True Missoulians

I believe that you have to fit into one of the following categories in order to truly belong in Missoula:

1. Ride a moped (preferably with a strange furry hat on your head)
2. Be a Democrat (Chopper refers to the city as "in the tank" for Obama.)
3. Like eccentric and eclectic art (cowboys riding trout has been our favorite so far)
4. Decorate your home and/or yard with aforementioned art (iron dinosauer eating a skeleton is one of the best by far but close runner-ups include life-size aluminum animals and furniture made from antlers)
5. Be a University of Montana Grizzlie fanatic (emphsis on fanatic)
6. Go hiking and/or camping A LOT.

Chopper and I finally fit in -- no no he's not voting for Obama (Erika stop laughing -- the kids need to concentrate!). After a long dry summer without camping (not my idea of fun to hold Megan 24 hours straight while fighting mosquitoes and fire pits) we went on an actual hike today. We found a baby backpack for a great price and tried it out! It's too bad Missoula was hazy because the view was awesome and it was nice to just get out and about a little bit. I wish that we could explore more of Montana this way but it is getting colder and I highly doubt we'll be here next summer.

Happy First Day of Fall!

Ok I'm not sure happy is the word. There are definitely a lot of good things about fall: changing leaves, hot apple cider, Halloween, bonfires; but it just seems like it came too quickly this year. Maybe because winter lasted until June. Megan and I took a walk the other day and saw some beautiful colors starting to come out.

Go Griz!

Today is homecoming for the University of Montana Grizzlies and Missoula is fanatical! We took Megan to the parade and she did really well of course because there was so much to look at! But I have to say that Idaho State's homecoming parades are better. Maybe it was because we actually cheered for ISU and knew people in the parade, etc. or maybe it was because they could throw candy at you. Missoula has an anti-throwing candy rule that gets you kicked out of next year's parade if you do. How ridiculous is that? But we did have a good time.
Not so sure about this whole parade thing -- especially the drums. They were kind've loud.
Of course when Chopper's in charge of the camera the thing he takes a picture of is the WWII jeep with the 50 cal (whatever that is) on the top. We have no idea who the people are that they are gunnin' for (hahaha).
There was a Gaelic group -- I'm sorry but I love bagpipes! Of course, that's in moderation and at appropriate times . . . like parades.
Megan got a balloon! That was almost more fascinating than the parade itself. It moved, it was touchable, and it was LICKABLE! I hope she doesn't have a latex allergy.

Just a good Friday

Today was just one of those perfect days that needs to be recorded.

Megan slept in long enough that we were able to go to Tiny Tales at the library. Usually she's napping during that time. She was more interested in watching the other kids (it's for birth to 3 years) than the actual story but I really think she enjoyed it and I enjoyed being around other moms of young children. THen we went to Joanns and the remodel is almost finished. Even though it's only half done, it's awesome! They're expanding their stock and it's light and clean. It's going to be wonderful! Sigh. So I bought the stuff for Megan's Halloween costume. She is going to be adorable! I want to get started on it but I'm afraid if I do it now she'll grow too much in the next month and a half. Decisions, decisions . . .

After Megan's nap we got the mail and played with it (envelopes with plastic windows are the best -- they have that extra crinkle) and then spent about a 1/2 hour sitting outside blowing bubbles. It was a gorgeous cool afternoon and Megan loved the bubbles and gave me plenty of excited scrunch faces for them!

Then Chopper came home from work with a baby backpack he picked up for $8! You can't beat that with a stick!

Just one of those good days!

Just a Few Moments

These are the ones I'm trying to sear into my memory for recall when she's two, seven, and thirteen and driving me crazy.

I know this looks like she is enjoying carrots, but I think she's enjoying the fact that they are not IN her mouth. I still cannot get this girl to want to eat ANYTHING. She'll open up to drink from a cup in a heartbeat but come near her with a spoon and it's I don't think so.
Megan has been capable of rolling for a while but I think now she understands that she can do it when she's on her stomach. There goes tummy time. It takes her approximately 4 seconds to flip over and she grins hugely the whole time she does it. She is such a little stinker.
This is classic scrunch face and if you look very VERY closely you can see her bottom teeth which are adorable and also terribly painful . . .
I'm so mad about this picture because it is ADORABLE but if you'll notice it's oddly colored and very grainy. My camera has stopped flashing. It's been on the fritz for a while but now . . . I even took this picture with the flash ON, not the auto flash if it needs it. I tried doctoring on the computer but there's only so much you can do with a picture that starts out black. Literally. I guess I know what's going on my Christmas list!

I can't believe I forgot

Yesterday was 9-11. Chopper and I did watch the dedication of the memorial at the Pentagon on TV but it really wasn't until then that I really remembered. And then MSNBC played the footage from that day and that really brought the memories back. But then it makes me think, with everything going on -- why would you even want to be President? You know how little kids always say they want to be President? I definately think it's a job I would forgo (sp?) if it were handed to me.

