Camp Cuffe

mountain mama mondays

2012-01-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

there is our destination, stahl peak 7,430 feet. we hiked up the ridge on the left.

big moose tracks

something spooked the moose and there was a 7 foot leap as she was running!

i hitched a ride 13 miles to the trailhead in ten lakes wilderness area with "cruisin' carlos" and "krazy karen".

karen showing us how its done on the sketchy snow bridge over the creek.

fresh, fluffy, powdery SNOW! perfectly spaced trees, it was two thousand verticle feet of heaven.

maximus the wonder dog!

karen at the lookout, 10 degrees and a stiff wind limited the summit photos.

2012-01-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

so, i found purple marker on the chair in our bedroom. i asked logan and hanna who was responsible. they pointed at each other. later that night i found the same purple marker spelling, "joh..." on our bedsheets! i showed johanna and asked her to tell the truth.
"logan wrote my name mom."
logan is 2, not solid on writing his own name, let alone his sister's. she was busted, but it was one of those parenting moments when i'm just trying to stifle the laughter!

we were working on our thank you notes after christmas. johanna has a soft spot for aunt carmen, so this is the contents of her "thank you box" to her. most probably won't fit you carmen, but they are her favorite things she was willing to share with you. i am very thankful for the aunties in johanna's life. she has some wonderful role models to support her journey through life.

johanna is 5!!

2012-01-15T18:43:00.000-08:00

johanna the budding singer-songwriter's favorite birthday present from her family.

the superheros saved johanna's presents from the villan snowfrog! gabby raced out in her barefeet when she saw the snowfrog creeping by the windows stealing the gifts.

but then he shared chocolate, makes you strong, ya know.

carlos, glacier julie and ben

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coco, karen, devon, ayden, casey, hanna, reid and grandma sibyl, unwrapping gifts.

2011-12-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

ho, ho, ho! visiting santa at the point of rocks. logan said "thomas the train set please sir." johanna hid in the corner.

on our way to get our christmas tree.

here it is! notice logan's toy chain saw.

riding down the stais in johanna's sleeping bad. the best giggles we have ever heard came out of this activity.

fall is FUN!

2011-12-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

the vampire princess and the feirce pirate hit the streets to round up some loot.

i started a neighborhood preschool, because.... we needed it!
here's a few of the kids trick or treating at my folks, right down the road.

biking season is still going strong, for the very dedicated.

first snowman of the year!

montana max, the wonder dog needed a house for his night shift on guard duty. this mansion has a bed heater, is fully insulated and even sports a window. No big critters can escape the super-hearing of max. he hears every twig snap and promptly chases the bears, lions and wolves (oh my!) off our land. he then comes back to the porch for praise. airedales are the ultimate mountain family dog. he is so gentle with the kiddos. johanna doesn't like rest time in her room unless max is along. i need to get pictures of the outfits she's dressed him up, he won't be too embarassed... thanks dad for the construction help!

end of the year soccer picnic. i was one of the coaches. never played soccer in my life. funny thing is, after a few high fives and a whole lot of enthusiasm, those 4 year olds never even noticed.

ahhhh.... the view from the bathtub. and the kitchen, bedrooms, living rooms, even the laundry room. always puts things in perspective for me, even after the fifth load of laundry...

view to the west

garnet ghost town

2011-10-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

bob has been working on bear creek in potomac, montana removing a culvert and installing a new bridge. we tagged along and spent an adventurous day at garnet ghost town.

bitterroot valley, montana

2011-10-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

bend, oregon!

2011-10-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

we said good-bye to a great summer by squeezing every last drop of fun. mistie and simon joined us for a road trip to bend to visit a whitefish friend who has moved there and started her family. it was awesome! this is us in an old lava field just 5 minutes from their house.

jo and lo are showing you where we are going next... top of the volcano!!

here's our posse on the rim of the volcano.

very impressive crew...

looking down into the crater... the lava flow actually rerouted the deschutes river in the distance.

american gothic?? pickin' corn for dinner.

the deschutes river runs through the middle of bend. awesome parks, beaches and shuttles for floating, run all through town.

mt bachelor... we want to ski you SOON!

south sister... we want to climb you soon! spent the day at elk lake coming up with a plan...

there is a short window at the end of the summer when you can climb the south sister without crampons and extra gear. the standard route runs along the ridge from the right and can be seen summiting right to left above the highest snowfield. we are ON for climbing it next september with the 3 husbands. we are going to put up my folks in a nice place, nice dinners, and they can watch the little ones during our adventure.
you can still get 'r done after kids!
we mountain mamas love to GRD.

fishing our super secret fishing hole

2011-08-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

neighbor arlie and johanna's trout, not bad for 4 years old.

drew's big catch!

greer and her catch

this was elle's catch...no, no, no. the kids had as much fun with the bait as the catch.

this is elle's real catch, great job!

logan said "wow!"

super strong fisher-people!

hiking in the park!

