Pipe dream

I have realized lately that I am watching entirely too many movies with Lindsey during the day. It is so easy to put on a movie and do my own stuff, so I have made an effort in the last week to turn off the t.v. and do other things. I was looking for ideas of activities to do with the girls, when I came across this one: PVC pipe and joints. We went to Home Depot tonight and bought all the supplies. Jason cut the pipe for us, and we had a blast putting the pipes together. Even Megan was getting in on the action. She was able to put the pipes and joints together easily. This is a great "toy" because it is sturdy, easy to put together, and during the summer we can take it outside and put water through the pipes. And, Jason really likes it too.

Lindsey built this whole structure all by herself. She used every single piece that we have. I guess we need to buy more supplies!

Megan's "mean" face

The other day at lunch, I was making faces at Megan. She loved my "mean" face and kept making it back at me. I tried to capture it on camera, but every time she did it, she would burst out laughing. These are so much cuter anyway even if her mouth is full and her face is dirty.

My "brillant" idea

I desperately needed to mop my kitchen floor earlier this week. It had just been too long between moppings, and I couldn't find the time to do it. I had the "brillant" idea to have the girls help me out. They put on their swimsuits because I knew that they would both end up wet. Then we filled a bucket with warm soapy water. I gave each of them a washcloth and away we went. Everything was going well at first. They were "washing" the middle of the floor and I was getting the corners. Then I heard "Uh-oh!" and turned in time to see the whole bucket of water spill on the floor. I had a bigger mess than I was planning for, but the girls had a great time. Note to self: If I ever do this again, don't fill the bucket so full!

Legs straight

This is the new game that Jason and Lindsey have been playing. Lindsey loves it, and she has actually become quite good at balancing. It is funny to watch her fall though. Once she realizes that she is going over, she will throw her body back to land on the blueberry. I think she might be one of those cheerleaders at the top of the pyramid with how good her balance is. Jason has tried this game once with Megan, but ended up with teeth marks in his head. He won't be trying that again any time soon.

Antelope hunting

At the beginning of this month, we had my mom come and stay with the girls so Jason and I could go hunting. We had two antelope tags to fill this year. We were able to drive down to our spot in the afternoon and hunt a little before it got too dark. It has been about 12 years since I last shot a gun, so I wasn't too confident in my abilities. Jason was giving me a few pointers, and just before dark, we spotted "a shooter". I was trying to shoot off the top of the truck, which is something that I have never done before. I just couldn't get the buck in the scope to get a good shot. This guy was acting pretty weird. He was running around chasing the other bucks and ran straight at the truck. I snuck around to the back of the truck and tried to shoot off of the tool box. I got one shot off when the buck stopped. I was shaking and nervous because, like I said, it has been a long time for me. The antelope didn't even flinch when he heard the gun shot. Jason was positive that I had missed him, but we decided to go check it out anyway. We started walking toward him when he did the weirdest thing I have ever seen an animal do when it has been shot at. Instead of running away from us, he layed down. I sat down to try to get another shot at him, but he spooked and ran away. It was really dark by this time, so we decided to go back to camp and look for him in the morning.

In the morning, we started to drive back to where I shot at the antelope. It took us awhile because we had to stop and glass every few minutes. We saw so many antelope! Jason took a couple of shots at a monster, but didn't hit him because the bullets he was shooting with were bad. We finally made it to the spot where we last saw "my" antelope. At this point we were both convinced that I had missed him. Jason was glad because he thought the antelope wasn't as big as we first thought. Then I just happened to look over on another hillside and there he was! I was so excited! My first antelope! And he was pretty big! One thing that I noticed is that he had a huge stick stuck in his front hoof. Maybe that would explain his crazy behavior the night before. I know having something stuck in my shoe sure makes me crazy. Once we had him all dressed out, it was time to get Jason's tag filled.

Driving back to camp, we spotted Jason's antelope. He didn't hear our truck at all, and we watched him bed down. Jason snuck out of the truck and shot him. All in all, we were done hunting before 9 a.m. on our first full day out!

Some lessons learned: Shoot the guns BEFORE we go out hunting. Make sure we have good bullets.

Jason unofficially scored these guys when we got home. Mine grossed 78, which is actually pretty good, but he had some points deducted because one horn was slightly tweaked. So mine ended up scoring 75.5. Jason's scored a 74. I have to brag that I shot a bigger antelope than my hubby!

Zoo Montana

Yesterday, Jason had to pick up some parts in Billings for work. We decided to make a day of it and take the girls to Zoo Montana. I really love Jason's job for the freedom that he has to do something like that! The girls were so excited to see a bear and a tiger. I must admit that I was a little disappointed with the zoo. I guess I was expecting to see more exotic animals, but despite that it was still a very good time.

Lindsey was excited to be going.

Megan was excited, but tired.
Siberian Tiger

For some reason Lindsey was really afraid of the tiger. She thought it was going to get her even though we told her he couldn't get through the glass.

Megan loved the tiger. She kept waving to him.

Red Panda

Megan checking out the bear.

He was a big bear.

Bald Eagles

Playing on the play equipment. Megan didn't want her picture taken.

We decided that we had gone to the zoo at a great time. Being the end of the summer season, there were hardly any people there. We practically had the whole zoo to ourselves. It was almost closing time, and the zookeepers were getting ready to feed all of the animals. The tiger was pacing back and forth and all of the animals were pretty active waiting for their food to arrive.

Waiting for Jason to pick up his parts.

We decided to go to Chuck E. Cheese's for dinner because we thought the kids would have a great time. We told Lindsey that it was "Where a kid could be a kid" and she kept repeating that line to us. Both girls had a great time playing on the rides and going in the "Sky Tubes". We even won a few tickets to earn some prizes for the girls. It was a fun afternoon!

Lindsey playing on the rides.

Megan and Lindsey. They loved how this ride moved. After dinner, we gave Lindsey a few tokens to do what she wanted with. She pumped all of her tokens into this ride.

Me and Megan in the Sky Tubes. For the record, they did have a sign posted that parents were welcome in there and I didn't want Megan getting lost. Plus she couldn't climb up the steps by herself.

Family "hunting" trip

At the beginning of the month, we took the girls out for a hunting trip. We weren't able to do too much hunting because it was hard to keep the kids quiet. We packed a picnic dinner to eat while we were out hiking and s'mores to eat when we got back to the truck. It was a fun outing even if Jason wasn't able to shoot anything!

Lindsey practicing her cow calling for Daddy.

Lindsey had an "accident" while we were out. I am still trying to figure out how to teach her to go out in the wilderness. We had to put a coat on her to keep her legs warm.
Hiking up a big hill after our dinner.

More hiking.

Megan in camo.

My pretty girls.

Sisters

Why am I the only one NOT in camo here? Guess I need to get me some!Hiking back to the truck.

We made it!

Getting ready for s'mores.
Lindsey is ready!
Awwww!

Those were yummy!