Relay for Life, Boating, Daycare Friends, and Haircuts

We just had an eventful 1 week trip to Montana.  We are always super busy when we go to Montana but this trip was shorter than usual and jam packed!  The kids did great on the trip and I pushed it so we only had to stop once, which makes a huge difference with time.  Every stop is at least an hour with kids and to be honest stopping does not make them any less cranky.  I've noticed even if I stop often I still end up with just as much crankiness and a longer trip.  Overall, I had some pretty happy travelers which I was very thankful for!

We were able to attend the Relay for Life walk with my Grandma and MaKenna.  My grandma is going on 9 years of being cancer free and MaKenna 5, so we had lots to celebrate.  MaKenna and Grandma always walk together and it is a special for both of them.

Ryder danced with Grandma and stole the show!

We went boating again and the kids LOVED every second.  Well, Rilyn and Ryder did.  Sawyer is at the age where being confined to a small space is not ideal so he spent a lot of time throwing temper tantrums.  We caught some fish there were not good for eating, but the kids liked just the idea of catching them anyways.

most important part of boating...snacks!

He hates that life jacket!  Who wouldn't

popsicles and sparkling water between trips

the 100th temper tantrum of the day

Mad because I won't let him play with fishing hooks

After we were done boating we let the kids play in the water for a little while.  This made Sawyer very happy.

The kids love spending time with their cousins and daycare friends.  Rilyn got to have another sleepover with her bestie and we also took them out to dinner.  They love spending time together.

Rilyn and I also got our haircut while we were there.  Rilyn really loves her hair short and as much as I would like to grow it out she is the one that has to deal with it so I let her make that choice.  And she does look very cute with a bob.   I also decided I was done dealing with my hair and donated another 10 inches or so!  With each pregnancy my hair has gotten curlier and it is really hard to manage with it that long.
Now only if I could actually make it look like the stylist did....

We love going to Montana and spending time with my side of the family.  It's always so much fun!

4th of July Weekend

We started the weekend off right with a short visit from my sister, MaKenna, and Isaiah.  Both kiddos had appointments so they did a quick trip and we got to hang for a little.  MaKenna was just cleared to go 5 years in between scans!  So huge since she went from getting them twice a year to once a year to now every 5 years! And Isaiah's head is healing well so all good news on the Nelson front.

Tasha drove to Castle Rock so we could have dinner with her but I must have caught a bug because I ended up getting into town just to throw up quite a few times before I decided to get home.  She took Rilyn and Ryder to dinner and then brought them all the way out here afterwards which was so nice of her!

We were happy to at least see them for a few before they headed home.  Especially since Ryder learned a new skill from Isaiah as you can see in these pictures....

 They both got in trouble and had to sit nice for one picture at least.

On Friday we headed up to Steamboat Springs to celebrate Henry's first birthday!  We were so excited we were able to go up and happy they had room for all of us including the dogs.  We brought a tent but didn't need it as they had an extra room.  They were such gracious hosts and provided meals and snacks which made it such a relaxing weekend!

We don't feed the dogs before we travel to hopefully avoid any messes and Trixie apparently was hungry because she made her way from the front seat to the very back, into Ryder's lap, and into his snack bowl where she helped herself to some goldfish.  Poor Ryder even Trixie takes advantage of him.

 Friday night it was dinner, cake, and presents for Henry!

After the kiddos went to bed we sat on their deck and watched the amazing sunset over the mountains.  Seriously there view puts our view to shame.

Saturday morning I got the kiddos decked out in their America gear...

We went to a little town about 45 minutes away to see a parade since Steamboat is apparently CRAZY busy and it was a perfect parade for the kids.  A band started the parade and they had a big sign that said "The Band" and then when it was over "The Band" also ended the parade.  Ha, such a cute small town parade.

As you can tell from the pictures poor Sawyer was a little miserable.  We think he was having an allergy attack from all the cotton flying around.  His nose and eyes were very watery and he was a very unhappy parade goer on the way home so mom gave in and let him have a lollipop.

Later that evening it was smores, sparklers, and we watched the firework show from a spot on their property which was perfect!

It was a perfect 4th of July weekend!