Peer Pressure

I gave in. I jumped on the bandwagon or off the cliff. Whatever you prefer.

I read the Twilight saga.

My niece Chelsea was generous enough to loan me all of the books with her very high recommendations and since so many people have just been raving about them I figured why not? It was kind've nice to be able to read them one right after the other too.

But it has been a very long time since I've been this conflicted about a book. And I find it kind've hard to articulate so here's part of my thinking about this series at least.

The Good
1. They were certainly gripping books. The first one started slow I thought but the others were a lot more intense. I had a really hard time putting them down -- in fact, I read them all in 6 days. Poor Chopper. And poor me -- not much sleep going on.
2. I thought that the characters were good. Some of them annoyed me enough to really be 3-dimensional. But overall I had very clear pictures -- pictures that did NOT match the preview I saw for the movie of the first book.

The Bad
1. I'm sorry but they were a little teenager for me. Until I got to the 3rd book. And then I thought they were books I wouldn't want my teenager to read because they were too adult. I LOVE LOVE LOVE a good romance but not when it's a romance novel. I prefer things a little more subtle and . . . mature.
2. How many times do I have to hear that Edward is so beautiful she can't look away? Or be mesmerized by his beauty or something? Is there nothing more substantial to this relationship than good looks? I guess I'm not ready to be a vampire. Bella's insecurity with her looks I know is something real but I did not like the fact that it was resolved by her change to a vampire and becoming super-model gorgeous like the rest of them. But stuff like that has always bothered me, I think because of my own insecurities.
3. The love triangle. Having never been involved in one myself I found it somewhat ridiculous. Maybe that's an experience I would have to have in order for it not to annoy me to death (ha ha). And then the way that was resolved! I should've known. I almost stopped reading at that point because, seriously . . .

I won't continue in this vein (I am also having a really hard time avoiding the vampire/blood/dead puns and that's probably fairly painful for most of you), but there were a lot more things that I think I took issue with rather than loving them so much. Oh I forgot . . .

The Ugly
1. Would someone please get this girl a new editor? I felt like I was reading a very long 9th-grade paper. Ok I guess it wasn't that bad, everything was spelled right, but professionals should be better at this!
2. Titling. I thought the last one, Breaking Dawn, fit very well. The rest? Random.

Again, I'm really really sorry if you just loved them -- maybe I shouldn't be so honest about them but . . . to each his own right? I do have to admit, I was glad that I read them and satiated my thirst, uh, curiousity. (I had to get that in somehow!)

Adios Elder Gasser!

My baby brother has gone on his mission. He'll be spending 2 months at the Missionary Training Center learning Spanish and then it's off to Pocatello, Idaho for 2 years. I was able to drive down to Salt Lake City and take him to the MTC in Provo and I'm really glad I did. I can't believe though how adult he already looks!

The drive down was fairly uneventful. Execpt for the snow. On September 1st. Not just in the mountains, on the ground. I have to get out of Montana.

This is James (now Elder Gasser), me, Denise (my sister-in-law) and my brother Danny. We all went to the Temple together the night before he left. It was a wonderful experience to be there with my brothers -- I can't even describe how wonderful it is to be close to your siblings and know that they have happy, full lives!

Of course I cried when I dropped him off. And I didn't just drop him off. I went inside and sat through the welcome thing and it was just nice to be there with him. He didn't want me to take any pictures but I told him Mom would kill me if I didn't and then he wouldn't get any care packages!

When I left SLC, I stopped in Pocatello and saw my friends and colleagues. This darling girl is Lillian -- my friend Maeli's daughter. She is one week older than Megan even though she was due two weeks after I was!

A bad sign

For those of you who know me from my childhood, you might remember that I am NOT, I REPEAT NOT athletic. In high school I actually played some sports though -- I started with field hockey which I loved but was horrible at and quit after one year because I knew I would be a senior on the junior varsity team. SO then I ran cross-country and track and I wasn't bad but, mind you, all I did was run. I did not do hurdles, jumping, anything involving any apparatus. I HATE sports with balls -- especially volleyball. HATE HATE HATE. They hurt me!

Regardless, I keep up with a couple sites online that have good ideas of games to play because the same old get really boring for me. Not for Megan of course. And I've been reading that now is a good time to start with balls -- rolling, kicking, etc. And Megan does like to kick.

So we're at Walmart and they have no small balls but a ball is a ball right? So I bought her one of those $1 bouncy balls that they always have a huge bin of every summer. We get home and start rolling and . . . Megan starts crying. I am not kidding. But she is tired so she goes down for a nap and while she's sleeping I sew her a ball and then stuff it. Maybe she wants something smaller and softer. After the nap, we play with ball #2 . . . and she starts crying.

