Outside Play

Especially for the grandparents, here are a few photos of Claire's outdoor play. Notice Hem has decided her water table makes a great water dish, though I can't blame him since the first thing she does when going outside is dump out his water.

What I Wish I Could Write About

Yes, that's me finally with a fishing rod in my hand again. I wish I could write that I spent the day reeling in all kinds of big trout, but I'm opting for the real story behind the picture for the sake of blog integrity.





I woke up Saturday morning incredibly idealistic. So, soon after finishing our morning cup of coffee, I proposed to Nate that we load the truck with our camping gear, fishing gear, biking gear, stroller, and large, unruly dog (a tall order even for a full size pick up) and head to either the Madison or Big Hole River for the night. I thought we could trade off fishing/biking and watching Claire while enjoying the great outdoors. Thankfully, my more pragmatic husband brought me back to reality, and we settled on a day trip to the Ruby River with fishing gear, Nate's bike, and no dog. We've still been having fairly wintry weather around here, so the rivers aren't in great fishing shape, being very muddy and high, still, I was optimistic. Of course, after a two hour drive to the Ruby River, it wasn't fishable, Claire is over being in the car seat, and there's no good spot for Nate to ride his bike. Now what? At least the scenery is nice. (see picture below) We decide to head back to the Madison River and try some fishing in that area. On the way back we stopped at a little creek, Alder Creek, famous for being one of the first big gold mining strikes in Montana. We decide I should try fishing there, though I'm thinking it's still toxic from all the mining and there probably aren't any trout in there anyway. At least I got to wet a line, though after about 15 minutes I had it completely snarled from lack of casting practice. So, no fish.



We did finally make the Madison River about six hours after leaving home. (It would have taken us about an hour to get there if we had just gone there to begin with.) And I can report that Nate did catch two trout while I managed a short hike with Claire. However, we spent about seven hours in the car for those two fish. By the time we got home Claire was screaming, the car was trashed (filled with soggy goldfish, crumpled newspaper, dirty diapers, and tossed aside toys), and though we didn't earn it, Nate and I just wanted a beer!

P.S. I do still have high hopes for a day on the river this summer; I just think we'll suck it up and hire a babysitter next time.

P.P.S. Nate is enjoying part of his Father's Day gift this morning by going on an outing (fly fishing for carp) all by himself.

Getting into the Summer Groove

We're working on my second week of summer vacation and finding a nice groove. Of course after the first day or two of vacation I feel compelled to make a long "To Do" list or I'd feel at a loss (not sure whether to blame a hyperactive Protestant Work Ethic, Calvinism, or being Type A). I am learning, thanks to Claire, to be okay with a more relaxed schedule. We are taking walks in the morning, scheduling more play dates and outings with my mom's group, reading, AND I still am accomplishing some of the items off my list. We are still having fairly cold weather (45 degrees at around noon today!), so not much in the way of mountain activities, but I've finally planted my annuals and a few vegetable plants (two of six already have become victims of the wind--I'll be happy if we end up with one edible basil leaf at this rate). Claire still isn't walking, but I put her down in the store the other day and several people remarked, "Man, she's fast!" She usually does her high speed crawl while making a kind of droning noise too--at least I know where to follow her! In this picture she's hanging out in the Ergo Baby Carrier. This goes everywhere with us and I recommend it highly to any active parents who hate hauling a stroller around! You can also see some of her developing curls in the longer hair behind her head.

Spontaneous Road Trip!

We just arrived home this afternoon from a spontaneous two-day road trip. (Those of you with small children know that spontaneous anything is a rare occurrence.) Since I am no longer tied to a school schedule (yipee!) and Nate has a few down days between jobs, we decided on Saturday to take a drive north to Fort Benton on the Missouri River leaving Sunday morning, staying one night, and coming home today, Monday.



It's a great time of year to take a drive through Montana--the fields are brilliant shades of green, the mountains still have snow, and the sky is fresh and blue. We stopped every two hours or so, giving Claire some wiggle time outside the car and us a chance for a few mini-hikes. We followed the Missouri north to Helena and Great Falls, taking side roads right along the river for part of the time. Then we headed across the high mountain plains to the historic town of Fort Benton. It's one of the oldest towns in Montana and was quite the frontier town as it was the last navigable point for steamships coming up the Missouri. Once the railroad came to Helena and Great Falls, it lost its importance.



