Emma and the Dinosaurs

Yesterday, while Sid was out with the fish and the boys on the Yellowstone, Emma spent some time (about 3 hours total) at the Museum of the Rockies; with the dinosaurs.

Emma is really into dinosaurs. Here she stands in front of "Big Mike", the T-Rex.

Even though T-Rex is "pretty scary", according to Emma, she has the Williamson urge to heal the poor extinct guys.

So Emma dons her doctor glasses and starts working on "T", who appears to be unwell. Like the Shiatsu masters, the tongue is checked for indications of sickness.

"T" appears to be feeling better already. Emma is good with dinosaurs.

I have some video that I am trying to post. If I can figure it out I will. It is pretty funny!

**Videos**

I only recently realized that my Palm phone can take video. So, please excuse the orientation issues. The glasses and activity were too amusing to pass up.

In this next one, Emma is not very pleased that another "doctor", a girl has shown up to interfere with her work. Aside from a few long stares, skewed glances and a consternated scratch at the head, she keeps her cool.

Happy Easter from Montana

I was all ready to show you a picture of garden (with hay bale) sans snow- as an update to our previous bog on "current conditions". And as evidence that we are not crazy to live in Montana.

Alas, now all I have for you, on this Easter Eve, are pictures of snow, snow, snow. And parent/kid madness, in the form of a blizzard-like Easter Hunt at our beloved Museum of the Rockies.

When we awoke to a heavy downfall, Sid was convinced they would cancel the hunt. I retorted, "Oh ho, no. This my dear, is Montana. People here do not cancel due to weather." I was right. At least on this topic.

Here are some pictures of our morning.

What lies in wait.

The competition.

Emma holding her own.

What she is expected to achieve by at last age 6 (see pig-like-dino basket/mother lode on right).

Why I love Bozeman and Museum of the Rockies.

Sid giving Emma a pre-hunt pep talk....The portion I overheard: "It's all about the eggs Emma. Just focus. You got skills. You can do it!"

Emma visualizing success. Self-taught.

Elmo is everywhere. We love him.

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So, Happy Easter!! We love you. Enjoy the special day. We'll be thinking of, and missing you....Don't you wish you were here right now visiting us? Maybe next year? :-)

xoxo

Emma, Jen and the fishes

Current conditions:

Almost every day Emma goes out to our back yard to bug (I mean visit) Jen; our backhouse renter. Jen is very cool. She studies Weddell seals in Antartica. Emma likes her because she will push her on the tire swing, play with her in the sandbox and because she has a kitten (named Izzie- short for Izabelle) and two fish (I can't remember their names).

Here Emma is with the very patient and very endearing Jen.

Okay. Okay. I took a lot of them looking at the fish. But, it was very hard to stop. And selecting out which too post was even harder!

What we've been up to

The weather hasn't been that great. It never is in March, or in April or May, for that matter in Montana. But, you take what you can get.

Emma has been reading a bunch (she is up to 5th grade level now).....

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And swimming at the pool. Emma loves swimming and talks about going just about every single day. She is a great bubble blower and is getting very good at the "kick-kick-kick" thing. No triple gainers off the high dive yet. I'll let you know when that happens.

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Emma has been re-discovering the playground with Phoebe and Francoise. While Emma will never be the first in any athletic feat where Phoebe is involved, she is holding her own!

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We've also been going on some mini-Montana adventures. Like the one we did today with Sarah and Freya at Headwaters State Park. According to the Prius, temps at Headwaters were 60 F when we left, then dropped to 52 as we hit Bozeman. There is a big difference out in the valley than here closer to the mountains.

Above is Sarah (fellow Vermont-lover and UVM alum) and her daughter Freya, which is Norse for the goddess of love....

Sarah is wonderful! While playing Scrabble and after knitting sessions, we plan trips to Newfoundland together. :-) Her husband Kent seems game, as there is good hunting there. Sid says Newfoundland fish are small. We'll talk him into it yet. Below Emma is sharing a fishing stick with Freya. Throughout the day, she continued to hunt for the perfect stick.

 

Gym Day

 Down the street from our house is Willson School. Every Thursday they have toddler gym day. Emma and I met Francoise and Phoebe down there last week for a "play date". Here are some pics. You can see the differences in their personalities, just by the pictures. Every picture of Phoebe is blurred (I took these with my cell phone): Phoebe = kid in motion. Almost all of Emma were unblurred: Emma = kid at rest.

I love the feel of this old gym- built in the 1920s. It lakes some modern-day features. But, that very fact makes it kinda of a magical place.

Emma gone fishin'

We went for a hike/walk last Sunday. It was a glorious sunny winters day.

We decided that fishing (with a stick for a pole) was the best thing to do on such a nice walk. We've been reading "Curious George Goes Fishing", so she was all primed and ready to go. She knew we needed a pole (stick will do), string, a hook and some cake....

Emma was hoping to catch a whale, but some rocks, running water, squirrels and other nature-type gazing suited her just fine in the end.
 

When we were done, she was pretty sure it would be a good idea for her to drive home.