Checkup and a day of adventure

Jason wearing his "sunglasses" after having his eyes dilated.

Yesterday Jason went in for another eye appointment. We had hoped his eyes would have shown improvement, but instead they have gotten worse. Thankfully we got him in and he has new glasses on the way. His new glasses even have transitions lenses. Jason is very excited and they should be here in a week to 10 days. He was such a good boy. Between getting his eyes dilated and having his eye lids held open while a bright light is shined in them you would think he would have gotten upset, but instead he was amazing. He did so well and we are very proud.

Today after Jason recovered a little we decided to go out to Anchor Dam.... Everyone should go check it out. It is very cool and made for a perfect outing. Since there is very little water you can get a great view of the dam and there is a very nice campground above it that we played at and ate. It was so much fun. All of the pictures can be seen if you click here. Don't forget to click on the pics to get a better look. Enjoy everyone and we will talk to you soon.

A view of the dam from a distance...

Looking at the other side of the dam

Jason's Classroom

Wednesday came in with a huge milestone for Jason. We completed all of the paperwork for preschool and got a tour of his new classroom. Miss Bethany showed him his cubby, all of the different play areas and the computers. She also gave the boys balloons and small rubber lizards which they loved. It was a great ice breaker and Jason can't wait for his first day of school on Tuesday.

This is Jason's cubby that he shares with another little boy. He will hang his coat there and keep all of his school supplies there.

This is the main seating area....

There is a sand/water table, a computer area and even a dress up area in this part of the room.

This week has been a great one. We have done a lot of playing as usual. I have been working hard on my quilt. It will be finished one of these days.... I do love working on it though. The kiddos like to help. They count my blocks and carry them all over the place. When I was cutting, they helped measure and hold the fabric while I cut. It has been great working on it with them.

Tomorrow Jason goes in for an eye appointment. They will dilate his eyes and we will find out if his prescription has changed. We are hoping for a big change for the better. I will update after we find out.

I will end this with a picture of Jake after his bath..... the picture says it all.

This is Jake's hair after a bath tonight... funny!!!

pinochle dinner and kite flying

Another great week of playing and quilting. This week I have learned a lot about cutting blocks..... it is very time consuming, but not bad. This week I should be ready to start sewing blocks together.

The playground is so much fun. We have already had so many adventures up there. The heat returned in the middle of the week so our playtime on it was limited mid afternoon, but it just gave me more time to work on the quilt.

Last night we finally got our celebratory dinner... Colin and Dusty did a great job. It tasted very good and was a lot of fun. We also started our next contest. This time it is the first team to get to 50 wins. I am sure Beth and I have it in the bag.

Today we played a little before going out and trying out the Lewis' kite. It is so much fun to see a big kite like that fly. We all took turns and Reese (Beth and Dusty's dog) jumped through the air trying to catch it. It was a great day and a ton of fun. Thanks guys.

This week is going to be a little crazy. Jason goes back to they eye doctor Friday and we are hoping that we find out that his eyes are improving... we will keep you updated. This is Jason's last week before he starts preschool and he is ready. It should be fun. We hope all of you are doing well and we will have more pictures and tales to share very soon................

To view our pictures from dinner and kite flying click here. HAVE FUN!!!

PLAYGROUND!!!!

Hello again... We wanted to show off the kids' new playground. It has been a lot of work, but it was worth every second. We spent so much quality time working together as a family. Finally in the last two days the boys and I buckled down and finished the project. I have to say there were a few minor injuries to me and Colin, but the boys remained unscathed. Today Jason, Jake and I worked hard to finish the roof. I have posted 17 new pictures in my Aug 09 album on picasa so click here to look at them. One of the pictures is of our pumpkin patch which was pounded by hail when we were at Brian's wedding. Enjoy!!! We sure will. Hopefully I will get my next quilt made soon. Have a great week everyone.

Wedding Weekend!!!

The whole Moody family

The four of us dressed to impress

The boys wandering before they have to sit

The beautiful newly weds!!

I have waited to make this post because I didn't know where to begin. Colin said just start from the beginning, so here goes.


The weekend began Thursday. It was CRAZY!!! Colin was at work and I was in charge of packing. This would have been much easier if it weren't for the changing weather. There was one point in time snow was forecast for the area the outdoor wedding was located. By the time Colin returned home, the pickup was loaded and we were off to Cody to celebrate my mother in laws birthday. We arrived to find that Colin's little brother and some of his friends were there. There was a little time to visit before that crowd left for a bachelor party camping trip. After they left we had a gift opening session and took some time to reflect. It was a very relaxing break before the beginning of "WEDDING WEEKEND ADVENTURE".



