Betty Crocker

If Betty were 30 inches tall, a bit chubby, kind of bald, talked a lot of gibberish, and managed to fill an entire house with flour as she cooked.

Scrumptious -- of course I am talking about the baby. The cookies were alright.

Family Time is Fun Time

Thank goodness we can honestly say that WE LOVE OUR FAMILY! Otherwise we would be insane (literally). We have had a constant stream of wonderful family visiting for about 1 month now. It has been fantastic! Truly, a real joy spending time and getting to know some really fun people. I FINALLY got to meet (in person) Pete's super fun cousins from Madison, Wisconsin. We have emailed/blogged/talked on the phone for years now, and I can finally say I really met them. And, they were even better than I imagined.

They traveled for 2 days in the car with their 3 week old Brynn Alicyn. She is a DOLL! She and Matine are very much alike - calm, sweet, content little babies that LOVE their naps and sleep. Brynn is already sleeping through the night, so we hardly knew she was here - of course we did our fair share of gawking, cooing and holding her. Matine felt like a giant next to her - it was hard to believe that just 2 months ago Matine was a small, little newborn that could barely hold her head up - oh how they grow!

It was also wonderful to have some extended family in town for her Dedication last week - that was very special to us. Here's a bit of the fun we had while they were here . . .

While the Boys fished we made "baby cupcakes" out of this super cool "Hello Cupcake" book that my aunt Michele bought me. We thought it was appropriate to make babies - seeing that we were surrounded with them . . .

Some ended up looking a bit scary and it was a really hot day when we did this, so we had some melted babies (very scary) but all in all we were pretty tickled with them and got a few good laughs out of them. Marni was here for most of the cupcake prep --- she (being an actual artist) was in charge of making the colored icings. We tried to make sure we had equal opportunity cupcake skin colors - well, we ended up with PURPLE babies, pink babies, and snow white babies... Oh well... I am sure someday skin colors with be that? It was a bit strange eating the heads off of babies.

Fun and LONG day of shopping in hip Bozeman... We ended the day over the hill with beer and chicken wings at The Garage. Matine was pooped...

Marni brought along her new baby, Hoggle... This is the BEST little puppy.

Bridget with her baby love Brynn.

The beautiful Water's sisters - Marni and Loni - oh how we love these gals.

Matine was still tired, so she held tight to Sophie on our entire way home. Dawn, if you are reading this THANK YOU for this toy - it's definitely a favorite!

Whoa, size difference of a 3 week vs 3 month old! I think Hoggle ALMOST had a baby finger for lunch right there.

Bridget, Brandon and Brynn Buell... Buster and Bitsy (the dogs) didn't make the trip. You think they like "B's"? If anyone is interested in monogramming anything for them, it's really really easy.

The baby-daddies carrying their offspring. Notice Matine's feet - Daddy dressed her that day. He LOVES the huge pink, fuzzy cowboy boots (Thanks Madeleine) :)

I download pictures and find about 12 that look like this... Dad having fun with baby glasses and the camera.

I must go now - our dearest Oliver dog refuses to stay in the backyard now... He has his mysterious ways of escaping EVERYDAY and he sits in the front yard guarding the house... Well, we think it's cute, but the mail lady - no so much. So, I must go quiet the barking beast... How in-humane are bark collars, really? Suggestions?

Check that off the list...

In the spirit of check lists, the following things were done this weekend:

1. Fabulous "pizza night" with Will and Levia on Friday. Successfully made way too many custom personal sized pizzas with a combination of the following ingredients: tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, antelope, morel mushrooms, peppers, pepperoni, kalamata olives, mozzarella, pesto, artichoke hearts, and more --- It was a feast!

2. To Chadz for coffee, catching up with fellow Livingston-ites, work on Willow Ranch business plans, cribbage games, and a nice walk to and fro.

3. Shave Peter's hair.... it looks REALLY good.... It's hard for that handsome man to look too bad however!

4. Install new office track light - very cool. Stabbed Peter with pencil (on accident) while trying to "help" him. Brooke quickly banned from being in the room.


5. Begin painting stairwell hallway: trim off with painters tape, wipe down walls and baseboards (i.e. remove 10 years of dust bunnies), sweep stairs, pull up the tacked down "rope" accent that has annoyed Brooke since day 1, stand on ladder and bang head into a mercury filled CFL light and shatter all over floor, promptly sweep with shop-vac, check for bleeding (in that order), begin painting around the gaping hole in the wall (">refer to previous post about the hole), take extra precautions not to spill paint, clean up with 20 minutes to spare and get ready for....