2011-08-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

starting off our 3 1/2 mile hike to the end of two medicine lake, in glacier national park, with the prince family from tennessee!

greer, super hiker and montana mountain princess!

the boat ride back to the other end was a great treat. it was the ultimate kid hike.

great lunch spot on lake josephine with mt gould in the distance.

mmmm..huckleberrry ice cream is the best after a big hike.

more huckleberry ice cream!

never a dull moment on the trail.

running eagle falls, see the double falls? top and bottom. named for the virgin blackfeet warrior princess.

frolicking in the mountains, nothing better.

hiking in the hood..

2011-08-02T11:56:00.000-07:00

who needs trails when you have a big pile of dirt?! jo and cousin lily playing princess of the mountain.

picking beargrass on the valley view trail with jada and joe.

view of therriault pass from the front yard...

hiking up to therrriault pass. thimbleberries and indian corn were taller than the kiddos!

johanna led the way to the top in her teva sandles, white "wedding dress" with a princess raincoat to round out the ensemble.

at the top! see glen lake and lick lakes in the distance? a little to hazy to see koocanusa in this picture. i don't know who taught them to pose like that????

great hike prince and geremia families!

cuffe family get-together

2011-08-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

in honor of bob's folks' 50th anniversary, the family met up to celebrate at silverwood amusement park and a campground on wolf lodge bay of lake courdelane in idaho.

the roberts family of korea!

first snow cones!

the oliver family from colorado!

the aftershock roller coaster was ea hit! see ryan and becca, 3rd and 4th from the back?

the cousins!

rock climbing

2011-08-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

logan and johanna are enjoying some rock climbing at our local stone hill.

big thanks to greg and mistie of Glacier Adventure Guides for some great times. http://www.glacieradventureguides.com/

mariah's ledge, a beautiful spot along lake koocanusa

bouldering with henry.

ashville, north carolina

2011-03-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

bob had a river morphology course at the grove park inn. it was a wonderful place for us to stay with secret passageways behind the fireplace and even a resident ghost called the pink lady. we searched for her every night.

the kids would plan their route through the grounds from our hotel window... waterfalls, secret passageways and dead ends.

biltmore mansion was great for a rainy day.

yes, there are mountains in north carolina.

we left north carolina and cruised for the coast. we made it to litchfield beach, south carolina by sunset.

7 states in 2 weeks

2011-03-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

we had a great adventure travelling from montana to nashville, tennesse to see the new and improved fidler family!

dottie aka mamie, jammin out at the playground.

brink with hawsen holding on tight.

beautiful dottie with her adoring fans.

relaxing with the girls.

tea parties were a favorite activity...

did i mention there were a few tea parties....

yeah, tea parties were jo's favorite activity.

bob, dottie, hawsen, sally and brink.

culley couldn't get enough of bob.

logan gave culley a tackle hug good-bye!

she loved it.....

so jo did too.

we finished up our roadtrip in sunny florida

2011-03-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

the entire hamilton/cuffe family! together for the 1st time ever!

ft desoto park, florida

the kid table was very impressive. very neat and wonderful manners. lily even cleared everyone plates when they were finished.... without having to be asked!!

my sweet kayli girl. everytime i told her i loved her, she said "i love uncle bob, sigh..." he is her new favorite. good thing we come as a team.

johanna, kayli and i at C.E.C.

alex and carmen's backyard was as far as we needed to go for lots of cousin fun.

jo and luke running through a virtual race course.

yeah, mom and dad were in heaven having all their grandkids together.

fort desoto park, this is dave and luke.

jo, auntie julie and the twins.

the construction projects were fast and exciting with this work crew. they get their great work ethic naturally..... they did not stop ALL DAY!

go hamiltons! (and a cuffe kid)

gigi and pop are here

2011-02-10T23:36:00.000-08:00

when the grandparents are here, the mommies must play!

my favorite adventure gal pal joined me for a bluebird powder day of epic proportions at therriault pass. best skiing i've had all year and only a few short miles from home.

that's glen lake in the distance...

it was pretty deep for max!
he loved it and is turning out to be a pretty good ski buddy.

thank you gigi and pop for entertaining 3 kiddos! so two mommies could play!
(walking over the viaduct in whitefish.
big mountain in the distance. going to the winter carnival parade!)
bob is in north carolina for the week and mom and i had the plan for her to come out and play with us.
but at baggage claim at kalispell, dad sneaks up behind me and starts talking right beside me, over my shoulder! after i picked my jaw up off the floor, i immediately started weeping! what a great surprise. i love my da-dee!

we three kids pulled off a surprise like that in 84 once, now its their turn to travel light and be spontaneous.
they deserve it.

view of where we skiied, from my kitchen window.
therriault pass... named for the therriault brothers, antoine, charles, and michel.   natives of new brunswick, canada, they arrived in the tobacco valley in the late 1880's.   they established homesteads, sawmills, and other enteprises.

excerpt from the book, "The Story of the Tobacco Plains" :

"at the election dance in november, 1900, the night before antoine died, mrs. cuffe (BOB'S GREAT GRANDMOTHER) danced while he held her baby boy for her;  and she was among those who were thoroughly astonished the next day to hear of antoine's sudden death, some say from septic sore throat, others say from lye taken as medicine.   Joe Lee had made a coffin of pine, covered with black crepe from leaonard's store.    to get the body to kalispell for burial, charlie young took it in a rowboat down the kootenai river to jennings, montana."

