And it fits Elias perfectly!
November 21, 2018
November 6, 2018
In case the world needed proof that I have a teenage daughter
Just got back from hunting, and Maille decided my truck was missing something.
November 3, 2018
Finn and the ensemble played at the Missoula First Friday Gallery Walk Last night
Finn's solo of While My Guitar Gently Weeps
October 19, 2018
Growing up ...
Maille (15) joined me at work this morning. I snapped this pic in front of Main Hall at the University.
August 10, 2018
20 Years, Baby!
We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary on August 1 by returning to the scene of the audacious commitment... We rented a cabin near Seeley Lake for a few days and just kicked back. I got in touch with the the current owner of the place where we got married, who was kind enough to let us come and tromp around the meadow where the deal went down 20 years earlier to the day. We rounded out the trip with a hike to Holland Falls, swimming in Holland Lake, and cheesecake, card games, and crawdad catching at the cabin on the Clearwater River.
I honestly can't believe it's been 20 years. I'd say it was the best decision I ever made, but I honestly never really even thought about it -- there was no deciding... I honestly knew October was 'the one' the first time I saw her - a full year or so before we started dating. October was then and still is the best person I've ever met, and I'm so lucky she chose me. Every adventure since then - three truly great kids, living in the desert of the west slopes of Colorado to the coastal rainforest of Southeast Alaska and back to the northern Rockies, all while keeping strong ties to roots in New England, all of it flowed from that promise 20 years ago. She's taught me to go to kindness as a default, to try to be slow to anger and quick to help, and to pour ourselves into our family and friendships. Feels like we're just getting started. Bring on the next 20.
I honestly can't believe it's been 20 years. I'd say it was the best decision I ever made, but I honestly never really even thought about it -- there was no deciding... I honestly knew October was 'the one' the first time I saw her - a full year or so before we started dating. October was then and still is the best person I've ever met, and I'm so lucky she chose me. Every adventure since then - three truly great kids, living in the desert of the west slopes of Colorado to the coastal rainforest of Southeast Alaska and back to the northern Rockies, all while keeping strong ties to roots in New England, all of it flowed from that promise 20 years ago. She's taught me to go to kindness as a default, to try to be slow to anger and quick to help, and to pour ourselves into our family and friendships. Feels like we're just getting started. Bring on the next 20.
June 26, 2018
Good Haul of Fresh Morels
Ryan and I hit the Lolo Peak Fire that burned last summer until the snow put it out. It's late in the mushroom season and the commercial pickers have been out in force for sometime, but this cool, wet spring has lengthened the gathering window and encouraged some late, fresh morels to come up in areas already picked over by others. Two photos from my haul over a couple hours yesterday morning. I've dehydrated 3/4 of them for use through the winter, and we're enjoying some fresh ones too...
June 22, 2018
A few recent photos
Just after Maille's 8th Grade Graduation
Maille and Nana
Finn and Cousin Flint on Seeley Lake
Elias and Cousin Leo at the Osprey Home Opener
Elias on Seeley Lake
May 21, 2018
This is what honest livin' gets you
This weekend, Elias won a drawing held by the Missoula Osprey minor league team... his name was plucked for the one of the prizes for which he wrung his hands the hardest: a game-used baseball bat... He's the envy of his little league teammates!
May 17, 2018
Mother's Day 2018
We hit opening day of the full tour road at the National Bison Range and enjoyed the early wildlflowers... it was a beautiful day - sunny and low 70s. Lots of arrowleaf balsalmroot, larkspur, and woodland star, and leaves but no (or few) blooms yet on bitterroot, lupine, shooting star, prairie smoke, and indian paintbrush. It was really nice to have Marilyn join us, and Maille had a rather physical run-in with an aggressive dusky grouse that kept biting her and gack-gack-gacking in her direction.
After completing the route we had a simple picnic down by Mission Creek and saw many dozens of painted turtles of all sizes sunning themselves in the shallows after a long winter at the bottom of the pond. Before long they females will be heading cross country to find nice sandy slopes to lay eggs.
No such day would be complete without a stop at the Dairy Queen on South Higgins. And this day was not incomplete.
Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there... and especially to October, who honestly couldn't be a better mom. She'd say "Aw, shucks, I don't know about that." Or "Well, it's a wild ride, that's fer sure," or "it ain't fer the faint of heart, that's fer sure." I love that she either "doesn't know about that" or will say “that's fer sure." Those two about cover most of what we're gonna come across. Anyway, she's a killer mom with a rockin' attitude and boundless patience. That's fer sure.
