World's Worst Blogger part 2 =o)

Wow! Time is really flying by! We have been so unbelievably busy. I knew this was going to be a crazy spring and it has been! We started the kitchen remodel the Sunday before Easter and finished the Wednesday after. We're no extreme makeover: home edition but I think 10 days for a kitchen remodel is pretty darn good! The kitchen is beautiful and HUGE! I knew there was more room hiding there but I had no idea until we got the walls, kitchen, and old master bedroom closet demoed! (I cant find the pictures on the computer but I'll post them asap!)

The two days after we finished the kitchen, I ended up at my grandma's house helping my sister Nicole go through my grandma's house in an effort to help her downsize to be ready for her move to Billings. I had no idea one woman could cram so much stuff into one house without it looking like it was crammed full of stuff!!! Cole and I had fun doing it and honestly just started chucking stuff when Grandma wasn't looking!! She (grandma) wanted to keep just about everything. At one point Nicole found a cut glass basket behind the tv with fake fruit in it. When asked if it could go or stay, Grandma said she'd better keep it because it had been a wedding present for her and Jim (marriage number 5). Nicole told her she could keep it if she could tell us who gave it to her. Grandma replied "Some friends of Jim's". Nicole said "EH. Wrong answer!" and put it in the garage sale pile. It was so funny!

Paige has been playing t-ball this spring. It is so cute! She is so very Paige about it. They were practicing last week and after about half an hour she came out to the van and told me she was done because she was too mad in there. When I asked her why she was mad, she told me "Because all those people in there want to play with me!!"

We went to Billing the first weekend in May so I could go to Time Out for Women. I worked in the mini Deseret Bookstore they bring with. It was fun, mostly because I got paid $100 for working the weekend but it is also a tremendous workout! (AND holy cow can Mormon women spend money!!) We also visited the Little Bighorn Battlefield, which was sort of interesting for me (I think I'd rather watch a documentary - it was just hard for me to visualize I guess!) but Adam and my dad had a great time. (By the way, don't stop at the convenience store/KFC down the hill from the battlefield. It was super sketchy! We piled back in the car and headed to Hardin which is off the reservation!) We got a hotel room that night at our favorite Billings spot (Best Western Kelly Inn and Suites - they seriously have the best pool I've seen!). We got the kids all ready and Adam took them down to the pool while I fed Sarah and waited for my fam to show up. When they got down to the pool, it was closed because some little kid had pooped in it! Talk about crappy timing! (he he) They gave us our money back and we moved down the road to the Ramada because they at least have a water slide and we all had a blast anyway!

On Tuesday, May 5th I got the most shocking text message of my life. My brother Ryan and his adorable girlfriend Tove (pronounced toe-vuh) eloped to the Yellowstone County courthouse. We still aren't exactly sure why they eloped but we're super happy to have Tove join the fam!

Adam and the kids got me a new DVD player, flowers, cards, and chocolate (YUM!) for Mother's Day. Adam made his mom and super-sweet photo DVD set to music. It has all kinds of pictures of his mom and dad through the years, each of the kids from baby pics to now, and pictures of the grandkids. My mom-in-law is not an emotional person but she bawled through the whole thing and said it was the nicest thing anyone had ever given her. I made dinner and cheesecake for dessert, then she and I played Dr Mario on the Wii. We had a great time!

I turned 30 on May13th. It really came and went without much fanfare. I spent the day with my kiddos because Adam had to work but we did go out to dinner and that was really nice.

I headed back to Billings on Friday (the 15th) while Adam was up bear hunting by Holter Lake. Nicole and I threw Tove a bridal shower that night. I made most of the food: mini cupcakes, mini brownies, and mini cream puffs. We also had Lime and Lemonade (1/2 c. lime juice, 1/2 c. lemon juice, 3/4 c. sugar and 4 cups water - I used seltzer.) We had a lot of fun except that we had it at Tove's mom dance studio and brought all the kids and I was pretty worried about the mess they were making. We did get it cleaned back up so hopefully there's no irreparable damage!! On Saturday, most of us girls went garage saleing, a favorite Oblander family pasttime. How I love a good deal! That night there was a big family barbecue at Tove's brother Bjorn's house. There were tons of people from both sides there. Everyone really seemed to have a good time, especially when Bjorn made Tove and Ryan sit in the middle and have a Q & A session from the families. The house was absolutely beautiful and decorated to a T. (I think I'm just too simple and cheap to ever have a house like that!!) Sunday we did a big family dinner to celebrate my birthday. I ended up cooking because I wanted German food but mom did make me carrot cake for dessert - YUM! Monday night everyone but Tove and Chad, who were working, headed to Cooney dam for the evening. It was really too cold to play in the water but Mom & Dad and Brian & Nicole have recently purchase new (to them) boats, so it was fun to be there for the maiden voyages! Sarah hated wearing a life jacket so I only rode along once. Paige only went once with Mom and Dad because she had a very Paigey melt-down about having to have her muddy feet rinsed off with cold lake water in order to be allowed in the boat. Porter went in both boats as much as he could and even got to drive! He wanted nothing to do with going into the "wiber" but really enjoyed the "wide (ride) a boat!" We finally came home yesterday. Paige was excited to come home and see Daddy until I actually made her get in the van to come home, then she was angry because she wanted more sleep overs at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

I am glad to be home and know that my husband is safe. (Like most people, I'd rather stay away from bears, not purposely try to find them!) He had a great time though and has tons of stories, as usual. Honestly though, the rattlesnake hunting he did yesterday at his mom's house makes me more nervous than the bears. I am just SO not an adrenaline junkie!!