holiday picture

i have been feeling rather behind not posting christmas pictures for days. it is mostly b/c i havent felt like it. we have had such a relaxing week and holiday that not much has promted me for action. so here, are just a few pictures from our christmas. more details to come once the new  year roles around and my laziness rolls along.




opening presents, what fun

 


re-decorating the buche de noel, notice she did not miss an opportunity to wear her party hat




with our christmas tree





fun with daddy

 

lots of time for fun and laughs

Solstice 12.21.2010

The moon continues to emerge from a total eclipse at 4
http://helenair.com/news/national/article_3ed99a24-81e8-5fc3-aadf-d77df724fb23.html

Skywatchers got an early holiday present this year: A total eclipse of the moon.
Hanging high in the sky, the moon slowly turned from bright silver into a red disk early Tuesday.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth casts its shadow on the full moon, blocking the sun's rays that otherwise reflect off the moon's surface. Some indirect sunlight still pierces through to give the moon its eerie hue.
The 3 1/2 hour celestial spectacle was visible from North and Central America where skies were clear. Portions of Europe and Asia only caught part of the show.
The totality phase _ when the moon was completely immersed in Earth's shadow _ lasted 72 minutes.
Since the year's only total lunar eclipse coincided with winter solstice, the moon glowed high in the sky.
The last time this occurred was more than three centuries ago on Dec. 21, 1638. It will happen again on Dec. 21, 2094, according to U.S. Naval Observatory spokesman Geoff Chester.

The longest day of the year has passed and now, we are welcoming all the light we receive. Francesca keeps saying, "mama, its dark outside again". all I can say is yes, it is winter time. She replys, "why?" I guess she is holding on to the long days of summer filled with walks and farmer markets (saturdays still receive the good morning, "its farmers market day!") and fun outside. we have been trying to have fun inside but all i seem to do these days is lay around a hack and cough...frannie is a little too. we have filled in the time enjoying the moonlight. with the BIG countdown to christmas this week, we have been distracted from the darkness by the thought of opening the presents under the tree and having some precious moments with our two year old. the christmas pageant for freya will also be a highlight for frannie.

today, the children at jacobs ladder preschool will be celebrating too. the little angels and shepards are about to celebrate the season together and enjoy some silly fun and singing (Lea will be bringing treats to aid in this). next week frannie will be at home with us and taking a break from all her school friends. she hasnt gone that long without them-it will interesting how many playdates will result from the time away. her friends are everything to her. we are so lucky to have landed with a peaceful and joyful place to learn. thank you teacher Jan!

we hope everyone is filled with the spirit of christmas and the joy of the season and the return of the light. Happy Solstice!

SKI GD

Frannie took her first shot at skiing this weekend. We took her up to Great Divide Ski resort http://www.skigd.com/ and she had a great time. When we tried a boot on her, she replied, "I want the other one!". The hardest part was convincing her that she was not ready for the lift-ski (ski lift) and going fast like all the other skiers. Now we just need to find some little skis for her to use around town and to practice, practice, practice.

One...

...two...

...three!

Last run-awesome day!!

Lou and I finished up with the holiday preparations: tree-up, shopping and packaging done, christmas cookies finished. We are having some warm weather and figuring out what small amounts of house work we can do to help the house in the winter. We seem to have a few uninvited earwigs taking roost in our house and we are on a mission-destroy the invaders. They creep me out more than anything else possibly could http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earwig/. Now we are enjoying the few days left of December before the holiday takes hold and work ramps up for me. Once the Legislative sesison starts http://leg.mt.gov/css/default.asp, Lou will be Mr. Mom (sorry Frannie). We should be able to sqeeze in some fun if I have any energy left.

