SD/MT Roadtrip Part IV

Before we headed to Townsend, Wally needed us to take this picture with Cubby (I think it is Cubby). Joel hadn't told his Aunt Patty or cousins that we were coming up, so it was a great surprise. Wally had fallen asleep in the car on the drive up, and kept sleeping after we parked, so I stayed in the car (until Gramma Kathy came to sit with Wally). I guess Aunt Patty hadn't cried all day, but when she saw Joel show up, she lost it. That makes the whole 2600 mile drive totally worth it! The weather was beautiful, so we got to enjoy their patio with Great-Gramma.

Cory the graduate with "big" sister Alaina and "little" sister Hannah. I can't believe how much they have all grown up since the last time we saw them. Cory is quite the man now, Hannah is nearly as tall as me and beautiful, and Tyler is definitely no little kid any more. What a wonderful family!

Gramma Kathy got Wally the world's largest piece of chocolate cake that was about 50% frosting.

A happy pirate!

Joel, Parker (Alaina's son who is only a couple months younger than Wally), Wally, Gramma Kathy and I took a walk to work off some of the delicious food from the party.

Then next day, Monday, was our only day without travelling for our 8-day trip. We got to hang out in Bozeman. Wally, Joel, and I got to see Reder's preschool, and then visited the lab. It was strange to be back, but was great to see so many great friends. I just wish we could have had more time to spend with everyone and see those who we missed.

Jason has gotten into bee keeping, so I got to wear the totally attractive suit and "help" him look for the queens in his 2 hives. We didn't find either.

But is was so fun holding about a billion bees. I didn't mind the bees that would land right on my face mask, but when they buzzed that loudly in my ears, it was kinda unsettling. Maybe next time we are up we can get some Daughenbaugh honey.

After naps, we went up Hyalite for a little hike along the road. Man, was it nice to be in the mountains again and breathing that air. How spoiled we were when we lived there.

The kids had a blast throwing rocks into the culverts and watching them come shooting out the other end.

Much to Katie's horror (ha ha ha) I taught the kids how to dam-up the water running down the side of the roads (don't worry, I also helped them break the dams so that the water would not ruin the roads). Kids and mud are such a perfect combination.

Team Graff

What a view! It was strange seeing snow and ice (and eating snow - only the white stuff), as we were used to summer in Iowa. I definitely don't miss the long Montana winters. Breaking the dams.

Our good buddy Aaron came over for dinner. What a treat to get to spend time with our best buddies!

On Tuesday we drove to the Reder Ranch, though it took us longer than planned as the interstate and hwy 212 were closed due to flooding (did I mention it dumped buckets the entire time we travelled on that trip?), so we had to go up through Miles City. We stopped in Broadus to get Bubu (as we had left Wally's favorite stuffed animal at Gramma's house). We also picked up all of Joel's old legos. Wally has done nothing but legos since he got them. Here, he and Papa were working on building an airplane.

Ta-da!

We drove the rest of the way home the next day. What a super fun trip! It was a lot of driving. Over 2600 miles and I think it was like 48 hours of actual drive time...I have to say Wally is an amazing kid. Not sure too many other kids could do it!

SD/MT Road Trip Part III

After the Kourtney's wedding reception in Miles City (May 21), we drove to Bozeman. Wally slept much of the way, but we woke him up at Columbus for dinner and so he could see the mountains. As we got near the Crazy Mountains, I was pointing them out, but Wally couldn't see them. I think he hasn't seen mountains like that enough to be able to register what they are. That is just plain wrong! We have to get him around more mountains. A little further, the sun starting setting. Wally asked what all the colors in the sky were. It dawned on us that Wally didn't know what a sunset was. In Iowa, there are too many trees to see any distance and too much haze for much of a sunset most of the time anyway. What are we doing to this child? Iowa is a great place, but apparently it really is missing a few things!

On the way to church with the Jason, Katie, Reder, and Ruby, we drove by our house and I made Joel take pictures of it like we were stalkers. We were both very happy to see that the people who liver there now are taking good care of it.

It was nice to be back at BUMC, but Dave wasn't there, so that was a big-time bummer. We did get to see quite a few friends again though. It actually didn't rain that day, so the weather was beautiful and the kids got to play outside after church. Wally immediately tried to play chuck-it with Cubby and Skippy. And, of course, Ruby followed Wally.

Did I mention that May 22 is Ruby's birthday? What luck that we were able to be there for when Ruby turned 3! I can't believe it!

Katie and Grandma Janet made a yummy hot dog lunch for the party. Apparently, Wally is doing something pretty gross.

See, Reder can be silly too!

Ruby got a strider bike with no pedals for her birthday. I think Reder kinda likes it too though.

I guess Ruby was more into dancing.

I love this picture. A big pink bow and a curious (and patient) big brother.

The banner Wally made for Ruby got hung after I had to re-write it. Some how, during our driving in nothing but massive rain storms, the banner got wet and the marker ran. Wally was still proud though.

For some reason, little girls have a tendency to stare and giggle at Wally. Jason and Katie made quite the princess birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Ruby! (This is why all of Katie's pictures had a blurry Wally.)

Silly cousins.

After cake, we went outside to the picnic pavilion for a dinosaur pinata. All the kids got several whacks at the poor dino. Gotta love the boots!

After the candy was out, the kids finished off the dino. It kinda reminded me of a gang beating...

