Parties R Us

There's a relatively new play place in Bozeman called Parties R Us that we checked out earlier in the week. It's full of those inflatable obstacle courses and bouncy houses and slides and a really fun way to get some energy out on cold days, which we've been having a lot of lately! Just for kicks I tried out the video camera on my new phone (which uploads the videos directly to YouTube for me - woohoo!), so here's Eliana having fun on the inflatables!

If you're local, I recommend heading over there sometime. It's fun!

Christmas Stroll 2009

Slippery sidewalks, falling snowflakes, people shuffling downtown...
Yummy food, but it's too cold to eat....
(sung to the tune of Silver Bells)

That pretty much sums up the Stroll last night! It was 14 degrees out, but people still showed up to walk the streets of downtown Bozeman and enjoy celebrating the holiday season with food.

We stopped first in a little place called La Tinga for some Mexican food. It was pretty good. We had a few little tacos (pork, steak, and chicken/potato) and warmed up a smidge before going on our way. Ellie expressed her dislike for the crowds by informing me that there were "too many people in this place!!"

At La Tinga, the lady gave Ellie a popsicle that she tried to devour, despite the cold. She did a pretty good job eating it with gloved hands, but it made her cold, so we made another stop to warm up. This time we stopped into F11, Leif's favorite downtown camera shop. Ellie finished off her popsicle and Leif played with camera equipment, using me as his subject.

After a bit of a warm up, we headed back down Main Street. Due to the cold and the slippery sidewalks, Leif ended up carrying Ellie pretty much the entire time.

(Aside from the snot that I'm going to ask Leif to photoshop off Ellie's face, this is my favorite picture from the evening!)

More walking, more cold, and another stop by a booth for some fry bread left us needing another warm place to stop in... so we stopped by Bangtail's new location on Main Street! For those of you who have visited Bozeman, you might recognize the building as the "horse" building. Of course, I live here and when Leif mentioned that they moved into the horse building I had no idea what he was talking about. Ha ha! But we stopped in there and looked at skis for Ellie (because bike shops are also ski shops around here) and finished off the fry bread and warmed up.



After Bangtail we decided it was time for us to head back down Main Street to the car. It was just too cold and too late to make the full loop. So we shuffled back down the street, stopping once to buy a pulled pork sandwich (which I scarfed as we walked - I've never eaten a hamburger bun that cold before!!) and once to gawk at the S'mores stand. How do you make S'mores in sub-freezing temps? Like this!

Our last stop before hitting the car was at The Leaf and Bean, a local coffee / tea house. We ordered some coffee for Leif, Montana Gold tea for me, and some hot lemonade for Eliana. It was too hot to drink while we were in there, but made for a nice way to warm our hands!

Despite the cold, I was glad to get to attend the Christmas Stroll this year. 2 years ago I was in Texas, last year I was sick... I was not going to miss it this year! And once again, I'm glad we didn't! It's one of the Bozeman traditions worth attending.

Christmas Stroll 2008

On Saturday evening Leif took Eliana to the Christmas Stroll in downtown Bozeman. There was a big crowd this year...

... and good food ...

... and good music ...

... and good fun ...

I wasn't feeling well, so I stayed home. But when Eliana came home she was so excited to tell me all about the people playing the violins, "just like this!!"... followed by wild imitations of the violin using one arm as the instrument and one arm as the bow. She was so excited by the violins. It was priceless!

Bite Of Bozeman...

Ah... the Bite of Bozeman. Our annual trip downtown to fight the crowds for a tasty turkey leg. It's the only time of year you can get one, so you know we didn't miss it!!

Because Eliana has been short on naps, we figured she wouldn't last for long at the Bite. So we headed downtown a little early (before the Bite actually started) and proceeded to wander around with Ellie in the stroller. This was nice for a couple reasons... First, because we were early there weren't as many people, so maneuvering with a stroller was a little easier. Second, because we were there early, we were able to survey the different vendors and stake out our spot and...

WE GOT THE VERY FIRST TURKEY LEG OF THE YEAR!!

Oh yeah. Wanna see?

Sorry... we were too excited about eating the turkey leg to take a picture before we started digging in! But there it is, in all its devoured glory. Mmmm. One of the few things at the Bite that is worth every penny of what they charge for it.

Oddly, this year Ellie wasn't really interested in the turkey leg. It did mean more for us, but we thought for sure she'd attack it like she did last year. Not so. Instead, she spent her time sitting in the stroller drinking a frozen chocolate beverage.

Apparently, it was good to the last drop. I'm pretty sure she drank practically the whole thing by herself.

This year the Bite wasn't nearly as hot as it has been in years past, and it was enjoyable! We saw quite a few people we knew, which is always fun. We heard a little music (though not much, because we were only there for about an hour and the bands don't start playing right away) and ate some good food and headed on our way so Ellie could get to bed. All in all it was, again, a good way to start off the Sweet Pea weekend.

Bite of Bozeman

The Bite of Bozeman was Wednesday night, so we all headed downtown to feast on the glorious offerings of Bozeman's finest eateries. We shared a cheesesteak and a pork empanada. But the real reason we were there was the turkey leg. You see, this is the only time of year you can get one of these huge, glorious turkey legs. So every year we do. We stand in a big l-o-n-g line on a hot August day, and wait... and wait... and wait... until we can finally shell out $5 for a hunk of barbecued meat. Yes, it is that worth it. Last year was Ellie's first time to the bite, but this year we decided to make it a little more memorable and give her a taste of the glorious turkey leg.

At first she wasn't sure what to think. She held it for a minute (which was really more like hugging it, given the size difference between them), then took a little taste.


... and she's hooked, Ladies and Gentlemen! Look at that smile!

She gazed longingly at the turkey leg and licked her chops in anticipation.


She even spontaneously signed "more" in depseration! (I should add that this is the first time we have ever seen her sign "more" on her own.)

We finally conceded and gave her a few more bites. It is so hard to share sometimes!


Yep, give her a turkey leg and this girl is content as can be!

Police Wiener Dogs

That's right. I said Police wiener dogs. You see, the Gallatin County Sheriff's department just traded in their 3 German Shepherds for 36 Dachshunds. There was an article about it in today's paper. I laughed so hard I snorted in public. I only wish I could find the article online. But, I can't. So you will just have to read the quotes I found humorous enough to merit typing out.

"These little guys will get you," Sheriff Jim Cashell. "They aren't afraid of anything, and they're not trained to be gentle. They're meaner than snakes."

"These little guys" of course, are the 36 ill-tempered wiener dogs the department acquired recently to replace its trio of larger but less aggressive German shepherds. The shepherds lost favor with deputies because they are more costly to keep and, frankly, don't bite as hard as daschunds, Cashell said.

"We weren't happy with their ability to grab a bad guy and not let go until some real damage is done," Cashell said of the shepherds. "They're too easily distracted by things like dog biscuits and other treats an offender might throw at them." "These little wiener dogs, though, boy look out. They go at you and don't back down until you've learned a hard lesson," he added. "They like nothing more than grabbing an ankle and digging in like a tick."

I knew there was a reason I never liked wiener dogs. They used to chase us while we were riding our bikes and we were scared to death. Apparently, we were right to be.