Miss me?

In deciding to start back up with my blog, I realized that it's been 11 months since my last post.  Seriously, 11 months.  I know everyone says this but SO much has happened since then.  First of all, my blog, although named Made in Montana, is now back in Idaho.  Rather than confuse people with facts, my blog shall remain Made in Montana.  After all, I did grow up there.  Second, my best friend, Karen in Progress, had her first baby who is cute and amazing and so very different from my own pink bundle of joy.  And third, my family and I went on our first vacation; a cruise along the California coast.  These are just a few of the tasty morsels you have to look forward to in the coming months.  I apologize for the lengthy hiatus but look forward to sharing again.  And, HELLO, now there's Pinterest!!!

Kiss Me!

Elizabeth has begun showing an interest in cooking lately, especially baking, so we've made dinner together a few times this week.  Last night she helped me by coating the pork chops with Ritz crackers and Parmesan cheese then she made Peanut Butter Blossoms for dessert.

 

YUM!!

Valentine's Party

As most of you are aware, last Tuesday was Valentine's Day and in true elementary school fashion there was a sugar-laced party.  Also note that February was "I Love to Read" month and because the students reached their goal, they were allowed to dress in Hawaiian/Aloha clothes for the day as well.  I know, a Hawaiian Valentine's Day...I thought it was weird too.

 Elizabeth's version of Hawaiian garb :)

                   The card-catchers!  Here's Elizabeth's------>

A little crafty craft before the sugar coma.

Self-decorated sugar cookies with extra sugar on top!

Elizabeth's Valentine haul!

Above left: The principal, Mrs. Deis.                                                 Above right: parent volunteers.  

Above center: kids decorating cookies.

The kids all seemed to have a good time and before long the sugar started to kick in...

just in time to go home!

Knotty Animals

Last summer during one of our day trips we discovered these creatures along the main street of Red Lodge.  According to my one minute of research, these creatures were made from fallen Rocky Mountain Junipers gathered at the base of the Beartooth Mountain Range.

As you can see from the last photo, the name of the business is Rocky Fork Juniper.  After visiting their website, www.rockyforkjuniper.com, I discovered some of the other goodies that they make including furniture, mantels and this planter that I thought was neat...

Odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order. 

                                                                               -Virginia Woolf

Cheery

Elizabeth attended her first cheer leading game last Saturday.  I did my best with the photos but my camera uses two batteries per picture so this is the best I could do!  

The girls did really great despite several coaches calling in sick that day leaving the squads with substitutes who weren't quite prepared resulting in several looks of confusion and some misplaced poms.  Oh well...

And now...the videos!!

Buck That!

Last night, we attended the Chase Hawks Rough Stock Rodeo in Billings.  Once we arrived to purchase tickets, we discovered that is an annual charity event.  Upon further research, here's what I found out about the event:

- The Chase Hawks Memorial Association Story -  In September of 1994, a six-year-old Montana cowboy named Chase Hawks was killed in a tragic accident.  Family and friends gathered to form the Chase Hawks Memorial  Association (CHMA) with the goal of finding hope for others facing crisis and possibly easing some of their own heartbreak.  The Association keeps Chase's memory forever in the hearts of many while bringing the comfort of much needed assistance to many more.  CHMA is simply neighbors helping neighbors in the cowboy tradition of community spirit.

So sad :(  On top of it being a charity event, the Marines were also there gathering donations of cash and toys for Toys for Tots.  It was a great event which included Bareback, Saddlebronc and Bullriding only.  Most of the riders had just come from the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas last weekend which, for us, meant we were in for a good show; and we were not disappointed!

Rimrock Auto Arena (aka The Metra)

Minus the balding head in the shot, 

this was a nice action shot!

The rodeo clown, Crash.

Awww :)

 

Although these photos turned out fairly well, the best shots we got were with the video function on our camera so here are the top three videos we ended up with....very exciting!

 

Apparently you need buns of steel for this job!

Yikes!

This video needs no comment.

Needless to say, we had a great time and look forward to the next one :)

Go, Fight, Win!

For those of you who don't know yet, Elizabeth has decided to take cheer leading which is offered through one of the churches here in Columbus.  The season only lasts about a month and a half and they will be cheering for the alternative group of basketball players.  So, on Saturday we went to the church for her uniform fitting and a packet of information including the cheers and motions she will need to learn.  Although initially she was having second thoughts about going, once we got there she saw several other girls from her class and got more excited once she put on the skirt!

Sorry it's a little fuzzy; had to take it with my phone because, as usual, I forgot the camera :)