Trip to Virginia!

This Ditson clan just got back from a fantastic visit to Virginia where we were lucky enough to see Matthew’s cousin James graduate from high school, introduce Garrett to some of his extended family including his Great Grandpa, and tour around Washington DC.  The Metro was only a short walk away from our hotel so we were able to get around easily. It was extremely hot in DC while we were there, but we still managed to get some sight seeing done and go to a couple baseball games. Other exciting news includes Garrett rolling over for the first time on Sunday June 12 in the presence of Uncle Dana, Aunt Joan, Aunt Val, and of course his mom and dad. We were also lucky enough get to have a quick lunch with my family at DIA during our layover on the way home. Garrett was a champ on our plane rides and true to form was a happy little baby the entire trip. It was a wonderful and much needed break from Great Falls life. 

Dad and Cousin Patrick                    First day of touring

                         At the Capitol                                    Garrett and Great Grandpa

Graduation Day!

Memorials

                  Four Generations                        Garrett with Aunt Kaia and Uncle Ben 

 Touring Washington DC

It was a little too hot outside for Garrett so he slept most of the time.
But he loved the fish tank at the museum!

With Papa at DIA                                                        

 Family Pictures

Sledding in Littleton Dec 2010

My mom and sisters made an amazing video showing the full joys of sledding in Littleton so far this winter. Enjoy!

Playing Catch Up

We are back from CO and Montana life is not waiting for us to catch up and unpack! First and foremost, I had an amazing time with my family in Littleton, it was, as usual a whirl wind trip packed full of activities. We got lots of wedding stuff squared away, got to see Laura’s field day for school, and had a wonderful bridal shower for Sarah. Matthew got to come out for a few days as well and we were able to have a small promotion celebration for him with our families and a couple close friends. Matthew also got to start his pilot’s license training while he was in CO!!! Whoo Hoo! I am so excited for him.

Pictures to Come

Now back in MT we are playing catch up. Matthew had to go on alert the day after we got back (Tuesday) and we had youth group last night. We are doing the TO SAVE A LIFE youth study that goes with the movie and already we have ten more kids than normal at group. We are so excited to see how God works though these kids!

Prayer Request

When Matthew went into the office Tuesday, he had to give me a phone call from Col. Pappas. Apparently one of the ladies in Matthew’s squadron had a stroke this past weekend. She is now doing better, but due to complications she will be in the hospital for at least another ten days. Her reading and writing skills are for the moment gone and we don’t know yet what that will mean long term. Please be in pray for her and her husband through this tough time made harder because they have only been married two months. I am in the process of lining up meals for her family and seeing what else we can do to help.

CYT Presents The Sound of Music

I am so proud of my little sister Laura. Last weekend she participated in her second CYT musical, The Sound of Music. She played a Von Trapp Partygoer and a Catholic School Girl. I hear that the play was outstanding! Matthew and I have yet to make it to one of her performances but we are hoping to make it to the next one this fall, Beauty and the Beast! Laura is getting to be a wonderful little actress and has a beautiful voice. She is planning on taking singing lesions this summer to keep improving! Way to go Laura!

Here are some pictures I got from my mom of my beautiful little sister.

On Mothers Day

Here in Great Falls the majority of my friends are young moms. Even though I do not have children of my own yet, it is still weird for me to see life from this new angle, The Mom. As I was driving home from a lunch with all my good friends and all their children I found myself thinking about my mom as a mother, a woman, a friend, a wife. I have always known that she plays all of these roles but not from this prospective. Did I drive her crazy when I was two, just like every other little kid? When I was running around in the restaurant did she give my dad that look of, “please go get our daughter, I am just too tired to stand up and run after her AGAIN.” If she did I never knew it. At 22, some of the things that I remember and know about my mom is, how fun and special it was to watch the long version or Pride and Prejudice in her bed when we were sick. Seeing my mom at every soccer game, Martial Arts event, recital, every horse show and every 4-H meeting, knowing I had her full support. The excitement of letting our imaginations soar as she read out loud to Sarah’s and me as we snuggled on the couch for hours. My Mom’s loving and patient arms when I have a meltdown and can’t see the solution to a problem and just need to talk the whole thing out. My mom was there to help me pick out my homecoming dresses, my prom dresses, and my wedding dress. She is a friend who I love to talk to for hours, get baking tips from, and dream with. She is always full of brilliant ideas and advice. Thank you Mom for all you do and have done. Thank you for who you are, I couldn’t have it better.

