BOOOOOOO!!!!

Happy Halloween!  We have had a busy few weeks.  My friend Anne and her daughter Dotty came over for a visit a few weeks ago.  Dotty and Jack love each other, they are a month different in age and went to the same school in Missoula, so they spent a lot of time playing together.  We miss them a lot.  We had fun doing some crafts with the babies and we went to some hot springs about an hour from the house.  You have to hike in about 1.5 miles and there are some beautiful hot springs in the middle of nowhere.  The babies loved it, kind of like a big hot bathtub outside.

Jack hit a big milestone on October 15th, he turned 1!   He was sick with a pretty high fever so he didn't enjoy the day too much, but he did like opening presents and eating cake.  He is now waving, at everybody, including dogs, horses, everybody.  He points at everything.  He took his 1st 2 steps the day before his birthday, but since then he mostly monkeys around on all fours.  He shakes his head "no" which is actually pretty cute.  We spend our days together taking lots of walks and wagon rides, feeding the horses behind our house apples, baking, playing, crafting, reading, and exploring.  Our days are very full.  He loves feeding the dogs his food and taking things out of cabinets. 

Last weekend Jack and I went to Missoula for a few days.  It was wonderful to be back, I miss it dearly.  We stayed at Kiley's and had a fabulous time.  Some of his teachers from his old school came over for dinner one night, along with some friends.  He got his year old pictures taken and had his year old doctor appointment.  It is very hard for me to believe a year has passed since he came into out lives.  I know it is cliche sounding, but my gosh his first year went by quickly (too quickly for me).  Jack was a monkey for Halloween (celebrated in Missoula).  In my opinion he was a pretty darn cute monkey. 

Jay is really enjoying his job.  It was a good change for him.  He has been fishing a couple times too.  His favorite hobby at the moment is playing with Jack.

Hope everyone has a SPOOKTACULAR Halloween! (I know I am not funny:)

Emily

Life in Kooskia, Idaho

                                               view coming up the driveway

 Can't figure out how to rotate this.  Marshall and Huck mud wrestled and played in the rain yesterday.

                                                                  Our House

Well folks, we are here.  We made our move from Missoula, Montana to Kooskia, Idaho last week.  My sister helped me move Jack and the dogs over last Friday while Jay finished up with the house, he arrived in Kooskia the following day.  The trip is only 2.5 hours so it wasn't bad.  We had a moving company move us which was super nice to not deal with that.  Moving with a baby is definitely more challenging than moving with just grown ups.  Jack took about 4 days to "adjust" and he is still doing so.  He is finally sleeping a little better and his attitude is back to his cheery normal self.

The house we are renting is absolutely beautiful.   It is just outside the town of Kooskia, population 675.  We are up on a ridge with 2 acres fenced in, outdoor hot tub, gardens, ponds, a small orchard, and a stunning mountain view.  The town of Kooskia is very interesting to say the least.  It is a far cry from being anything like Missoula.  It is very small, very rural, but the people are very nice.  We are hours from an interstate and 1 hour and 45 minutes away from a town over the size of 3000 people.  It is quite different, but we have high hopes that it will be a good experience.  We already got invited to square dancing lessons down at the middle school by our 70 something year old neighbors.  So we could have permanent Friday night plans if we wanted to :)  Despite Jay's love of square dancing, I have a sneaking suspicion we will probably not  be able to make it to square dance lessons.  There are lots of outdoor activities to do here.  Our house is just a few miles from National Forrest land for endless hiking.  We are just a couples miles from some of the best Steelhead and Salmon fishing streams.  People drive from all over to fish these rivers.  Marshall "caught" a duck this morning in our yard.  Jay stopped him from killing it and it flew over to the neighbors pond.  The dogs are in heaven here.  With 2 acres to run and explore on, they have hit the jack pot.  I am still working for my boss at the University of Montana.  I took one of out computers from the lab with me and have remote access set up on it so I can work from home.  This is great for me to be able to work my mind some. 

Jack has been on lots of walks and seems to be enjoying it here now that rooms are unpacked and he can roam around.  He is standing up on his own and will almost take a step, but not quite.  He has decided to become a picky eater.  His diet lately has consisted of cheerios, toast, yogurt, and fruit.  He spits out then throws on the ground anything with protein or any veggie.  I will post some house picture soon.  We are going to meet some of out Missoula friends on the river today to try out some steelhead fishing, fingers crossed.  Jay starts work Tuesday which I am sure he is going to love.  I will be updating you guys a lot more often now that I have the time.  Love to everyone!

Emily