Montana Vacation

We spent a week at my family's cabin on Canyon Ferry Lake outside of Helena, MT. I have been going to the cabin for over 20 years- many of my greatest childhood memories are at this wonderful place. It is so fun to take Kennedy there now! Prepare yourself for a whole slew of photos. I took over 300 so this is actually me, downsizing!

We always see lots of family at the cabin and this year, we were joined by Becky and Jim and their kids, Erin and Connor. My mom and Becky are lifelong friends ... it was great having them with us for the week! Highlights of this week included beautiful weather, the water trampoline, paddle boat rides, campfires, making s'mores, good wine, Montana sky, family, friends, laughter, ice cream cones, tents, yahtzee, baby sunhats, birthday party, water balloons, and sunset boat rides.

Ok, here we go!

Here they are... the "artsy" photos... you know I can't resist!

We celebrated Rachael's 6th birthday on our trip. I can't believe she is 6 already.

You are a joy Rachael Renee! I love you!

Before heading back to Washington, Sean, Kennedy and I drove to Kalispell, MT.

Much of my dad's side of the family lives there.

Kennedy met her grandpa for the first time as well as her great-grandma.

She also got to meet three great-aunts and several cousins.

17 Months

At 17 months, Kennedy is officially a toddler! In fact, she toddles so much we can barely keep up with her. I used to laugh at how busy my little sister was when she was this age... I am not laughing anymore as Kennedy is running a close second. Fortunately, Sean and I make a pretty good team and we are able to tag-team keeping an eye on her. She is curious, curious, curious! Here are a few more details about our 17-month old girl...

- Talking: as always, she continues to babble nonstop. She is clearly saying between 10-15 words including all-done, bye, thank you, down, up, no, papa, and Amy (which, of course, Auntie Amy LOVES!).

- Personality: she has a great disposition, very happy. She is becoming more clear about her wants and needs and does not hesitate to let us know when she is not happy. She can give us quite a scowl when she wants to. She has thrown several fits when she gets frustrated and has even hit me intentionally a few times. We are thinking it may be time to start thinking about small time-outs for this behavior. Kennedy continues to love other kids especially her cousin Roderick! She is a love-bug and gives lots of kisses and hugs! She is going through a mama phase right now- always at my feet wanting me to pick her up.

- Unfortunately, Kennedy's eczema is back in full force. Her cheeks are better but it is all over her legs, arms and butt. :( On the bright side, she has 6 teeth and more on the way! Her hair is a strawberry blondish color with a decent amount of curl in it.

- Kennedy is bottle-free! With little transition, we just stopped giving it to her at bedtime. Most days, she is still taking 2 naps a day and sleeping between 10-12 hours at night.

We love you Kennedy Renee!

Good thing...

Kennedy was available to help me clean out the fridge, yesterday. How could I have done it without her?

WWU Girls Reunion

Kennedy and I traveled to Mt. Vernon yesterday for an afternoon reunion with four of the girls who went through the teaching program with me, at Western. I had not seen them in close to 6 years! Thanks to good 'ol facebook, we reconnected and had a great time catching up. Cassa and Clay were nice enough to host at their beautiful property near Mt. Vernon.

the girls (from left: me, Jamie, Sarah, Emily and Cassa)

Emily and her two kiddos (Zetta and Tyson) along with Sarah's son, Noah

Kennedy loved the swing!

Until, I pushed her too fast and she said "all duh" (all done).

Sarah and Jamie

Clay (with daughter Aria in the backpack) Cassa and Emily

She is a busy bee!

With such a large property to explore, I spent much of the afternoon chasing her around!

And, my favorite picture of the day... Kennedy with the "puppy" as she called him.