It is pretty sad that it has been so long since my last update. Whether I was too busy, too cold, or too lazy, I’m not sure, but looking toward summer, we are hoping to do lots, so I better caught up with this blog before that happens!
Boiling River
We started the year off with a fun adventure! Mike had never yet been to the Boiling River in Yellowstone, so we took a drive and meandered out into the snowing landscape of Yellowstone to the warm water on New Years Day. It was relaxing and fun, not to mention a great way to start the new year!
Ice Fishing
One of Mike’s friends from work has all the stuff you need for ice fishing and invited us out one weekend. I never thought Mike would like ice fishing, but with the tent, heaters, and fish video monitor, it was hard not to have a great time. It was about 10 degrees outside though…brrr! I was the only one to catch a fish and I didn’t even mean to! I was illegal…shhhhh.
Seahawks
We had a great time rooting for the Seahawks this winter! It gave us a lot of excuses to have our new friends over! It was a major bonus that the Seahawks made it all the way to the Super Bowl and WON!
Basketball
We also got to watch Tegan play basketball for the first time ever this winter. The games were fun and their team went undefeated! Tegan loved it!
Champions!
Snow
Then there was the snow. For months and months, we had snow on the ground. There were piles about three feet high. The weather is so nice now that I can barely remember it, but it was a long, white winter. We enjoyed it for the most part.
We did some sledding at a great park near by. It is a big hill in a dog park. We even took Dyson once!
Shoveling
Mike did not love the shoveling. You have to get the snow off the sidewalks within 12 hours of a fall. Supposedly we would get fined, but I doubt it. We just found it is way easier to get it off as snow than ice. I think it was –20 degrees out this day!
Cross Country Skiing
After the long winter had made me run inside on the treadmill for a couple months, I gave in and rented a set of cross-country skis just so I could get outside in the sun. Sidewalks were just too icy to run even if it was nice out. Skiing was harder than I thought, but I loved it. There are many groomed areas near town, not to mention the field at the high school a block from our house. Kelby tried the skis and seemed to like it. I am going to try to gear up at garage sales this summer so we are ready to go next winter!
Food Bazaar
We enjoy finding interesting things to do around town and it seems there is always something. Mike and I found they were having an International Food Bazaar on campus. We went (couldn’t talk the girls into going) and found lots of interesting food to eat! My favorite was the black beans and rice from Brazil.
Dog
The dog has been a big part of our winter life! He struggled with potty training, but once the ground melted and we got a semblance of a fence up, he was set to go! We can’t believe how big he got so fast. He’s a pretty good dog overall, but a bit of a barker. He chewed up some of our stuff and gives us a few headaches, but we all love him. Well, at least I can say all us girls love him! Mike, maybe not so much, but funny thing is that Dyson LOVES him! When Mike comes home, Dyson lays out completely flat at his feet until Mike acknowledges him.
Museum of the Rockies
We liked the Gecko exhibit at the museum!
Gramma Dee Dee Visit
Gramma came to see us for a very short visit in February. We had fun playing games, watching movies, and eating Pickle Barrel!
Kelby Medical Stuff
Around late January and early February, we had a health scare with Kelby. She thought she had had some seizures in her bed in the middle of the night. Mike and I never saw it, so we weren’t sure. She was also feeling dizzy and had weird vision issues during the day. When we took her in to have it checked, they did a MRI and found a cyst on her brain. That immediately made us nervous based on all her medical history, though they tried to tell us that the cyst wasn’t causing her symptoms. She was also given an EEG test on her brainwave activity and that came back abnormal too.
Our doctor suggested we consult with Children’s in Seattle and get an appointment there. Since we were planning to be there for spring break, we tried for that and were so thankful they were able to fit us in! The Neurologist at Children’s wasn’t convinced she was experiencing seizures at all and wasn’t sure what the trouble was. In not so many words, he tried to tell us it could be anxiety.
