Ice Fishing on Holter

Last night the weather forecast called for a couple inches of snow... this morning we woke up to 8+... So, we decided that we may not even be able to make it to our cabin due to the snow accumulation. But, we couldn't just sit home so we went on a day trip to Holter Reservoir.

Here's a couple pictures from our back yard this morning.

To be honest,before we moved to Montana, I couldn't imagine enjoying ice fishing...

You sit on a piece of ice suspended over a big body of water. The temperatures are almost always below freezing and even the smallest breeze makes it REALLY COLD! Well, we've decided we must be crazy, cause we love ice fishing!!!

Today was cold, but it was sunny and the wind was pretty calm. What a great day to be on the ice! To top it off, we caught a few fish and Clint hooked this really nice rainbow! It was about 20 inches long and fought really good. I also hooked a nice one, but after fighting it for a little bit my line broke where it was rubbing on the ice under the water.... I was bummed, but we still had a great time.

What a nice fish!

At first Dane hung out on my back, but then we needed to switch things up a little, so we took him off and we set up one of our blinds. It was nice cause it helped keep us all out of the wind. Here is a picture of Clint and Dane!

When we were leaving the sun was just going down behind the mountains... It was really beautiful!

The deer were all coming out to start feeding as well, so it was fun to see them.

The fun continues!

Christmas evening was really nice. We had a great dinner with Perry and Mom. Here is Grandma and Grandpa feeding Dane some delicious mashed potatoes!

Dane also got some really great gifts from Grandma and Grandpa... Here is Clint helping him open one.

Perry, Mom, and Dane

Oh yeah, and I was really tickled with our daycare... They made this fun little cast of Danes hand and sent it home all wrapped up for a Christmas gift from Dane to us...

Christmas Morning!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! Oh my goodness was it fun with Dane. He was super intrigued by the paper, ribbons, and boxes. We had a very good time and are looking forward to this afternoon when Mom and Perry are going to join us for dinner. I will take more pictures this evening, but here are some from our morning.

We miss all of our other family who isn't here with us... But, you are all in our thoughts!

Our little family in front of our huge tree! (can you see it there behind me???)

Playing with a book from Aunt Jeannette

Just playing!

I'm helping him unwrap a present from Eric and Sondra!

Clint took tomorrow off so we are going to head up to the cabin for a couple nights. We are going to try ice fishing some of the lakes up there... The weather is supposed to be a little more mild than it has been recently, and we are excited to get out!

Oh yeah and poor Dane. Although he had a great morning, he is a little sick. He caught the cold that just wont quit (We're shocked because he never catches anything!) First, it caused an ear infection, then an awful rash that covered his whole body, and now croup! Right now he has a terrible sounding cough that is definitely worse at night, but is calmed by cold air. Yes, there is one benefit to living in a cold climate. (however I am told that a nebulizer does well if you don't have readily available cold air!) I was thinking that if we ever have another kid I am going to be so skilled at identifying baby sickness, I'll be like "it's okay, that's just a viral rash, or an ear infection, or croup... Dane had those... and more!!!" We are very lucky though because these are all fairly minor illnesses and they pass rather quickly. Hopefully before too long he will have an immune system of steel!!!

Yummy noodles!!!

Ice fishing...

You can see from the video of Bones that was are all suffering from a little cabin fever. So, today it warmed up to a whopping 4 degrees and we decided to enjoy the heat wave and do a little ice fishing. We took the pack and I wore Dane under my bib-overalls. Then we zipped us up into the big camo jacket that I'm holding. Surprisingly, it kept us pretty warm and Dane went to sleep after a little while. It reminded me of last year when I was pregnant! Well, we had a good time and it was great to get out. Unfortunately, the catching wasn't very good. We had a couple tip-ups but never hooked into anything. We stayed out for a couple hours, but then a little breeze kicked up and we decided to head home.

On the way home we took the scenic route and drove past the dam... It is so beautiful when the water flows over and then freezes.

The few places that have open water are full of birds. Here are a couple tundra swans, we don't generally see them around this time of year. These are juveniles and they must have gotten confused during our mild fall...

A couple mallards
Here is Dane hanging out in his diaper... waving hello (or giving a "high five" depending on the mood...)

Stay tuned for a fun video of Dane eating noodles...

We are all suffering from cabin fever...

During the storm...

As you saw from the pictures, we had quite the storm roll in over last weekend. It was bitter cold... As in -22 without the wind chill. So, we did some fun stuff inside... and took pictures!

So we made some sushi for dinner one night (california rolls)

Clint got all bundled up

and shoveled the walk with help from Bones

I baked a ton of Christmas cookies for neighbors and friends

Dane helped.... kind of

Gates of the Mountains

I mentioned in the last post that when Mom and I went to Helena we enjoyed some of the sights. Here are some pictures from the Gates of the Mountains. It is where the Missouri goes through this small gap... they do boat tours through it in the summer... It is really beautiful.

