Something Random

I looked in my photo folder adn saw a bunch of great pictures I haven't posted yet, so here they are in no particular order:

James takes a bath in the sink!
He loves baths! All three of my kids are such water babies...
Don't forget to get behind your ears!
Heidi & Addie on June 18, 2007
What they're doing: Greeting Daddy as he comes home for lunch on his birthday
What they're wearing: I made them three different skirts for summer this year and let them choose the fabrics. This yellow fabric was Heidi's choice.

"Yay, Dad!"

Rich took this photo of the moonrise over Livingston--

isn't it beautiful!?!

So You Think You Can Camp...

All I heard about getting ready for our spur-of-the-moment camping trip Friday was something about "get the kids' clothes and the bedding, pack stuff for s'mores and cheap breakfast tomorrow." So I did all that on Thursday night and Friday morning--packed some snacks, lots of water, the 7-Up and Root Beer left over form July 4th, pink marshmallows and fudge stripe cookies, two kinds of cereal, a half-gallon of milk, bananas, apples, baby food, and formula.

Rich thought I'd taken care of Saturday's lunch, too, and we would stop for dinner on the way into Yellowstone. But I didn't take care of Saturday's lunch, so we had to split our budget up for two meals, which meant some interesting choices from the grocery store near the North entrance to the park, and then McDonald's in Columbus on the way home. But it was sooo much fun! We left later than we thought we would (Rich had to work until 5 instead of 3 or 4), and we were all hungrier than we thought we would be, and we didn't get camp set up until after 9pm so we didn't build a fire. Shucks! But the snuggly night's sleep in the tent as a family and the STUNNING scenery we would experience the next day made up for everything! If you can swing it, you simply MUST drive the Beartooth Highway in early summer! It was beautiful.

Our three sillies in the tent

Heidi the Cookie Monster

James discovered cookies on this trip...

...oooo, those are YUMMY!

Here we are helping Addie write in her Hello Kitty journal, having cookies and milk before bed.

Heidi's Big Grin
Addie trying to "haunt" us with her flashlight and scary eyes
At about 7am I went to the 'throom, and this is what I found when I came back:

Sleeping Beauties!

And my two boyz hanging' out in the tent.
We got up and got dressed and Heidi tried to tell us which way to go using this map. (There is a video of this I will post later).
Kids and the tent

Our pretty spot in the woods at the Crazy Creek campground in Wyoming (which we shared with 7.9 million mosquitos--thank heaven for Deep Woods OFF!). It was very near the western end of the Beartooth Highway
Toward the top of the highway we saw pretty little lakes like these--the Chain Lakes
Looking out from the Top of the World--it's like a lush Grand Canyon!


Rich & James (Addie on the left) taking a walk at the look-out ledge
We Were There.
Me and the kids looking out over the last quarter of the highway before we got to Red Lodge, MT (doncha love our camping hair?!?).

Heidi and Addie watching chipmunks and saying "It's a long way down!"
Entertaining little chipmunks at the look-out.
Miles and miles of this breath-taking scenery...

We enjoyed the drive, and ended up in Red Lodge at about 11am. We took the kids to Magpie Toys--a neat little place on Main Street, where they bought toys with their own money. We got drinks and headed a few miles north to visit with my former Mia Maid teacher, Teresa Oliphant and her husband Brent. Sadly I didn't have the presence of mind to take a photo , but hopefully we will see them again soon! We drove to Columbus at about 1pm and got Happy Meals for the girls and got home in time to take a nap before I had to work at 6pm. It was delightful and I thank my husband for taking us on an adventure!

More Photos coming soon...Happy Monday!

So Long

We had a wonderful 4th of July--details and photos coming soon--and now we're off like a herd of turtles to camp at Cooke City and drive the Beartooth Highway tomorrow and be home in time for me to work tomorrow night!Hope all is well with all y'all!

Drink lots of water and stay out of the sun!...

What A Day

First of all, Happy 10th Anniversary to Laura & Darrin! They are at the Comfort Inn and their boys are sleeping here.

Secondly, Happy Birthday to my dear friend, the the always clever, ever-darling Ms. Erin Casper over in England. I have a special post inside my head for you. I'll get it out later.

