Montana here we come

Seth didn't think he'd be able to come with us to Montana this year because he had to get ready for the crab season so we decided to fly.  Driving alone would have been quite a challenge.  I'm not saying that flying with these two was a piece of cake, but it seemed a much better option than the long drive.  Plus, this time I didn't even have to worry about a ride or taking the shuttle from the parking lot because Seth was able to drop us off curbside at the airport!  You have no idea how exciting that is.  It make a world of difference.  We got all checked in without any glitches, had lunch at the airport, and headed out.  Ryker, of course, took his usual mid air dump, but even that was pretty uneventful this time.  Neither kid slept, but it went well.  It was Cat/Griz in Bozeman so no one was in any condition to pick us up at the airport.  We landed just as the game was ending.  Kara left us her car so we found it and loaded up.  This picture shows Ryker very excited to see all the snow, to be rolling in Kara's car, and headed to Kara's house.  We stopped at Carrie and Nick's to play for a while, spent the night at Kara's then headed to Wibaux in the morning.  A couple days before we were supposed to leave, the crabbing season got pushed back 15 days so Seth was able to come, but he had to attend a shareholders meeting at Fish Expo that day so he flew out that evening and arrived in Bozeman at midnight. 

Getting right to the good stuff.........Christmas cookies!

 

Goin' fishing with Grandma

Tee ball anyone?

Ryker constructed a swimming pool and then wanted everyone to test it out by taking a dip.  Here's Kara doing the American Crawl.

Cosmos is wondering where his swing is.

Ryker learned to pump his legs to keep going on his own.

Peek a boo in the viaduct

Decorating Grandma's tree

Yearly pinochloe matchup

Going fishing again!

Kya is a bit of a cheater.  She's like her dad and doesn't understand the whole pole thing.  Just grab them or get a big net, this one at a time business is for the birds.

Pop Its left over from the 4th of July.

Feeding Grandma's bunnies

A little Glen Bowl Lanes

He started to get a little tired and the ball wasn't making it all the way to the pins so we brought out the little helper.

Kya was baptized on Thanksgiving day.  Sadly, it was the same day my Great Uncle Doug passed away.  We got the word about a half hour before walking into church.  Miss Kya got her own Guardian Angel that day and I could not have hand picked a better one.  He was a wonderful man that lived a long, full life (boy did he have some stories!) and now he is with some people that he's been separated from for too long.  I loved him for may reasons, but he was extra special to me because he was a window to a world where my grandparents lived long before I was ever thought of.  He not only knew my Grandma (his sister) well, but he spent countless hours with my Grandpa Gil back when two young guys of their caliber could still tear it up without getting arrested.  I can only imagine the reception he recieved from the crew that has gone before him.  RIP Uncle Doug and may those left behind find peace in the many happy and often hilarious memories made with him.
   

Kara, Mom, Brian, Kya, Seth, Nikki (Godmother), Ty (Godfather), Ryker and I

One with Father Ponessa

Kya was good all through church, but she was ready to roll out by picture time:)

We rented the fairgrounds event hall for a little fish fry and guess what comes with the rental?  Yeah, buddy, a bounce house!  I only wished we had known sooner.  We would have been out there the day we got the key!

Kya sampling the snacks at the party.

The next day we went out to clean up and take one last bounce.  Ryker is waiting patiently for it to inflate.

On your marks,

Get set,

GO!!!!!

Kya loved this thing too.

Is it really over?

Kya chilling with Uncle Brian.  She even got the remote.

Ryker loves that they can pull up any kids show with Netflix on the Wii. We spent the night at Kara and Brian's, then flew out of Bozeman the next morning.  Luckily, Seth was on the same flight home, but he was seated far away.  He was able to switch with a guy in front of us (smart guy to move), but both kids fell asleep so it was a pretty easy ride anyway.  Yes, I said both kids fell asleep!  

No matter how long I live in Washington, I think Montana will always feel like home.  I really love it and don't get to spend nearly enough time there.

November Random

Now that Seth is officially a crabber, we had hundreds of these little beauties around for a couple months.

I'm beginning to think our shop will NEVER be empty again.

We finally moved into our new house in November, just in time for Seth's birthday.  We just moved the necessities so we could get in before Seth had to go crabbing.  There is still a ton of stuff in the other house, but I am slowly picking away at it on the weekends....about a tote or two.  I don't want to rush things.  I figure it took us two and a half years to build a house, we should be consistent and take about 6 months to move in!  Ryker wanted me to make Seth a house cake since Seth said for his birthday he wanted to be in the new house, I wanted to make him a giant ice cream sandwich cake, and Seth told Ryker he wanted a carrot cake so Ryker insisted we go to Costco and get him one.  Seth would have been happy with anything, but Ryker knows that it is the birthday boy's choice so we must get what he wants.  Never again will I be buying a carrot cake though.  I just got my hands on my great Aunt Carol's carrot cake recipe!  It is the BEST! 

Blueberry smiles

One of the best things about our new house is all the sweet little hiding spots.  This the "Clubhouse" location.  You must have a secret password to get in. 

This is the hideout.  I know it doesn't look like a hideout, but this is the view from the front. The entrance there on the right side is blocked by the ottomon from our sectional couch so Kya doesn't fall out the front.  It overlooks our stairs.  It too has a secret password, which I will gladly share because it is funny.....'Dad's stinky socks'.  The password to the clubhouse is 'rice crispy treats' is you are under 4ft tall, 'rice salad' for anyone slightly resembling an adult.  Don't tell Ryker, I wrote this.  He's very particular about who he gives the passwords out to.

This is Kya's favorite hideout.  I think because the light to it is low enough for her to reach.  She runs in, turns on the light, and sneaks to the back.  It is obvious where she is, because the light in the big room is off and the little cubby hole is lit up like a Christmas tree.

Still no holes in any of the walls, except of course, my Wibaux band calendar:)

Burgler with a rake?  This picture cracks me up.  He got this facemask for Montana and at first hated it, but now he puts it on all the time.  It's not even cold and he's outside sweating in it, but he wouldn't take it off.

Start your engines....

When I envisioned this catwalk before our house was built, I could see kids tearing across this thing, racing, running from each other, playing tag....long hallways just always seem to come in handy.  Anyway, they race on it all the time and I couldn't be more pleased.

Monkey see....

Monkey do

This was right after we moved in so a piece of our sectional couch is blocking the stairs. We have a gate up now.  Our couch is still never in one piece though.  It is usually holding up some kind of fort or all the cushions are in a big pile because Ryker likes to build "nests".  Thank you Grandma Patti for teaching him such great nest building skills.  I will never be able to sit on my couch again.

And for the grand finale............

He bites the dust!

And again.  Will this kid ever learn?