Goings on

 Christmas morning, this little fella found our compost bin, as the lid had blown off the night before.  If he could have fit more of his body, I think he would have crawled right in.  I can't imagine composting food is good on the guts but then again, it is winter & nutrients are scarce for these critters.
*The "fence" in front of him is a garden next to the compost bin & there wasn't a good shot of him without going outside & scaring him away.  The previous home owners used bird fencing like it's going out of style...one of the things we'll be changing next summer.

Our little sponge is soaking up the world around her as she continues moving into new development milestones.  Playing with her hands, looking at pictures, blowing bubbles...

And she's eating like a monster.  This little girl must be growing like a weed, packing on the pounds after lengthening out a bit.  You can see her lovely little baby belly in the picture above.  It, along with the rolls on her legs, are the cutest damn thing.

Happy Holidays

Don't let this picture fool you, right before we snapped it, Lilly was crying & Brewer peed on the carpet.  Somehow, we got our s**t together & snapped the picture before more hell broke loose.

Happy Holidays!

Cheers to 2013

We've been absent...for awhile.  But we're back!  Wishing everyone a happy & healthy New Year.

Playing around with our new camera:

An (almost) empty 5 lb peanut butter container.  (Don't feel sorry for Brewer - he gets his dad's empty yogurt container almost every morning)

 Gotta work on the zoom.

  Opening their gifts.  :)

Back that truck up

We're reversing back to 2011 to an annual tradition among many great friends (see this previous post for our 2010 debauchery)...

*Drum roll*

CHRISTMAS TREE HUNTING EXTRAVAGANZA/DEBAUCHERY 2011!  It's a much celebrated day when a bunch of friends get together, fill their backpacks with snacks & booze, toss all their snow gear & dogs in the trucks, pile in, & head up the mountain to find the most Charlie Brown amazing Christmas tree.  And if they don't use live trees, they still come for the fun.  This year was no different.

Georgia & Starfish.
Starfish is the stage name of Avery Mae, our beautiful Goddaughter.  I haven't been able to formally introduce you because I'm still waiting for baptism pics from her mama.  Avery Mae was born in July & Steve & I were honored when Georgia & Shane asked us to be her Godparents.  I plan to take this task very seriously & spoil her rotten.  Interesting fact...at last year's Christmas tree hunting, Georgia had just found out she was pregnant but wasn't ready to announce it.  :)

Dogs chasing after the fast skier

 Lindsey being followed by a pack of vicious beasts

Friends

Dogs plowing the way for Shane

Everyone taking a short respite to sip an adult beverage.  Dogs wondering why the hell we stopped & coming back to keep moving us along.

The final product.  Four trees, ten friends, & one rogue dog (Brewer) that managed to stay in the picture (the other dogs were curled up in the trucks.
Total count of people: 10
Total count of dogs: 8
We had a wonderful time & will no doubt plan another epic adventure in 2012.

Dog in a backpack

It's time for Steve's silly Christmas pics...

His big gift from me was a new hunting backpack from Mystery Ranch, a company out of Bozeman, MT.  They make several styles of packs, including hunting, and are known for their excellent quality.  One of their hunting backpacks incorporates a standard frame and several styles of pack to fit the frame, which is much more efficient than having several different hunting backpacks for several different types of trips.  The particular pack I bought Steve can hold large amounts, including an entire antelope or deer and an elk quarter.  One silly trend is for Mystery Ranch packers to test their backpack by putting a friend/spouse/child in the pack and post a pic on their Facebook.  In our case, we tested the pack with the pups...

 Loadin' 'er (him) up...

 "Hey guys, just going for a ride.  Don't mind me."
This took A LOT of bribing.  So much so, I had to feed him a treat while he was in the backpack to make sure he knew this was fun.

 "Um, Brewer, can you help me out here man.  I don't know what I think about this backpack crap."

This pic is not great quality, but I had to post it because if you look closely at Brewer, you'll see his crazy eyes.  He gets those crazy eyes on occasion.  And it sums up his personality.  Not to mention Guinness continues to play dead dog while in the backpack...

Merry Christmas to all!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!  May you have full hearts and full bellies.  :)

Our attempt at family portrait after Christmas Eve mass.

 They love bubble wrap!

