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.

Easter.....bunny, eggs, hunt, family, friends!

We had an extended Easter holiday in Spokane. Here is a snapshot of our fun time!

We were able to meet up with Evan & his fabulous mom Stephanie. The kids had fun with Evan & all the new toys while Stephanie were able to catch up. Thanks Steph for always hosting at your house!

My sweet god daughter Delaney Maureen & her little sis Makena! Love these two!

Our monkeys doing what they do, while I attempted to get a cute picture in their new shirts from grandma & grandpa.

Easter egg hunt at Gonzaga Prep w/ their cousins Bridget & Caden. It was freezing!

Showing off all their eggs.

Counting & checking out what's inside.

My darling niece Bridget.

Not so funny bunny picture. Check out Ravenna's silly face!

Out to celebrate Aunty Aimee's birthday!

My beautiful sister in law Aimee who makes 40 look so good!
Happy birthday Aim, love you dearly!

Easter morning egg hunt!

Our monkeys in the Easter outfits.

Love this picture, Ravenna & Hudson are busting out Lady Gaga &
Delaney is the only one paying attention.

Stephan & Ron chopping wood. Isn't that what everyone does on Easter Sunday?

Delaney in her skates, showing off her gift from her godparents.
She's just a little speed demon on those things!

The kiddos in the hot tub at nana & papa's!

So Long Snow Skiing!

What a memorable ski season this was for us! I will never forget it. We took full advantage of living so near Whitefish Mountain Resort. It takes us 20 minutes to get to the top & we rented a locker up on the mountain so there was no hauling of helmets, skis & gear. It was so easy & now I can only hope we can always have such an effortless arrangement. Skiing wasn't really an option for us last year as Stephan blew his achilles, but this year was a whole different story. We were unsure how this would all play out & we were positive we would be getting them in some lessons. Well we were wrong, they have done better than we could have hoped. They have both taken to it quite well & have become little speed racers....now I just have to keep up. They love going & it seems as though they are both naturals. They frequented the mountain 2-3 times a week w/ Stephan & I picked up the slack & joined them at least once a week. For those of you who don't know my husband, it's fair to say skiing is a close 2nd (behind us) to things he loves most in life. I so enjoyed watching him w/ Ravenna & Hudson & always looked forward to a recap of the days ski runs they took when I couldn't make it. Stephan truly beams with pride when he talks about them & their skiing capabilities....such a proud daddy! Don't get me wrong I am beyond proud as well, but it means something more to Stephan I think. It's a special love they will hopefully always share. I am so thankful to have an adventuresome husband & we try to instill that in our kids, with some exceptions of course. No black diamonds just yet....maybe next season!

Blue bird days....my favorite!

Spring skiing is the best....you really can't beat it!

A break at Hellroaring to enjoy the sun!

Perfect end to a wonderful day!

So long Whitefish Mountain Resort! Thanks for such a fun season!