222/365 Jacob is 16 years old today

August 10, 1993... sixteen years ago. Wow, the time has flown by at lightening speed. Jacob is growing into such a handsome young man. He's got his driving permit now and will be able to have his license when the new year comes around.

221/365 Movie date

Jason and I went to see G.I. Joe this morning. We only go to the early shows anymore since that's when they are the most reasonable price. If I were to do a review, I'd have to say that you should wait until it comes out on DVD. The special affects were great, but we found it a bit corny. I'm sure my boys would have loved it.

220/365 Oil leak?

Jason drove out to the west side with me today when I had to work so he could pick up his car that he's been trying to sell. This is our driveway after we parked that car in it. Funny, but it wasn't leaking any oil before we'd left it on the other side of town.... turns out that the oil isn't coming from the engine, but most likely from some motor mounts.

219/365 Pink & White

When I take any time off of work, my clients get moved around. I scheduled myself to work that Friday after we got home. I was so busy and I was running 15 minutes late for every appointment today. This is a picture of the acrylic I use to do nails.

218/365 I missed this guy

I sure did miss my kitties while we were away. They must have enjoyed Ciarra watching them while we were gone because they were so mellow when we got home. Trash Can is getting so big and needs to go to the vet soon to get some parts removed before he gets too much older.

217/365 August desktop

I usually get this done by the 1st or 2nd of each month, but today is the 5th and its our first day home from vacation. This month's image is courtesy of Shabby Miss Jen. Jacob is the one celebrating a birthday this month. I can't believe how much he's grown and how different he looks from when he was 3.

216/365 Huckleberry bounty

We drove all night to get home. We made much better time coming back than we did going up. Perhaps it was the time we left...the kids went to sleep sooner and slept longer so we had fewer potty stops. After unloading the cooler, I washed our huckleberries and divided them into 3 quart sized baggies for storing.

215/365 Huckleberries for the kids

In order to leave Montana a day earlier than planned, the kids had to get up early and go huckleberry picking. Unbelievably they didn't complain and they all got their own baggie of huckleberries. We'd have stayed a little longer, but I hadn't pulled off the road far enough and had to move the truck so some trucks could pass, so we just called it a day and went back down the mountain to Grandma Katy's house.

214/365 Moose's Saloon

On our last day with Marcie, we went to Moose's Saloon for lunch. It was pretty cool. When you walk in, the first thing you notice is that it's kind of dark and there is sawdust and peanut shells all over the floor. Our family ordered 2 large pizzas and did a pretty good job eating most of them.

213/365 Back Room

While staying with Marcie, she recommended a place called Back Room in Columbia Falls for dinner. The food there is so good that it's usually busy, so we ended up waiting for a while to get seated. Here's a not so great photo of the kids waiting for dinner. The food was great and the kids really loved the Indian fry bread they serve.

212/365 Have a safe flight

Yes, we are vacationing in Montana. But the airport seen here is in Spokane, Washington. Jason and I drove these cute kids here so they can catch their flight home to their parents. Our own kids are hanging out with Grandma Katy until we get back. Jason and I are calling this a date since we'll have almost 3 hours to ourselves once we leave here!

211/365 Our gang?

Aren't they so cute? It's the Fletcher-Rosenow-Burman gang. It's the last night they have together since the Burman kids are flying home tomorrow. It's been a great week. No fighting or complaining this whole time. I'm hoping that we can plan another gathering since they all enjoy each other's company so much.

210/365 New camera = lots I don't know

Jason bought me Canon G10 camera for an early birthday present and had it shipped to his mom's house. There are many more features on this new camera than I had on my previous one. Here I am trying to learn something about all the great things I can do with my new toy.

209/365 Rope Swing Ladder

On our second day at the cabin, Beau drove us to Twin Lakes so the kids could swing on the rope swing we found last year. Unfortunately Jason had to stay behind with Samantha since her blood sugar was super high from her diabetes and complications with her insulin pump.

208/365 Fly Fisherman

Jason bought himself a Montana fishing license this year. The first day up at the cabin he went out to find a good place to cast a line, and I went along for the ride.

207/365 Huckleberry Girl

I'm picking huckleberries! Jason and I set out to make sure that our huckleberries were ripe and not picked over by the locals. On the road where we stopped was a big ol' pile of bear poop with evidence of huckleberries (it was purple-ish). We feel pretty fortunate that they were on the bushes and ripe for the picking. I love how many more there seem to be this year compared to our visit last year.

206/365 We made it!

We made it to Montana and the Burman kids did, too. Jacob, Jared, Brittany, Parker, Jessica and Samantha are playing Apples To Apples. I'm sure that Olivia is off somewhere in the house with Grandma Katy.

205/364 On our way

The photo for today took 2 pictures. We let the kids spread out for our long travel time to Montana (it's over 21 hours driving straight through). Yeah, yeah... there are kids laying down in the back. Just for the record, it is totally legal in all the states we are to travel through for people to ride inside of a camper/topper on a pickup. It's how we roll, baby!

204/365 My new Blackberry

Jason and I both got new phones...Blackberry's. He's had his for almost a week, but it took me getting a different phone and realizing that I'd be sorry if I kept it (since it was pretty much a basic phone) so we had to have this one overnight shipped so I'd have it before we left. Such a nice thing to come home to after a long day at work.

203/365 Another mystery

Once again I have a day that I have NO idea what happened. No photo...no recollection. All I know is that this is 2 days from our departure to Montana and I'm most likely cleaning and packing since I have to work all day tomorrow and we leave the day after that.

202/365 It's a bad sign

On my way into work I got the warning light in my car. My car's info center keeps telling me I've got low tire pressure in the right front tire. I find this photo funny because you can see all the acrylic dust that gets all over when I dust my arms off on my way home from work.

201/365 Nosey cats

We let the cats check out the new big container of kitty litter we bought. The little beast tried to get in there...most likely to make a deposit.

200/365 Lunch after shopping

We had do some shopping for some clothes and other items before our upcoming trip to Montana. Olivia got some shorts and a pair of jeans, and we stocked up on kitty items for the house-sitter. On the way home, we stopped off for some Taco Bell. Jacob and Olivia were the only kids to join us on this trip.

199/365 Dinner out with friends

Jason and I met up with my girlfriend Dena and her boyfriend Tim for dinner. They were staying at Wild Horse Pass, not too far from our house. We were pretty disappointed with the meal since you'd think with a resort and the high prices they charged that it would have been better food. At least the company was good.