Just Like Old Times

Our children may have been apart for the better part of five months, but you never would have guessed it when they came together again.

Owen and Violet played for hours at a time, and they bickered a lot less than they did in SClarita. Maybe they appreciated seeing each other? Maybe they're growing up?

At one point, Owen asked me if we would move to Montana, so it "wouldn't be so long" (between play dates, I presume). He added that we'd need a big truck.

They played the go-to-bed/wake-up game, with Owen crowing like a rooster to signal morning time. They pretended it was Halloween, and Christmas, and their birthdays. And they played some game Violet called "hotel."

Before we arrived, Owen worried that Violet would get in his bed (the top bunk) and mess it up, but when she did visit for some cartoon-watching, he didn't complain. 

Cora and Ave were joined at the hip, but I would have expected no different. Here, they're having a tea party in Ave's room, where Cora spent the majority of her nights.

They also painted nails, sang and danced, and created bracelets and other items to sell. Ave had several profitable sales endeavors in front of her house in the summer, so they hoped to repeat the success.

See the girls' clothes? We lucked out with the weather. It was in the 30s and 40s at first, which is fine, but then warmed to the lower 50s. That melted the snow, but allowed for more comfortable soccer action.

It sounds like we left just in time; next week's weather calls for snow and highs in the low single-digits (about -16 Celsius). I've never experienced anything like that (and I promise not to complain this winter about it being too warm to wear my favorite sweater).

Genia also helped the girls make homemade peppermint lip balm. It worked well and came in handy, as Montana is very dry, and with the cold dry weather comes chapped lips.

Not forgetting Johnny! Cora played with him a lot too, as did Stacey.

Johnny sure looks older than when we last saw him - he's missing his top four teeth!

These three spent days in their hideout, the storage area under the house. I'm not sure exactly what they were up to, but they brought in lots of stuff  and had a secret password.

Here's a close up of the sign. They would stand very seriously in front of the door and yell, "Spy Kids!" to be let in by one of their fellow spies already inside.

Owen and Violet weren't part of the game, and when she loudly complained, the big kids helped make her a hideout of her own in the family room.

Stace and I had a great time too, with the children, and after they were in bed. It was fun playing the word games Scrabble and Boggle with John and Genia at night with a glass of wine or spiked cider.



Though we miss the Roberts a ton, it was really good to see them in their new home, and experience how well they are doing in Billings. Here's to our next trip together!

Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving Day: a time to count our blessings, indulge in a festive meal, and enjoy time with family (or friends who are like family).

John's parents and grandmother came over for Thanksgiving fun and feasting on Thursday afternoon. Grandma Janice brought out the old hand-crank egg beaters so the children could whip the cream, a Roberts family tradition.

Yum!

Genia and I worked together on what turned out to be a gorgeous 20-pound turkey, if I do say so myself. It wasn't very thawed out on Wednesday morning, despite several days in the fridge, so we opened it up and soaked it in a saltwater brine overnight. That did the trick, along with an herb butter, to produce a moist, tasty bird.

We also enjoyed mashed potatoes, roasties, broccoli casserole, stuffing, butternut squash, cranberry sauce and pumpkin cake for dessert.

Here's the children's table during the pre-meal prayer time. Violet had just announced that she is thankful this year for underwear. Classy girl!

Speaking of prayer, our little Owen has grown quite devout over the last few months. He always wanted to pray - at length - before each meal, and often stated that he is "thankful for God and Jesus."

After dinner, Janice played guitar for a family singing session. She later lead us in a game in which she paired us up, handed out paper and pencils, and had us draw our partner. We then came together to view each drawing and identify the person.

It was certainly a fun and memorable Thanksgiving, and we're grateful to have been welcomed so warmly by all the Roberts.

Out and About in Billings

On Monday, John, Ave and Johnny were at school so we went into Billings for lunch after we picked up Owen from preschool. Genia and John live in an area called The Heights, atop the beautiful Rims, so downtown Billings is a short drive away. After lunch at a place specializing in soup, we stopped for coffee at a cool local shop, where Cora posed nicely for Stace.

We also went to a neat fair trade store, featuring handmade items from all over the world.

The children all shared a big hot chocolate poured into three kids cups. Cheers! These two were happy to sit next to each other at the tall counter.

On Wednesday, while Genia and I did some grocery shopping and Thanksgiving prep, the dads took the kids for a walk/hike in these rocky outcropping.

This area is walkable from their house; the kids had a blast.

They also all played soccer a few times at the school across the street. John coached Ave's team this fall, and Johnny played soccer for AYSO as well. Violet enjoyed wandering around, moving the goal markers.

