We have been crazy busy having lots of fun here in Montana. I would like a few calm days to just sit and read, but it seems that moving keeps you hopping for awhile.
The end of the school year came quickly. The girls mainly just had fun for those three weeks. Anika got to go to the Lewis and Clark Caverns and Kelby and Tegan got to go on some fun camping field trips with their classes. They both wanted to take our tents on their trips, so I made them practice putting up the tents on their own.
Friday night, June 7th, we went to the High School Rodeo Finals at the fairgrounds. It was the girl's first rodeo and it was so fun. I had forgotten how much I like the rodeo.
On Saturday we climbed up to the "M". It was hard work because we went up the hard way! When I was a kid I skinned my knee bad on that climb and still have the scar to prove it! At least we didn't have injuries this time.
We also stopped to get Tegan a library card and introduced Michael to the library as well. It is such a huge library and the librarians are so nice!
The weather here is so nice and hot. We discovered what the locals call Bozeman Beach. It is a lake with a sandy edge and the girls love it. I believe we'll be spending lots of time there this summer. Cold days in the university fitness center, hot days at the beach. These girls are fish!
The weather here is so different. We have had some great thunder and lightning. Kelby said she'd never seen a lightning bolt before moving here. Mike left work walking one day trying to beat a downpour. Needless to say, he didn't beat it. He was soaked to the core by the time he got home...but within 10 minutes it was done and no more rain.
Kelby had an 8th grade "graduation" celebration on Wednesday June 12th. It was sweet, but probably would have been more impacting to see her move on in Sedro-Woolley since we know other kids there. It is really weird to have a high schooler! She's a beautiful girl both inside and out!
On the last day of school, I picked up the girls and then got Michael and went out to Chinese for lunch. That was our tradition for the last day of school. We always went to The Wok for Mongolian Beef. The place here is also named The Wok, but the food was not as good. We will have to keep trying to find a replacement for our favorite! At least Mike got to join us this year.
We've gone around to explore a few parks in town. There are a ton here. The girls like this one for the creek and the spinning toys..at least until Kelby gets motion sickness.
This what I like to do while they are at the park…
On the weekend after school got out we made our way into Yellowstone for a tent camping adventure! They didn't have room for our tent trailer. Since we had no trailer, we were able to take all our bikes in. We set up camp, then took our bikes for a ride. We rode right past a couple bison, laying near the path and that made us nervous, but it was otherwise good. Mike took the chance to fish on the river while we were there.
That night we got to view the stars because they had a special event with Museum of the Rockies there. However, it was a cold, cold night! We had air mattress, but two of them lost their air. It reminded me why I like my tent trailer! However, I did discover that really easy no-cook dinners are the way to go when camping in Yellowstone!
I also got to try out my new hammock a bunch. I LOVE that thing. Mike and Kelby go fishing and Tegan, Anika and I set up this hammock and just hang and read for awhile. It is so compact and easy!
Our shadows on the steam…
Last week Tegan got to go to a girl's basketball camp through the high school. She really liked it and met some new girls.
On Friday of last week, I hooked up the tent trailer and took the girls down to Red Lodge, a favorite place from my youth. My gramma was there from Arizona, so it was a bonus of fun and we got spoiled.
Tea party with Gramma!
Mike didn't come down the first night, but came down on Saturday morning. Then we drove up the Beartooth Highway and saw some beautiful sites when the clouds opened up.
On Sunday morning a bunch of my cousins came up to see Gramma for breakfast and they were surprised by seeing our family too. It was so great to see them all!
On Sunday afternoon, Mike headed back home to Bozeman, but me and the girls stayed another night. We also got to check out the Red Lodge zoo where we saw tons of Montana animals and even a crow that could say "Hola, hola"!
On Monday morning I got to see my long lost friend Ginny, the maid-of-honor at my wedding. It has been since that day that I have seen her! It was so great to catch up with her and meet her beautiful girls.
Gramma bought the girls these awesome sweatshirts and some other things. They were thoroughly spoiled. I think they look so cute in these shirts! And, at least I won't have to worry about losing them.
Hoping for a New House
On Monday of last week I went to go look at a house to buy. I felt like it was the one for us and Mike came over from work to take a look. It was its first day on the market, but it was a great price for lot of space. We made a full price offer and it was accepted. It is a lot of work to buy and sell houses. Yuck! Ours back in WA is now all signed around and almost closed. We keep waiting for the sider to finish and now it just needs paint! It keeps raining in in WA (of course), so it is delaying our close and that could throw a kink in getting the new house. We had an inspector out to the house already and now there are a few things we want fixed, so we have to see if the seller will give in or not. I'm praying it will work out if it is supposed to. The house is a great location for us. It is 2 blocks from the high school and 1.5 miles from the university.
Kelby is 14
Today is Kelby's 14th birthday. Yikes! I can't believe she is that old. We had a good day, though it isn't the same to have a birthday in Montana without all her friends. The girls she has met were not available today or they would have gone to the movies. I guess she'll get to save that for another day. Instead we rode our bikes to the donut shop this morning and over to the MSU bookstore to get a pad of paper to use her new paints. Anika was at VBS this week, but once she got home we packed up to go again to Bozeman Beach, but this time with float tubes. We had Pickle Barrel for dinner (Kelby's choice), a movie to watch and ice cream cake to eat! She is pretty content.
We still miss everyone from Washington. We haven't found a church yet, but we will keep trying. We haven't been in town for the last two Sundays. I applied for the graduate program to earn my teaching certificate, so we'll see what happens there! Let's just say, we are keeping busy...to say the least!
Love and hugs to all!
