A FEW SUMMER DAYS IN MINNESOTA

After many miles of driving, Jim, Erik, William
and I arrived in Minnesota. We first stopped
at my sister's home on Spider Lake.....
amid flowers and fairy houses.
Had a wonderful albeit brief visit.

Jim let me get a really cool camera as a gift.  I still have much to learn about photography but here is one of my experiements:
A photo of the lake where Jim spent his boyhood summer days...
Lake Minnetonka.
Beautiful place.

...and then I celebrated my 51st year of life.

     

 Some fun words from the Caribou Coffee Company:
"Life's to short for -
   Grudges
     Fake anything
  Putting profits before people
     Over-roasted coffee
  Waiting for change to happen
      Wifi you have to pay for
    Crabby people"
At 51 I am thankful for forgiveness, authenticity, good coffee, the chance to continue growing and changing....and best of all...wonderful family and friends who are not crabby!!!

William Gets Baptized

Today William was baptized by his Dad!

In this photo, our new pastor, Josh is praying for our son.

One of William's very good friends at church also got baptized

so it was a very special day for them....a day they will

 long remember, I am sure!

SPRING BREAK IN FLORIDA!!

We had an absolutely beautiful time with Grandparents in Florida over Spring Break! After a rainy, cool winter for the people living in the "Sunshine State", we were blessed with warm sunny days....beautiful blue seas...toasty white sand and great times of laughter and talking with family.  (And the girls beat the boys in water volleyball!!!!!) We were all together except for Peter and Amanda - who we missed terribly. 

The highlight of our trip was, of course, Tyler Elizabeth.

Now 6 months old - and still with blue eyes!!

Here she is all dressed up for Easter Sunday with her Grandpa Jim.

 We keep saying she looks so much like Bethany!

What an amazing gift of God!!

5 letters: R - E - L - A - X

Good bye, sun....see you tomorrow.....

Well, in Missoula right now we have to say,

See you in a few days.....

Florida!!

On this final day of March,

the sky is blue,

the sun warm

and the Atlantic Ocean inviting.

I am here in south Florida enjoying time with my Mom and Brother.
Friday our family will join together on the Gulf Coast to celebrate Easter weekend.
We sadly will be missing Peter and Amanda.
But for now I am thankful for a few warm days of sunshine
before I return to Montana to await Spring.

U-16 State Hockey Champs!

Well, the boys did it!

They won State for the second year in a row.

Today they beat Salmon 8-0.

All the forwards pose. Erik is 2nd from the left.


Soaking it all in.

Of course we have to do the "Parent Pose".

Jim was manager of the team this year.

He was a great manager!

There it is!

HOCKEY!!!

We spent this weekend in the Tri-Cities, WA

watching Erik's hockey team play in a U-16 tournament.

The team played great and faced some excellent

competition. They took 2nd place in the tournament.

I always know how to find Erik on the ice

by his yellow skate laces!

Welcome Stanley!!

We introduce to you the newest member of our family : Stanley.

(Think Stanley Cup)
Stanley is a labradoodle born just 14 weeks ago

(one week before Tyler Elizabeth).
He is absolutely adorable....
and he doesn't bark everytime someone comes in the door.
Our boys are thrilled to have a puppy in the house again.
William - after playing tirelessly with Stanley
announced that the really good thing about him
is that he has two eyes!
(Monica....this post is for you)

Enjoying Winter

We love winter! Especially when it snows!!

Today Erik played hockey outside. This photo is looking through glass so Mount Sentinel is actually behind me. Erik (#12) is in the white jersey in the foreground.

Then there are the two cousins: Emma and William -

sledding in Columbia Falls just after Christmas. Great fun!

Fun in the Kitchen

All our girls were home for Christmas!
We took some time to bake Christmas goodies together.
Flour on the nose is always a must when baking with the Hartzell girls!

Erik Plays Goalie for Valley Christian School

Even 'though there is now snow on the ground, I wanted to post a picture of Erik playing soccer. As a freshman, he joined the Valley Christian soccer team and played goalie. Being a hockey player, Erik has not had much experience with this sport but he put his heart (and body) into it and finished the season as "Rookie of the Year".