The Roberts aren't our only SClarita tie to Billings, Montana.
Outside the airport, this stature of William S. Hart and his horse Fritz stands proudly overlooking the city and Yellowstone Valley. Apparently Hart commissioned this statue of himself, and wanted it placed in an area of Western beauty. He gave it to Billings when officials at the Grand Canyon wouldn't display it.

A Day in Bozeman

On Tuesday, John had to work, so the rest of us squeezed into Genia's Sequoia for a beautiful 2-hour-trip into Bozeman.

Our first stop was the Museum of the Rockies, where we watched a show in the planetarium about Super Volcanoes. 

Genia had the privilege of sitting next to Violet and Owen. Violet repeatedly stated that she didn't like the movie and wanted to leave. Then she and Owen had a loudly whispered conversation about raccoons, and how the animals are found in both California and Montana.

 Numerous dinosaur fossils have been found in Montana, so the dinosaur exhibit was impressive.

 It's nice bringing a daughter to a museum when she's old enough to appreciate it. All these triceratops skulls were real finds from within the state.

 Besides exhibits on Yellowstone National Park and the Native Americans, the museum featured a fabulous children's play-and-learning center.

Here, the children are pretending to fish while learning about Yellowstone.

 Violet spots it!

 After filling our brains, we filled our bellies at a yummy local pizza/sandwich shop. We met up with Ward and Eileen, parents of my friend Melanie, and had a nice time catching up.

When Melanie and I met in college and I was hearing about her hometown of Bozeman, I always figured I'd someday visit. I never would have guessed it would be with a different dear friend and all of our children!

 Before getting back on the road to Billings, we walked a bit of Bozeman's beautiful downtown, filled with trendy shops. Bozeman is an artsy college town, with lots of interesting things to see.

 It's a bit colder in Bozeman than Billings, so there was more snow on the ground from last week's storm. The children played soccer with ice balls as we walked the sidewalks. Thankfully, they avoided injuring elderly passers-by.

The colder weather made it seem more fitting to see the town decked out for Christmas.

Owen and Violet look so funny strapped into their strollers!

It's such a blessing to spend time with this lady!

Wild Life in Red Lodge

 On Sunday, we drove a picturesque hour to Red Lodge, which is considered one of the gateways to Yellowstone National Park. The drive was very pretty, with snowy mountains towering over farms and cattle.

 Red Lodge is home to the Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary, which gives a home to injured, orphaned or otherwise non-releasable wildlife.

We were able to see a wolf, mountain lion, bobcat, black bear, fox, bison, elk, and a lot more.

 We had lunch and then split up - John and Stace took the bigger three into the mountains to play in the snow, while Genia and I took the little two through town for a little shopping.

Cora was happy to be able to make a snow angel; she'd been hoping to do so when we were planning our trip.

Red Lodge looks like a classic old Western town, and it was fun to walk around. I especially enjoyed shopping once Violet fell asleep in the stroller.

In Montana!

Together again!

It's heart-warming to see the joy on these faces as they play together.

We got to the Roberts' home very late Friday night, or early Saturday morning, depending on your perspective, and stayed up even later catching up.

Later on Saturday, the children dressed warmly to play outside in the snow.

A storm had dumped a few inches a few days before, and enough was left for a bit of fun.

Luckily for us, Genia had snow bibs, gloves and boots and coats for us, so we didn't have to take up room in our luggage (not that we even own all of the above!).

 Later, the children played more. Violet and Owen stick together, while Ave, Johnny and Cora have made a world in a concrete-floored, cellar-type crawl space under the house.

The Roberts have a beautiful home, with a full guest room for us and lots of places for the kids to play. They even built a big wooden play structure in their huge back yard.

In the afternoon, John took Stacey for a tour around Billings.

John's mom, Janice, came into town and took Ave and Cora to a music performance, while Genia and I took Johnny, Owen and Violet into town so I could check it out.

It's a very nice town, with most of the amenities a newcomer like Genia could need.

Later, John and Johnny taught Stacey how to play Uno, and they enjoyed many rounds. We'll have to get this game out when we get home.

Pre-Thanksgiving fun

Our last few weeks have been leading up to Friday's big day, our flight to Montana to visit the Roberts.

Cora had a countdown chart going, and could hardly keep from talking about our trip.

After Stace got off work, we headed into the Burbank airport. More on our trip later.

On Thursday, Cora's school had a half-day, which was mainly her Thanksgiving party.

Here, she's eating her feast, which included real butter the children churned from cream.

Before eating, the kids each recited a letter of the word "Thanksgiving" to tell the story of the Pilgrims and Indians.
Then, they said what they were thankful for. You can hear Cora's offering at the end.

After their meal, the children sang their Thanksgiving songs; you can see one of them below. Cora sang loudly, and clearly enjoys performing.

Sue and I borrowed Cora and Sophia's pilgrim bonnets.