Visisting with Papa and Gramma Benjamin

Gramma's Tea Party.
Eating cookies and juice.

Tea anyone?

Ollibawly

Levi after a day of fishin with Papa. He caught 4 fish.

Marki after a day of fishing with Papa. She caught 4 fish.

Future Firemen.

Taking a tubby.

Riding horses.

Marki and Lee.

Ali, Marki, and Levi. The kids got to visit their cousin Ali and they had so much fun.

Me and Frank. I don't think he wanted his picture taken.

Watching sports.

Uncle Johnny....I mean uncle Frank and Levi. They had a blast on the four wheeler. Mark got Levi to start calling Frank, Johnny. Levi is quite fond of his uncle.

Cody and Mark. Cody is one of Mark's best friends and also a firefighter in Havre, MT.

We had a great time! Thank you Jack and Lynn for everything!

The Kuna Days Parade

This weekend was Kuna Days. Marki had been preparing all summer to dance in the parade. She was so excited. Marki's preschool was also doing a float. Levi was going to ride and hand out candy. Well, I guess Marki thought that was pretty cool because not only could she throw out candy, she could be with her BFF Chyenne who she hasn't seen all summer and be with her favorite teachers. I tried persuading her to stay with her dance class. After all she learned a dance she loved and I paid for her little outfit. Nope. She wanted to go on the preschool float instead. So she and Levi took turns throwing out candy and riding on the float. The girls did a great job.

Levers.
Marki with her dance class.

Waiting for the parade to begin.

Marki and Cheynne.

Promoting their school.

Levi promoting his soon to be school.

The parade.

Miss Arisa.

Happy Anniversary to Dave and Irene I miss you guys. Let's get together soon! We'll do a pre school BBQ. Get it a preshool BBQ. Hahahahaheehehee. Oh I'm funny. Or maybe not so much.

Oliver putting up with all the hooplah.

Supporting both her preschool and dance.

Irene and Tracey.

Dance Yourself Silly.

Oliver on uncle D's bike. He came out for the family BBQ in the park.My mom and Oliver.

So cool.

Marki's face paint.

Lee's face paint. He fell off his bike and took it like a champ.

Some places I have lived....continued.

This is where we brought our daughter home.
We celebrated Marki's first birthday here in the bottom left. We stayed here until we moved to Boise.

Places I have lived....

This is the farm I grew up on. I fell off my first horse here:)
My house. My Grandpa Anderson used to live a quarter mile away. I would walk to his house and he would drive me home. I always did that on my birthday. My first apartment in college was in the basement of this house. It was super cute but full of spiders. I moved after a 4 months of a killing spree. They were HUGE!

I then moved to this apartment building. The top right. It was super cute too. I lived here for one year.

Then I had so much trouble with the heater acting up and couldn't ever get ahold of the landlord so I moved here. The bottom left. It was by far the cutest place ever. I lived here until I moved to Billings.

When I came back from the East Coast I decided to go back to school. This is where I moved to. It was super tiny but cute. Spiders inhabited this place frequently too. I met Mark when I moved back. We did lot's of studying in this apartment.

Rod's Drive In. Home of the Ugly Burger. The best Burger in the world! They make great soda's too.

Ollipop

Ollipop taking a tubby.
He tries to stand up and gets frustrated when he falls. You will find him doing this a lot.

Can you believe he is 11 months! Oh my darling Oliver. Just looking at him makes me tear up. He is not a baby anymore. He is a new little person. I love learning about his personality. He is so easy going and full of smiles. He now has three teeth. Two on the bottom and one on top. His left tooth is poking through so soon he'll have four. When I saw his first tooth I was so excited yet sad. That is the last first tooth our family will have (unless God says otherwise) and it is sad to think about. I love this boy so much it hurts. (I love all of you so much it hurts) and he has been a trooper getting these painful teeth.

You love your baths. You love playing peekaboo and pulling out all the wipes. You love your books and when Marki sings to you in the morning. You love Marki toting you around despite my best efforts for her to leave you be. You love waking up to 4 people staring at you oohing and awing over you. You still are the first thing everyone runs to when you wake up. Daddy will even try to avert me elsewhere so he can be the first to grab you. Marki always wins and then she and Levi fight over who gets to hold you first or feed you. This has happened EVERY DAY since you were born. There looks to be no end in sight:)

You are an awesome eater. You eat anything and everything. You eat more than Marki and Levi combined.

You don't like it when your brother bops you on the head. I try to tell him that you will one day be big enough to bop him back but you'll just have to show him that one at a later date. I can't wait to see you and Levi be best friends. It maybe after high school but I am hoping you two are inseparable as little ones.

Marki is like your second Momma. She takes very good care of you. One time I put you down on the floor sitting up, you couldn't crawl yet, and went to the bathroom. As I was trying to go she marched herself right in the bathroom and stated, "MOMMY! YOU CAN"T JUST LEAVE A BABY ALONE! I HAD TO COME OUT OF MY ROOM TO WATCH HIM! HE COULD HAVE BEEN HURT!" She cracks me up. She does love you and Levi so much.

You now are formula fed. It works for you. No more throwing everything up. No more acid reflux. You are gaining weight nicely.

We love you so Oliver. I am already planning your first birthday. You make me beam with pride just by being you.

Montana State Fair

If you live around Great Falls a big part of your summer is the Montana State Fair. I have missed it for the past few years but was able to go this summer. It is the greatest. The food, the people, the rides, the exhibits. They are all wonderful. I went on a few rides and got really sick on the zipper. I used to go on that ride over and over and over and over with Tiffany and never got sick. Not once. Not this time. I was sick for a day and a half after that last ride. Lauren made me go on this ride that dropped straight down. That was worse than the sling shot I went on years ago. When I get myself worked up over things I hyperventilate. After the first ride, the one that dropped you straight down, I was so stressed that my fingers were all bent funny and I couldn't control them. This happened worse when I gave blood a few years back. When I was almost done giving blood I almost passed out. I fought it because my whole body went bizerk and my hands and feet twisted so painfully and I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to die. They thought I was having a seizure but it was just my weird way of hyperventilating. Anywho, I think my days of riding rides are over:( Just another sign of getting old I guess. I did learn this trip that I am terribly homesick and wish we could move back home. I had a great time visiting with friends, sad that I didn't get to see all of you. Here are some pictures of the fair. Oh yeah, I missed the horse races which are the greatest thing ever to go to. Next year I won't miss them!



Hey Damon, Taco Treat never tasted so good!
Our boys. This is Oliver and Cole. They were not too happy about being stuck in the strollers. My friend Kristal (Cole's mom) and I were pregnant the entire time together but were unable to do pregnant things together. I can't wait to hear of her next pregnancy! She makes cute babies!

Tony, Tifferpoop, and Kristal. Tiffany's boy Andrew. She had a beautiful little girl too.

Poppy and Oliver.

Lovin the Kiddie fair rides.

Levi loved all the rides. He wanted his turn at the big rides. If he was big enough I really think he would have liked them.

Kristal and me. I miss her so.

Poppy and Grammy paid extra for Marki and Lee to go on this jumper. They had a blast.

Marki jumping high.

Levi jumping high.

Levi loved it.

The train. When we announced that we were going on a train Levi says, "Oh yeah, that's what I'm talkin about!"

Poppy, Lauren, Alli. We had so much fun with the girls.

The barn ride. When Marki was two they had a fire truck. This was one of Lee's favorite rides.

The faris wheel. Mark went with Lee. I went with Lauren. Marki went with Alli.

This is where you could find Marki anytime at the farm when inside.

The Barn.