Bearack Obama

The photo below captures a trend that is beginning to affect wildlife in the U.S. Anticipating the Obama presidency, animals that were formerly self-sufficient are already modifying their behavior to take advantage of what they expect to be a new set of societal norms in the next four to eight years. This black bear from Montana has ceased hunting for a living and is sitting outside the US Fish & Wildlife Service office in Kalispell, apparently waiting to be fed and to have his winter den dug by government employees. The residents of Kalispell are calling him 'Bearack Obama'. (Thanks, Suzanne, I had to share this!)

Wintery Play Day

Last Saturday we took a chance to get away and have some family adventures. The Winter Festival was going on in McCall, so we drove up there to see what's happnin'. This was our first time making the trek. It was a gorgeous day for playing - clear blue skies and mild temps. Can I just tell you, the ice sculptures were INCREDIBLE! The theme was fantasy so there were sculptures of dragons, castles, wizards, and a really fun one where they re-created CandyLand! It had a candy cane forest, lollypop land, bridges, paths, and slides. Amazing. Here are some of my favorite pictures, although I didn't do the sculptures justice since it is hard to photograph snow.

Jayden taking a pit-stop:)


Carter putting in a day at the mine.


This sculpture won first place. Beside the dragon was a big castle, complete with a dungeon underneath, a king and queen on their thrones, turrets, and a tunnel and a slide!


The girls are standing in front of my favorite one, although it is hard to appreciate how cool it is from my pictures. There was this enchanted forest, with faces on all the trees, and layers of detail carved inside, like walls and doors, and sitting atop the forest rose a beautiful castle.







I know this post is getting long, but I can't forget the second half of the day, when we went ice-fishing at Horsethief Res. It was such a pretty lake, we agreed that we have to come back here in the summer, too. Carter has this terrific little ice hut where we set up chairs and stay cozy in between running around like crazy people on the ice. We pulled the kids on sleds, Jayden had a good time shooting this bow and arrow at nothing, oh, and Carter fished. The fishing was a little lame, unfortunately, but the kids were fascinated by Dad's fish-finder and they played with worms and rolled bobbers across the ice. Once poor Brennan stepped in somebody's old hole and soaked one leg. After my heart started again, I kept him much closer, as I could just picture my whole baby slipping down through a hole next time. Ahhh! And note to self - bring dry socks for everyone next time!



Nice air-conditioning in those jeans, Carter!