Juneau Update

Jackson trying out skiing during his school
trip to the ski hill.

Wow! It's been a long time since I have posted anything. But it seems that's the case with everyone so I don't feel as bad. Things have been going great up here in Juneau! Jackson is still thoroughly enjoying preschool. They have started being "Happiness Superheros" which means that the entire class puts on superhero capes and walk around the University of Alaska Southeast campus (next to his preschool) and shouting at people to "Have a nice day!". As you can imagine, this activity is right up Jackson's alley and I have been told that he is the most enthusiastic superhero in his class.

In addition to school, Jackson has been doing gymnastics and music class. He will be starting swimming class this week as well. He's a busy boy but he loves all of his activities. Gymnastics is very entertaining. He is not coordinated in any way so watching him attempt jumping jacks and somersaults is hilarious.

We got the boat in the water last week and went for our first cruise this past weekend. We decided to rent a boat slip at Auke Bay harbor so that we wouldn't have to deal with pulling the boat in and out of the water. It will be so much more enjoyable to be able to just hop in the boat and go. We've already made plans with some friends for a trip to Taku Harbor over Memorial Day weekend. Taku Harbor is South of Juneau and is at the mouth of the Taku Inlet which is known for it's abundance of calving glaciers. It should be a beautiful trip.

Taking his gloves off so he can get a
good feel for the "sea creatures".

Other than boat trips, we have quite a few other trips planned for the spring/summer. Coming up in a few weeks we will be heading to Portland. Mike has managers meetings and Fred Meyer is paying to get him there and putting him up in fancy hotel in downtown Portland. Jackson and I decided we couldn't let him enjoy the bamboo robes and slippers on his own, so we're tagging along. We plan on hitting up the zoo and children's museum and doing some shopping (don't tell Mike). It should be fun!

Mike and I will be headed to Cabo at the beginning of June which we are very excited for. Then toward the end of July we are taking the ferry to Haines for the Southeast Alaska State Fair. We are hoping to see some brown bears from the lodge that we will be staying at. It's right along the river where the bears are known to frequent so that will be exciting. Then of course we will be heading to Montana mid August and staying through the first week of September.

That's about it for now. Hope all is well with everyone. I'll get better at posting, I promise!

~Mike, Addie and Jackson

Texas Happenings

Ok. I've been very bad about blogging though I love to read everyone else's. First of all, I want to say the picture Lynne posted on the Segways in San Antonio is my picture and so technically I feel like her blog should count as mine.

We are having BEAUTIFUL weather in Texas. I emphasize that because I know I won't be able to say it this summer. Kaci, Marli and I went to the Botanic Gardens in Fort Worth yesterday for a few hours. It was 74 degrees out and the flowers are beginning to bloom. Marli enjoyed the Japanese Gardens where there is a huge Koi pond and you can feed the fish at close range. There was a small amphitheater there and we all participated in a musical/speach/exercise demonstration directed by (you guessed it) Marli. What we'll do for a 2 1/2 year old! Hopefully no one saw us though Marli thought we were all quite talented.

We are sadly winding down their visit here. "Aaron Baron" arrives Thursday afternoon and then they'll head north Saturday morning with Colorado Springs their first-night destination, then Billings Sunday night and Missoula on Monday. Somewhere along there Marli will have to put away all her cute flip flops and shorts.

I have thoroughly enjoyed both of them and they will be missed!

Garrett is in the process of moving to Burleson which is about 45 minutes away just south of Fort Worth. His band all lives over there and he has rented a room with the guy who has been booking his gigs, Chad Fincher. Chad is in his late twenties and his family has had a western store in Burleson for years that is kind of an institution in the area. Garrett will be working in the Western Store 2-3 days a week. Chad has a neat home on his family's home place. They spent yesterday putting in a garden. Think it will be a great fit for Garrett. It will be much easier for him to pursue his music.

We are still planning on spending August in Montana, though I was too slow on getting back to the owners of the Clinton house. I'm sure something will turn up. We have a couple of different friends from down here who will probably come up while we're there to escape the heat, so it should be fun.

Looking forward to Lynne and Stewart being here the end of March and then Kim and Linda the first week of April. Still have room for more of you any time you want to come. Well, I'd better get back to work. I'm attempting to post a couple of pics from yesterday. One is of Kaci and Marli "On Stage". Fortunatly there are none of me performing.

Colorado Happenings

We had a ball on the segways going around downtown San Antonio in the evening. Would highly recommend them for touring. The backdrop looks fake, but its real - picture taken in Alamo square. The helmets don't do much for the look however. We ate VERY well - 2 really nice dinners downtown. Went to the rodeo Saturday night. Floated on the riverwalk boats on Friday night. The weather was kind of chilly - you sure needed a jacket all the time. Stayed at a really nice hotel right on the river walk. Spent most of Saturday morning at the Alamo - it was fascinating. Went to a Mission on Sunday morning. They were having a mariachi mass in the old mission church (Concepcion) that we peeked in on - it was awesome - wish we'd known ahead of time that it was happening. Stewart and I got home Monday evening just in time for the snow storm thats been off and on all week. We were spoiled with the bare ground and warm weather all winter.

Babysat Lyndee last night, but she was already in bed, so didn't get to see much of her.

Other than that, we're just working hard. Lots of appraisal work out there right now - at least in this part of the world.

P.S. - Whiskey is doing well - no diarrhea!

Pat Liza and the COWboys

Wow, time flies and things get busy.  Been a while since I checked in, and I have to apologize because it has been a while since I have sent this out.  Things have been pretty busy here this winter.  Boys are wrestling 3 nights a week, which they love, but it takes up a lot of time.  This weekend starts a month straight of tournaments that we go to, including our own home tournament, and then after that it is on to the state tournament.  We try to get boxes unpacked and put away in the middle of all the other chaos, so as you can imagine there isn't much getting unpacked.  Work is good for both Liza and I.  Winter is a time for planning and side projects here at the ranch.  It would seem like a slow time of year.  But I have quite a bit on my plate.  Tom, came through Gillette the other day, but unfortunately we were unable to get together, he was behind schedule delivering a car, and I was headed in to the school to talk to the 4th grade class about buffalo.  We have all had our run of sickness.  Mom and Dad came up for a weekend to visit, and to see the boys wrestle, and I woke up that morning with the flu, ran its course by Saturday night, so we were all able to go wrestle on Sunday.  I followed it up the next weekend by getting some bronchial crap that pretty much had me in bed for 3 days.  Owen and Will are both running through ear infections and sinus infections, so it seems like they have been on medicine for a month.  Liza has shared in our misery also.  The only one staying healthy is Charlee.  A couple weeks ago at a Bulls and Broncs up in Gillette Owen won the Mutton Bustin and a new bike.  Put in microphone in front of that boy and the BS gene comes out.  Liza thinks the whole thing was rigged because they were sitting next to the lady that was in charge of it during the rodeo.  During the National Anthem and the prayer Owen stood up and took his hat off.  She was rather impressed by that.  When she left to get gathered up for the mutton busting she came back with a a back number and asked Owen if he wanted to ride because somebody didn't show up.  Minutes later Owen is BSing the clown and crowd and walking off with a new bike.  Well, its after 6 so I better go get the boys up and moving.  Hope all is well.

Juneau Update

Well, we're sick, so I thought I'd let you all know since that seems to be the blogging trend as of late. I got what I thought was food poisoning late Saturday night and spent the night in the bathroom. Turns out it wasn't food poisoning... Jackson and I spent the night together last night on his floor with a bowl and his potty chair. He's never had a stomach bug before so this was my first taste of watching him throw up. It's the most heart breaking thing ever!! Why did no one warn me of this??? Anyways, the good thing is that he's not missing school because it's parent teacher conferences today and tomorrow. Now I'm just crossing my fingers that Mike doesn't get the bug. We thought about it last night and realized that he has only twice called in sick... once after his round of chemo and again after he had his wisdom teeth pulled. The guy never gets sick.

Anyways, that's about all that is new here. We got a couple inches of snow to remind Mike that it's still February and he still has a while before the boat can be taken out. The way he was talking you would have thought it was May. He's very excited to get back out on the water. The countdown to Grammy and Grandpa arriving in Juneau is slightly depressing... 120 days. Seems like a long ways away but I'm sure it will come quickly. Jackson and I are planning on flying to Montana around the 20th of August and being there for about three weeks. Mike will be joining us around Labor Day weekend. We plan on going to the home Griz game that weekend. One of Mike's friends is getting married in Big Sky on September 7th so we will be attending that as well.