Friday morning came in like a whirl wind. Connie, Jay, Colin, the boys and I ate right away before the camping crew arrived. I quickly prepared breakfast for them while Jay gathered everything for the wedding, Connie ironed (there was a mound of clothes to iron) and Colin took care of the little men. As soon as the camping crew ate Colin and I were off to the store to get groceries for our stay in MT. With a pickup loaded we were ready to set off to the Big Sky state.




The trip there was quite uneventful. It turns out that is the best way to have it. After doing a couple of loops out of town we found the location without directions. It was a few miles outside of Red Lodge and very beautiful. This was the calmest day of the weekend. We settled in and then went to explore town before the rehearsal and dinner.




Rehearsal was at the outdoor location with the stipulation if the weather was too bad it would be moved to the tent (reception location). It was obvious that no matter where the wedding was located it would be beautiful. Some of Brian and Cari's friends played music as people entered. It was amazing but we couldn't have even known how amazing it was until the next evening. Post rehearsal brought us to a dinner of vegetarian chili. Talk about good food. We ate like kings over the weekend. Jason was ready for bed right after dinner and we thought Jake would be too. Connie offered to watch the boys while we had fun with the wedding party. The beer on location ran out quickly so many of us headed to town for an experience we will never forget. Our first stop was pretty normal but then we moved on to another bar. As we walked in we witnessed a couple dancing. There moves included fake choking.... I don't even know how to go into more explanation other than it was very strange. As we were leaving Cari (the bride) nearly got hit by broken glass from a glass that the choking couple threw. It was quite back woods and obvious this was not our speed. Cari was the dd because she didn't want to drink too much before her big day so she brought three of us home. I returned to the Lodge and Colin still wasn't at the house we were staying in. After walking around in the dark I found him building a huge fire with Cari's brother. They ran out of beer so they decided a bigger fire was necessary. It was quite the sight. This is basically where our night came to an end. Colin and Dan put out the fire and while everyone else decided to go hot tubbing we made our way through the darkness to go to bed.




The next morning the sun came up over a cooler day... the wedding day. There was a thick cloud cover and a chill in the air. Colin and I had a golf date planned with mom and dad in town. Connie watched the kids while we got our game on. There is no doubt that we will not be confused for pros. The water was very hungry Saturday morning. It was a great time though. As soon as we finished we went out and got the kids to eat lunch with us in town. We ate at a place called the Kitchen and Wine Bar and it was such good food. I would go back to Red Lodge just to eat, not for the night life.




We quickly made our way out to the Lodge as soon as we finished lunch. It was time to get ready for the wedding. People were running around, getting dressed, and setting up. Just as the bridal party and parents gathered where the wedding was supposed to take place, it began to rain and rain and rain............. Most of the pictures were taken before it really started coming down. Then guests started showing up. At this point there were very dark clouds coming toward us. To protect the instruments and keep the guests dry Brian and Cari decided to move the wedding into the tent. It was a good thing since it was coming down so hard. The boys loaded all of the chairs and everything was moved down to the tent in a flash. It worked out so well. The tent was transformed into this beautiful retreat. The whole area glowed when it was raining outside. It was just beautiful. You will have to look at the pictures to really understand how perfect everything was. Cari looked like an angel and everything fell into place.




The reception was full of tasty food, a lot of dancing, and great company. We had so much fun. There was one point when Jason told me he had to go potty. We ran outside and saw some flowers that were just asking for him to pee on them. So he starts peeing and then says... Mom, these flowers sure are pretty.... I said yes they are....... He peed some more and then after thinking for a few moments said... They are going to stink.... That boy is a nut. We had to end our night fairly early. Jason told dad that there were only old people there so it was time to go. He was quite tired so we made our way back up to the house and put him down. Jake didn't give in right away, but was quite tired as well.



After we left the reception it really picked up. The crowd picked up Brian and Cari and passed them over their heads dancing. It was quite the sight and we have a few pictures of it. Everyone enjoyed themselves. To end the night Brian and Cari rode of into the night on a bicycle while their friends sang Sweet Caroline. A perfect end to a night that came straight out of a story book. The wedding party then gathered at the cook house with the remainder of the beer and danced late into the night. All of them can dance too. It was just so much fun.



The next morning was pretty calm. We loaded our stuff and went to the cook house to eat. Connie and Jay once again out did themselves with biscuits and gravy. We visited with family and said our goodbyes... and ended the event with the traditional kids chasing the chicken. It might not have been tradition before this, but when a random chicken showed up to breakfast, we knew that this would have to become the norm.



