A Little Bit of this....

A Little bit of that.....

I wanted to post some pictures that I haven't gotten to this past month.

This is the batch of cupcakes that I made from a cake mix. Big deal, you say. But this was the first time I made them WITHOUT eggs, (Callum's allergy) & I only used 1 can of pop (I used a caffeine-FREE, diet cola). I added a bag of chocolate chips, & they were soooooo yummy & moist!

Callum's birthday: Callum turned 9 on the 25th of September! I can't believe it has been 9 years! He really wanted a "real" football & a kicking tee.

And a "real" hammer to go with all of the real tools Santa gave him.

Callum has been wanting a pair of overalls for a while, & he found a pair at the DI thrift store. So we got them for him (even though they are 3 sized too small & about 3 inches too short). He loves them!

Last spring Callum asked if he had to have cake on his birthday. When he found out he could have any dessert he wanted, he asked for his favorite--pumpkin pie.

That was before we found out about his allergy to eggs--but I made the pie using egg replacement powder, & it turned out good.

Blowing out his birthday candles--I wonder what he wished for?

Benjamin--got comfy on the little couch to watch some more football. This was after Ethan's football game on Saturday. He is too cute!

Emmalee loves to pull faces at the camera.

She likes to see her hair after I do it for school--so I aways take a picture of it, then show it to her. 2 years ago, she didn't have enough hair for even little barrettes!

Typical picture of Ethan :)

Nice glasses, Benjamin! (The better to see you with!)

Benjamin wearing Ethan's football pads--I hope he doesn't grow into them very quickly!

Even though this picture was blurry, I wanted to share Emmalee's "surprised" face. The kids were wearing the "hunting" hat.

Ben's turn.

Okay, Mom--that's enough!!! No more pictures, & no more wearing this hat!!!!

Hunting...

Rusty took the boys hunting this past weekend. He finally drew out on the antelope hunt (hadn't since he was a teenager), & really wanted to go out on opening day. But he ended up having inservice/training that day. So he went last Saturday--didn't get anything.

I love Callum's 'coon hat!

And then they went Friday, October 2nd. And found this nice buck.

The boys like to go with dad--Zane will turn 12 next summer & can't wait to hunt himself!

I have never liked the wild taste of antelope, but this buck didn't run, & when Rusty cut the meat last night, it didn't stink too bad. So Rusty is going to try some of it as steak, & then make a lot of jerky & salami.

Football updates

This was Zane's first night game--he is #25 in the bottom middle of the picture.

We took a lot of pictures, but most of them did not turn out. We thought that this was his last game, but found out last night that they made it to the play-offs & have a game tomorrow night (Tuesday).

Ethan (& the rest of the team) played West Yellowstone on Saturday. They had not won against West Yellowstone before, & W. Yellowstone came in thinking that they could shut down our passing game & have an "easy" win.
Nice block--Ethan (#30).

Brienna watching Benjamin--& cheering on the team.

Callum & Emmalee playing on the field at half time.

Zane playing with his football during the game.

Ethan blocking again.

Ethan is to the right of #85 on the top of the picture. He is getting ready to catch the pass for the extra point attempt. (In 6-man football, running/passing the ball after a touchdown is only worth 1 point & a kick is worth 2).

Ethan walking off the field at the end of the game...and the score????

Bobcats WIN!!! The boys lost last week at Bridger, MT. My parents (who live in Wyoming) drove up to watch him play. He had an awesome game & got 1 sack.

Saturday was the first day that it actually felt like fall/autumn. We went from summer to winter.

Today (Monday) it is snowing right now. And it is 34 degrees....brrrrr!!!!

Football Update:

After football practice last night, Ethan (& the team) went to coach's house to watch the film.

He found out that he actually got the sack! So he earned his first sack sticker--they get paws & I think skulls for sacks/tackles & something else (I forget so easily!)
I'm still learning 6-man football! But he deserves this smile & sense of satisfaction on a job well done!


I am amazed at how much Ethan has improved each year he has played football. As a pre-teen, he was definitely NOT into sports--he was very studious & LOVED to read--always going through flashlight batteries.

Even when we moved to our small town, he didn't participate in many sports--he tried 1 year of basketball in middle school, but didn't get much playing time for all of his effort.

But he has stuck with sports, playing football in 10th-12th grade, and basketball 9th through now. And he has developed his ability & talents!

He travels Friday to a small town in Montana that is about 6 hours away. They leave between 9-10 am, play at 7 pm, and then travel home to arrive around 4 am. Wow--what a road trip. I am just grateful that this is the only long away game this season!!!

More of Homecoming Week...

Ethan played in the Beefcake volleyball game--his team won (best 2 out of 3).

Most of the action shots were blurry or didn't turn out.

The winning beefcake v-ball team.

The bonfire--I took Zane after he got home from football practice (the fire was already going.)

I brought Callum along so he could see the fire too.

Ahhhh--there is Ethan.

It is hard to get a picture of Ethan--so I will take what I can get.

Callum hung out with Ethan for a few minutes.

Brienna holding Benjamin (next to Ethan).

The Senior Class of 2010!! Yay--I got a picture of Ethan!!! (He is in the front with his hat on backwards)

I was glad I was there at the right moment (they posed for a yearbook picture).

This is Zane's game (in IF)--he is #25.

He's in the middle of the pack--they played a bigger school, and overall did really well--even though they lost.

But they scored 3 touchdowns, and no one had scored against the other team yet this season.

Now we are back home, ready for the football game. Zane had our school colors sprayed in his hair (orange & black).

Ethan is in the middle--he started as defensive nose. We play 6-man football, so it is quite different than 8 or 11-man football.

My parents met us in IF (with my sister Pamela), to first watch Zane's game. Then we all went home to watch Ethan play. He is blocking in this picture (#30)

Here he is rushing the quarterback.

At half time, the Senior class officers received the spirit stick for the week of homecoming.

Ethan receiving high fives after sacking the quarterback (alright--he told me it wasn't officially a sack because he carried him over the line of scrimmage). But I was excited (& so was he).

The end of the game. Ethan keeps improving each week, and this was an excellent game for Ethan.

Benjamin jumped into Ethan's arms--he had missed his big brother all day!

We won--60 to 20.

Benjamin went right to Grandma & Grandpa! Thanks to them & Aunt Pamela for watching him during the game so I could take pictures!!

Grandma reading a book to Emmalee.

I didn't get pictures of the floats & parade, because I forgot to leave my camera with Brienna to take pictures while we were in IF at Zane's game.

But it was a wonderful, exhausting week, and I think Ethan will have great memories of his Senior Homecoming week.

He did go to the dance (stag) for a short time, but then a group of the kids went to a friend's house to watch a movie. So no dance pictures either.