Museum of the Rockies

Last weekend we went up to Bozeman and visited the Museum of the Rockies. I went there once when I was a kid and had fun with my Grandma and Grandpa Ruff so I figured it was time to take my kids. I was shocked to find out its only about two hours away so we will be going back this summer to check out the summer things. Outside the museum is a giant t-rex and Cody found this photo very funny, he said it looks like the t-rex is going to eat Emily.
The museum is mostly dinosaurs and they have a ton of different dinosaurs, some are just the bones and others are life size models of what they would look like. It also has a planetarium and that was by far the best part of it. We watched a movie about how the Lewis and Clark journey and the first step on the moon are a lot like. The whole way though it the kids just kept going wow, cool, check that out. After we watched that movie we went to a part that showed how the earth moved and the kids sat there watching it for a long time. There is also a room with all kinds of old cars, cannons
and a old style house that you could pump water at. Following that room we took the walk of life back in the 1800's where you picked ways,
read about the days and found out if you survived or died.
It was a beautiful day to travel and we had a blast. I am so happy to finally be back to spring and enjoy what Montana has to offer.

Slumber Party

This year we decided to have a sleep over for the birthday party and that was not the smartest idea I have had. The kids were very good, well as good at 12 girls and a boy can be. We almost had two boys, however one of the little boys ended up being allergic to cats so he had to go home. We started the party off with some pin the tail on the donkey, its so funny how those things start out great but by half way though the line the ones that have gone have lost interest and the ones that haven't start cheating.
After we did that we played some Simon says and did the pinata. We have done those every year we have had a party at home and never had the problems however last night was a different story. Thankfully every kid had a chance to pull a string, but the candy didn't fall out very well and it was in a bad spot in the living room. So all the kids tried to rush it and it just didn't work, instead we lined them up against the wall and put all the candy in the middle of the room. Then they got to go for it without the worry of someone getting as hurt. After that we played a few games of twister, that game is still a ton of fun all though very hard to do as you get older. Following twister was painting and the kids all painted a little window charm thing. That was where they really surprised me, 13 kids around a bunch of little paint containers and none of the paint was spilled, knocked over or any fighting over who got what. They where very good for me and I was so thankful, by that time it was 10 so it was time to start getting ready for bed. Let me tell you finding spots for 13 sleeping bags is like playing tetris with real life stuff. After alot of fixing and twenty minutes of kids going to the bathroom and brushing teeth they were laying down and watching the smurfs.

You knew they were tired when the only thing you heard was a laugh every once in awhile, as they all slowly drifted off to dreamland. I was worried of kids waking up in the middle of the night but again they surprised me, not a single one woke up and wanted to go home. At 530 in the morning they were all 13 where up and ready to go again. We did some sand projects, then made special birthday pancakes with sprinkles and whip cream. After that we all got dressed and watched some Thunder Cats while we waited for the mom and dads to pick up everyone. It was a blast of a party but I think next year we are going roller skating. Here is a collection of some of the photos we took.

Emily's 7th Birthday

Today Emily turned seven and I cant believe my baby is already seven. Just like with Cody it makes me wounder where has the time gone, seems like just yesterday we were packing up and heading to Cali with our little two month old baby who just had her ears pierced. Today I gave her a long mirror, makeup and high heal shoes and she was so excited. I am very thankful to have the daughter I have, she is one of the most caring kids I have ever came across. If she is watching a show where there is something as simple as a lost cat she gets upset for the cat. This year she has shown how good she is going to be in school, she has never been in trouble and has really enjoyed being on student counsel. As sad as I am to see her grow up it will be fun to see what amazing young lady she will become. Here is a collection of photos over the years for her. The most noticeable difference isn't so much her size but the fact she has hair now.

Cody turns 8

Today is Cody's 8th Birthday and I can not believe he is that old already. It seems like just yesterday I was fighting over what to watch at the hospital room while waiting for Cody to decide to join us. Now I find myself fighting with my son over what to watch. He was talking to Karen tonight and was telling her how him and his "girlfriend" broke up. Now I knew he had a "girlfriend" but this was the first I had heard of them breaking up so of course I had to listen to this story. He goes on to tell her how they decided to just be friends (this girl has been his "girlfriend" sense school started) and now he is just going to be girlfriends with Lilly but he isn't going to learn how to dance. It was the cutest thing but at the same time it made me realize how much he really is growing up and soon stories like this wont be cute, they will be major life problems. My little boy is turning into an amazing young man. He has his struggles with things but he never ever gives up on anything until it gets finished. He is so very kind hearted and he has a smile that lights up the room. I know things wont always be easy as we are heading into our preteen years but I have all the faith in the world that my son will be a caring, kindhearted, handsome gentlemen. Happy Birthday Cody!!!! I am so proud of you every day.

TiK ToK

Once again Emily decided to be a dancer/singer this weekend. Here is her newest show useing the song TiK ToK by Ke$ha

Emily and Basketball

Emily has been wanting to try out basketball for a year now so this year I got her all signed up to do it. We got there and she got her jersey and picked number 32, and its not very often you get to wear a dress while playing basketball. She did really good for her first time playing the game, all though she kept fixing her hair when she was suppose to be hands up to block.
I had to laugh at her shoes, they were lighting up the path for everyone, but she is so proud of her twinkle toes. With the YMCA program its really nice how they make sure everyone gets to play. So one group from the team will play for four minutes and then they will switch out. At the end of the game they line up and give everyone a high five and good game. After the game she said it was so much fun and cant wait to go to practice on Tuesday. Here is a video of her playing, I had a different song but turns out now youtube is blocking music if its not on the approved list, so the song on the list is one of the few that worked with the video. By the way if anyone knows of another site to upload videos to let me know, this will drive me crazy

Sledding

One of the high points of winter in Montana is sledding. Sometimes you will get lucky, have lots of snow and it is really nice out, today was one of those days. We have a high of 39, got about 9 inches of snow the other day with most of it around and best of all the sun was out. We got a call to see if we would like to join a bunch of people down at Pioneer Park so I got the kids bundled up and we went down for the party. While we where there Emily ran into a friend of hers named Angle and after that point those two never left each others side, in fact they held hands to make sure they didn't leave each others side, and they kept holding all the way down. They even tried to use the same sled, however it doesn't work so well when you are on a saucer sled instead of a long one. They had so much fun and spent about two hours going up and down the hill sometimes with the help of a push, sometimes with people,
sometimes alone, sometimes with everyone on different sleds and sometimes a quick bail out so they didn't hit a tree. After those two hours Emily was looking tried and my toes were very cold so we headed home so they could play with friends at the house and drink some very yummy hot chocolate. For a winter day it was as good as it gets.