THE DEWITT FAMILY: January 2009

"I'm here Tom", "New Year's Resolution!" Thanks for keeping me on track...Well, it is almost the end of January, 2009 and where did this month go? I guess I had another birthday....Other than a short visit to our old stomping ground to visit the Irvins and our darling grand baby, to celebrate my belated birthday, attend Sarah's baby shower, and a January birthday party with our dearest Smith clan, January keeps us mostly at home on the "Res!"....(ha ha). For those of you who have never visited us here in the "Boonies", in the middle of the Colville Indian Reservation, I thought I would post a few "local" pictures! A friend of ours once said "we live in a valley on the side of a hill, with mountains all around and a river running through it....We went to Republic, a small mountain town in which, during the early 1900's, logging and mining was a very big industry, "the Gold Rush" of Republic. No one seems to be "rushing" there now however, except 60's old hippies and the crazy DeWitts. It is about 30 miles North of us. My closest neighbor Debbie, who lives two miles away and I went to Grand Coulee Dam for a latte and groceries and then spent a fun filled evening catching up on our lives! It is about 30 miles Southwest of us but involves crossing a windy icy mountain pass, needless to say, Debbie drove. I don't do ice driving! As you will see Republic has the very basics, but for anything more we need, Spokane is it. It is about 90 miles East of us....Sometimes it is just easier to go back to our stomping ground and that way we get to see the family! We spent a wonderful evening drinking wine and eating fine food with our friends Don and Marge whose home, way up on a mountain, overlooks the "Mighty Columbia" (Lake Roosevelt). I work as a substitute "parapro"/cook in the kitchen, when needed, at the local school K-5. Our enrolment for this year is a whopping 33 kids, but believe me, after a day in 1st/second grade, with 13 kids, I am quite exhausted as they are more than a handful. Oh, and welcome to the world Dorielle Sidney, my third great niece, born in Israel on January 17. Another welcome to Skyler Kole, born on my birthday on January 11, in Arizona. Mazeltov Craig and Cynthia and Kamy and Mike. Danielle, another baby in your life....Kamy and Mike are Danielle's good friends in Arizona. Last but not least, we had a visitor for a couple of days.....I am glad you left us Mr. Bull as the piles you were leaving us in the snow were not pretty. I told Rock it is total bullsh....to have to deal with this in the winter. The Res is open range, so when the cows come down from the hills in the fall, we have to keep our gate closed, however, in the middle of winter, we should not have to nor should we be afraid to let out cats out because of a skinny, mangy, winter bull.....bye bye Bull. You are no longer "home on the range!"