Thirdly, we now have tenants at our house! You heard me. Two Slovakian grad students (a couple--Zuzana & Peter) came here to work through September and their housing fell through. One of their employers is a friend in our ward and she begged us to consider renting out our guest room and bathroom to them for the summer. We met with them last night, made an agreement ($250/month--which made me think, by the way, Gram and Gramp, what I would owe you after living with you for 30 months--$7500), and they moved in tonight. I keep thinking how fun it will be when Brother and Sister Blatter get home from their mission to Slovenia/Croatia this month--Gramma Suzie, you'll have to come over LOTS!

So how crazy is THAT? We got a good feeling about it and I think it will turn out to be a blessing for all involved. Now, to bed so I can rest up for a WILD INDEPENDENCE DAY! Live it up, y'all (after you look at these pix):

A bucket-o-holiday cheer from my crafty friend Jenn

The vintage cowgirls on the guest bathroom wall

Oops, I need to rotate this, but it's for Jill! I got my soda in this cup at the mini mart the very day after I watched that silly old DP commerical on your blog! Better drink your DP at 10, 2 & 4!

We got the guest room all pretty for Aunt Marti and my sis Lisa to come visit, and now it's rented out and they will have to sleep in the nursery! (Which is almost as cute & comfy... )

Where Peter & Susana will sleep

The "Cowgirl Bathroom"- now rented out!

(Do you love the real live horse shoe from the ranch hanging above the toilet as if to wish you GOOD LUCK in your bathroom endeavors?)

Have a great Independence Day! I'll report back ASAP!

PS: There is a pattern for paper pinwheels here (click). Basically, you need double sided scrapbooking paper cut in a square, then you cut diagonally from the corners to the center, bend, and pin with a brad. BBQ skewers make great sticks and are really cheap!

Giddyup! It's the Livingston Roundup Parade!

Every year, we celebrate Independence Day earlier than the rest of America with the always-awesome Roundup Parade. It's always on July 2nd and kicks off both the rodeo and the crazy-town 4th-of-July partying. It's pretty much my favorite thing about Livingston in the summer (besides the weather). It's something I used to dream of growing up in Arizona (where if you walked more than a block at 3pm on July 2nd, the paramedics would have to revive you from the heat stroke...either that or a lightning strike). Anyway, here are some pix of our kids enjoying the parade with their friends from church. Addie & her friend Boston
Addie, Boston, Heidi, and Alex (Boston's brother, whom Heidi adores and calls "Ally-jander")
Addie drinkin' a cold one wearing the lei's we made on Sunday
Crazy Lynners and Ally-Jander
(Ally-Jander and Boston have a baby brother, Ian, & their family recently moved up from Tempe/ASU where their Daddy learned to be an engineer).
James wating for the fun to begin!

"We've got a Piper down!..."
Sarah, Boston, Addie, & Heidi with Scary-fun Shriner clowns
They'll be great rodeo queens someday--look at those regal waves!
(Jacob Bates & Ferguson Jeffrey look on)

Michaela Claar passing out candy from her Grandma's float (her Gram runs the Loaves & Fishes soup kitchen here in town where our ward volunteers a couple times a month).
Heidi being her chatty, entertaining self.
A really darling bunch of kids:

Lincoln Jeffrey, Sarah Bates, Curtis Jeffrey, Jacob Bates, Ferguson Jeffrey, Oliver Jeffrey, Addie, Boston Wisor, Heidi, and Alex Winsor (plus there were 3 babies James' age and Alex's friend Emerson in the background with the parents ).

Such Fun!

Cowboys vs. Rednecks

I have made solemn vows to myself as a city girl to avoid becoming (or even becoming confused with) a country girl. Vows like not wearing big bangs or a crunchy perm or cowboy boots. Or not listening to modern country music. Or never, not EVER attending a rodeo.

But I am starting to rethink that last vow. I have finally drawn a distinction between real cowboys and the rednecks who pose as cowboys. For instance, at a rodeo, the cowboys would be showing off thier skills and competing with other cowboys, while the rednecks sat in the stands and drank beers and acted like fools.

