Trip to Dillon

For Memorial Day weekend we took a quick trip to Dillon, MT to celebrate Grandpa Bob's 75th birthday with lots of fishing.  It was fun to get away and the kids had a blast fishing and playing.  John and Bob did too. :)  

 The first day we go there we saw the most amazing double rainbow.  This was the view from back porch of the Goose Down Ranch, where we stayed.  

 One more shot of the rainbow.  It was SO VIBRANT.  

 Nana got lots of squeezes in with the Wesley Chubs.

 We didn't do too much hiking but the kids still thought it was pretty fun to carry Wes around the cabin in the back pack.

 Isaac caught his first fish--he kept saying, "I can't believe I caught a fish!"

 Lucy wasn't thrilled with the conditions around the river--"Why hasn't anybody mowed this grass around the water!"  "This grass is so scratchy!" She ended up sitting on my lap in the chair most of the time.

 We went to Bannack State Park on Sunday to check out an old mining ghost town.  Lots of cool old buildings.

 An old merry-go-round.

 Old school room.

 Old serious Wes.

 Esther panning for gold and garnets.  

 John and Bob getting in on the treasure hunt. 

Wes decided to get up with the sun like the farmers, while in Dillon.  Stinker. 

 Bob and John went on an all day guided fishing tour.  It was John's first time fly fishing and they both had a great time and caught several fish.  

 Esther made a birthday banner while the men were gone fishing.  It says Happy Birthday in case it's too small to read. 

 Carrot cake with funky candles to celebrate at the end of the fishing day.  Happy Birthday Bob!  Thanks for the fun weekend!

Cake Decorating Girls

The girls got to take a cake decorating class this last Friday.  They LOVED it.  Esther has a dream of being the best baker in the world.  Go big or go home right?  :)

Wesley-8 Months Old

Wesley Taylor is 8 months old.  He is still a pretty happy easy going baby.  I take him to crossfit every morning and almost every day I can still get him to just nap in the carseat in the gym area.  He is amazing that way.  He still thinks his brother Isaac is the funniest in the family.  He loves to watch everything he does.  Wesley LOVES to eat, especially if it's the same thing the family is eating.  Most babies his age probably eat one jar or pouch of baby food... not Wes.  He eats two. Wesley has really mastered rolling back and forth and has even started getting in the crawling position.  I'm a little sad he's going to be a mover and a destroyer.  :)  He already got to one of my plants once.  He has been saying the "da da da" sound too although I am sure it's only because it's easier then "ma ma ma."  We sure love this kid with his red cheeks and bright blue eyes.  

 

Mother's Day

Ahh Mother's Day...  so bittersweet.  I love being a mom and my sweet kids always bring me breakfast in bed with sweet cards and presents.  Then after church we usually end up having a mother's day/birthday dinner at my dad's.  By the evening I feel a little depressed.  I am reminded that I'm a bit lonely in this world without my mom.  Nobody cares about me quite the way she did.  And so there's gratitude and grief.

These are some old pics I found today..  

Isaac's Preschool Program

Isaac had his Mother's Day Preschool Program.  It was awesome and he really enjoyed singing all the songs.

He filled out a survey.  Apparently, I really dig those dishes.  

Love my Isaac and his chocolate brown eyes.

Grandma Z.

I feel like I haven't been very diligent at recording my experiences and stories of the past couple years and I recently heard a speaker talk about the importance of recording our lives and our stories and I want to do better.  A lot has happened in the recent years that has truly molded me and changed me.  Someone just might need to hear about my experiences some day.
Several weeks after Iris died my Aunt Ruth Ann gave me a folder with a journal entry from my Grandma Zollinger.  Ethel Zollinger was my mother's mother.  She was a gardener, a hard worker and extremely frugal.  I remember her laugh and how sweet she was to us.  She lost her first born son one year after she was married.  He was born a couple months early and weighed 4 lbs 7 oz.  Back in those days I do not think doctors were as skilled at saving these premature babies.  Also, back in those days a mother was confined to the hospital for ten days after giving birth so she did not even get to attend the funeral for her sweet baby boy, Clinton Dennis Zollinger.  It was so amazing to read just a small part of her thoughts on this experience.  She recorded, "There were tears shed but a there was a feeling come over me that is hard to describe.  Of course, they expressed their sympathy but I just wished they would go.  I felt so close to heaven and wanted to pray and talk to the Lord."  I love that she WANTED to pray and talk to her Father in Heaven.  There were lots of prayers during our experience with Iris and we also had similar feelings of not really wanting to be around people at the height of our grief.
When she and my grandfather went to pay the bills at the mortuary he would not take any money and said that the Zollingers and Nelsons had been good to them and also my Grandpa was in the service defending this country and him.  We had a very similar experience when all the expenses came up family and friends were beyond generous to us.  It was amazing to feel that love and overwhelming support during a dark time.  I like to think that Iris's name came from my Grandma Zollinger.  Ethel is a bit of tricky name to use these days (just not usable :)) but my grandma ALWAYS had lots of flowers growing in her yard, especially Irises.  Every Memorial day she would gather all her old 2 liter soda bottles and cute the tops off.  Then she would cut a whole bunch of flowers from her yard (lots of Irises) and take some rocks and head to Providence cemetery.  When we got there too we would help her assemble the soda bottle bottom flower arrangements with rocks to keep them from tipping over.  (Did I mention she was thrifty? :))  I love this memory of my Grandma and the Irises.  She was strong, faithful, and she trusted in the Lord throughout her life.  I pray I can do the same and I am thankful for her example.