Enjoying Montana

So, now that everyone is up-to-date with how we got here, you may wonder how it is going?! Well, with all the boxes unpacked and the loading and unloading of trucks and storage unit done, we are GREAT! Life is really simple here and we are enjoying that. Since we are in such a small home, we spend more time together playing games or outside enjoying all the neighbors and outdoor activities.

Swimming/Biking

The girls are happy because we got a membership at the campus fitness center and we ride our bikes up there to swim a couple times a week. They LOVE it. There is a Hydro Jog workout class during the open swim, so even I get in the pool. 

We also enjoy biking around the campus and to the little grocery store nearby. We are motivated to get out together after dinner sometimes. One night we went to the public library which is an AMAZING library! It is huge and friendly.

Last night we played racquetball. Mike is a big fan, but he is much better than we are at it. He needs to find some racquetball friends.

Yellowstone

The very first weekend we were here we went to Yellowstone. We got an annual US Park pass so we can go back anytime we like and to other national parks too. We were on a mission to find baby animals, but all we really saw were baby bison.

We made a big loop through the park and stopped at places we hadn’t seen before.

And also stopped at some of our favorite spots too…like the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and it’s waterfalls.

Museum of the Rockies

On the next Saturday we went to the Museum of the Rockies. They were having a special space family day. The girls got to make rockets and glow-in-the-dark moons and ride a “hover craft”. We rushed through the rest of the displays because it was lunch time, but we got a membership so we can go back and see all the dinosaur fossils they have there.

School

School is going great for the girls. They really love their teachers and it helps that they got in on all the fun stuff for the end of the year. Anika got to go to the Lewis and Clark Caverns on Monday this week for a fieldtrip and had field day yesterday.

Tegan and Kelby get to go on overnight camping trips with their classes. Tegan is going to Spanish Creek to hike to a waterfall and learn outdoor survival skills. Kelby gets to go on a major celebration adventure special for 8th graders. They are going golfing, touring Virginia City (a nearby ghost town), staying at a KOA, swimming at Fairmont Hot Springs, and coming back to Bozeman for some bowling! Wow!

They want to take our tents for their adventures, so I made them set them up for practice.

Mom and the Details

I have just been getting all the last details taken care of while everyone is at work and school. We had to change all our addresses, get new bank accounts, and get the house set up. Fun! Not really, but I’m feeling happy about having things settling in now! I should take some time and read some books or something.

Kelby’s New Camera

Kelby got herself a new camera with early birthday money and she has been playing around with it. It has some fun effects she likes. I think she has the eye of a photographer!

Work

Mike is doing so much better at work. He has made some progress in fixing a few things and has made a lot of people in his college happy. That makes him happy. I think he likes the relaxing after-work lifestyle of playing and taking walk to the grocery store to get some cheese with his girls.

House Hunting

I guess the other thing that we have been doing is looking for a house. It looks like our house in Sedro-Woolley is going to sell. It is supposed to close on the 14th of June. However, houses here are more expensive and smaller. We aren’t that motivated to move because this little apartment is working just fine. If we had one more bathroom and a dishwasher and we’d be totally content. Even the girls are pretty satisfied. So, if the perfect house comes up, we’ll probably move forward…but it will really have to be perfect! We are spoiled now by living so close to work and fun on campus! We may just see if we can transfer into a bigger unit in family housing.

Well, that is about all that we have been up to. I’m sure we’ll have lots of exciting adventures to post about in the near future. We have a few fun summer plans already.