gates of the mountains

we spent a day going to the gates of the mountains with my parents and my aunt jeannie and uncle marshall. it was really fun. you take about an hour boat ride in to an area where you can have a picnic. we saw 2 bald eagles on the way. it is a neat area, that lewis and clark called the gates to the mountains because the mountains look like they are opening up while floating on the missouri river. the kids had the most fun the 2 hours we were at the picnic area playing in the creek and dirt.
obviously will really enjoyed the dirt.
there was a water fountain that he could turn on himself, and he thought it was hilarious.

swimming in belt creek

next we headed to my parents house in belt montana. we had so much fun there with grumpy and grandma peanut. one of the high lights for the kids (and mom) was going swimming in the belt creek. the water was perfect, a little cool but it felt great on a hot day. i love this swimming hole, it was perfect for the kiddos. andrew jumpin' in!

kaylee looks like she's walkin' on water. nice shot jeff!
DORK !! need i say more?

i can't believe i'm posting a picture of me in a swimsuit, but it was a cute picture.
nice form

i love going home to montana! i only wish it wasn't so far away, so that i could go more often.

ghost towns

next we headed to virginia city and nevada city, two little ghost towns in montana with my sis and her two girls. we met up with my mom and dad. it was getting late when we got there and most everything was closed down, so we decided to spend the night. there wasn't much in the way of accomodations, so we ended up in some little old cabins. some of them had weeds growing on the roofs. while we were there, we panned for gold and garnets. we actually found some too! here everyone is searching for their treasures!
looks like they found something.

here is our cabin. they were pretty rustic, but at least they were clean.

nygren family vacation

the animals were so tame, it was amazing.
kaylee was amuzed by the little goat eating her shirt.

aren't cousins great? kaylee, andee, andrew & kaitlin

this was what the kids thought was the funnest part of bear world, the stupid rides that last 30 seconds!

ok, so we have been on vacation for the last 2 1/2 weeks to montana and utah. we had a blast. one of the first things we did was bear world in idaho. it was really fun, especially for the kids. we got to go with my big sister pam and her two youngest daughters andee and kaitlin.

will and jo-jo getting ready for some fireworks.
kaylee and nannie hangin' out in the back of the truck during the fireworks.
andrew wanted to take a picture, and this is what he got. not too bad, it was actually really hard with our camera, not too good at night picture and it has such a delayed reaction.

my cousin josh, talkin' on the phone with his family who is in montana right now. he got to come spend the weekend with us.
i think this big kid loves fireworks more than our kiddos do!
i think poppie might even like them more than jeff!

we had fun doing the firework thing, and a family cook out at our house. happy 4th of july!

goin' to the dentist

andrew had to get a cavity filled today, and his mouth was a little numb. he was cracking us up whenever he smiled. he surprised me by being so brave, he didn't even cry.

to make it even better, he was bit by something on his ear and it was really swollen. jeff thought he looked a little like sloth from goonies!

albuquerque zoo

will loved the sea lions! we were there for feeding time and the kids loved it.

look at that monkey in the tree!

andrew hamming it up for the camera as usual.

will wanted to touch the peacok so bad! it would get so close, he could hardly contain himself.

andrew's favorite part by far was the water fountain part. he was drenched by the end.

while we were in abq for kaylee's surgery we took the kids to the zoo. we had such a fun time. andrew especially enjoyed the outing. he was only 2 the last time we went, so in a lot of ways it was like his first time. poor will slept through half of it, he had a really bad allergic reaction to something, so we gave him med. that ended up knocking him out. but when he was awake he loved it.