Sarah Spindle was in Whitefish this past week. It's always so much fun when she's here. This time she even has an "Egyptian Mummy Craft" for the boys. As you can see toilet paper was used and the boys had a great time.
By request the mummies morphed into Batman mummies with masks, capes and even belts. The boys then played superheroes with their projects for a good twenty minutes straight. Good job Sarah Spindle!!
Jack with his Batman Mummy
Will with his completed project.
What a great day for a baptism! Our friends the Larkins had their son Tyler baptized in their backyard on Sunday. It was such a perfect event and we had so much fun. Those Larkins really know how to throw a party! We left the boys at home with a sitter but took Annemarie with us. As always she was a big hit. I think her favorite part of the party was sitting with Fafa (Stefanie's mom) and being fed ice cream. Annemarie really liked the ice cream and gave Fafa lots of kisses in return.
Stef, Kelly and Sarah posing for the camera.
Annemarie in her pretty party dress from Aunt Sara and Uncle Jason. She received many compliments.So we've been to Urgent Care one more time and the doctor twice since the last time I wrote about Annemarie's broken arm. It is near impossible to keep her cast on. I was somewhat prepared for this going through a broken arm with Jack when he was two. Originally Annemarie had a splint put on. Then two days later we went back in to have a cast put on. She pulled the cast off the next day. So we went in again and had another cast put on. This time we were on to our third doctor and he was adamant that the cast he put on would stay put. She pulled it off later that night. So when we went in the next time I explained to the doctor how with Jack his cast was cut on both sides (kind of like a clam shell) so when he pulled it off I could put it back on. The cast was then wrapped with an ace bandage and lots of tape. Unfortunately when the doctor put the cut cast on Annemarie it pinched part of her skin and I didn't know because she didn't seem to be in any pain. So now she has this terrible welt/cut on the inside of her arm (if it's not one thing it's something else!) Anyhow...she needs to keep her cast on until next Wednesday and as you may imagine I'm counting down the days. As of right now Annemarie pulls her cast off and I put it on usually four times a day.
Here's a recent video of our little escape artist.
This week my dad was here for a quick visit. This was his first trip to Whitefish. From what I can tell I think he's a big fan. Recently his company has added Montana as part of his sales territory so we're looking forward to seeing more of him. The kids really enjoyed seeing him and had lots to show him and tell him. We look forward to seeing you in August Opah!
Annemarie is now part of the broken bone club. She fell yesterday afternoon and has a small fracture in her left arm. I didn't see her fall but from what I can gather I think she did a belly flop on the wood floor and landed on her arm. After a quick trip to urgent care she's doing much better. A hard cast will be put on tomorrow (right now she has a splint and ace bandage on). As you can tell from the pictures she's broken up (pun intended) over the whole ordeal. I told Doug we're going to need to pad the house and everyone has to wear helmets on a full-time basis. Good news is recovery time is short, about three weeks.
Erin stayed with Annemarie the other day when we took the boys to see the Disney train. When we got home the girls where sitting on the front porch enjoying the beautiful weather. They looked so cute!
Look at our little boating baby! This picture was taken before the fussing began. Annemarie HATED her life jacket but liked the wind in her face. Thank you Peschels for taking us out. We really enjoyed it!
Disney is currently promoting their upcoming movie A Christmas Carol by driving a train across the country. It's making many stops and luckily Whitefish happened to be one of them. Doug and I took the boys to the attraction and really enjoyed ourselves. Thankfully we received a tip that if you show up before they open the gates you won't have to wait as long (the day before people were waiting up to 2 hours to get on the train). The train itself was four cars long and as you walked through it you learned about the making of the movie. It was very interesting, but maybe a little advanced for the boys. After walking through the train we went over to the inflatable movie theater where we watched a 10 minute preview of the 3D digital film. It was pretty cool.
The four car train parked in Whitefish.
As we walked along the side of the train there were Christmas carols playing and even fake snow.
A model of Big Ben inside the train.
At the end of the train in the room decorated for Christmas.
Jack was done after five minutes. He said it was too cold. As you can see Will needs to work on his sliding technique. Overall I think the slip n slide is a success!
We had the greatest 4th of July weekend, but you wouldn't know it because I didn't take any pictures except this one of the kids at the Arts Festival. We had a big group of friends in town and we spent the weekend playing, taking in what Whitefish has to offer, eating and even going out without the kids. The adults spent 4th of July evening at the Northern and we were able to watch fireworks from the roof of the bar. It was definitely a highlight of the weekend. Thank you to everyone who traveled out here to visit. Please come back soon, it was such a pleasure to host you!!
