two things....

..have happened recently in my daily outings/dialouge with h and e.
the first a little embarrasing, the second a little scary.

scene 1
hutch and i had a donut date, so we headed to safeway together to pick some up.
as we entered the store, hutch yelled several times "SECURITY!"
he is most certainly a spawn of alex jehle.
i really thought the gals stacking at the display nearby would never stop laughing.

scene 2
the scary one. one of the deals at our house is using sweet words. it great to express your opinion and be assertive, but be kind in your choice of words.

and when i ask them to do something, i give a reason, and saying no is not an option.
so today, i asked elsa to put her shoes on to leave and she said,

"NO!"..her eyes widened, a brief pause, then the recovery "...my ABC's, next time won't you sing with me." she sang "i know my ABC's" once more, as if to drive home the point that she wasn't saying no, she was just picking up on the tail end of the alphabet.

we are in. for. it, ya'll.

tHe "NeW" jeHLemoBILE

this is our 'investment in the family' as we like to call it.
it's a 1969 airstream land yacht.
we've used it every weekend since we got it.
we named it clifford.

if you can get there, get there (part 1)

we love where we live. we know this is where we are supposed to be.
but, as those of you know who don't live near family/old friends,
there is always a bit of heartache that comes with the decision to
live any great distance from those you love.
virginia was a great expereince, but also pretty rattling time for us, fellowship-wise.
and we feel at home here in big sky country, and are making friends,
but very much look forward to not just knowing people, but truly being known,
and truly knowing those we are friends with. it all takes time.
i am so thankful for the friends and family that make the trek to montana, and so happy my folks bought a summer home here. these visits are such a gift.

all that so say, although it seems more often than not plans don't work out,
if the opportunity to see people we are close to pops up, if we can get there, we get there.
we had that chance yesterday with a longtime friend of alex's, chris creighton.
he coaches the iowa drake bulldogs, and is an all-around cool person.
you can hear an interview he did recently on npr here.
his team played montana state yesterday, so we drove to bozeman friday,
camped, and had the honor to support and watch a good friend, who we do not see...ever, really.

and let me tell you this: i was blown away. i know so few people who truly love and believe in every aspect of their job, and this guy does. and to get to sit on the front row and watch someone in their element really is inspiring. the integrity with which he coaches, the encouragement he gives to his players, he was born to be a college football coach, alex and i both left pumped up, ready to take on any challenge. and hutch woke up this a.m. asking to play football. and elsa just asked for fruit snacks the whole time. can't disagree, they are tasty.

40

my handsome birthday boy.

i love him.

for alex's big 40 weekend, we took these jokers:

to this place: glacier national park.

there is no place like it, pure magic.

we saw lots of stunning scenery like this:

and a lot of wild animals like this one, who was kind

enough to allow me to get a close up.

and the kids were most excited about this:

a pica mouse at our campsite. hutch named him 'horsepower'

and elsa tried to give him a million rocks and sticks to eat.

buggy is two!

elsa, ladybug, buggy, bugs, bugga...
you turned two almost two weeks ago.
and i can't believe it. i also can't wrap my brain
around all of the things i want to say to you.

you are buttermilk pie doused in hot sauce,
sweet to the core with a very liberal dose of spice.
you make us laugh, give us love, confuse us,
and we marvel at the girl God made just for our family. you are a perfect fit with your many, many personality traits. we love them all.


bugs, i love your tough, feisty exterior.
you play it lauren bacall-cool with others, studying them,
offering little more than a mona lisa smile at their efforts to win you over
until you really, really know them.
and even then you still play hard to get.
but when you open up, you are a chatterbox, grinning, giggling girl.

you don't walk, you strut. in your red cowgirl boots, because
what else would you possibly want to wear?
my elsa, you love babies, animals, books, singing, and dancing, dancing, dancing.

i love seeing you with your brother, you absolutely love him.
you call him 'my hutchy,' or 'my bubba,'
and shower him with hugs and pats, kiss his boo-boo's
and are absolutely agitated if you
wake up first and have to wait for hutch to come downstairs.

bugga, we are so thankful for you.
you are so unique, yet i see so much great-grandmommy in you.
i remember reading that much of one's personality is developed
by age two. if that is the case, we need to buckle up,
because you are going to be one wild ride. and we can't wait to see the
beautiful person you will continue to become.

