Bringing us up-to-date

After a late July and August filled with much activity around here, the blog moved way down in the priority list. Then it just seemed like I had way too much to try to post about; finally, I've resolved to just get us up-to-date, even if it means skimming over some pretty big events of the end of summer. We are finally feeling settled into a fall routine and into the house we'll rent while starting to plan and build the next Casa Cutler. Staring with the most recent...

Claire has started preschool at Grace Lutheran Church. She couldn't have been more excited to begin and loves her mornings spent learning with her teachers, Ms. Jill and Ms. Jen.
Labor Day weekend, despite the smokey haze, we hiked to the top of Red Mountain. Claire's first time above 10,000 feet on a hike.
We had a quick campout on the Madison River with Nate's sister, Sarah, and Bruce and Julia, including a few hours playing at Hebgen Lake.
Sarah was here for a full week, and she and Claire and Julia had great adventures together. Unfortunately, I was back at work (fulltime this year) so missed out on most of the fun. Claire and Julia's faces in this picture show how much they loved it!
After moving, Claire and I spent a week in Maui with my parents. We enjoyed the beautiful beaches, warm swimming water, snorkeling, and just having the time with Grandma and Grandpa!
Before moving, we had a wonderful week in Cape Cod with Nate's family. The beaches were truly scenic and relaxing, and the house we stayed in provided the perfect setting for special meals and hangout time away from the water.

Goodbye 5 Vista Drive

After almost eight years on the property Nate bought before we even started dating, we are saying goodbye to our home on 5 Vista Dr. It has sold which means we are moving into a rental while we plan and build the next home on 5 acres we own down the road a little way. As we've boxed and packed this week, we have taken special notice of the things we love: the views, the claw foot tub and shower in the master bath, the huge island in the kitchen, the trees we've planted and nurtured, the den filled with most of Nate's hunting and fishing photos and mounts, and the list could go on. Of course, the many memories we've made over the years with family and friends in this space will go with us! A few pics from over the years as the house has changed...

The house mostly as it looks today; the landscaping was definitely the biggest learning curve for us.
Nate built a deck, planters, fences, garden beds and more over the years.
Of course, this will always hold a special place in our hearts as we brought Claire home from the hospital here.
Hem was just a pup when we moved in, and now he spends most of his time sleeping on the front porch.
In the initial stages of construction...

We are excited for the next step, but I had to take a moment to reflect on what a wonderful place to live this has been and what an amazing job Nate did with planning and building it!

Grandpa Lagerwey's 70th Birthday

We spent the long 4th of July weekend in Washington to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday with the entire Lagerwey clan. Nate decided to come at the last minute, which saved me from having to make the 12 hour drive alone with Claire. (Thanks, Babe!) We like to leave early, i.e. 4 AM, to try to get some of the drive underway while she is still sleeping, and though Claire didn't go back to sleep at 4 AM, she did travel well both there and back! The sunrise through Montana was worth being up that early.

We went over to one of the San Juan Island, Orcas, with my parents to meet my sister Christine and her family who had rented a house there for a week. We were able to explore the island, bike a little, and enjoy the beautiful views.
The grandkids know Grandpa is always good for a bowl of ice cream!
Claire enjoyed the 4th of July parade in Eastsound, especially all the candy thrown to these two cuties!
Nate challenged my niece Alyssa to a dip in the Puget Sound, and she took him up on it! Brrr.
My sister Kari and her husband Jason hosted us at their restaurant in La Conner to watch the fireworks from the deck. It's one of the best seats I've ever had to see a fireworks display.
The big party on the 4th...Grandpa was a good sport with lots of gag gifts and quite a bit of a chaos that comes with 14 grandkids, 5 kids and spouses, and a few miscellaneous friends and other family members.
At the end of the night...a family pic around the campfire. It was a quick trip, but some great weather, wonderful meals, biking, and Claire was kept busy keeping up with all the cousins!

Snapshots of Summer (between rain storms)

Summer so far has been more of the rainy weather we experienced on Memorial Day weekend. The rivers are running high and flooding, even without the snow pack melting yet. We might not actually fish a trout stream until late July! Full days inside mean some mischief for Claire...in the picture below she decided to use her magic markers as make-up to paint her lips and eyebrows blue.

This face is the guilty look.
We did have a long enough break in the weather for Claire and I to go camping a short distance away at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park with friends I teach with: Lacy and Maya Noble and Lander Glenn. We had a nice afternoon of chilling in the sun, but a long night of hail, wind, and thunder storms ensured most of us didn't get a wink of sleep.
Lander and Frank made banana boats on the fire. This was a new cuisine for me; after a lifetime of camping, I'd never had the banana, marshmallow, peanut butter, chocolate combination cooked in the campfire before.
This week my sister Christine and her family stopped by for two nights on their trek across country for Indiana to Washington. We took them to tour the Lewis and Clark Caverns and to soak in Norris Hot Springs. The clouds parted long enough for some magnificent views as well during their visit.
Claire was in heaven playing with her older cousins Alyssa and Jessica.

