The Great and Random Ramblings of Cannwin

Another great story from our one year adventure in Montana concerns Ralexwin and not myself. As far as I can get out of him the story is that on one chilly autumn morning Ralexwin got the kids ready to take Vicbowin to Kindergarten. Since we only lived about 4 blocks from the school it was our habit to walk her there. Albowin, at all of four years old, insisted he didn't need a coat for the walk. Ralexwin said, "Fine, but if you're cold then you deal with it." Off they went... They made it one block. "Dad, I'm coooold!" Albowin exclaimed. Ralexwin was annoyed (as you can imagine). "Alright, go back to the house and I'll be there in a few minutes." Off Albowin trotted back to the warmth and safety of our little abode. While my husband took our oldest child the rest of the way. Upon his return to home he discovered one serious problem with his plans. Albowin wasn't in the house. Albowin wasn't anywhere to be seen! ...

Last night I had our local missionaries over for dinner, which was crazy--but another story--and afterward we got to talking about funny experiences in life. That's when I remembered this one... Way back when we lived in Montana ( here and here ) and Vicbowin was just in Kindergarten she had this really annoying habit of chewing on pens. I'm sure she'd been doing it for years by then and I'd been nagging her to stop for years as well. Nothing seemed to be working. So this one day I had to drive over to Bozeman, which was 1/2 an hour from where we lived. The kids were in the back (minus Remewin who hadn't been thought of yet) and Vicbowin was gnawing away at a pen. All of a sudden she starts making this obnoxious spitting noise. I turned around to tell her to please stop only to see that the pen had exploded in her mouth! Ink was spilling out of her lips, down her chin and into her lap. She looked as if she were about to vomit. I immediately pulled into ...

The sun finally got strong enough to burn away those ever present clouds. The ones that kept dropping snow on us even though it's June. The state of Montana rejoiced, I'm pretty sure any one with half a sense and a mind to steal could have made a fortune today in all these empty houses. No one was inside! We spent the day packing the truck and heading up into the mountains to picnic and hike. There's this spot we love, Pine Creek, and we always go up. we were unusual and it wasn't. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I took a bunch of pictures to show you all. The reasons behind these pictures vary, some (like the one to the left) are to brag about the beauty of where I live, other's just cause I wanted to show you all parts of my life. So let's take a tour, shall we. Welcome to Paradise Valley, Montana. Appropriately named. It's a spectacular place that I like to tell people all about. My pictures don't really do it justice. We'll be moving soon, ...

The weather here is beginning to soften up and the first whisps of spring can be felt stirring for a few moments every day. We are soooo excited! The summer's here are, in no other word, intoxicating. We can't wait to spend our days at the park or in the mountains. We can't wait to throw open the windows, put the fans in and live with the warm summer air wafting through our house, cleaning out that stale smell of heating and bodies that seems to clog the winter air. It's about time we pulled off the thick blankets, and slept with only sheets to cover us. I can't wait to scoot the kids out the door, or hear the sounds of their laughter as they run with wild abandon, savoring their freedom. I'm looking forward to that big shade tree down at the park, the one so perfectly positioned to read under. Or for my summer skirts and flip flops (those ones I had to put away when we left Arizona). The Fourth of July Parade (the only parade we have in this town) that everyone...