Cabin 08

In a letter to his best friend, Arthur Greeves, C.S. Lewis wrote, "Friendship is the greatest of worldly goods. Certainly to me it is the chief happiness of life. If I had to give a piece of advice to a young man about a place to live, I think I [should] say, 'sacrifice almost everything to live where you can be near you friends.' I know I am [very] fortunate in that respect."

We, too, are very fortunate in that respect. Most of our dearest friends are also Bozeman residents. We had the pleasure of spending an entire weekend, without Mason and Smith (thank you, Schuylers!), at a cabin with some of our friends.

The only two kiddos on the trip. Jack O, left, and K-Bug, right. These little guys were troopers, entertaining themselves and each other.

Playing "Rook", or "Crap-on-your-neighbor" as the Moore's call it.
I can't remember who won this game, but I know it wasn't me...I would've remembered that.

Naomi mixing up some margaritas. Won't deny that we enjoyed a fair amount of alcohol.

We had quite an adventure getting into the cabin. The key and lock worked just fine, but the doorknob was broken. After much deliberation and MacGyver -esque attempts, we managed to unlock and slide in a small window. Sam, above, our resident engineer, attempts to fix the doorknob and lock plate.

K-Bug and Sammy. K likes to point and say "Dat?"

The ladies helping Sara prepare dinner.

My handsome hubby cooking 'lumberjack hash' for breakfast. He's looking very much like a lumberjack with the beard he's grown for bow-hunting season.

Our manly men enjoyed not only fly-fishing, but also shooting their bows as often as possible. From left to right, Josh, Sam, Matt, and Peter.
Although it's hard to tell, this is Peter, slightly intoxicated, placing the target on the side of the mountain. The boys wanted a challenge. As I recall, a few arrows did hit it.

Morning chat around the chiminea. The big boys were fishing, the little boys were napping.

Naomi and K-Bug vacuuming the bunk house before we left.
These are only the pictures that I snapped. There is a great group shot and many other moments captured by the Kavanaghs and Oberlys. I will try to post them if I can. It was a wonderful weekend, very relaxing, much laughter, delicious food, and I was glad to see my MayMo and Smigget upon returning.

Happy week to you all!

This morning

We put M and S to bed at 5:45pm last night. They were feverish all day, tired and cranky. They went down without protest. Consequently, they woke up at 6:15 this morning. Needless to say, we had an extra hour or so of morning time before they went back down for their a.m. nap. After barely touching the french toast, drizzled with real maple syrup, their doting mother had cooked for their breakfast, M and S enjoyed the following:

Feeling the wishy-washy of the dishwasher as it did its daily job. (I really like having stainless appliances, but goodness! look at all those fingerprints!)

Smigget and MayMo are now tall enough to open my kitchen drawers and pull out the contents (to my relief, they have not tried to open the knife drawer...yet). This morning, MayMo found a canning jar ring in one of the drawers. Smigget was quite jealous, so I pulled one out for him, too. This clip shows their delight in the simple toy and their lack of personal space boundaries.




This clip started as a demonstration of more delight in the ring, but ended as a delightful game of peeky-boo between friends. It's a keeper.



This last clip highlights Smigget's fondness for the garbage and the novelty of "throwing it away". He sure is smart.

All this in one lil ol' morning. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I'm hoping tomorrow morning doesn't start so early.

15 months. We have entered into a stage with Mason and Smith that Matt and I are enjoying very much. The boys are mastering new skills, experiencing their environment, exercising all five senses, unleashing their unique personalities... and their dad and I are a rapt and enthusiastic audience.

Walking. Smith has nearly mastered the use of his legs for transportation, rather than his hands and knees. It is clear that he enjoys this new mode of movement as he smiles and laughs with each step. Mason is still a novice walker; he can do it but he is less sure of himself and opts for the surety of crawling. When he decides to walk, his steps are small and deliberate - his breathing becomes panting, and he raises his eyebrows and opens his large eyes wide.

Signing. The boys are using a few signs (baby sign language) to communicate. They use the sign for "more" frequently during mealtime. I much prefer the signing to the squealing and grabbing for more. They enjoy signing "all done" when they are done eating. We are also working on "thank you", "please" and "milk". They are very pleased with themselves when they sign correctly and I understand what they want.

Playing. Since their birth, I have prayed that my boys would grow to be good friends. It delights me to see the first fruits of my answered prayers. Hide-and-seek behind the curtains has become a favorite, eliciting much giggling. Wrestling with one another and Dad, pulling/throwing the toys out of their baskets and off the shelf, jumping on the couch, climbing up the stairs - all activities that M and S enjoy doing together.

Making Noise. This well-honed skill is something I am adjusting to. (Forgive me, Janelle, for ending my sentence with a preposition. :) I am learning that boys, particularly my boys, like to make noise by banging, crashing, dragging, pushing, screaming, pounding, scooting, yelling...whatever it takes to elicit a loud sound. Sometimes it's out of anger or frustration, but mostly it's just for fun.

Tasting. The menu at our house has expanded greatly (for those of us sitting in a high chair). Now that my eaters have teeth, six of them each, they are able to eat chicken, toast, waffles, peas, blueberries, cheese bits, quesadillas...all kinds of non-pureed delectables. Of course, just because they are able to eat it doesn't mean they actually will eat it. Berries are a favorite right now, and anything drizzled with maple syrup...naturally. Mason has been known to eat green olives, straight from the jar, and Smith enjoys the taste of coffee.

Yes, we are fond of this fifteen month phase. And wouldn't you know it, sixteen months is looking to be quite fantastic, too.

MayMo...my little thinker. (I think this was taken by Bing's brother, Julian, at the Perrine wedding. Correct me if I'm wrong, Lane.)

Smitty sportin' his swim shirt and the long, spindly legs he inherited from his father.

MayMo talking on his cell phone.

Smiggs, upon waking from his nap.

Mase, enjoying the rocking horse at Grammie and Papa's.

Smitty and Grammie kickin' it at the baby pool in Billings. While there, we ran into a mother with triplet 2 year old girls...I thought I was busy!

Grammie gave the boys bowls and spoons again.

I think they're getting the hang of it.

Just for fun. One of the blogs I read has a "time wasters" category. This fun website
lets you place photos into museum frames. Time wasting - yes, but quite addicting.

You're not alone if you look twice to see if her butt-crack is visible...I did.

Interesting outfit this gal is wearing. Skirt, rolled up pants, and sneakers. Smiggy's lookin' good, though.