So John, Job, and Lona headed to Montana for a week over Thanksgiving break.  They headed out on a Sunday morning and drove to Coeur d'Alene where they stayed the night.  The only real information I get is looking at what photos they took. Apparently they ran into snow on Lookout Pass into Montana.  Please tell me that Job didn't eat the snow and it was just posing.  They ate oreo cookies and little cuties the whole way.  Its always interesting to see what people eat or don't on road trips.  When John and I were first married, he liked to have carrots, apples, cucumbers and all sorts of "health" food for the trip.  He also listened to talk radio almost exclusively.  Now he eats junk food like the rest of us normal people and Job and Lona will only stand about an hour of talk radio so he listens to music too. 
Since there was a mountain lion prowling the property the kids needed an adult to accompany them outside.  They rode the 4 wheeler and drove it by themselves, shot at squirels and helped Pops feed the deer.  I watched a video of one of the kids on the 4 wheeler and I think they should have worn helmets and had a speed limit!  I guess that is one of the good things about me not being with them.  John also let them drive the van, working the pedals by themselves too. 
Aside from eating, shooting, and driving they had a little time to visit a couple of John's friends.  One of his friends has twins about Lona's age and the four of them got along great. 
They left Montana around 7 am and drove straight home arriving at 4:30pm.  I can't believe how fast they made it home.  We were texting back and forth the whole day.  I would get on the internet and look at passes before they got there so they knew what to expect.  Job and Lona spilled out of the van with all sorts of stuff from the dump fairy and were hugging and hugging and hugging me and the dog. 
Little things are devulged about their trip every now and then.  Like Uncle Kevin's dog sniffing the mountain lion trap or the stupid hats that they were trying on and the free popcorn they got at St. Regis.  Job watched hours of pumpkin bashing and then built his own trebuchet. 

Friends

Nanna cooking

Hotel in Coeur d'Alene



Man with a ten gallon hat

iPad & laptop = hours of entertainment

Uncle Kevin

snow flurries - non stickig kind

So while the rest of the family was enjoying Thanksgiving in Montana, Isaac and I stayed behind.  He had a big science test, teacher conferences, and chess tournaments.  He has been working so hard with HUGE difference from last year.  It would be difficult to have him take those days off and then try to play catch up when he's been doing so good.  I was quite excited about the prospect as well.  I mean I would have 5+ hours to myself everyday.  Wow, doesn't happen too often.  Those days were quicky filled and I didn't get as much done as I would like.  I met with each one of Isaac's teachers and I really like them.  I met with friends and caught up with them.  I ran around town and did errands that needed to be done.  I went shopping, that was for frills.  Isaac and I were going to head up to Canada and meet up with a photographer friend but it didn't work out.  Instead we spent Thanksgiving at Mount Baker.  I have to say that was wonderful!  I have done Thanksgiving dinner.  I can get the whole meal out on the table at the right time, I can have a clean house for that day.  I really didn't feel bad about not being traditional.  We took the Baker Bus up to the Mountain.  I would highly recommend this form of transporation.  It was $14 round trip from Bellingham Costcutter on Sunset.  I don't think I could have driven round trip for the $28 I spent for Isaac and I.  Isaac slept on the way up and on the way back.   We had a blast on the mountain and ate cold pizza and hot coffee/cocoa at the lodge.  The snow was great for being the second day open.  The slopes were empty, like having our own personal ski hill.  Some guy did say hello to me and Isaac asked who he was.  I had no idea.  Apparently Isaac doesn't like the fact that someone said hello.  He's funny.  You pass each other in the lodge and it's just polite to say hello.  What a knuckle head.  When we got home, he went right to bed and slept until the next morning.  His blood sugars were perfect that day but it wore him out.  The next day we went to see Skyfall and then he spent the night at a friends house so I was alone again.  I did manage to get the laundry done, the house decorated for Christmas and the tree up with most lights, but then John came home with the kids and we took off at a fast pace once again.  Last year I lost it right after Christmas but this year I feel great going into the Christmas season.  I think having that little bit of break to refresh before driving around corners at breakneck speeds really does help.  I may have to keep that in mind for next year. 











My friend did ask me to take photos of her family and I had a lot of fun.  I learned a lot.  I usually get so anxious when people ask me to photograph their families but I so enjoyed this. 

Before they left for Montana, John took Job and Lona to the library to check out books.  While they were there, the library had a bird thing.  A gal brought in a bunch of birds, gave a talk and let kids hold the birds.  They came home talking about birds and how long they can live.   Thankfully they don't really want one.  They're great to hold and learn about but it's a life long commitment to have one.

I tried the raspberry white chocolate chip scones at Woods and am in love.  So I did what any sane person would do.  I searched for a recipe on pinterest and I found mini blackberry scones.  Blackberry, Raspberry, Jamberry Pie.  Really how different could they be? There weren't any white chocolate chips in the recipe but no matter, I'm sure that I could throw some in.  I made a batch and when I added the raspberry they got all mushed up with the flour before I added the cream and so when I went to bake them, they looked like puke.  But they tasted great.  The next batch, I added the raspberries right before I cut the scones into wedges before baking.  The raspberries stayed mostly in their little berry pods.  Better. Apparently you can just add whatever and they turn out.  Love this super simple recipe.  The only problem with it is that it's hard to just eat one.

Here is where I found the scone recipe:  eatliverun

I'm not sure when it became such a hard ship for the boys to make dinner but it did. I just couldn't get dinners made, kids to practices, others home all on the same day.   We've been living off of cereal during soccer and John was tired of it. He planned out a menu, bought groceries and got the boys to start chopping and cooking.  Yes, Job was chopping onions.  Well they were leeks and really didn't have that much of a smell.  Isaac cooked and cut pototatoes.  They added milk, bacon, cheese.  It was a simple recipe but more than they wanted to do.  I thought it was fun.  Looking forward to their next meal. 

Before John and the kids left for Montana I quickly downloaded all the photos from John's camera card.  I usually don't really look at it much because Lona and Job use it to do really goofy stuff.  I had a sliver of time so I decided to go through the photos I downloaded and found a movie they made for school last year.  Something I want to keep for them to show their kids.

It used to be that sunday mornings we would have a family cuddle on the couch.  We'd all sit on the couch under a blanket and cuddle.  It doesn't happen anymore.  As the kids get older they are on the go more often.  We take two cars to church Sunday morning more often than all riding together and we leave at different times.  Sometimes we'd cuddle on a Friday or Saturday morning but with soccer and two kids spending the day at the soccer pitch that doesn't happen.  John's been working lots of Fridays and Isaac leaves for school early. This one morning though, Isaac had left for school but John was still here.  We had a rare opportunity for a family cuddle (and for me to snap a few photos).  They are growing too fast and soon they'll be like Isaac; off to high school and no time to cuddle.

Before Halloween I made the kids dress up and go outside to take photos of their costumes.  I love the color in the neighborhood as the trees are changing.  I love it when the sun shines and makes those colors glow.  Although I think that our photos last year had more glow to them. 

This year Job decided to be a Hazmat worker.  He loves science.  John brought home a tyvek suit from work, the smallest he could find and we used a belt the make it work.  We had the respirator and safety goggles and gloves.  Job's
cast was glow in the dark.  Halloween day he created a nuclear symbol and taped it to his 5 gallon candy bucket.   He used his snowboarding boots to round out his costume.  The only problem was that he got hot.