Sonward Ho!

We had our first experience with school programs this year! Ian dressed as a cowboy, (Wranglers and all!) and joined all of the students for a school-wide concert. We waited in line outside the doors of the church almost an hour before the program...just to get a seat. (His teacher told me that it would be a full house and to get there at least 30 minutes early.) Can you believe it????? The show started a little after 7:00 and was over within 15 minutes. Short and Sweet!

We had plenty of time to visit with our friends.


It was fun to be on the parent side of the school program for a change. The teachers did a great job and the kids were proud.

Back to School!

Our Summer was great, but we were ready for the regular routines of Fall. Ian started pre-school this year which has changed our routines dramatically. He goes three days a week from 9:15 - 1:15. It is perfect for him this year. I love that we still have a break on Tues. and Thurs. and Ian looks forward to going back to school every week!

Miah was a little lonely at first but really enjoys her time alone with mom. It's amazing how easy it is to grocery shop with one little one instead of two!

We are thankful to have plenty of time to play after school and on the off-days. It has been fun watching their relationship change over the past year. They still fight.... a lot, but they also laugh together and have a lot of fun, too. I'm thankful for that. :)

Miah has her own schedule of things to do while Ian is away at school. Our library does great things for toddlers and pre-schoolers. She and Caysja played at water day in the library courtyard. They washed baby dolls, fished, and had fun with bubbles. She also goes to story time whenever we can make it.

Happy Birthday, Ian!

It's hard to believe that Ian turned 5 on August 19th. Time has been really moving fast lately. Ian invited 5 friends to celebrate with us at our apartment. It was a small party and a great day for us all.

JC Pennys did a great job with Ian's 5 year pictures. It's hard to get a real smile out of Ian when I take his picture. (sometimes even painful) He was much more cooperative with the photographer. Or maybe it was that I had about 50 pictures to pick from....
After the presents were opened and the cake had been eaten, we played at the pool for the rest of the party. They were great.
Moving clockwise from Ian, Spencer, Nikola, Miah, Samuel, and Jake helped us celebrate!
The big surprise.... Ian's big bike without training wheels.
Turning 5 has been pretty cool so far.

Summer Fun in Montana

Our summer fun continues in Montana. We spent 3 weeks in Billings with my parents and a couple of days in Bozeman with my sister, Lyndsay. We were lucky because Madisen and Emily were able to spend extra time with us while we were visiting my parents. Unlike Arizona, the July weather was perfect!

We enjoyed several of the city parks.

Miah loved playing with Grandma and Grandpa's dog, Meggie!

We were all amazed that Miah (only 2 years old) could tool all over the yard in the four-wheeler. She was so proud of the fact that she could drive by herself! Crazy!!!

We were there for the early stages of the garden. Grandpa puts a lot of love and energy into the garden. They even picked up tools that were just right for Ian and Miah to help out.

We played at the water park in Billings. Madisen and Emily helped Ian carry the gigantic tube up several flights of stairs. It was kind of funny watching them...I kept waiting for a gust of wind to blow them over. It was such a fun day.

There's nothing better than home-made, hand cranked ice cream. Delicious!!!!

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Buckner drove all the way from Iowa

to visit while we were there.

You can see the incredible growth that the garden has made over the duration of our trip. When I was a kid, my sister and I called this slave labor. However, they had a blast and were so sad to leave Grandma and Grandpa's house.

My parents found this fun pirate swimming pool for the kids to play with. They loved hooking the hose up to the steering wheel and spraying each other. We sure loved the big...green....grassy yard!

After a long day of play, it was fun to relax....or something like that, in the hot tub.

We had lots of movie nights with popcorn and pillows.

It was fun just being together!

Emily was feeling brave. Miah had it all under control.

The kids have a big suitcase full of dress up costumes.

They spend a good hour of each day in disguise.

Emily and Ian put on a puppet show.

Aunt Lyndsay and Madisen were part of the audience and Miah was in charge of sound operations.

We sure love our cousins!

Emily, Miah, and Madisen

It's good to be home!
Lyndsay, Mom, and Me

Summer Fun in North Dakota

We're back in the saddle again! I haven't posted anything since last May....so I thought it was about time to go through some great pictures and reflect back on our wonderful summer!

We spent a little over 3 weeks in North Dakota with Matt's side of the family. Most of our time was in Bismarck while Matt worked on a rotation and part of our time was spent about an hour away at Lake Tschida. It was a special time where we celebrated Steve and Donna's 25th Anniversary with only the immediate family and grandchildren. Ian and Miah had so much fun with their cousins that they didn't want to leave. Peyton, Zane, Sara, and Ian had fun being pulled on the big tube. Ian sure loved tagging along with the older kids!Grandma Donna loves her girls, Zoe and Miah!

Who needs the water?

Happy 25th Anniversary!

Work hard....Play hard....and sneak in a nap when you can. :)

Waiting and waiting for the big one. Ian didn't have much luck that day. He didn't want to quit until he caught a fish. After 4 hours we had to call it a day.

Kicking back at the cabin. Good times!

We enjoyed the Heritage Center in Bismarck with Grandma Jan and Aunt Amy.

There is a fun amusement park in town that we love visiting. Ian is finally tall enough to try out the go-carts and bumper cars.

Miah loves the inflatables!

Ian loved taking the boat out with Grandpa Hamar. He still talks about how he misses life at the cabin. It's hard for him to understand that we all had to go home to our regular lives...I think he believes that everyone is still there playing in the water, making smores, and laughing.

Ahhh...This is the Life!

Grandma Jan is such a good sport.

Miah liked pretending they were in jail at the Heritage Center.

Dakota and Miah spent many hours playing in the pool at Grandma and Grandpa Hamar's!

Roasting marshmallows and sitting by the fire.

Miah and Zoe had fun playing on Grandma's piano.

Ian, Peyton, and Sara

Grandpa has a captive audience while he works on a fish.

Fun times at the Zoo.

Summer and Smores!

We had so much fun spending time, catching up, and really getting to know each other again. It was sad to leave and we can't wait to spend time with each other again.