How I spent my summer vacation....

Billings was hit by a major hail storm on May 18, this year and it did severe damage all over town.  It broke our skylights in the living room, which we have since replaced, beat our roof all to pieces (this will be replaced next year), and beat up our siding.  Since we didn't get enough insurance money to re-side, we painted, and painted, and painted.  Boy our house is big.  Well, we finally got done and here is the result.

If you will notice the garage doors.  I know it is hard to see in these pictures, but each panel has insets - 3 per panel - that are very narrow.  These were painted with a small artist's brush.  Talk about tedium!!!  The new roof planned for next year will be white(ish) and this will complete the transformation.  I was tired of BROWN and am pleased with the results.

Meet Adia Harper Dwyer...

She made her appearance on Sunday, July 20th.  She weighed in at 6 lb, 14.9 oz. and measured 19 1/4 inches long.  She is beautiful and we can hardly wait to hold her and cuddle her up.  I think her big brother is excited to have a baby sister.  Congratulations to Clay and Shyla for this new addition to their family.  We love you all!!!

Kenny Rogers...

Last night Bruce and I went to a Kenny Rogers concert.  We had a wonderful time!!  He was thoroughly entertaining and it was so much fun to hear and sing along with all his hits.  He has been a music icon since the 60s!  I cannot count his number one hits nor the number of other songs he has had on the charts.  He is a true music icon and can still put on a show.  His signature raspy voice still sent chills. 

Easter (almost) in Oklahoma...

We flew to Oklahoma for Easter weekend to spend time with Shyla, Clay and Pierce. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time. We had to fly home on Easter day, so we almost got to spend Easter in Oklahoma.

Pierce loved his new soccer ball.

We saw a plane fly over and Pierce watched it fly.

Pierce loves his car.  We played outside with it for hours.

Clay and Pierce playing with his dump truck.  Clay is a great dad and Pierce loves playing with him.

We bought Pierce an early birthday present of a sand box.  He LOVED it!!

Geezer and Pierce playing in the sand.

A beautiful, sunny day in OKC.

Blowing bubbles is always a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Even Gramby got in on the fun.

It was nearly impossible to get all of us looking at the camera, smiling with our eyes open.

While we were there we got to spend time with our very dear friends, Robin & Steve.  We miss you guys.

Thanks to Shyla, Clay and Pierce for a great weekend.  Can't wait until next time!!  Love you guys.

Happy Birthday Shyla...

Today is Shyla's 34th birthday.  Happy birthday beautiful girl.  We love you and are so very proud of you.  You are a wonderful daughter, wife and mother.  Hope you have a wonderful day.

Let it snow, let it snow, QUIT snowing already!!!

Well, this winter has made up for last winter in spades!!!  So far, we have had 100 inches of snow and it is still coming down.  As an added bonus, the temperature right now is -13 degrees.  Yeah!!!

 This was the street on my drive to work on Tuesday.  Note the mound of snow in the middle of the street.  At many points, it was taller than the car.

 This was a picture I took on Wednesday of the front walk.  Bruce had plowed and shoveled that morning before he went to work, and this is what it was like when I came home at 1:00.  Notice the depth of the snow plowed up.

 This was taken a few minutes ago of the same location.  Notice the depth of the snow now.  This was just a three day difference in snow levels.

 This is the back deck taken on Wednesday.  The depth of the snow is deceptive considering we have had two thaws this month and this snow level is just the latest.

This is another view of the front yard.

Winter usually doesn't bother me very much.  I have chosen to live in Montana and know that winter and snow is a part of that choice, but this winter has been a test of my reserve.  I don't actually mind the snow, and I don't even mind the cold.  What I hate is trying to drive in this mess.  I keep trying to convince Bruce that I need a 4 wheel drive vehicle, but to no avail.  Oh well, Spring will be here eventually...maybe July???

I Can't Believe I Took So Long...

Well, I haven't really dropped off the face of the earth, but you might think so.  I realized the other day that I never wrote about our Christmas holiday.  So here goes....

The entire family converged on Shyla & Clay's home in Oklahoma this year.  It was crowded, chaotic and a lot of fun!!!

We had a little bad weather driving down which is to be expected in December, but we arrived safely.  The first thing we saw when we arrived was this...

Yeah!!!  Shyla and Clay are giving Pierce a little brother or sister in July!!!  We couldn't be more thrilled.  They are wonderful parents and another little one will make their life just that more full of blessings.

The day before we arrived, Oklahoma had been hit with an ice storm.  Everything was covered with a thick layer of ice.

This was the ice coating on Shyla's flower bed and patio lamp.  Brrrrrrrrrrrr!!

The tree was overflowing with gifts.

The stockings were stuffed as well.

Because Jim, Alyson and the girls were flying home on Christmas morning, we actually had our celebration on Christmas Eve.  I don't think the kids even noticed!!!  The kids had fun tearing into their goodies.

However, the dogs didn't seem to care one little bit!!!

Pierce fell in love with his Geezer.  He called him "Dudee".  Don't know why but he was very sad when it was time to go.

The day after Christmas was quite a bit warmer so Pierce was able to play on the patio with his car.

While we were in Oklahoma, we were blessed to be able to visit with our friends, Robin & Steve.  They had moved to Oklahoma from Billings just a few months before and it was SO good to be able to visit with them.
We miss them so much!

Well, that pretty much sums up our Christmas holiday.  We had such a wonderful time in Oklahoma with our children and our friends.