Mountain Goats

In one of my recent posts, A look at Thanksgiving,  I mentioned that we had gone on a ride towards West Yellowstone and we saw some Mountain Goats and that I would blog about it later.  Well it's later and here it is....

So during Thanksgiving weekend we were in the car taking the kids on a scenic ride along the Gallatin River towards West Yellowstone when I spotted something that I thought was some deer to the side of the road up ahead.  As we drove by I realized they were no deer but Rocky Mountain Goats.  And boy did I get excited.  So I made Bill turn around at the first turn out and I got my camera out and ready. 

When we came back up to that area I spot 2 more mountain goats actually crossing the River and by this time I am jumping in my seat telling Bill to stop.  I really wanted to get a picture of them crossing the river. It would have been so awesome! But there were cars behind us and there was no place to pull off the road so we had to drive a little further up the road again just to turn around and get to a place where we can pull off.  By this time the Mountain Goats, 4 of them, were crossing the road in front of cars.  And I am out there snapping as many pictures as I can before they moved on.  I am still so bummed that I didn't get a picture of them crossing the river. 

It's not everyday you see something like this.  In fact I have never seen Mountain Goats in the wild, only on TV or in books.  So I think this was quite a beautiful site and a great experience that Shellise, Jessie, Bill and I will always remember.  It was exciting!   

I think they were actually trying to eat the stripes off the road.

Aren't they just beautiful?

A Look at Thanksgiving

I picked up Shellise & Jessie at the airport on Wednesday morning.  I was so excited to see them!   Shellise had oral surgery on Monday (2 days prior), to remove all 4 wisdom teeth, so when she arrived her face was all swollen and she wasn't feeling all that great.  In fact, she didn't feel completely well all weekend, but luckily it didn't deter her too much from having a great time anyway. 

Shellise not feeling so well after oral surgery

On Wednesday, after they arrived we got them settled in at home and then took off to do some shopping at Walmart.  Afterwards, they spent the rest of the afternoon playing video games and watching movies, while I finished up on pre-Thanksgiving preparations.  Later that afternoon and after Bill woke up, we took them to our favorite rib place in Bozeman, Bar 3 BBQ, where on Wednesday's they have a full slab of ribs for half price.  A full slab fed all 4 of us and we still took home some leftovers.  The kids really seemed to enjoy the restaurant's atmosphere and the food. 

Shellise & Rocky Relaxing

Jessie & Daisy just Chillin'

This is the first time the kids had been to our home since we moved here, so it was fun showing them around our little town of Belgrade and also Bozeman, which is about 8 miles away from our home.

Thanksgiving morning while in between preparing dinner, we played scrabble and video games, and snacked on Ord'herves (spelling?)  Dinner was planned for 3:00.  Everything turned out great!  The turkey came out looking and smelling great as well as all the other food.  I was a little dissappointed in my homemade rolls though.... they tasted great but I think they raised too long and ended up being a little on the flat side.  But all the other food was really good.  Of course we had lots of leftovers, which is fine by all of us to have Turkey sandwiches to munch on all weekend.  I served dinner on fine china and served our drink in crystal goblets.  The table settings looked really nice.  The apple and mud pies were very yummy for desert! 

Thanksgiving Dinner.  No we did not dress up (probably should have).

And I have no idea why Shellise had on that hat during dinner.  Really Classy!

Chalk it up to that she wasn't feeling well and I didn't realize she had it on until afterwards.

Some of the yummy food on my plate

That evening consisted of more scrabble & more movies.  We rented Angels & Deamons (same author as Da Vinci Code) with Tom Hanks, which is a really good show, for those of you who were wondering.  I'd see it again. 

Friday plans were to take the kids on a scenic ride down towards West Yellowstone, Shopping and Go Karting.   The ride started out great and ended up being awesome when we came across Rocky Mountain Goats crossing the river and onto the road in front of our car.  I was able to get some photos but I will blog more about this later. 

Jessie with Gallatin River in background

Shellise holding her cup of hot chocolate.  Face swelling looking better.

Me, Shellise & Jessie

Bill with Gallatin River in background

I did not get up early and do any of the early Black Friday Shopping like I've done in years past.  We did venture out later in the day to WalMart and to one of our favorite Pawn & Thrift Shops, where the kids found some remarkable deals on some clothes and other fun things.  I picked up a purse for me that still had the brand new tags on it for next to nothing.  Love those deals!

Go Karting was a riot!  Bill came in 1st, Jessie 2nd, Shellise 3rd and I came in last.  No surprise there.  What was surprising and very sad for me is that Bill lapped me by 7 laps, he lapped Jessie by 3 laps. That gives you an idea of how pathetic I was.  Oh... and how very sore my hands, forearms and biceps were.  Steering those machines are very difficult and used muscles I must not use much... also pathetic!  It was so much fun though! 

Shellise preparing for Go Kart Racing!

Jessie practicing on video game

And the Winner Is.....

On Saturday we took the kids shopping at the mall and then to the movies.  We went and saw The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock.  IT IS THE BEST MOVIE!  I repeat, IT IS THE BEST MOVIE I have seen in a very long time.  Even better...It's a true story!  It's a great family movie and I would highly recommend you take your family and friends and go see it.  I think this is Sandra Bullock's best acting ever.  EXCELLENT MOVIE... I would give it 5 stars! 

After the movie we went home so Shellise could take another dose of pain meds, because by then she hadn't had any for several hours and she was in a lot of pain.  Once she started to feel better, we went and grabbed a pizza and came home for wrapping some christmas gifts, more games and movies, as well as getting the kids packed. 

Shellise preparing to wrap some Christmas Gifts. 

Shellise just loes wrapping gifts!

Jessie doing what he does best... Chillin'

Sunday morning arrived too soon.  At 9:30 a.m. we had to be out the door driving to Butte so the kids could catch the plane there.  They flew into Bozeman but flew out of Butte because the tickets were significantly cheaper to do that and since Butte is only an hour ride a way it was worth it.  We arrived with plenty of time to spare so we stopped by the Mall and walked around for a while before we had to get to the airport. 

It sure was sad and hard for me to let them go.  We had a fabulous 4 days together.  Having them with us sure made Thanksgiving extra special!  I was extra blessed this year! 

My sad face cuz the time went by too fast

Dorky, I know!

Now the countdown to Christmas begins.  Depending on the weather, we will be picking up the kids on the day after Christmas in Idaho Falls (half way from here to Salt Lake).  Can't Wait!

I am beginning to feel the.......

Christmas Spirit

But since Thanksgiving isn't even here and over yet, I will hold off for a few more days on decking the halls and putting up the Christmas Tree. 

Instead, I will enjoy the 4 days I will have with my kids for Thanksgiving.  And I will be very Thankful that they are able to spend it with us.  I can't wait until Wednesday at 11:14 a.m. when they will arrive on the airplane.  It has been several months since I last saw them, hugged them, spent any kind of mommy time with them.  And I will be Thankful and Blessed! 

But since I am getting the "itch" to do something Christmassy... I will at least add my Christmas Song Playlist for 2009 on to my blog.  I hope you all enjoy my favorite Christmas Songs for this season. 

This will probably be my last post until after the holiday because I will be busy making pies and getting all the pre-thanksgiving things taken care of.  AND... I also plan to spend every waking second I have with my kids and husband. 

Have a Wonderful, Safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving and Other Random Things

Thanksgiving for me was a little different this year. I am used to LOTS of family around, Immediate and Extended Family - Usually up to 50+ people. This year, however, was just Bill and I and my Mom and Dad. Only 4 of us. Everyone had in-laws to go to and my kids were with their Dad's family. It was very nice, AND very quiet. It was Different. I enjoyed the time we got to spend with Mom and Dad, but I think I like the noise of all the family around. I can't believe I said that because I have complained about the noisy chaos in the past. Mom did an awesome job of preparing the food and the pies. I thought my homemade dinner rolls turned out awesome. The rolls and the pies are the best part of the meal!

Later that evening, we took dinner up to our friends, the Bettridge's, at Primary Children's Hospital. We were glad to see that Erik is doing a little better. We hope he can make a full recovery from his injury. See my earlier post for more information. http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=108401111767017590&postID=3177152485798816695

Erik in Therapy petting the rehab dog.

After we got home we finished off the evening by watching our favorite classic Christmas movie "A Christmas Story". Bill had never seen it so I definately had to break him into the tradition. You either love it or you hate it. I am glad to say that Bill loved it as much as we do.

