A Day with Big Daddy...

...apparently entails hiking to Weir Creek hotsprings, hot chocolate and rice crispie treats.

I'm sitting at work and about 3:30 pm I get the following email from George:

Beatrice woke up this morning and immediately started in on the aspect of going to some hot springs. So, one that can not deny the kid all that our local has to offer, away we went to Weir Creek about 30 miles into Idaho on Hwy 12.

After a lengthy hike over hills, precarious outcroppings on snowy ledges, down along the river, we climbed one last time to find this hot pool just for us.

Frau raised cane while the kid and I basked in the cool glory of nature and sipped hot chocolate and ate a Lil Debby rice crispy treat.

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With the following pictures attached to the email:

The first one to find a puggy wins a rice crispy treat:

Nordic Bea

I took Skeetie skiing for the first time up at Pattee Canyon the other weekend.

George got her some classic cross-country skis for Christmas and she's been itching to use them.

As you can see, she's wearing what she referrs to as her "ear muffins" that her Dramma and Grandpa Erickson gave her.

After she got the hang of it she wanted to ski in front of me.

Looking at her two tiny pigtails and her little frame skiing down the trail like a big girl absolutely broke my heart.

We seriously have the best kid ever. How cool is it that my two year old asks me if we can go skiing at "Paddee Cinyon" on a Sunday morning.

Between her and Ollie, I am a very happy mommy.

I can't get the video to load on this blog, but here's the link to Bea in action.

Note how she greets the passing skiers on the trail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WOfLbKJmww

The Two Sides of Bea

The polite little Candienne, Beatrice, who gracefully eats boiled eggs out of an egg cup, only after lopping off the top with egg scissors, of course.

And then there's the crazy little Powerskeet!!!!

A Satiated Frau

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The following link contains graphic material, not suitable for small children or animals.

Lochsa Lodge Lovin'

Two little words: Perfect Vaction. I found mine.

Just The Captain & Kitty & a bottle of Bailey's.
Snowbound in a little cabin with endless cross-country ski trails.
Life does not get any sweeter than depicted below.

Toasty in the Main Lodge

On the deck of our cabin after a ski down to the Lochsa River.

Playing checkers (while being ferried Bud Light by the bartender the night before).

The Captain and his bottle.

The Wheels on the Bus

So my New Year's resolution is to ditch the car and take public transit to work four times a week. I did just that my first week into it. I'm keeping a calendar to mark the days per week/month I take the bus. I love it. I am provided a nice relaxaing walk to the bus and then to work. After 5 days, I have become bus savvy and no longer get suckered into conversations with the folks from Opportunity Resources.

Since George had to work today, Bea and I hopped the bus downtown to the Children's museum, ate lunch at the Catalyst, window shopped, then took the bus home where upon she promptly fell into a dead sleep. Bea was so thrilled to ride in her own seat on the bus. In fact, as we were waiting at the stop, she actually waived the bus down.

Bea at the Children's Musuem in the "Dino Dig."

Lunch at the Catalyst - smoked tempeh sandwich and Hungarian mushroom soup - a hit!

Waiting for the bus downtown at the Mountainline bus station.

One other thing I have to put on this blog - when she is getting ready for bed she looks at me deadpan and says, "I hear one little jingle bell outside." So cute, because her Pappy dressed up like Santa on x-mas eve and knocked on her window. But before he came to the window he was in the backyard shaking his jingle bells.

One other major achievement, the little darling sat quietly through an entire mass tonight with zero incident (quitely counting/sorting/eating Skittles). That is huge for a 2 1/2 year old. Huge.

Well, looks like its shaping up to be an eventful New Year, hopefully I get more time to post regularly on here, but probably not.

And oh yeah.....CONGRATULATIONS YON & WIZBEF!!!!! Translation: Elizabeth and Shawn are engaged - woo-hoo!!!! Mobile, Alabama or Bust!! The Hursh & Erickson clans, sans kiddos, intend to "rock it allll niiight, like a hurricane," as Fluffy the Canadian Cougar would say. Needless to say, we are so happy that Shawn decided to "shit, and not get off the pot," as Fluffy & the Don Benamino would say. As Kelly and I discussed, in depth over Bud Light, this now means we cannot get pregnant until after October 6, 2007, which kind of throws my plans off by 3 months. But there is no way I am hitting the Mobile-love-fest pregnant.
But seriously, the circle is now complete and Elizabeth will make the perfect Ms. Thomas or Mama Thomas for short.