March

I had a quick but wonderful trip to Colorado this past week. My mom and I were totally consumed by wedding stuff and worked from sun up to sun down almost every day. My sister Sarah and her fiancé Austin are two of the busiest people I have seen in quite a while. Both of them are working, going to school, doing Army ROTC and planning a wedding! One of the first things my mom and I did was make a master wedding list, which is about three pages long on Google docs (which is amazing) so everyone could see it. Then we ran tons of supply errands for making center pieces, invitations, and general wedding decorations. I had so much fun, I love wedding planning! It is crazy to think that it has almost been two years since my own wedding.

I did get to do some fun non wedding stuff while I was there. I was able to have dinner with my in-laws, go to church at Foothills, eat at my favorite restaurants that we don’t have in Great Falls (Chick-Fil-A, Qdoba, Tokyo Jo’s), work out with my parents (yes, this is one of my favorite things), go on a fantastic date day with Laura, and go out with just a couple of friends who were in town. Unfortunately, I also had to pay a visit to our mechanic and get the Olds fixed again, and get new plates and registration. All in all I think it was a very productive trip and I can’t wait to go out again in May!

Laura Kelly In Annie!

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to my little sister Laura who is playing in the CYT's Denver production of Annie! This is her first big show and a huge commitment. The show runs from January 28 – 31. I am so proud of you girl, break a leg!

Holiday Travels

We had a very Merry Christmas and are so blessed to have wonderful family everywhere. Christmas this year was in Idaho with my mom’s family and we had so much fun. I rode the train for the first time on the way there, we went on an old fashioned sleigh ride, and had fun playing broom ball and kick ball on the pond by my grandparents house. The big damper to the trip was that at the last minute Matthew had to work on Christmas and was not able to get to Idaho until the evening of the 26th. It was too short of a trip but we made the most of every moment.

We hurried home from Idaho just in time for New Years Eve which we celebrated with the Marlow’s and Dana’s immediate family that was in town for the holidays. We were able to get about four hours of sleep before Scott and Danae Dueck (Some of our best friends from Littleton) showed up at our doorstep for a weekend visit. The photographers took some amazing pictures by the river. We all decided that next time we hope it is above ten degrees outside before we decide to go out for a couple hours. Scott and Danae gave us a refresher course on the game Settlers of Catan and we played all weekend! I think that is the next game on our list. In short we are blessed with great family and friends.

Fun In The Fall

Fall is upon us and I can’t believe that we are already nearing the end of October. This past month has been filled with so much fun and activity I don’t know where to begin. I guess I will start at the very beginning, which is always a very good place to start.
The end of September I had so much fun making my first solo trip to Idaho to spend some time learning how to make jelly with my grandma. My grandpa was out of town so we got to have some quality girl time, and we definitely made the most of it. We made 64 jars of crabapple jelly, which if I do say so myself, is delicious. We went shopping for hours, and I got to go to a very fun CAL (Community Assistance League) meeting, a program that my grandmother is very involved in. We also got to spend some time just hanging out and talking with a wonderful glass of wine in our hands.

While I was on my trip Matthew had his first official alert. What is an alert you might say? An alert is a 24 hour shift in a missile silo about 60 feet underground where Matthew and his crew partner Ella control and monitor the missiles. All said and done Matthew is usually gone about 30 hours for one shift. During the time that he is not in the silo they are in briefings, getting updates, driving to and from the silo site (which is between 1-3 hours away), and debriefing. We get his schedule the beginning of each month, so although we can only plan a month at a time we are finally starting to get into a routine here in Montana. Matthew usually has about 8 alerts a month and the rest of the time he is taking tests and doing various other training.

At the beginning of October, we had a blast going through a corn maze just outside Great Falls with our good friends Brian and Dana Marlow. We had some rain that morning and a little bit of hail while we were in the maze but it made for a very fun trip and a great adventure.

Last but not least I just got home a couple days ago from my second trip to Idaho. This time I was up there learning how to quilt! We didn’t have as much time this trip so we worked from dawn until dusk sewing our fingers to the bone, but we still had so much fun in the process. I finished my first table runner when I was there; my grandmother and I had to complete it together due to the mistakes I made while attempting to do it myself at home. I also completed my fall table runner all by myself just this morning and I love it! I now have two other projects that I am actively working on. I am a little nervous not having my grandma here to correct my mistakes BEFORE I make them. It is so wonderful to be only six hours away from my grandparents, and I plan to take advantage of it as much as possible.