Family Pictures

Back in August, our little family got some updated pictures done. Well I just got them back, so I thought I would share some of them with you. It's crazy to think this was only a couple of months ago, yet Beckam looks so little to me! He has gotten so much bigger since these pictures were done (and so much more opinionated. His new favorite trick; shaking his head "no" at me when he doesn't want to do something. He's only 9 1/2  months old and Im seeing glimpses of the terrible two's. I may be in trouble :) )

  

My Inner Martha Stewart

I have definitely picked up a few homemaker-type hobbies over the last couple of years. I dont know if it a result of becoming a Mom or of living in Montana with not much to do. Either way, sewing and cooking are two things I love doing! Poor Sal has to put up with being my guinea pig as far as cooking goes. I love to get new recipes off the internet or from magazines and try them. He has had to try a variety of new foods. Some are a success (miso salmon or butternut squash pasta were both really yummy). Some not so much (there was once a sweet potato gnocchi disaster).
This last week I had to cook for some guests, and wanted to try a new dessert, so I went on the internet and came up with this recipe for Lemon Meringue Cakes. They are so easy to make! I mean, if you can make a box mix cake, you can make these. Plus they taste great.
My other new hobby is sewing. I just finished making my second quilt. I took a baby quilt class when I was pregnant with Beckam. When the class started, I hadn't found out what I was having, so I didn't know if I should make a baby girl or boy quilt. So I made a baby girl quilt (mainly because there are very cute girl fabrics out there). Well once I found out I was having a boy, I still wanted to make a baby quilt for him.

 I started it in December. I JUST finished. Did I mention how little free time you have with a newborn?

The Little Things

So far, my blog has been a series of big events, like vacations. Okay, mostly vacations. Sometimes, though, it.s the little day to day things that make life great. Thats why I have decided to make an attempt to blog about the little events that happen daily. With that in mind, here is what my Monday was like....
It started before I was even awake. Sal, who wakes up well before any person should, snapped a shot of Beckam and I sleeping.

This is a very typical sleeping arrangement in our household. Notice the little leg draped around my waist. I used to be a very light sleeper, but this had to change ever since our little guy started sleeping in our bed. He is a wiggle worm even in his sleep:)

After a good run and shower, I decided to do some housework. I had a little help....

Its the cutest darn help I could ask for:)
His daily tasks include:
1."Helping" his mom load the dishwasher.

2. Rearranging the movies (a must at least three times daily).

Not pictured are:
3. Vacuuming the floor with his hands.
4. Testing the dogs' water to make sure it is up to standard.

Beckam has become so mobile these last few weeks. I cant believe how fast he is growing up!

Monday was also the first day Beckam discovered the stairs...

Let the baby proofing begin!

Family Time!

I have been so lucky to be able to spend so much time around family lately. Im pretty sure I have spent as much time in Idaho this summer as I have in Montana!

Chistensen Reunion

At the end of June, my Mom's side of the family had a family reunion in Island Park, ID. To sum it up...lots of family time, relaxing, laughing, good food, and many many memories. We stayed in a gorgeous cabin right off the river. We did a lot of fishing (my little cousin Ronnie schooled us all in that division. Im pretty sure he caught more fish than the rest of us did combined!). Other activities included rafting, golfing, running a 5k (Beckam included), games, and some pretty intense air hockey tournaments. Unfortunately, I was having too much fun to take any pictures....I will hopefully post some after I steal them from my Mom:)

4th of July

After having so much fun in Island Park, we were able to have some more fun in Idaho, where we spent our Fourth of July. We went to the Parade in Rexburg with Varela family.

That night, we headed to Idaho Falls, ID to watch their firework show. This happens to be the place that Sal proposed three years earlier.

Varela Reunion

July was also the month for the annual Varela family campout. It was so nice to see everybody. There is never a dull moment when this family is together! We camped in St Charles ID canyon and spent most of our days at Bear lake, which happens to be one of my favorite places....wonder why. We rented a boat one day, and went tubing and wake boarding. I have to say, I learned something new about Sal. He can wake board! And he, just like me, loves to go boating. Maybe I can talk him into buying a boat now:)

The most memorable thing we did during the campout was the "Bear Lake Battle" which was pretty much a bunch of games played by three teams. These games included a water ballon toss, three-legged race, tug-a-war, and many more. Each team got points for winning the individual games, and points were added up to determine the winner. Winning team even got metals. It was so fun! 

