Just so you all know, we are headed to Spokane tomorrow. So for those of you who live to check up on our little blog here, you'll have to find another way to sustain yourselves for a while. I'm sure when I get back I'll have ton's of new pictures and things the boys did to talk about. Enjoy your Labor day weekend we will be enjoying ours- it's the first time we're taking both boys on a road trip, this should be pleasant.

Bashful Ezra.

Here's something that doesn't happen often-- Ezra acting shy. Even when he's being bashful his dimples stick out....

This is Uncle Levi with Wyatt. We went to Mt. Rushmore Friday so he could see it. He was appropriately impressed, as are most people.

We were in a little tunnel under George Washington when I took this picture. You can look out of the end of it and see Mr. Washington looking at you. Or you can be more adventuresome and climb up to get your picture taken with him (see below).

This was Wyatt's second trip so far. He went when he was about a week old, but I don't think he is going to remember either trip....

He's so much more attractive than George Washington......

Dimples That Don't End

Here is another picture of Wyatt ~ awake and happy about it. I promise he changed clothes since the last picture of him on here, you just can't tell because of the blanket he's wearing. Those are my favorite blankets ever. They actually wear them, that way they can't kick them off, and their older brothers can't steal them.

I spent a good thirty minutes waiting for video to upload, but as you can tell by the absence there-of, I didn't do it right. If anyone knows how to put video on here, PLEASE let me know!!! We have video of both boys that is pretty darn cute, and I'd like to share it!

Hard Workin' Man

This is the machine that Ben runs at work. It unfolds to about twice this length, which is pretty big. I'll get him to put a post on here one of these days describing exactly what it does, because I'm sure I'd get it wrong. I have a very vague idea, probably enough information to sound really stupid. It's something with the rocks under the track, I think, see- enough to sound very ignorant.

A Nice Place To Visit

This is some of the not-so-beautiful scenery in Wyoming. I took this picture out the window as I was driving, so it's not a great shot, but you get the idea that there's not much to see. South Dakota is so much prettier, and Washington puts them both to shame.

This is just outside of Gillette, so now you all can see where we are looking for a place to live. Don't worry, we are wondering why too.....

Hard At Work

This is as close to 'take your kid to word day' as this family will ever get. It is hard to find steel toed boots and hard hats to fit toddlers.

Weekend Visitation

Here are the boys hanging out with Ben at his house, AKA- Best Western. We went to Gillette this weekend to try to find a house there, so we can live together again. Unfortunately there are NO houses there, or apartments for that matter. They don't even have enough water to warrant having a bridge we could live under. We are excited at the idea of living together again, but not really excited about it being in Gillette. Rapid City is so much nicer. Oh well, I guess we can sacrifice trees and grass for a dad.....

Ps. My computer will not fix Wyatts red eyes for some reason, so he looks a little demonic. He was enjoying himself I promise.

This is at a little park Ben found. Ezra hadn't had the opportunity to swing before this, he LOVED it. The picture is all fuzzy, but you can see how much fun he was having. We went back to this park three times in two days.

Uncle Levi

This is my brother Levi, and Ezra. Yeah, Ezra was picking his nose.... Levi stopped by for a few hours on his way from Spokane to Ft. Knox. He has a friend in the Army there and is going to visit for the weekend. We will get to see him for a little longer on his way back, and are looking forward to that. He's a good uncle, just ask Ezra.

Wyatt's Dimples

Here is a picture of Wyatt, not sleeping, as promised. He is starting to get 'social smiles' finally, and I actually caught one with camera in hand. I think it's pretty cute. He has big dimples like Ezra, and his dad, but squinty eyes like me. You can almost see some of his baby fat on his arms. He is finally starting to get a little bit of meat on his bones. He just seems so small in comparison to Ezra. He's getting tougher, he had Ezra's finger in his poor little eye the other day and didn't even flinch........

Ezra's Stomping Grounds. AKA - Wyatt

Well, as it turns out, Ezra was only trying to create a sense of security in me by not squashing Wyatt the other day. This afternoon I left Wyatt on the floor, and walked into the kitchen. Now it's not like I was across the house, this is a 900 square foot apartment, you can't get too far away. Ten feet was enough. Ezra seized the moment and ran for Wyatt, with every intention of eliminating the competition. I think he would have been successful had I, the referee, not blown the whistle. I gave him a second chance to play by the rules (no blood, no foul~ isn't that how it goes?). I guess it was an 'off day'. Wyatt spent the rest of the day in the safety of his bouncer chair, on the counter. I know, that's not considered safe. Trust me, it's a much better place for him.

I'm not trying to make Ezra look bad by any means, believe me, I'd love to have everyone think that I have everything under control---let's be reasonable here folks, they are 18 months and 6 weeks. Is control possible?

Bring On The Rain

This is a South Dakota storm. It rolled in the other afternoon, deluged
for about 15 minutes, then rolled on past as quickly as it came. This is the beginning of it. The picture below is after only about 10 minutes. That is the little dip in the lawn next to the building on the right of this picture. It turns into a small river every time it rains.




It only takes about 10 minutes after the rain is gone for everything to dry out, leaving no trace of a storm. It is really crazy.

