Dad and Marsha's visit

Friday night, Dad and Marsha arrived for a weekend visit.  It was such a great time, all of us had a blast.  The only downside was that Clint had to work.  But, at least he is on day shift so he was home in the evenings.  Saturday we got up and it was chilly with cloudy skies.  It looked like it might rain any minute.  So, we headed down to Giant Springs for a walk.  That way if it got too nasty we wouldn't be too far out and about. 

Of course we had to stop and feed the fish!

Here is my Dad, Dane, Kimber (on my back) and I on the walkway.

A goose in a tree!  You don't see this every day!

Marsha and Dane

There are so many geese and their babies along the path.  The River is really high and the current is super fast, so the adults wont let the babies get away from the bank.  Here are Dane and Dad herding them down the path.  At first, Dane just ran ahead.  But, then I remembered that geese can get pretty cranky with little boys, so Dad ran up there to help mediate!

Sunday, Dad and I ran a 10 K together.  He is a really great runner but stayed with me and we just had a nice father/daughter run.  Here we are after the run.  I had forgotten how hilly the course was, with one pretty long climb so my goal for time was not super realistic.  I did do a decent job though, and came in at 60:03.  (Without walking on the long hill, which in itself felt like an accomplishment!)

Then yesterday evening we just hung out with Clint, played catch, and chatted.  Here is Dane and Gramps playing with the football. 

Such a big boy!  Shaving just like Gramps!

As I said before, it was a super nice visit and we had a great time.  It always goes too fast, but whether it's work or play, time has a way of just going so quickly! 

Fishin' the Missouri

We are really fortunate and had another nice weekend.  Friday was an award ceremony at Clint's work,  and Clint received an Award of Valor.  Last April, he went into a vehicle that had driven into the River and pulled a 225 lb guy from the driver's seat through to the back hatch of his vehicle.  Although the vehicle was not totally submerged, due to the current the vehicle was continuing to sink and the water would have reached the man's face (he was slumped over unconscious) if Clint hadn't pulled him out.  I am super proud of Clint and his coworkers.  Two other Officer's received the same award for entering the River and assisting Clint once he had gotten the man far enough back where they could grab him and get him to shore.  Nice work guys!

Yesterday Clint had to work a little in the morning but then came home and did a little work around the yard and garage.  Dane was right there helping him the whole time!

Today we went down to the Missouri to our favorite spring fishing spot.  The River was really high and fast but we were still able to catch a bunch of mud cats, a few goldeneyes, and one trout! 

 Here is Dane reeling in a fish.  You can see how flooded the grass is.

 Then we moved down river a little and Clint set up a little bench for us.  It was the perfect spot to spend a few hours.  Here are the kids checking out a mud cat.

 This is only the second trout we have ever caught down there, so that was unique.  I figured it was another mud cat so when I saw that there was a bite I had Dane pick up the rod, "set the hook" and started reeling.  All the sudden he said, "mom it's really heavy and hands me the pole".  Sure enough it was a nice trout!

 I just thought that Dane's look was pretty cute in this picture!  The fish had flipped out of their hands!

Well, on Friday Dad and Marsha will be here for the weekend.  We are really looking forward to that.  On Sunday, Dad and I (maybe Marsha) are running a 10k.  Clint has to work, but will be home in the evenings to hang out so we should have a great time.

What a wonderful Mother's Day!

This weekend we were hoping to do get out and enjoy some warm, sunny, Montana spring weather.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and we didn't get any clear sunny days.  But, we had just enough nice weather to get out and have some fun.  On Saturday we got up nice and early, compliments of Dane and Kimber.  I went for a nice run in the rain and then the clouds lifted enough for Clint and Dane to go work at the rental.  Here is Dane in his "workin' clothes" getting ready to go help dad.

 Sunday I got to pick what I wanted to do, and since it wasn't raining we decided to hike down on the Missouri and go fishing.  The water is still a little cold and muddy for some of the fish to be biting, but we always have a good time and this time was no exception.  Dane is getting so big, he hikes a good part of the time and then we have the Kelty for when he gets tired or when we are going through an area with a lot of cactus or brush.  Here are Dane and Clint headed out!

 Dane loves playing with the minnows.  He gets one at the beginning, puts it in his bucket and it will entertain him most of the trip.  Here he is proudly showing us his minnow!