As we were leaving we decided to go the scenic rout home. We went up through the Beartooths up into the clouds and snow. It was a lovely trip and was going so well until we were almost through sunlight when Jason said he had goo in his mouth. His face was pale and he was feeling very very bad. This was our first experience with car sickness. We parked on the side of the road and took everything out of the pickup, stripped Jason down and used many water bottles just to make the rest of our trip tolerable and less stinky. It was a long stop because there was a lot of cleaning to do but Jason seemed to be doing much better after our stop. We made our way home as quickly as possible after this stop. I guess that winding road was a little too much for our little man.



We made it home last night to two very happy dogs and warm beds. It was a wonderful weekend that we will never forget. Thank you to everyone who made it possible. Congratulations to Brian and Cari as well. I will post more excitement soon... we always have some and now we have to start thinking about working on the playground. Have a great week everyone!!!




You can find more pics of the wedding and some from the last week here. The boots Cari is wearing were Grandma Moody's. My first quilt is in one of the pics.





Enjoy!!!

What a week

The boys always keep me on my toes. This last week has been no exception. We have had a wild time of a lot of play. When Jason was a baby I used to worry about taking a break and just playing, but now I realize that play days are the most important. Kids can only be kids for so long so we are going to enjoy it. We start our day with a good breakfast and a nice walk with the dogs. I can't tell you how many people stop to comment on me pulling the two boys in the wagon and walking the dogs at the same time.... Everyone says the same thing too. "You look like you have your hands full." It is goofy. After that we get home and have a snack before we get a little play time in... usually cars or Legos. On nice days we are outside and the kiddos never fail to sneak into the pool. Then we are on to a wonderful lunch full of riveting conversation. Jason is so fully of stories it is never boring. After lunch Jake will go down for a nap, Jason plays outside and I take a quick shower while I have an opening. We try to play hard until 4 and then I make dinner. The boys love to help. They are quite the little chefs. Evenings are my favorite. We sit around the table for dinner and talk. Jake even gets in on the dinner conversation. It is a blast. After dinner we go for a walk, play, or work on a project before bath time and bed time. It is so much fun to work on things as a family. We always laugh a lot.

Over the weekend we have added a few projects to the list. Colin and I purchased a playground for the boys. It is huge and has everything you can imagine even a pirate lookout with ship wheel. That is fine and dandy, but it recommends 12 hours or more to assemble. After diving into the project yesterday we made it to step 5 of 25.... this is going to take a very long time. It will be very cool when it is finished.

I am also learning how to sew. Instead of buying material to make my first quilt Colin and I gathered all of our old sweatshirts and stained baby blankets for material. It will be the ugliest quilt, but I am loving it. Jason loves how it feels already. This is one of those projects I am taking my time with but I am sure it will be finished soon.

I have posted more pictures here. I will post more pics of our playground progress as it unfolds. Hope all of you are doing well. Congratulations Maggie on your new home. Can't wait to see it. Till next time everyone!!!

Pizza

As I have told all of you over and over..... we are surrounded by some of the greatest people here in Thermop. The other night we went to a friends house for pizza and it was amazing. It wasn't your average pizza or a normal recipe. It was jalapeno popper pizza. That is right jalapeno popper. It is simple. Make your crust, smother with cream cheese, cover that with a little pizza sauce, top with cheese jalapenos and bacon. Oh is it good. I would have never thought of such a recipe, but I will be making that one a lot. Grill it for the best flavor. I hope all of you love it as much as we did. Have a great rest of the week.

Weekend of fun fun fun

Last weekend the boys were able to go and stay with my parents. They had such a great time that Jason is still talking about it. They went swimming, played, went to Great Grandpas, and even helped Grandpa work on his electric pickup. This is what Jason told us. They did much more, but he is very excited about these highlights.

While the boys were gone we hosted an appetizer party. The food was amazing and we had so much fun getting to know everyone better. We had the opportunity to visit with some of our neighbors and ate until we couldn't move. Thank you for coming everyone and we hope to see you at our fry party in the fall.

Saturday was lake day!!! We went out to Boysen and we were ready to play. It was a blast. Colin is a huge fan of jet ski football and I have to admit, jungle juice is very good. We tubed, went water skiing, swam, kayaked, and played on the jet skis. Once again we ate until we couldn't function and had a grand time visiting and laughing.

You can click here for the pics. It was an amazingly fun weekend. We are sore beyond words and have bruises to show for it. Now we are thankful to have the boys home and taking time to recover. Thank you Mom and Dad for taking the boys and showing them such a great time. They had a blast. I hope all of you had a wonderful week and I will have more to post soon.