Again, I was having too much fun to take many pictures, so this is all I've got...

This is Beckam with his cousin who is four months younger than him. 

And this is them obviously worn out from the day:). 

Memorial Day weekend

I finally uploaded pictures from the last month, so it's time for some blog overload!
Sal had been talking about going to Mount Rushmore ever since we moved up here, since its only about six hours away. Well, Memorial Day weekend seemed like the perfect time. So we planned a trip!
I didn't really know what to expect before we got there. I figured it was going to be a long drive to see a Mountain and that was about it, but I was very wrong. There are a ton of things to do in that area!
HIghlights included:
Seeing Mount Rushmore (thats a given)! The drive to it through Custer State Park was so cool!

There were three spots where we drove through tunnels. You can't really tell, but Mount Rushmore is off in the distance.

Anyone see something wrong with this picture???

We made it! Pictures don't do it justice. Mount Rushmore is massive! (We couldn't get our little wiggle worm to look at the camera. This is about as close as it gets:))

There is a small hike around the mountain that we took and got some great photos.

Another highlight was going to Deadwood, SD. This small casino town turned ghost town was restored and is now a historic sight. They do shootout reenactments, and have characters that walk around. Its not a very kid friendly place, but very fun to see. I didnt take any photos, so I stole them off of Deadwood's tourist site.

Then....

Now...

The last highlight was Beckam's favorite part.

I gave birth to a little fish. Saying Beckam likes the water is an understatement. LOVES IT! He bounces and bounces when he's in the water (or splashes and splashes if he is in the tub. I cant give him a bath without getting wet myself). This pool was amazing! Do you see that net over there? There were also lilly pads you could jump across, a basketball hoop, and a giant whale fountain. I about handed Beckam over to Sal so I could go play:)

A few words of wisdom to anyone going that way....
1. If you drive that far with a six month old, there may be a little screaming. Beckam was such a little trooper, but there were times where he was DONE with his car seat. I dont blame the poor kid. I wouldn't want to be strapped down for six straight hours either.
2. Watch for floods! Our initial plan was to go home Sunday. Well our route was closed due to flood water flowing over the road. More about flooding later....
3. DONT speed in South Dakota. The cops are merciless! I offered to drive for Sal to give him a break. Not two minutes later, sirens turned on. Not even batting my eyes worked with this guy. Needless to say, I learned my lesson: Dont offer to drive:)

The floods come up...

So earlier in the year, there was a town meeting about what to do if our town floods. I thought it was weird since there was only a couple of feet of snow outside, but apparently that is a lot for this area. See, NE Montana doesn't usually get much snowfall. We just get cold and wind. This year, however, we had record snowfall (along with the cold and wind).  Combine that with a quick thaw and what do you get?

 You get this. Thats not a lake. Its usually a field. If you look close you can see hay bails floating around. That ramp-like thing is a road and in the distance there are a few houses. This is a few blocks from my house.

 We wont be going to the park anytime soon.

This isn't the best picture, but I had to post it. Look at this kiddo. Instead of playing catch or throwing the football around in his backyard, he is fishing in his newly installed pond. Wonder what you catch???

Luckily, there wasn't any damage to our house. It affected the country more than town. These pictures were taken about a week after the flooding really started, so its actually a lot better in these pictures than it was initially.

I asked a teen in my ward how her house was affected, beings she lives in the country. She said, "Well we have to use a boat to get to our house." I laughed. She wasn't kidding:)

Traveling fools

First off, I have to say that I think it was rather rude of my Mom and Jack to wait till AFTER I move away from home to build a pool room onto their house. However, its one more reason to go visit! Yep, Beckam and I took another visit to Idaho! Beckam loves bath time, so I was really excited to put him in  the pool to see what he thinks.

It took a while for him to warm up to the idea, but I think he liked it. As he gets older, Im sure the pool will be a hit.  

Another hit on this trip.....Dad's dutch oven cooking. Beckam and I went to Dad and Becky's house to visit and they made us a VERY good dinner. I think if I had to choose one food to live off of it would be dutch oven potatoes, yum!!! 

Sal met me later in the week and we went to Boise to visit. I miss Boise! HOPEFULLY we will live there again soon. In the meantime, we will just visit often!