Camping at Grandma's House

On Friday, while Perry was working from home, I asked if we could set the tent up in the backyard for the boys to sleep in that night. We hadn't been camping yet this year, and I thought this would be fun for them. He responded with a, "why don't we just go somewhere to camp?" After a busy few weeks, I thought this would be the last thing he wanted to do. We hadn't discussed where we'd camp, but agreed to go somewhere. At dinner with Grandma that evening, she told us how she was planning on going to Whitefish to unload a grill for the house, without any help, so we volunteered to meet her there to help, and then go camping after. 

We scrambled around Friday evening and Saturday morning to get everything packed up. It *barely* fit! After a long drive to Whitefish with a lot of traffic, we met up with Grandma and had lunch at MacKenzie River Pizza before we went out to the house. Although the house had a ton of mosquitoes, the kids enjoyed running around for a few minutes. Charlotte enjoyed running/scooting/rolling down the hill off the deck. SO cute to watch! I would say she's walking 50% of the time now!

Before we left Whitefish, we stopped at Whitefish Lake to meet up with a mutual friend of mine and Perry. Unfortunately they were out on a paddle boat when we arrived which caused us to miss out on seeing them. (I'm hoping to take the kids back up there this week to see them again though!) We finally made it out of Whitefish around 4:00 and planned on camping somewhere in the Swan Lake area, about  2 hours away...and once we started exploring the area, we found every spot was taken. At that point we decide to just camp out at Placid Lake outside of Seeley...when we arrived there, we discovered every spot was taken there too.... So we camped in Grandma's backyard by the river. Basically we spent a total of about 6 hours in the car thorough the entire day, and ended up camping 50 miles from home...

 Camping at Grandma's had a couple big perks though! For one, we were able to use the tractor to haul everything back and forth. For two, it had a bathroom. Enough said. 

Before Perry and I could even get our stuff down by the fire pit, the boys were already playing in the river. Hunter was crawdad hunting and thought he found one. 

 Charlotte was a trooper the entire trip. She hardly fussed at all. She napped for a total of maybe 2 hours throughout the day. And missed out on her morning and afternoon snack. 

 The boys were awesome too! They also missed out on an afternoon snack and kept their attitudes in check throughout the day even though dinner didn't happen until close to 8:00p. 

 After a little arguing, we finally had the tent set up. Perry hates reading the directions...

 Once the boys finished eating, I told them I had a surprise for them - Glow-in-the-dark bubbles. Except they either didn't work, or it wasn't dark enough. I bought glow sticks and dump the insides into the bubbles, and the container was glowing, but the bubbles didn't. 

 Luckily I brought other glow sticks to play with. 

 Like these glasses. Hard to keep on, but fun in the dark!

 Charlotte had her fun with the glow-in-the-dark stuff too!

 JP probably had the most fun though!

 We all crawled into bed around 10:30 and despite the few rocks we were laying on, we all fell asleep fairly quickly. Charlotte woke up around 1:15 and cried for a while. She was probably out of sorts being outside in the dark. After about fifteen minutes of bawling, she finally calmed down, and slept with me. She did the air sucking thing that people do after they stop crying for about half an hour. Does that have a name? 

Just as she was sound asleep, it started sprinkling...Before I knew it, we were in the middle of a down pour with flash lighting and LOUD thunder. It woke Perry up (which is hard to do) and even though two of us were talking in our normal voices, it was still hard to hear each other. Charlotte and Hunter slept through it all. JP woke up at the end of the thunderstorm. He came over to me and told me he was scared, and asked to snuggled with me. Before I could even get a word out, he was snuggled up on my pillow, asleep. Once Perry and I were done laughing about it, I woke him back up to go get his sleeping bag and bring it over next to me. After he was laying there for a while, I asked him how he was doing. "Not good mom!" He then scooted to the bottom of his sleeping bag and plugged his ears for a while... I was just glad JP and Hunter didn't wake up during the storm and need to go to the bathroom! Perry left the tent for a while so he could watch the storm, and there was no way I was about to leave the tent, let alone my sleeping bag!

