Brrrrr!!!

8:00 this morning, December 8. Guess the temperature!

-30 degrees F!

We will be inside next to the wood stove drinking hot cocoa!

Gingerbread House

Issac

Issac and Timmy Ridgeway

Issac's new favorite toys-pots and pans. He loves "cooking" with Mom is in the kitchen!

Learning to climb up into Dad's recliner to get the remote

Got it!

Climbing on Dad

Hunting

Levi
Sarah & Issac's buck

Levi's doe

We had a successful hunting season! Levi shot a nice mule buck and a bull elk outside of Bozeman (I wish I had pictures to post) and then had a tag for a mule doe here in Judith Gap. Steve shot a whitetail buck over by Missoula. Sarah got this mule buck up on the Forest Service ground above the ranch. And Kim shot a mule buck in the same area the next day. Quite a successful hunting season for the family!

Projects at Home

Bryan has been busy building an entertainment center for the living room. It's finally done, and turned out so nice! He really enjoys woodworking, and does awesome work!

We started working on building a deck off the back of the house at the beginning of November. Here are a few photos of the work in progress. Thanks to Bryan, Steve, Levi, and Neil, the project got finished over the Thanksgiving weekend, but somehow I missed taking a picture of the completed project. I'll post one as soon as we get outside again (when it warms up to above zero F and the winds calms down a little!)
It's really pretty redwood, and we even have a fancy railing on 45 degree corners. Thanks to everyone who helped!

Halloween 2009

Issac playing in the leaves out in the yard. Too bad they all froze and turned brown and black, no fall colors here this year.

Carving our pumpkin

Our little lion!

Playing outside in the new snowsuit (the snow just melted!)

Garden Harvest

I'm sure glad we got the last of the veggies out of the garden before the hard freeze and snow! We enjoyed the fresh tomatoes, peas, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, and potatoes. The corn didn't make it to maturity, too short of a growing season here. The pumpkins really turned bright orange after living in the house a few days, a little small, but they will be great for Halloween.

Issac is Walking!

Issac took his first steps by himself October 9. Bryan and I were both standing right there to see them. Now there's no stopping him!

Breakfast

Amish Baked Oatmeal
recipe from Jennifer Rue

1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients. Spread into greased 9x9 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Immediately spoon into bowls and serve with warm milk and fruit if desired. 6 servings.

Issac's First Birthday!

Fishing Martinsdale Reservoir

The last weekend in August we took a morning off from harvesting and took the boat out to Martinsdale Reservoir. We spent the morning in the sun fishing and playing in the boat. Here is Issac's first fishing lesson.

The Captain

The fishing was awesome, they were biting like crazy! Bryan was the only one to actually get one into the boat though, nice rainbow trout!

Harvest was a little later this year due to the late summer moisture and cooler temperatures. All the wheat is cut and in the grain bins finally!

We had a few dinners out in the field, and lots of lunches on the combine.

Bryan and Issac getting ready to go combine.

A view from the cab of the combine, the scenery doesn't change a whole lot from here.

Jen & Court's Wedding

August 22 Jen & Court were married in Alpine, WY. The Box Y Lodge was a beautiful place tucked up in the mountains above Palisades Reservoir. The ceremony was outside under the pine trees, with horses galloping in the meadow behind the altar. Jen and Court wrote their own vows, and they presented small gifts to the kids during the ceremony. It was a great weekend with wonderful family, good food and drinks, and lots of fun!

At the beginning of August we had a nice quick visit from the Wisconsin Roys. They came to see the ranch after a few days in Glacier National Park before heading back to Missoula. We did a tour of the ranch between the thunderstorms, rain, and fog-love that Montana weather!

Issac "reading" his books.

I finally finished a quilt for Issac that I started before he was born. It turned out nice and cuddly!

Chad and Sherri had a "couple's night" at the beginning of the month. (I think it's quickly turning into "family night") We had a wonderful dinner of artichoke chicken and garlic bread, fresh veggies, and cheesecake for dessert. Issac and Savanna got tired and fell asleep on the couch.