I thought I would write a blog post to reflect on this whole "parent" thing. Almost 2 1/2 years since we were blessed with our little angel Greta, she changes and matures daily. She has become such a wonderful friend and a reflection on who Kristi and I are deep inside. Things she does, things I do, things Kristi does all become very surreal as we are truly a mixture of our parents.

As we age and pay more attention to the little things, it is truly amazing how we affect the lives of our kids. The responsibility of being a parent is incredibly huge, with no days off. This is the first "job" I have ever had that I didn't need "time off". Each day is a blessing and fun in its own way. I have always heard that the lessons you teach your children at a very young age will make them who they are, how they react and give them the proper tools to make decisions throughout their life. Pretty heavy, huh? Simple things like picking up her cereal (even if it was just 2 pieces) after she dumped the whole bowl on the floor. Wow, what a battle. After a standoff of about 15 minutes, Greta picked up the cereal and Kristi and I looked at each other like "wow, that could have gone either way" as we were very close to giving up.

Not 2 days later a similar situation happened and she picked it up on her own. I thought to myself, what if we hadn't of insisted those 2 days earlier? The difficulty to teach these important lessons become much harder, the older they get. Thank you to our parents for instilling the values and experience in how to properly raise children. I hope we can make you all proud.

I am very thankful to have this opportunity and I take the responsibility very seriously. I will always be there to love and support my little girl.

We went to Greta's first parent/teacher meeting last week to see how she is doing in "school". The gals that work with her absolutely adore her (as everyone does when they meet her). To hear about all the great things that she does and the way she treats others is one of the greatest compliments I have ever received (even though it was her they were complimenting). She does have some "drag the guys around the room" qualities that she certainly gets from her mother. I am sure that there will be a lucky "Huschka Man" in her DISTANT future. She is a better deligator than her father.

I have always had an ability to move on to the next stage in my life without regrets or holding onto the past....till now. As much as I love Greta's new stages with conversation and potty training, etc. , I realize that the baby stuff is becoming a memory. The saying of "they sure grow up fast" is the understatement of a lifetime. I will spend the remainder of my life trying my best to not forget each stage and soak in each and every opportunity and situation that arises today. What an incredible ride that I would like to take with no one else. Thank you my little angel, your Daddy loves you more than words could ever say.

Last weekend, we went up to Moonlight Basin to check things out.

We drove to Big Sky last weekend with the thought that Kristi would take some turns and G and I would hang out in the lodge. The weather was gorgeous and we just decided to play in the snow. We are going to put Greta in ski lessons next year. I think she will have a ball learning to ski and Kristi and I will get to ski together for the day.

The other day on the way home from "school" I gave G a blue sucker. We thought it was hilarious how blue her tongue got.

Greta LOVES to splash in puddles. We ran into a little gal in Greta's daycare on the hill. They splashed and ran around and had a ball.

My workout throwing Greta in the air. I am pretty sure I won't be able to do this much longer. Check out the view of Lone Peak. Awesome.

Kristi enjoying a frosty beer on the deck.

Mid-splash. She was soaked and needed dry clothes by the end of the day.

Cheesy one and cheesy two. What a great kid.

G and her Mom sledding on their butts down the hill. She was grinning like this the entire day.







G's friend Madeline playing on the swing jungle gym at our park down the street last Sunday.

These two little girls are 3 weeks apart and are the best of friends. Very cool.

Arizona trip a couple of weeks back.

The family hopped on the flight to Phoenix a couple of weeks ago to go visit Grandpa and Grandma Huschka in "warm and sunny" Yuma, Arizona. Of course we packed for 75 degree days and were lucky enough to get 50. Needless to say we were a little dissappointed in the weather. Generall, you don't leave Montana and head South in February and need to take a jacket much less wear one. End of story. Especially when you are about 10 miles from the border to Mexico.

Anyway, now that I got that out, we had a nice visit. We flew in Friday night about 8 and drove down to Yuma. We arrived at Fred and Angie's around midnight. When I was checking out the rental car, the gal at the counter commented to watch out for the wild pigs on the road... Excuse me? I am used to seeing deer, elk, moose, some bears, goats, gophers, beer cans, skunks, etc., but pigs? Weird. I think Kristi saw a dead one along side the road in the headlights of the car. It is always interesting going to new places.


Greta did great on the plane ride. She went crazy waiting to deplane when we arrived. Everyone around us was happy to let her (and us) go first to keep the peace.


Greta got some gifts from Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Sandi and Uncle Mike. Sandi and Mike got her the head band and Fred and Angie got her that sweet Mexican dress. We put her in it and she wouldn't take it off. Too funny.

We had to do some booze shopping while down there. The prices are better than here and the grandparents will bootleg it back here for us.

G and her Mom.

This is a picture of the RV park. There were spots for 1200 rigs. It is crazy how many RV's and trailers there are down there. Fred said the population in Yuma goes from 100 thousand in the summer to over a million in the winter.
Pam, Kristi and Angie having a bloody mary. Definately sweater weather.

They even named a road after Freddie. I have no idea who that Victoria lady is though!

We went to a family friend Patty Taylor's place to visit. She has an Arizona room on her lot. It is a normal city lot with spots for RV's or 5th Wheel Trailers and has a small room with a bathroom, kitchen and tv room. This picture was taken on the top of the Arizona room with views of the area.

Family photo. Fred didn't get far from his heart pillow. He had triple bypass surgery in Yuma several weeks prior to our visit. They give them the pillow to support their chest in case of a cough or sneeze. He said is was a necessity.

Picture of their 5th Wheel and the rental cars. Pam was a clown car.

I always like palm trees. Enjoy.

Kristi and her Mom.

We went to dinner at a cool spot in downtown Yuma. It had tons of fun pictures and the food was awesome and we had a ball. There were pictures of naked bike riding in the 70's. Think about it....

This is a picture of the hills outside Yuma going toward Phoenix. They are pretty cool and very rugged looking. There are a lot of dune buggys and souped up VW bugs for off roading. They are a very welcome sight when driving across the desert.