Idaho Christmas

We celebrated our first Christmas in Idaho this year. After we returned from Iowa, we set out to replace the 'Charlie Brown' Christmas tree we had before our trip with a new one.



It had snowed quite a bit since we had left and it was a bit of a challenge since we couldn't get as far in the wilderness of Sawtooth National Forest. As a matter of fact we only got about 200 ft past were the plow had stopped before the Cruiser found itself stuck in about 3 feet of snow.


Eric dug, and dug, and dug, and crawled under the truck and dug some more and eventually was able to get us out.


That day we saw a ton of elk.


Finally we found our tree.

We were determined to start 'new holiday traditions' this year, but Holly was inconsiderate enough to be sick every half an hour on Christmas Eve which put a damper on the day. By 4 she was feeling well enough to be up and around, so we decided to go to continue on with our plans and went to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and to the torch light parade down Dollar mountain.



The next day went much better. Bridger was delighted to see that Santa had come and apparently he had been a VERY good little boy this year. His favorite Santa gift was set up on the living room floor. It was a mat with roads, and a set of cars, trucks, and trains to play with on it. He got his first set of skis from Mom and Dad.



After Cinnamon Rolls and a big breakfast we headed up to Galena Lodge for snowshoeing. This will definitely be a Christmas day tradition. We took Cowboy Cabin Trail and Valley View. There was quite a bit of climbing, but the view was worth it!





Coming down we really were walking in a winter wonderland. The trees were still blanketed with snow, and the woods were absolutely silent. The snow created tunnels through the trees in places, and went along a mountain stream. It was really neat.


Bridger tried his skis out on the groomed nordic trail.

For Holly's Birthday we drove to Stanley.




We had a great supper-- Baby back pork ribs, corn bread, and sweet potatoes.

On New Years we decided to stay in. Ketchum is crazy busy, and it was super cold. Side note: we saw Arnold Schwarzeneggar three times over the New Year's holiday. We rearranged and decorated Bridger's room and watched movies. Finally, Sunday we had gone stir crazy so we went to breakfast and then went for a drive.




We let Bridger loose and Peyton followed. About 15 miles from our cabin is one of many roads leading nowhere this time of year (or a pile of snow where the plow stops). We decided to go to the last stretch of that type of road and walk for a while.


We let Bridger roam free with out worry of cars, wandering off the road, or eating rocks. Everyone had a glorious time.


Happy boy.


This is Ghost Rider requesting a flyby.


Eric 'skiing' Bridger.


Bed time snack after a long day.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Long overdue!

Sorry for the dry spell, folks. It's been a busy (yet not very photogenic) couple months. Lots going on, but most of it doesn't make for good stories or photos.

Late October we did our last pre-snow outing into the backcountry.


Kelsey and Will visited us over the week of Thanksgiving. We had a great time showing them as much of our world as we could; it was a little tough as this is what we woke up to Tuesday of Thanksgiving week:


Yep, 14" of snow. I shoveled that path so that I could get to the Cruiser...


so that I could go take my CDL skills test in a bus with bald tires! No worries though, this western snow is so light and dry, it's pretty easy driving compared to the Midwest icy snow that we're all used to back home.


Bridger continues to grow and experiment... Here he's decided to get up and walk around when he decided he was done with his dinner.


Trying new beverages...


occasionally choosing his own wardrobe...


or lack thereof.


Playing with boxes and friends.


We're not sure where he gets that from.


He really isn't always just in a diaper... we just seem to always photograph him that way.


We came back to central Iowa to visit for the holidays; it was a wonderful time that we enjoyed greatly. We are SO blessed to have such wonderful family and friends! It was a time that we enjoyed immensely; saying goodbye was so hard! We got to spend time with both immediate and extended families, as well as dear friends that we won't soon forget. It was our first Christmas without Grandma (Grootveld) TerLouw, but her memories were with us strongly the day the Grootvelds gathered from Wisconsin and Southeast Iowa for a day together.

Bridger and Holly also ventured over to western Iowa to visit Holly's grandparents. They had a great afternoon chatting and spending quality time together.

