Saturday, July 30, 2011

Kitties and Cows

Last weekend we drove to Wibaux, MT (population 480) and then drove past it to the ranch where my grandparents live (population 2). The girls had a blast playing with the kittens and "feeding" the cows. The weather was great and it was surreal seeing MY children play in the yard and run through the same pastures I did when I was their age.
Being out in the middle of nowhere can seem isolated, but it is also peaceful and makes for some great pictures.
Not that I know where it is, but I'm positive we have a picture of Courtney and I doing this exact thing.
There were many a toad (not frogs, toad per my grandma) up there this year and Hadley and Jo were all about playing with them.
Going to check on the cows. Hadley thought we were going to feed them but since God pretty much has that under control with growing the grass and all, we just got to watch them instead.
The ride was a little bumpy but I didn't hear any complaining!
The great thing about sitting in the middle is that you don't have to drive and you don't have to open the gate....
...Hadley didn't mind though.
We let the girls get out and play while Andy and Granddad fixed a gate.
And since there was water within 10 square miles, the girls were playing in it in record time. Don't worry, we wiped their hands off with a rag we found in the back of the truck. Good to go!
My husband....the comedian.
Another toad.
The girls fell in love with Granddad even more when he spun them on this chair for 20 minutes as Grandma watched nervously from the background.
They have 3 little kittens that Granddad feeds every morning in the house. It was by far Hadley's favorite part of the day.
For those of you who don't know, my mom loves cats and we had many growing up. Well, this is how we acquired said cats....Courtney and I would go stay in with Grandma and Granddad for a couple weeks and then we would come home with kittens (always 2 at a time). The first thing Andy said (pretty sure we hadn't even gotten out of the car yet) was that there was no way any cat of any size was leaving the ranch with us. He was right and we don't have any kittens with us, but it wasn't to say that Hadley didn't try. :)
Drinking "coffee" out of her special mug from Grandma.
Jo loves baked beans.....
HP Restaurant Part III--Pasta Bar and by far the best HP Rest. night thus far. Homemade everything....noodles, alfredo, pesto, and marinara. SO STINKING GOOD.
My mom is awesome and let us borrow her pasta machine. You crank the dough flat, then you crank out the noodles.
The finished (almost) product.
Making the pesto...
A full stove.
mmmmmmm
yummy yummy in our tummies!
See....
More to come soon! Love to you all!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Crazy Days

Last week we had one crazy day filled with fun. First we went swimming with Aunt Courtney at the Sheridan pool (a great place---cheap and it has a water slide and a great kiddie pool). Then we met Sarah and Isaac Finkle (great friends of ours) for dinner at the park and ice cream for dessert. Let's just say that Hadley and Joni slept good that night AND took awesome naps the next day.
Joni learning how to jump in.
Going down the kiddie slide...she prefers the feet-first-on-your-tummy position.
Hadley went down this slide probably a dozen times. Andy is so excited because we think he has his roller-coaster rider...I'll go on some but not all. Hadley isn't scared of anything tall or fast.
Jo didn't mind it either.
You can't see it very well but Hadley's face is great in this picture.
Hadley and Grace doing her favorite thing.
She is going to be a rock-climber too.
Joni still needs a little practice!
So after dinner and ice cream and swimming and swinging all day, we had to go to the store then we headed back to camp.
HP Restaurant part II--Chicken Kiev and Artichokes. This is one of Andy's specialties and we love to eat it but it takes a really long time to make. First you have to pound out the chicken...
Then you make a seasoned butter mixture, harden it in the fridge, then roll it up in the chicken. Then you bread it and fry the outside....
then after all that it needs to bake too.
The artichokes steaming....
And the finished product. It was delicious as usual.
We only have 3 short weeks left here at camp and we are trying to make the most of it. Andy is going to be painting all the wooden decks on the buildings around camp which should keep him busy until we leave. I joined an online-quilting bee and am pumped for it to start! Love to you all!