Tree Cutting

Lou and I have always gone out to find the perfect tree for christmas not in a lot, but in the forest.  We found this great place a few years ago and found this year, they are logging it. They are logging to remove the dead trees affected by the pine bark beetle but it is still hard to grasp. Frannie noticed all the dead trees and would not stop asking why they were cutting them down. I guess she has a lot to learn about forest ecology.  We trudged through the snow and found the perfect tree for Francesca's third christmas. She is excited to have one in our house and put decorations on it. It was a beautiful outing and another memorable Christmas tree cutting.


Our tree




Forest View




Big Sky Frost




Crawling in the Tree





Forest Ecology: This is how a tree grows

 

Festivus

This weekend was exhausting. There were so many activities going on in Helena that I felt like the holiday season. We bounced Frannie around and were able to fit in a lot of fun. One thing that I really came to grips with is that I have a truely great kid. I didnt need a book or website to shine this light on me or a mommys group. Everything that we have worked on with her has paid off-we had a great time with her and, from all her singing I believe she liked doing it all with us. She was okay with Santa this year and we forgot to grab a photo with our camera. We did take some pictures while she was Rudolph and with a tree. We got into the moment and didnt feel like we had to document it all. Frannie thinks that everywhere we go there will be Santa and that he should just come to our house today, and not at Christmas. It will be a hard wait this year.



Rudolph




Cookie Decorating




Festival of Trees



Happy Thanksgiving

We all enjoyed a Thanksgiving at home this year with nothing but relaxation and cheer. Murf went for his first sleigh ride and Frannie had fun in the snow. It was nice to be together after a few furious work weeks mixed with hunting trips. yea for holidays! we took frannie to the carousel and she had her first magical santa sighting of the year. that little girl pranced right up to the jolly guy and started chatting like he was part of the family. Next weekend is the Festival of Trees and she'll get to sit on his lap and get a picture taken. I have a feeling December will pass quickly by...


Thanksgiving Joy Ride



Rolling dough for our first batch of Christmas cookies

First winter storm of the season

We finally got the snow that was needed and saw the end to our indian summer here in Montana.  We have had days where the temps never got above negative and the dogs rarely went outside. Frannie has had fun playing in the snow (in short bursts) and learning what it means to be cold. This week we will see temps in the teens and Lou will probably take one more stab at hunting for the year. With the bad roads and cold temps we will all be enjoying thanksgiving at home hoping to take a run at the sled hill.

No Halloween for ME!

Frannie was one of the few two year olds in Helena who didnt care too much for Halloween. She liked the idea of it, but when everyone was out and about in costume it was too overwhelming. So, instead she played dress up from the box of costumes she got from her cousins Jaclyn and Janine and spending time with baby caleco. She had fun at the elementary school carnival and we attended two halloween gatherings. maybe next year it will be more exciting for her.

ballerina in the making

Scary

Francesca has discovered Halloween. Yes, the child loves the idea of being scared. She is so excited to have Halloween come to her house that she has been practicing her scary face. No, she does not want to be a princess for halloween...she wants to be a puppy. I think the puppy was b/c she loves doggies and didnt want to wear a bulky costume.

   



In Bloom

It seems the little orchid I have carting around with me since I lived in Missoula finally decided to bloom (5 years). I hope that you can share in my joy once you see the little beauty. YEA for flowers in the fall!!

Girls Weekend



Murf holding down the fort while Lou is gone



Lou went off on his first hunting trip of the season to find some "EKKK". Frannie is excited to eat it with her fork because it is healthy for her. Right now, she has no idea what the information we feed her means, but she kindly repeats what we tell her no questions asked...



The girls spent the weekend together enjoying long breakfasts and time outside with the pups. The weather was perfect and hopefully not get to chilly as fall approaches.

Pajama Time

Woodland Park Zoo

Just a few more pictures from our Zoo trip out in Seattle. It was such a good time that I just had to share some more!

Seattle

Our Labor Day was spent out in Seattle visiting family and friends and a few zoo animals. We had a great time, and enjoyed all the fresh blackberries we could eat!

Catching Seaweed with Uncle Blake

Love those Blackberries!!

Wild West Festival

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Frannie riding Chips

One month old Indy