Monday, August 25, 2008

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Garrett's 8th Birthday!!!

The morning of Garrett's birthday. We can't believe he's already 8 years old!!! He LOVES Lego Bionicles and was so excited when he opened the first one. He has had so much fun putting them together & playing with them. He's even shared them w/Gavin, until he loses a piece, at which point Garrett takes away Gavin's 'privilege to play Bionicles...forever.' Then after some sleep & realizing he doesn't have a playmate, Garrett gives Gavin his 'privilege' back. :) Thanks to all our family for making his birthday so special! We can't wait for his Baptism over the Thanksgiving Holiday!
Garrett, we are so proud of the wonderful, responsible boy you are. You are a great son, a loving & caring big brother, a fantastic reader & student, an excellent example to those around you, a loyal friend, with a very strong will, a tender heart, a good sense of humor, & an amazing singing voice. You hate: sleeping, stopping anything fun, any degree of injustice, losing to Gavin, saying 'goodbye' to grandparents, coming inside from playing, & hornets. You love: Bionicles, playing w/your brothers, making up your own games & rules, dinosaurs, talking to me when I tuck you in @ night, our make-believe stories about 'Sam's Adventures', being in charge, petting & snuggling your dogs, doing your best, sugar in any form, chips w/lots of salt, school, cars (especially race cars), being together as a family, holidays, traditions, your friends, playing tag, 'sweet teachers', books, insects, climbing hills/rocks, all colors (especially red), soccer, helping take care of Parker, p.b. & honey sandwiches, riding your bike, Jesus, creme soda, exploring, using your imagination, racing & beating Gavin, showing off your 'guns', giving gifts, playing video games, writing letters to Santa, doing anything like Dad, & going fishing. We love you so much, Garrett!!!

Evening view from our front yard


Our Summer in Montana

We moved to Eureka, Montana the latter part of June 2008. We received a voluntary transfer w/Matt's work. Talk about a complete change...going from the southern border of the U.S. to the northern border!! We really miss our good friends in El Paso--if only we could transplant them here, as well as our families!

It is incredibly beautiful here. We feel as if we are on a permanent camping trip. The home we are currently renting is on a few acres of land and sits up on a hill w/ a 360 degree view of the pastures, horses, forests, and mountains that surround us. Our boys have had a blast this summer w/room to run & play, catch grasshoppers and watch the deer in our backyard. Matt thinks he's in heaven w/lakes, ponds, & rivers at every turn. It's a fly fisherman's dream. El Paso is a long way from water..... besides the Rio Grande, of course, which was often less than grand! Our boys each have their own fishing pole now & watching Parker try to cast his line is so cute. :) It makes Matt proud.

Now if we could just work on the boy's language, we would all be proud! Parker's new favorite word is 'butt head.' I am so embarrassed, yet slightly amused at the fact that Parker (being as sweet and innocent as he usually is) has picked this up from his older brothers. He says it softly and almost kindly, unless he's really mad, in which case it sounds exactly like you would imagine. We have made several new friends here. We absolutely love our branch--the members are so kind & down-to-earth! They have made us feel so welcome and loved. We already feel comfortable here. (Not at all what we imagined a small town to be like.) We have been very blessed and are excited to plant our roots here.