Snow Day!

  The past few weeks have brought us TONS of snow! I don't so much mind it...but it's getting a little ridiculous! Last night Missoula County Public Schools declared today to be a snow day, and the University of Montana, as well as many other schools, and offices around town followed suit earlier this morning. It's nasty out there!

 You can hardly tell we have shrubs in the front yard! I won't even get started on the back yard!

 We're running out of places to put all this snow now. Our piles are getting HUGE! I'm glad I pushed a few of my piles back to allow me to throw more snow on them today!

 Have I said this before? I live on an AWESOME street because we have wonderful neighbors! Who needs husbands to shovel for us when we can do it ourselves?! Go Team Judy & Kerry! After lots of shoveling this afternoon, we finally cleared Kerry's driveway of snow...but with all the wind, it's not going to last long!

Hunter enjoyed his afternoon in the snow too. 

 

He was a challenge to get to come inside! JP on the other hand was eager to go back inside. We warmed up with Monster Hot Chocolate. Yumm!

 A few weeks back when we had significant enough snowfall, Perry built the boys a sledding hill in the backyard.

 He even spoiled them with wooden steps to get up! Although the steps are no longer there, this pile is now massive. And because they didn't put their sleds away, they are now buried. Somewhere.

Bathroom Update #4

I can't believe I forgot to post another bathroom update! 

With family coming to town for JP's birthday (2 weeks ago), Perry raced against the clock to finish up the cabinet and get the tile up. 

 He did a lot of swearing with these drawers, but I think they turned out nicely!

We spent far too much time at Home Depot picking out hinges and handles though. I'm glad we were able to finally agree on some!

Once the cabinets were done, he set to work on getting all the tile up. I completely forgot what tile we picked out so I was a little excited to see it up and have it match the rest of the bathroom.

I'm so lucky to have married such a handy guy!

Most recently he crafted this towel holder for us. I'm not sure this is what I had envisioned but it gets the job done! Now I just have to decorate!

A Little Weekend Trip + Charlotte Skills

A quick trip to Whitefish allowed Charlotte and Stevie a little weekend playdate. They were so cute to watch!

 Let me say that Charli has never really been interested in a binky. She's had one from time to time, but only uses them to chew on. Once she found her fingers at 2 months, all thoughts of giving her a binky went out the window as she would suck her fingers raw. So when she sat down to play with Stevie this weekend, it was some what odd for her to want his binky. All the time. I have the cutest video of the two of them sitting here like this, except Stevie started out with the binky. When Charlotte leaned over to take it from him, he accidentally grabbed her hair bow and snapped it back in her face. No tears were shed but they both sat there in a state of confusion for a second.

 I can't believe how big my little nephew is getting! And would you just look at that little smirk of his?! Adorable!

My sister-in-law and I spent Sunday morning frosting this cake, which we all dove into that evening after singing "Happy Birthday" to the birthday girls, and blowing out the trick candles multiple times!

Let me end this post by saying OH MY GOSH CHARLI!! 

This has been a huge week for her! First she popped her first tooth threw, then started crawling. By the end of the week she was waving, then clapping (sometimes missing and hitting her face instead) and now this little stinker can drink through a straw. She is simply amazing! I'm anxious to see on Wednesday how much she has grown since her last appointment 3 months ago!

We've Got a Mobile Baby!

It looks like I spoke too soon yesterday saying that Charli isn't crawling, because today she became really mobile! WooHoo! Go Charlotte! I'm not going to go as far as saying she's crawling, but she's definitely learned to move! She worked and worked on it last night and learned how to sit up on her own. She was so close to figuring out her right leg yesterday!

After she had a morning drink and a little breakfast, she practiced and practiced and I cheered and cheered and then called Aunt Kim. I was super bummed that Daddy had just left this morning on a business trip and missed it all. By the time he gets back she's going to be a rock star at crawling!

Here's where we started the morning out at:

After her afternoon nap, she was ready to try again and has begun to get into her own little groove. Hunter crawled on his hands and feet and JP used his hands and knees, and it looks like Charlotte is going to use a foot and a knee to get around! 

