero temperatures we have been having they have been staying at the neighbors. Here are a few pictures of them, along with our longhorn, Rapunzel.

Lexus

In October, I took pictures for a benefit rodeo and we enter Alexus in the kids Barrel Racing. She won third place, and if this video worked, this was her third run. She was pretty excited and I was so proud of her for competing!

Halloween

I know I'm a little late, but I had to post these. Lex was a maiden and Tyse an alligator. My niece Keelie was Daphne.

Labor Day Camping

For Labor Day, we were finally able to go camping! I'm still trying to figure out this whole slide show thing. The kids had a blast fishing, roasting marshmallows, helping cook, and digging for crystals at Crystal Park and being outdoors. Lex enjoyed taking pictures with an old digital camera that worked okay. I think that will be our last trip as fall is settling in.

August Recap

It has been a busy and crazy summer, so I thought that I would recap a bit. August has been an eventful month with visits and illnesses and exciting events. I started with month by photographing my first wedding professionally. Thank you so much to Kathy (Alexus and Tyse's grandma) for watching the kiddos for me! It was very exciting and a lot of work, but hopefully the beginning of more to come. Both of brothers announced their engagements - Jake will be married in October of this year and Brian will be married in September 2010. It was somewhat of a shock but a pleasant one.
I have been painting my dining room and the kids' rooms, which they are very excited about and I need to get some pictures on here to show. Tyse wanted a cowboy/train room and Lex wanted a colorful horse/princess room. It was quite the task.
Alexus contracted "Fifth Disease" which is a mildly contagious rash that lasts about a week the day after I was done photographing the wedding (always a good thing) and I fell off my horse for the first time while riding bareback and trying to go faster than I should have. Its somewhat funny now, but a little nerve racking when it happened. Oh well, thats when you get back in the saddle and keep going!
Tyse is now potty trained and is not even using diapers at night! I am very proud of him and very excited at the prospect of being done with diapers! Lex also started 1st grade today so we are back in the swing of things and the stock yards will be picking up which will be nice to be back to a fairly normal routine. As soon as I get my pictures downloaded, I will post them of Lex's first day of school.
I have been battling pneumonia for the past two weeks so I am hoping to have some energy in the next little while. My mom has been here for about a week which has been wonderful!

Our Garden

Towards the end of June and into July, the kids and I finally finished our very tiny little garden. We had to mix 9 bags of garden soil into our sandy soil and build a fence to keep out the dogs. We planted some corn, cantaloupe, and different squash and some flowers. Unfortunately, two days after we planted we had frost, so I'm not sure if the squash is going to make it. I guess we will see!

Cherries

When my grandma was up before heading to Minnesota in June, she brought up some cherries. The kids loved them, almost too much! It was so funny to see them and all the juices running down their little faces!

Academy Graduation

Shawn graduated from the police academy in June. He was in Helena for three months while going through basic training. Now he will be able to excel in his career more quickly than before, he did really well and worked amazingly hard. It was such a great accomplishment for him and I am very proud of him too!

Shawn in all his gear (he enjoyed carrying a gun)

Shawn and I

Shawn and his parents

Shawn and our friend Sterrin

50th Anniversary

I haven't posted for a while so here we go. My grandparents' 50th Wedding Anniversary was in June. It was great to see practically everyone - it was a sort of mini-reunion, with only one cousin missing from the immediate family. Although the weather was hot and humid, we managed to have a little fun!

Tyse snoozing

My Uncle Jeff, cousin Maria, and his wife Maria with my grandparents

My Uncle Jay, Aunt Cel, their son Brad and grandson Randy (their daughter Amanda is the only one missing)

My Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Tammy, their sons Josh and Jarod with my great-grandma Mabel and grandparents

My Mom, with all her kids and grandkids (Keelie, Jacob, Mom, Brian, Tyse, Me, Alexus) and my grandparents and great-grandma

5 Generations

The Happy Couple

Graduation

Lex and Ms. Riordan









The graduating class












So Serious






Last Day of School























1st Day of School












Last Wednesday was Alexus' graduation. It was so cute to see all the kindergartners singing and growing and moving on to the 1st grade. Lex was so excited and very happy to done with school! Grandma Kathy came and so did Grandpa Kenny. They were so proud of Lex. She has grown so much and I am so proud of her too!

Picture Day

So over the weekend I decided it would be really fun to take pictures of the kids and I with our horse Barley. Well, considering it nap time and lunch time, the kids didn't do too bad. Towards the end it got a little hairy, but we made it through and ended up with some great pictures. Here are a few.

The Great Worm Expedition

With the Memorial Holiday, the kids and I were able to stay home so I decided to break-in my new, used jogging stroller. It rained through out the night so it was a little muddy and the worms were out. The kids were pretty excited, but a little grossed out. Tyse held his first worm and that was also his last worm. Lex wouldn't go anywhere near it.