Hope all is well with everyone!
~Addie

This picture is from a day at the beach last week...

BUTTE AMERICA!! 8:00 P.M. I am having a three day weekend. I had training in Helena on Thursday and Friday. Not to much planned this weekend. Sam, his brother Bob, and another family member, Mike Ryan, went ice fishing at Canyon Ferry today. They caught some rainbows so felt they had a good day. I apparently had the same cold, etc. that is happening in Texas and Juneau and elsewhere. Had to miss a day of school and it is still hanging on. Mary Lynne's trip to the Hudson Bay with dog sleds is on. They leave about March 25th for 2 and 1/2 weeks. This is separate from her job with VOBS. This is her vacation. There will be about nine of them, three dog sleds and the dogs to go with them. They will take pickups and drive from Ely,MN to Gillam, Manitoba. There they get on a train to get to Churchill, Manitoba. Can only get there by plane or train. Once in Churchill they will trek west to where the Seal River comes into Hudson Bay. The leader of the trip has led this trip before. They are taking two shotguns. Mary was excited get to go. She is the least experienced of anyone going. She said that Ely, MN, with a population of 3500 people has the highest per capita Arctic explorers in the United States. So I hope they see a polar bear (uh, not). Sam and Kelly seem to be doing well. Both working hard. Mom(Grandma) found her Metamucil bottle full of coins. She has been playing BINGO. Everyone have a good week.

Colorado

Wow - I feel bad that I haven't blogged for a while. Been sick for a few days - finally gave up and went to the doctor for antibiotics today so I should be good tomorrow - in time to babysit Lyndee for Wednesday night volleyball, Tim and Nellie! Haven't seen her for almost 2 weeks - hard to believe, but things just get busy.

Guess everyone heard about Owen's big win in the mutton bustin. They're supposed to come this week-end so I'm hoping to get the straight story right from the source.

Still having a phenomenal winter - hardly any snow and up to 30+ every day pretty much. Mud here and there. The good part of it is that in Buffalo Park which is up on the mountain where our irrigation water comes from, the snow cover is 95% of normal. Find that hard to believe. The lake is frozen with about 2 feet of ice and very little snow cover, so it makes for a good place to walk.

Stewart has been keeping his horses exercised in preparation for roping this week-end in the
Denver area, and, hopefully, the annual Texas trip sometime in late March.

Very excited about the week-end trip to San Antonio. Leaving the 23rd and coming back on the 26th. Staying in a nice hotel and just hanging out. Mary and Milt will be there as well.

Work is still very busy. Working on buying a building in town to move the office, but its a short sale/foreclosure property and we really low-balled the offer, so we'll see what happens. It'll take a lot of time before we know anything.

Writing this post from in front of the fireplace where I'm trying to warm up. Hope the drugs work soon!

Juneau Update

Happy Valentine's Day! We've already celebrated the holiday twice (apparently Jackson can't keep a secret very well. He's also pretty good at snooping in possible Valentine present hiding areas). Tomorrow I am the snack parent at preschool. I sure picked a bad day to do that. I asked what kind of goodies I could bring and I was told vegetables because they will be having enough goodies from their party. I'm going to look like the mean Mom who makes the kids eat their yucky veggies. Oh well.

Nothing very exciting to report on. I've been sick for about a week now but I think I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. All of our snow is melting so it feels a bit like spring around here. We pushed our honeymoon back until June. Long story short, the hospital offered my Mom a good chunk of money to change the dates of her vacation, so we changed them. It's a bummer that we have to wait until June but the upside is that Mike will now get to attend the Fred Meyer managers meeting in Portland (it was scheduled during our original trip in April). Also, my parents should have a lot more fun while they're here. The weather should be better and the cruise ships will be here by then so they can experience all of the touristy things.

We've been keeping our eye out for a Steller's Sea-Eagle that has been spotted in the Juneau area. Apparently this type of eagle is almost exclusively found in Russia (which we can almost see from our backyard.... just in case you had forgotten about Sarah Palin), but has been spotted in the Juneau area once before in 1989. It's larger than a bald eagle and has a larger beak as well as white feathers on the leading edge of its wings. I'm hoping to spot it and get a picture but it's been a while since the last sighting so I'm not very confident.

Hope all is well with everyone! The picture was taken a couple of weeks ago. It's sunset in Auke Bay, which is where we launch our boat in the summer. It's one of my favorite sunset vantage points.

Super Bowl: Kim & Linda's family

We're about to head out to Al and Laurie Ginn's in Piltzville to watch the game. Laurie and Linda teach at DeSmet, Al is the head mechanic at Canyon River golf across the river. Kaci and Marli will watch the game with Milt and Mary. Kara and Josh are in Ovando watching. Niki had a somewhat unexpected invitation from a friend without a TV to watch the game at her (Niki's) house in Raleigh. Molly and her roommate Katie went to afternoon mass at Carroll -- sure, dad -- and will watch the game at their apartment in Helena with one other friend.

Bubba and Sophie don't really care. Tom was in Missoula this morning, he brought Mom out to River City Grill for brunch, then sped back to Kalispell, where he and tomi were going to a friend of Tomi's for the game ... but I'm overstepping my bounds.

Kalispell Report

Talk about your wild coincidences, I also showered and ate 3 meals yesterday. In addition, on Sunday Tomi and I took the dogs out to the north shore of Flathead Lake where the Flathead River enters. There is a waterfowl production area there and in the winter when the lake level is down we call it the Flathead Riviera. There is a huge expanse of sandy (or silty) beach to walk on and all kinds of treasures washed up from people's cabins to discover. Have yet to find anything worth salvaging but it's interesting to speculate on what it is and where it came from. The area is closed to humans from March to October, presumably to keep minors from seeing waterfowl producing, so there is a small window of opportunity when the lake is down, not much snow, nice enough weather to want to be out there, and still frozen enough that you don't sink in to your ankles. The dogs love it and come back as muddy messes. Trixie, who is 13 this year I'm told, does pretty well on walks. She tips over occassionally, can't hear and tends to wander off so we keep her leashed or herd her, which takes both of us: one to walk ahead to show her the way and one to ride drag to urge her on with a foot. She's the one that was mostly dead after getting hauled a quarter mile in the teeth of a coyote some 11 years ago so I guess she's doing pretty well all things considered. Barney's only goal on this and all walks is to find a tennis ball, which to our amazement he accomplishes more often than not, and today was no exception. There is a pair of bald eagles that has been nesting here since we've been coming out here, and they are building a new residence. The old one apparently broke out the top of the tree and was nowhere to be seen. We're glad they moved because the old nest was right on the trail that we walk in on and they always looked like they would enjoy eating an annoying dog.

BUTTE, AMERICA    Monday, January 30  8:32 p.m.
    Okay, I am writing so that someone else will also add something, even if you just make it up.  Sam and I took a hike last weekend by Humbug Spires(south of Butte).  We wore our hiking boots and encountered no snow to make that a poor choice of shoes.  Went to school today.  Sam is going to Billings in the morning and I don't know where else.  He will be back Thursday, he thinks. Took a shower this morning and ate breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Because I can't even make up a good story I am going to include Mary Lynne's post from the Outward Bound blog.  Here it is:

he Call of the Dogyard – Voyageur Outward Bound School Dog Sledding Program

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Mary Milodragovich

Walker- How can you say no to that face?

You know that moment when you’re packing for a week long trip and you wonder, “which sleeping bag will I need” or “what pack should I bring?” You may consider size, weight, or sentimental attachment. Well, do you ever wonder which 12 dogs to bring? We do. At Outward Bound’s Minnesota dog sledding program, we have 63 options. From fast and light to powerful and burly. And each wants to come.
As you walk into the dogyard, Walker will be the first dog on your right and looks the part of the husky with his gray and white nose, furry ears and gentle bark. Sentimental attachment makes me partial to Walker. He was on my team when I was a student in 2008. A couple of rows back is Eagle. He looks more like he’s going on a fox hunt than about to be cast in the latest Hollywood rendition of Call of the Wild. But bring out the harness and he will practically put it on himself. Each dog is full of their own personality as varied as their appearance.

Musher's Cabin in the dogyard, built by semester students and adorned with signs from past dogs, including the Mawson dogs.