Yesterday we decided to drive up to Canyon Ferry Reservoir where we biked along the dike for a few miles before hanging out on shore. I got to read while Claire helped Nate with his fishing.
Nate is holding the carp he landed, and Claire looks a little unsure about getting much closer to it.

Big Hole Battlefield

We had the best intentions of camping along the Wise River this weekend, but a very wet and cold forecast prevailed. I spent most of Saturday getting the garden and flowers planted before the two wet days of Sunday and Monday hit. Getting some color and seeds into the ground after school is out always makes me feel like summer is really here, even if the weather isn't cooperating.

We decided we'd still take a mini-road trip down to the valley where we wanted to camp in order to visit the Big Hole Battlefield with our friends Lander and Frank Glenn. So we all got cozy in the Subaru for the 2 1/2 drive. Once there, we bundled up in our ski gear and were able to hike the trails of the National Monument which preserves the battle ground of the attack on the Nez Perce by the US Army in 1877. The Nez Perce story as they fled the pursuit of the US Army through they states of Idaho and Montana is a tragic one, ending with Chief Joseph's famous surrender, "I will fight no more forever."

The battle ground includes the "skeletons" of some of the ti-pis as they were arranged on the day of the attack. It's a haunting scene to walk through these reading about the women and children killed by the soldiers.

We stopped at Jackson Hot Springs on the way home for a soak to warm up our chilled bones after walking around in the blustery weather. We spent a long time in the car, but managed to explore one more road in Montana through the scenic Big Hold valley.

May has come and gone...

There are five more days of school left for me, which means May has come and gone in a blink this year. I am counting the papers left to grade (25 final essays) until summer break, and we are finally starting to see spring as the fields and lawn turn green and the trees get their leaves. I even planted a few seeds for the garden today (which means I probably jinxed myself for snow next weekend). Nate had successful spring turkey hunting: getting two bird in South Dakota and two in Montana.

We decided to try a trail behind bike for Claire this year as a means of opening another family recreation opportunity. On our inaugural outing today, Claire made 4 miles! The rivers are pretty high and muddy because of record high snow pack this year, so we might be biking more than fishing or canoeing this early summer.
We spent a wet hour at the Bozeman Watershed Festival on Saturday. Claire was able to test her new rainshell there, and the wet, muddy conditions meant no crowds!

Big Weekend: Birthdays and Easter

I'm a bit overwhelmed with the amount of pictures from the past weekend filled with many great memories of celebrating two birthdays and Easter with the help of my parents and niece Elly from Washington. Both my mom and us had our cameras going, so even after deleting a bunch, I have over 100. It's too hard to choose! Thus, I've decided to just post a few. (There are more on Facebook for anyone desperate for them.)

My parents arrived Thursday late afternoon, and we both survived many, many, many "how much longer?" questions from both Elly in the car and Claire at home. At one point, Claire even parked a chair in front of the window, declaring she would just wait there until she saw them come down the driveway. At that point, they were still 1 1/2 hours away. When they did arrive, Claire and Elly got right down to business playing. Although we gave them 15 minutes before the first little turf battle, they actually lasted a few hours. Elly got to sleep with Claire in her room, and they actually feel right asleep.

On Friday we went to the Museum of the Rockies to check out the wonderful exhibit on frogs and play in the children's Yellowstone Center room. Of course, Grandpa had to treat us to ice-cream afterward.

Saturday was Nate's Birthday. We spent a few hours on the Missouri River with a campfire and fishing, before enjoying a lamb chop and angel food cake birthday meal.

On Easter morning the girls woke up to discover the Easter bunny had come to bring them baskets (but that he would return later to hide the eggs for the hunt after it had warmed up to at least 40 degrees!). We dressed up a little more than usual and headed to Bozeman's First Presbyterian Church for Easter Services. After church, the Easter bunny returned to hide eggs around the property, and we had a ham dinner.

Finally, Monday, Claire's big day had arrived! She started the day by dressing herself (like a big girl) and wondering where her presents were. We had a few friends over for lunch and some simple party games: Pin the butterfly on the flower, drop the butterfly into the vase, jelly bean relay, and a butterfly craft. Then we opened presents, many lovely gifts, and we had the butterfly birthday cake (sense a theme here?). Once the party was over, I think we all crashed! Nate and I were supposed to go out for a birthday meal date, but who wanted to leave the couch?

A big thanks to my parents for making the effort to drive out and help us celebrate and to my sister for lending us her daughter to make the weekend even more special!

