Summer 2009

My summer, like many of yours, want by fast. I don't usually vacation much in the summer so I can go in the fall. This year it just worked out differently. In June I went to my cousin's wedding. I drove across Montana to see my sister and her family at the end of July (2,300 miles round trip). In August my sisters came to visit me, as many of you already know. We spent four days at Wallowa Lake, very relaxing!!!! I had a great summer, but I can honestly say I'm ready for fall, my favorite time of each year. Enjoy Round-up for those of you in Pendleton. Maybe you'll see another post or two from me before the year has ended.......

More Montana Memories

Everyday I would torture (the children's word, not mine) the kids and make them go with me to do a photo shoot (need pictures for the calendar you know). It was amazing to me how the girls would pose nice and smile, but the days when I could grab "the boy" for a few shots I got the silly, fun and spontaneous pictures. I LOVED IT, except when I really did want just one posed picture of the three of them, that didn't go so well.

It was just fun to let them climb and pose and do whatever they wanted. I just kept taking pictures. I know for some of you that comes naturally, but I came from the family where pictures were taken around the dinner table at each birthday party. Cameras weren't considered a part of everyday life. When I actually break from the "family norm", I get some really fun pictures and memories too.

The picture above makes me laugh everytime I see it. I can hear Will saying, "Aunt Jo, hurry take a picture of my "man bridge"!" With his voice changing and cracking, it was just funny to me.

I was trying to get the whole picture, but just as I snapped the shot, Spike (Mom and Dad's dog) jumped off. They were quite a site, the three of them riding out to the highway to get the mail.

Dakotah "hammed" it up a little when she jumped on Grammi's toy tractor and tried to ride it around the carport.

See, when it was just the girls, they posed and smiled. These were fun too, as Saige would dream up the next pose and Dakotah and I would tag along for fun.

Huckleberry Season

Renee and I spent the day picking huckleberries. I went last year with Renee and Ronda and I told them "been there, done that". This year was much more enjoyable. The berries are plentiful, the spot we picked was flat and we didn't have too much trouble finding shade to keep us cool. It was a very enjoyable day.

I picked just over a gallon of berries, much better than the crop I picked last year. I think I have this whole berry pickin' thing figured out. Don't go on Renee's first day - instead wait until the second day. She's a little bit tired and it's a lot easier when trying to keep up with her. She still out picked me, but that was a given before we even started. I'm proud of my silver medal finish.

I did manage to get distracted towards the end of our adventure. Found these cute little strawberries and I mean little tiny!

Yes, that's Renee peeking out from behind a tree. She just kept a pickin'. It was so hard to leave because there were so many berries still around us. We just couldn't pick them all.

Here's about half of my picked crop. I don't know what I'm going to do with my 16 cups of berries, but I'm looking forward to at least one huckleberry cobbler!

Buddy's Birthday

I don't know who likes his birthday more, Buddy or his Mom.

Renee's Birthday

The Queen turned another year younger and yes we celebrated. Carla crowned her and she proudly wore it all through dinner and evening festivities. We love you Renee, so glad we had a chance to get together, why we think we need a reason, I'll never know!

Happy 16th Birthday Dakotah

Wow, my niece is 16 years old today. Just doesn't seem possible. The day she was born, I sat at my Mom and Dad's dining room table, waiting to hear the good news. My sister had to be taken to Denver, Colorado because she had a 25 pound cyst that had to be removed along with little Dakotah.

Everything went well and here we are today, celebrating 16 years!

Happy Birthday Koda. I love you and miss you very much!