After we got home she had an episode that Mike and I were awake for and I realized that really was what was happening. She truly felt the feelings physically in her body, but it was the worry she was experiencing at the same time that was exacerbating it. I explained how the same thing had happened to me when I was pregnant with Tegan. I thought something was really wrong with me, but turned out it was anxiety. After she heard that, I think she started to be able to control her mind in the situations. I think she may have been had some real inner ear imbalance, but the fear was what was turning it into something bigger. She is doing just fine now and we are grateful!
Spring Break
Otherwise, our spring break trip to Washington was great fun! We brought Dyson with us and that was a little exhausting, but Gramma’s dog and him played hard while they were together!
The girls found their friends to hang out with! They miss their Washington friends so much.
We love our walks with Gramma!
and visits from cousins!
and eating lunch at Haggens!
and going on hikes with cousins!!
and inviting their friends to roller-skate!
and eating lunch with Great Grampa and Mildred and 2nd cousin, Nathaniel, and Gramma!
and the DONUT HOUSE in Anacortes with it’s giant fritters!
and riding the ferry out to Friday Harbor with Gramma and Grampa, Aunt and Uncle, and two cousins that played hookie!
We especially loved the relaxing slow pace and green, green, everywhere green!
Helping at Anika’s School
For a long time I kept my distance from getting too involved at the schools. I didn’t really know how to break in there, plus I’ve been busy with working. Toward the end of the year I finally went to a couple “Parent Advisory Council” meetings and enjoyed meeting the amazing people there. This was my first contribution…a bulletin board!
I really loved going on a field trip with Anika, but we got sunburned! Yes, sunburned…in the snow. Oops.
Life Group
Last fall our church did a campaign to kick off new “Life Groups”, so we started one in our home. We had three couples that have been coming over about once a week that we have really grown to love. One of the couples were new at the same time as us last summer and Tegan and their daughter Sidney hit it off perfectly. They have three daughters near our girls ages too! It was so nice for Tegan to have a good friend that went to her church and her school (and also loved basketball)! We were so sad when, toward the end of the school year, they had to move to Helena. Their dad’s job transferred up there and they had family there anyway. It was best for them, but so sad for us!
This is our whole Life Group after our Going Away Dinner for the Gates family.
Choir
Tegan has been in choir this year and is doing very well in it. We really enjoyed all her concerts. One of her teachers gave her a great compliment at the end of the school year telling her she had a wonderful voice and good confidence. She encouraged Tegan to try out for Jazz Choir in high school! This is a very musical town…so she’ll do great here!
Pow Wow
One of the things I remember doing when I was a kid living in Bozeman was going to the Pow Wow. When we heard it was up on campus we took the kids! It was quite an experience for them.
We were wondering the significance of the Air Jordan symbol on this guys arms!
Palm Sunday
Anika got to sing a song at church on Palm Sunday. Those things always make me cry. I don’t know why….so adorable!
Missoula Children’s Theater
The week before Easter, Anika’s school did Missoula Children’s Theater….just like we did back in Washington. That was a fun adventure for her! She got a part as a camper in “Hansel and Gretel”. What a ham! Mike didn’t get to see the performance because he was out of town for work. At least we got a video.
Ukulele
For Kelby, her talents have grown on the ukulele and guitar. I took her to something they call “Hawks Night Live” and I think she was inspired. The high school students put on a phenomenal talent show every year where the seats sell out. She and I didn’t even get to sit by each other, but the students were amazing and motivating for Kelby! I hope to hear her up there some day, though she is so shy about her singing and playing, that I don’t know if we’ll ever get to. Either way, it is nice to see her practicing and growing her talents.
Easter
We felt like Easter was a little weird this year since we normally got together with family after church on Easter and don’t have any family in town. We still dyed eggs and got Easter baskets Sunday morning. Kelby and Tegan sang in the praise choir at church during two services and I was very proud of them for that. Previously they had been too worried about being the youngest ones up there, but they did great!
Then, with a ham in a crock pot and potatoes timed to come on in the oven, we packed up and drove into Yellowstone park for the first weekend after it opened. We wanted to see it snow covered, but found that most of the snow had gone by then anyway….except between benches at Old Faithful! It was a fun Easter adventure.
