Sun and Fun

Today was just an amazing day.  I knew the forecast was for about 50 degrees, but I didn’t expect it to actually get up to 67 degrees.  The girls and I spent a good portion of the late afternoon and early evening outside.  We found all kinds of things to do.

Getting the tractors out after months of seeing them just sit in the garage was a lot of fun.

Bria had fun walking through the snow in her goulashes.

After walking in the snow she had to dump it out of her boots.

She also enjoyed jumping in the mud puddles.

Bentley thought it was fun just to touch the snow with her bare hands.

She tried walking on the snow some, but wasn’t very steady.

The girls also ran around on the driveways and played with sidewalk chalk.  A little later when D came home we were able to go for a walk.  It was warm enough that D didn’t even feel the need to wear a jacket.  I know this weather is only going to last a few days, but it really brings on the Spring Fever.  It was nice to have some days to get outside after what has already been a long and cold winter.

Special Visit

This last Saturday my parents made a quick trip up to see us.  The girls love it when any of the grandparents, aunts/uncles, or cousins come.  It was especially nice to have them come up this time because I was really sick.  No matter what is going on, the girls, think that they need my attention rather than Daddy’s.  When the grandparents are here, however, they don’t need either of our attention.  While everyone else was playing I was able to rest. 

A game of “Duck, Duck, Goose”.  We didn’t get very many pictures since I couldn’t really move off of the couch.  I don’t even know what all they played while they were here.  Bria says that they colored, drew pictures, played in the cardboard playhouse, played hide-n-seek, and cooked in the play kitchen.

Bria, of course, is looking forward to the next time we can see any of the grandparents.  Fortunately for her, that will be very soon.

As far as my round of illness: I am doing better now, but still get a funny feeling in my stomach every once in a while.

Adorable

It has been a while since we have posted recent pictures of the girls.  Today they cooperated for just a few minutes for me to get a couple of shots.  This is the only one where neither of them is blurry nor has a goofy expression. 

In my eyes, they have grownup a lot recently.  The things they know amazes me.  Bentley can say one two word sentences.  She stands up on the piano bench, by the window, and says “Ba-bye Daddy”.  I’m not sure that is what she actually means, however, because her pronunciation of Daddy, doggy, and Bentley all sound the same.  She is working hard to say more words, but like the other example several of them sound the same and I can’t always tell what she means.  Bria is as talkative as always, but is always wanting to know about animals, numbers, time, and anything else that may cross her mind.  She started figuring out some addition all on her own earlier today.  The days of the week are always something is she is asking about too.  Bria knows that certain things happen on certain days, and is always figuring out what day it is based on what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow.

I’m sure it is not unusual for little sisters to follow around their big sister and to copy everything they do.  Bentley is no exception.  Bria has never liked to play by herself too much, so I I could never just send her to her play room in the basement to play.  Now that Bentley can go up and down extremely well and stays out of most things that she shouldn’t be into, Bria will ask Bentley to go down and play.  They can spend quite a bit of time together down there. That has made it at least a little bit easier for me to get things done around the house.  Bria does still appreciate it if an adult is down there with them.

It sure is fun watching them change and build a friendship with one another.

Too Much or Too Little?

It seems that either we have so much going on that I don’t have time to update the blog, or we have so little going on that everything I would write would be a bore.  We seem to keep busy enough, but not with anything exciting or out of the ordinary.  After a couple of busy months we are actually very glad to have things back to normal. 

We have had a few small thing activities or changes, so I will just give a brief update.  A week ago (or maybe two—I’ve already forgotten) we rearranged the furniture in our bedroom.  The new arrangement is a much better use of the space and doesn’t make us want to remodel some of the features that we previously wanted to remodel.  The girls love it too because it makes it easy to crawl onto the bed (which is now the greatest place to play).  Bentley is definitely down to just one nap a day, and only takes two naps if she has had a few late nights in a week.  Last night we had a Superbowl party at our house.  Out of all or friends, church family, and bible study family, we are one of just a few families who have cable.  Most of the people we know find other ways to fill their time or just use the internet to watch the programs they like.  We also have the largest TV of any of our friends.  Our house, therefore, is the natural choice for having a Superbowl party.  Football is not big deal to people here either, so the party was just a small group. 

Even though we were able to put the girls down to bed at about the same time as usual last night, they still were extra crabby this morning when they woke up.  Bentley is currently sitting on my lap, making it very difficult for me to type.  I guess that means I need to be done for now.  Hopefully, I will be able to post some pictures soon (if I even have any new ones).

Not A Lot

This past week hasn’t been exciting, especially compared to the last month and a half (or more).  That isn’t completely accurate, D has had a busy week with something out of the ordinary going on almost every day: taking tickets at basketball games, meetings in Rapid City, a Ranchers’ Workshop, and a surprise Pheasants Forever meeting.  As for the girls and I, we are just trying to get back to a “normal” routine.  It has been a bit difficult because Bentley is starting to skip her morning nap.  Somehow that throws off my day.  Getting my chores done has been nonexistent.  I sure hope to find our new rhythm soon.

