Don't eat yellow (or white) snow

Good thing I didn’t eat too much snow when I was home last week. Here’s an Associated Press story we ran in our paper today.

“Those falling snowflakes may have a surprise inside — bacteria. Most snow and rain forms in chilly conditions high in the sky, and scientists have long known that, under most conditions, the moisture needs something to cling to in order to condense. A new study shows a large share of those so-called nucleators turn out to be bacteria that can affect plants. In some samples, as much as 85 percent of the nuclei were bacteria, according to the findings reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science. The bacteria were most common in France, Montana and the Yukon, and were present to a lesser degree in Antarctica.”

One More Day

Tomorrow I leave to head back to Texas. I can't believe how fast this week went. Here are a few more pictures of our girls' week (with a visit from a boy)...

Erika's birthday was Tuesday. Chloe helped make her cake.

I haven't been able to stop taking pictures of Chloe Bear. When you're that cute, who could?

Thursday we had to go to Erika's office. Everyone loved getting to see Chloe. All that cuddling made her sleepy.
She also likes to kick back and relax in the comfort of flannel sheets.
Today my brother drove over from Missoula. He got to meet Chloe and run errands with us (woohoo!). Then we took him to the new Cabela's store, where he met an elk.

And caught a 380-pound halibut. Well, caught sight of one on the wall anyway.

This is before he left. I'm really glad he came over today. It's kind of a long drive for one day, but I was thankful we got to spend more time together. I miss him.

Baby Chloe and Baby Moose

Matt and Erika have had some visitors lately. See the Moose Xing sign in the back? I've been trying to catch a peek at them, but all I've seen is moose poop. Here's the Mama Moose and Baby Moose.

Here's a family picture.
Me and Chloe. She's very snuggly.
And napping this morning. She does silly things with her arms. One's always above her head or hanging off to the side.

Chloe Bear

It's my second day with Chloe, and today's Erika's birthday. So we've been busy doing baby things and work things and I'm baking her a chocolate cake.

Here's Matt making yummy Vietnamese soup last night.

And Chloe taking a nap this afternoon.

And after bath time.

And after bath time taking a poo in her towel. Mommy's birthday present. :)

Busy days of fun

Another fun-filled day with the Woodens. Today the Browns came out to play.

We went to the arena to watch Elsie ride.

We went snowmobiling and sledding.

Dad fed the bulls pellets and George (the bull) showed off his tongue. Ethan hung out on the snow pile.

And we thought it would be fun to take a family picture. We joke around a lot because Jason and Jenna and the kids get to see my parents more than I do, obviously. That whole thing about living 20 miles away instead of 2,000 works to their advantage. So here's one of the attempts.

And they let me be in a few. :)

Tomorrow it's off to Coeur d'Alene to hang out with the Neffs.

More Travels

So today we got up and drove to St. Regis, about halfway to Missoula, and met Kirt. He was coming back from Spokane with friends after a week in the Bahamas. We then drove into Missoula, where my cousin Daryl's son Tyler was playing basketball. So we got to see a lot of family today.

Here's Mom and I standing by the snow pile before we left.

Daryl was coaching Tyler's team.

Ginny and Tyler (and part of Kirt) at Kirt's house after Tyler's second game. They won both of the first two games and were playing a tough Missoula team later in the day.

Sarah playing with Uncle Gene.

And something that hasn't happened since July of 2006 ... the Woodens together as a family!

Welcome to Winter!

I'm home in Montana this weekend visiting the family before my week with Erika and Chloe. It's rained a few days here, so not as much snow, but still plenty. A few pictures...

And of course, Kimchi is more than happy to have another friend to play with. More pictures later!

My Weekend, Part II

So after the Mystiqal parade on Saturday (I can't believe I was such a night owl this weekend), I met up with my friend Alma and her sister Carmen and we went to see Rick Springfield in concert. It was a lot of fun. We weren't that close, but close enough. And he put on a great show, even though he's getting up there in age. He rocked out the whole time and was very energetic. He sounds just as good as he did 20 years ago.

Alma and Carmen.

And here are some pictures of Rick (yes, we're on a first-name basis) in action.

And finally, here's me being goofy with him in the background on stage.

Next weekend I will probably stay home and do chores. Too much excitement this weekend!

My Weekend, Part I

I think this weekend was the most socially active I've had since we moved to Dallas. On Friday, I had dinner with a friend (Cheesecake Factory, YUM!) and then we went to see Juno. Great movie. Jason Bateman, who I love as an actor, was in it and had a great role. Go see it.

On Saturday, Quick sponsored a Mardi Gras parade downtown. It was actually really fun. We got VIP passes, which meant free food and drinks. Can't beat that! Here are a few photos:

The Grambling State marching band (supposed to be one of the best in the country). They were very entertaining.

Elvis on a mini bike. About 10 minutes later, that woman in the gray to the left of Elvis fell and almost got run over by a float. People were aggressive when it came to catching beads.

And here's me enjoying a Hurrican drink and crabcakes. The food was awesome. I guess anything free can be awesome, but it was quite tasty.