6. Fabulous dinner out at friends' Grif and Jacqueline's quaint farm-house at the base of the Absarokas. They care-take a beautiful ranch for an "un-named celebrity" in Paradise Valley. Jacqueline wowed us with creations from Rachel Ray's Food Network Show and we drank lots of wine and played with cats, dogs, and Google Earth. The boys planned some fly fishing trips and hunting trips. Our evening was super fun and LONG overdue.



7. Sunday morning hot tub and big ol' breakfast

8. Drop in the Cox's house to wish Brad a happy 3rd Birthday. They were gearing up for kid-fest which included rides and tours of firetrucks and ambulances, balloons, toys and lots of boy-girl toddler fun!

9. Drive to Ennis to meet with Storrs and Bev about Willow Ranch business. We are thrilled to be a part of such an amazing and respectable business that has been born and cared for by such an incredible man for 30 years! It is an honor to work with Storrs and even be considered for this opportunity.

10. Quick visit of our favorite Norwegian Fjord horses and the new calves (SO cute!).



11. Met with Janet and John of Wilderness Edge Retreat to discuss potential recreation packages and accommodation arrangements for our clients and theirs.

Weekend Wrap-Up

It was a much anticipated and NEEDED weekend. Highlights with pictures (coming tonight)...

1) After a very stressful and wierd work day Friday - the Cox's came over for tortellini soup and wine. It was fun (as it always is with their clan). The boys played downstairs as we had a semi-adult dinner, then we watched a little ski movie - getting Caid and Brad excited about their weekend of skiing. They are 2.5 and 4 and already little rippers on the slopes - thanks to their active and athletic parents no doubt. Caid informed us that he wants to start jumping off of cliffs and jumps. I just hope they don't send us the emergency room bill and blame it on the Howell movie night.(Brad being goofy - classic Brad face)

During my weird work day, Laurie was an awesome friend and took time out of her busy day to walk with me at lunch - letting me vent and clear my head. She's a rock star friend! She also gave me a super cool new journal - 3 Things Journal. You jot down 3 things you are either grateful for, want to do, would like to accomplish, and a few others.... It rocks and is EXACTLY the kind of journaling I am capable of with my A.D.D brain and busy life.

2) Peter and I had a very relaxing and fun Saturday that started with of course, a long hot tub, lots of coffee, and a delicious breakfast of pumpkin pancakes and sausage links.

3) Housework which included: mopping floors, vacuuming floors, cleaning rugs, dusting, finishing / reinforcing the garden fence, pooper scooping ( 5 bags worth - gross), hanging pictures, laundry, cleaning my closets and mentally designing a new and improved closet for both of us.

4) Energy savings upgrades - I insulated our basement more by doing a really cool little project that ANYONE can do... You cut bubble wrap to the size of your window panes. You spray water on the window, just a bit, and put the bubble wrap on the window. It will seal itself and stay! You still get all the light from your windows, but it increases the R-value by ALOT! I did it in all my basement windows that we don't "look out of" but still want the light.
I also added insulating tape / seal to the openings. Check out www.builditsolar.com for more super cool and easy tips to reduce your energy bills and save the planet- one little home at a time.

5) Peter and I experimented with an old favorite recipe of his - meat pie with homemade biscuits on top. Yum. With the extra biscuit dough we made cinnamon rolls - delicious (and ate them all ourselves).

6) Peter has decided to become a football fan. So, we had the infamous playoff games going on in the background all weekend. They were actually really fun to watch! Go Brett Favre!

7) We harassed our friends Matt and Jeannette while they were trying to start their floor-refinishing project. I am trying to stay positive and reassure Jeannette-o that it will be done in 1 week. They have currently moved ALL their upstairs furniture and rooms to storage in the basement and are sanding and refinishing all the hardwood in their very cute house. BIG project... They are more than capable.

8) Spent more time over at Matt and Jeannette's later that night for more football. Our friends Levia and Will were also there... So good to see them. The girls sat upstairs giggling and reliving the 80's. We made those really cool paper fortune tellers. Remember when you ask it a question, pick a number, move the paper-finger-teller thing that number, pick a color, spell it out with your count, then open the flap and it answers your question? It was fun. The fortune teller concluded that: I will retire at age 75 (boo), Jeannette's floors will NOT be done in 1 week (or even close), Levia gets to retire at age 45, and it finally concluded that we needed to leave and go catch the 9pm show of Charlie Wilson's War.