After completing the route we had a simple picnic down by Mission Creek and saw many dozens of painted turtles of all sizes sunning themselves in the shallows after a long winter at the bottom of the pond. Before long they females will be heading cross country to find nice sandy slopes to lay eggs.
No such day would be complete without a stop at the Dairy Queen on South Higgins. And this day was not incomplete.
Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there... and especially to October, who honestly couldn't be a better mom. She'd say "Aw, shucks, I don't know about that." Or "Well, it's a wild ride, that's fer sure," or "it ain't fer the faint of heart, that's fer sure." I love that she either "doesn't know about that" or will say “that's fer sure." Those two about cover most of what we're gonna come across. Anyway, she's a killer mom with a rockin' attitude and boundless patience. That's fer sure.
April 12, 2018
A Tale of Two Spring Breaks
Spring break was a few weeks ago. Two great adventures were had...
Maille and October went to Manhattan to visit her brother Victor and his family. The had some great times with exploring the city, restaurants, bakeries, and just hanging out with Victor, Melanie, and their two girls - Brynn and Madeline.
They day of the flight was the day that Winter Storm Toby was forecast to bring 18" of snow to New York, so they had the added fun of their flight being rerouted to Seattle, where they had a full 24 hours to visit with October's great friend (and Maid of Honor) Tamara. So the disrupted travel worked out beautifully.
The most ridiculously awesome aspect, though, was that Victor pulled some strings (probably all the strings he has out there) and got the girls two tickets to Hamilton on Saturday night. They were in the 4th row, and were then taken for an ~hour long backstage tour with Victor's friend. They met the cast, got loads of autographs, got to mess with props, and we’re generally treated better like super-VIPs. Maille also got to take home some of the prop parchment letters used that night in the play.
Meanwhile, back in Montana... I took the boys for a couple of days to a cabin up in the mountains outside Helena. It's an old Forest Service ranger cabin put in use in the early 1900s. We worked hard to keep the wood stove stoked, at good camp food, played lots of cards, and read out loud from A Wrinkle in Time. It was cold outside and the cabin is less-than-air-tight, so we warmed up at Broadwater Hotsprings for most of a day. Also went in to town for some chocolate malts at The Parrot and spent a bunch of time at Exploration Works.
Maille and October went to Manhattan to visit her brother Victor and his family. The had some great times with exploring the city, restaurants, bakeries, and just hanging out with Victor, Melanie, and their two girls - Brynn and Madeline.
They day of the flight was the day that Winter Storm Toby was forecast to bring 18" of snow to New York, so they had the added fun of their flight being rerouted to Seattle, where they had a full 24 hours to visit with October's great friend (and Maid of Honor) Tamara. So the disrupted travel worked out beautifully.
The most ridiculously awesome aspect, though, was that Victor pulled some strings (probably all the strings he has out there) and got the girls two tickets to Hamilton on Saturday night. They were in the 4th row, and were then taken for an ~hour long backstage tour with Victor's friend. They met the cast, got loads of autographs, got to mess with props, and we’re generally treated better like super-VIPs. Maille also got to take home some of the prop parchment letters used that night in the play.
Meanwhile, back in Montana... I took the boys for a couple of days to a cabin up in the mountains outside Helena. It's an old Forest Service ranger cabin put in use in the early 1900s. We worked hard to keep the wood stove stoked, at good camp food, played lots of cards, and read out loud from A Wrinkle in Time. It was cold outside and the cabin is less-than-air-tight, so we warmed up at Broadwater Hotsprings for most of a day. Also went in to town for some chocolate malts at The Parrot and spent a bunch of time at Exploration Works.
Leaving Missoula early
Maille, October, and Melanie
Hanging out at Tamara's office at the Gates Foundation in Seattle
Sunny Seattle??
Maille enjoying art and culture.
October at the controls of one of Victor's Broadway lighting gigs
Victor showing Madeline the controls
The show is about to start...
Getting to explore the set after the show
Checking out the costumes used in Hamilton
One of the prop pistols used in the Hamilton-Burr duel
Hamilton's 3-pointer used in the show
Maille and Brynn
Keeping warm in October's letterman jacked from Bates
Maille managed to find a horse to make friends with in Manhattan - a policeman's steed
The boys arriving at the Moose Creek Cabin
Playing Spit - one of MANY hands played
Old storefront just up the road from the cabin
Elias in the hang-gliding simulator at Exploration Works
The verdict on chocolate malts at The Parrot
Enjoying some candies from The Parrot in Last Chance Gulch
Battle of the Brains - Finn and EO using brainwaves to move a ball across a table. The ball didn't move, but I don't think the machine was broken. Ha.
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