Johanna's mountain

2011-01-31T11:40:00.000-08:00

Johanna said she wanted to climb a mountain, so mom and dad were only too happy to oblige, we had a great break in the weather, and a great day. thought we would share our montana mountains with you!

i don't know where she got that pose...like mother, like daughter.

lake koocanusa into canada, right above bob's sunglasses is the border.

downhill is always faster when you can sled down!

Helena, Montana

2011-01-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

we were lucky enough to be hosted by uncle mike, our house representative, in helena, our state's capital. bob gave a testimonial before a sub-committee about future fisheries funding. he did a great job!

we were lucky enough to be introduced before the entire house of representatives by uncle mike. they gave us a standing ovation! (a tradition to welcome family members) logan made an impression by sticking his fingers in his ears as everyone was clapping.

we spent most of the day touring the capital and watching the proceedings and talking to folks.
it was a truly fascinating experience. i will never take for granted the commitment that it takes to make our government work. impressive people.

will finish the captions when the kids go to sleep!!!

uncle mike is on the left, too far away to see well. no flash pictures allowed in the capital building.

Montana Historical Meuseum, VERY kid friendly! right across the street from the capital.

Johanna in a blackfoot tipi, she wants one at camp cuffe now.

growling like a grizzly!!!

Can't go to Helena without visiting the merry go round.

it's a true montana merry go round... grizzlies....

and wolves, and river otters....

and mountain goats!

these are two very cool, road trip lovin' kids!

merry christmas!

2010-12-21T21:46:00.000-08:00

merry christmas everyone! if you are reading this, you are very special to us. we are so thankful for the support from our family, and our family of friends. life is so good to us and we are thankful for the inspiration we get from all of you. hope you are snug and cozy with those you love this christmas. happy birthday Jesus!

the view from home.

the kiddos

the newest member of our family...danni girl! max's new sidekick. who will hopefully assist him in kicking out the bears and lions and wolves! oh my!

johanna and logan hanging out in the lodge at turner mountain. ski season is in full swing with LOTS of great powder! its a winter wonderland here and we are enjoying all the playing it has to offer.

logan saying bye to mommy, "go fast mommy."
"oh, okay honey, if you insist."

its snowing!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-11-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

warning!

2010-10-06T23:25:00.000-07:00

the warning, is that these pictures are just for aunties and uncles and grandparents who love and cherish my kiddos from afar. i fully realize these are blatant adoration shots..... and i confess. i do adore my little dancing girl. i don't know what i was more thrilled with, dancing johanna or cowgirl johanna. life is good... so good.

yahoooo!!!! cowgirl johanna!

2010-10-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

on the road again, i just can't wait to get on the road again...

2010-09-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

we've been road warriors this summer, following bob around the state supporting him while he's working. the kids are loving it and enjoy their "hotel homes" and the bunk houses.

tinkerbell bubbles for the hotel bathtubs

johanna enjoys being photographer.

the highlight of their day? watching daddy work. this is bigfoot creek, by turner mountain ski area/

family bed, in our hotel home.

we have hit every playground in 100 miles.

johanna's perspective of the car floor, cowgirl boots, butterfly identification book, etc.

gigi and pop are here!

2010-08-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

gigi and logan digging on pipe creek

hanna collecting rocks with gigi

logan and his pop

visiting daddy at work, that's an armful!

mama and logan on the bulldozer

johanna thought daddy's equipment was a little too loud.

johanna's handiwork while mama was vaccumming

circus party

2010-08-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

mass hula hooping at michelle and mike place!

making johanna's first hula hoop with helen

first trampoline jumping

logan loved the fish pond

michelle on the slack line

bull lake

2010-08-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

the best campsite at dorr skeels campground!

daddy's working on pipe creek in libby, so we met him and the work crew at bull lake. daddy worked every day, but he got some play time in after work.

feeding the work crew with a view of the sunset over bull lake. ahhhh...

a camping mama is a happy mama!

johanna just having some personal time at the beach

michelle and margaeux swimming across bull lake to the rope swing, we tried to follow on our floatie, but the wind kicked up a little too big

www.glacierexcavating.com

2010-08-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

another great job completed in iron horse, whitefish, montana

summer fun

2010-08-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

karen, mistie, simon, taylor and the cuffe clan at tally lake, one of the deepest lakes in montana.

riding on our "ship" at tally lake with simon!

all our good pictures of logan lately seem to have the same pose with him.

johanna is into body painting now. she had two willing models for her artistic expression. thanks karen and carlos!

logan and keely playing in big therriaul lake

logan playing in the woods at big therriault lake with daddy.

2010-07-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

hike to finger lake

2010-07-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

hiking buddies: logan, johanna and max!

logan picking his first huckleberries!

me and my hiking buddies at the lake!

johanna with her buddies gabrielle and cole

how does he get so dirty, so fast?

painting rocks to take home, great idea coco!

lake time

2010-07-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

with the ending of 6 weeks of downpours ( our garden and wildflower display is incredible!) the temperatures have finally risen to swimming weather! logan's first dip of the year into glen lake with daddy.

uncle bob and the neices and nephews on the dock at les mason state park on whitefish lake.

johanna's first real swim of the year was in whitefish lake with aunt dina. it was only because of aunt dina's gentle urging and uncle ryan's cheers from sure... "go to your belly button, go to your shoulders johanna!" that she was brave enough to get into the "refreshingly" chilly water. she's a mountain girl, she'll get used to it.

jo loved playing with jordy in the sand.

johanna and uncle ryan enjoying their shade time.

aunts, uncles and cousins galore!

