Report from RV Land

Life was pure chaos for a couple weeks following the move. Things have finally settled down to some sort of normalcy. Phew.

The Airstream is quite comfortable and is beginning to feel like home. We have enough stuff and haven't really wished for anything. Of course, our ski/climb/bike gear is in storage, but otherwise, we fit in a 30 foot trailer.

[The master 'room']

[The couch]

[The table..see our neighbors?]

We are not really liking where we are parked presently. The RV park is a bit sketchy, our spot is tiny, and we have zero privacy. So, when school lets out in 30 days, we will hit the road and park our home in more scenic and fun spots, traveling until close to baby due date. When we return, we will find a better 'home-base'.

Another change that happened as a result of this move was that K moved to a big boy bed. We really miss the crib but he likes his big boy bed quite a lot...so much so that he has to stay up for 1-2 hours every night squirreling around it. 

[the bunk room; the bedding is pretty cool]

[daddy somehow convinced him to sleep 

instead of just stare at his really cool pillow]

 [all you parents know the sound...

pad, pad, pad...little footsteps coming down the hall]

New Hat, First Snow and First Haircut

 Same as dad's

First snow!

 Not so sure..

 Doing just fine

Red Ants Pants

When we learned that the Red Ants Pants Music Festival, was going to be held in a town not too far from Helena at the same time we were going to be there, we put it on our itinerary. And I'm so glad we did.

This music festival is AWESOME! There were enough people there to make it interesting, but not so many as to feel stuck in a massive crowd. People were having a good time, drinking a bit, but not getting angry and intoxicated. The music was great; we were only there for one day but had the pleasure of listening to Josh Ritter and, my all-time favorite, Brandi Carlile. There were little kids in wagons and digging in the dirt and passed out in daddy's arms. They had amazingly good food, free yoga in the field, a beard and mustache competition (seriously), and interesting demos (how to make your own biodiesel!).

'Mo Bowls' had several different varieties of mac-n-cheese. Need I say more?

The view from the food vendor area; 

just to give you a feel of the landscape: open, dirt cow pasture, basically

The camping was just a designated area of the field filled with campers, RVs, tents, etc.

Scenic and peaceful, it was not, but it was

just a 2-minute walk to the stage area

Kye and momma listening to Josh Ritter

Little man did great at his first concert; 

he fell asleep (later than normal, of course) in daddy's arms, looking up at the stars

In one of those 'it's a small world' moments, we ran into a coworker of B's, there with his wife and her family. They never talked about going to this festival, but somehow both ended up there at the same time. We enjoyed talking with them and getting to know them a bit. 

We are definitely going back to Red Ants Pants Music Festival; friends, let us know if you want to join and we'll make an adventure of it!

Life in a Good Spot

We live in a beautiful place, with lots of fun to be had close to home. Before we left on a recent trip, we got into a fun rhythm at home. Hiking the local trails, swimming at Rattlesnake Lake or Lake Kacheelus (a short jog from home), berry picking, and even some climbing as a birthday treat for Heather.

Rattlesnake Lake

Walking around Gold Creek Pond with Auntie Carly

Lake Kacheelus

 Berry picking with Callum

4th of July hike to Snow Lake with Dawn & Anne

and the neighborhood 4th of July party

snack time at stump lake (Kacheelus)

walking around the ski hill

view down from Killer Bob's route

Photo Update

Out to warming hut for lunch

Hot Cocoa

Skiing!

Kye and his new grader toy

Field trip to Aquarium to see "Nemo"

 Kye and Momma at Hut again

 Playing in mud puddles as spring thaw arrives

Sheena had her baby shower last weekend, so family was in town staying with us, the weather was beautiful.

Digging for ?

Kye sandwich

Rough Life

We used to go out of town nearly every Midwinter break. Then one year, we were driving all over on a road-trip looking for snow, meanwhile getting text messages from friends about all the powder falling back home. Since then, we've decided to stay home for midwinter break. After all, we live at a ski area, so it makes sense to stay home and ski!

This year, the conditions couldn't have been better. Honestly, the timing was fantastic. We got hammered with snow all week, feet of fresh snow every day. We both skied 6 out of 7 days, lift-serve and laps up Hyak. On the last day of break, Heather was saying that, as ridiculous as it sounded, she needed to go back to work to give her legs a break from skiing! Crazy talk.

A horrible wandering eye selfie...sorry. Just another good day out, skiing deep snow.

Kye gets ready to go down Hyak.

When we weren't skiing, we just hung out inside with Kye, playing with trucks, tractors, and reading books. Heather completed a couple craft projects for an upcoming shower. And, of course, there were also some hours spent snowblowing. What a rough life we have.

 Awesome hair, buddy!

Swish-Swish-Swish

By now, we are accustomed to having walls of snow around our house and plenty of skiing days already. But our ski hill is covered in shrubs and rocks and creeks still, not enough snow for skiing.

We both had time off for the holidays and, while we would have preferred to have spent the time skiing, we got out for some hikes up the ski hill instead.

A couple days after this evening hike, we were blessed to receive a few inches of snow. We got out for a couple ski runs up Hyak that weekend. It was sunny and gorgeous on Sunday, so I loaded Kye up in the pack for a little walk. I wasn't planning on him taking a nap, but he zonked out within a few minutes.

(drool)

Before Kye, I shared a million moments of outdoor adventure with Brandon. Now, I get to experience it all with this little guy. There's something pretty amazing about hiking along in the twilight, with Kye pointing to the moon and trying his new word (which sounds a bit more like 'mom'). And on the day pictured above, he woke up for the ski down and made the sound effect for skiing (swish-swish-swish). It was horrible skiing but he didn't care. It was fun and exciting to him. 

Brandon and I get to enjoy all the same activities we did before, but with a renewed sense of adventure, watching this little guy discover the world around him. Thanks God.