To enter the dogyard is to be among centuries of accumulated Outward Bound and arctic travel wisdom and experience. Copper, Tally, and Jasper have each been part of 1,000 mile expeditions. They know how to be part of a team, work hard, have fun and do it all again tomorrow. Many of the other dogs were born and raised right here at VOBS, Voyageur Outward Bound School. The musher’s cabin in the front of the dog yard is adorned with signs of past dogs. Some are notable for the kangaroo in the corner of the sign. In 1993 all dogs were removed from the Antarctic and many of the huskies from the Australian Mawson station were brought here, to our dogyard.

Ready to go!

Twice a day all of the dog poop has to be scooped, all of the dogs fed kibble and given “soup”, which is really just a fancy word for water. Tonight I was assigned to dog chores. There are only 13 dogs in the yard. The rest are out on trail, doing what they love. After feeding, it’s always hard for me to walk away but as I left the yard, 13 dogs faced the full moon and a howl of gratitude arose into the North Woods night. The call of the wild indeed.
 50

Missoula Sunday

Molly came home from Helena yesterday & she and Linda and I drove to Lolo Hot Springs to swim this morning. It was nice, a blue-sky sunny day while we swam, warm indoor pool, not so warm outside with snow banks melting all over the place. Got up well into the 40s today, even way up there. We ate lunch at the restaurant and came home. Molly left shortly thereafter. Linda is painting and antiquing the bathroom cupboards in preparation for them being bathroom cupboards again, we're hoping sometime this week. The bathroom remodel is two weeks old and quite a bit less than 50 percent complete. Can't get much out of Marli over the phone. She wants to Face Time. Linda's new phone has the capability, but it broke after about three weeks and now we're waiting on a new one. We can't really blame Marli for wanting to actually see who she's talking to on the phone. It's been technologically possible for most of her life.
Kim

From Butte, America
Not a lot new here.  Not the case everywhere else.  I will be careful what I wish for in the future.  I was hoping something would happen in January and it did.  Was really shocked to hear about Mark Thompson.  Hope Robb and Laura can get some information when they go to Seattle.   Mom will probably have to move again at some point but she did get a personal visit and flowers from the director at The Village(Bev).  And she has won some BINGO games.
Our district and specifically our school received a pretty big federal grant(Striving Readers- $300,000 for the next three years).  We will have a team involved in its implementation.  Will involve some triips to Helena(OPI) over the next few months for me.  These grants are interesting because 5 people can be in a room talking about it and they all five have different ideas of what the grant is.  But it is a lot of money.    Sam is been busy both at work and with a state wide sportman's group that are vetting candidates for the next election.  They don't care about the party but want people who support sportman's. 
24 degrees here right now are wind blowing 15-20mph.  Clear, cold and barely any snow.  Not much else going on.  For anyone who uses Facebook I am not in Minneapolis.  Would still like to know how that happened.   Mary is going with a group for about a week on a sled dog trip somewhere in the Boundary Waters. Her voice message was rather garbled.   Sam Nick and Kelly are both working away.  Sam thinks he has to go to Florida in May for work.  Kelly will probably go for a little bit of time then to if she can arrange it.  Hope everyone across the U.S. from Raleigh NC to Juneau, Alaska has a good weekend.  

Tid bit overdue....

7 days til VEGAS!!! That's right I'm gonna be in Sin City for the Superbowl! Go a head and be jealous family! GO GIANTS!!! :)

Other than that I have been sick since Monday night and it has been NO FUN what so ever. Still having trouble just keeping fluids down but seem to be starting to feel better at some point in the near future.

Last weekend was a great one though spending time on the farm being lazy on our new living room furniture. Chad had a great time on his snowmobile trip to West Yellowstone. They stayed in Island Park just inside the ID border in a beautiful eight bedroom log cabin. There is talk of planning a couples trip next year so I can be included in on the fun too... Which better happen dag nab it!

Winter has been VERY MILD here in ND. (Hopefully I am not jinxing myself.) We barely have snow at all and it has been in the 40's pretty much all this week. I cant say I can complain since there is nothing what so ever to do as far as winter activities go here. (With the exception of ice fishing if you want to brave the 40 below wind chill just to nab a gross smelly carp that requires you to be from 1500 miles south and have no teeth just to eat it. I don't know - It must go through their digestive system different than those of us that are more civilized.)

That's all the news I have for now... Toodles! Miss you all!

Wednesday in Colorado

It's 5:30 and we're just about to head up to Tim and Nellie's for our first babysitting gig. Had a practice run last night and decided I might need Stewart to come with me tonight. Her bath is the highlight of her evening at 7:00. Last night she pooped in her baby tub. Hope that doesn't happen tonight - have you ever heard the expression "throw the baby out with the bath water." I assume that since Tim and Nellie never post that they don't read this stuff either.

We're all doing fine. Whisky doesn't currently have diarrhea - in fact he's feeling pretty good. He found a deer leg to chew on which I suppose will put him in remission. The cats are fine, Mom. They just don't do much that's worth talking about.

Still not much snow here. The yard is bare. Stewart gets to ride his horses most nights when he has time. Never seen a winter like this. We'll enjoy it while it's here, cus we're gonna pay this summer.

Tuesday in Texas

Hello, all. A mild day here today with an expected high of 58 and showers this afternoon. I say expected because in spite of the fact that there are no mountains, etc to mitigate weather and you'd think the weatherman could see patterns coming for days? But they've been off the mark quite a lot lately!

Marli is settling into life in Texas, though she has started mentioning Missoula which is as it should be. Kaci has a solid six kids doing lessons and has it worked out where Marli only has to go to daycare 1 1/2 to 2 hours most days. That gives her a chance to "socialize" with people her own age. Kaci and I had Bible Study here at the house last night, so Garrett and Marli had another "date night"--gonna be a routine they both enjoy! They go to a local restaurant called the Cotton Patch for dinner and then to Dairy Queen for ice cream. Garrett's rules are no pacifier and no phone on date night and she is perfectly happy with that! Garrett says they get lots of extra attention from the waitresses and waiters so it works out well for all.

Kaci is doing some office stuff for me here at the house while Marli naps in the afternoons. Kaci is an amazing mother and so patient with Marli. It's fun to have the girls outnumbering the guys around here too! Kim, maybe you and I should do the "trading spouses" thing except the guys could all be in one place and the girls in another for a change of pace!

Garrett has been busy doing odd jobs and learning new songs for upcoming performances. These will be 3 or 4 hour gigs, so it takes a lot of songs to do that. Milt had a bout of a stomach bug night before last. Really severe for about six hours with high fever and all the accompaniments. Seems better but still pretty weak.

I'm busy doing office stuff when Marli's not here, but she' s just too fun to be around and I get a little distracted sometimes! She feeds the horses with me every night and is developing a level of comfort, though she's still cautious which is a good thing.

Plans for this week include the rodeo on Friday afternoon and then I think Kaci and Milt will go to Garrett's gig in Fort Worth and I'll stay with Marli. It doesn't start until 9:30 so Marli and I will be fast asleep before they even leave! Well that's all the excitement here for today.

E-Mail from Georgia Lou Wren

From Kim, to everybody:
Georgia Wren, formerly of Deer Lodge but now living in California, had asked Mom about getting a picture of the wagon at the interment. I sent her one via Facebook, which neither of us have begun to master yet. Here's her reply.

"Kim, thanks for the photo, it came through just fine and is a beautiful way of remembrance. I admired the horses and red wagon and of course the grandkids. Your Dad would be so pleased with his journey. How many grandkids are there?

I looked at your photos on Facebook and saw your pretty wife and girls, of course, I don't know them being gone for so long. I will try and put some pics on Facebook of my three and two grandkids soon.

I feel sad the generation of Briggemans I knew are slipping away. I know Martin's passing was difficult for Don too. I will keep in touch with Dale and I guess the best way is by phone as I know letter writing is not the best for her. Tell her I rec'd the photo.

Happy New Year to you and yours."

Sunday

Stewart and I went to the stock show and rodeo today in Denver. Left about 8:00 and stopped for breakfast. Roads were snowy over the tunnel but not all that bad. Traffic was awful but most of it was going the other direction. What some people go through to ski!! Rodeo was good, the rough stock were on their game. Weather in Denver wasn't too bad - just windy. Just got home - 6:30. Can't think of another thing that's happening. Lyndee is getting quite cute - still think she's gonna be a red-head. We'll see. No new pictures. Sorry.