Here are some great pictures of the girls from the last week:

Bentley trying on Bria’s old boots.

 

Bentley in her Pajamas from her Birthday.  They are still a bit big, but she is adorable in them.  D insisted on getting them, they say “It’s pasture bedtime.”

Bentley taking care of her baby while snuggling under D’s new MN Vikings blanket that he received for Christmas.

Both girls snuggling under the blankets watching a cartoon one particularly cold morning.

From Sledding to Swimming

After getting home from D’s parents’ and repacking we headed out to the Hills to see our friends who were vacationing there. They rented a nice sized cabin in the mountains with enough room for all of us. We were only able to spend one full day out there because of other obligations back at home, but it was still really nice to see them again. They did come stay with us for a day too so they could do a little antelope hunting.

In the morning, after an early rise (5:15 am local time) and a good breakfast, we went out to a little hill on the property to sled. The weather was a lot warmer than it had been the previous few days at D’s parents. We didn’t need all the layers we had on. Bentley went sledding with D. I tried taking her down once, but we tipped the sled.

Bria went sledding with her friend K. She was so glad to be able to spend time with him again. They were really good friends before we moved, and they still talk about each other regularly.

After a good, grilled lunch we headed into RC to go to the water park. This was Bentley’s first time to go “swimming” in a pool bigger than the baby pool.

There were slides, a lazy river, a water playground, hot tub, and another pool area. The only thing the girls liked was the pool. D and I spent most of our time catching the girls as they jumped in off the side or helping them “swim” around the pool. Bria is figuring out how to move herself around the pool, and she has a lot of confidence with her floaties on. Bentley, after she got comfortable and warm, thought that she didn’t need the security of my arms anymore. It was very difficult to keep her from pushing right out of my arms. She is ready for the same type of floaties that Bria uses. The drive back to the cabin was extremely quiet. Both girls fell asleep in the car. We have never taken them into bed and just put them to sleep. We did have to get Bria in her PJs, at her request, but she still went right back to sleep.

Here are some pictures of the beautiful cabin we stayed in.

The Great Room, the kitchen and dining room are on the right.

Looking from the sitting area into the kitchen and dining room. On the right and up the stairs was a large master bedroom. Down the hall (by the fridge) was a large bathroom and 2 more bedrooms.

This was another living room off of the Great Room. They even had a pinball machine.

After a full day of activity and a good nights’ rest, we headed back home. D went to his meeting at work, the girls and I went to our church's kids club, and then our friends came to our house. The next morning the men went hunting. They were able to get three antelope and butcher them before supper. After a successful day of hunting our friends headed home. We have missed them greatly, and hope to have many more times of reconnecting.

Christmas with the Cousins

Again, I have not had time to update the blog in almost 2 weeks. Here is a late post from our Christmas celebrations.

When we do Christmas with D’s family it is a noisy houseful of kids having a good time. The kids don’t outnumber the adults quite yet.

All the kids tried to sit to get a picture with Grandma.

They were a lot less patient by the time it was Grandpa’s turn.

Bentley received a rocking horse that she loves. Even the oldest cousins thought they should get to ride it too.

Grandpa and Grandma converted one of the bedrooms into the kids’ room. Off to the left is a bunk bed, and on the floor to the right is another mattress. All the kids who are 3 and up got to stay together in the same room. They thought that was great and behaved very well. It helped that they were all exhausted by the time it was bed time. Here, D is reading them one of their bedtime stories. Almost all the parents stayed to hear the story too.

We celebrated Christmas over New Year’s, which was cold and snowy. Despite the weather, the kids and a few of the adults bundled up everyday to take the kids out to burn off some energy and have tractor rides (the highlight at Grandpa and Grandma’s house). The rides were especially fun because they were able to push and blow snow with the tractor. This was the first time Bentley had been out in the snow. She took a couple of sled rides with the cousins. When it was time to come in she let us know that she wasn’t ready. We have a couple of girls that really love to be outside, even in the most miserable cold.

Bria tried to climb up on the rail of the deck to jump into the snow, just like one of the older cousins. With her snowsuit on she couldn’t pull herself up. It was funny to watch her try. She did get some help from an uncle.

One of the highlights for me was getting to try out Grandma’s new snowshoes. I had never been snowshoeing before, but it was a lot of fun. Normally the cold would keep me inside, but once I got all bundled up and the snow stopped blowing I really enjoyed being out there. It helps that in the country they have a lot of places to explore, and if it was too windy I could walk along the trees (which completely blocked the wind).

After a long weekend away, we came back home for about 24 hours then headed out for our next adventure.