Because I want to do what I want to do

We've been experiencing the trials and tribulations of a pre-schooler with an increasingly stubborn and determined personality. While I love that Claire has a fire to her personality and a fearless approach to life, I also want her to learn obedience and respect. We are trying to work on some specific behaviors: listening the first time, not responding to a "No" with pout and anger (you should see how far she can get her upper lip to jut out), speaking politely, and cooperating with others. Some days she earns all the stickers on her chart, and others, like yesterday, are a string of big X's (STRIKE OUT!). **Yes, that was my child in Time-Out on the steps during Swim Lessons. I am happy that I can provide the instructive service to other parents for their children about "What Not to Do." You're welcome.***

In one of our many conversations about her behavior, I asked Claire why she wasn't listening to me. She responded simply with, "Because I want to do what I want to do." Actually,her response seems quite profound to me. Isn't that what we all struggle with on some level: the desire for self-gratification over the obligations to our families, jobs, health, and Maker? How do we instill in our children a desire for what "I want to do" that isn't destructive to themselves or others in the long run, that might actually be a desire to love others, bring peace, do the right thing? Beyond the day to day tedium of reminding Claire to say "Thank You," to clean up her toys, to play nicely with other kids, this is the larger goal, and, at the moment, a daunting one.

Between spring storms we fit in a picnic alongside the Missouri River. Claire loves to cast her Diego rod and hunt the shore for interesting rocks, feathers, and even little shells.
Hot dog roast over the fire while Dad fishes the Missouri River. (I got a chance to fish too.)
We attended the American Indian Council Pow Wow at Montana State. The cultures of all the various tribes in Montana are vibrant and beautiful. We had shown Claire some pictures ahead of time from the computer and had her listen to some drumming so she would know what to expect; unfortunately, what this led to was her commenting as loudly as she could while we walked in, "Look, Dad, there's a REAL Indian." Then a few seconds later, "Dad, there's another REAL Indian." At that point, we just picked her up and hustled ourselves into some seats : )

An Almost Four Year Old

In a short month, Claire will celebrate her 4th birthday, a fact she reminds us of almost daily now. The transformation to a pre-schooler and a little girl continues to amaze us. Some of her development as of late includes:

• Drawing pictures with stories behind them and discernible objects like rainbows, people, sun, ladders, and so forth.
• Listening to chapter books--we are working through an abridged version of the Little House series right now.
• Learning her letters and their sounds. This one requires much patience from me because I want her to get it down and start reading. : )
• Marking daily progress on a calendar and behavior chart.

I took some pictures the other day trying to capture her long wavy hair...didn't really get it.
Some of the winter snow is melting away and we were able to enjoy a picnic as a family at Buffalo Jump State Park. Spring means wind in this part of the state, so we had to find a protected hollow for shelter.

Get Aways

Surviving a long winter in the northern climates is made much easier by some kind of get away to a warm locale. Both Nate and I had the opportunity to escape the snow in the months of February and March. While he headed far south to the Bahamas to meet his old friends, Dick and Linda Colville in late February, I was able to get a weekend with my college friends in Phoenix the first weekend of March.

Getting away is necessary...without trips like these, one actually might do something crazy like attempt the elaborate hairstyle a princess-obsessed daughter demands. See below:

Of course, Hemmie wasn't included. When the weather turns really cold, he is forced to stay inside more than he'd like. Can you see the "stir crazy" on his face?
I'm sure the fact that he was a member of an entire collection of stuffed animal tea party doesn't have anything to do with it either. (see picture below) Nate's mom came to keep me company while he was gone--so nice for both Claire and I. We had some mini crises to work through--a house showing, -25 degree weather, and a furnace that stopped working one night--but overall a great visit.

Meanwhile, in the Bahamas, Nate and the Colvilles were fishing for bonefish off Stanley Cay. The weather and water were beautiful!

Off the beach of one cay there are swimming pigs who come beg for food scraps from the visitors in boats. Very strange sight.
They enjoyed gorgeous sunsets on the veranda overlooking the water.
Nate's always happy to have a successful fishing day!
Of course, I didn't take many pictures on our trip (and Sara actually took this one). After coming from all over the country--Jane from Denver, Elisabeth from Arkansas, Sara from Chicago, and me from Montana--we were too busy enjoying the time relaxing by the pool, talking, drinking a few margaritas, and being concerned only about our own needs and desires for a weekend. Since we had lots of photos sent by the dads and grandmas to let us know the kids were just fine without us, we could lounge enjoying the warm desert sun! It's hard to believe we all met freshman year in the Rooks Dormitory at Calvin College. How many years ago was that?? We look the same right?

Back to routine now...another possible two months of winterish weather for us here...though there will be a few warm days thrown into the mix now and again to keep us happy. At least I hope.