Missoula update Late Sat.

Kim: Serious snow storm on Wed. and Thursday dumped 18.5 inches on our deck table. It's turned to a rainy mix off and on since then. Linda and DeSmet School had snow days Thursday and Friday. Linda and I just back from Helena (it's 11:40 p.m.) where we watched Molly cheer at two Carroll basketball games vs. University of Great Falls. We snowshoed north of Ovando for an hour on our way up after burgering out at Trixies, which is open only on weekends this winter by the way. Lots of snow & it was wet.

I aim to do better about these updates, since I got my Mullan Road project finished and sent away on Thursday. What started out a summer project -- one chapter on the road east of Missoula -- turned into summer/fall/and a month of winter. It feels good to be finished. Unedited it's 9,000 words long. Milt especially will be fascinated to read it. It'll be part of a book that Professor Dan McDermott in Maryland is putting together. We're nearing the end of the 150th anniversary of the four-year Mullan Road construction (1859-62) from Walla Walla to Fort Benton.

Short and Sweet

72 dgrs, sunny and not a breath of wind. Yes we would love to have all of you visit. Any questions?

Update from Juneau

Hello all! Loved the poem that you found, Grandma. And thanks for sharing it with all of us Kathy. Not much is new here. Jackson has a bad cold so we've been laying low. And I am now getting the cold as well. Yuck. It is still sunny and cold here. It's supposed to warm up and start snowing a bit by the weekend. Jackson gets to go to preschool an extra day this week (on Friday) for a field trip to the planetarium. It should be pretty fun and Mike gets to tag along with us as well because he has the day off.

We were able to get out on the ice on Monday and I got to do some ice skating. I think being out on the ice on those crystal clear blue sky days is going to be one of my best memories of Juneau. It almost seems like your in a movie. It's incredible how blue the glacier and the ice burgs get on those days. I wish I would have brought my camera to get pictures, but I was more focused on the ice skating. I'll get out there again in the next couple of days and snap a few.

We're counting down the days until my parents arrive in Juneau (April 12th, 84 days) and I get to live out my dreams of being a tour guide for a few days. Then Mike and I get to become tourists on April 16th when we leave for Cabo San Lucas. And then, if Jackson is still being the combative little child that he has been for the last few weeks, my parents will be counting down the days until we return (10 days).

Hopefully we have something really exciting to report on soon... I'm afraid I'm going to be banned from the blog if I don't come up with something more interesting.

~Addie

Dad's Day

Really liked the poem Mom had Kathy share. I'd not heard it before and it sure fits! I'm thinking of having a piece of lemon meringue pie today or maybe a whiskey and water (or both) in honor of Dad! We're having a beautiful day here. Kaci is up and running with her lessons. She has six kiddos right now and will probably get two more from the hotel manager's niece? or maybe daughter? not sure which.

Marli is doing great. Think we're going to go to the stock show tomorrow evening to the carnival and then to look at the animals for a little bit and then a week from Friday we have tickets for the rodeo. Marli actually sat on a horse in the stall the other day which was a HUGE step for her. She's not so sure about the big animals--cows, horses, etc.

Garrett is at the studio again today or rehearsing--not sure which. He has a new band put together which includes five people besides himself. (Lead guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and fiddle) The first gig with the new band is next Friday night in Fort Worth. Then he's doing a radio interview the next day that will air on www.musicscenelive.com and local radio station AM 1420 the following Thursday from 3-4 pm. Think you can listen to them after theyre aired online anytime.

That's about all from here. Marli-ism from yesterday. I said, "I'm going to go run errands." To which she replied, "You should run Mary's, not Aaron's." Life is a new adventure every day with Marli Bob!

Pat Liza and the COWboys

Well, the reason that I haven't posted isn't because we don't have anything going on, its because we have been swamped since my last sound off.  Boys have been busy wrestling.  The have practice Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  It pretty much kills the night when they have practice.  Saturday was the first wrestling tournament of the year.  Charlee did great with 2 wins and 1 loss and brought home a third place finish.  When he lost his first match he got pinned.  After the match I told him he had to fight to get off his back, to which he told me he didn't know that he couldn't be on his back.  That must have been the light bulb moment because he went out and stuck his next two kids.  He wrestled hard and has a lot of heart.  His match for third and fourth came right down to the buzzer.  Going into the third period he was down by four points, and as time was counting down he was still down by points when he reversed the kid and pinned him with less than 10 seconds to go.  After the match we were sitting on the bleachers and he said that "my lungs hurt and my arms feel like rubber" to which I responded, "That's how winning feels."  Owen was fighting a cold the end of the week and felt kinda crummy Saturday morning and said he didn't want to wrestle.  We told him that was fine but he couldn't change his mind.  So we didn't weigh him in.  About 45 minutes after weigh-ins closed he comes up and says "Dad, I changed my mind."  Too late, and he was mad.  Lesson learned and he is ready for the next tournament which will be in two weeks in Buffalo.  Sunday we worked on moving into the new house.  We got the essentials up there and spent the night in the house Sunday night.  It felt good to finally get in, didn't think it would happen there for a while.  Have spent the rest of the week getting stuff moved when I get a minute.  Weather has been pretty crappy so that doesn't help things.  Don't have internet, or the computer up at the new house, so I have to run down to the old house to post and send things in daily.  Plan on having everything up at the new house this weekend.  Hope all is well, talk to you soon.

I love the poem - Lynne

That's a great poem. I'm going to remember it, hopefully.

Butte, Montana - Kathy     
We had a great weekend at Double Arrow Lodge  in Seeley Lake.  I had Monday off and Sam took vacation.  We got up there Saturday about 5pm.  Not much snow but were able to ski around the golf course on Sunday morning.  It was a beautiful sunny morning.  We stayed on the track that was layed by the groomer because of signs that asked us to do that.  I am only mentioning  we did that because it turned out that Aaron had groomed the trail and put up the signs.  Used the indoor pool and hot tub later in the day.
      Kara came to visit Sunday afternoon.  She and I enjoyed the hugh fireplace and had a drink.  Sam was watching football in the bar part of the lodge.  Kara went back to Ovando and we went into Seeley and had dinner with Kim, Linda and Aaron.   Monday we had a nice ski up Morrell Creek.  Only 3 or 4 inches of snow, about 12 degrees.  It was really beautiful.    It was a good place to visit.  Could be a consideration for a family vacation.  They have some pretty spacious places to rent.
     Haven't got much news about Mary Lynne, Sam or Kelly.   Or at least any that has been shared with me.
     We came back through Missoula on Monday and visited with Mom for a couple of hours and then came home.
     Mom had a poem she had found that seems appropriate to pass along.  She wanted me to make some copies for her.  I retyped this for her so thought I would pass it along.  Some may have seen this.  It really seems appropriate as we remember Dad's birthday.

Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other
That we are still
Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way you always used
Put no differences into your tone
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed
At the little jokes we always enjoyed together
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me
Let my name be ever the household word that is always was
Let it be spoken without effort
Without the ghost of a shadow in it
Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolute unbroken continuity
What is death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind
Because I am out of sight?
I awaiting for you for an interval
Somewhere very near
Just around the corner
All is well.
Nothing is past; nothing is lost
One brief moment and all will be as it was before
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

Cannon Henry Scott-Holland, 1847-1918, Cannon of St. Paul's Cathedral


Good night Everyone

1/18/2011

Thinking about Dad tonight on the eve of his birthday. Sure miss him. Wish he was here . . . and healthy!

Kalispell Update

Left work a hour early and am heading to yoga soon. The dogs are locked up all day since Tom is in Arizona. The thing worse than death occurs when he is gone. MOUSE under the kitchen sink. I do not do mouse traps because I always have them snap in my hands prior to me sliding them into place. I do not mind the mouse (except they are filthy) compared to the trap. Then getting them out while still alive?? Yuck! Last time we set one under the BBQ Tom got 2 in one shot! Happy hunter! It is about 20 degrees out and we were to get a big storm at 4 pm. Now they are predicting the time? Not much else happening so stay warm all!

Juneau Update - January 15, 2012

Hello all. Sorry it's been a while since we've entered a blog update. There hasn't been too much news to report. Jackson is still loving preschool. I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but they are learning about space this month. He talks about Earth all the time and tells me how it's mostly made up of water. He knows that Jupiter is the largest planet and Pluto is the smallest. He asks lots of questions about the other planets but I'm not sure about the answers so this afternoon we're heading to the bookstore to find a fun and informative book about the planets and stars.

