Happy 1st, Ben!!

It's been a busy year for this little man and he officially turns the big 1 today. I hear he got to celebrate it once already with Grandpa and Grandma Buyske so hopefully he gets to get some more ice cream and cake today. Love ya little guy.

Mike

A couple day trips

It's vacation week for Ann and me. We decided to have a bit of fun before tackling any projects. Yesterday, we headed down to Boulder and poked around town a bit. Then we took the old Whitetail Road south to Whitehall. (The kids will remember kamikaze sledding on the Whitetail Road.)

After lunch in Whitehall, we headed west to Pipestone. We found the old V Club building, where my Whistlin' Dixie band played a few New Year parties. After that, we headed into the hills to find the Ringing Rocks. What a cool place -- it's a BIG pile of BIG rocks. Okay, not that unusual for Montana, but when you hit any one of most of these rocks (we brought hammers), they ring! They have various tones and pitches, and some sound like a big bell. Here's Ann at the top of the heap.



We took another trip today, with the first leg being Helena to Canyon Ferry on the Missouri. We took a jog up Hellgate Gulch to look at the Indian pictographs. Then we went up Confederate Gulch. (Ann wasn't at the family reunion last year, and it has been a few years since she and I visited the area.)

We spent a bit of time at the Diamond City townsite, then continued up the gulch. Two new mining sites are underway, both within a couple miles of the old town site -- more activity than I've ever seen in Confederate Gulch. Unfortunately, we didn't bring a camera with us.

We proceeded on, over the top into Benton Gulch, down past Fort Logan and into White Sulphur Springs, where we paid a visit to the cemetery. We also paid a visit to the new homestead of Mike and Laura Kakuk, friends from Helena. They "bought the farm" this summer -- an old, rambling house just southwest of town. It started as the county poor farm, became the Castle Mountain Rest Home, then Foxwood B&B. At least, those are the phases I know about. We had the tour and a visit, then headed back to Helena. Nice day, although chilly and windy.

Happy Birthday Grama!!!

Tryin' for the first birthday post for Grama, whilst giving her birthday cake some props! I absolutely love this picture of Grama and had to get it in. I just want to say Grama is among one of the truly great people I know and I am a better person for having her in my life. Thanks Grama and Happy Birthday.

The Schmoore Ranch -What's it called?

Ok, so I can't remember the name of Jim's Homestead, something with a J? Anyway, all of ya'll who haven't seen it are missing out! We got to join Jim and Beryl for a nice evening with Grama today. Had a great dinner, did some early birthday celebrating with Grama, and visited the cool new horses recently acquired by Jim and Beryl. Duchess and Cowboy are their names but Cowboy is the primary one pictured here. Such a beauty! In one picture, Jim is so excited about his horse, his head is aglow! :) The kids got to go for a few little bareback rides and Mikayla is completely hooked. In fact, Grama was trying to talk me into getting a dog for the kids while Jim was convincing Mikayla that a horse would be great. Before you know it, there will be two ranches in Utah. :) Anyway, had a great night, hope you enjoy the pics.

Recent Philpot Adventures

Lately, the Philpots have taken up some mighty hiking adventures. With each passing weekend, the pace quickens and the smiles widen a bit to make the experience even more enjoyable. Just look at the grins on those girls! Short lived however as school started back up last Thursday. The end of summer, such a bummer. Into fall we have Kesiah kicking a soccer ball, Carter playing flag football, and hopefully we'll have Mikayla enrolled in piano and Kaitlyn not yelling at us anymore. Our youngest is enjoying her favorite new words which tend to include "no", "don't", and "mine". Anyway, hope all is well with the rest of the families. Oh, and thought I would include this picture of Piper from the family picnic as it is SO adorable.

Happy Anniversary, Buyskes!

A very happy 4th anniversary to Matt and Kelly!! It would be much sweeter if you could spend it together, but you will be in our thoughts and prayers. We hope you have the chance to talk to each other and share part of the day. You are a very special couple and we love you both.
Love and blessings,
Dad and Mom

Happy Birthday, Meggie!!

Let's give it up for this new little mama and wish her a very happy 25th birthday. She has accomplished quite a bit in the last few months and we are so proud of her!!! We hope that you have a special day, Meg!! You know how happy we are that your little family is nesting in Helena! It gives us a chance to make your favorite meal for your birthday!! We love you!
Mom and Dad

Cribbage!

I just wanted to brag for Grandma and I that we beat Nick and Ben three games to one on Tuesday night. We actually let the two Wingerter boys win the last game to keep their spirits up. Thanks, Grandma, for the great night. It was great kicking Ben's and Nick's butt with you!

kids o' rama

kiddo's on the front porch at grandpa johns,
they are hilarious!

school starts soon, and the kids are using up the last days of summer begrudgingly
little ones are doing well - truman got stung on the lip yesterday and looked awful with a HUGE swollen lip
poor guy.

read underwear is doing well, slow but steady -
exciting to finally have it up and running.
check out our blog if you want a laugh,
we usually write posts late at night when we are super giggly...

click here: readunderwear blog

i've been researching football stats and i think i'm pretty much ready to take you all on!

oh yeah... show me the money!!!

Happy 5th anniversary, Miranda and Nate!

Saturday marks Miranda and Nate's big 5th anniversary!! Hope you have a fantastic day today! We love ya...MOM and DAD

who's reading your underwear?

What's black and white and read all over?
WE ARE!!!!
After the toil, the terror, the time...
we now spend our sundays reading the funnies in our undies!!!
My site is up, so let's kick the tires and light the fires.
please help me get traffic to the site,
tell your friends, your brothers, your sisters, your cousin's great uncle Art.
Tell all that they can now don the most fantastical undies in the UNIVERSE!!!
www.readunderwear.com is now a reality!!!
I'm so excited, i'm babbling like a monkey on banana day...
Check it out and tell me your thoughts, your ideas
and of course tell me how your new underwear fit!

Happy Anniversary, Bortens

Thursday marks anniversary number four for Briana and Peter, and their first wedding celebration with Sabina on the outside. Congratulations, you two. We hope the day finds you able to take a break from all the busyness and spend some quiet time as a joyful family. Love you a bunch!

Back to business

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. I had a wonderful time at the family picnic. Here is a nice sunset from Saturday.



Just as the bliss this picture depicts, I am also quite blissful because I PASSED MY BOARDS!!! That's right, I'm now an official unofficial nurse practitioner. I still need to get my NP license from the state, but I finished the hard part! Now I can relax a little.

We also put in an offer on another house, so hopefully it will be accepted and won't have any structural problems, AND we could move in before I start working. I know, it's a lot of wishes. Have a drink tonight to celebrate. Heck, it's Friday!