Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving found Cassidy and I over the mountains and through the woods at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We had a great time at the big family gathering in Spokane getting to see cousins that we don't get to see enough...Here are some highlights:

Cassidy and Grandpa sharing some snacks before the big meal

Cousin Samantha teaching Cass some piano...she was totally into making music. Check out that finger positioning.

This picture I didn't really want to show, but even I can't deny the cuteness. Maybe she'll teach me a few things

Back at Grandma and Grandpa's, Cassidy got lots of family time. Here she is having fun in the bathtub with Meg playing hide-and-seek

Grandma showing her how to blow bubbles

and just try to keep the girl away from her Nuk

Of course, Grandpa was a big hit again this year with the wagon rides for the town's Christmas Kickoff and Cassidy wouldn't miss a going for a ride

We all tried to remember some of our old piano songs, and Bryce got back to his Jazz roots. Cassidy would go from one side to the other adding to the improv

I'm not sure who was more curious, Cassidy or the cat outside

and some good quality time with Grandpa

It was a great trip made even better with Bryce and Meg's surprise arrival from Laramie. We hadn't been able to see them since last January. They were pretty surprised with their little niece and how much she has grown. We hope it's not nearly so long before the next visit.

Meeting Tanner

Last weekend we meet our newest family member...Michelle and Tylers' baby Tanner. He was born the 27th of October and besides his great name he is very cute. Cassidy was curious about the "baby" and did a pretty good job sharing
Mom and Dad

She even shared Lulu for a brief minute

Welcome Tanner! Can't wait to see you again, soon.

Happy Birthday Bryce!

Cassidy and I worked hard on making Bryce some special birthday cookies today. She has become quite the helper in the kitchen and put a lot of love into her first baking project.

Cass also worked hard on her card

Of course, she did have to sample her work to make sure the cookies would be suitable for her Uncle Bryce....the verdict was simply "more?"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRYCE...WE LOVE YOU!

(oh, and hope the cookies make it there in good shape!)

Wonderful Weekend

We had a beautiful fall weekend cleaning up the yard before Halloween. Cassidy and the pups had a great time in the leaves. Chad and I couldn't resist joining in the fun too

She's in there somewhere....

Then we got to eat RIBS and teething Cassidy gnawed down

Then came the great Halloween and the cutest lil' ladybug ever! We went off to town for a wonderful toddler party at our friends house....

And found the other cutest lil' ladybug...

After the party and a good nap we went out Trick or Treating in the neighborhood and changed the costume to the cutest lil' Pacific Northwest Ladybug, the rare species spotted with rubber boots!

What a fun weekend and without a doubt the good stuff!

Antelope Hunt

Chad, Dad, and friend John headed to Wyoming the first of October to meet up with Bryce and a few friends to do some antelope hunting. Everyone filled their tags, each getting a buck and a doe.

Chad and Dad showing off thier wide based bucks

The whole crew

Bryce spent a lot of time scouting for the crew to come hunt and found a great campsite located in the only stand of trees around. It was an old town site as well with some of the foundations still visible.

The camp wasn't too bad, complete with a cook tent and propane heaters!

The heaters came in handy. The temperature was generally between 20 and 35 degrees with a solid 20 mph wind. They got snowed on a few times, the largest coming the night before they left. The conditions for breaking camp was 3 degrees and a foot of fresh snow!

Chad said it's beautiful country.....to visit!

Bryce put a lot of work into the hunt and making sure every one filled thier tags. His outstanding guide job got rewarded with this beautiful buck.

Oh Boy October!

We've had a busy, busy October. Chad left for 2 weeks to go Antelope hunting with Bryce and Dad in Wyoming. While he was gone, Cassidy's Grandmas were awesome and came to spend lots of time with her. During Grandma Kit's week, they went to the pumpkin patch. While Grandma Margie was here, she and Cassidy spent lots of time outside smelling the flowers and playing in the garden.

Cassidy loves going with me to feed horses and exploring the new barn. She gets to "sample" the apples before the horses get them...only the best for her boys.

One of our great pumpkins....

Mom, Cassidy and I left Friday the 16th to head back to Dayton, meet up with Chad, and deer hunt. Our friends from college, Jon and Jill and their two kiddos Lance (almost 2) and Courtney (3 mos) came over as well to visit and hunt. Cassidy and Lance really hit it off and were very cute together....once they were convinced it was ok to share!

Doing chores with Grandma...

See, they can work together!

Dad has come a long way and seemed pretty comfortable with all 3 kiddos

Cassidy trying to fill big boots

Chad and Mom ganged up on me and convinced me Cassidy needed her first hair cut, I mean trim. I'm not ready for her first hair cut yet! We just cut the few hairs from her bangs that were hanging down in her eyes.

Cassidy mugging for the camera

and using Grandma for a jungle gym

Cassidy loved taking her wagon through the field and down to the barn to say hi to the mules. She wasn't too impressed though with Gidget. Cassidy had put some little pumpkins into her wagon but also had a few scraps of hay. Gidget was going after the hay but Cass was worried about her pumpkins and actually yelled at Gidget and tried to shoo her away.

I'd show pictures of the yummy deer we got, but I can't. Out of 5 tags we only had one deer hanging at the end of 4 days. I didn't even see a horn. We got lots of hiking in though and nice weather. As always it was wonderful being on the farm and a great trip. We are slowly getting back to our routine after a scramble this week due to the fact that Cass's babysitter got hired for a teaching position and started right away. We have found another wonderful sitter though that Cassidy will start with next week. They just live 2 doors down and have a little girl a few months older than Cassidy. I think they will be good friends and be able to go through school together. It seems to have worked out beautifully, despite my stress!