Bridger got time with all his aunts, uncles, cousins, and of course grandparents! He colored with cousin Nora,



got spoiled by Grandma Grootveld and Grandma Happe,



and got some good truck time with cousin Justin.


So many great photos and memories from our time back in Iowa, but this post is probably too long already!

I love this place. This is a photo of the top of the trail that I can hop on the bike and be at in 5 minutes from my office.


Snow in the high country Saturday morning!


A few photos of Bridger...






Here's one from a couple of months ago. Bridger was playing super hard, and kept the pedal to the metal until he just completely ran out of gas.


Went for a hike Saturday. Dog had a great time, Bridger had a nice ride in the backpack.


Ribs for supper. Bridger LOVED it!


Sunday afternoon - 4WD time!




Little hike to stretch the legs and let Dog romp.


Another good weekend in the books!

Sorry, this should have been posted about a week ago... photos and trip were taken on Sunday the 3rd.

We got the flu. Ick. We got skis. Yay! We got out on Sunday for a loop over and up to Challis, then over to Stanley, back home. Route. Pictures from the day:

Looking back towards Ketchum, about 10 miles out of town.


Great colors this time of year!




Finally got to use the Cruiser a little closer to its full potential. I didn't get photos of the tougher sections, but let's just say I'm super happy with how it tackled some more challenging terrain!





Bridger did a lot of sleeping in the car. Then, after going to bed at 9:00 like usual, he decided that he was up and ready to start his day at 2:00 AM. It was a rough night, but we're back to a regular schedule now (in terms of sleep). We're all feeling quite a bit better, but this week has been brutal. I've been intending to put this post together all week, and just have not been able to get to it. We got a babysitter and got out for a mountain bike ride yesterday; temps in the mid 70's never happen in the second week of October here, but it has been awesome! Looks like we'll be seeing highs in the 50's and 60's now from here on out, like normal. It was great though to get one last day in the mountains with shorts and short sleeves! Trail conditions were perfect... I didn't bring the camera, but even if I had i would not have been able to bring myself to stop and take pictures. The descent was awesome... carving through a pine forest, trail covered in pine duff. It was so grippy and fast and fun!! Some rocks and roots to keep it interesting, but mostly wide open throttle! Mom, I promise we'll take some more Bridger photos and post them up soon... Catch you all later!
-Eric

So we have had more significant changes since our last post. In April we sold our house. The buyer requested a closing date within two weeks of their offer. We had basically settled in on the fact that we were going to be in the house for a few more years while we waited for the housing market to change, and so the offer was major surprise. Eric was still on the hunt for a job, so we decided to wait out the summer in Eric's parent's basement to see if something came about before the snow flew. At the end of August Eric received to requests for interviews. One with a bike company called QBP out of Minnesota, and the other in Ketchum, Id as a Bicycle and pedestrian coordinator. He accepted the position in Idaho and needed to be out in 10 days. We packed like crazy. Got Bridger and Peyton to their annual doctor check ups, and sent Eric off with his dad and a great guy from cornerstone church that offered help.



Here is a video of Bridger we took while we were packing. One his own he went through a grocery bag and discovered a box of graham crackers. He opened the box to find an open package of crackers and took a graham out. Then he nibbled on one and fed another to Peyton. It was funny to watch this all unfolding from a distance.

After Eric made it out, I finished things up in Ames for work and for Usborne book shows that I had left to finish. Bridger and I arrived last Sunday evening.

Bridger and I spent our week unpacking and interviewing potential babysitters for him while I work. We feel that we have a great candidate to start him with tomorrow when I go to my first day at BCRD. We currently do not have a washer and dryer so we spent two evenings at the laundromat. On those evenings we went to the Power house (sweet burger/beer/ bike shop in hailey) and to the wicked spud (our fav. burger joint).


This past weekend we spent finishing some cleanup work on the little cabin we are renting. Saturday we drove to Stanley, wheeled at Smiley creek, and then had a picnic supper at Galena Summit. We wheeled to the top so we had some amazing views.