Big Sky

Before I forget, the munchkin finally weighs 25 pounds and finally says the letter "f" instead of an "s" (think sish, sower, elesant, sive). These are pretty big milestones and I'll admit when I heard her say elephant correctly for the first time, I teared up. Not that I want her to have a speech impediment, but it's just one more reminder that she really isn't a baby anymore.

On that note, we've started potty-training in full swing. I haven't pushed it to this point because she really hasn't seemed all that interested. I mean, she never complained about sitting in poo poo for an extended length of time, so why should she go to the extra effort to put it where it belongs in the potty? Besides the obvious, she just didn't seem to care. I give all the credit to my mom, who used the opportunity while we were in Montana for a week to get the ball rolling. To my shock/a little dismay/wonder, Sylvie peed and pooped in the potty for JJ on the the first day of her stay at the lake. This may have been due to Parrish's promise of cash to the one who successfully potty trained the little one, but maybe she's just ready? Who cares, we are now in full potty mode. I did stumble on her standing in a puddle with a choice nugget at her feet the other morning, but other than that, we've done pretty well.

We dropped Sylvie off at the lake on Monday night and headed out west early on Tuesday morning for a dental meeting/ski trip. I love that we can use a business trip as an excuse to get away for a week. That's just plain awesome. When we arrived in Bozeman after a car ride, two plane rides, and some pretty sick air sickness, Parrish presented me with the upsell of the day, the Cadillac Escalade rental. I love that he falls for this stuff on a regular basis. But we drove in style like we were hot stuff for the week. I think the other dentists may have got the wrong impression and thought that ADG paid REALLY well for such a young dentist. No, my friends, it's just that my sweet husband will fall for the innocent "upgrade" every.single.time.

Waiting for our flight, making Parrish endure picture taking. Just cause the baby's not here doesn't mean we weren't.

After a quick grocery/wine/beer run (PS...I've finally found the best red wine EVER, call me and we'll chat. Seriously, it's that life-changing), we headed to Big Sky. I'm telling you, the scenery is just breathtaking, even at the bottom of the mountain. Just so different from where we live. The sky is literally bigger. As we traveled up the mountain, it just got even better. The only thing that kept running through my head was, "Majesty, worship His majesty!" We had a room at a ski in-ski out lodge that was perfect and will be perfect when the munchkin goes with us next year. Yay for ski school and cute ski instructors! My only complaint about our room was the mean mom next door who yelled and criticized her child who was about Sylvie's age for our entire stay. I mean, I'd cry and whine constantly too if I was yelled at about everything. Now I don't know if you remember that I'm not shy to call security (if you hump at 3 am, you'll get called on too) so I quietly called the front desk and reported this lady. Maybe it will save the kid a few years in therapy, who knows? It didn't help but I couldn't just sit there and let her abuse her child like that. Made me miss mine so much.

We headed out to Yellowstone on Wednesday morning for a snowmobiling adventure. That's right, Parrish let me drive my own snowmobile. I felt like such a badass. It was so fun. We had our own guide for a private tour. The park is amazing...we saw bison, elk, bald eagles, trumpeter swans, other water fowl, a dead bison, a Ford Explorer illegally stuck in a snowdrift and Parrish in ditch. That's right, after all the concern over my capabilities, HE ran his sled into the ditch and had to be rescued! Not really, he got it out himself, but in my mind it's better if he had to be rescued. I gave him grief after I realized that his leg was still attached to his body and of course that didn't go over too well. But our guide and I had fun teasing him all.day.long.

Herds of bison in the park. They'd stand in the road and stare like they wanted to eat me. Or at the very least heave me into the trees.

Bald eagle's nest we illegally photographed, but the Auburn fan in Parrish poo-poohed conservation in favor of the shot. They are trying to get the birds to nest here and don't want them disturbed. War Eagle!

Beautiful elk. Our guide completed the lovely scene by describing how the wolves kill and preserve the elk for a tasty supper. Yummm.

The really amazing stuff is all the thermal features of the park. I can imagine how freaked out the folks that discovered that area of North America must have been when they stumbled upon that weird landscape. Stinky, bubbling, exploding and suuuuper hot it will kill you if you touch it! Amazing. Old Faithful did its thing but really didn't impress me that much (yaaawwn). Parrish thought the bacteria was the coolest, duh. I'm surprised he didn't bring his petri dishes and pipettes.

Thermaphiles in action.


Can't see it, can ya? Neither could we. Apparently it's better in summer against a blue sky.

Pretty waterfall. Fire in the hole!

The rest of the week we spent skiing. After finding boots that actually fit (oh, the agony of ill-fitting boots), we headed out to the slopes. I'm a novice skier at best but Parrish is great. I think he was bored out of his mind on the greens, but for some reason I was really nervous this time. I talked to Jesus a lot, so if you didn't have any answered prayers last week, it was because He was otherwise occupied with saving my tail. I lost my confidence on the second day after falling a record of three times in three minutes. Fall #1: helped up by Parrish, only to tumble over again and knocking him down in the process. Fall #2: screamed so loud the skier who stopped to help me thought I was dying. Fall #3: Helped up by two sweet men who agreed with my complaint that it must be the snow's fault. Anywho, I'm just going to say that I'm really glad to be home where I'm not expected to perform athletically in front of others (like tiny children whizzing past me) while basically blind and kinda handicapped. And crying. Pitiful, really, isn't it? Parrish did reward me with a gorgeous Montana sapphire and one for Sylvie too...I would say that was probably my favorite part of the trip. Imagine that...I love jewels. Who knew?

On the mountain.

Best Bloody Mary I totally deserved after my humiliating multiple falls. Really soothed my hurt feelings and bottom.

The munchkin had a ball while we were gone, getting all of JJ and Ferg's attention, plus some from Bailey and Aunt Carey. Besides potty training, she enjoyed all the perks of life at the lake: wagon rides, trips to the park, going out for fried food, and peeing on the floor. That last one's not so much of a perk, but definitely part of her experience. The funniest thing was walking into the chaos that only a two-year-old can provide for her grandpa...taking off a VERY poopy diaper during her nap, covering herself and the crib with the very thing he's been avoiding for over three years now. Yikes. Sorry about that, Ferg.

Together again...I think we're all a little tired.

Searching for M&Ms after tee-teeing in the potty.

God Bless,
Katie