Big Sky Rain

John and I went to Billings and of course, it started raining. The drop were huge, but I could not get the camera out fast enough. The sky was still blue and the sun was trying to shine. I wish I could have captured a panoramic view. The bottom picture is out the side window, you can not even tell that it is raining.

Just add TLC

I bought this basket of hanging flowers on sale. They were lacking love and care and a little sad looking. Added a little water and some sunshine and now they are very pretty. Wish I would have gotten more!!

Front Row

The Bellamy's

Alison and Ashlyn front row at the Bellamy Brothers concert.

The Bellamy's put on a super show. By the end of the night the front of the stage was crowded with kids and people dancing. The Bellamy's still sound as awesome as they did 30 years ago.  I can not believe the shows and acts our little town manages to get booked every year so we can have the most amazing 4th of July show. Thanks to all of those who put in so much time and effort so me and my family and our neighbors can have a great time.

Jammin'

. There was an air guitar contest and Kalob wanted to do it but, he would not go by himself. Aunt Ashlyn went up with him and he did his stuff, too, too cute!! He was so brave and Ashlyn was a good auntie for going with him.

Climbing

My son climbing a tree. We had a BBQ at Mom and Dad's, my son just had to climb in the tree even though it is a rather small tree. If he scooted in a little closer to the tree trunk you might not even know he was there.

Gardening 101

We had a youth group from Missuola come down to help with the flooding victims and do things for our youth center. One of the things the did was help our kids start a garden. Nine tomato plants, 8 cabbage plants, a row of carrots and a row of zucchini. One very special tomato plant that was very sad and needed extra care (who's name is now Bob) Total $$'s  to have the garden...$4.19. Reward.... an entire summer of the kids watering and weeding their garden.

Three Amigo's

Sam            Scott                Brody

Scott went to  a program sponsored by the National Gaurd called Youth Challange. He had a military style haircut, had to do physical traing everyday and had to keep his quarters just like he was in the military. When he graduated we ask his friends to attend graduation. Thankfully Scotts mentor for the program is our Pastor and he also went to the cerimony, so all the boys  rode the five hour trip home with him. Three teenage boys and one pre-teen and the Pastor all in one car. Wow

Cousins

A bunch of us went to a park in Huntley Montana for a small reunion. There was a bigger reunion in South Dakota but some of us could not get there so we had a small get together. These two had a blast walking the little dogs around. They walked all over the park, more than once, then would come back and rest on the blanket. This is one of the greatest part of a big get together, the distant cousins getting to know each other.

Snow Melt

With all of the flooding we have had, the grounds are completely saturated. Now we are having warm sunny days and a little rain almost every evening. . The rivers have cut new channels in many places and they are still pretty full. When the snow starts melting I fear we are going to be flooding again. There is a lot of snow still on the mountains and it is the end of June!

Army National Guard

After many long days of the flood, it was time for a break. St. Benedict's Catholic Church hosted an awesome meal. The food was provided by donations and all the cooking was done by volunteers. Amazing how our town comes together to help their neighbors. Then it was off to the park for fun and games. The Army National  Guard  hung out with folks and chatted, pushed kids on swings, tossed some horseshoes and played a game of baseball with the Roundup Little League. Pretty great day.

Lilacs

With all the worries about the flooding and more rain and road closures, I thought it was time for a picture and a reminder of the wonders God created. I do believe He created some flowers just for the simple pleasure of looking and enjoying the beauty.

Montana Flooding

The Busy Bee Restaurant. You can not even tell the main road in town runs right in front of the building.

One of the road closures in our town. All roads in and out are closed for at least a few days. There is supposed to be more water coming on Saturday.

History lesson

Grandpa Larry and Alison talking about Montana. Ali brought home a very neat chart showing the state bird, tree, flower and ect. There were also fun facts and some history. Kept them both busy for a minute.

Rollin' on the river!

We have not seen a full day of sunshine in a long, long time. It has rained everyday here in Montana for weeks. The river finally said enough is enough and started cresting it's banks. The road to the fairgrounds is closed due to the water overflowing on the street. We are expecting another week of rain. Need to get a boat.

Rake Scoop Sweep

 Ashlyn raking up all of the stuff that fell off the trees.

Malik scooping up dog poop so Dad can mow.

Alison seeping the sidewalks after Dad mowed.

Big, Green Tractor

My son-in-law, Bill, had to go to work while I was still at their house. He ask Ruth to bring him lunch and bring me along so he could show me some of the farm. When we got there with his lunch I got to go for a ride on the big green tractor. Thanks Bill it was fun.

Showin' off my moves!

Angel working on her physical therapy. She will be in this cast a few weeks and then start fittings for her prosthetic. She says one of the most exciting things is once she gets her prosthetic leg she will be able to have more than pair of shoes and she can get cool ones.

PRETTY IN PINK

The Trees are blossoming here in Denver, Co. They look so spectacular, especially when there are more than one. The picture does not do the pretty pink color justice.

Super Girl!

Angel on her way in the hospital for her surgery. Got her blanket and her pillow and she is ready to go. Grammys big girl. She did not complain about not getting food. She was very brave.

3 Amigos

My awesome grandkids.

We went to lunch at Casa Bonita in Denver, Co. The place is very unique. The food was good but hanging out with the kids and watching them have fun was the best part.

Little House

Here in Montana there are a lot of  homestead houses and a lot very small houses in town. I look at these houses and think wow... they raised entire families in these. All the kids shared rooms and sometimes everyone slept in one big room. I can not even get a grasp on having 6 or 8 kids all in a house this small. And we thought we were having it rough.

