Good morning! I slept in and this is what I saw when I went downstairs. Astrid sitting in her booster seat chomping on her rattle. 
Julianne was nice enough to let us borrow Cad's old "The First Years" booster seat and Astrid loves sitting in it. She's at that stage where she loves sitting up and this gives her the support she needs, and it's also light enough to lift it and move it around to different rooms. I'm thinking about getting one when we're back in LA. I really like how portable it is and that it has safety holster straps so that I can strap Astrid in and not have to worry about her hurting herself if I'm not watching her 24/7.
Uwe said Astrid liked watching him make breakfast and wash the dishes. Normally she's in her chair or swing on the ground, so this was the first time she was up on our level and able to watch everything from a different perspective. 
Uwe brought a lot of books on this trip and is determined to get some serious reading done. It's easier said than done with a baby. 
I found a stack of children's books in our room, and here I am reading one to Astrid.
I like this pic because Astrid is actually looking at the pages of the book as I'm reading to her. 
Here we are all dressed in our warm winter outfits ready to take a day trip into the town of Bozeman. (I bought this wool poncho when I was pregnant and only wore it once on New Years Day 2005, so I'm glad we're staying somewhere where it's cold so that I can wear it again.)
We stopped at a local bookstore on Main Street called "Country Bookshelf". This is a true neighborhood bookstore where everyone knows your name. The sales people are super friendly (genuinely so) and there is a great selection. One local walked in and said, "I need 3 books for the weekend" and the sales lady said "okay" and picked out 3 books she knew he would enjoy. Who needs amazon.com when you have a real person who knows what your tastes are?I purchased a book called, "Seven Types of Ambiguity" about a man who loses his job and is in a place in his life where he is very unhappy and his future seems bleak. He keeps thinking about a woman he had a relationship with (that ended 9 years ago) when things were much happier in his life. One day by chance he sees her with her young son and his obsession with her continues to grow. It's an intriguing story.
Walking down Main Street I saw 3 bookstores. I guess you do a lot of reading (which isn't a bad thing) when you live in Montana, especially in the Winter.(When I got home I found a "Country Bookshelf" bookmark between the pages of my book. Imagine that...a free bookmark! Small towns do have their perks.)
At the intersection of Main Street and Bozeman Avenue there is a rotating horse. 
My blogger friend Trailhead recommended the MacKenzie River Pizza Co. on Main Street, so we stopped there for some lunch.
They have cowboy boots up above in the window. 
Uwe asked me what I was doing placing my iced tea in front of him. "You know I don't drink iced tea." Um yeah...but the glass has the company logo on it. How can I resist not getting a shot with it for my blog? Hey at least I didn't run outside to take a photo of the sign with the specials written on it. I was tempted though.
Ahhh...Astrid reaching up to touch Uwe's face.
Finally I got a shot of Astrid sticking her tongue out. She's been doing it a lot lately but I haven't been able to get a photo of it until now. 
Astrid's first time sitting in a high chair. Since she can sit up on her own now we thought we would try it.
She absolutely loved it.
"Mom, can you get me one of these for Christmas?"
Guess it's time to get a high chair when we get back to LA.Uwe and I were both surprised by all the families we saw in the restaurant (lots with small children). In LA at restaurants we always feel like the odd balls with a kid, or we might see one other lone family off in the corner.
Walking back I was able to get a closer shot of the rotating white stallion.
One side of Main Street was sunny with no trace of snow. The other side of the street that was in the shade however was covered in snow. Here I am standing in front of a school. (Astrid's asleep in her stroller.) The ballet is coming here next month to perform the Nutcracker. Nice! 
Next we made at stop at the local Community Food Co-Op (that carries organic food), for groceries. 
As you can see lots of people ride their bikes to the store (or walk and leave their strollers outside). I didn't see any locks and chains. Another perk of a small town. 
The store has the most extensive selection of coffee beans I've ever seen.There is a sign posted above that says, "Please only take what you need and don't waste." As soon as I read it I heard Uwe shout "whoa!" and saw Uwe's bag overflow and coffee beans spill onto the floor. Uwe was apologetic to the understanding store clerk and was able to give back what he didn't want (which went into a separate bag that was labeled). I'm sure it happens all the time.
Uwe loading our groceries into our Jeep while Astrid stares at Mommy and wonders why it's so dang cold outside.Uwe says I'm like the Paparazzi because I'm always whipping out my camera. It took some getting used to, but it's fun afterwards to look back and remember all our little trips and outings, and now he looks forward to reading about it on my blog.
Another quirky thing we noticed was that the cars in Montana are REALLY dirty. Not like the normal LA dust where some jokester writes "Wash me", but real dirt and mud.
I took a couple shots of cars I saw in the parking lot that fit the bill, but there were many more worse ones we saw while driving. One of them was SO DIRTY that Uwe and I had the same thought when we saw it, "Looks like it was in a sandstorm in Iraq." We asked a lady at the store where there was a nice wine shop. She told us that Osco has the best wine selection in town and that she knew it sounded weird but it's just that way. Uwe and I had never heard of Osco so it didn't seem weird at all to us. That is until we got there.
It's a drug store (like Walgreens or Rite Aid)! Uwe and I looked at each other like "you gotta be kidding me." But since the lady highly recommended it, we thought we'd go inside and check it out. If they only had wine in a box, at least we could pick up some shampoo/conditioner, soap and lotion. 
Here is their wine selection. What a surprise! They also had a nice selection of champagnes as well. They even carry $100 bottles of Dom Perignon.
Uwe had me take a shot of this very different wine label from a winery called, "Cleavage Creek." It looks like a gag gift I know, but it's for real.
Here are some scenic shots I took while sitting in the passenger seat as Uwe was driving. Ahhh...the open road. 
Clean air, no traffic and beautiful scenery.
While driving up the road that leads to our cabin we saw some deer grazing.
This one has antlers.
Astrid happy to be back in our warm, cozy cabin.
Uwe took this photo of the sunset (view from our cabin). I have to say that the sunsets are more spectacular in California. It must be because of the pollution. 
The little one is fascinated by the fire.
Tonight for dinner Uwe made salmon, salad, brussel sprouts, and baked potato.
We had a wonderful first day in Montana. We found the town of Bozeman to be quaint and charming.
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1 comment:
I'm laughing right now, because I was much worse than you about the McKenzie River Pizza Co. glass. I was silly enough to buy one!
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