9) Charlie Wilson's War rocked! Go and see it!

10) Peter and I had a perfect Sunday - and got to spend the whole day with his mom - she is fantastic!

11) We had a great morning hot-tub (the usual) on our own and then a nice egg scramble breakfast with Joellyn.

12) We then packed up the truck with cross country skis and 4 dogs and went to West Mill Creek for a day of cross country skiing. None of us had skied this trail and it was awesome! it followed an old mining forest service road and we got great view of Mill Creek and the fires from this summer and a fire from a few years back. The weather was perfect and the snow and trail was great. The dogs had WAY too much fun sliding in the snow, pouncing in the deep pockets, and running as fast as they can up and down the trail. According to my nifty Suunto watch / work out program counter thingy, we were in a calorie burning workout zone for 1 hour 45 minutes and 59 seconds and burned 599 calories. I figure we burned off the cheesy egg and sausage breakfast?

One thing comes to mind when I think of our AWESOME DAY in the mountains - "Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity..." John Muir

13) We then went to Chico Hot Springs - local resort with natural hot springs / pools. We had their (in my mind) famous and delicious bloody marys and soaked for about an hour. Joellyn had NEVER been to Chico in all the years she has lived in MT, so it was a treat for all!

(this is a photo from the Chico website - we do not know this cute pool baby - BUT, this is what Chico looks like)

14) We went straight to Lee and Abby's house where they were celebrating (again) Lee's birthday with double iced brownies and hamburgers.

15) When we got back to the house, Peter's cousins were there. They are sick and wanted to get out of their house and rest. They watched movies, played cards, and watched more football with Peter.Loni and Gaucho - relaxin - on our NEW couch that we scored from Sally's moving sale

16) I tried going through all my mysterious keys that go to NOTHING! I tried about 2o different keys in our cars and doors of the house - trying to find what they go to. In the end, most are still in a little baggies labeled with a "?"

17) Cleaned out my medicine cabinet box. Found scary drugs in there! Some had been expired since 2003 and some medicines I have no recollection of buying. Why would I have ever needed glycerin suppositories and isn't that a problem I would remember!

18) We did some Willow Ranch business stuff and ordered a nice big Rosa's pepperoni pizza for dinner. Drank lots of tea and hot chocolate, watched a GREAT movie - Freedom Writers - I cried and went to bed wanting to become a teacher, work in a integrated school in the projects and save the world.

19) Woke up Monday morning NOT wanting to move to the projects and came to my job that works just fine.

NewTraditions - updated as of 1/18/08

Family fun... i think Emily is on the bottom?

The Bynum men (Jim and Chris)... So handsome.

Brooke and her cutie pa tootie nieces.

Clark and the girls that ADORE him...

The Christmas-Eve of 2007 will now beknown as the Christmas that the "omelette" tradition began. We gathered at my step-sister Tracee's House for a morning of omelettes. Anyone who knows my brother has experienced his obsession with the perfect egg. He thinks (and some agree) that he has mastered the scrambled egg, the over easy egg, and of course, the omelette. Tracee and Rick had all the supplies on hand to create "custom, made to order" omelettes for all 14 of us.
It was a fun new tradition and one we will be doing again... Clark has plans for "a better egg" next year. He did not have his "rhythm" down for the quantity this year.


Clark being distracted by his favorite neices (Sarah,Katieand Meg)

The omelettes of course took quite a while to be made, being that they were custom and made by my brother -the perfectionist.... So, the kids had to make their own fun for a while before eggs and presents. This is my step-sister Jayme being smothered by Katie and Sarah.

Kirk - waiting patiently for his omelette.
When Peter and I visit family, we of course always do our best to convince them of their need to plan a family vacation ASAP to come and see us. Peter and Rick talked alot about a fishing trip for Rick & friends.... With the new elk hunting business being close to beginning, we of course did LOTS of talking about those possible adventures. FYI... If anyone wants to book a hunting trip for the fall- call Peter Howell at Willow Ranch Outfitters - 406.570.6651 (shameless plug)

Mom and Jim ...looking cute as ever.
Of course, we finally got to opening presents... and parent quickly had to put the presents together, finding batteries, scissors, and industrial strength jaws-of life to pry open plastic packaging. Above is Rick explaining the different countries that Sarah's "dolls of the world" came from . Each doll was made from the exact same mold... all they changed were the cliche clothing from each "country" and the color of hair. Hmmmmm....
Our children, playing on the slide / tree house. Oliver and Gaucho quickly figured out how to climb up and slide down... Very cute! We are so proud of their brains and athleticism.

