Milestone Birthdays

In October...I was blessed to spend the weekend with  my good friend Sarah to celebrate her 40th birthday.  She invited several of her friends to spend the weekend with her in Sandpoint, ID, where she rented a cute little house.  What a fun weekend we had!

One of the gals, Erica, asked us to model these hats. 

(Her dad makes and sells them at this shop in Sandpoint.)

Favorites of L.A.

In October, I visited Juli, Justin, and little miss Kelsey in L.A.

And at my request, of course we went to the beach...a couple of times!!!

Don't be fooled...she's actually crying in this picture. She wasn't so sure she liked the ocean.

But here, in her mommy's arms, on a different day, she decided the ocean was alright. 

What a great grin she has!

My Cutie Niece

In October, I helped move my sister and family to a new house in Wyoming.  This is the first thing my niece did when we got her room set up...

Falling for Spokane

I know this is late...but better late than never!

In late August (or maybe early September), I got to go to Spokane for the weekend.  My uncle Dave flew me there in his airplane, picked up his brother Jim (also my uncle) and took him to Billings for the weekend.  Then, on Sunday, we did it in reverse.  This was my first trip in the plane...which he built himself, by the way... and it was awesome!  So much faster than driving or a commercial flight. 

Here's a view out the window of the plane on our way to Spokane...

While in the air, I asked Dave what was the highest he'd ever flown in his plane....he told me "this is the highest, right now."  Wow!  So I took a picture of the altimeter...20,220 ft.

When I was there I visited Manito Park to soak in the flowers.  It's so beautiful at the height of the season.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Eventually, we had to head home.  Here I'm taking a picture from the airplane, and you can see the reflection in the terminal.  If you look closely, on the left, you can see my uncle Jim watching us leave.

looking out the window...you can see the yellow tail of the plane, and lots of mountains below...

almost home...can you see the runway in the distance?

and we're home...Yes, we landed safely.

What a fun weekend!  Thanks Dave!

Rosa's Wedding Weekend

Here are a few more pictures from Rosa's wedding weekend....

This is my nephew Alex.  Tell me he isn't the cutest thing!

This is my sister, Kristen; nephew, Alex; and grandpa, Vernon.

My sisters and Miss Rosa...

Miss Rosa Got Married

My cousin Rosa got married this past weekend to Ken. Her mom, Julia, made her wedding dress and did an amazing job. She's like a little sister to me, and I was glad to be there to celebrate on such a special day. Anyway, I thought I'd post a few pictures.

I took their engagement photos, so here are a few favorites.

Here are a couple of photos my aunt Tina took on the wedding day.

Fun in the Mountains

I've had a lot of fun this summer in the mountains and thought I'd post a few photos.

A friend and I intentionally got lost on some back roads one Saturday and took some really fun photos of an old silo, an old truck, and the mountains.

This silo was so cool. It's twisting and looks like it will fall. I climbed inside and the wood and light were amazing! This truck was so interesting...just sitting out in a field in the middle of nowhere. I wonder how it got so many colors.

Last weekend, my parents and I enjoyed the weekend at the cabin with the Dykstra family...

Happy Birthday!

It was my Dad's B-day about a week ago, and I hosted a family BBQ/Birthday Party at my house to celebrate. Here are a few photos from the party.

To Austin

Last week I traveled to Texas for work, and got to stay a few extra days in Austin. What a joy to reconnect with Stevi and Troy, and to meet Jude.

What a cutie he is!

It was soooooo nice to have some sunshine after a long Montana winter. We visited the rose gardens - where there were actually roses in bloom!!! Can you tell I'm ready for spring? It was even hot enough to warrant a trip to the shaved ice stand. Heehee. Yummy. We went downtown to a very cool coffee shop on the water, and then got stuck in some crazy...and I do mean "crazy" traffic...crazy cars, crazy motorcycle gangs, crazy outfits, crazy traffic. (There was no doubt in my mind that I was a long way from Montana.)

But the best part of all was spending some one-on-one time with Stevi, a precious Christian sister.

Stevi posted about the weekend on her blog too. ;-)

Another Trip to Michigan

Last weekend I went to Michigan to visit my friends Todd and Julie, and their kiddos. As usual, it was a wonderful trip and I left longing to live closer.

Here's a little slideshow of the kiddos...

Move In Day

So I'm quite behind, but I found some photos from move in day, back in October...so I thought I'd post.

My favorite brother (and only) came all the way from SD to help.

Here's two strange sights...my uncle's bmw, with a trailer hitch to help haul some of my belongings; and my 83 year old grandpa hauling heavy boxes. Sheesh!

My brother, dad, uncle and grandpa...just a few of the many family that helped.

My cousin, trying out the piano that Dad and I refinished...

Finally...Pictures of my New House

So, here are pictures of my house from the first day.
It's mostly empty, and I'll post more photos as I actually get moved in.

This is a slideshow, but I think you can click on any photo and it will take you to larger photos.

Enjoy...

I'm a Home Owner!

I signed all the papers today, and it's official...I bought a house! Wooohooo!

I'll post some photos as I get them. Everything that I wanted in a house, I found in this one. (I wasn't even actively house shopping when I found it.) I'm confident that God worked out all the details on this one.

I move in this weekend, so more to come!

What a Great September Day!

It's Sept 20th and I floated the Yellowstone River today in an inflatable kayak!

It was 80+ degrees today, so we decided to try out the river. Dad and I only had to drive 10 minutes to the spot on the river where we started, and floated for 2 hours. There were a few good sized rapids left and we enjoyed the peaceful, quiet floating.

When we got home and unloaded, I decided to make grilled cheese sandwiches and some homemade tomato soup. My dad has tomatos coming out of his ears these days, so soup seemed like a good way to take care of a whole bunch at once. Mmmmm mmmmmm good, if I do say so myself. ;-)

What a day!

Spokaloo

Labor day weekend I enjoyed a fantastic trip to Spokane. Todd D. was speaking at Faith Bible Church's family camp, so I decided it was a great time to head west. Family camp was awesome. What a perfect way to see lots of good friends, hear some great messages from the book of Titus, and get lots of time with my friend Julie D. Yeah!!!

I went a day early and had a few lunch dates and coffee dates with previous coworkers, friends and family. For the most part, I had one-on-one time with each, which is always fun. (Chris, Steve, Jason, Des, Steve D., Ben from work; Walt & Pam, Jeff & Sarah, Sara R., Joe & Makeesha, Liz & Dave) Frankly, I went from one meeting to the next for 4 days. I loved every minute of it, and by the time I pointed my car towards MT again, I was exhausted.

I really didn't get many photos, but here are a few from Duncan Gardens in Manito park. Beautiful!

Say Cheese!

My entire family was in town 2 weekends ago for Katie & Andrew's engagement party (they're on the far right). We took the opportunity to get a family photo or two.