It's beautiful here this weekend, but very cold. It's currently 14 degrees and tomorrow it's supposed to be 5 for the high. But I could care less about the cold, at least there's sun!! I took the dogs out for a walk this morning around the Mendenhall Lake. It looked like we could walk out onto the ice but the loud rumbling and cracking noises were enough to keep me off for now. Butler is also suffering from some sort of bowel issue. I think his is related to the fish oil capsules I have been giving to both him and Rocko to help with shedding. They are shedding way less so Butler is just going to have to deal with his loose stools.

That's about all there is to report on for now!

~Addie

Missoula Saturday Jan. 14

Kim: We're slowly adjusting to the single life here. Spent the afternoon at Lowe's getting bathroom stuff. Ken Karl and Rick Gendrow will start working on the girls' on Tuesday, then ours probably the following week. It's halftime of the Broncos game right now, so it seems like a good time to blog or something. 48 degrees here and sunny this afternoon. Big snow coming they say. Went to dinner with Mom at Sean Kelly's Stone of Accord. Picked the fourth quarter of the Saints-49ers game so it was awfully noisy.

Posting Tip (Molly especially)

After you type your post, there's a option at the bottom of the box titled "Post Options". You can click on that and allow comments and then--"ta-da" that magical yellow pencil we've all been searching for will appear on that post!!

Texas Time

Well, our old dog Tigger doesn't have diarrhea but she is incontinent. The good news is you don't have to hear about it because we have Marli to make the news for us! Yesterday she and Kaci went to the office with Milt. Next week Kaci is going to start going to the Post Office to get the mail for the Western Bloodstock office in town and then bring my part of it to me. That will fit right in with her lessons which will be in the mornings and not far from the office. She has been doing some filing for me this week as well which works out really good since she can do it in the guesthouse while Marli naps in the afternoons. She has four kids starting swimming next week for sure and then two more that she's been in contact with and are probably going to get organized and signed up. Today she and Marli and Tony are going to build some sort of thing out of PVC pipe that connects to the edge of the pool. Kaci has built three of them before so she has it down to an art.

Kaci, Marli and I went to the Fire Oak Grill (a local restaurant) last night to hear Garrett play. It worked well because they have a big couch in the bar and Marli could entertain all of her new friends in a relaxed atmosphere. Garrett's friend, Nathan was there and Marli helped bring him out of his shell. He has now seen all of the family pictures on her phone and even got to watch an episode of Dora on the phone I think. She was really good and we stayed almost an hour and a half.

Milt was visiting his mother so he didn't make it over to the restaurant. Betty is doing quite well all things considered. She stays by herself at night and then Nolia stays with her all day. Nolia used to work at Mr. Pearce's and is a friend of Antonio who works for us. She's 27 and is from El Salvador but has been in the U.S. since she was 18. Her whole family works at Mr. Pearce's and she just wanted a change and wanted to go to school. She lives in the bedroom above our garage. She's very sweet and Betty seems to like her.

It was cold here yesterday--upper 30's and strong winds with windchills around 20 all day. Today's a different story. No wind, lots of sunshine and it will be 58--70 on Monday.

I wasn't around Marli as much yesterday so don't have a new Marli-ism. I'm sure I'll have one today, though. Good luck with that diarrhea, Lynne, and Tom I'm thinking Arizona probably sounds pretty good right now!

Kalispell Report

I have so little noteworthy news that I find myself envious of Lynne's dog's diarrhea. This would be a lot easier if I had a little kid around.

Actually I am leaving Saturday morning helping with the driving of Ron and Sue Hay to their place near Parker Arizona. Sue is retiring tomorrow and they're going to spend a couple months down there. It's a beautiful spot on the Colorado River below Lake Havasu so that will be a nice getaway for a few days. It's supposed to be 72 there every day next week. I'm flying home next Thursday.

Tomi is still on call constantly, looking forward to help at her position arriving in June. They are trying to make accommodations for her in April when we are going to Juneau for a couple weeks.

Tom

January 12

Cold, brr. We made 20 below last night. I believe that's the coldest night this winter. It's that time of year where the weather gets sunny and clear and the lower elevations are the coldest. Tim only had 6 below. Whiskey is having a down time - 3 days of diarrhea. We'll see how he is tomorrow. Thank God we bought a new rug cleaner - just like Pat and Liza's! That's it - sorry we can't be more entertaining. It's tough to compete with Marli. Anybody know of any good TV shows to watch?

FROM BUTTE, MONTANA
Patrick has now fixed it so I am part of the family.  Otherwise I would have been adding something every day. (Not).   Boring time of the year here.  The moon is full tonight and at 8:00pm it is -2 degrees.  Sam is at some meeting about hunting licenses tonight.  A hearing involving the Fish, Wildlife and Parks.  He has to go to Helena, then back to Butte, then to Dillon tomorrow night for meetings.  Alright y then, I am hoping for an earthquake or something.  It is that time of the year.  Don't need any injuries just a little excitement.  We tried to go cross-country skiing last weekend at the north end of Elk Park.  Ended up in canyon toward Boulder on the old train track.  Hard on the bottom of skis when little rocks are showing.  Have a three day weekend coming up.  We are celebrating Martin Luther King Day.  We have never done that before on our school calendar.
  This is an email that we got from Mary Lynne today:

"Hi Parents!
How are thigns at home? I'vie been super busy up here.  Today was baking day and we made hundreds of our homemade granola bar options.  Now they're cooling before we cut them.  A few days ago we had two different day runs which are when people from the area come and go for a dog sled for a few hours.  Both times I had my own sled and two "students" on it.  I had different teams both days and both were awesome.  They just pulled and didn't get into any trouble which was much appreciated by me.  We're finally getting snow today which has put everyone in a good mood.  It was high 30's here the last couple days and gross.  We lost most of our snow.  Four courses are out right now so we only have 13 dogs in the yard. (My note: regularly about 62 or 63).  One of them, Bump, broke his toe on one of hte day runs and they amputated it at teh vet.  Apparently that's common with broken toes on dogs.  They've been seeing a lot of those types of injuries cause there's so little snow.
  The head of our board was around Homeplace yesterday and today.  She's awesome and it was great to meet her.  Makes me feel good about who's running the show.  It's sounding like I won't go out on course until early february, but things can always change.  It's been nice being around here.  I've done lots of cooking and driving to and from the airport (My note: Duluth which is about 2 hours away).  One of these days I'm going to figure out how to use google+ to call you so I don't have to go into town. (My note: Ely about 30 minutes from Homeplace).  I haven't heard if I get to go on the Hudson Bay trip yet.  I should hear within the next week though.  That's about all that's new here.  Hope all is well on the homefront!
Love, 
Me (My note: Mary Lynne)"
This was copied exactly - including spelling.
Time to sign off.  Thanks Pat for fixing the blog for me

 

Pat Liza and the COWboys

Believe it or not, moving day is finally upon us.   They finished up with the house today (mostly, will get to that in a minute), and I started moving stuff in this afternoon.  Had pizza and root beer for diner, first meal in the new house.  Got a few things moved in a started on a couple boxes.  Hopefully will be far enough along by Friday night to spend the night there.  Was windy and cold here today.  Temp didn't get out of the teens, and the wind didn't slow down to the teens, at least until the sun went down.  Now the wind has slowed, but the temp has dropped to -2.  Tonight is in the running for coldest night of the year so far.  Tells you how tough of a winter we have had, usually we have seen -20 a couple times by now.  Boys are excited for their new room and wanted me to get the beds set up tonight, but didn't make it that far.  We have a fire blazing in the wood stove here at the rock house so things will be nice and toasty all night.   For the Texans that think "Everything is Bigger in Texas", the wind is so big in Wyoming that we share it with everyone.  Hope everyone had a good day and a better tomorrow.

Marli's World

A beautiful day in Weatherford. About 65 degrees this afternoon, but we're experiencing a bit of a "Norther". It's supposed to be down to 23 dgrs tonight and 40 tomorrow with 40 mph winds (no joke). Think it blew down here from Wright! Kaci and Marli checked out the pool at the Holiday Inn where Kaci will be doing lessons and then they went to check out a day care. Both met their approval. I met up with them at noon at a park with a new walking trail and took a 3 mile walk.