How Big is Charli?

I can't believe my little peanut is already 9 months old! And I found a little tooth coming in today! She's not quite crawling, but she's been SO close for a few weeks now. She has her arms figured out, as well as her left leg. But she's not sure what to do with her right leg so she just sits on it. Although she's not crawling, she can still get around! As soon as you take her diaper off, she will arch her back and push with her legs and in no time she's across the room, or under the crib!

We've been working on this for a couple weeks, but she finally has it down. She used to do it all the time, until I got the camera out. Now she'll do it whenever! She's getting SO BIG!

She is in LOVE with Hunter!

 Or maybe he's in love with her! 

 I thought Hunter and JP were inseparable, but you get Hunter with Kiki and he doesn't want to let her go.

As long as they don't play hide and seek again, we'll be fine!

My Valentine Monkey Shiners

Let me start out by saying I don't celebrate Valentine's Day. I think it's a silly "holiday". With that said, it's now 10am and my boys have melted my heart already this morning. I'll start with my innocent little JP. 

Early this morning this little character found a marker somewhere. I'm not entirely sure where it was, hidden somewhere, as all of their crayons and markers are stored on top of the cupboards in the kitchen. We've had a few too many mishaps with our furniture (and bodies) that they need to be out of reach. We missed one. Perry heard him rustling around in the basement and went down to see why he was up so early and found him looking like this.

However there was more to his doodling that what Perry had initially thought... 

I'm in love with the person he drew! I insisted that we take a picture of his art work before he hopped in the tub to start scrubbing. What I realized a short while later was that he had also colored on some private parts...I hope after the face coloring was done! His bath water was tinted gray by the time he was finished scrubbing.

And then there's Hunter. He was *so* hungry for breakfast that he refused to wait for me to make it for him. As I was helping JP clean up, Hunter got out the toaster and cut an English muffin sort of in half, and popped it in the toaster. When it was done, he used tongs to pull it out and then climbed on the counter to pick out his choice of topping. He was looking for the cinnamon maple shaker but found paprika instead. I wish I could have seen his face when he took a bite of his muffin! He did eventually find what he was looking for and cover his whole muffin in a cinnamon-maple-sugary mess. But he ate the whole thing even though it still had a taste of paprika! 

I'm having a hard time accepting how old and self sufficient he's getting!

Monkey Shiner Babblings

H - Mom, I really wish the boogieman would stop coming to our house at night.
M - How do you know he's here at night? Have you seen him or something?
H - No I haven't, but have you seen Charli's hair in the morning? He keeps pulling it up all crazy! He must be under her bed...

I've been spending quite some time on Pinterest lately with JP's birthday coming up. The other day while I was looking at ideas for a Ninja Turtles party, JP and I came across a photo of a kid with a tin roasting pan spray painted green, strapped awkwardly to his back. Immediately JP began shouting at the computer, "I WANT THAT!! We have to go to the store to get that turtle shell!"

While waiting in the car for Hunter to finish school, JP and I sat and listened to the radio. Taylor Swift's song, "22" came on and she began to sing, "It feels like one of those night, to dress up like hipsters..." A few line later into the song, JP interrupted and said, "What? They're going to dress up like hamsters?"

JP picked out some spinning toys for his birthday for Nanny to give him. He and Hunter were playing with them in the kitchen when:
M - Why don't you guys put them in the area so they can fight to the death?
J - Yeah! Hunter let's do that! Let's make them ride to the deck!

M - Hunter, can you do me a favor since I'm folding laundry? Can you go upstairs and talk to your sister? She's playing in her room, but it's sounds like she's lonely.
H - *Goes upstairs and returns promptly to the laundry room* Mom! I can't find her! I can hear her but I can't find her!
She scooted herself under the crib...

Vrrrmmm....Monster Truck Cake

I was a little busy over the weekend, well actually, the last few weeks making and decorating cake. Here's my latest one that I was able to squeeze in after I made JP's birthday cake!