My poor baby! I'm so sorry I gave you my genes! At least she got my good looks -- oh wait, they're Chopper's!

The Stats are in!

You know, it's a shame that even having exposure to my genes will render Megan unathletic. She's going to be a tall one! If the stats for 6 months are any indication:

Length: 27" (75%)
Weight: 17# (50%)
Head: 17 1/8" (I have no idea)

Teeth are Bustin' Out All Over!

Remember that nursing strike? Well, it seems that teethin' is the reason! Can you blame me for not realizing? Overall Megan has not been a drool machine (she was worse at 3 months) and she hasn't been too cranky except for the eating thing. But yesterday she was sitting with Chop and started chewing on his arm (she has been chewing quite a bit) and he says it feels different. Lo and behold, you can feel some little points on her bottom gum and if you can manage to get a look, you can see 2, count them TWO little white teeth coming through. I can't believe it! I'll post a picture when I can. Right now if you pull her lower lip down she sticks her tongue out so you can't see anything anyway.

By the way, it's the bottom two front, not the top. Does anyone have a nickname for that? Bucky and Beaverface just won't work!

Blog Stalker

I admit that I have become somewhat of a stalker. In addition to keeping up with friends and family, I've started fandomly clicking on other people's blogs. Is that weird? I don't spend a ton of time doing that because I don't know anyone but I have to say that I have found through other people lots of crafty and mom-ish blogs that are really interesting. It's fun too to check on other family that I don't really keep up with but just to see every once in a while.

Then I realized that I'm the only one in my family who does this. I know my friends who check probably don't really care but I thought it might be interesting for aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. to know what's going on with all of them. So I'm going to post a sidebar that kind've keeps up on what my brothers and parents are doing I think. Because I do think it's great what they're all doing with their lives.

Plus, I feel kind've like it's my responsibility. It seems like women are the ones who keep families close. I apologize if there are men out there who really work at it but that just hasn't been my experience. Boys just don't connect as much in my opinion. And since I'm the only girl (yes that's a complaint), I kind've feel like it's up to me. Mom and I talked about this while she was here and she kind've agrees. Now don't get me wrong, Denise I love you dearly!! And I hope that all of my sister's-in-laws are like her (in the wonderful, open, family respect -- then they can be whatever they want) but they have their own families to keep up with too. And I love Chopper's family too, but I don't feel quite so much like it's my place to keep everyone together. Does any of this make sense? Am I just overbearing and family deprived??

Babbling Baby

It's amazing how quickly things change. Just in the past few days, Megan has moved from screaming and vocalizing in very high pitches to actual babble and using her mouth when she talks. It's fun to hear her and she does it wherever she feels like it. She talks at home, during our errands, in the bathtub, wherever! But once again, it's difficult to get it on camera because she likes the camera and is too preoccupied with grabbing and examing it. Oh, that's the other thing -- she has really started reaching and grabbing for what she wants. I used to be able to set her on my lap and check email or whatever for a few minutes. Today when I did that, everything on the desk ended up on the floor within the first 2 minutes. Sometimes she face plants herself because she's reaching and grabbing at her toys that are too far away.

This first video is another "not worth watching". I put the camera in front of the monitor last night when she was on a babbling streak so all you see is the wall. But you can hear it really good. Oh and it's 9:30 at night.


This one is the babbling baby herself. In the bathtub (which is just cute). Chopper approved it for posting -- he doesn't like naked baby pictures because he says there are too many sickos out there and that's true but this is darn cute!

Megan on Strike

This is probably the only interesting thing that has happened in the past few days. Okay, Michael Phelps and his 8 gold medals in one Olympics is pretty darn exciting -- I mean in our family! And we certainly don't have that going on in our family!

No, our excitement -- or anxiety rather -- is Megan on strike. She apparently likes her thumb more than she likes to eat. She eats when she gets hungry enough but it certainly has been a battle! Thank goodness she has all those wonderful fat rolls to carry her through until she decides she's hungry. Interesting though -- she's not cranky about it AT ALL. She's been her usual happy, wonderful self!
These are just cute.
Megan is a disaster when she eats -- surprise, surprise! She hates having her face washed afterwards but loves having her hands washed. It even gets her laughing which is saying something since it takes a lot to make her laugh.
Chopper took this one and it's blurry but I love the look on her face!

I Made Bread!

This happened today too but I think it's pretty cool so I had to post it separately.

I MADE BREAD!!! I really like carbs and the other day I was remembering how my mom would make homemade bread and we'd eat it warm with butter and honey . . . so I called and got her recipe. It wasn't too hard and it's made with all food storage-able items so it's a good one to know and other than the fact that I didn't let them rise long enough in the pan and they turned out a little runty -- they are good! As you can see, Chop and I have already nearly demolished one loaf.