2010-07-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

johanna and logan were thrilled to have cousin jordan and josh to watch in the dave olseth memorial skate park on their roller blades. its named after a friend of ours who died in a tragic bicycle accident on the going-to-the-sun road in glacier national park.
they were really good, better than my camera!

josh entertained with his guitar playing. johanna is newly inspired.

these beautiful, intelligent, kind and strong young adults spent so much of their time in montana playing games with johanna and logan. bob and i were humbled by how fortunate we are to have these cousins to guide and be a part of our kid's lives. we are very proud of the people our neices and nephews have become, all with unique gifts and talents. i love you all!

ring around the rosey, for the 40th time...

duck, duck, goose!

stream work

2010-07-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

more sauerkraut creek stream restoration project completed.

tessa dog

2010-07-02T15:30:00.000-07:00

tessa the wonder dog passed away peacefully this week with me scratching her favorite place under her chin. i could not have asked for a more loyal, loving, protective companion. she has scared away everything from bears to packrats from our campsites over the years. she was the queen. moving to our land 4 years ago was a dream retirement for the old girl. she took great pride in scaring the deer away from the house.
you will be missed old girl. you ARE a forever dog. cannon beach oregon

nothing like the bond between a boy and his dog.

13 years old

always a gentle playmate

tessa at our mountain top wedding, she was the ring-bearer.

following bob around the state

2010-07-02T14:03:00.001-07:00

here is a stream restoration project near lincoln, montana.
saurkraut creek runs through a beautiful little valley about a mile long and a half a mile wide. it was heavy with gold at one time and was mined so that the entire valley floor 20 feet deep was excavated. when they left, the creek was just an unnatural straight line. trout unlimited paid bob to put in a meandering stream with downed trees intact with large roots to stabalize the banks. now there are waterfalls, oxbows and trout habitat.
the only bad part of the trip was our treasured old dog tessa had to be put to sleep. she was the best mountain climbing buddy that evolved into a wonderful babysitter.

big toys.

bob did a job on flathead lake, that's wild horse island behind them. it was really fun taking him lunch here! quite the drive from eureka.

throwing rocks, nothing more fun for my kiddos.

prince family visit

2010-06-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

MOUNTAIN MAMAS!
here's our hiking girls on top of webb mountain. great day playing with the princes.

logan, after a nosedive in the deepest mud puddle on the journey.

logan is mud loving boy.

melt down because i pulled him out of a puddle!

a great hug from elle, my new hiking buddy.

twodot, montana

2010-06-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

bob won the bid to rebuild part of an irrigation ditch in twodot, montana. he was gone for a month, but we were able to go support him for a week of the job.

this was his campsite. our new camper was purchased just for the occasion, i'm sure we will get a lot of use out of it, great bathroom and kitchen, mama's happy!

he dug it out and installed a 3 part liner system.

wind is the biggest resource here. logan couldn't even play at the playground one day it was so strong. poor little tyke was being pushed over every time he stood up!

daddy working with the crazy mountains in the distance. named after an early settler woman who became lost and destitude here. they found her here, a "crazy woman".

where in the hell is twodot?

well, its the gographical center of montana and the windiest place i've ever been.

first and the biggest windfarm in the state are here.

also where bob has been working for the month of april.

we missed him terribly, but we enjoyed our visit.

twodot is named for twodot wilson, a cattle rancher, who had two dots for his brand, on the the hip and shoulder. not a lot more than cattle ranches and windmills in twodot. the town was 2 blocks long and 2 blocks wide.

baby moose

2010-06-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

mama moose had a little one in our backyard this weekend. see the little one under mama?
just after mama moose charged max, he hustled for home then!

cleaning her new baby.

mud puddles and dogs

2010-06-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

we adopted a new dog named maximus, an airedale, to be our guard dog.
airedales are bred to be tenacious hunters of bears and lions. most importantly, gentle with little ones and protective. perfect combination for camp cuffe. been raining here for weeks, mud puddles have been our passion lately.
mistie and simon visited to join in the fun.

max, doing his thing. he circles the clearing around the house a couple of times an hour. gives an alert bark to let us know if he sees anything.

max is always close by keeping an eye on the action, checks on each of us individually.

max's favorite perch.

eureka riverwalk

2010-03-05T15:40:00.000-08:00

it was 70 degrees in eureka today!
we took jo's trike out for a cruise and logan waddled along.
took us 2 and a half hours to go 1.2 miles.
a great day was had by all.

thanks for the fleece gigi and aunt carmen.

jake's handmedown bear hat, i believe.

thank you!

sled riding party

2010-02-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

long time sled riding party in trego, montana. karin and pom sang kid songs around the fire.
anna the milk cow scared johanna with those big horns.
even a sighting of a rare snowfrog! ~ really our neighbor carlos, just entertaining the little ones.
pretty fast sled riding!
see jo to daddy's right, peaking out at the pig?

johanna is 3!!