Marli had an afternoon nap while Kaci did some office work for me and then she and Milt fed cows. Kaci is cooking dinner while I pretend to be busy on the computer. Some of you received the text "Marli-ism" of the day: Marli asked me, "What's your name?" I replied, "Mary. What's yours?" She said "My name's Darla." "Darla?" I asked. "Yea. Oh my Darla. Oh my Darla--sing it Mary!"

For those of you who missed yesterdays Marli-ism: Milt said, "I like that dress, Marli." She shot back, "Thanks, I got it on clearance."

And that, folks, is how our world turns.

Pat Liza and The COWboys

Did the house walkthrough and they are working on getting everything done that needs to be done.  Looks like we should be able to start moving in Wednesday afternoon.  Of course it is going to be howling wind and 5 degrees on Wednesday afternoon, so it is perfect moving weather.  Not much else of note happened on the day.  Boys had wrestling practice and are still loving it.  Will went for the first time last night because I had a baseball meeting so Liza took all of the boys to wrestling.  Took will about 30 minutes to get over all of the kids in the room and then he went on a tear running an playing.  Liza left practice when I got done with my meeting and took Will home for bed and he was not happy.  I guess we know what we are going to be doing during the winter for the next 16 years.  lol.

Let the games begin!

Well, we got Grandpa out of our way yesterday so we can get down to some serious spoiling of Marli! Kaci, Marli and Kim arrived Saturday about 4:30 and in the less than 48 hours Kim was here we had four seasons of weather. Beautiful and about 60 Saturday. Raw north wind Sunday with a mild 50 dropping into the 40's by evening. A rocking thunder and lightening show about 10:00 pm and cold, drizzly rain yesterday and today. We're trying not to complain after so much of last year passing with no moisture. We took Kim to the airport yesterday morning with stops at the coliseum in Fort Worth and then a brief visit to Cowboy Stadium. Jerry Jones doesn't even allow a peak without paying for a tour, so we satisfied ourselves with a quick tour of the Pro Shop where they sell exhorbitantly priced high quality souvenirs of a not so high quality team. Uneventful trip back from the airport followed by an afternoon nap.

Marli Bob, Kaci and I had a "girl party" last night at their house while the guys watched the football game. We had popcorn and watched "Tangled". Marli and Milt are off to "work" this morning. They left promptly at 9:00 for breakfast, a stop by Milt's office and then a visit with Betty. I think they're following that up with coffee down at the vets. Kaci is enjoying a quiet and long shower right now, I think. She's following up on leads for ISR people this morning and then we're going to go visit with our vet's wife later who has two little kids, is a fitness instructor and runs half marathons. Hopefully we can pick her brain about all of those things. I worked out with Kaci last night and I'm pretty sure she needs someone a little more her speed! I can't keep up, but I love having my own personal trainer!

We're working on teaching Marli to say "y'all" and drawl a little bit. She has already told me she likes me to call her "honey". She's a southerner at heart--definitely has the southern hospitality thing down! She already knows more people at church than I do after one visit!

Garrett is off to either rehearse or record this morning--I can't keep up. He has an accoustic gig at the Fire Oak Grill here in Weatherford Thursday night. I'm going to get caught up in the office today, so there's not much to say there!

Now that we have a little more excitement in our lives I'll try to blog more often.

Pat Liza and The COWboys

Been a busy couple of days around here.  I worked on getting the kitchen sink put in the new house.  Don't believe Bob Villa when he says this is an easy half day job, he is full of it.  Got that all finished up on Sunday evening.  Boys played hard all weekend long, and I think the first week back to school got them a little worn out because they were a bit grumpy.  Shipped out two loads of buffalo to the feedlot on Monday.  Boys had wrestling again Monday night.  They are really enjoying it.  Liza took the boys in and Will and I hung out at the house.  Up bright and early this morning and ran up to the new house to finish marking (with blue tape) all the spots that need fixed.  They want to do a final walkthrough today, but I think it will be more like a preliminary walkthrough.  The finish crew and cleaning crew don't have much for an eye for detail, so I went through just about an entire roll of blue tape marking things.  Hopefully we will be able to start moving in before the week is over.

PS.  I almost forgot that I lost my voice Sunday night.  If you heard some loud cheering at about 6:30 on Sunday evening that was me cheering for the Broncos and their awesome win over the Steelers.  Lookout Patriots!  I hope someone in our family put some money on the Broncos before the playoffs started, we will all be able to vacation in Hawaii.  And I guess very fitting for the times, the boys got in the mail yesterday a poster of Tim Tebow, from their Grandma Shirley.  What a great sportsman and role model for the boys to look up to.

Lynne

Rode Honkey yesterday! First time horseback since the wreck. I kicked him in the ribs a lot just to get even.
Book Club tonight. We read 'THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACK" Good book - very interesting non fiction.
Another beautiful day. I just wish it wouldn't get so cold at night. Its below zero every night.
Sure are a lot of slackers in our family when it comes to posting!

Kalispell Update

Kalispell was overcast all day today. We watched football (Go Broncos) and went to a bowling alley last night to watch Gonzaga basketball. Took Barney out on a walk late this afternoon. Tom is going to leave for Arizona on Monday, Jan. 16th. He is driving Ron and Sue down to their place in Parker. They will fly him home at the end of the week. Hopefully he can see some sunshine! Sue is retiring from the bank and is glad to have Tom to help with the trip.

Have a great Monday!

Tomi

Adrianne, Mike and Jackson

Pretty laid back weekend here. On Friday night we hung out around the house. Our neighbor Paul came over and chatted for a while. He asked me to fly to Oregon in July to photograph his daughter's wedding. I about puked thinking about it because it makes me so nervous but I think I will do it. I have seven months to prepare so it should be fine. Mike worked all day Saturday and Jackson had a fever so we hung around the house again. It was pouring rain on top of all of our snow so I really didn't have much desire to go out and about. Today we headed "out the road" about 25 miles or so and went on a short hike. Jackson's fever is gone and he had fun trudging through the snow and bossing the dogs around. It's still raining but not as hard as yesterday, hard enough for me to leave the camera in the car though so no pictures from our adventure. We're thinking about taking Jackson to the movie in a bit but haven't decided for sure. Hope all is well with everyone! 

~Addie

Pat Liza and The COWboys January 7

I spent the day working on the house.  We are putting in our own kitchen sink.  Got that mostly done yesterday, just have to hook up the drain lines today.  Boys bounced on the tramp and played outside for a good part of the day.  Glad to be getting close to moving, but not looking forward to the actual moving.  Gonna be busy getting the rock house cleaned and put back in order.  Will be nice to have everything packed in the garage.  We won't have to move everything into the house and unpack all at once.  Hope all is well with everyone.

Lynne - January 7

Yippee, Christmas is all put away in boxes and the tree is outside for the birds!

Typical Saturday for us in Kalispell. I went to spinning class and Tom took a long walk. I went in for a pedicure and found a fleece I have been looking for for my Mom at Pennys. Gonzaga basketball is on tonight and I found another location to watch it that Tom is thrilled about. The bowling alley!! We will give it a shot if the Blue Canyon does not have Direct TV. Trixie has only tipped over twice today, I do think it could be either related to eyes or ears. Monday we will schedule the appt. for her. Football is what were are up to this afternoon, it is overcast and 34 degrees. Tried to snow late this morning but did not quite make it.

Have a great evening!

Tomi

Pat Liza and The COWboys

Friday was a busy day here.  Had to get three heifers ready for the butcher.  John hauled them to Buffalo on his way to Billings.  After that we got set up to move the cows under the highway.  That went pretty uneventful.  Cows took their own sweet time going, and must not of wanted an audience because we got tired of waiting and when I came back they had all moved.  Charlee and Owen pestered mom all night about trying on their wrestling gear.  It was in the wash so they are going to have to wait until Saturday.  Liza was home sick for part of the day.  Got waylaid with a migraine.  We had family movie night and watched "Mars needs Moms"  scared Owen part way through it, but it ended happy.  Owen ended up going to sleep in our bed.  Busy weekend planned.

Lynne

Friday night - good night to rent a movie. Think we'll watch "The Debt." Anybody know anything about it? Shipped Marli off to her Uncle Milt and Aunt Mary (and Garrett of course) today. She would rather have stayed here - oh well! They left about 1:00 I think. Just heard from them and I think they're closing in on Trinidad. What a sweetie!