 The only part I was a little nervous about was the black tire. Black is one hard color to make, coming in second to red. I was super pleased with how everything turned out! I was even able to do something I hadn't done before - letters! Something as simple as letters had never been done by me before on a cake. The one time I tried before, they stuck to the counter so I was pleased when they worked perfectly and didn't get stuck in the cutters. 

They had a super cute party too - everything was monster truck themed. If I was thinking, I would have turned the cake so everything was in the background, but I was so frustrated with the humidity in the pool area that I snapped two pictures and left. I'll know better for next time! 

Turtle Power: Jimmy Turns 4 Years Old!

My sweet little bundle of joy that has quickly become the comedian of the family is now 4 years old. No only does this kid make me laugh every single day, but he is, hands down, the sweetest little guy you'll ever meet! I mean seriously, I don't even have bribe him to rub my back, or ask him for that matter! 

Ever since Hunter's birthday in November, JP has been asking "How many more days until my birthday?" Every single day. Near the end of January, I finally put up his M&M countdown so he can visually see, because the calendar right next to it with his name circled doesn't do the trick. 

Since maybe October when we were picking out Hunter's cake, JP decided he wanted a Daniel Tiger cake. 

(Remember Mr. Roger's Neighborhood from 20 years back? Well they remade the series into a cartoon.) There has been almost NO budging on this cake idea of his either. I gave him plenty of cool ideas, which included my personal favorite, Angry Birds, but also included superheros like Spiderman. No budging. Normally I would suck it up and make what they wanted, like I did with Wreck It Ralph, but I just wasn't feeling it. However with only a little extra convincing, I was able to persuade him into having a "really cool" green cake with the Ninja Turtles on it. But the deal came with some strings attached. Daniel Tiger had to come along too... So here is our version of Ninja Turtles meets Daniel Tiger. He is in love with it! As he should be. 

He thinks it's so funny that Daniel Tiger is in the Ninja Turtles' manhole! Leave it to a 4 year old...

For his party, I made all the attendees Ninja Turtle masks. Perry was not a fan (probably because I posted a picture of him on Facebook...!) but he was a trooper anyways.

 From the minute JP woke up this morning, he was bouncing off the walls exclaiming, "We have to get ready for my birthday!" He could barely control himself when I showed him the masks!

 Even Nanny and Charlotte participated!

Papa Craig was a good sport about it too!

For his party we met up at the bowling alley since this is one of JP's favorite things to do! (Looks likes he's blindfolded!)

 Aunt Kim's boyfriend works there and surprised JP with this green pin and a couple *green* balloons. We tied one to each of Hunter and JP and never lost track of them. And JP enjoyed chasing his around too. Did you notice we all wore green?

 What do Ninja Turtles eat? PIZZA!

 Right before we cut into the cake, I wanted a picture with my little ninja :)

 So excited!

 He could hardly contain his excitement when he opened his gifts! I'm thinking his balloon blower is probably is favorite!

We finished the afternoon in the arcade area for a little while where they were able to burn off a little more excitement!

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? 

Rustic Burlap Cake

I did it! I finally finished the wedding cake that have given me too many dreams to count! Not only dreams but this cake was keeping me up at night long before it was even in the oven! I am glad it is finally done!

 I think I must have stressed about it a little too much today because I have had the worst headache in at least 5 years! Let me interrupt you and say no, this is not a hangover headache either! This was probably the first time I didn't have any wine to sip on to relax me while I worked, though it was clearly needed! But maybe I'm just overly exhausted? Anyways, I'm relieved to have finished the cake on time. I hope it tastes as wonderful as my practice cake last week! 

 The reception area was decorated beautifully too! I loved all the burlap! The table runners and flower jars with burlap were the perfect touch. I wish I would have made more little flowers though for the cake table! They would have been cute on a few other tables as well.

P.S. Have you "liked" my cake page on Facebook yet? Click here to do so ---> Simply Delightful Cakes