2010-02-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

johanna's favorite movie was part of her list of birthday activities.
a hike with just mom and the birthday girl always includes a spin on the swing that we put up half way around the trail.
she's 3!
party was fun, thanks for the blocks uncle dave and auntie nea!
ice cream cake from dairy queen.. mmmmm. one of the benefits to a birthday in january in eureka, montana.

week with gigi!

2010-02-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

jo and lo

2010-01-04T15:12:00.000-08:00

jo's skiing and logan's walking

2009-12-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

hot chocolate and marshmallows were johanna's favorite part of the day.

logan can't be stopped now.... walking everywhere.

its a whole new level of cleaning and eliminating temptations. whew!

see the trail sign?

johanna's jaunt is the site of her first ski day!

here we come TURNER!

happy little ski bunny.

life around here...

2009-11-06T17:17:00.000-08:00

yeah, this picture is witnessing logan's first trespass onto one of johanna's trains/paths.

logan's favorite hangout.

the lower windows in the living room are just right for him to hang on to and look outside. he'll stay there for a long time, commenting on all he sees.

johanna helping dad at work again.

this is the sexiest photo i've ever seen. i love a hard working man.

johanna watching dad at work....

2009-10-20T15:52:00.000-07:00

johanna is showing you moose poop on our trail.

logan having fun with the pans!

i decided the potatoe party needed some more recognition. she was so proud of these potatoes!

johanna's jaunt

2009-10-20T15:39:00.000-07:00

pop put up fun signs to find along the way of our trail...

2009-10-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

johanna loves to play chase around the living room and dining room. its a nightly ritual with her dad. she always goes clockwise and cannot play quietly.... she tries not to squeal with excitement, but ... cannot do it.
this day, jo wanted logan to chase her, dad obliged.

this is johanna in her naughty spot. while having rest time in the afternoon, she decided to make a mess in mom and dad's room and picked 30 green tomatoes. that's what's in her purses. "apples, mom" she said when i asked her what they were.

fun cleaning job aye? she sat there and helped me clean for two days, the little stinker.

there's been a sighting, now caught on film, of a rare mountain tiger! feeds on candy.

yep, johanna is so excited for halloween, she couldn't contain it to just one night.

this was our hike to chase lake.

she jumped in EVERY mud puddle along the way.

pop and gigi : western tour 2009

2009-10-16T14:15:00.000-07:00

logan got to hang out with pop a lot.

logan is a crawling machine. pulling himself up mama's leg most of the day. he can pull him self up to standing at 8 months. maybe he'll beat johanna's mark of walking before 10 months old. we are raising some strong skiing, hiking kiddos. johanna hiked for 3 hours one day to take daddy lunch on the upper property. yippee!

we had logan dedicated at our church while gigi and pop were here. johanna is very comfortable here and was hamming it up on daddy's shoulders, being quite animated.

johanna's favorite hiking attire, pretty dresses and her hiking shoes. pop helped us figure out our trail, loop is 1/2 a mile long.

pop and gigi rented a van and drove from 84, PA to eureka, montana.

2009-10-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

watching the steelers. johanna has her arm around pop.

logan's wearing jake's handmedown steelers outfit.

johanna's favorite thing pop and gigi brought us from 84, would have to be the swing. it was made by johanna's great grandpa and is barn red. johanna has a pretty good view to swing to.

that smile says it all. she's on it every day.

pop teaching jo how to push and pull to make the swing go higher.

thanks for hanging it so well pop.

pop and gigi's visit

2009-10-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

twas a great visit with gigi and pop... as always, we accomplished so much! we canned and enjoyed the fall harvest time. they came in like santa with their sleigh full of presents for us.... even the canning jars.

and johanna's great-great-grandma fultons mailbox! the bigger the mailbox, the bigger the package that can fit, so i don't have to go into town as much.

johanna loves her auntique sleigh stroller for her baby dolls.

let's pray for lots of snow to use the toboggan.

johanna has the bed i grew up sleeping in. only fell out once. she loves it.

trains, trains, trains

2009-09-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

johanna is very proud of her "train creations" all over the house...

but first, this is a dress my mom made for me when i was a little girl!

looks great with polka dot pants, don't you think?

hiding in her toy fort under the stairs.

here's the "trains."

"da-da!"

very proud,

still likes to be naked around the house.

visiting daddy at work again

2009-09-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

bob has been working on grave creek rebuilding a waterfall to provide better habitat for the endangered bull trout. johanna visited daddy at lunch time and wanted to go "creek stomping."

he decided to put her to work!

she loved it and worked hard for her daddy.