Capitol Idea

State of Montana Capitol Building.

The top of the building is completely covered in copper. Next time I go to Helena I will have more time to find information on the history and architecture.

Chuch View

While in Helena, Mt we stopped by a beautiful Catholic Church. The building is simply amazing and the stained glass windows are captivating. I needed a better camera to get the pictures of the detail in the stained glass. I love this view looking up from the street through the trees.

I see it!!

Paco Tico at the river watching for the fish. He was so funny to watch jump all over the place, but did not like getting his feet in the mud, He liked being in the water, swimming around and playing with the other dogs. He certainly did not like getting his paws muddy.

Papa's Shadow

Looking for Easter eggs, playing with all the other kids.... way too much fun! Being at Grampa John's hanging out with Dad...awesome! Standing in my Papa Larry's shadow talking about cars and boy stuff....priceless!

River ride.

Scott and Stacey coming back from a ride by the Mussellshell River.

Racey

Sabrina worked very hard helping clean a house. The owner gave her this remote control car. We took it out side, ran it up and down the road a few times until it got a scratch and a crack in the fender from a small crash. It went back into the box and she says she is never playing with it again.

Cactus Bites

And this is what happens when you get to close to the previously photographed cactus! What you can not see is that 5 times that much was in the skin. A month later and I still have some that went through my shirt, through my jeans and into my hip. I did not get this much cactus stickers in the 24 years I lived in Arizona.

Cactus Glow

This is taken in Wickiup, AZ. It was just getting dark and the flash was set on auto. The result makes the cactus look almost like it has a slight glow.

Easter Ladder Ball

Well today was a beautiful day. After Church, we came home to having eggs all over the yard. The younger kids had so much fun finding all the eggs, Thank You Grampa Larry and Gramma Kathy. We got out the ladder ball set. I took this picture just as Sabrina took her turn and caught the balls in the air.

Gone Fishin'

We went last fall to Lewistown to the fish hatchery. The kids had fun looking at the fish runs with the fish in different stages of growth. It was a very wet, rainy day, but the sun came out long enough for us to have lunch in the park. It it a great town to visit, about an hour and a half away. The drive up was very scenic and we all had a good day.

Web Slinger

This our visitor last fall who took up residence in our garden.  It just goes to show that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Everyone I have shown this picture has a different reaction. My thought is, what an awesome Creator we have! A Creator that can take something that most people fear and give it such a beautiful color and pattern that it becomes fascinating.

Dog Days.

In the end of February while I was in California, my daughters family went to Arizona to visit and ask if we could babysit Sadie. I came home a few days after Sadie arrived and dropped my suitcase at the bottom of the steps. Sadie was so sad about her family not being home,  every little noise caused her to rush to the front door. Realizing it was not them she would sit on the step and patiently, but hopefully wait. She looks like she has her bag packed and ready to go.

Stormy Weather

This a shot standing in my front door at 3:30 this afternoon. I can not believe it is the end of April and it is snowing like this. We are under a weather alert for up to 7 inches!! The snow we had yesterday was gone by 10 am. Today it is staying around with snow flakes sometimes the size of quarters. After living for more that 20 years in the Az. desert, I love living in Mt. with the snow. But I am ready for some sunshine.

Winter..still

The snow was falling when I woke up this morning, the ground was covered with a very wet heavy snow. After I drove all the kids to school, I drove myself around. Just admiring the beauty and marveling how different and quiet things seem to be when it is all covered in white. It is amazing to me that something becomes more beautiful with the absence of color.

Saddleback Church

In February I went with Pastor John, his wife Pat (in this picture), and my friend Tina to California. We spent four days at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. We worshipped with some really awesome musicians, learned from great teachers and leaders, and ate till we thought we would explode. We had so much fun trying to get this picture, I just had to post it.

Daddy's Girl.

This is a picture of me and my Dad when I was just over a year old. My Grandmother owned a restaurant and gas station in a small town in the middle of Ohio.

Whatcha doin'?

When we went to Yellowstone National Park, we stopped at a pic-nic area for lunch. There were a ton of Prairie Dogs all over the place.They were not people shy at all. This one stood by our truck as we were getting out and watched every move we made as if to say "whatcha doing, got something for me?"

Skipping it.

Do you remember how much fun is it the first time you are able to get a rock to skip across the water? The look on a child's face when they finally get that just right throw is priceless. It might take hours and they probably get a little frustrated, but once it happens the sheer joy of getting it right out weighs everything else.

Rockin' it

Right down the street from where we live, this house is built into the side if the mountain. Wood structures were built off the over hanging boulders and stone ledges. Rocks were set in place around the front. I love the last picture showing how the water helped erode the rock away. There are also many place in the stone where it was chiseled away to make a place for lanterns and some I am assuming for decor. There were four different room all with left over items. Up till just a few years ago it was occupied.

The Beauty in the Weeds

We stopped on the side of the road to look at the view of  the city and I found this little guy all by himself. Everything around it was kinda dry and grey and bland. When the sun was shinning on him, he almost had a glittery effect. I do not know what kind of weed he is, but I am pretty sure he is a weed. I took the picture as an after thought and when we got home it was the best photo of the day.

puppy talk

This is my 3 dogs. Sidney is Australian Sheppard and Border Collie. Paco and Franny are Chihuahua mix mutts. I love this picture because it looks like they are having a secret meeting. Are they trying to figure out how to get to the box of treats, maybe how to get past the gate or where they hid the  tennis ball. Hmm... I guess us humans will never know.