A beautiful day to chase some birds!

Today we went out and attempted to find some birds to shoot. After watching numerous geese fly over "just out of range" we decided to head out to Shaw Butte and see if we could find any upland birds.

We were just about to head back to the truck when we bumped a covey of Huns. They broke up and I was able to see where the landed, so up the hill we went after them! Soon, Bones got really birdy and we bumped them again. This time they were in range and we each were able to take one! Being the gluttons for punishment that we are, we followed them up the butte further, but this time they all were flying too wild and we weren't able to get any more!

We chased the birds right up against the base of the butte. As you can see in the picture it was a beautiful day!

I think that the baby enjoyed his in-vitro bird hunting experience... Though I wont mind once I deliver and Clint can take his turn carrying him. I do have a complaint to make to the camo industry... I can't fit into my hunting pants anymore, (check out that belly) and the shelves at the local sporting goods stores aren't exactly bursting with maternity camo pants.... Hmmm maybe I just figured out how to make our millions.

Bones did really well and had a great time. We felt bad about not having Rebel, but since we were after geese initially, we just took Bones.

Here are some of our local geese. You can also see the big wind turbines in the background. They are huge, and I am so intrigued by them. I'm so glad that Montana is starting to use some of this wonderful renewable resource (wind).

Merry Christmas!

We wanted to wish all of our friends and family a wonderful Christmas.

We were fortunate enough to have Mom and Perry share the evening with us, but we miss all of the people who weren't there!

Wishing you and yours a great Holiday!

Kongs are the coolest!!!

Rebel and Bones got some "Kongs" as early X-mas presents from my mom!!! For those of you who don't know, Kongs are really tough rubber toys that have a hole in the middle. They make special treats that go inside, so your dog will spend hours trying to get the treat out. Your dog can smell the treat and lick the treat, but they can't quite get it... Until they figure out the deal. Bones has figured out the trick and can usually get the treat out after a little while, but Rebel just rolls the Kong around a lot. It gives us a lot of good entertainment and keeps them busy!!!

Ice fishing season!

Today we picked up Brock and headed out to Wadsworth park for a little ice fishing! The weather was good (a little windy, but not too bad) and we even caught a few fish. The perch were biting and most were good sized. We also caught one little trout that we released. As you can see we all had a great time! (though I was a little like a penguin, waddling around on the ice!!!)

By popular request, here are some pictures showing the fact that I'm pregnant. a.k.a belly pictures. I'm a little shy so this is kind of a hard sell for me... but I made a promise so I have to follow through. We are sitting at 25 weeks right now...

In maternity clothes...

This was after ice fishing, so I'm a little wind burnt...

A house in Butte!

We put an offer on a house in Butte, contingent upon the sale of our Great Falls home. It looks like everything is working out (knock on wood!!!) so I thought I'd share a picture of the house we are looking at. It is a cute 2 bedroom, 1 bath, with a 2 car garage.

While I was in Butte the last couple days, Clint took me on a tour of the area he has been spending a lot of his time patrolling. It was great to get out and see the area surrounding Butte. It's beautiful and mountainous. Though the outdoor opportunities are going to be different, I can see us truly enjoying getting to know the area.

Here is a couple pictures of a badger that we came across. You can click on the picture to make it bigger if you want to see him peeking out of his hole at us!

A little taste of Butte Architecture!

I finally went and spent a weekend in Butte with Clint. I actually kind of liked it!!! Our realtor was really generous with her time and gave us a great tour including a really in depth history of the town. I was amazed and it really made me look at Butte in a new light!

The pictures I have included are from the downtown area. As you can see all the buildings have great "character". The view from this area is amazing, you can see the entire valley below. I didn't take very many pictures, but enough to give everyone a taste!!!

I cut off all my hair!!!

Well, I didn't cut off ALL my hair, but enough to make a difference! I had enough to donate it to "locks of love" and now I'm sporting a way shorter 'do! I decided since the belly was getting bigger, something was going to have to get smaller, and that just happened to be my hair!!!

Here are the "before" pictures....

Here are the "after" pictures!!!