 I did get to wake up to this cutie though! Actually, it was the sounds of her and Hunter giggling, as he had crawled into the pack-n-play to play with her before we everyone else woke up. 

By the time we left the cabin, we had a lot of tire people! And I'm the only one who hasn't napped yet! Not fair!

Building a Patio: Update #4 We're DONE!

This week, finally, we put the final pieces together for the patio. Here's Update #3 if you missed it!

I cannot say how excited, relieved, thankful... it is to be done!! Now we're just working on leveling out the ground around the patio and reseeding the grass. I'm anxious for the grass to grow in because the dirt and sand is easily tracked onto the patio. 

 Perry spent Saturday morning putting in the last few bricks where we have the barbecue and JP and I began setting up the patio set given to us by Grandma. 

 He was such a good helper! 

 And was very quick to clean up when he learned he could play in the box the chairs came in... We have since cut a door into the side of it and Hunter and JP have colored/scribbled all over their new "house".

 I had a heck of a time actually assembling the chairs. Again, after a lot of cursing, Perry came to my rescue and assembled most of them, but also wound up cursing at the chair I was working on too. Glad it wasn't just me!

I'm loving the area for the grill. It keeps it accessible but out of the way, and blocks my view of under the deck. (Mostly a huge dirt pile) 

I put in the edgers this week. We have them level with the yard, but raised under the deck by the grill to help keep the dirt/sand out. 

While putting in one of the last raised edgers the other day, I was holding a brick in place while I used the rubber mallet to pound it into place. Somehow I missed and smashed my thumb. It immediately turned blue and I wanted to scream, but I kept it together. Hunter came over right away when he realized I was in pain. He switched into "Dr. Hunter" in a flash by retrieving a bag he had filled with ice and frozen berries (which he put in there for me to eat once the ice melted) and a popsicle. As I laid out on the grass to prevent myself from fainting, he collected a few rocks and brought them over to me and proceeded to tell me about all of them. JP on the other hand had disappeared for a while in search of a band aide because he thought I was going to bleed out. By the time the band aide made it outside, it lost all of its stickiness. My thumb has since turned purple on the top and side. 

Perry's finger which he smashed a the other weekend with a brick, is still on the mend. Surprisingly he hasn't lost the nail yet. Looks like no one came away from this project in one piece!

Building a Patio: Update #3

We made a lot of progress on the patio is past weekend. After catching up on some much needed sleep, we ran to Home Depot before diving into to all the work that needed to get done. We picked up one load of pavers, some bricks for the edges, and more weed block because I didn't get enough the last time I went. 

The first thing we did was lay out the rules of the sand to the boys (and then repeated them multiple times throughout the day) before we started to spread out and water the sand. 

Meanwhile, Charli rocked her new ponytail do while kickin' it in the sand pile. I don't know how much sand she ate, but two days later, she's still pooping it out... Hunter and JP opted to make a huge mess of the dirt pile Perry dug up the other night. After throwing chunks of dirt at the mower though, they promptly were kicked off...

Perry started laying down pavers while I finished spreading out the sand. Once I was done with that, and when Grandma arrived, he showed us how to lay the pavers too. When he was checking one of the first couple pavers I set, he dropped one on his finger and pretty much ripped the nail off. It's barely hanging on. After a short injury break, everyone went back to work. Grandma and I still weren't even remotely close to as fast as he was with an injured finger, but we held our own. 

Grandma had extra help. Hunter was her very own "water boy" asking her if she needed a drink about every fifteen minutes. If he wasn't doing that, he was randomly shouting, "Let's go Grandma!" or "Get it moving Mom!" Very motivational....JP also helped out by banging the hammer a few time for Grandma, and by being the wobble tester. They both like this job of standing on the paver to see if it wobbled. Very important job for them. 

 By the end of Saturday night, this is what we accomplished. 