We are looking forward to winter, after experiencing a small blizzard in May. It dumped 6 inches of snow in a matter of about 90 minutes. The town of Lead, about 15 miles away, got 64 inches of snow over night. Ben wasn't even able to go to work, because they shut the highway's down. They have crossing guards at all the exits, and when the weather gets bad, they close everything. It's a hundred dollar fine for going around them. They would really rather not scrape you off the roadways.

The Show Will Definitely Go On

The camera comes out and the little ham puts on a show, fake laugh and everything. ...He is not a bit camera shy.

All In The Family

This is my niece, Shannon Layne, isn't she beautiful? She was born two days after Wyatt and was almost a full pound heavier (maybe it's the hair that my kids seem to lack), and two and a half inches longer than him. It is kind of cruel that that's the way it worked out, because my sister is much smaller than I am, and her husband isn't a big guy either!

I still haven't met her, but I'm excited to here in a few weeks when we go visit.

This is Zeke, Shannon's big brother. He is 4 1/2, and this is about as still as he likes to be. He's a great kid. I miss chasing him through my mom's house, screaming and running across the furniture. Hey, I can do that, I'm the aunt....

You Look Like A Nice Place To Sleep

It occurred to me the other day that Wyatt is getting gyped. He is not really a floor dwelling baby, like I think babies should be. That's not because I don't want him to be, but because it could be very dangerous. So, today I decided that as long as I am near enough to stop the bleeding, or drag him out from under his brother, he should get to experience the floor. As you can see from the pictures, my worries were un called for. Ezra was very sweet, and VERY careful not to squish him.

Kiss And Make Up

This was a little while after the screaming ended. After I begged him to quit he decided it was a good idea to kiss and make up. He spent the next 45 minutes giving me wet baby kisses and scruffing up my hair. That's about my favorite way to spend my mornings.

Ear Protection Recomended

This was a good day for Ezra. He ran screaming through the house, in such a high pitched voice it makes me want to jam a screw driver in my ear. At least he's happy though right? Don't worry, all of you that will be in Spokane when we are there will get to hear it I'm sure. I'm confident you will be reaching for sharp objects to destroy your own eardrums with as well. Aren't you all looking forward to us visiting!?

On a more pleasant note (hee hee), he is very cute while he does it.

Sleeping Beauty At His Finest

Here, see what I mean? Sleeping. Again. Granted, he was sleeping pretty cute.

In My Defense

I has recently been brought to my attention that it appears as if I am playing favorites. There are simply more pictures of Ezra because Wyatt doesn't do much more than sleep. I can sit and watch him sleep all day, but to post endless pictures of him sawing logs would get old to everyone else rather quickly. He is starting to stay awake more, and get a little more interactive, so there will be progressively more pictures of him.

He was getting ready for a bath when I took this, and yes, he's naked, but very pleased about it.

My Little Rascal

Alright. I wasn't going to make it public knowledge that I neglect my boys from time to time (or that my kitchen counters would ever be cluttered), but he was too cute not to share the picture.

Ben had just come home, and I was talking to him in the bedroom while he unpacked, and Ezra was supposed to be eating dinner. He tossed the food on the floor and emptied the drawer behind his chair. (This was before we had a table and Ezra's seat was in the kitchen.) I couldn't even be upset with him, because if I'd been there it wouldn't have happened. Now we know what will happen if he's alone I guess.





Here is Ezra in his new chair. Doesn't he look a little sad that he can't get out of this one?

Ezra's Coming Out of the Closet

One of Ezra's favorite places to play is the closet. Like most kids, he really likes the vacuum- and that is where it lives. He recently discovered that he can go in and pull the door shut, and then pop out. He especially enjoys the game when I sit outside the door and act scared when he comes out screaming. I'm sure the neighbors love the game too, both of us screaming at each other...

More of Wyatt

Here's Wyatt, at one of his more awake moments. Yes, that is my hairy arm. Believe it or not, Ben's have more hair than that. It's not a great picture, because he was laying on me and I was taking the picture. It is hard to get great pictures that close up. At least you can see his dimple. He is obviously related to Ezra!

Ezra's New Bed

This is Ezra's new bed. He thinks it's pretty cool. He wasn't all that interested when Ben put it together, but when it came time to sleep in it he couldn't figure why his old bed was gone. The poor guy cried for about 45 minutes, but never even offered to get out of it. He liked being able to get up on his own this morning though.

Next stop, potty training.

To Those Of You Who Don't Like Baby Bottoms, Look Away.

Ezra made a crazed and joyous escape from the bathroom after getting undressed to get in the tub. He could not have been more tickled about running through the house naked... I finally cornered him and wrangled him back to the tub.

I've learned to keep the camera handy for just such an occasion.

(You can see from his thunder thighs- he's NOT under fed)

Our First Furniture

This may seem like just an ordinary table to most of you, but to us, this is a big deal. This is our first furniture purchase so far. We are very excited to be able to eat together now. We've had two chairs that a friend of mine's mom bought at a yard sale for $1 each for us for the last year or so, and before that it was some greasy restaurant chairs. We've never actually had a real table either. Ben's folks loaned us a sewing table for a while, but that's as close as we'd come.

In typical Piper fashion, I had the table cluttered within about five minutes of it being delivered. I actually had to clean it off to take this picture.... You should have seen my room as a kid. (I'm doing the twelve step program, it's getting better!)