Mike took the opportunity to get the girls’ pictures while they were all dressed up!
Bobcat Fest
As the school-year for the students on campus wound down, they threw a party downtown called Bobcat Fest, so we joined in the fun. They gave out free food, free t-shirts and other great Bobcat stuff!
Me in Arizona
In the beginning of May, I got to fly down to Arizona all by myself to hang with my family. I had so much fun with them all! I loved seeing my adorable niece and nephew and my CRAZY sister! Isn’t this a weird slide…no bottom!
We ran a MUD run together down there! That was CRAZY…but so much fun!
I enjoyed cooling down at the pool after that!
Here are my Makayla and Gabriel making rubber band bracelets just like my kids do at home!
I loved going to “Frozen” outside in the park with them too!
Tegan’s Birthday
Next thing I know, Tegan is turning 13! Crazy! I can’t believe I have two teenagers now.
We had a few of her friends over for a party the next day. We gave her a volleyball net for the backyard, so they set that up and played a bit.
These were the ice cream sundae toppings and pizza for dinner!
But the best birthday present was on Saturday morning when I surprised Tegan by taking her to see her friend, Sidney, in Helena. Sidney’s birthday is just two days before Tegan’s, so she was having her party that day and her mom kept it a surprise for her too. Let’s just say, tears of joy were shed…by me too!
We played and played all day there!
I didn’t leave Helena until about 9:00, so we got home late…but it was a GREAT day!
Clowns – The Musical
Anika’s music teacher decided to put on a little musical called “Clowns”. I got roped into helping organize and make decorations for that. We made cardboard cutouts that turned out great, but Anika and Tegan did most of the painting! They turned out amazing. Here’s my clown!
Camp Agape
Now we are stepping into an ever new phase of our life. Kelby and Tegan have jobs this summer. Our church hosts a major day-camp/day-care all summer. The youth pastor runs it and hires 8th graders through college students to be the counselors! Tegan will be a CIT or Counselor in Training. Kelby will work as a counselor. I am so looking forward to them having this experience! I makes our summer schedule challenging…but I think it will all work itself out. I like to be more organized than I’m feeling about it right now, but I think I have a general handle on things. I’m just hoping we can fit in enough camping this summer! This was the dedication of all the camp workers after their training weekend.
Bozeman Pond
Now that the ponds are no longer frozen over, we tried to get our dog to play in the water. He’s not so much a water dog! He was not a fan of going in farther than where he could touch bottom. We are also trying to teach him manners with other people and dogs!
The girls loved jumping off this rope swing into this lake! They ARE water dogs!
Camping in Yellowstone with Friends
We were so excited to have friends from Washington come to town! We were able to go camp in Yellowstone Park with them! That was a great first camping trip for the season!
We tried to show them some of our favorite spots and looked and looked for bears, but didn’t see any!
We talked all the kids, except Kelby, into becoming Junior Rangers and they all finished their workbooks in one day! Mike and I are working to become Junior Rangers too, but we haven’t finished our yet.
Hiking
There are so many great places to hike around Bozeman and with the snow gone and weather so beautiful, we were able to just pop out and go on a quick 2.5 mile hike last weekend on Drinking Horse Trail.
This is our valley!
One Year Anniversary
I can’t believe it has already been that long. On May 23rd we celebrated our one-year anniversary of being here with some frozen yogurt and Frisbee. We have been doing some yard and painting projects, so we are comfortable and settled in our house now. Last summer we were living in a tiny apartment and didn’t have to do any yard work, so I kinda miss that…but we enjoy the little oasis we’ve made.
Last Day of School/First Day of Summer
Now we have made it through the whole school year here in Montana. The girls got out on Wednesday and we celebrated with Chinese food, like always, and a visit to Bozeman Beach, their favorite summer Bozeman activity. They are so happy for the break from school, but I think that it will be interesting to see what they think then the too oldest start working! At least they both have next week off.
We are looking forward to our busy, full, satisfying summer! Hope you all are too!
~Shawna