By the end of Sunday night, this is what Perry accomplished. I say Perry because after laying 3 pavers and it taking about 45 minutes, I gave up crying. It's quite frustrating. It's level left to right, but it has to much or to little slant. You fix the slant, you mess up the level. After I kind of got it together, my new job was to sprinkle sand in the cracks and water it down to help set them. 

Update #4

Building a Patio: Update #2

We have officially started on the patio!! On Wednesday to be exact. That's when I wanted to start reupholstering my table and chairs, but didn't have any staples so I was forced to put my project on hold and go to Home Depot with 3 kids the next morning...Anyways, I instead spent my time helping Perry move all the pavers that were already laid down. He was impressed I was *asking* to help.

On Thursday while I finished up my project on the deck, Perry worked hard on breaking up the ground and shoveling rocks. I attempted to help him with that portion of the project on Friday, but because of my lack of muscle and skill, I was gently kicked off the "shoveling rock" job, and the "pick" job. Lucky for me, there was one other job I was able to do. Move sand. Correction, move 4 tons of sand. [See truck with tipped trailer]

While the kids and I were at a park on Friday afternoon, Grandma borrowed the truck and trailer to pick up the sand for us. (Pays to know people in the construction field!) From the moment I saw all the sand, I was dreading having to unload it. Although I did unload the majority of it, Perry lightened the load by filling up the boys' sandbox to get some of the weight off the trailer while I was at the store getting weed block to put down.

I loaded up wheel barrel after wheel barrel and hauled them to the backyard to dump. I had a few close calls getting them there. Just when I finished up the trailer, Perry informed me that the truck also needed to be emptied that night as well due to all the weight that was on it too. Understandable. The back right tire was nearly flat because the load was so heavy. I got a few loads of sand dumped from the back of the truck before our neighbor, Judy, came over to help. *We are SO thankful for ALL her help!* She ran the wheel barrels while I filled them up and if she hadn't been, I wouldn't have finished until 2 am, unlike 11pm when we finished up.

 

Here's what we accomplished as of Friday night. Perry was able to get all of the ground broke up while we we're unloading sand. The picture of the sand pile doesn't give it justice as to how big it actually is... Later this morning Grandma Betty is going to come into to town to help lay the pavers down, which I can only imagine will be a big job. The boys are so excited to see her. And we are excited for the extra help!

[Update #3]

Reupholstered Folding Chairs + Card Table

The other day as I was sitting on my deck listening to the boys play in the yard, I glanced over at the folding chairs sitting on our deck. They had been in storage all winter and after eating off our laps outside, I figured it was time to pull them back out so we could have a table to sit at. So while I'm looking at these chairs, I realized that the pads are only held on by bolts. Then I wondered how hard it would be to reupholster them. After dinner, I asked Perry if he cared if I messed with them. He didn't. (I probably would have anyways...)

If your not on Pinterest, good for you. Stay away because it will suck you in! And if you have a Pinterest account, you can follow my boards here. When I have a project in mind, like when we updated the bathroom, I go to Pinterest for ideas. I did the same for this project too. Why would I try to figure it out myself, when someone else already has?! For those wondering, I used the tutorial that Adventures at the Orange Door Inn posted. Her version was very helpful!

This is the set I'm working with. There is nothing wrong with any of it, other than they were in the wrong place at the wrong time when I was feeling crafty. 

Materials I used:

1/2 yd outdoor fabric per chair (or home decor if they're staying inside, but make sure it's thick)

1 yd out door fabric for the table

Light duty staple gun

1/4 in staples

Philips screwdriver

Flat-head screwdriver

Pliers

Sewing scissors

Water resistant spray

Optional: Babysitter. A full day project can be easily shortened into a few hours with one. Just saying.

 Let me begin by saying I took the easy way out, and didn't take off the original covering on the chairs or the table. I just stapled over it. 

First remove the cushions from the chair. I had two screws on the top cushion, and four on the chair pad. I had a little plastic piece that was stapled on, which covered the fabric edge. I used the flat-head screwdriver to lift the staples up, and then used the pliers to pull them out. Even though between all the chairs, I only was required to pull out 16ish staples, I probably pulled out closer to 50 because I wasn't pushing hard enough when I was stapling. Trial and error with the staple gun!

