Pictures from our Cell Phones

We uploaded the pictures we have taken from our cell phones. Some of these are really good. Look at this cute icecream mustache. We stopped at Dairy Queen and had some dipped icecream cones a few weeks ago.
This is one of my favorite pictures. We were shopping at the grocery store, and for some reason she was extremely happy. She looks so cute holding her little froggy blanket.

We sent Derek this picture on his birthday, August 19th.

These are pictures from the Missoula tax day tea party. I came home for lunch and met my pregnant wife at the post office on Broadway. She was a little nervous to go, but we actually had a bunch of fun. We were protesting all of these nonsensical bailouts that are going on. The Treasury Secretary that Obama hired had actually been caught not paying taxes on some income for a couple years. He oversees the IRS, so you can see our ethical problem with his choice.
Ashley sent me this picture one day when I was working.
"I am thinking of crying"
Sporting a church dress given to her by Aunt Kristin. It was a little cooler day for August.

Ike the Pike

Saturday, I floated the Clark Fork below Missoula to Kona bridge in the morning. It is a lot less busy float, probably because there isn't a designated boat launch right in town. With my pontoon boat that really doesn't matter. I was catching a bunch of fish even while I was still in town, however a bunch of them were pike minnows. They are pretty fun to catch, but not as good of fighters as trout. Midway through the float, I pulled my boat over on a sand bar next to a back water slough. I cast into the slow water and reeled the rapala in through the current. I hooked a very large fish that immediately took off. I loosened my drag and let the fish play out. I thought I had a really nice trout on. When I got the fish close enough to the bank to see, I figured out what I had on. I had caught my first pike. I have heard that they are a bunch of fun to catch, but I learned that they really are. They are scrappy buggers.

It was a little funny. I didn't really know how to handle the fish; Their mouth and gills are full of teeth. I had to let it just die because I didn't have a knife to kill it. I tied it to my anchor mount and let it hang in the water for the rest of the float. I actually caught another nice pike shortly after landing this one and some nice trout. When I got to Kona, I had to wait for Ashley to pick me up for about 15 minutes. There were a bunch of people there that were all fascinated with my catch. They have never seen pike up this far in the river. I wondered if perhaps the pike are moving upstream because it is late in the season and the water is warmer. This Pike measured 30 inches long.

Meeting the Twins

Today I was off of work and spent the day with the ladies. We got a text from Eric to come see the babies in the evening. They are in the NICU, but we were able to go in to see them. They are so tiny, but really are doing well. We couldn't see Boyd very well because he was on his belly, but Brynlee was wide eyed and looking right at us. I could probably see more of Sara in the babies. Sara seems to be doing well considering; she is scheduled to come home on Saturday. Right now, they are able to hold the babies twice a day.

Ok, so Olivia was not allowed in the NICU because she is a baby and babies carry all kinds of diseases. She thought that she would play with their balloons while they were looking at the babies. Oh, helium balloons are so much fun.

Squeak'n and Play'n

Tubing and Bum Cheeks

Tonight we met our friends the Jacobs at the park to go tubing down the river. We met after 5 and had a quick dinner of sloppy joes. We then procedded to float down the river on tubes. The Jacob's baby Clark is only 2 months old so we traded off baby watching so we could all float the river. We had fun on our short floats even though the water was pretty cold.





Brodie thought it would be fun to bring our little green tub to the park for the babies to cool off in. Liv loved it. For the first time she figured out how to splash the water and have a good old time. We didn't have any little swimmers diapers so we just kept her in her diaper. I have heard how big they get when wet but never experienced it. Brodie decided to watch me and Kim float the river so he pulled out Liv and put her in the towel. About 30 min later Brodie was holding Liv out and about to hand her to me and we heard a big "splash". We looked down and started laughing really hard. Her diaper was so full of water it simply fell off once he held her up. There she was little naked baby in a beach towel with her bum cheeks sticking out the back. What a cutie batooty. Literally.

Olivia and Clark watched "Pinnochio" after the float.

I also posted a couple pictures of Clark and Olivia from when we first got to meet Clark. She was a lot bigger then, but he is catching up.

I accidently had our camera on the right setting for this picture, but it looks kind of cool. Olivia was loving mommy's kisses.

Chillaxin on the Blackfoot

Saturday we spent the day up on the Blackfoot river just Chillaxin. We spent the day with the Jacobs and the Roberts for a while as well. We didn't know if the Roberts would come because Sara is not feeling the greatest. I cooked a bunch of fresh fish I caught on the Clark Fork in the morning and some fresh veggie skewers from the farmers market. We were going to float on the tubes, but we just swam in the river in the hole where we were camping. Olivia seemed interested when we were cooking smores; she is just like her momma.

Fishing on the Clark Fork

I have been doing a little exploring on the Clark Fork above Missoula. It seems like the Blackfoot is getting quite a bit of fishing pressure now, and the fish aren't biting as good. I have been looking for places to take out above where Mill Town Dam is being deconstructed. I have just been fishing off of the bank when I find a place to access the river. This morning I caught a bunch of nice rainbows and browns, keeping one rainbow for dinner. I called Ashley and said I would be on my way home, but I wanted to go up river to see what kind of landings were by Clinton. I found the boat landing there with the little parking lot. I couldn't see the river from there, but I decided to grab my back pack and pole and go try it. I also about didn't go try it because there was a drift boat being launched at the same time. I fished around the middle pilon where there was a pretty good hole. I caught a decent bull trout which I was happy about. I don't catch too many bulls. The next cast I flung the rapala all the way across the river and let it work through the current. I hooked what I initially thought was a branch or something, but then the fish took off. He gave a good fight, and by the time he was coming in the other guys that were there came over to investigate. It was a real nice brown. The people launching the drift boat were nice enough to take some pictures for me.

Olivia Loves Her Exercise Toy

Chapstick and Hot Tubs

Who Took My Chapstick?Olivia is getting better at holding things. Daddy's chapstick is a perfect size. It has a bit of menthol; she likes it on her lips. She gives funny faces when we put it on. "You let go of Daddy's chapstick; get that out of your mouth."


Last Saturday night after the huckleberry pickin trip, Olivia was especially fussy. We thought about going out to dinner, but the fussy baby wanted nothing to do with it. I had the idea to let her put her feet in the warm water because she normally really likes baths and showers. We dangled her feet in the water and she immediately quit crying. We thought, why not let her relax in the sink? This is what you call a baby hot tub. She looked so funny, I had to snap a few pictures.

Huckleberry Pick'n

Saturday was rainy, buy we decided to take our chances with the Jacobs and go hunting for huckleberries. We drove up Gold Creek which is a little ways up the Blackfoot river. The rain was just pouring when we were driving up the hill, but when we arrived it actually stopped. We had to hike up the hill a ways to find bushes that weren't picked, but we managed to fill our little tupperware (about 3 cups). I must admit that many of the berries that I picked made it to my mouth instead of the container. Both of the babies did pretty good.

Olivia and Clark all bundled up

I carried Liv in my backpack for awhile. She waited for this opportunity to poop; she likes to spring this trick on Daddy.

I smashed a couple berries on my finger and let squeaker try her first huckleberry. They are quite tart, and she gave me a good sour face.

What a Cutie Bug

Here are photos from the last few weeks of Olivia. She is growing and looking more and more like her Dad. I am ok with it since I tend to think he is a cutie. Liv is growing so much. She is learning new things and definitely has a happy, fun, sweet personality.

One of her favorite things is the warning sign on her car seat. When we first bought the car seat I wondered why they but the big, bright, obnoxious looking sign right there by the babies head for everyone to see. Now I know. She loves it. At first she would just stare at. Now she stares, smiles, laughs and coos. I mean it she really loves it. I just hope she likes it either because she is learning to read, learning Spanish, or for the bright, contrasting colors and words. Just hope it isn't for the drawing of a kids head getting injured. Who knows.

Holy Blow Out!

The other day I was washing dishes while Liv was sitting in her bouncer playing quietly. I look over to check up on her and there it was. A MAJOR blow out. Now a days her blow outs don't sound as explosive as they used to. In fact I didn't even hear this one but it was huge. Came out in four places on her onesie. She looked content but I little worried. What a cute little poop machine.

Aug 11th

I just got back from a day of work by East Glacier. It is such a beautiful place. I did one of the jobs by "Dog Gun" lake near Browning. Today, I learned how much I rely on my cell phone. The cell tower was out for some reason in Browning. One of the guys at my second job told me some construction site cut a fiber optic line or something. The highlight of my day was when I got home. Both of the ladies seemed extra excited to see me and, both were smiley. Apparently, Olivia did one of her biggest dukies ever just before I got home; there was a dirty onsie to prove it. Maybe this was why she was so smiley. Ashley was really nice to have a taco salad dinner ready when I got home. She is a great wife and a great mother. We put Liv's bouncy seat on the table as we had dinner together, and she just stared and smiled at us the whole time. She is becoming more aware and growing everyday. She can now reach up and put her fingers in my mouth when I am smiling in her face. She likes it; it makes her laugh. She is also laughing a bit audibly. I am a very proud daddy.