EASTER

Easter baskets sit on the kitchen table in the early morning.
Dad has to work but our CA family is visiting so we get to
celebrate with them. The boys are excited and in awe
of their big cousins. It was a fun morning in our house.

Wyatt and his friend, Asher at a local park practice their
egg hunting skills during an early Easter egg hunt with
the PLAY Network gang. Below: Owen surveys the scene
before heading out to find the hiding plastic colored eggs.

Todd's little project

It already looks quite different, but here is our "family"

salt water aquarium that Todd has created and cares for.

It is a lot of work but it has been a fun family project. The

boys love to look at it and watch the creatures move around.

Short Haired BOY

What started as just a trim to the bangs became a bad looking
hair cut when Todd took scissors to Owen. So...
the very next day, Mom took Owen to get a real cut and
before I knew it, Owen's hair was gone and a regular
looking little boy cut remained. It took some getting used to but
my favorite part is that I can finally see his beautiful EYES!
Oh, and he loves his bike or more appropriately, loves doing
tricks on his bike. He is a great kid!

SnowBowl...Owen's first skiing trip

Last Saturday, it was family day at the hill. Todd has been up there to snowboard several times this winter but the family has not. Since we bought some skis for Owen we decided we better get up there before the season ends. It was a great weather day and we had a good time. Todd took Owen on the bunny hill while Wyatt and mom played at the bottom on the sled.

A self-portrait of the family on the hill. March 2009.

Owen may look tired here but it was his daddy that really got a workout. Todd didn't know it would be so hard to help Owen down the hill...ten times.

Clark Fork ORGANICS...a local farm

We are part of PLAY Network, a group of local moms who want and need things to do with their kids and want and need other moms to hang out with. We love it and the activities are so fun. Here are some pics from a recent visit to a local farm. We will be visiting there every month since the goats are pregnant and the kids are due late April. It was a cloudy, cold day but the boys really had fun and the chicken coop was nice and squishy...yuck!
Here we are with our little friend, Liam. His mom, Jen is with me in the photo of my new hair.

The chickens really do nest in this house and lay eggs. We saw and held a freshly laid egg.

The baby chicks were so cool. There were a lot of them and the boys stood looking at them running around for the longest time. Finally, I had to pull them away so others could have a turn.

We planted seeds to watch grow throughout the spring.

Here the boys meet the goats. They thought we were going to feed them and casually touched Wyatt's outstretched hand.

I guess Wyatt wasn't done visiting the goats since he tried to climb the fence while we were looking at the chickens. He totally got in trouble while I was busy snapping the pics.

matching PJs

Grandpa Renzelman bought Owen two pairs of these cool pirate PJs when Owen was 18 months. At the time I was thinking he was crazy but obviously, he knew exactly what he was doing. He's a smart one. Now, almost two years later we get to take photos of the boys drinking milk before bed in their matching PJs. Grandpa is one cool guy.

bOunCy hOuSe

A friend of ours lent us this bouncy house and the boys loved it. We set it up in the basement and they had three days of bouncing fun. So, when we had to give it back they were a little sad. I was kinda sad too so I called my mom and asked if she would like to contribute to the Dry's bouncy house need. She said she would and OUR new space-themed house will be here in two days. (Keep your eyes out for new photos) AND...the boys don't have to give it back. Thank you, Grammie!

all gone...for a good cause

So...I have been wanting to chop off my hair. I mean, I simply tie it back every day the same way. I rarely comb it and find it much trouble, but...Todd likes it and I do like how it looks. How many women get the chance to have such thick healthy hair, but I have two small kids and practicality triumphs beauty these days. So...the other day I decided to do it and I mean I DECIDED right then to chop it off. OK, so now the only problem was that I didn't want to waste the hair so I was going to donate to Locks of Love (again). When the hairdresser put my hair in the rubber bands and showed me how short it would be I hesitated. It was shorter than I had planned and a little scary when I thought about it. (Would it still fit into a ponytail?) But, after a moment I knew I must do it. Because you see, I HAD TO CUT MY HAIR that day and I succumbed to the fact that my vanity was not worth denying some little cancer survivor of a brand new real hair wig. And so it was done. She hacked (yes, this is the right word since my hair is so THICK) three times and it was over. Well, not really. I don't love my hair right now and it has become a little too much work for my taste but it is OK and it will be back to my shoulders in no time. So here it is...my old hair and my new hair.

Glacier Wilderness Cabin

Towards the end of February, we drove to West Glacier

to spend a few days with some good friends at a cool little

secluded cabin. We ate good food, had good talks and

enjoyed our good life. We drove in the park and took in the

sites. For those of you that have not been to Glacier Nt'l

Forest...it is beautiful. The mirrored reflection here is

amazing.

Here is Chris at the cabin. We were in Loneman 10.

If you look close, you can see the girls and the kids in the

spa on the deck. That was truly a treat and we indulged

every day.

At trip to Glacier would not be complete without snow play.

Daddy and Owen go sledding while Wyatt gets a ride from

Uncle Chris.

Auntie Amy put all the apple stickers on Owen's face and

he thought that was funny. He wore them for a long time.

Above: Owen learned how to lie his jacket on the floor and put it

on himself so he wore his snow jacket inside all evening

just because he could.

Below: Both boys were enchanted by Chris's guitar and he

even let Owen play the ABC song with him. It made Owen's

week and he keeps telling me he wants a guitar for his birthday.

Amy and Tammie (the photographers) take a moment to

prove they were there too.

these are my valentines...enjoy

Owen's FIRST swim lessons

It was a family outing last week as Owen had his first class at
our indoor swimming pool. The 30 minutes went fast but Owen
enjoyed learning how to swim with his peers.

Daddy and Wyatt stayed dry on the observation deck.

Chicken...airplane...pencil...

one happy swimmer above
one jealous brother below

at the end of class, Owen got to stay and play.

He spent his time practicing how to surf

and playing with his friend Bella.

WYATT'S haircut

Wyatt was not so sure about getting his hair cut. Mom had to

sit so close and whisper sweet nothings into his ear.

It wasn't until Owen let Wyatt hold his toy gun that Wyatt

calmed down and finished his haircut. I think mom had more

hair on her than Wyatt.

owen

Three is so fun. Owen is growing by leaps and bounds every day.
He is quick and funny and surprises us by what he learns and knows.
He is a good big brother (most of the time) and has a heart of gold.

These are a few of Owen's favorite toys.
He is very particular and likes to build.

cOLoRaDo tRiP...105 fEveR

During our four days visiting family in CO,
Wyatt had a 105 fever for three of them.
You wouldn't know it from these photos but
when his medicine wore off it was meltdown city.
We were thankful when his fever broke and our
little boy was back to his normal self.
Wyatt loves to walk in his mommy's boots and
loves to read books with grandma!

Our one big outing was to the outlets where the boys
entertained themselves while mommy tried on some new running shoes.

christmas morning...

the stocking were hung by the chimney with care...

the presents sat nestled under the tree...

but santa took the filled stockings and hide them in the
basement behind this block tower for Owen & Wyatt to find.

Owen opening his stocking...a MT nameplate

amidst the morning mayhem...

Todd got home at 7am and by 10 we had all the gifts open

and a room full of wrapping paper & new toys!

What a very MERRY Christmas!