Billings- Seattle

So I feel like in my last post, I left out most of the "flavor" of the last week, so here are a few of the great moments that are had when taking a 8 month old on a week long road trip. In no particular order.
1. So on our ferry ride we were standing outside on the deck when we heard the announcement....."Attention passengers, a frog has been found. If anyone wants to claim said amphibian, please do so". HILARIOUS.
2. The most delicious lamb curry I have ever dreamed of. It was even good eaten cold and with my fingers for breakfast the next day.
3. At one point in the car Alex was being unusually quiet. So I turned around to find that she had somehow gotten a hold of the salt and vinegar pringles, opened the can, dumped it out on herself and proceeded to eat them. She was covered from head to toe in salty chip residue, and had vinegar breath. I am still finding chip pieces in the car seat.
5. Apparently during the off season you can barter with hotel clerks for the best price possible. I think we only paid full price once, and all we did was ask, "So do you have any other discounts" after telling them we didn't have AAA.
6. We had a ton of fun hanging out with Alice and Bill in Seattle. It was so nice to have some other people who knew the area, and had a sense of humor, to play with.
7. So we would get up at 5:30 with Alex (when we changed time zones, she didn't.) We would raid the continental breakfast and then drive for a couple of hours. Then we would let Alex into the front seat and try to feed her while she played with the steering wheel and dashboard and had the time of her life.
8. Tyler was so wonderful and cooked all the meals for me! He would sit outside with the camp stove and cook our Mountain house freeze dried meals (actually very tasty), while I watched Alex. He even did the dishes! It was wonderful!
9. When we were at the tide pools looking at starfish and looking for crabs, Tyler noticed that the "driftwood" we had been staring at were actually seals bobbing up and down! They were only like 20 feet away, it was so cool.
10. One of the 5 or so things I really wanted to do was eat a great seafood meal. We tried a few restaurants and surprisingly we couldn't find ANY with Crab on the menu. We finally found a place with an ocean view that were willing to make a meal just for us. So Tyler and I ordered a pound of crab legs and made a mess eating them at this fancy place surrounded by rich ladies out for lunch with their friends, and men out for lunch with work. They had a treasure chest with toys that we looted for Alex after lunch. It was great.
11. Driving on the beach was really fun but a bit nerve wracking as well. We were never sure when we were going to get stuck, it was great.
12. The beach. Hands down my favorite place ever. I loved looking for treasures and walking in the water. I only wish we had made a sandcastle.
13. Visiting my Aunt Kathy in Idaho and watching 'Cars' in the hot tub. Their house is built on a hot spring so the floors are heated and the water has to be cooled instead of heated. Sometimes the toilet seats get hot from the water!

Least favorite moments
1. Traveling with a crying, won't go to bed, and wakes up at 5 am baby
2. So much driving.
3. Having to leave.
4. Sand in baby's hands.
5. Sand on baby's face.

Our new life

Tyler taking a break from raking the lawn and chasing down chickens for Alex.


Tyler cutting off some split limbs in a tree some 20 feet off the ground with his favorite toy, the chainsaw.



Alexandria and her Uncle David dancing on the table



This one needed a close up.
Alex LOVED the chicken. We had to pry her fingers off of the poor thing after she grabbed a handful of feathers. She really wanted to hold the cat, but i hate cats.


Our new family photo. Tyler dressed Alex today.

On the Road Again

So after another pack and move, we are finally in Billings. for a week. We packed up and left on Wednesday and drove all day through the snow and rain and wind, sort of sneaking out of town and not saying goodbye to a lot of people (sorry). So we are here in Billings, just in time to miss Archie's birth, and hit the rain. We will be leaving in a week to go on our Anniversary trip to Oregon (more snow and rain) and then make our way back to Utah for Thanksgiving and to see Arch.

On the way through Utah.

Alex took a turn driving.

A little late on the Halloween pics

Alex had about 5 different halloween costumes, but at the last minute I decided to make her a "Lone Peak Hotshot". I sewed up some pants and a shirt and then cut out all the little letters and outlines and got it all put together......



It turned out great. So Alex decided to be her daddy for Halloween in the end.


I put on one of Tyler's shirts and we were a "hotshot crew" for Halloween.
Ben and Kate were a Baker, and Kate and was an oven with a 'bun' in it.

Devin and Kara were Juno and Paulie Bleaker.

Yay.

Lone Peak Hotshots

As property of the state of Utah this has been Tyler's job for the last 6 months. He is home now though (yay!!!!!). We are all very excited!! Someone on the crew put together this video montage of clips taken during the season. It's crazy to actually see the sort of stuff he has been up to (Tyler is very good at downplaying the danger of things).

A variety of halloween costumes

Alex is INSIDE the pumpkin. I think that may have gotten lost in translation.




I made Alex a vampire cape because her "fangs" were her first teeth. Well the middles ones have come in and taken over, so it's not as cute anymore. I still love the cape though.

Moving and Bed appreciation

So this weekend Tyler and I are going to pack up for the 5th time, and actually move to Montana. It hasn't really hit yet, and I'm not even thinking about it until Tyler is done with work.
This summer has been crazy. With Tyler gone firefighting all the time, I was planning on moving to Montana in August, until the end of the fire season, this Friday! Well, it didn't happen like that, and Alex and I have been in Utah instead. Since Ben and Kate moved in, (when we fake moved out) and will be here for awhile, Alex and I moved into the smaller bedroom while they set up in the bigger one. Not a problem at all, we are only there when we sleep anyways. Since Alex is in a crib now, we got rid of the queen size bed and set up a twin so they both could fit in the same room. While this sounds awful, it's not so bad. I've decided that it is preparing us for our road trip when we opt to save money and sleep in the back of the x-terra.
So, a few weeks back Tyler and I were in bed one night after he had just returned from a fire. Alex started her "hungry" cry and I started to roll over to get up and get her. Now when Tyler is gone, I sleep in the middle of the bed, with a good foot on each side. With Tyler here I forgot to adjust for the lack of space, and immediately rolled Off the bed. This would not have been bad, but our over sized cement nightstand caught the upper half of my body, and there I was, my legs on the ground and the rest of me jammed in the crack. This was my favorite twin bed experience. I will never take a queen bed for granted again ever.