First, it's excuse time. I have not updated my blog for several weeks because:
1) This stupid site's button that allows me to add pictures to the blog was not working for a month,
and
2) when the button finally did start working and I tried to upload pictures, it either took 100 years to download a picture, or it would crash. so it has taken me 2 weeks to download the following pictures... one by one
and
3) I had back surgery and couldn't sit at the computer for more than 15 seconds!
So we're a little behind, but I'm sure I can catch up. The hardest part will be remembering what I was going to write in the first place (I've been on some medication...)
Last year I bought some window stickies, and Grace and Matthew had a blast decorating the house with them. Then Matt decided to move them around, ripping most of their heads off. Oh well. Some survived and will hopefully make an appearance next year as well.
Grace was really the only one who felt like decorating. I could hardly move, anyway. I'm glad she's old enough to take charge of that particular chore. She's going to be much better at it than I am, anyway!
***
But before we decorated, we made our annual Day-After-Thanksgiving-Red Lodge-Cut-Down-the-Tree-Trek.
Some facts about the Trek, and some reminders for next year:
1. We took the Pilot so the kids could watch a movie on the way to and from. They all argued about which movie to pick until we were half way there, anyway. Next year: no movies.
2. There are no "qualified" trees to cut down anywhere close to Red Lodge. Next year: prepare to travel most of the way to Canada to find a tree.
3. We picked several spots to jump out of the car and look for an acceptable tree. Each time we got out, failed to find said tree, and then got back in the car to travel to another area, the kids took off their hats and gloves, and in some cases -- their coats. Each subsequent time we found an area, they became a little more exasperated at the whole process, until they finally refused to get out of the car. Next year: go to the farthest point possible, and work our way backwards. Do not get out of the car unless an acceptable tree is located first. Do not let kids disrobe between outings.
4. We brought a few snacks, which were pretty much consumed by the time we got to the forest. We planned to eat at the taco place (which was also a point of much contention) after the Trek was completed. However, it took us 1 1/2 hours to find the tree. And no, that did not include the hour-long ride to Red Lodge. Next year: we will eat at the restaurant first.
5. After many failed attempts, I finally ordered Ben to pull over, told the kids to stay in the car and honk the horn if they needed anything, or if someone had to pee, or if a screwball mountain man was trying to abduct them. Ben and I then hopped out of the car, ax in hand, and hiked up the hill, determined to return successful. After about 15 minutes, we did -- although we finally just cut down the least pitiful tree we could find. Ben dragged it while running back to the car. We tied it up, threw it on top of the car, and got the heck out of there. Next year: go to the tree lot.
6. We finally decided to eat at Bogart's. We looked like a bedraggled mess walking in there, but the kids were so famished we didn't care. We finally ordered, then Haley knocked a chair over, Matt spilled his water, and a couple of the kids didn't even like what they ordered. Next year: drive-thru.
I walked behind the kids, camera in hand. And yes, I kept looking behind me to make sure a mountain lion or bear wasn't stalking us as prey. I do the same thing when I'm snorkeling to make sure there's not a shark with his mouth open about to have me for lunch.
The "men" (a.k.a. Andrew and Ben) scouted for a tree. They had lengthy manly discussions on where to hunt, and which kind of tree species they wanted, and where we should go next.
The rest of us just messed around (well, I wasn't actually messing around, but I was capturing the shenanigans with my camera while being alert to man-eating wildlife). Matthew fell down in a boggy area and then insisted that he be carried. And then he turned it into a game, and fell down every other step he took, which made Haley oh-so-happy.
At one point, we had strayed so far from the car (which is not a smart thing to do while possibly being hunted by the before-mentioned mountain lions and bears), that Ben had to go back for it. We decided to press forward and he would catch up. But then we sort of were lost, so we sat on the side of the road waiting for him to come rescue us.
While Ben was tying up our bounty, I took a moment to get the frozen creek on camera. It looked pretty cool:
