Spooky

Here's me and Gus making the face of our pumpkins. We had a really bountiful Halloween with our friends Riley and Erin. I mean, our candy buckets were full to the brim!! I had to abandon my high heels early in the evening because I couldn't get from house to house fast enough.

We started the evening with a visit to Grandpa and Jeanne's house. They both dressed up just for us. Jeanne was Bob the Builder, and Grandpa was a scary pumpkin, or ghost, or something. Dad was a disco ape and mom was sort of cowgirlish.

I was a queen, by the way, and Gus was Spiderman.

Oh Brother

First day of school

Here I am with Gus on my first day of first grade at Moran Prairie. I was super nervous because I had to take the bus and find my classroom all by myself. But, as usual, I did it. Dad found me at my desk, working hard on a project, sitting next to my friend Addie. I think this year is going to be just fine. Phew.

Gus started his first day at Plum Tree and wasn't nervous at all.

Priest Lake

Just returned from a trip to Priest Lake where we camped with THIRTEEN families at a super-great campsite with tons of bike loops for kids and a beach for swimming. I've never been around so many kids. We just biked around and around and around until it got late and we had TWO desserts every night. We even went mountain biking on the same trails as my mom and dad. I am a really good bike rider and I swim just like a mermaid (mom said).

Lovin' summer

Whew. It has been a VERY busy summer indeed. After visiting Nannie at her farm, I was shuttled straight up to Spirit Lake for a birthday celebration for my uncle Tim. I got to go tubing with Claire and swam around the entire dock in my lifejacket without an adult for the first time!! Then we were home for about a day before turning around and driving south to the Grand Ronde river for a big float trip in the raft with Nannie and my family. I thought it was SO fun to go down the rapids in the inflatable kayak. We even took Jake with us and--get this--he had his own LIFEJACKET. We came back from this trip and BOOM, we left again for Canada and a fabulous boat trip with Mor Mor and Bacco. I practiced jumping from the boat and even from a salt-water hot tub on Mink Island. We had a treasure hunt at Squirrel Cove because my mom overheard a real pirate talking about the treasure he left for us at a pay phone at the store. SO COOL!!

Flying solo

You're not going to believe this, 'cause I'm only 6 1/2 years old, but I just experienced my first ride as an "unaccompanied minor" on a major airplane. It was scary and sad to say goodbye to my family, but I got to sit next to another little girl flying alone, and when I got off the plane, Nannie was right there at the gate waiting for me. I think I might wait a few more years before doing this again...my mom was kind of freaking out.

Not cheep

Here I am at my final end-of-year ballet recital. I was a beautiful chick and fluttered around on stage like a pro. My piece was part of a bigger ballet performance. Grandpa and Jeanne came and my whole family unit, and everyone gave me roses at the end. I wish I could have stayed for the whole thing, but everyone wanted to get outside in the beautiful sunshine and have ice cream. So we did.

Meet Jake!

I know you were thinking that we'd never get around to getting a puppy, but the stars must have been aligned this weekend. Our local springer breeder had a 11 week old puppy available for adoption, and it took us about five minutes to decide he would be a great dog for our family. It's taken us a good 48 hours to name him, and after thinking of some brilliant names, we finally settled on the one I came up with because it just seems to suit him best: Jake.

Jake is calm and already knows how to sit and sleep in his crate. He loves to play and wiggle, and he gets really nauseous in cars. Pika has pretty much steered clear of the puppy's playroom off the kitchen, but still snuggles with me at night.

Christmas in Spokane

We had a GREAT Christmas at our cozy house in Spokane. Our only guest was the amazingly fun Aunt Annie (or Nanny, as Gus calls her) who took part in snowball fights, sledding, cooking, snowflake making, dancing, karaoking, present opening, and celebrating. After a lazy Christmas morning, we went over to Grandpa and Jeanne's for more sledding, gifts, and a delicious cheese soup. My mom said the crab was the best part, but I don't care for meat (unless it's a cheeseburger). Merry Christmas everyone!

Haloween in Spookane

Hi. Happy Halloween. I'm a witch and Gus is a ghost.

This was a super fun holiday for everyone. After a morning of play-doughing, we went over to Grandpa and Jeanne's for a little fall fun, petting horses, walking in the leaves, and eating a scrumptious chicken biscuit pie and cupcakes with M&M's!


Then we got on our costumes, did our makeup, and started knocking on doors. Our candy bags were full before we left South Regal. Gus promptly fell asleep while we went home so my parents could get all dressed up, and then we visited Sara and Charlie's incredibly scary house (I screamed!) and then off to my friends Bridget and Charlotte's house for some serious trick or treating. Needless to say, we totally scored with whole candy bars and a lot of play time. I can't wait to gorge on some candy this afternoon!