2009-08-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

neice kayli and nephew jake are buddies in florida! gigi took this of them walking to their neighborhood pool. can't wait for johanna to join this exclusive cousin club. we have a little photo album of all the aunts, uncles and cousins that live too far away.

jo and i watched this aspen tree snap off during our april wind storm. its a beautiful snag now that gives our view character.

play, play, play... all day long they play. logan is starting to be able to hold his own with her. he has a powerful cry that let's her know when enough is enough.

johanna pulled out every blanket she could find to give logan the thrill of a fort. she was so excited to finally get the roof on top.

daddy was working in walking distance last week, great for a family lunch break. johanna is talking on her walkie-talkie to pop.
helping logan with breakfast. logan started crawling without fear today. everywhere... and surprisingly quick.

helping logan with a "fort" around his playpen.

northwest montana fair

2009-08-24T16:37:00.001-07:00

the garden.... pumpkins, onions, zukes, potatoes, buttercrunch lettuce.... coming along quite nicely. its become johanna and my sanctuary. she is such a good helper. she loves it.

her first ferris wheel ride...

her first hug from a horse...

her first merry-go-round ride... look at that laugh! she loved it!

2009-08-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

jo riding in the john deere with reid, cole and taggart. when she drove it, she rode up over a big bouncy ball and scared the boys. coco's house in whitefish.

wind damage as promised, big trees went down. this is on our trail.

this is my favorite picture i've taken of logan. i think because its shows activity! yippee! he's rocking, but ends up crawling backwards. he can barrel roll anywhere he wants to go quickly now.

my handsome little blond boy. i can't stop smooching him! mmmm...

all day long, they play, wrestle and giggle. jo is his favorite toy that he never tires of.

aunt carmen asked for more and she's got it!

2009-08-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

going head first down the slide!

contemplative jo.

playing together constantly now! she races me to his room when he wakes up from naps. a few times she has snuck into his room and woken him up saying "more play wogan?"

mom, carmen and kayli and i in 84, pennsylvania walking on the family farm. thank you carmen for always leaving such sweet comments, being such a wonderful sister to me and keeping kayli and trey remembering their aunt julie who lives too far away.

whitefish lake, city beach.

more for aunt carmen!

2009-08-10T11:24:00.001-07:00

jo learning to drive home from a hike.

having lunch at glen lake (4mls away) while daddy had a lunch break. johanna says "GO STEELERS!"

crazy hail storm last week.

randoms from the week...

2009-07-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

johanna said "mama, i happy."

making mud pies in her white dress. notice the jack-o-lantern bucket. johanna had such a great memory of halloween this year, she won't let me put it away.

my view most days.

johanna knows the names of half a dozen flowers. rose, our neighbor carlos gave us as a house warming gift.

the garden

2009-07-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

notice our garden shed... it was our old outhouse. moved of course.

another view of the garden, looks like nothing is growing, but the lettuce, spinich and radishes are there. our last frost was less than a month ago!

our little hiker.

we are growing pumpkins, beans, peas, garlic, cilantro, oregano, yellow squash, green zucchini, eggplant, potatoes and onion all in 5 terraces that daddy built for us out of rock. an Inca-inpspired design that will utilize all the water so it filters downhill.

had to give gigi a good view of the pig tails.

jodi and gary gatts from pennsylvania! a great visit, now if we can just get them to move here!

jodi and gary's visit

2009-07-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

we enjoyed a visit this week with jodi (waleski) and gary who drove out from pennsylvania to soak up a little montana livin'. went on lots of walks in our "neighborhood". johanna has a love affair with sticks. she'll carry as many as she can and then ask you to carry some too.

mama, logan and jo walking from the house to the shop. johanna is blowing her whistle that she wears around her neck. scares away bears and she will dance to her "music".

taking a break on our hike with pepper. notice johanna is in her socks. she decided to walk the last hour in her socks. did just fine. what ever works!
throwing the stick for petey and max at a local lake.

this is what johanna calls "new" lake. its on our closest walking loop from the house. she didn't remember ever being there last year, so this spring she said " oh, a new lake!" we saw a mother moose and her calf of the year, just bigger than a german sherpard, one morning this week. instead of grabbing my camera, i grabbed johanna so she could watch them retreat through the timber to the top of the ridge. no picture of the moose, but johanna will never forget seeing that protective mama moose.

Pop and Gigi's visit to montana

2009-07-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

gigi and logan

johanna loves her brother she tells him he's the "best brother ever!"

jo keeping her brother company.

hiking our trail

riding her horse Abbey together

pop and gigi

2009-07-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

johanna had an ear infection and swollen, infected tonsils to welcome pop and gigi to montana with. all you mothers who have lived through one or both, you feel our pain. she perked up later in the week and had fun showing pop her daisy flower. she knows it by name.

pop was busy as usual and sawed and piled all those downed trees around the house that we just hadn't gotten around to; he built me a compost pile in the garden; he put up shelves in the laundry room; he sawed firewood; he put up shelves in the closet; he helped us with the website (www.glacierexcavating.com) and here he with his eager assistant putting up shelves in logan's room.

pop and johanna strolling in the driveway after dinner.

walking on our trail. notice her black and gold fleece? johanna hasn't forgotten who are still the superbowl champions of the world! go steelers!

pop and logan in front of therrriault pass. logan is wearing a onsie bought by his great grandma hamilton for her son... pop! there is a family picture taken with pop wearing the outfit. fits logan perfectly.

house-sitting on glen lake

2009-06-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

we spent the weekend at aunt becky's house on glen lake, just 4 miles away. she's helping clover with baby lola and her big sister. congrats clover on pushing that baby out! can't wait to meet the little beauty.

so this is johanna with her new pink fishing pole, learning from her daddy. that's therriault pass and our house in the background. well, you can't really see the house, it would be right behind bob's head, up in the mountains.

johanna loved having daddy to play with all weekend long.

johanna and cole on the porch, so beautiful to have the lake right there.

the piano was entertainment.

