Spring has Sprung!

The weather was wonderful today! After a long winter it's the best feeling in the world to feel that "warm" fifty degrees. The bees were buzzing around hopping from flower to flower. I'm really itching to start the HUGE job of raking, trimming, cleaning up our gardens.

The little crocuses sure standout when they pop through the dried leaves and green foliage!

Fun Videos of a 7 Month Old!

Dogs are SO Funny!

Spring Fever!

Even though there was a nip in the air, Brooke and I took a trip out to our "secret" garden. I was checking out the tulips which are peaking out the ground and couldn't believe my eyes when I spotted a bunch of crocuses blooming! Is it really this time of year?!? I sat Brooke down on the patio and she immediately grabbed a handful of leaves and started crushing and tearing them apart with her hands. As she crumpled the leaves, she was staring off at the cars driving by our house. When the paperboy walked by she looked over and smiled. There's so much to see and hear! It was so amazing seeing her sit there all by herself. I'm looking forward to many more days outside exploring the outdoors. Today I had glimpse of all the fun to come.

Checking out the scenery... all by herself!



Gettin' dirty with the cowboy boots! Thanks Grandma Britta!

Addicted to Skiing!

Kent and Caitlin did a lot of skiing last weekend! First it was 49 Degrees North in Chewelah, WA with Kent's father Bing and Caitlin's friend from high school, Bryson. The following two days they skied in a snow storm at Silver Mountain in Kellogg, Idaho. The powder was so thick as you can see from the second half of the video below.

7 Months Old

I sit her watching the snow fall and reflect on Brooke as a 7 month old! This baby has been so many places and seen so many things in her short life. She's been to Idaho, Washington, Alaska, and Mexico. She still loves to walk everywhere (assisted) and recently figured out how to turn around to walk another direction. She seems to be close to crawling, but still enjoys rolling back and forth. She can sit up very well and holds herself up well on to the bathtub or crib railing but has to be watched very closely.

When strangers hold Brooke it usually lasts about 30 seconds. It took a day or so for her to get to know April on our trip to Silver. She really knows who her mommy, daddy and Auntie Caitlin are!

Brooke loves to play peek-a-boo and laugh at funny animal noises made by her mom. When she gets excited she shows off her new trick of clapping (right hand banging on the left). One of her favorite things is being held so she can face forward. Especially when we are in a place that is new, she kicks her legs and makes all these noises in excitement.

Fun and Games

The last night we enjoyed a long game of Taboo.

Caitlin and Bryson during the game of Taboo.

I grabbed my camera and got a snapshot of the guys playing with Brooke. I thought it was so cute how they stacked all her toys in a pile (including the empty Kleenex box).

We had a great game of scrabble with Kyle and April.

We got excited when the snow stopped and the sun broke through the clouds! Three of us ended up on the porch with our cameras capturing this moment.

Kellogg, Idaho

Caitlin had a great idea. Get friends together at a luxury condo and enjoy a weekend of laughs, food, and skiing! With their downhill skiing passes from Mission Ridge they receive five free passes to Silver Mountain.

Our friend KC from Wenatchee joined us and had a good time getting to know Brooke better! Even with Brooke's new stranger anxiety she got to hold her (after three days of visiting). Brooke really liked her cool glasses and LONG hair!

Kent made two great breakfasts for the gang. Eggs, hash browns and bacon for the first morning and very tasty French toast for day two. I made spaghetti for the first night and April and I made tacos the second night. It was $11.00 each for all four meals, not bad!


April is Caitlin's friend from nursing school. She lives in Kalispell, Montanta with her husband Kyle. Late June they will be adding a boy or girl to their family! They had a great time playing with Brooke. By the end of the trip, Brooke had really warmed up to April and was full of smiles when playing with her.

I didn't ski on this trip, but we made it to the resort to check things out.

Here Kitty, Kitty!

After a drive up to the Kettle Falls Grandparents' house we walked over to the neighbors to visit the black pony named "Bugs". This beautiful horse is the same age as Brooke! At a distance Brooke seemed interested but she got pretty scared when got closer. We'll have to try again when she gets a little older.

So many animals to see at Gpa and Gma's house! Twinky the cat was curious of Brooke and continued to make passes at the baby. Brooke really wanted to follow this "little doggie" around the house!

Brooke followed the kitty all over the glass door and was curious what the glass tasted like... mmmm... glass.

All animals must nap sooner or later!

Trying out Kent's New Camera