We stayed in a fantastic restored hotel called the Grand Union and enjoyed a delicious bison steak dinner in their dining room. (Thankfully, the busy season hasn't hit yet, as keeping a 13 month old in control in a white linen tablecloth kind of restaurant was a bit of a challenge.) Our room looked out on the Missouri, and we had the windows open listening to the river all night. We took a different route home, heading through the Big Belt and Little Belt Mountains. It's impossible to describe all the different landscapes we saw in just this one trip, but it certainly makes us appreciate where we live--the history, the views, the people, and the recreation all right in our backyard so to speak!

Rain, Rain, Rain

After a bit of a long week, we've had a wet and rainy Memorial Day weekend. Last week our daycare provider was out of town Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. This meant my heroic husband stayed home with Claire for Wednesday and Thursday, and I brought her with me to school on Friday (deciding unilaterally it was take your daughter to work day--of course I checked with my principal too). The students all loved getting to see her; Claire was a little wide-eyed at first, but by second period she was babbling away at everyone despite it being in the middle of her normal nap time. I'm in the middle of winding down the school year so have all the extras that means--award ceremonies, graduation, senior final papers, etc. We finish this Friday, and I am looking forward to a more relaxed summer schedule.

Because of the rainy weather this weekend, we've had to come up with some creative ways to entertain ourselves. We actually went to the mall, an unusual activity for this household--well, Nate dropped Claire and I off while he ran some other errands and sat in the car talking on the phone. We also loaded everyone up, including Hem, and took a walk around Three Forks on the pavement since everything out by our house is a mud pit. While we've been cooped up inside, Claire has decided that wearing her shorts on her head is great fun; they are her new favorite toy. I'm reading a mystery by a local writer, Jamie Harrison, and doing some baking. The next four days until I finish my last grades will be crazy, so I'm trying to store up some energy for the week ahead.

Oh yes, I forgot to report on Nate's successful turkey hunting trip. He got one bird in South Dakota and two in Montana. This picture is in Eastern Montana where he hunted in Custer National Forest.

Suddenly Summer

After a long, cold spring, this weekend has suddenly become summer. We had temps in the mid 80s today, and forecasts for even warmer weather tomorrow. After deciding to ignore our "To Do" lists, we took advantage of the warm weather and headed to the mountains for a hike. We like to explore new areas, so today we went about an hour north to the mountains outside of Helena, the state capital. The trail was only ten miles outside of town, but the last five or so were Subaru-worthy miles. We managed to hike about four miles, enjoying some vistas of various mountain ranges, a few wide open meadows just barely greening, and the beginnings of summer wildflowers.

After the hike, we headed into town for a late lunch. Claire was ready to move around after being confined to the backpack, and since we had the outdoor patio to ourselves, we let her roam. Of course she was filthy in about 30 seconds. I'm discovering as we spend more time outside that maybe I am ready for her to start walking. A crawling baby and sidewalks, concrete, our dirty front porch just don't mix well. (I'm trying to favor letting her explore over keeping the cute clothes clean, can you tell?)

Mother's Day

Last year I felt lucky to be able to spend Mother's Day with my new daughter AND my mom, and this year I was blessed enough to repeat the experience. While Nate is hunting, my parents are keeping me company and helping with Claire. We've had more cold spring weather (it's only 44 degrees as I write this), so we've been a little house bound, aside from some time Saturday morning cleaning up the flower beds in preparation of the perennials maybe beginning to show up by June.

Claire loves being outside; she often whines when we come in and whenever the front door is opened, she will make a beeline for it! Here she is enjoying some time with dirt.

My parents are watching Claire at home while I'm at school in the morning. This means Grandma is enjoying some extra cuddles, and Grandpa introduced Claire to one of his favorite treats this afternoon--ice cream.

I'm not sure who to blame for her fascination with beer bottles, but maybe she'll get it out of her system early? (These are empties; I promise.)