Swimming Fun at Ali's Birthday

Matthew used his floaty like a walker. The water wasn't too deep. He loved it!! I also put him in the big pool and he kicked and kicked until I had to take him out because he was so cold.
T Jay wouldn't go down any of the fun slides or anything. All he did was squirt the water guns and pull this string which shoots water out. He kept telling me that I mad him mad because the last time we were at this pool I put him down the slide and he "did not like it." Oops!!
Snorkeling Summer.

Tour of the Ranch

This is where we are going to build the fishing cabin. In the upper right corner you can see the foundation for it.
This is the foundation, so this is the view from the cabin when we build it. That chicken coop will be torn down at some point. This is right before you drive through the canyon into Paradise Valley. Our ranch is about 10 miles down this hwy.
This is the view from the beach of the river. You can see the Quonset hut in the top left corner and the house on the right.
Under the trees is the root cellar. The kids love to play on the hills between the upper and lower levels of the ranch.

Montana

Grandma & Grandpa took the young single adults on a camping trip to Martin's Cove (Wyoming) while we were there. This is T Jay and Summer helping Grandpa load up the wood for the trip.
They loved getting to see them on Thursday evening when we got in.
Heidi, Summer and Addie playing dress-up.
Angie and Davey relaxing at the family BBQ.

Heidi and Summer sippin' on soda through a straw!

Chico Hot Springs

Matthew in his boat. He loved the hot water! T J snorkeling.
The whole "gaggle" as Jess kept calling it!

Driving!

Matthew tries his hand at the wheel!
He loves it! And Momma loves him!
T Jay driving with Uncle Mike.
Picture while Summer is driving! They love it when they get to "drive."

Playing on the ranch

The cousins admiring the irrigation system Grandpa made for the garden.
Enjoying a picnic on one of the tables the boys built last summer.
Matthew absolutely loved riding in the backpack on the swing. Sheer joy and excitement for him!
Summer throwing rocks in the river!
Matthew watching the whole thing from his lounge chair!

Working on the ranch & havin' a ball!

Going for a ride on the back of Uncle Mike's truck. The kids thought this was great!
Summer enjoying the freedoms of a Montana ranch!
Jess, Mike and T. Jay installing a culvert. T Jay loved working with the men on the ranch!
Summer helping with the bolts.
T Jay whacking the dirt with his hammer. The true intention for the tool! He was in hog heaven toting his tool box around "fixing" things!

Playing around after church!

Matthew and cousin James enjoying the grass buffet!
Summer looking a little sneaky.
Cousin Addie, T Jay and Summer show off their Swedish fish.
Summer got a little carried away with hers! I have got my work cut out for me with her!
Me and baby Matthew.

One last trip to the ranch to play fetch the dogs!

This is Madison and Gus. They belong to the people down the road. The kids had a blast playing fetch with them!
The dogs were more than happy to chase the sticks into the river! Madison (the retriever) would even pick up multiple sticks at a time. I think that I counted 6 sticks in her mouth at one point! T Jay looking unsure!
Summer playing with the dogs still. T Jay has lost interest!
One last view of the ranch! We can't wait until our next trip!