All in all - an excellent new family Christmas tradition.

One FULL Weekend

Going back to work tomorrow will be a shock. Peter and I have packed about as much as 2 people can in a 5-day weekend.

Wednesday Night- Wen t to John and Jo's. John prepared Thanksgiving Dinner #1 (turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, cranberry sauce, too much wine - the works)

Thursday Morning - 6 am hot-tub and watch the sunrise, 18 degrees, put together a scrapbook of Peter's childhood photos, bake pies, Loni and Marni arrive, read books, play with dogs

Thursday Afternoon - eat Thanksgiving #1 leftovers for lunch, go for a hike and cross country ski, dogs take long naps, more scrapbooking, reading, drinking wine, cribbage games!

Thursday Night - Thanksgiving Dinner #2 (primerib, potatoes, squash, green beans, rolls, 2 kinds of pie, more wine...), lay in our fullness and say what we are grateful for, watch the movie, "Home of the Brave" about soldiers experiences coming back from Iraq

Friday Morning - wake up and hot-tub again, lounge a bit, pack up to come back to Livingston

Friday Afternoon - Peter, Brooke and Matt Blank go hunting - see lots of deer and elk - gorgeous full moon night on the snow, everything lived.

Friday Night - Matt and Jeannette come over for dinner - we eat Thanksgiving Dinners #1 and #2 leftovers

Saturday Morning - sleep in and be lazy in bed, bake pumpkin bread for presents, get ready to go to the Ranch and hunt for Christmas trees

Saturday Afternoon - lunch and hot toddies at the McLoughlins house, then Peter, Jo, and Brooke (and 5 dogs) cross country ski / snowshoe into the Bridgers to find the perfect trees.

Saturday Night - quiet night alone and bed REALLY early

Sunday Morning - another lazy morning - lots of dog cuddles - decorate the house for Christmas!

Sunday Afternoon - Madeleine, Mike and Logan, Lee, Abby and Libby come over for hot chocolate and pumpkin bread, Peter reads alot, more decorating and hanging lights

Now I am blogging!

Check out the slideshow for pics of the marathon weekend of fun, family and thanks. It was wonderful! I am grateful for my family and friends and beautiful MONTANA!!! What a life we have.

I try to do the right thing

As a dog-owner sometimes I feel like I can never please the darn animals. I take them with me on errands = they pout and scratch at my car windows like I should be ASHAMED to leave them in the car.
I leave them in the backyard so they can play and frolic instead of being cramped in my office
all day long with no fresh air = they attack me when I get home and act like I left them on their own for a year.
When they do come with me to the office (which they should realize is a real treat and novelty, there aren't many jobs that allow this) they stare at me and will me to let them outside, insisting they deserve to be anywhere but here under this desk!
As I speak they are now in the backyard of the office, making pitiful little half yelps like I have deserted them in the 7th level of Hell. It's a BEAUTIFUL day for crying out loud - PLAY!
Can I ever win with these 3 little dudes?
I have decided - no. My conclusion = I'm the "not fun parent." I am "fun on weekends and evenings" mom, because at those times I can walk, run and hike with them, but during the day - my job is just not as exciting as Dad's job. When Peter goes to work they go on trail rides, herd horses, eat cow poop, chase cats, geese, be as loud as they want, and chase wild critters ..... When will Peter be back we all four ask????

I digress, this guilt-ridden train of thought started because I was going to describe my Wednesday and Thursday.
I had an all day meeting in Helena on Thursday so I went to the Howell's house Wednesday night - this way I could stay the night there and be 1 hour closer to Helena the next morning, AND my beloved 4-legged friends would be able to pounce, run and enjoy the fresh air of the Howell's house all day Thursday. Then I could distract myself and not be alone for one more night and hang out with
the family.
We all had a marvelous time. As usual, John and Jo cooked an amazing meal. Wednesday night dinner at their house is lamb chops cooked to perfections, asparagus with homemade hollandaise sauce, sweet potatoes, wine, and homemade pumkin pie with fresh whipped cream. That is just dinner! Thursday their neighbor and friend took us out for dinner at The Mint... yum. 2 Martini's later =
My 2-night stay has delivered me back in Livingston 5 pounds heavier!
I did enjoy two beautiful mornings of sitting in the hottub with Joellyn, discussing family, friends, and jobs.
The dogs were pleased to be back in a "real" dog setting and of course, enjoyed many, many dog treats.
Just got word that Peter will be out of elk camp tonight... He will be staying in Ennis tonight, and Laurie and I will be driving down in the morning to meet them, ride horses, and enjoy a Saturday in Montana.
T.G.I.F!