2009-06-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

Logan's happy face. you get this if you... look at him. he's a happy baby.

thank you auntie nea for the red dog wubanub. its the only pacifier he'll take. he likes his thumb though and i'm happy with the convienence and accessability of the thumb.

this is what our trail looks like. just a big grassy road that is awesome for xcountry skiing. very few hills and lots of animal tracks and poop to entertain a 2 year old. this is johanna ahead of the pack blazing the trail. friends keli, baby jeager and tucker were staying in our guest apartment last week. they finshed the drywall in the apartment which was awesome. we moved in there when i was 7 months pregnant with johanna and the snow was piling up on the yurt. we were just happy to have a thermastat and indoor plumbing. finishing the apartment has been a goal for a while. we want the coziest, homiest most welcoming guest quarters so you all come see us!

the sunset last night.

the sunset from the top of our stairs. that's abbey, johanna's favorite horse. she rides her like a cowgirl every day.

today was a good day.

2009-05-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

logan loves to take baths with big sister jo.

taken on a hike on the trail around our land. we saw moose tracks and moose poop. logan is in the front pack in this pic, tried to get the 3 of us, didn't work. notice jo's STEELERS shirt... they ARE still the world champions of football for 8 MORE MONTHS!!!!!!!!!! YEA STEELERS! did you know the 4th string QB for the STEELERS now is from kalispell, montana? mike reilly is his name, watch out for him.

"c'mon logan, let's play!"

therriault pass today. snow is almost gone. leaves are out in the aspen trees out there. we lost 2 big aspens that used to be in this view, during a big wind storm a month ago. keep forgetting to take pictures of all the trees down. i'll get on that.

we had a good day today in the garden. planted a big crop of potatoes and onions. garlic is coming up strong from last fall's planting. lavender has transplanted well and smells magical. johanna loves her sandbox pop. we got some nice soft lake koocanusa sand (for free) and she loved playing it today with her little dumptrucks and excavators like daddy's. kept her busy for an hour of planting and watering. very nice. fence still isn't up though. hopefully tonight.

great camping trip to peck gulch

2009-05-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

lizzy and johanna dancing around the campfire.

cole, gabby and coco. lizzy and mia. playing at the water's edge

logan giggling at someone, you just look at him and he laughes!

more tent playing

what a hug from cole!

lake koocanusa, memorial day

2009-05-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

special friends reid, cole pickert and johanna. they loved the tent! sunshine entertained us around the fire. she has a new band called sunshine and the belton boys that have been pretty popular around the valley.

johanna decided to accompany her on her drums. they sounded pretty good together.

future surf dude shirt from his california cousin tanner. we sent him a future cowboy shirt from montana when he was born. i love raising my kids alongside my brothers and cousin adrienne. why, oh why are we soooooo far away?!?!

"must explore every square inch of this place mommy!" always a stick or rock in hand.

logan's first camping trip at 3 months old

2009-05-26T13:04:00.000-07:00

we had a blast camping with some of our favorite friends at lake koocanusa. sunshine, ted and their 6 kids, and coco and ross brought their 3 kids, plus a few friends, we had such a great weekend.

tessa, sarah and jo enjoyed the view from peck gulch campground.

johanna came home with lizzy's "dora" bike you see in this picture. she is sooo excited. she is picking dandelions in this picture and 30 seconds later she pulled her pants down and pooped! when ya gotta go, you gotta go!

johanna thought our tent was her own private playground and would pull kids inside she wanted to play with. she loved the big girls especially. breezy, lizzy and sarah

logan enjoyed a lot of attention from his hard working daddy who was happy to relax . bob was great for hanging out with logan in the shade so the girls and i could go off exploring and digging in the sand and finding cool rocks and daring each other to go all the way under the cold water in the lake.

logan and johanna... happy kids!

2009-05-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

lake koocanusa... we love our local beach!

we even brought home some sand for the sandboxes pop made us.

the best mothers day ever!

2009-05-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

we spent the day at "the beach"! montana style! this is lake koocanusa and is actually a dammed river that stretches from canada south for 40 +/- miles. it was a great day.

jo learned the art of going #1 outside, without getting your feet wet. a very important skill for a hiking, camping girl.

picnic lunch on the sand.

thank you uncle X for getting us back online!

2009-05-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

we were the victim of mean and hateful viruses. who invented things like that? uncle X saved mama from going cabin fever crazy, or worse! thank you my beloved brother. you are now #1 brother. sorry dave.

she may be wearing pink princess pj's, but her favorite toy is the racetrack.

rainy day walk around the "yard"

who is this crazy mohawked man? our wonderful neighbor carlos! bringing gifts for the kids from his wonderful girlfriend karin.

riding her horse Abbey, in her cowgirl boots and lifejacket. she's excited to get the boat out, she "drives" it as we leave for our walks every day.

daddy and jo on the dancing rock in the front yard. we just got done cutting all the downed trees from our trail after a big windstorm. we lost over a hundred trees. it was crazy watching the trees snap and fall after 36 hours of sustained wind.

