End-of-School Cousin Celebration

The girls got out of school at 11:45am on June 4th, so we headed over to Helena to celebrate with our Postum & Lehman Cousins (who still had 3 days of school). We got to go with Aunt Amie to pick up Jake and we played on the playground for a while. Then we went back to Post's house and played some more while Aunt Amie made us a yummy chicken taco dinner (for which the Lehmans joined us). It was such a nice visit--thanks for the luvs, Amie & Laura!Best Buddies James and Sammy
I couldn't get Sammy to look at the camera!

More Cousin Pals: Jake and Heidi, our big six-year-old kindergarten grads! (Heidi is wearing Addie's shoes--silly!)

Heidi blowing bubbles in front of Aunt Amie's pretty tulips

Sadly, this is my only shot of Amie :( She has the cutest little baby bump and is almost half-way thru her pregnancy with my new niece (I hope it's a girl, anyway!)

Cousin Dogpile!

Silly kids!

Uncle MAtt was working the whole time we were in Helena, but he stopped by in his cruiser just as we were getting ready to leave. The kids were soooo excited to check out his car and uniform!

James with Uncle Matt aka Officer Babyface of the Helena PD

James with Uncle Matt again...he's pretty proud to have an Uncle Policeman (so was I!)

***

That was a short-but-sweet trip to kick off our summer festivities. Thanks again, for having us, Postums!

Redecorating: A stupor of thought

Saturday I was so in love with my Valspar Icy Blue kitchen. It was such a clean, fresh change from the Bonjour Beige. But once we finished the whole 13X40' space, I started feeling a little overwhelmed. Like, I was saying, "Attention Kmart shoppers" in my head cuz the icy blue with the cherry red was reminding me of classic Kmart colors. I started questioning my choices like I always do (I have and will always do better with making-do than choosing on my own, which is why I should never ever build a house again). I wanted retro funky fresh and I got it. Have a gander at the progress SO FAR...Kitchen...

a close-up of the valance I made today...

I kind of love that vintage fabric.

my kitchen godess certainly looks more at home

with some more vintage accents, no?

My MIL brought me these lilacs when we

hosted FHE Monday cuz she rocks like that.

So here is the living room with the new paint...the furnishings and curatins clearly must go. They will be replaced with a quick and painless (I hope) trip to IKEA while I am in Utah next week.
I will for-sure be bringing home new "natural" colored canvas covers for the couches because they are unbelievably cheap right now, as is the rug I think I want. Curtains are still up in the air, but new cushion covers are on the sewing machine as we speak! The Swedish red covers are being recycled into cushions for the adirondack porch chairs, which we will use if it ever stops raining!

***

Here are some of my inspiration rooms. I hesitate to share them because I will not come close to replicating them, but they do make me feel better about my color.

{oh, I would love this, but wouldn't dare with three kids! the color scheme is exactly where I am heading, though}

{walls, floors, trim, and windows much like mine}

{definitely funkier than what I could go for, but I looove the color combo--red/orange accents!}

{a little more formal than anything I will do, but another lovely pairing of pale blues and reds}

sniffing paint fumes

I've had kind of a broken-heart day...prolly just hormones, but I am better now.

But all day I knew there was something special about today. THIS is it.

I feel so grateful.

(and the painting is done. I now reside in 13x 40 feet of robins egg blue. so CHEER UP, dammit!)

Checkin' In

Wow, it has been a really busy week, but in a very good way. I have mixed feelings about school being out, but mostly I am excited for my kids and for all the fun that comes with summer in Montana (cousin fun! river floats! camping! bonfires! treehouse picnics! fishing!). Nerdy me, I like the structure of the school year, but look forward to more time with the girls.

Today is the last day of school, so as of noon I will have a going-into-third grader and and going-into-first-grader on my hands. This kind of freaks me out because I can remember these times in my life so clearly...it doesn't seem that long ago! We are celebrating by driving (in the rain--yes, it's raining AGAIN) to Helena to hang out with our cousins and have a pizza party tonight Daddy has to stay and work at the ranch, but I guess that's a good thing because they are pouring the gazebo concrete this weekend and Rich is building the log frame for it. It's going to be really beautiful overlooking the Yellowstone river.

My mama is feeling SOOOOO much better! She has sounded so good on the phone this week and has been up and out of bed--hooray! Grandpa is hanging in there, too. He's getting to be a chemo pro and had his thrid treatment last week. Three down, two to go! He doing so great, we (meaning mostly SIL Kristen) decided to start planning a 60th anniversary celebration for him and Grandma in August. Their anniversary is August 22, 1950--can you believe it? That is a milestone few people reach and it will be such a blessing for them to celebrate it together. Otherwise, we're all well and happy here. I have some pictures to post as well as some thoughts on the books I have read so far this year, so when I get a minute, I'll be back. For now, it's time to party with the kids cuz (sing along), "Schooool's out for summer! Schooooool's out for EVAH!"

Memorial Weekend Campout

Rich treated us to a weekend camping in West Yellowstone in the pop top.

We love s'mores--even in the freezing rain!

We just move the party inside!


Saturday morning it was still cold and rainy as we headed out to drive thru Yellowstone and Gran Teton to Jackson Hole for the day.

Cheerful little travellers!

We crossed the divide six times on Saturday! This is about 11am in Yellowstone.

The road at the top

Jackson Lake--we stopped here cuz Heidi was havign a meltdown

See?

Couldn't quite see th top of the Tetons

James on a statue in Jackson Town Square

Addie eating lunch at Back Country Provisions

James at lunch

After lunch, we went to see Shrek 3 in D at the theatre in Jackson

Glasses on, ready for 3D!

Mommy loves retro cowgirls!

Me and the kids outside the theatre

Elk Horn arches in Jackson Town Square

Daddy and the kids pretending to be Elk

My cousin Dasha is working in Jackson over the summer--it's a big change from Thatcher, AZ! It was so great to see her!

Wild kids with wildlife

We parked by this sign and I thot it waas funny (4U, Gram!)

We went home the west way, through Idaho's Teton Valley, and you know what they are famous for...

We cannot recommend this place highly enough--it was FANTASTIC! If you find yourself driving thru the valley and you're hungry for some tasty, authentic (served by another family from Jalisco), totally inexpensive Mexican food, stop at this place in Driggs!

THANK YOU for the wonderful meal, Guadalajara!

A Sunday Walk

After church, lunch, and a nap during a hail storm, we decided to take a family walk around West Yellowstone.Heidi, James, Addie and Rich with a Grizzly...
Same gang and me.

[there are several pix that belong here, but our sucky campground internet is not uploading them, so I'll post them later]