I didn't do any of the madness early morning Black Friday shopping like I usually do. There wasn't anything that great on sale that I needed. So we slept in and went shopping a little later. I was able to get the things I wanted and I didn't fight any crowds. However, I do have to admit that I did miss the years past when me, my mom and sisters would be standing in lines at 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning to get the must have sale items. Those were good times.

On Saturday, we celebrated Bill's birthday (which is today, Sunday) I took Bill to his first ever Desert Star Theater performance of "Miracle on 42nd Street: Give My Regards to Blitzen" http://www.desertstar.biz/playhouse_now_playing.htm. We had front row seats and had a wonderful time. If you have never been, I would recommend to anyone. They have 5 or 6 shows every year. By clicking on the link above you can see the line up for next year's shows. Afterwards, we had family and friends over for cake and ice cream. We also watched "The Grinch" with Jim Carey. We really enjoyed the company and thank those of you who came to help celebrate Bill's special day.

While the kids went to the hockey game with their dad that evening, Bill and I started getting the house all decorated for Christmas. We will be putting up 2 trees this year. The artificial will go downstairs and the live tree will go upstairs. My brother and brother-in-law, every Thanksgiving weekend, gets tree tags and cuts their own trees and usually gets me one if I want. We got the artificial tree all decorated today, while we watched "Elf". The live tree will be decorated in a couple days.

At the close of our weekend, we dreadfully sent Jessie back home to Cedar City and Bill went off to work. Shellise finished off her weekend tonight by watching "Pirates of the Caribbean". And I sit nestled in front of this computer updating my blog, in hopes that I will get to hear from all of you who may be reading this :)

While it was a different kind of Thanksgiving for me... It was very nice. I got to spend it with my favorite people, had a terrific Birthday Celebration for my sweetheart, and was able to get the "Christmas Spirit" started in our home. What more can I ask for?

What I am most THANKFUL for this THANKSgiving...

When most people think about Thanksgiving the first thing that comes to mind is the Turkey Dinner with all the fixings – potatoes, gravy, candied yams, fresh baked rolls, cranberry sauce, and pies galore. Is that really what Thanksgiving is all about?

Nope, not in my book anyway! I could do without the dinner. The meal itself is not my favorite…well the pies – Maybe! Thanksgiving is really about “Giving Thanks”.

Because I have so many things to be thankful for this year, I thought I would post them here to share with all of you.

This year I am most grateful for and blessed by my Wonderful Husband. Finding him and having him in my life has completely changed my life for the good. I am truly blessed to be loved by him.

I am also very grateful for our kids and grand kids. Without them my life would be dull. They bring so much joy and enrichment to my life. They are my inspiration and my heroes.

I am thankful for parents who have stood by and supported me through the hard times, who have always been there for me no matter what. Who have picked me up when I have fallen on my face and gave me the encouragement I needed to get back up and keep going.

Thanksgiving, for most people, brings families together in one place, to eat and enjoy each other’s time and company, and of course, Football. For this I am grateful. This is the part of Thanksgiving that I do enjoy. It is the time I get to spend with family.

I am most thankful for my Heavenly Father who does hear and answer prayers. He answered mine by bringing Billy into my life at the exact time that I needed him most.

I am blessed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to have the knowledge that I have of Heavenly Father’s plan for me.

I am thankful for my brother, Jesus Christ, who died for me on the cross and who was resurrected so that I might live again.

I am thankful to live in America, the land of the Free. Especially for the freedoms that I have, that we sometimes take for granted. For the right to Vote. While I may not always agree on who was voted into our government, at least we have the right to vote and to know that our vote does count. For being able to worship God freely, at church and in our daily lives. Not everyone is free to do that without persecution.

I am thankful for our jobs. For being able to work and make good money, that keeps food on our table and shelter over our heads.

I am thankful for living in this day and age of technology - To have instant communication at our fingertips - For being able to search anything on the Internet with a touch of the keyboard and the click of the mouse.

I am thankful for getting started in the blogging world this year. It has been such a fun way of sharing lives with all my friends and family.

I am especially thankful to all of you who are my dear friends. For your kind words when I needed a listening ear. For your help when I needed help. For always being there supporting me no matter what. I love you all!

And finally, I am very thankful for this Holiday in November. Because it reminds us that we need to be thankful in all things, every day of the Year!