Great Things

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.  Psalm 126:3

Summer is over, and I am a little sad about that!  But don't these boys look sweet and ready for school?  Yesterday was their first day of 3rd grade and 1st grade.  We don't really talk up the beginning of school around our house.  That seems to cause unneeded anxiety.  Of course they know when school is about to start, but we don't make a big deal out of it.  I am so thankful that our kids like school, even though they may not admit it!

I started thinking that I haven't written anything about what's going on in life for quite a while, and that's a shame because "The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!"  There was some anxiety in May when Brian was told his last day at his job would be May 31.  His employer wasn't getting as many contracts as they were expecting.  We didn't have enough savings in the bank.  Thankfully our trust is not in the company or ourselves.  God's timing is so amazing!  Almost as soon as Brian worked his last day at his job, his new company started demanding all of his working hours!  He and his partner were doing so well, that they began looking for office space and moved in as soon as we returned from our trip to Montana.  There are of course still some uncertainties, but we will continue to trust God and praise Him for everything!  In addition to getting an office and making more sales, Brian is happy.  He's happy with his work!  That is such a huge praise!  Oh, I am so blessed.  God is so good.  He has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!

A Lost Tooth!

Spence woke us up this morning crying because his tooth fell out in his sleep and he couldn't find it so he was convinced he wouldn't get money from the tooth fairy!  I told him we'd leave her a note to let her know what happened and I was positive she'd leave him the money.  I know these things, you know.  Then after I woke up a little more and Spence stopped blubbering through his tears, I learned that he felt the tooth on his tongue in the middle of the night, took it out and put it under his pillow, then couldn't find it this morning.  And he was wondering why the tooth fairy didn't leave any money.  I told him she must have already made her rounds by the time his tooth ended up under his pillow!  So tooth fairy, I know you tend to be forgetful, but please remember to put money under Spence's pillow tonight!

Seems my kids' teeth are in no rush to fall out.   Coleman was well into first grade before he lost his first tooth.  So Spence has him beat there!  Check out this big smile!

Can't Do That When We Fly!

It's nice to fly to Montana and get there after half a day of traveling, but I have to admit driving was fun!  We got to see family that we rarely see, and parts of the country that we'd never seen before.  We stopped at places that otherwise we'd never go, like an extinct volcano in the northeastern corner of New Mexico.  After convincing the kids that lava would not be spewing and endangering our lives, we started our drive up the volcano.  No guardrails and a very narrow road made for an extremely nervous Momma!  But we made it!  The rangers gave the kids booklets to complete activities while exploring the volcano and after completing they were awarded honorary ranger badges and certificates.

 

Ready to walk down into the vent

 

I always seem to wear flip flops to go hiking

There was quite an amazing view from the top

 This was really a neat stop that everyone enjoyed!  I mean, how often do you get to drive up a volcano and then walk down into it? We drove on to Wichita Falls, TX and spent the night there.  We made it home the next day, July 22, 15 days after we left!  What a journey!  Can't wait to see what we'll find on our next road trip!

Cousins!

On our way home from Montana, we drove through Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.  We stopped and visited Uncle Brent, Aunt Dre, and Rylan!  Allie and I went to see Rylan last summer, but Brian and the boys had never met her.  It's so fun to have a cousin!

Making it to Grandpa and Grandma's

After four days and 2000 miles we made it to Grandma and Grandpa's house!  I love love love our visits to Helena.  It is such a beautiful place, and the people we are there to visit make it all the more wonderful!  Several years ago Grandpa bought treasure boxes for the kids.  Every day of our visit the kids look in their treasure boxes and find a small toy or tokens for the carousel.  Now that the kids are older and, ahem, pickier, Rita asked them to give her some treasure box ideas.  Of course their ideas were "the coolest toy ever" and a "100 inch plasma TV."  Ha!  One day their treasure was a combined gift:  an inflatable ball that you get in and roll around in.  They loved it and played with it all week!

At the big hill at Carroll College (this is where we sled in the winter)

Spence ready for his ride

The weather was absolutely gorgeous!  Summer at our house involves lots of air conditioned activities or trips to the pool.  But in Montana summer is the time to go outdoors!  The kids played outside and at parks (virtually unheard of at home from late May to early October).  We ate lunch and dinner outside every chance we got!  Brian and I are already planning to summer there when we're retired.

Concert at the park

We planned our trip so we'd be in town for Brian's 20th high school reunion.  There were two dinners for the adults, and one family day at a lake.  The water was sooooo cold!  But Allie enjoyed it!

One day we visited a ghost town.  The old buildings were pretty cool! 

Leaving the ghost town we stopped at a little stream and the kids played around.

I'm so thankful for a beautiful place to vacation and for amazing family who we love and enjoy visiting!  Thanks for letting us stay an entire week!

Touring the Ranch

This post is about day 3 of our trip, so if you missed the first two days scroll down!  Grandpa drove over to meet us at the ranch where he grew up.  His sister and her family still live there and run the ranch.  They have chickens (which Allie thought were stinky) and sheep (which Mommy thought pooed too much).  We toured around and the kids shot a real gun for the first time.

Three generations of Pik men surveying the land

Thank you Grandpa for driving to Broadus to show us your family ranch!  We loved it!

What's In South Dakota?

I'm guessing when travelers get anywhere near South Dakota they stop by Mount Rushmore.  We did!  And it was pretty awesome!  I wasn't sure if the kids would really care about it, but they had fun spotting the Presidents as we weaved through the Black Hills. There are some amazing bridges and tunnels on that road!

We stopped and got out of the car when we caught our first glimpse of Mount Rushmore (I may or may not have instructed everyone to point!)

 Mount Rushmore is super "touristy."  There was an observation area, then a trail that went around the base of the mountain and gave you views of each different Presidential head.  In the gift shop, which was enormous, one of the men who helped carve Mount Rushmore was signing autographs.  How crazy is that?

You could walk in between these rocks and get a great view of Washington

After leaving Mount Rushmore we drove through Deadwood.  I have to admit I'm not very informed about the old west and shootouts, but it was a neat town.  We took the kids into a bar to watch a reenactment  of Wild Bill being shot and killed.  The slot machines kind of distracted them though.  Hmm...  My kids in a bar, surrounded by slot machines, witnessing a murder.  Not really how I envisioned my family vacation.

Love this picture!

That was Day 3!  (No one was harmed in any of the reenactments.)  We arrived at the family ranch in Broadus late that night.  I'll share those pictures next!

How to Have a Successful Road Trip

I hate to brag, but our family recently returned from a road trip where we spent 8 days in the car together.  What am I bragging about?  That we ALL made it back!  No one got kicked out of the car!  I have to admit the thought of kicking someone (who shall remain nameless) out of the car did cross my mind.  But my reasonable self prevailed and our family in its entirety is now safely at home.  We brought back some great memories!  You may hear me joke about losing a bit of sanity being in the car that long with three kids, but it really was a fun time.  We saw some interesting sites, visited family and friends, and took lots of pictures.  So what makes for a successful road trip?  Keeping your expectations in check, realizing little bladders will need to be emptied at the most inconvenient time, knowing your junk food limit (Some hotels will charge you $25 to clean a puked on mattress. Yes, unfortunately this is experience speaking.), and getting home with everyone you left with!  Brian and I also discussed installing one of those glass partitions you see in limos before our next road trip.  That could really up the success level!

Early on the morning of July 7th we headed for Wichita, Kansas.  Our main stop that day was in Oklahoma City to see my friend Theresa and her family.  Even though we only got to visit for a few hours, I'm glad we got to see them!  We made such good time getting there that we may have to do that more often!  Once we arrived at the hotel in Wichita, it was no surprise the kids were ready to be out of the car and play.  There was a basketball court, putting green, and a pool.  This is also the hotel where we paid an extra fee to have the sofa bed cleaned after Coleman ate more than his fair share of pizza, cheese sticks, and Oreos!  Live and learn.

