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Thanks!!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

On Thursday, October 25 I went with Hailey and her preschool class to a landscaping nursery/pumpkin patch. It was a fun afternoon for everyone!!! :)

First we started in the preschool classroom. Hailey had to show me the spider puppet (just what I needed to see!) and then her "job" was calendar this week, so she was at the front of the class helping figure out what day and date it was. She did great!!!

Then we were off to ride the bus! She decided to be silly and wear MY sunglasses and then of course wanted a picture taken! What a SUPERSTAR!! :)

While at the pumpkin patch, the kids got to play many different games!! From bowling (Hailey got a STRIKE!), to a bean bag game, fishing for candy, even a small maze to find your own pumpkin, and the favorite....searching in the hay for CANDY! FUN and MESSY!!!

What a fun way to spend the day with Hailey!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Elk -- part 2

This post is so not about the kids...but for all the hunters that need to see the elk!! I found out this morning that Brad (our friend from ND and Chris' hunting buddy :) for the week) also got a 4x5 elk yesterday!! Not too bad considering we were just hoping they would SEE elk ... and maybe get one! :) Now we have TWO HUGE ELK to deal with!! The boys are back in Billings, and are over cutting up the meat right now. Should be a fun night for them! :)

Picture of Chris with his elk in the field .... and how he got it OUT of the field!!!

And a picture of Brad with his elk in the field, getting it out, and another one this morning.

Great job guys!!!!!

And a few bonus pictures. Here is their "camp"... Notice the camper in the upper left corner of the picture. Then a picture of the snow they found the first morning.

And a few scenery pictures ... by Brad.

And, how they got there. Chris pulling the camper (see Brad's elk in the back of his truck) and Brad pulling both 4-wheelers).

The Elk

Yesterday was the FIRST day of hunting for elk and deer in Montana, so Chris was out and ready to go! (he was actually out scouting since Thursday too) He is elk hunting all week, but wasn't sure if he would really shoot one even if given the chance since he has access to a special piece of land for elk this year. So, wouldn't you know. at 8:40 AM on the first morning of the season Chris would get a 5 by 5 bull elk!!! I knew it wasn't a good sign when I got a call from his cell phone at noon on Sunday (he has to drive quite a ways to get cell reception!). He was so excited and happy! :) He ended up driving the 3 hours home to get it here, and 3 hours back since it is suppose to get to be 60 degrees outside and didn't want the meat to spoil.

Ryan was SO EXCITED when Chris got home to see the elk. Chris walked in and Ryan said "Daddy, where your elk is??" and was ready to see it. When outside Chris asked Ryan what an elk said and here is Ryan's response (NO HELP by the way...and got TONS of laughing by actually sounding like one!!!)

And a few pictures ... cannot forget those! :)

Picture day

Look at our pretty girl!!! Today Hailey had preschool pictures and she needed a haircut, so I picked her up before preschool and got her hair cut and styled. What a cute little girl she is!! :) (hey..I am the mommy...I can say that!!) After the haircut, she needed lunch (I thought she would have ate at daycare, but didn't) so we stopped at McDonald's (that made her day too!!). Then we talked AGAIN about staying awake all day at preschool and staying active with her class. She said she was ready! :) I snapped this picture while we were waiting in line at McDonald's...will be fun to see how the actual picture turns out!! :)

Update...she did GREAT at preschool and stayed AWAKE all day long!! We were VERY PROUD of her...and she was proud of herself as well. =D

Slippers

It is funny how something so small can make Hailey and Ryan's night!! When I was at Target yesterday, I saw slippers. Knowing that slippers usually sell out fast in the sizes I need (at least that is how I feel it happens), I got a few pair. Chris thought we should give them to Hailey & Ryan last night. Hailey of course loved hers...but she has always liked slippers. Ryan NEVER wore his last year...but I don't know what happened, but he LOVED his Cars slippers!!!!!!!!!! He even wore them to bed. I will have to get a picture of him wearing them so you can tell how BIG they are on him in relation to his little body. :)

Two words...

CUTE KIDS!!!!!!!!! Here are Hailey & Ryan on Saturday at Harvest Fest in downtown Billings. Warning, family, you will be seeing this picture again! :) hint hint :)

I wanna ride in the fire truck!

STOP! DROP! ROLL!!!! October is Fire Safety month, and Hailey's preschool class took a field trip to a fire station on Wednesday and I got to take a 1/2 day of vacation and go with. It was a beautiful day outside, and so fun to be with her and her friends to see the station, the truck, and a few firefighters too. Fun times!! Enjoy the pictures. ;)

First, here is Hailey performing her "job" of the week....DOOR HOLDER! :)

And, pictures at the fire station. First, inside watching a firefighter go down the pole. There is only one pole like this in Billings (all the other fire stations are just one floor so no pole needed). Then pictures outside by the firetruck.

Sleepovers

Hailey can be so shy most days. But, lately, she hasn't been shy about one thing...sleepovers at her house! Last Saturday she started a new session of swimming lessons. She got done, came over to me, and told me..."Mommy, I have a new friend and she wants to sleep over at my house!" Funny thing is...she didn't know this new friend's name! :) I figured we would find out next Saturday.

Then, tonight I took the kids to McDonald's where there is a playland. They were playing while I was getting the food ready, and when it was time to eat, Hailey said to me "Mommy I met a new friend playing!" I thought that was so good of her to actually talk to a new person! Then, the little girl walked by, and Hailey said "Hi! HI!!! You wanna have a sleepover at my house??? Do you wanna have a sleepover at my house, friend???" All of this was really loud and a few tables got a big laugh out of it (including me). I guess I know who initiated the first talk of a sleepover with her new friend at swimming. :)

Pumpkin Fun

Look at what we did on Sunday afternoon -->

Michael's craft store had a special yesterday from 1-5pm for customers to come in and decorate their own craft pumpkins. So, when the kids woke up early from their naps at 2:45, we went right over there! OMG it was a MESS, but as you can tell from the pumpkins, they sure had fun! I think Hailey would have stayed for another hour or two if I would have let her, but Ryan had his limit!! :)

Here are a few pictures of the process...Ryan painting his pumpkin, Hailey working on hers, and then one of Hailey very proudly displaying her pumpkin. It is so fun that hers actually has a face (unlike Ryan's :) ).