sEt mE frEE

while i was in texas meeting cute babies,
alex took superb care of the kids. lucky for him,
the x games were on, and hutch was able to see
all the motorsport/bmx events
he could handle.
they must have rubbed off, because last monday he declared he wanted
his training wheels off. he prepared by drawing a mustache and goatee
on his face, waited until dad got home, and went to work.
and he was ready. and i have never seen such joy on his face,
and watching his face made the whole event awesome for me.
that night, he hugged me and said,
"mommy, thank you so much for watching me ride tonight. i love you."
man, i love that kid.
the first picture is him riding at home,
the second is of him "off-roading" into the distance in idaho,
with elsa desperate to keep up.

new LOVE

a couple of weeks ago, i finally got to meet my
nephew and niece, daniel timothy mcguire,
and emmeline kay mcguire.
after gazing at multiple pictures of them for two months,
it was just so lovely to meet them. i'm always surprised,
even though i should know by now, at how much love God creates
in our hearts for new life in our family and close friends. it's like my heart has to grow
bigger every time, because here comes more love than i know
what to do with.
i miss them, and feel so honored to be their aunt,
and so honored to be their godmother! such a wonderful
cherry on top.

someone was the lucky recipient of an
all-purpose helmet courtesy of some friends
with three boys...









which means someone else couldn't WAIT
to get her hands on the one hutch has been using
for pretend play.

there are definitely two winners. and both winners have worn the

respective helmets two days straight...and counting

hAPPy 4th

new camera or not, you can only get kids to sit so still...

kOOteNaI cREek

did a little hikey-hike with some friends this weekend,
about a half hour up bitteroot valley from missoula.
montana in the summer is the best.

helLO PHotOs...

well, my constant sighs of wanting a digital slr has paid off
(katie, your awesome pics put me over the top),
because alex surprised me with a new camera for my birthday!
an added surprise is that if purchased online from costco,
the prized possession will not arrive until
four weeks after ordering.
but i digress.
my new 'ra (as i like to call it)
arrived today, and i have done nothing productive since,
and am feeling a little overwhelmed by all of these options
i now have at my disposal.
so, expect a lot of slide shows like this one.
random photos of my kids who need their faces and noses wiped,
while hutch is pretending to cry in several,
a few glamour shots of alex,
and some garden and weed pictures. enjoy!

three (as of a few months ago)

hutch, i have really stuggled in writing this post. not because i don't have a million things to say about you, because talking to you/about you is easy as pie, but more because i'm in denial you're getting older. three sounds so old to me. i think all the time about how God is so wonderful to us to make each year with you and elsa better and better to counteract with the heartache of how fast time flies with our babies.
and it's not just time that flies, bubbs, you fly. this has been a pivitol year for you as far as finding things you love, and what you love is to go fast. your ultimate goal is a dirt-bike, but until then you will be satifsied flying around the skate park on your scooter, flying down the bunny slope on your skis, jumping off things so high they make me cringe, and practicing your motocross stunts. i spend a lot of time covering my eyes with you, and i am so thankful for your balance and confidence, because every day your attempts get bigger.
you make everyday life so fun. your enthusiasm is contagious, and there is plenty to go around. throwing rocks in the river, catching bugs, all the simple pleasures are met with "oh, man, that sounds AWESOME!" when suggested. seeing the world through your eyes is a beautiful thing, and i enjoy you enjoying life, and enjoy you wanting to confirm that any fun thing we have done that day will also be available in heaven.
but the thing i love the most about year 2-3, something i pray won't ever change, is how vocal you are in your love for us. thank you, hutch, for telling us you love us as often as you do. daddy, elsa, and myself are so blessed by those three words, and your inablility to keep your 'i love you's' and huge hugs contained is indescribeably perfect.
in short, hutch, we celebrate you, delight in you, and are so, so thankful for you and the boy you are.

two beautiful things spotted last night...

this double rainbow off our front porch,
and elsa's face when she saw it.

merry merry 2009

no post in awhile, no pictures in awhile,
so here's about 5 billion of our trip to texas.
our time there was wonderful, grandmommy
was celebrated and missed, hutch and elsa
basked in the affection of ada, mcmomma,
unc and ra-ra,
alex wasn't there long enough,
and it's really nice to be home.