 Next lay the top cushion on the fabric, ensuring that it is straight (otherwise it'll drive you nuts when it's done - take my word for it). Once it's placed how you want it, fold up one of the short sides and staple it in place. Do the same to the other short side, being sure to pull it tight. At this point you can cut off any extra fabric you have for the long side. *When you're stapling the curved side, I found it's easiest to hang the cushion halfway off the table so you can press on the staple gun without bending the cushion.*

When you get to the corners, pleat and staple.  Then cut off any excess fabric. The top cushions are 10x harder than the bottom square cushions, but the process is the same. The key to success in this project is making sure you're pulling all sides tight. Once you're finished screw them back into the chairs and TAH-DAH!

 You have these cute things! I'm spraying them down with a water resistant spray because most likely they'll be outside. 

 I am in love with my chevron chair! When I was fabric shopping, I wanting the chairs to have color to them, but knew that whatever patterns I chose, one of them had to have green on it...

These two chairs will always drive me nuts because the blue fabric is a little slanted on the top cushion. On the red one, due to how the fabric was cut, I had no way getting anything centered on the top cushion. Maybe Perry gave me a bit of his OCD....? Either way, I'm still calling this project a success. 

Especially when they are sitting at the table. All the colors, some how match. I lucked out... I love the set so much I want to do another. How'd I do? Tell me which is your favorite!! 

Montana: The Places We'll Go

The great state of Montana has to much to offer and I'm sad to say I've barely experienced yet, even though I've lived here my whole life. I love Montana and can't imagine leaving, but I feel it is inevitable at some point. With that said, I would love to see it while we're here, and a heck of a lot closer to these places! Although I don't imagine we'll be doing a ton of sight seeing this year, I do hope we can at least mark a few off!

1. Museum of the Rockies - Bozeman, MT 

I can vaguely remember going there when I was a child, but would love to see it again. Plus, What little boy wouldn't want to see dinosaurs up close? I know Hunter and JP would! Between the Planetarium, the Children's Discovery Center, and the Living History Farm, we would end the day one tired family! I love watching the excitement of kids when they're learning!

2. Ringing Rocks - Whitehall, MT

I had a co-worker tell me about this place when she took her kids there. The rocks chime when you tap on the them. How cool would this be do see and hear? (And then maybe we can hit up the Lewis & Clark Caverns while we're in the area!?)

3. Montana Vortex - Columbia Falls, MT

This just sounds like a super fun place to go! I would love to see how the kids react!

4. Gem Mountain - Philipsburg, MT (see our trip here!)

Gem Mountain is famous for sapphire mining. In fact it is one of the best in the world! It must be a natural instinct for boy to dig in dirt, so I would have a hard time believing this wouldn't be just right up there alley. Who wouldn't want to be able to take pride in finding their own sapphire? This would be so much fun in the spring time when it's not to hot out!

5. Yellowstone National Park

I remember taking a trip to Yellowstone when I was young, and I can just barely remember seeing Old Faithful. Or maybe I just remember seeing it in videos...Anyways, I can't believe I've only been to Yellowstone, maybe twice. And I live only a few hundred miles from it!

6. Glacier National Park

That being said, I've only been to Glacier a handful of times too. When I was maybe a 7th grader we took a drive on the "Going to the Sun" Road. We were able to get out at one point and climb on a glacier. How many people have done that? They're melting away slowly but surely, and I would love my kids to have that experience too! As well as take in all the other wonderful things Glacier has to offer! 

7. Pompeys Pillar - near Billings, MT

I never been here before and would love to learn a little bit more of Montana's history. Pompey's Pillar contains the last physical evidence of Lewis and Clark's journey. What a sight to see, especially since they are a huge part of Montana history.

