By way of announcements...

Since then... let's see.

What a blog-slacker I have been. Most of you are probably wondering what ever happened with our girl, Shay. Probably not, the only people who read my blog are people that would have called and asked by now. And you would have found out that she is great. The doctors called her tumor a venus malformation, meaning a cluster of veins and vessels that get mixed up and form a little mass. They still are puzzled as to why hers was growing so rapidly but we are relieved to have it out and moving on. She is left with a bit of a gnarly scar, especially for such a sweet, pretty girl.

Now, let's recap. June brought us days at the squirt park, a visit to Pompeys Pillar where we found Shay's tumor and stressed about that for the next two weeks, her little birthday party (very happy that two very special guest attended... G-ma and G-pa Leavitt) I can't believe my baby is one, a lot of playing with the hose, and messes. Unfortunately Shay too discovered she likes to make a mess so now my work has doubled.

July (my favorite month of course) started with a bang. No not fireworks, a blast of a good time. We met my parents and Travis and Anna and my aunt Amy at an awesome place called Pipestone, located just outside of Butte. We were hoping to meet up with some of AJ's family there as well but they are all work-a-holics, so it was just us and a ton of fun. Pipestone is a campground with over 200 miles of 4-wheeler trails. Just up our ally. We had fun on the quads and had great food and jumped in the lake and ate smores to our hearts content. It definitely goes down in history as one of my favorite camping trips EVER. I loved it, the kids loved it, and everyone had fun.

Then, on a whim, some awesome friends of ours from Cody stopped by and asked us to go boating at Yellowtail. It was amazing. A perfectly sunny day and cool water and scenery that put me in awe. It was our first time boating as a family and Benson was a little nervous about the water but loved the boat going fast. If you ever have a chance go there. Amazing.

We then set off for Hamilton for a wedding of one of my closest cousins. It was every cowgirls dream, overlooking the mountains surrounded by sage brush and wild lupin. The kids had a blast with their Meuchel cousins and were, of course, spoiled rotten by their Grandma.

I got back just in time for the greatest day of the year. July 25th. I turned 25, my golden birthday. AJ and I had a great date out on Friday. We went to Applebees for my fave, quesadillas and molten cake. Then, he took me shopping and I probably could have gotten anything I wanted because he still remembered how much he missed me the week we were gone to Hamilton, but I didn't take advantage of him too much. Saturday was spent at the Great American Hillclimb..... every girly-girl's dream birthday right? Actually, it was a dream, here on earth watching the two coolest boys think they were in heaven. That's what it is all about. That is why I am wife and mommy.




August..... by now I would settle for a slowdown, but still in the swing of summer. Benson and Shay got to go to a birthday party at Chuckie Cheese.... they both had fun.

August 8th was a big day. My brother married his love, Anna. I know 99.9% of you will think this is weird, but I felt a little sad, don't get me wrong, if it was anyone but Anna, I wouldn't have gone through with it, I have just been Trav's favorite girl for soooo long. He is more than a brother to me... a best friend. Thanks T for always being my buddy.... I hope we keep watching out for each other. Anna, you are one lucky girl, you will never know anyone truer than Trav... and I am so happy that you are taking over as his best girl.

The next weekend was their reception in Hamilton. It was a blast, a blast of cold air. Chilly that weekend but a beautiful party. I love them two.

Now we are back and trying to recover from the whirlwind. It has been the craziest summer of our lives but has brought a ton of memories. We were lucky enough to see AJ's sister, Merielle and her 5 kids on their way to Canada, it is so fun when cousins are together. Benson is always missing one of them it seems. Speaking of cousins, we have a new one. My oldest brother and his wife, Brandon and Kristie, had a baby boy on Tuesday. That makes 3 boys and 1 princess. I can't wait to meet little Colt... he is adorable.

I can't wait to catch up with those of you who I haven't seen and have neglected... we miss you. Until then when you think of us, picture this.... and smile.