She seemed pretty proud of herself and in this picture looks like she's had a few.
From "pink stucco house" with light blue windows and a scrappy front yard...
to "grey stucco house with the darling white picket fence"
the beautiful new front yard
a REAL front door
Most of you have been so patient waiting for us to post these pictures. Doug hung the last outdoor light last night and we finally got the flower baskets in place. I tried to take a picture from every possible angle - I hope you can get a feel for what the place looks like now. We're very happy with the results and are planning to rest and admire Doug's hard work for the rest of the summer.
flower baskets at the end of the carport
new railing on the back deck
the view from the back of the houseIf you have the time to sit through this lengthy clip you'll see Annemarie's latest trick. Not only is she standing without holding on to anything, she stands up without any assistance. This clip is especially for my mom since when I explained what Annemarie's been doing (going from sitting to standing) she said that sounded unusual. This way Mom (and everyone else) can see what I'm talking about. What do you think??
The little pink shed is getting a makeover. It's currently set up as a shed/greenhouse but most of the plexi-glass is broken plus we don't need a greenhouse. So Doug (and the boys) is updating it. He's removing the old shingles and plexi-glass and installing a new roof. Oh, and probably most important, painting it to match the house.
Happy Father's Day Doug! Thank you for being such a kind, patient and fun role model for our children. They love you dearly. It's so fun to see their faces light up when you come home from work and they truly enjoy spending time with you even if you're doing chores. Great job on being the best dad ever!
So I know I've mentioned before that even though Annemarie is not walking (she has started standing without holding on to anything) she is climbing on everything. Today she started something new and I was able to get it on video so I could share it with everyone. She must have climbed into the jumperoo eight or nine times before I finally took a video of her. Sometimes I wonder if she's absolutely fearless. She has also started launching herself off the sofa as if she knows someone will catch her (and we always do). Also, not to be alarmed, but the mark on her face is a mosquito bite. 
We are so close to having this project wrapped up. People have been asking how the paint looks and here's a sneak peak. The painting will hopefully be finished this week. Our new front door will be installed the beginning of next week and we hope to get all the hardware (lights, house numbers, etc.) up this weekend if possible. Soon we'll be sitting back and enjoying all the changes.
Annemarie has just started doing this...and I think it's so funny. The video didn't quite pick up the noise she's making, but she's making it. She'll blow raspberries on anything, the sofa, my arm, her arm, her highchair, anything that makes the sound. My favorite part is that she thinks it's funny too.
Will's last day of school was yesterday, which means all the kids are officially at home. Today we went to Kalispell and spent a couple of hours at Woodland Park. It is so beautiful there and the kids really enjoyed it. Not to get all sentimental, but I had a moment where the boys were playing nicely on the play structure, Annemarie was content in her stroller and I was able to just sit on the park bench drinking my coffee. It was so nice. I've always had a habit of thinking about the future and I forget to really enjoy the present. So for a few brief moments I truly enjoyed present.
Three mini-pirates
Jack and Will - looking very similar in this picture, maybe it's the squinty eyes. No wonder people mix them up! 
Captain Jack - looking the part of a true fisherman, big smile and messy hair. 
Will enjoying his turn with the fishing pole.
Annemarie is small enough she can ride in her new buggy as well as push it.
Striking a pose.
It's that time of year again - when school gets out and I'm left thinking do I have enough summer activities planned to keep my boys busy? Today was not only Jack's last day of school, but his last day at the Community Christian Preschool. Next year he'll be joining Will at Whitefish Christian Academy. Thankfully many of his friends from this year's class will be joining him there. Today was a fun celebration. The children sang songs, we watched a video with pictures from the school year, certificates were handed out and we enjoyed sundaes. What a great year this has been for Jack. He has learned so much.
Enjoying a sundae. 
Always a clown.
Way to go Jack!
The piles of dirt are gone, but now we have a large pile of rock. Not surprising the boys love playing in it. I think I prefer it to the dirt, but the boys still come into the house dusty and dirty. The rock will be put into place one the house is painted. We're using it instead of bark - plus it lasts a lot longer!
John supervising the less experienced laborer.
The boys hard at work (Jack riding his bike - which was helpful).
The end result - a perfect playing field!
