Dry Dock, Wet Spring

Today after church, we joined some friends for their "Dry Dock Party". 

 Which means, there was a boat out of water that the kids could climb on :-)  

We played games and roasted hot dogs.

 Brandt discovered the joys of stick horse racing.

 Charissa played bean bag toss with Daddy 

and some friends.

And then, four of us strapped on snowshoes 

and headed out to see Bridal Falls.

"Are we there yet, Mama?"

This was her first time on snowshoes.

I was pretty proud of her!

 Bridal falls!  

They were frozen solid in the winter but now the water is running

 with a bridal veil of ice surrounding it.

 On the way back, a cow moose watched us from the creek.

 The snow is melting into mud and creeks everywhere.

Boy + toy truck + mud = bliss.

It was a fun day.  

Oh, and it was 60 degrees.  

It hasn't been 60 degrees for over six months.

Morning

Doug left early this morning to go ice fishing.  Spring appears to have arrived early so we're taking advantage of all the winter activities before the snow melts completely!

The kids and I had a leisurely breakfast of french toast and Nutella: the breakfast of champions.  The kids sure enjoyed being so messy.

(Please note that Brand hasn't started eating yet.)

Charissa would say "What-tella?"  And I'd say, "NUT-ella!"

I love having kids.

I crumbled an old piece of bread on our railing outside and we watched the Stellar Jays and Camp Robbers fight over the crumbs. 

"I wish I could fly like a bird, Charissa said wistfully.

I told her when her Papa (my Dad) was growing up on the island of Guam they would have hurricanes so Papa would make wings from cardboard and go outside to fly in the strong winds.

"Would you like to fly like Papa?"

"I don't know about that," she responded.

Well alrighty then.

 

(Note Nutella/fork tribal markings on forehead.  And orange marker in ear.)  

Breakfast was followed by a bubble bath to remove the gooey deliciousness.  It's 42 degrees now so we might skitter on outside to enjoy the weather.  The grizzlies are out but since the kids aren't covered in chocolate they should leave us alone.

I'll take bear spray just in case.

Each snowflake comes,

a gift from above.

Droplets of water,

diamonds in winter.

Mounds of drifts,

I forget 

they are made 

of unique crystals.

Until

a wind blows,

the drifts become a cloud

of individual flakes

that dance in the sky.

Lives all around us,

gifts from above.

Hearts beating,

souls seeking.

Bunched into crowds,

I forget

they are individuals 

known and loved.

Until

a life ends,

and the crowds become people,

while a soul leaves

to dance in the sky.

Dedicated to the avalanche victim

Sometimes...

 

Our sledding hill

Ready...

JUMP!

A soft landing

Snow maze (made by Doug)

Avalanche

Sometimes it takes losing to see how much you have.
I am surrounded by God's blessings.

Life and Such

Sometimes, when you have the stomach flu, the kids do whatever they like and you don't do the dishes.
This results in leaving the kitchen looking like this for a day or two.  Maybe I'll wash the pots before I use them.  Maybe I'll just let the cooking chili sterilize the pot...

Wanna join us for dinner?

 

They love each other and I have the picture to prove it.

I've had reason to look at this picture today to remind myself.

 Charissa's form of art is beautiful.  I call it "Saturationism".

What do you do in Cooke City on a Sunday evening? 

Go for a snowmobile ride down to the creek...

 ...and slide the kids around on the ice.

 Seriously, who needs an amusement park around here?

Then return home for popcorn, cocoa and the Andy Griffith Show.

Ladies Day Out (Cooke City Style)

Today, I joined two friends on a last minute shopping trip/hair appointments.  This involves a few steps:

1) On a glorious, sparkling, pristine morning when it was precisely 1 degree according to our thermometer, we loaded the family in the suburban and drove a couple miles into town to where the highway is no longer plowed.

2) I met my friend on her snowmobile and we drove 12 miles over Coulter Pass. 

3) Stopped at the Pilot parking lot where we left the snowmobiles, scraped off the car, loaded up and drove another 70+ miles over another (very icy) pass and arrived in Cody, WY.

 4) Ate lunch, shopped at various stores, did various errands, made sure to arrive at our own respective hair appointment with the same lady.

5) Bundled back in the car, drove back to Pilot parking lot where we loaded up the snowmobiles with our goodies and started back over the pass. 
 
- It was a freezing and exceptionally clear night so the stars were amazing and I might have had to flip up my foggy face shield to stare at them - only do this if you are a passenger.

- Also, I had to hold onto a large box of rolls for the Christmas dinner and we...uh...lost the sled carrying all our groceries and had to turn around to reattach it.

6) Arrived back in town where my husband helped load all my groceries.  Drove a couple miles down the road home to snuggle my sweet babies and eat chili.

I might have mentioned it before, but I will again:

I LOVE COOKE CITY!!!!

A (lotta) Little Puppy Love

I have been working part-time housekeeping at Antlers Lodge these past couple weeks.  It has been fun to get out and get to work a couple hours each day.  Doug studies in the morning so the kids usually stay home but Charissa has joined me a couple times, carrying soap, scrubbing floors and feeling very, very important ;-)

Early this summer, Antlers lost a beloved friend and mascot, Jackson the St. Bernard.  While he will never be replaced, Antlers just wasn't complete without a gentle giant.  And so, Jackson Junior aka. "J.J." came to bring his own life, love and playfulness to the people of Cooke City.

This puppy is so much fun!  I love coming to work and seeing just how much he grew during the night - which seems to be about an inch per 24 hours.  It was hard to get a picture of him since he wanted to sprawl out in my lap but once he found this chunk of wood to chew on, he was preoccupied enough to get my camera within focusing distance.

"Yummy, yummy wood!"

Check out this paw!  It's the size of my whole palm!

This face makes me want to buy stock in dog food and go get one of my own.  I can hardly stand his cute, floppy, huggable-ness!

There is a lotta, little puppy love right here.

J.J., you will go far, sweet puppy friend!

Recently...

(Plugged toilet + 10 towels = mopped floor)

What Does a Buffalo Say?

Brandt woke at the crack of dawn today.  As I went to the front porch to put his diaper in the bucket, I spooked a bull moose standing very close to our porch.  Brandt and I watched the moose mosey on through the willows and back into the dense woods.  I thought about my camera but there are some moments so natural and beautiful I know a camera just couldn't do it justice.  This was one of those times. 

But a bit later, after we had finished breakfast, we noticed some more visitors - three huge buffalo bulls were having a little conference in our meadow. 

We ran outside to watch.

It's a pretty view to begin with...

Now, since moving here, we have seen literally hundreds of buffalo.  There are just scores and scores of them in the Lamar River Valley when you drive into the Park (Yellowstone that is, we all call it "the Park") and we have occasionally taken a little trip just to watch them.  Did you know they are the largest land mammal in North America?  Here's a close up of one sad daddy.  Kind of like most animals around here, they have quite the attitude.  I've heard the winters can do that to ya.

Well, buffalo are officially Brandt's favorite animal in the world.  Buffalo in his backyard was a dream come true - right, buddy?

"I can't BELIEVE how amazing this is!"

Hey Brandt, what does the buffalo say?

"Whoo!  Whoo!"

Now, buffalo don't exactly say "whoo-whoo".  They actually sound more like a deep, drawn out belch.  But "whoo-whoo" is Brandt's interpretation.  He was so excited, he didn't really mind when they left - just kept speaking buffalo.

"WHOO!  WHOO!"

What a fun place to be a kid!