The Day in Kalispell

We rose bright and early and worked out at the gym. I had a million little errands to run and Tom had some phone contacts he had to reach. The dogs were groomed and picked up this afternoon. Trixie has started tipping over on a regular basis, (she will be 13 yrs. soon). The groomer thinks this might be due to her cataracts and poor eyesight. We have to take them in for a vet check and will learn more then.

I think it will be movie night at home and football and Zags basketball tomorrow. We have to go to the local pub if we want to watch Gonzaga basketball. Unfortunately or maybe it is fortunate that I am on call and the crowd is a little noisy when trying to watch a game.

Tomi

1/5/12 Pat Liza and The Cowboys

Got all the yearlings worked today.  Ended up taking most of the day but we got it done.  Charlee and Owen started wrestling tonight and they both had a great time Liza volunteered to be the secretary for the Wrestling club, so we should be pretty involved.  Practice will for sure keep the boys busy.  3 nights a week for two hours.  While Liza took the boys to Wrestling I took Will and did a walkthrough on the house.  Getting very close, a few things yet to get done.  Dealer wants to do a final walk through on Tuesday.  So hopefully we are moving in next weekend.  Will ran through the house from end to end.  Every time I wanted to close a door he had to be the one to do it.  When we drove back to the rock house there were a lot of rabbits out running on the road, every time one would run out of the headlights Will would go "Bunny, where are you?"  Pretty funny.

Beautiful day here. The reservoir has about 8" (just a guess) of ice and no snow. You can see all the way through the ice in most spots. It's too slick to walk on much which is a pain, but a little rough from the wind for ice skating (sorry Niki). Stewart has been gone all day doing appraisals. He stopped to visit Lloyd Palmer who fell and has a broken leg and broken ribs. He's pretty much bed-ridden for a while. I worked most of the day - quit a little early to take a walk. Main part of today is waiting for Kim, Kaci, Marli to get here. Talked to them a few minutes ago (about 4:30) and they were north of Riverton. They got held up in the Wind River Canyon for about 30 minutes because of a rock slide. Expect them around 10:00 depending on how Marli holds out. That's a long day for her. Still don't have Christmas decorations down - I wanted Marli to see the tree (how's that for an excuse?).

I've resorted to home-made dog food for Whiskey for his kidney diet. It's hamburger, rice, bread, and hard-boiled eggs. He loved it for 2 days and wouldn't touch it today (just after I got efficient and made up a 3-day supply!)

Well, Stewart isn't home yet and Hot Shot is belly-aching that he's not fed, so I'd better go do something about it. Can't wait til we get a little more daylight.

Pat, Liza, and the COWboys

Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

Another day that felt like spring today.  Was over 50 and great.  Boys are slowly adjusting to getting back into the routine.  Going to school wears them out so they were a little grumpy last night.  I started working yearlings again, for the second time.  We are dealing with a nasty little bug called M. Bovis.  3 weeks ago we did blood samples and nasal swabs on 290 head.  Got the test results back so we are sorting off anything that was positive and retesting all the negatives.  Will end up doing that most of Thursday.  My New Year's Resolution is to get in shape, lose some weight, and lower my blood pressure, so I have been rowing on our indoor rower everyday.  I decided yesterday that along with that I am going to run my first 5k this summer when we have our Annual Buffalo Stampede.  That's about all from Wonderful Wyoming.  .

Mike, Adrianne, and Jackson

Hello there. Just checking in from Juneau. Today was a relatively good day. We woke up to about 5inches of new and extremely wet/heavy snow. I thought it looked beautiful, but Mike wasn't exactly on the same page. I guess me standing on the porch telling him to put a little muscle into it while he was trying to clear the driveway took away some of that beauty for him. Jackson started his music class today and did pretty well. I have diagnosed him with ADD because he literally pays attention to what the group is doing for only five seconds and then he's staring off into space or jumping up and down. But maybe preschool will help him understand the group learning idea a little more. We went to Fred Meyer today and got a new pair of tennis shoes to use as his indoor shoes at school. We've written his name on almost everything he owns and I'm quite confident that when he has to find the cubbie with his name on it in the morning, he'll be able to pick it right out... as long as no one else's name starts with "J". Below is the picture that we took tonight for him to bring to school in the morning. He has to have a picture of himself to put on the front of his Cubbie (must be just in cases there's another child with a "J" name). I'll send more tomorrow of him on his first day. I'm getting nervous!! But we're also very excited to be starting this new chapter.

~Adrianne

Kim and Linda

They say it was nice out today here too. Niki flew back to Raleigh and made it in fine fashion. No de-icing in Minneapolis, no terrorist attacks at La Guardia. She got to her house and it was freezing cold inside. She'd turned the heat down to 55 when she left two weeks ago. She's not a cold-weather gal but the fact that it was probably colder in her house in North Carolina than it was outdoors in Montana, Colorado and Wyoming ... well, it just makes you chuckle, doesn't it? Someone was asking about the Dad/Sleighbell story not being online. It is now, but it's hard to find on the Missoulian web site. The link is

http://missoulian.com/lifestyles/hometowns/western-montana-lives-remembering-martin-briggeman-and-his-mysterious-sleigh/article_5c62c9b4-364f-11e1-b2d1-001871e3ce6c.html

Mike, Adrianne, and Jackson

I bet you weren't aware that World War III had begun. It started here in Juneau about an hour ago (8pm local time). Hopefully it's a short one and that when he's done throwing every stuffed animal and toy in his room it will be because he's fallen asleep. I've retreated to the dining room to avoid being fired upon and figured it was a good time to write our update. Before the war began we had a GREAT day! It started with a trip to Juneau's newest store, Petco, where Butler and Rocko were very disappointed to find that they have grooming services! I however was thrilled when I was told there were two openings right then! We came home with two clean and unhappy dogs, but all that really matters is that they are clean. Right after we got home I got a call that there was a spot open at the preschool that we've been trying to get Jackson into!! He starts on Thursday (if he makes it thru the war) and will be attending every Tuesday and Thursday morning for the rest of the school year. He is very excited to learn new things and make new friends. He also starts his new session of Kindermusic tomorrow and he is very excited about that! Well, it sounds as though he may have surrendered so I better go check out the situation. The picture below is from our sledding adventure the other day :)
~Addie 

Kalispell Report

Apparently the entire west is having nice weather. 40-some here today and snowline is halfway up the Swans. Tomi is back at work today after a nice four day break. I've taken up walking for a living. I've got this app on my phone that times, maps, and measures my walks, runs, or bike rides so I can easily keep track of my total mileage. Might have to get the bike out again if this weather keeps up. Tomi is up and gone by 5:00 each morning so she can work out before work where she spends 10 hours on her feet and then goes to yoga for an hour and a half before getting home at 7:00. Other than that she just sits around.

Pat, Liza, and the COWboys

Beautiful day here today.  Cracked 50 and feels more like spring then it does the first week of January.  Normal day here on the ranch, not a lot going on, mostly just feeding.  Everyone on the ranch is back so I don't have to feed which lets me get caught up on a few things that I have gotten behind on over the past week and a half.  House is coming along.  Drywaller put in a late night last night and is doing another late night tonight.  Should be done with drywall tomorrow.  Then just trim and the list I have for them to fix and we should be able to move in. More then likely sometime towards the end of next week.  School started back today so it was back to normal around here.  Daycare for Will, Daycare and PreSchool for Owen, and school for Charlee.  Boys were all glad to be back at school and to see their friends.  Was kinda lonely to come home for lunch to an empty house.  Soon as I got home tonight the boys wanted to go bounce on the tramp so we headed out to the quonset.  All three boys love the trampoline, so I imagine it will be the center piece of their day when things warm up.  Will has a new favorite song "Red Solo Cup" by Toby Keith.  He dances and tries to sing Red Solo Cup so it is fairly comical.  It is kinda fitting for our present situation because without many of our dishes, and no dishwasher, we have been using quite a few Red Solo Cups lately.  That's about all from Wonderful Wyoming.

Lynne

Beautiful day again. Can't believe there's hardly any snow. Lyndee came by to visit about 6:00 am. She's all stuffed up and can't sleep much, so Tim and she were out and about. Regular old day in the office all day. Took car down to Ford in Silverthorne to get the mirror replaced - someone knocked it off on the garage door (not me). Got a ride back home with Chris Murphy (works for us). That's pretty much it. Watching the Iowa primaries with bated breath (whatever that is).