"J Lo" in action

2009-04-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

Jo and Daddy creek stomping on therriault creek

not sure why, but Johanna decided to build paths of books around the living room, she was just tickled when Daddy strolled with her. excuse the nudity, toilet training.
Handsome Logan

Starting our hike around the neighborhood this morning. 3 hours long, yipee. 80 degrees today!

Johanna and her baby taking her nap on our balcony, with therriault pass in the background you can't blame her.

easter 2009

2009-04-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

the smile says it all.

spring has sprung!

2009-04-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

we are having a ball exploring the neighborhood without snow. johanna rode her trike to the mailbox for the first time today.

a spring day to remember

2009-04-09T15:43:00.000-07:00

we had a great day of sunshine and 70 degree warmth. we walked to all these beautiful places from home.

a day in the life

2009-03-31T15:17:00.000-07:00

johanna is a busy girl. she enjoys her days so much, she avoids bedtime as much as possible. must have books in her bed now to ward off boredom. she can communicate so well now and loves exploring around the homestead.

a day in the life of a 2 year old

2009-03-31T14:44:00.000-07:00

Johanna and Logan were spoiled at our baby shower

2009-03-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

johanna is the ultimate big sis

2009-03-03T15:59:00.000-08:00

more logan

2009-03-03T15:47:00.000-08:00

LOGAN CUFFE HAS ARRIVED!

2009-02-21T10:48:00.001-08:00

our little guy arrived at 6:24am, friday, february 20th. he weighed in at 7lbs. 2 oz., 20 inches long. HE'S SO PRECIOUS! johanna is in love with "her baby."
mama got out of bed with contractions at 3:24, he arrived ala natural 3 hours later. yea! we made it to the hospital!

GOOOO STEEELERS!!!!

2009-01-31T09:40:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to Daddy

2009-01-29T13:54:00.000-08:00

Johanna loves to cook and bake in the kitchen with Mama. She designed, mixed, "painted", and helped Daddy blow out the candles on his cake.

johanna at Kids Klub

2009-01-23T14:40:00.000-08:00

we volunteer once a week at an after school program at our church. here's johanna singing and dancing with her friends.

Our little girl has changed a lot in a year

2009-01-20T13:40:00.000-08:00

here's johanna 1 year ago on her birthday. We were living in the apartment in the shop then and johanna refused to taste her cake. There's been lots of changes for us and we couldn't be happier. we are enjoying the easy living of being in our dream house that we designed. our view every day is truly inspirational. we can't wait to welcome baby #2 and complete our family.

First Birthday Party

2009-01-20T13:28:00.000-08:00

johanna turned 2 on january 14th, and is becoming our big girl. can't believe its been 2 years already and her sibling is anxious to get in on the fun too. due date is febrary 28th, but from all the activity in my tummy, i'd say he/she is ready to play sooner!

happy new year

2009-01-05T13:35:00.001-08:00

we spent the evening playing at the pickert family's home in whitefish with good friends: playing, watching fireworks, sled riding and eating lots of yummy food.

jo wanted to help daddy

2009-01-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

we have been getting lots of fluffy snow, its beautiful. its also keeping daddy busy plowing our driveway, our road and 3 neighbors have called asking him to help. johanna has been riding shotgun and this is the outfit she chose to go out in the cold to help daddy.

Go Steelers!

2009-01-05T13:13:00.000-08:00

Steelers are in the playoffs, so johanna is practicing her "touchdown" cheer.

we are back!

2009-01-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

yep, we are FINALLY online at the new house, so here's some pictures of our little darling.

Johanna says hi everyone!

2008-11-03T15:05:00.000-08:00

sorry we haven't been keeping up on pictures, here's a few to keep aunties and uncles satisfied until we get the computer at the house.

johanna's first trick or treating experience

2008-11-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

johanna was a little leary of masks, so we weren't sure how it was going to go, but as soon as she realized she got CANDY, she was dragging us around! we couldn't believe how many kids were out in eureka, it was a fun night running around with our friends rob, kelli and their son tucker.

johanna has had a busy week!

2008-08-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

johanna has been busy climbing mt marston (where mama and daddy got married), watching her first rodeo (the "bull thing" actually), hanging out with the horses at the amish community's friday night dinner and giggling and making memories with gigi, grandpa and our special friends dottie and wibby fidler from nashville, tennessee. for those of you who don't know yet, we are expecting johanna's baby brother or sister next february 28th. all of us are very excited.

fun visit with gigi, grandpa and the fidlers

2008-08-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

home sweet home

2008-08-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

a day spent fishing, is a good day indeed

2008-08-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

we had fun fishing on grave creek this weekend. johanna loved playing with rocks and following swimming frogs from the bank. "creek stompin'" my dad always called it. and its just as fun as i remember from the farm in 84.

Family

2008-07-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

we are so thankful for johanna growing up with such an outstanding extended family. we grow more impressed every year with how johanna's cousins are maturing and growing into such inspiring influences for her. thanks for a great week to the cuffe aunties and uncles! we appreciate all your hard work. you are true brothers and sisters to us... no more "in-laws"!