Roller Skating...instead of bowling.

 Jason was working an open to close today,

so the kids and I headed over to the bowling

alley with the Wassmers.  Too bad we weren't

the only ones with that plan today.  The bowling

was a no-go, so we said our goodbyes and

we headed to the skating rink.

 Sydney has been going to the rink

once a month on school skate night

with her friends.  She has really improved

and she had fun showing off for us.

 My iPhone would have worked better

if I wasn't skating while taking these

pictures.  You can see that we had fun

and it's better than no pictures at

all, right???

 Summer is fun to watch.  She had an

angry look 50% of the time.  She's so

athletic that she gets ultra frustrated

if she can't do something perfectly.

She had the most fun when helping Ty.

Ty and I were cruisin' when we

took this picture.  I love my denture-

like smile and bags under my eyes.

Wow, scary!  I love my kids and

the fact that they take me as I am,

grey hair, wrinkles, and all!

Super Bowl Fun

 We had a small Super Bowl party at our

house this year.  The Wassmers joined us

and a great time was had by all.  Does Jason

look comfy?  I think he only moved twice the

whole game and that was to refill his plate. :)

 As tradition dictates, my kids love

painting their faces for the game.  Summer

was rooting for the Patriots, even though 

the number 80 on her forehead was for 

the Giants player that made an incredible

play.  She loves the number 8, so 80 was

pretty cool in her book. 

 For the most-part, we stuck with football

themed facepaint, but Aubrey looked

pretty cute with her butterfly and flower

Sydney painted for her.

 Ty just went crazy.  You give that kid

paint, and he creates 'masterpieces'.

We had individual fruit pizzas for dessert

and here he is showing off his.

 Dallen and Sydney had the most

fun with the facepaint and the 

game 'Spot It' that my sister gave

us for Christmas. 

Even the parents got in on the act.  

Kyle and Jeanelle were good sports.

Can you tell they let their kids do

the honors?  :0)  Before I sign off,

I'll give you the rundown on our menu:

*Cafe Rio Sweet Pork (Homemade since our 

Cafe Rio doesn't open till next month)

*All the fixings to make the burritos/salads

*Artichoke Dip

*Seven-Layer Dip

*Veggies and Chips with Ranch

*Little Smokies

*Buffalo Style Hot Wings

*Fruit Pizzas (our 'healthy' choice)

My little artists

 When we got home from the

museum on Saturday, out came the 

paints and everybody got busy.

 Everyone had ideas about how to 

make theirs original and amazing.

 Summer did a 3-in-1 painting.

After it was completed, she cut

them apart and ended up with 

3 masterpieces.  :)

 Sydney wouldn't let us look at

her work in progress.  She 

created a 3D Modern Art piece

that is truly amazing.  She now

has it proudly displayed in her room.

 Ty was a big fan of landscape pieces at

the museum, especially snow scenes.

I was thrilled to see he attempted one

of his own.  He used silver paint for the

snow and I think it added a special touch.

Summer's hummingbird was pretty cool.

I think she had fun, and that's what

it was all about!  :0) 

In case you were wondering:

Yes, I did paint my own masterpiece,

but I didn't want you to ignore theirs

since mine was so good.  HaHa

It was so bad, I can't even show it!  :)

Excursion Time!

 When I was growing up, my mom

would plan what she called 'Our Monthly

Excursion'.  We would pack a lunch, load 

up the car, and head to some exciting 

destination.  Zoos, Museums, Gardens...

you name it. Well, I like to copy my mother,

so we often head out on Excursions ourselves.

Today we hit up the YAM (Yellowstone Art

Museum) here in Billings.

 We got the silliness out of our system before

we entered the museum.  They have a HUGE 

cat sculpture out front that pooped out the

cutest boy ever.  Like I said, we were silly.

 Once inside, we carefully inspected each

piece to find our favorite.  We really liked this

one.  What's it called when they paint inside the

glass on the frame?  The red and white were

'relief painted' on the inside of the glass and

they stood out from the blue guy behind them.

It was titled, "Nerds" and boy, are we ever! :)

 It was a great way to get out of the

cold and admire other peoples talents.

Now, if I could only work on some of

my photography one of these days, I would

love to have a few hanging there.  They had

one photograph that was printed onto a piece

of copper.  It was beautiful and I'm going

to start investigating how to do that.

We loved this sculpture.  It won 
first place in our competition.

  Libby...can you see what's up top?

Make your elephant noise.  :0)  Bye for now.

Let us take you on an adventure!

The city is flat as can be, but our airport is high above us on the rim you can see in this picture.

Billings may be the largest city in the

state of Montana, but it can be a 

quiet retreat for many.  New fallen

snow leaves parks deserted.

This park is at the end of our little street.

 

 There's nothing like it when

you can leave the only tracks 

on a field of pure white.

 Ty felt like king of the world!

 Snow angels ruled on MLK Day!

 Check out that air!  Too bad he

landed in rock hard frozen sand

in the sandbox.  Summer dared

him to do it, not realizing he could

have broken both legs.

Not my tough guy.  He has bones 

of steel ***KNOCK ON WOOD***!

Nothing but more snow to come this whole

week.  We'll be trying to stay warm.

Toothless Ty

My little man has finally shed his shark teeth. :) Tooth Fairy is coming here tonight!

Our favorite rides

Funny faces on some great rides.