I have a growing respect for cowboys and --especially--cowgirls. Last week we went to watch a round up and branding. My friend Summer and her husband help run a HUGE ranch in Springdale, and they are also allowed to keep 10 of their own cattle on the ranch. Of course those cows have bred several more calves and they needed to keep some over at our ranch. So we went to watch the whole process, and Summer's husband brought along the cub scouts he leads to teach them how it's done. It was so cute to see those little boys give the calves shots and then brand them!

But the coolest thing of all was to see Summer up on her horse roping the calves and dragggin' them over to get branded. She looked like a super hero and I was soooo impressed. Suddenly I realize what rodeos are all about (see, I told you I was a city girl). It's a place where hard workin' ranch people develop and show off the skills that make them successful. And that is an awesome and enviable skill set.

I am thankful for people who work hard to literally give us our daily bread. And burgers. Cattle ranching and wheat farming are two things we do a lot of here in Montana--well, I mean OTHER people do a lot of here in Montana-- and I have such respect and gratitude that there are still people in the world willing to work something other than 9-5, to keep family farms, to know the land, care for animals and do way more than their fair share to keep the humans alive.

Summer, you're my hero (and not just because you're doing an awesome job as Primary President). Maybe I'll see you at a rodeo someday!

Father's Day Rewind

We gathered at Mom Melin's house to celebrate Father's Day and Rich's birthday with dinner, cake, and gifts. Mom made roasted chickens and we all brought salads and sides. It was great fun. Uncle Mike talks to James as Uncle Davey looks on...Addie, Rich & Heidi are in the background.

Dad Melin opens his new LL Bean shortwave radio with hand crank.
Rich's father's day gift was an apron that says "I love the smell of propane in the morning", a bbq mit, a long basting brush, and laminated grilling tips.
We gave Dad Melin this Tshirt that says, "If you can read this, you must be at the diamond bar seven ranch!"
Rich blew out his candles (with help)...we realized we can use the 3 and the 6 for everyone's birthdays this year (besideds James)--Heidi is 3, Addie is 6, and Rich and I are 36 this year!
Rich also got a shortwave radio...he's very excited. I'm telling you, this is the place to be in a disaster. The Melin boyz are mad about preparedness.
Peek-a-boo, Heidi sees you!
Rich's birthday gift from us was this Coleman kitchen. It has a place for a sink, a little counter for your stove top, and racks to dry towels and hang a lantern.

Happy Birthday & Father's Day to the best Daddy in the world!

Meme-a-holics Anonymous

My new e-friend Kristen tagged me, and to her joy (I hope) I did TWO memes from her blog, Diary of a Shoe Addict.

The first: FOOD. I live in Livingston, Montana, less than an hour from the north gate of Yellowstone Park. Our culture is pretty meat-and-potatoes (literally, since it's cold and poatoes like it here, and there are lots of cows and Bison running around), but there are still a good variety of restaurants for such a small town.

1. Montana's Rib & Chop House: conveniently attacehd to the Chamber of Commerce Building, just a yard or two off the Northern Pacific Railroud tracks, Rib & Chop has straight up delicious food. A great blend of hearty Montana food and healthy gourmet stuff, Rib & Chop hits the spot anytime we can afford it! My favorite? Baseball-cut sirloin (they grillit then pour herb butter on it--to die 4) with a house salad with huckleberry dressing, and TWO sides: squah casserole and wild mushroom stuffing. The charbroiled chicken breast is almost as good as the steak and I get it often, too, and the cedar plank salmon.

2. Fiesta en Jalisco: Proof that God loves this Arizona girl--he sent a huge Mexican family to Montana to (a) buy lots of insurance from my husband and (b) open a yummy authentic Mexican restaurant--they even made me love mole! My faves are their Picadillo soft corn tacos, their cabbage salsa (think mexican kimchi without the rotting), and the chicken mole. Delish.

3. Rosa's Pizza: great pizza, dine in or deliver

4. The Pickle Barrel: great sandwiches, soups (steak chili--mm, mm, good! Melts the Montana winter into oblivion, at least for a few minutes), and beverages.