Thanks, Lynne!, From Mary

I saw the post titled "Greatest of the Great Aunts" and it began with MY name! Hmmm! Nothing too new or exciting in Weatherford today. 52 dgrs. and a bit windy. I'm eyeball deep in lawsuit stuff which involves tax return analysis today. Garrett has been busy though I'm not sure exactly what all that entails. Lots of music stuff and running errands for me mostly. Milt took a few bulls to Oklahoma to buck today. It's just across the state line so only a couple hours away. Time to see if those little buggers that have been eating us out of house and home for two years are gonna buck or not. Garrett and I may go to a movie tonight--his choice is War Horse and mine is So We Bought a Zoo--unless something good is on TV. Anxious to see what Marli thinks of the menagerie of animals around here. She may think this is a zoo!

January 3, 2012

Sunny day in Missoula ...

Kim: Quite unJanuary-like. Marli's getting ready for bed. She just ran across the floor, tripped and fell, looked up and said, "Safe." Niki's last day before early morning flight to Minneapolis-NYC (La Guardian)-Raleigh, NC, tomorrow. Probably her last trip home until next Christmas. Linda and the girls dropped in at Mom's today, took down Christmas and got the new coffee maker going. Linda's and Kara's last days of freedom and sleeping in, back to school tomorrow at DeSmet and Ovando, respectively. Molly had an uneventful drive back to Helena, where she'll work this week and start school next Monday. I went back to work for the first of three straight days, then off to Texas. Spent some time consorting with Occupy Missoula. Kaci had her last fitness classes in Missoula until she gets back in March. After this, the kids are all on their own so my post won't be nearly so long.

Greatest of the Great Aunts

I'm with Mary on the permanent Christmas decorations. I'm going with the 12 days of Christmas theme and not taking decorations down until the Epiphany - or maybe Easter.
Got home from Wright about 3:00 today. Beautiful day - although Kremmling was the coldest place on the whole trip at 32 deg. Not much snow. Planted my new indoor garden grower thing-a-ma-bob that Liza and Pat gave me for Christmas. Had a really great week-end with the cutest, smartest grandsons in the whole world (sorry Tom and Tomi). Lyndee stopped by for a minute with her Mom and Dad this afternoon. I do believe that Will thinks Lyndee is a horse because he calls her Lyndee Jo Horse (Joe is Pat's horse's name).
Looks like my week will be full as well with end-of-the-year book keeping plus 3 appraisals in Steamboat and one in Kremmling. I will be making time for Kaci, Kim, MARLI visit, however. Weather report looks good all week for driving, by the way.

Update from Malarie

Well its another day in Williston, ND. I'm back to the grind at work unfortunately. I just got back from having 4 days off with Chad on the farm in Scobey, MT which was a lot of fun - But a lot of work as well. I got over there on Wednesday evening after I got off work. For those of you that don't know Chad and I moved into his house on the farm. (His renter FINALLY moved out of there.) Although we are not there full time at all because we are both still working in Williston its nice to have a house to go to that is only two hours away. The house is really starting to come together... Although I must admit its been a lot more work than I expected furnishing my first house! We are still yet to receive our living room set that we ordered and were guaranteed delivery BEFORE Christmas. It is now supposed to arrive at the house Wednesday this week... So fingers crossed that it actually makes it! But other than the living room everything else is pretty much put together with the exception of a few odds and ends in the kitchen.

This week when I was there Chad and I hosted two big dinners. One on Thursday for a bunch of our friends in Scobey. I think we had nine people that night. We smoked sausage in Chad's new smoker he got for Christmas and we prepared and smoked what is called a BACON EXPLOSION.... Pretty much a heart attack in a meal but oh soooo worth it! :) Then the following night we had a dinner with Chad's parents and grandparents. For that I prepared my first Turkey all by myself!!! I used a marinade that had tequila, orange juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and a few other things... We deep fried it and it ended up turning out DELICIOUS! No one died and all plates were licked clean on both nights... So I would say a success on both counts :)

We spent New Years together in the booming metropolis that is downtown Scobey, MT. Had a good time and a lot of laughs. Chad made his super secret recipe of Apple Pie (the booze kind).... Its pretty much a party in your mouth when you taste it! Hahaha... ;)

We spent the whole day Sunday hauling wood out to the house for our fireplace. I think we got enough to last us for the next few winters! The plus side to dating a farmer is the big haul trucks so we did not have to make multiple trips!

Chads next adventure will be in two weeks when he takes his yearly "Guys Only Snowmobile Trip" in West Yellowstone for an entire week. This will be their 8th year of going. He is pretty excited about it. While he is there I will be working and holding down the fort on the farm. Although I am missing out on the fun of that trip we are going to Vegas together the first weekend in February. Its Chad's birthday the 3rd, his best friend is getting married the 4th and then its Superbowl Sunday the 5th! So it should be a rockin' good time!

I think that is all the updates that I have for now.... Hopefully the next one wont be so long and drawn out. But for now I'm bored at work and have nothing better to do than share and make you all suffer through my current life story! Hahaha - SUCKERS! :)

Love and miss you all!

Malarie

Mary

Mary: Dateline Texas: Another nice day here--about 56. I have NOT taken my Christmas decor down and am considering making it permanent . . . I like red and green! My favorite part of Christmas is the photo cards. I just stick them in the branches of the tree when they come and I hate to put them up! I've been working on end of the year accounting stuff all day and Milt's been at the office and is now gathering cows. Garrett is sitting here working on new songs for his upcoming gigs. He has several in the next six weeks. Kaci will be his road manager and Milt and I will keep Marli! A hectic couple of weeks ahead for me working on the Houston court case. Depositions are all next week. It is interesting but a little stressful!

Pat, Liza, and the COWboys

Beautiful day here today.  Didn't quite make 50 but it was sunny and warm all day.  Jeff and I were the only ones at the ranch today so he caked everything and I put out hay.  I had Will with me to make sure that I did it right.  Morning went great with no hiccups.  Went back out after lunch and things pretty well fell apart.  Stack feeder didn't want to cut the stack, broke a chain, and got a flat tire.  Was definitely the first Monday of the year.  This afternoon Charlee went in to a friends house and Liza, Owen, Will and I went up to the house so the boys could ride Joe.  We bought a new kids saddle so Owen took it out for its maiden voyage.  Drywaller was back working on the house today.  She is maintaining the good image that drywallers have to uphold and didn't get to the house until noon.  Yesterday's noon to 3 must have worn her out.  Okay,  take back what I said about the drywaller.  Went up to the house at 7 and she was still working away.

Adrianne, Mike, and Jackson

Adrianne, Mike and Jackson (aka Spiderman at the moment) - It's a pretty low key day here today. I'm finally getting the Christmas tree and decorations put away. I love the lights so it's hard for me to do. Mike has to close tonight so he won't be home until late. Jackson and I just plan on cleaning up around the house and hopefully getting rid of some excess toys. The snow has turned to a snow/rain mix, making it pretty dang ugly. But more snow is in the forecast later this week so hopefully we get a pretty new layer on top of the ugly stuff.

Here's a picture of Mike and I on our New Year's Eve outing.

How to use this blog.

This blog is part of Google.  So just like with Google Docs you need to have your Google Account.  If you haven't yet, go to accounts.google.com and get signed up.  I will have to invite everyone to post on the blog.  Right now I am the administrator and hold the power, which I will freely relinquish.

There will be one post per day which we will title the day's date.

Everyone will go into that day's posting and like with Google Docs you will put your name then your posting.

EX

Pat, Liza, and the COWboys:  Yadda Yadda Yadda

When you are done with your part of the post you will click on "Publish Post"

So how to post:

When you go to briggemanfamilyupdate.blogspot.com check to see if you are logged in, you will be able to see this in the upper left hand corner.  If you are not logged in, log in.

Then you should be able to see a list of posts.  The Titles will be by date.  At the bottom of each post there should be some info as to who posted last and when, some options on how to send the post, and lastly there should be a yellow pencil icon.
Click on the yellow pencil icon.

This will take you into that post for editing.  Type to your hearts content.  When done click on "Publish Post" and you will be good to go.

Feel free to email or call me with any questions.  Hope this all works.  I hope it will.

We will be able to post pictures along with our daily happenings.