June 2010

Summer came & went & so so did my blogging! Here is my first attempt to catch up month by month. Hope you all had a wonderful summer...we sure did!

My dear friend Colie & I won special vendor/VIP passes to my most favorite "The Farm Chicks" show in Spokane. Such a great weekend with a dear friend. We found many new & old things at the show. You are now a Farm Chick lady!

Awww...up at Priest for summer. Boat ride with their cousin Braden.

Humming bird outside Elkins Resort at sunset.

Good times on the tube.

In the "pirate cave" (that's what we call it) on 4 mile Island.

Our summer get away....my most favorite place on earth.

Spending time with grandpa.

A morning snuggle with grandma.

This is year three for these hotwheel/motorcycles.....a great purchase!

Hudson has been loving the kayak this summer. He amazes me with all he decides to do when he puts his mind to it.

Memorial Day Weekend - the "Mad Hatters"!

We entered the 2010 Priest Lake Memorial Day Parade for two years in a row. We used to do this annually as a family when I was growing up. I decided it was time to bring some of my fondest Preist Lake memories back for my children to experience. Last year we were the Priest Lake Huckleberries & we were a little more organized. This year our them was the "Mad Hatters" chose at the last minute by my husband. We figured it was something easy & inexpensive so everyone would have to participate! Thank you to my great friend Korbie & her mom Carmen for letting us borrow a bunch of her hats. Well, guess who won for best theme? We did! We have a plaque to prove it. Every year our trailer is pulled by our 1968 Chevy truck, which we call "Old Blue". It is our huckleberry picking, kid hauler, dump run, lake truck & I LOVE IT, as does my husband. He volunteers to drive it in the parade every year. My grandpa & grandma bought it & my dad has kept it going all these years! The weather wasn't that great, but we had a great time anyways! Here's to the McCray family cabin aka the "Mad Hatters"!

I was a hard shelled crab & Stephan was a parrot.

My cute mom & dad!

My cousin Gavin & his sweet wife Koby.

Hudson with his Jurassic Park paleontologist hat. That is what he wants to be when he grows up...so the hat was perfect.

Ravenna with her cow hat!

Ryder, Nolan, Ravenna, Hudson & Brayden

My Uncle Dick....love him!

My cousin Colleen with her girls Charlotte, Brooke & Libby

The whole 2010 "Mad Hatter" parade crew

Ravenna & Delaney....she looks thrilled to be there....she really did have fun!

These are my two cousins: Alli & her daughter Lily, Erika & her daughters Emily & Lindsey

With my friend Kristie, her two daughters & Ravenna

Catching buggies on a rainy Memorial Day weekend at the lake.

Carroll College

We loaded up for another Montana road trip. I had never been to Helena & was looking forward to it, as it seems to be a "right of passage" in order to enter the Byrd family. They let me in the family though as long as I agreed to visit. We went to Helena as my mother and father in law received the Boromeo award at Carroll's Centennial Graduation Ceremony.

Eric & Tiffany at the Centennial Gala

Nick & Carina

All those in the Byrd family who attended the Gala celebration.

Eric, Ann & Angela

Another pic of all of us, solving all the world's problems.

LeRoy & Irene giving their award speech.

Danny & Ravenna

Danny, LeRoy & his brother Gerard

Hudson with his chocolate moustache from the chocolate fountain.

Ravenna & Aunty Lala

Hudson took this of Hannah, Eric & Tiff!
It was a fun weekend!

Look who came to visit!

My mom & dad were on a big vacation for almost 2 months. So once they got home they jumped in the car for another trip over to see us. It soon became clear who they really missed as we barely saw our "monkeys" for two days.

Hudson & Ravenna got to stay the night with grandpa & grandma in their hotel, swim/hot tub, eat out, go to Glacier National Park, & see "How to Train Your Dragon" all in two days! Thanks mom & dad....as we were able to enjoy some "adult time" & a fun night out with our friends!

We are so lucky to live only 5 hours away, but we will soon be much closer!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I got invited to a Mother's Day Tea at my kiddos preschool. Hudson kept asking "how excited I was" all week. I was excited & it was very sweet. I am thrilled to celebrate this special holiday & I am so thankful to be a mom. Thank you to my mom for all she does for me & our family. Hope all you moms out there have a wonderful weekend with your loved ones.

Farm Chicks Show Giveaway!

How would you like to be my guest at The Farm Chicks Show on set-up day, arrive early for the show on Saturday and be my special guest at the Vendor Dinner on Saturday night? Well, here's your chance! I'm offering this special opportunity to one blogger or Twitterer - who will write all about their experience at the show when they get home!

Here's how to enter: Post about this giveaway on your blog or Twitter profile right away, then come back here and leave a link to your post here in the comments on this giveaway post. One entry per blog or Twitter account. If you have both a blog and a Twitter account, you can enter for each one. Contest ends Sunday night. The winner will be announced next Monday.

I hope YOU can be my special guest!

Billings or bust!

We did a little exploring of this huge state we live in. I had a work meeting in Billings, so that gave us an great excuse for a road trip. We took a big loop, drove through every type of weather you can imagine, saw the most beautiful mountains & the biggest valleys. It really is the "big sky" state! We had a great weekend adventure!

Our first stop was Missoula to visit Uncle O'Neill & Aunty Marcy. This is a picture of Hudson & Ravenna on the stairs in their condo.

We stayed one night in Bozeman. Thank you to my cousin Robbie for getting us a swinging deal on a room at the last minute.

Hudson is in a HUGE dinosaur phase right now. So the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman was a must see for us. What a wonderful exhibit they have!

On our way out of the museum in front of "Big Mike" the T-Rex.

We were able to see some of Stephan's friends who live in Billings that we don't get to see very often. I had a great work meeting & we were also able to take the kids to the circus.

The best part of the trip was staying with these 2 fabulous people. Bev & Tom Gormley are the parents of Stephan's dear friend Dave from college. We had the best time with them. They spoiled the kids rotten as all loving grandparents do. Ravenna & Hudson were in absolute heaven. At the end of each day the adults would retire to the den w/ our drink of choice & talk about our day & life in general. They have the most beautiful & comfortable home. I loved it! Spending time with them really was the highlight of our trip! Thank you Gormley's, someday we will return the favor up at Priest Lake.