8. Crow Agency, MT

Simply put, I personally would enjoy seeing a pow-wow. Going during the Annual Crow Fair Celebration in August would be amazing as it is the largest in the nation. Could there be a better way to experience the culture of Native Americans?

9. Charlie Russel Chew Choo - Ware, MT

Take a ride out west on the train! The boys would love this! This is a dinner train full of scenic views and outlaws! Although going in the summer would be fun, I'm hoping to take them on the "North Pole Adventure" sometime in the winter.

10. The Round House 

Okay...we've been here before, LOTS of times! But trips to the Dome Home are becoming far and few between so I made sure to add it to the list. At least once a week Hunter or JP ask when we're going to go to the Round House. As much as I would love to take them sledding down the hill we used to as children, I just hate driving in the winter. It always snows when I need to travel! Anyways, now might be a good time for at least Hunter to sign the infamous "Guest Wall."

I wonder how many we can cross off this year? What places do you want to see in Montana or have seen that should be on the list? 

A Weekend "Doing All The Hard Work"

The last few days around here have been pretty eventful. It's made for some pretty long days. But let me rewind and tell a little story first. I think it starts back when we were in Whitefish taking out the pond at the house. 

Maybe it was Grandpa or maybe it was Grandma, maybe even dad? Someone had told Hunter and JP there was going to be "a lot of hard work" and it was going to make for a long day. Since then they've been throwing around the phrase "doing all the hard work" or something similar. 

For example, JP and I drove past a construction site and he exclaimed, "Look Mom! They're doing all the hard work!" Or while cleaning up toys in the playroom, Hunter will nonchalantly say, "Yeah, well I'm doing all the hard work." But lately everything has been tagged as "hard work." Taking their laundry to the laundry room just down the hall, bringing their towels back to the bathroom, putting their socks on...Needless to say, we did a lot of hard work this weekend.

Saturday morning Perry took Hunter and JP to the cabin to start clearing trees, which they fell a few weeks ago. Charlotte and I, however, joined Papa Craig for a Griz football game. I hadn't been to one since Hunter was maybe 11 months old? Basically 4 years. 

 We had decent seats. I missed getting seats in the North End Zone by about a minute. But, I think these were better because we didn't have to look into the sun, and since we were sitting in the sun, we weren't cold at all. Yay!

Charlotte attended her first Griz football game, and slept through half of it. Though I thought she would sleep more. But she was still a good little girl and hardly fussed at all. The outcome of the game was irrelevant.

After the game, Charlotte and I met up with the rest of the family for a hot dog roast at the cabin with Grandma while Papa Craig headed home. After breakfast Sunday morning, everyone started on "all the hard work" while I fussed about with Charli. Still trying to get rid of her diaper rash so she was a little fussy. But as soon as she was napping, I jumped in and helped haul wood around the yard. 

 We gathered branched and sticks and hauled them off to the burn pile. (Here's JP doing hard work.)

 We made trip after trip hauling logs.

 Again, see boys "doing all the hard work."

Here's what we accomplished in a day's work. For the most part there was nothing here to begin the day with. The first part of the afternoon we hauled the logs here and unloaded them. We filled the left section up between the two trees, and then added a few rows in front. In the later afternoon, Perry split wood with his ax, I picked it up and loaded it into the trailer, then unloaded it into the right section between the trees. Other than one layer of logs on the ground, that's all the split wood I loaded and stacked. I felt like I was doing all the hard work, but it was Perry swinging the ax to chop all that wood...That's a lot of chopping for a day's work! And a lot of hard work done by all! 

You can't hear them very well, but the boys were back there cheering. "Yeah! Good one!" That video was taken when he began chopping. When we stopped for dinner, the wood pile was down from two piles to one pile about 2-3 logs high I believe. Lots of chopping!

I'm feeling it today too! While carrying some logs in my arms, one rolled and a limb from it scratched my neck up and later while loading wood, I dropped one, somehow, onto the back of my calve. It scratched it up nicely too and as of a day later, the entire back of my leg is black and blue. I'll spare you a picture, but it makes squatting very painful!