 Two bald eagles hanging out by their nest across the River from where we were fishing.

 Pelicans

 Dane reeling in a fish

 Dane's first Goldeneye! 

Okay, Goldeneyes are not exactly a sportfsh, but they are fun to catch...  Especially to Dane!

 Dane hanging out having a good time!

 Kimber didn't really sleep good the night before...  Here she is catching up on her zzzz's.

 My awesome family!  Kimber is awake now and munching on a granola bar.

 Kimber taking it all in...

 What a great big brother!  He said he is going to teach Kimber how to fish when she gets bigger!

 Dane and I

 Reeling in another one!

 After fishing, we loaded back up and the kids promptly fell asleep.  I wasn't ready to go back yet, so we took a drive along the River to look at the geese and their babies.  They are so stinkin' cute!

 When we got home I had to get into gear and get dinner going.  Mom came over and joined us for homeade pizza.  Once it got in the oven things calmed down and we had a really enjoyable evening.  I meant to be showered and dressed nice before mom arrived, but I was running behind...  Oh well!  Here is a picture of me, Mom, Dane, and Kimber

 Grandma and Dane getting a little snuggle time!

I had a really great weekend with lots of good family time.  Clint and the kids spoiled me with flowers and sweet compliments and we got to go hiking and fishing on the River.  Doesn't get much better than that!
I hope that everyone else had a wonderful Mother's Day as well!!!  We definitely send our love to all of the Mom's that we couldn't be with!

Spring fishin'

Yesterday we finally got lucky with the weather and we were able to make it out on the boat fishing.  There was a little hiccup in the morning when we thought that the motor on the boat wouldn't start, but Clint called his Dad who helped get the issue resolved.  (aren't parent's great?!?!?!)  Then we were off and rolling.  Dane was SO EXCITED he could hardly stand it.  I wasn't sure how Kimber would do.  Last year on the boat she was really little and just rode in the pack or sling.  In general we think she may be a little more timid than her brother.  He was into everything at about 100 mph at this age and we really had to get after him to teach him "no".  She is so responsive to "no" and likes to watch for a bit before jumping in.  But, I should have given her more credit cause she did great.

The weather was pretty sunny with rainclouds hanging around the mountains.  We did get sprinkled on a couple times and we left just as it started sleeting.  However, the sun peeked back out each time and warmed us up.  Below is a picture of me and the kids when we were headed out.  Dane is getting big enough that the life jacket fits pretty good, and with him being so mobile and excited he wore his the whole time.  Kimber's life jacket...  well not so much.  If you can see in this picture she isn't even really capable of moving her head.  I imagine if she went into the water it would make her float, but it is so darn uncomfortable for her.  So, since she is little and can't climb or get over the edge yet, I took it off of her once we started trolling.  We were all pretty happy and excited to be out though!

 The fish were biting pretty well, but it totally came in spurts.  We would catch 2 or 3 fish in a row and then it would be dead for a while.  I must admit it gets a little chaotic at times with two kiddos underfoot (Kimber literally holding on to our pant legs).  But, Clint is seriously amazing!  I have noticed that he is so patient with all of us.  He is a pretty diehard sportsman and will work hard to try and make sure we are successful at whatever we are doing.  He takes really good care of us and has become such a patient teacher with the Dane (and me)!  Dane is really getting the whole reeling concept.  We mostly fish with bait casters when we are trolling and the trout that we were catching were pretty nice sized, but despite all this he even reeled one partway in all by himself.  (without us holding the rod)  He did say afterward that it was "really heavy"!  Here he is reeling like a big boy!

 Worms are a constant source of entertainment when we are fishing. 

 Clint and Dane with a nice rainbow trout.

 I feel like we caught an awesome moment in this picture!

 Here I am with a nice trout...  Kimber is sound asleep on my back at this point!

It was so much fun that it was hard not to go back out again today!  But, with gas prices so high we thought we would stick closer to home.  Clint is at Brock's soccer game and we got some other good things done around the house/garage.  Clint and Dane got all of the fish (we caught 8 or 9 that were pretty nice sized fish) cut up and in a marinade so tomorrow they will go in the smoker and we will have yummy smoked trout!  We hope everyone else had a nice weekend!