Allie joined the game even though she was already dressed for the pool

We knew Day 2 would be a long day driving through Nebraska, but luckily our stop this day was extra intriguing:  Carhenge!

It's like Stonehenge, but only with old spray painted cars!

 And I saw the most beautiful rainbow I've ever seen in Nebraska.  The pictures don't even come close to showing how gorgeous it was, but I had to include them!

That was our first two days on the road.  I'll be back later to add some more of the trip!

Now that She's 4...

 ... Allie has graduated from the church nursery and now goes to the worship service then Children's Church on Sunday and Kid's Bible Club on Wednesdays!  On her first night in KBC, I walked in at the end just in time to hear her telling the teacher that Jesus died on the cross for us.  Big smiles!  She acts like she's been going to "big church" and in with the older kids forever!  She's full of wisdom. Just listen to what she told me today:  "I know God is bigger than an elephant standing on his tippy toes." So true.
 

Allie's first night in Kid's Bible Club her friend Drew invited her to sit next to him

Now that she's 4, she also has her own castle.  Well not completely her own, she has to share it with her brothers.  We have a ton of boxes in our house, so this was our first attempt at repurposing some of them. I wonder if all business-owners-who-work-out-of-their-homes-and-get-large-box-deliveries kids' have it so good?

This week is all about getting ready for our big road trip.  I'm really excited and nervous at the same time.  We're stocking up on snacks, treats, and dollar store finds to keep everyone occupied in the car.  A sweet friend gave the kids a Nintendo DS, and another pair of sweet friends gave them lots of games to use with it!  I've been putting together some activities for them to do on the long drive, and one of my favorites is what I like to call Magna-Daughter.  I'll post some pictures of it soon!

Happy Birthday Allie!

I'm hoping VBS is a good enough excuse for not posting pictures of the birthday girl on her actual birthday!  We are really having a great week in VBS, and we did not totally overlook Allie's birthday!  Since she wanted to go to Sea World, that trip took the place of a birthday party.  We had a blast with our friends Paul David and Judson (and Mrs. Candice and Mr. Paul).  It was both of our first vacations with friends and we called it a success!  I'm sure Candice got some great pictures, so I'll be sharing more pictures from Sea World later, but here's what I got:

Ready for fun (June 12, 2013)

The water ski show that I had been looking forward to

After posing with Shamu, Spence said, "I didn't know whales were fuzzy."

Waiting for the real Shamu (check out Allie's face)

The kids loved the Sesame Street characters

Allie and the Count

Farewell to Sea World!

Two days at Sea World will wipe you out!

And I had to add a picture of the big roller coaster that Coleman and Brian couldn't get enough of

On Father's Day, Brian and the kids took a picture by the OralID boxes.  I think that will be a great reminder of what was going on for Father's Day 2013!  It's been so nice to have Brian working from home, enjoying his work, and having NO commute!!!  We have dinner together every night.  That is totally new to us and we are loving it!

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy we know!

 Sunday was also Allie's last time in the Church nursery.  Now that she's 4, she will come to church with us for worship, then go to Children's Church!  And on Wednesday night she will go to Kid's Bible Club.  What a big girl!

Love this little 4 year old, and her photo bombing bro!

Monday was Allie's birthday, so after VBS Nana and Poppa met us at Los Tios for a birthday lunch.  Gotta love a girl who chooses Mexican food for her birthday lunch!  And Grandma, we sure missed you.  On your next visit Allie will take you to get a taco!

Chips and salsa make me happy!

The banner I've been using to decorate for Allie's birthday since she was one

The cake that Sam's forgot to make!  They were fast though and had it done by that afternoon.

Allie, you are truly a blessing to our family! I thank God for you and pray every day that you will grow up to love Him, know Him, and serve Him all your days.  Sometimes I look at you and wonder where you came from - this blond, curly, full of personality little girl that turns heads everywhere she goes.  I'm so glad you're part of our crazy clan!