Winter is Here!

We woke up this morning to a very different landscape then what we have been seeing lately!!! It's a downright blizzard!!! When Clint got up it was about 11 degrees... Now it's 6. BRRRRRR.

Here is a look out our window when I got up...

and a look out our front door...

We were going to go elk hunting but it is obviously too cold for us to take Dane so we are going to stick a little closer to home. I am going to bake Christmas cookies... and we are going to take care of a bunch of other "tasky" type things. Oh yeah, and tomorrow the high is supposed to be -15.

So, Dane went to the ENT Doctor yesterday to get his ears looked at. January 6th we will be taking him back to Helena to get a tube in his right ear. He has never had an infection in his left ear so we are going to leave that one alone. We are SO HOPING that this helps and clears up the issue... Keep your fingers crossed! We had to go to Helena to see this Dr. and Clint was unable to go so my mom rode along with me. We had a great time and I showed her some of the fun stuff in and around Helena. The drive between here and there is so beautiful, and luckily the snow didn't settle in until the middle of the night.

Here is a picture of Dane and Clint.... Dane is enjoying a treat, and making a mess!!! That's what he does best!

We hope everyone has a great weekend and warmer weather than us!

A quick update!

For those of you who don't already know... Dad and Marsha went over to Hawaii for a visit with Erik, Lisa, and their family.

I send some major props to my dad and brother! I'm so proud of them. They both qualified and ran the Exterra World Championship. Dad placed 2nd in his age class and Erik placed 78th over all.

Thanks Lisa for posting great pictures... I'm a picture poacher!!!!

Dane crawling

Just a few pictures of Dane to share!

Here are some pictures of the little man to share with everyone! He is such a busy little guy right now! His ears are still giving him trouble. Next Friday we head to Helena for a consult with an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist to see about getting tubes in his ears. Then he will probably get them put in the first week of January or right around there. Poor guy, it has been one ear infection after another. So, hopefully this will give him some relief.

He has had 3 more teeth come in and there is a 4th just under the surface so we should be seeing that one soon... Wow, our little boy is growing up so quick!

He was crawling around playing the other day and I looked over... Now he's pulling himself up on stuff!!!

He enjoys Bones and I think the feeling is mutual!!!

Here he is playing with his shadow... It was so cute!

While Clint's parents were here we made a bunch of sausage. Here is one load in the smoker! It turned out really yummy!

We hope everyone had a great Turkey Day!!!

We sure did!!! It was so fun with great food! The day started out for me at midnight... I had to work from midnight to 6 am so I got off work about the time Clint and Bill headed out hunting. Sheri was sweet enough to get up with Dane about 730 so I could take a little nap before the festivities began! I was kind of bummed not to go hunting, but I was feeling a little sleep deprived so the nap was a good thing!

Clint and Bill went out to a couple pieces of state land. After hiking all over one piece and not seeing a whole lot, they had some good fortune and were able to make a great stalk on some nice mule deer. Bill made an awesome shot and they had a doe down! Here are a couple pictures! Don't they look great?

Perry also had some good luck as well. He was able to get a nice 4x4 whitetail buck off a ranch he has been hunting. I'm sorry, I don't have a picture of him and his deer, but I have this one of him and Dane a little later in the day enjoying a little time together!!!

Dane had a wonderful first Thanksgiving! He was the center of attention a good portion of the time and he thinks that's where he should be!!! He has started to experiment a lot more with the solids in the past week or so. We are just feeding him little bits of what we are eating... so last night he got some turkey and other goodies. Of course, his favorite was the black olives. He LOVED them and I think he would have eaten the whole bowl if given the chance. (Okay, I know olives are not the best baby food... but what are holidays for???) Here is a picture of him getting ready for the feast!!! Notice the adorable bib from Nana and Grandpa "baby's first Thanksgiving!!"

Dane and I getting ready to eat! Okay, he's actually already started...
The whole family!
Perry and Mom enjoying some Dane time!
Mom and Dane

As you can see, we enjoyed our night... Now everyone else is out shopping, but Dane and I are hanging out relaxing at home. I'm not sure that relaxing in the right word... This post has taken me a long time because he is "crawling" all over the living room and getting into everything! His toys are no fun anymore! Now he wants everything that I move him away from!!! Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Fun times with family!

We are having such a nice visit with Bill, Sheri, and Riley! Dane is just LOVING all the attention! He is smiling, giggling, and babbling with everyone. He also is really working on his mobility and is lunge-crawling pretty darn quick... you have to watch that kid every moment!

Sheri was sweet enough to volunteer for baby duty while we were at work the last couple days. He was pretty good for her, but was a little challenging yesterday morning. Of course, another blasted ear infection. But, we took him in and he got an antibiotic shot. He seems to be feeling so much better today and I think their time together was even more enjoyable.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! We will miss all of our family who isn't able to be here with us, but they will all be in our thoughts!