Okay, very slowly, I'm going to start to catch you up on our lives. I don't think I'll go all the way back to February 2009. Suffice to say, our last several months in Bozeman were blissful. We realized that we had built a wonderful community, a beautiful home, and a happy family during our six years in Montana. This made our move to Spokane very difficult and sad, but it also reminded us of of our own resilience and made us grateful for the bounty of goodness in our lives. We left our sweet little house (see picture of moving boxes in kitchen) and rolled down the highway all the way to another sweet house on five rolling acres in Spokane. Our new house is over 100 years old and is surrounded by mature gardens, fruit trees galore, and views all round. Gus and I love roaming around the place and finding all kinds of secret spots to play. There is only one thing missing: ANIMALS. I mean, Pika the cat is one thing, but we need a few more creatures to complete the picture here, now don't you think?

Fall Fun

OMG, I am SO behind on this blog. That's probably because my family moved this summer and I started kindergarten. I guess that's old news to all you blog followers (hellooooo out thereeee??!!). Anyhoo, I have tons of photos I need to post for posterity's sake. Here are a few from our beautiful fall that just ended today.

Wheeee

I love winter. I love sledding, ice skating, skiing, building snow forts, and riding my bike on the icy streets. What's not to love about snow??

Thanksgiving at Tunitas Creek

We have this new tradition in our family. It's called Thanks Giving. We usually go down to Nanny's farm with all kinds of aunts and uncles and cousins galore: Claire, Audrey, Zoe, and Van came this year (we missed GraceCalJohnnyKate) along with Annie, Andy, Nanny, Tim, Tim, Kim, Eliza, daddy, and mama. Then there's the goat, Awn-zay. And the dogs and cats, llamas, horses, sheep, and squirrels.

We had a really fun time painting ourselves and then taking showers under the hose. We also went to the beach and played in the sand and water. It was SO fun!! Here's a picture of Angus taking a bath in the outdoor kitchen sink.

Happy Birthday, Angus!

It's my brother's 2nd birthday today! I'm going to make him a cake, and I'm giving him a really cool truck I found and refurbished for him. He loves trucks. He also loves to dress up with me and dance. I'm lucky to have such a fun-loving brother! Happy birthday, brother. I love you.

Rafting the Jefferson

It was an auspicious beginning. We spent all morning packing bags, locating sleeping equipment, building up a kitchen, and buying food (while mom ran 17 miles!). Drove out to a put in somewhere near Mayflower and then pushed off under a puffy rain cloud. It poured on us for only a little while, and then we found a beautiful camp somewhere north of Cardwell. Ate an awesome dinner, built a fire, roasted s'mores, and read books by flashlight.
Gus slept a little while, but basically kept us up most of the night. Fortunately, the sunrise was worth the rise and we had beautiful weather the next day. Gus and I eventually fell asleep in the warm sunshine. We found camp a bit upstream from our take out, but were feeling a little grumpy (see photo). After setting up camp, including that darn tent from Bacco, making dinner, and improving our moods, mom suggested we pack up and get home for a good night's sleep. That mom is a smart one. We were in bed by 8pm! Viva la Jefferson.

Spirit Lake

Just back from a marvelous week at Spirit Lake. The water was perfect for swimming and tubing. My Schaub aunts, uncles, cousins, Grandpa and Jeanne were all there, plus Aunt Sally. Then we spent a quiet week soaking up the sun and splashing in the warm, clear water. Big fun!

Bunad partay

Well, I must say, the bunad party was a huge success, and my extended family made up almost the entire Daughter's of Norway section of the Maxwelton 4th of July parade.

We also had a Pete Seger singalong with the help of Mor Mor's songbook and Bacco's guitar pickin' but after a few songs the cousin brigade got a little restless and left to play on the swings while the "dolts" kept singing.

Uncle Tom set off fireworks in the evening while we feasted on s'mores. My mom wasn't paying attention, so I just ate as many as I could possibly eat in 15 minutes. It was pretty cool.

Chillin' in the backyard

It's been a long spring here in SW Montana, but summer has finally arrived. There's nothing better than chillin' in my easy chair in the backyard with my brother, watching my dad bake bread in the pizza oven.

School's Out for Summer

Hi friends,
That's me on the right with my cousin Claire. We like to play dress up and make each other laugh. I think she's like my best friend in the whole world. I just had a sleep over at her house while my parents had a big meatloaf party.