One of my fabulous gifts from Steve...a big kid onesie!  Footed pj's!  (I look drunk in this picture)

And another useful gift...goggles made specifically for cutting onions!  Mom & Dad, my reputation precedes me...  :)

(Somehow Steve managed to escape any embarrassing photos)

We have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas weekend, which included much lazing about, abundance of delicious food, many full glasses of beer or wine cheer, & our requisite Christmas day run (Santa hats included).  We feel so blessed & never forget to give thanks for all that's been provided.

Now I'm off to top my coffee with a splash o' Bailey's Irish Cream, probably followed by a nap.  Cheers!

Holiday Wrap-Up

Ah, well, the holidays are over.  Back to regular programming.  No more eating that extra cookie "just because it's Christmas" & you "can't let it go to waste."  The holidays are wonderful & it's bittersweet they're over - sad to see them go, but I feel like we can catch up on regular activities.  Although they're supposed to be a time to slow down, it always seems to be the complete opposite.  Holiday parties to go to, baking to be done, gifts to buy & wrap...it's exhausting!

If only Mother Nature would catch on - the cold air & white stuff on the ground is certainly nice during holiday season, but its time to move on.  I want sun & green grass!  *Sigh*  Wishful thinking.

Two pictures to wrap up our holiday fun times:

"I'm only wearing the damn hat because you're petting me."

Who needs a mantle when you have an elk skull on your wall?  Our latest elk addition from Steve's Hunting Expeditions 2010, on the left, provided perfect hanging space for our stockings.  (Our poor tree...it looks like it's struggling to hold up a not-so-heavy star)

Happy Holidays to all & cheers to 2011!

Christmas Tree Hunting 2010

Christmas Tree Hunting is an epic celebration among our friends.  The tradition began about four years ago, when several of us loaded up the dogs, our snowshoes, Peppermint Schnapps & hot cocoa, and headed up the mountain to find the perfect tree.  Except for one year, we've participated in Christmas Tree Hunting every year - this year was no different.

Last weekend, ten friends and four dogs (only four!) piled into three trucks & spent a good portion of the afternoon having a great time on the mountain.  Only three households were hunting trees but we have so much fun that even those not looking for trees tag along.  We couldn't have asked for better weather - we left a very cloudy & foggy Sheridan, breaking through the fog as we climbed the switchbacks & entered a world of sun, no wind, & mid-20's.  Our backpacks were filled with drink of choice - Coors heavy (pronounced "Kurrs"), Busch Light, buttershots & hot apple cider, peppermint schnapps...  Oh yeah, we also remembered to fill our Camelbaks with water.  :)  We spent the afternoon romping around the trails, laughing, enjoying the beautiful day, & overall madness & mayhem on the mountain.

We capped off the day by having everyone over at our house for elk roast & Italian cream cake...a perfect ending to a perfect day.

She loves snow

Part of the group headed up the trail

Like, really loves snow

One of our many stops

A pup & his bestest buddy

Really REALLY loves snow

WE'RE SO HAPPY!

Curtis, on the left, swears his tree didn't look that big when he cut it down.  Good thing we weren't stopped by tree police - pretty sure he broke the limit of 10 feet.  Georgia, are you pretending to pee on your tree like all our dogs did at one point?

Guinness was tired & ready to go home.

Steven!

The blanket of white fog (Sheridan lies beneath that - the fog is well over halfway up the mountain)

Close up of the fog that we left on our way up & entered on our way down.  It was neat to see it creeping into these draws.

Final product decorated!  It's not the perfect Griswald tree, but it cost us $12 and an afternoon of fun with friends...can't beat that.

Love.

All Hallow's Eve

Our costumes were epic.  I spent hours bent over a sewing machine.  Not to mention the blood, sweat, & tears coming up with our costume ideas.






...That's all a big, fat lie.  We like fun, easy, costumes in this household.  Behold our genius idea for this year:

Steve wore a brown shirt with "Jif" on the front & a "Wonder bread" on the back.  I wore a purple shirt with "Smucker's" on the front & "Wonder bread" on the back.

Peanut Butter & Jelly!

Thank goodness for felt, glue, & easy logos.

We didn't get a picture of us actually in our costumes.  But I think they're fairly easy to picture.  :)