It was great to see Grandma Janet and Papa Rob again. Sadly, this was the only picture I got of them.

What is a birthday party without finger pens that, when pulled, make farting noises? Lovely Katie!

It was so special to be able to be there for Ruby's party. We had a great time. After the party, we headed to Townsend for Joel's cousin Cory's high school graduation. That will come in Part IV.

Your Hair Looks Kinda Silly...

...You look kinda like a boy. Man, Wally is going to make some girl very happy some day saying things like that.

Yesterday, Wally and I decided my hair was long enough that someone else could have it. He was very excited to go to a REAL barber shop (aka Cost Cutters). Now I have really BIG hair.
Well, at least it won't give me a headache wadded up on the back of my head now AND we will save money on shampoo.

SD/MT Road Trip Part II: Kourtney's Wedding Reception

After the parade, we headed to the Senior Drop-in Center for Kourtney and Wayne's wedding reception. Wally put himself to work with the ribbon to decorate the candles for the tables. Wally's creations were definitely creative with tape, staples, and dog hair. Me and my sisters Linda and Mary.

Wally is always drawn to his cousin Gavin. Eric, Sara, Gavin, Autumn, and Kailin (bummer no Chandler or Keegan) drove down from Billings. It was great to see all of them.

Isn't Papa Steve a cutie?!?!!

Wayne and Kourtney did the traditional smashing of the cake into each other's faces. It was a fun party!

Me and my buddy.

Am I really putting this one in the blog???

The first dance.

Joel played the proud big brother very well. When Joel was in high school, he would pick Kourtney up for school. On the way, they would listen to Bob Marley's "No woman No cry," but Joel would sing "No Kourtney No cry." For the longest time Kourtney thought that those were the actual words. For their wedding, Joel gave Kourtney and Wayne a Bob Marley CD with that song, so Joel and Kourtney got to dance to their song. This was my personal favorite moment of the wedding.

Wally doesn't know if he should believe Papa or not.

Joel and I with Kourtney and our new brother-on-law Wayne.

The proud parents of the bride.

The Graff family.

The whole Graff family (minus Chandler, Keegan, Ryan, Amy, Jenna, and Molly). Wally was a couple days over-due for a nap at this point.

The lovely Graff Ladies.

A tired boy after a fun party. We got Wally dressed in PJs and headed to Bozeman after the wedding. I think he managed to sleep for about 2 hours before we woke him for dinner around 8:00. The kid is a great traveller.

Moving Up in the World...or Not

Yesterday we moved up in the world. For the first time in our married lives, Joel and I have a headboard for our bed. We picked it up on a street corner under a sign that said "free." So, it is perfect!However, at the same time, we became the proud owners of a big plastic pumpkin/ghost! Wally is thrilled though, so maybe it makes it worth having to look at the thing and store the thing...

SD/MT Road Trip Part I

OK, so this was over a month ago now, but I finally found time. So, here goes the road trip to beat all road trips (over 2600 miles in 1 week).

As a last thought as we were heading out the door, I saw some pipe cleaners and grabbed them for Wally. He spent a lot of time in the car playing with them. Cheap "toys" seem the best for Wally's entertainment. Since we were heading to Bozeman for Ruby's birthday, Wally spent time in the car (and then at Grandma Mary and Papa Randy's house) working on a birthday banner for Ruby. He engineered quite a hanger for it with pipe cleaners.

The theme of our trip was rain. It started raining as we got about halfway through SD, and I don't think it stopped until we returned to Iowa. More rain pictures to come...

On our second day, Wally fed Papa's cows treats in the rain.

Bill (the actual owner of the cows) came over and let Wally help feed a calf who's momma didn't have enough milk for it. Wally thought that was awful special as he loves animals.

Grandma Mary made me a table runner as she is becoming quite the quilter. My Grandma, I'm sure, is proud of her. Wally suddenly decided he could use the table runner as a prop for singing "Swing low, Sweet chariot."

We drove up to Broadus for lunch, and then headed to the bank. Wally loves visiting Gramma Kathy's bank. This trip, he brought all of his money from his piggy banks to put in Gramma's bank. Here, he is watching it all get sorted in the coin sorter. He seemed satisfied that he gave the bank all of his money and they gave him a lollipop.

We had Great-Gramma over for dinner and Wally enjoyed showing her his Daddy's ipod. Every trip, Wally seems to find a way to get Great-Gramma to himself and do an activity with her. They both seem to truly enjoy their time together.

On day 3, we drove to Miles City for Kourtney and Wayne's wedding reception. On the drive up, we saw an amazing amount of water in places were Joel can't remember ever seeing water before. Apparently, while we were in Montana, they got about 6.5 inches of rain. Mind you, they usually only get about 10 inches each year.

But, the Bucking Horse Sale parade went on. Lucky for me (I didn't have a hat, hood, or anything waterproof), we didn't make it to the parade until it was nearly over. Wally got to see some steam-engine tractors, hug a person in a dog suit, and pick up soggy candy floating down the gutters, so he was happy.

I love watching Wally when he is excited!

Coming "soon" SD/MT Road Trip Part II.

You know it is a good summer when...

you look like this everyday! We've been having a great summer and have been crazy busy. I am slowly making my way through our pictures of our SD/MT trip and our CO trip. If I ever have a break from editing and don't feel like being outside (or cleaning bathrooms), I will get some posts about them up.