5. And last but never least, Mark's In-n-Out, the main drag attraction open every spring and summer for the past 55 years. Think Happy Days, but with almost no parking. Lots of walk ups and hanging out, eating burgers, shakes, fries, vanilla cokes and all that classic drive-in stuff.

***

Back in the Day: A Meme From Kristen

I got this meme from shoeaddict, and since I have my 1984-1989 Journal just sittin’ here, I thought it would be fun to write about THE EIGHTH GRADE. Holy Hannah…1984...

1. Who was your best friend? Susan Shanks (Hi, Sooz!!)

2. Who did you like? At the beginning of the year, I had a crush on Isaac Quinn and Ryan Farnum, and at the end of the year I was “going with” (“going where?…”) Ben Turner.

3. What sport did you play? I was a musical theatre geek, so instead of sports I had 2-hour song and dance rehearsals everyday and instead of games I had shows.

4. Did you buy your lunch? Yep, at the “snack bar” which was cooler than “hot lunch” but much less nutritious. I often got a chocolate shake and either a bagel or a burrito, into which I would smash Laura Scudder’s Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips.

5. It's Friday night, where are you? Sleeping over at Susie’s, watching VHS tapes of shows I wasn’t allowed to watch at home (mostly MTV—especially “120 Minutes” or Late night with David Letterman, which was on at midnight back then so we couldn’t watch it on school nights and would have to catch up with weekend highlights) and eating Doritos or Jack in the Box Tacos and drinking Coke.

6. Were you a party animal? As much as possible in the 8th grade, in middle-class suburbia... no sex, drugs, drinking”—DITTO. People always thought I was on drugs because I was so silly, but I never did drugs, not ever.

7. Skip school? Not without a note from my mom.

8. Did you get suspended/expelled? "Never... the teachers LOVED me!”—DITTO. I’m the girl that missed 162 days of high school and still graduated with a B average.

9. Can you sing the alma mater? We didn’t have one that I can recall.

10. What was your favorite class? I guess it was my music class with Mr. Gabriel since I can’t even remember any other teachers. Oh, except Mr. Sandoval, the funny art teacher.

11. What was your schools full name? Joseph W. Magee Junior High School (Now it’s a middle school, which is the absolute WORST invention of the late 20th century—it should be a crime to take 6th graders out of elementary school—infact, I am an advocate of small K-8 schools myself. Middle schools contribute to the trend of kids growing up too soon and I think it’s tragic).

12. Did you go to the dances? I only remember going to one school dance besides the “8th Grade Prom”—which I attended with Ben in a lavender (could you DIE) dropwaist (I KNOW) dress complete with crocheted gloves (ACK!) and ballet flats.

13. If you could go back in time and do it all over would you? Not for every dime in Bill Gates’ bank account. It was fun and everything, but I’ve enjoyed my adulthood so much more.

14. What do you remember most about 8th grade? I remember my braces, hanging out with Susan, kissing boys, and knowing my family was falling apart.

15. Favorite memory in 8th grade? The California trip with our little song-n-dance group where we performed a bunch of places and wore out the grown ups (my mom was a chaperone and that was so fun).

16. Where did you go most often for lunch? The caff, dude.

17. What did you do on the last day of school? Heck, it was 17 years ago…I can’t remember. I think we left for Disneyland the next day though…my journal says Thursday June 5th and school usually got out on a Wednesday, so…I probably packed!

18. Did you like 8th grade? I suppose I did. I was anxiety-ridden, but I had a lot of good experiences.

Heidi-ism

Heidi has been obsessed with maturation lately...I can't get her to stop talking about hair in her armpits and boobs. She always asks if she can "feel the pokies in your armpits" (I am hoping that doesn't get blurted out in sacrament meeting).

I overheard this the other morning:

[Rich was changing Heidi's diaper]
Heidi: Dad, when I grow up, I'm gonna have hair on my armpits...
Rich: Yep.
Heidi: And hair on my bum...
Rich: Probably.
Heidi: And I will have big boobs, just like you! High five!

[Rich laughed really hard, but didn't really think man-boobs deserved a high-five. And I did get his permission to repeat this story]