Weekend List

What happened this weekend:
1. I drove to Ennis to hang out with Peter and our friends Billy and Storrs Bishop before they went into camp for another week.
2. I thought I would only get to stay Friday night till Saturday afternoon, but I got to stay ALLLL day AND Saturday night - BONUS! Yay!
3. I got to pet and play with the horses... They are wonderful.
4. We got to hear some really fun and outrageous stories of the Alaskan Wilderness, Storrs' experiences doing everything under the sun in his lifetime (this includes running a horse drawn sleigh business, being a bad-a climber and dirt-bag ski bum in Aspen - before Aspen was the monstrosity that it is today-, realtor, store owner, hunting outfitter, farmer, teenage wanderer, and more).
5. I recommend anyone take the time to get to know Storrs Bishop III and his lovely wife Bev.
6. I sold my Honda Civic on Sunday! This good ol' faithful greenie has been with me till my Exloder died in college. It has taken me MANY miles with MANY people (physically and figuratively). I will miss the Civ... Wish her luck with her new owners who I am sure will love her just as much as I did.
7. I showed Peter's rental house to some possible tenants - both very nice.
8. I cooked a delicious Thai Chicken Chowder with Loni and Marni on Sunday night.
9. We watched the fabulous Sunday night show, "Brothers and Sisters." I love Sally Fields matriarch role in this show and the hilarious dysfunctionality of the family.
10. I bought paint to touch up and paint my outside side door and window trim. I would like it to all finally match
11. I went for a run with my friend/neighbor Leah - 4 miles.
12. I soaked in the tub this morning with Loni and Marni and we had coffee and watched the dogs play and be ridiculous in the cool morning air.
13. Peter gets home Saturday night... the countdown is on!
14. We have been married for 1 month TODAY!!!!!!!!

Would the 'real' Martha Stewart please stand up!

Our favorite criminal and homemaker Martha has NOTHING on Laurie Cox! Last night Laurie and Jeannette hosted the BEST pre-wedding party / shower ever! If you don't know Laurie... let me paint you a picture. She is darling for one... always looking completely put together, rested, and fashionable even though she constantly has a 4 and 2 year old around each leg or hips. She is also a proper "suuuthern" girl from Alabama.
It doesn't take long to figure that out from that accent, but in case you did miss it
you can tell she read Emily Post by looking at her table settings at a party. Laurie had her (always
impeccably clean) house dressed to the nines last night with candles, full "grandma's crystal" place settings, cute / colorful napkins and fresh cut flowers all in order. She of course had your perfect party music (at the perfect level) playing in the background and she was ready & greeting guests at the front door with fresh white & red wines ready! After chatting and eating some of the best southern appetizers in the world (i will see if she'll let me post them) we sat down to eat our butternut squash soup (thanks jeannette) and homemade blue cheese and pecan (pronounced pee-can) biscuits and sausage balls. After we lingered over dinner she of course had a rum - pound cake garnished with orange slivers and fresh, home-made whipped cream (with coffee served in the china of course).
It was heavenly! Even the fabulous food and service is no match for the stories and conversations that come from a table of 14 girls. I think from 6:30 - 12:30 last night we covered a good number of stories and conversations
about life, love, marriage, kids and puberty.
There was a moment last night when I stopped to listen to all that was going on and realized that I am a grown up! When did this happen? My friends, MY Friends, are moms, wives, professionals, experts on topics. We are in the throws of motherhood, SECOND marriages and the best and most exciting
times. It is no longer talk about cute boys, classes, silly weekend trips. My friends are mothers- responsible for these little beings that will grow up too to become adults. I am so impressed with the learned and inherent wisdom in them all and I only hope to be 1/2 the parent (someday... ways off) taht they are.It is wonderful that I have may strong and amazing women to share this journey with.
Thanks Laurie and Jeannette for a really beautiful evening.
I will post the pictures very soon!

Fun with Icing

On Fathers' Day, Peter's cousins, Marni & Loni and I made John a Father's Day cake... we got WAY into it and had fun. John drives bus and loves it, so we thought he woudl enjoy his "bus" cake with pics of his kids in the windows. hee hee...