It's the Little Things That Keep Me Going

In this lonely existance, I am very thankful tonight to be blessed with my Maddie and Isaac to keep me company, and not one, not two, but THREE back-to-back episodes of Gilmore Girls. I'll do the dishes soon, I promise.

You Know It's Summer When...

the scissors are always sticky and the cut-off tops from the Otter Pops are littering your kitchen counter.

Thank Goodness for Satellite Radio!

I love finding these little vices that save me from this life of boredom here in MT. I tend to surf the channels on the FM (sometimes even the AM) while I drive. I am very anti-country music, but I love lots of other types of music, especially oldies (ie Beattles). So far the few stations I have found aren't cutting it for me. I think that I must be the black sheep in this great big state of country listeners.

While I remain unsatisfied in the car, I am thoroughly enjoying the music stations that accompany our movie channels at home. Way up in the 900s I find all the different types of music, catergorized for my convenience. I can bounce around from alternative, 90s, 80s, oldies, even showtunes if my heart desired (not so much). In the last couple of hours my ears have been touched by R.E.M., Heart, Janet Jackson, New Edition, Stevie Wonder, and currently Def Leppard. Yesterday I just about did cartwheels when I came upon a Duran Duran song. I love this. If nothing else, it's been a great trip down memory lane.

Sidenote: Much to my chagrin, my husband listens to country music (thankfully not exclusively) and even has a couple of 'their' CDs. My six-year-old, Isaac, was listening to one of Dad's country CD's in his diskman. He says "hey, these guys are pretty good. They should be on the radio". If only he new that his mom has been sheltering him from this music, and that 'these guys' have been on the radio for years. My poor son has been corrupted. He's been turned to the dark side. It's time to get him the heck out of MT before the damage is irreversible.

We Crossed the State Line

To escape the boredom, today we drove to Cody, WY located about 1 1/2 hours south of our town. However, today it took us 2 hours to get there thanks to all of the Harley riders we were sharing the two-laned road with the whole time. If the speed limit is 70 m.p.h., why do they only go 55? We ran into a bit of a traffic jam in a wee-little town along the way. Their parade, complete with firetrucks and other emergency vehicles, was just beginning when we arrived. We were re-directed, as to not disturb the event, and I wondered: in this town of maybe 500 people, who's left to watch on the sidelines with so many people participating, especially with so many on their chosen automobile...

Once in Cody, it quickly became obvious that this town was entirely based on tourism, and depended heavily on traffic exiting Yellowstone National Park. It was cute and full of all the quaint little stores. We especially loved the Cowboy Christmas shop.

We spent some time at Wild Bill Dam, a very, very windy experience.

Friends and family know that I have an extreme fear of heights that keeps me from participating in a lot of activities. Visiting any dam provides enough anxiety to last me all afternoon, especially when my husband feels the need to take my children across the foot bridge at the top of the dam. The drop on the other side was over 300 feet. Once inside the overlooking visitors center, I still couldn't look, even though there were walls and windows protecting me from a fall.

When we got back to our town, we took a break to take in a few of the 31 flavors that we all love so much. Why is it that my kids, okay just Maddie has a knack for getting food everywhere?

I hope you have been able to escape boredom this weekend (minus reading this post). Oh you're not bored, you have lives!

This Town Needs an Enima!

Okay, maybe I've gone a little far (and no one outside of my sisters will get the Jack Nicholson/Batman reference), but this town definetly needs help.

You know you've hit rock-bottom boredom when you're home on a Friday night and the only thing you've got going for you are M*A*S*H reruns. It reminds me of when my kids were babies and the highlight of Friday night was the latest episode of Boy Meets World.

This morning the cable guy and I struck up a conversation when he was installing a digital box on my bedroom TV (not as kinky as it sounds). He's also from California. We went back and forth, discussing that yes, this town is great for raising kids because it provides such a good shelter. But when I asked him if he liked it here, he simply replied "it's boring".

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! It's not just me! This is an incredibly boring place to live, and now I have a real-live person to back me up.

There is nothing to do here in southern Montana. Yes, I am fortunate to be near several National Parks (ie Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Glacier, Devil's Tower, Big Horn Canyon, Custer's Last Stand), but they are 2-8 hours away. My nearest relative is 6 hours away, and while I think they're great, we have nothing in common.

Have I mentioned that I'm bored? Bored, bored, bored.

I just spent several weeks, over a month with my parents and siblings. When I got tired of them, Becka and Jody were on hand to entertain me. Okay, that came off quite self-centered, but there's no one even close to filling even the least of these shoes.

Not to mention that during the warm summer months we had lots of relatives with beautiful backyard pools. Not here in Montana.

I haven't even touched on how much there was to do when we lived in Nevada. Come on! We were 20 minutes from Lake Tahoe! What more could you ask for? And the hiking, the beautiful hiking, also just 20 minutes away. I never got desperate enough, but if I had, I could have taken advantage of the nearby casinos.

I'm sorry to barf this out for you, at the beginning of your fantastic, fun-filled weekend. Just have a great (but safe) time, and share your stories with me. I'll soak them up like a sponge.

Are We Over the Rainbow?

With Sunday being our first day back in Montana after a 5 week absence, and my first day facing reality, we were already smacked with the extreme weather that MT has to offer.

The sky grew dark, and just as the horrendous sound of the Emergency Alert System sent typed warnings across the TV screen, it's predicted thunderstorm hit. It was big and delivered a lot of rain, enough so that it washed all the dirt in the street produced by construction down to the bottom of the hill we reside on, into a 6-inch-deep muddy mess for us to manuever our cars through for the next couple of days. With candles lit and the kids a bit frightened, the thunder was fierce.

The storm passed quickly, and concluded with a double rainbow in the eastern sky, and bright sunshine in the west.

Since then the weather has approached the other extreme. On Wednesday, we hit 106 degrees, a record for this part of MT. JP told me that it's my fault. I brought the heat with me to my new state. It was miserable, and I hope to not ever experience again. I can handle those kinds of temps in Sacramento, but not out here, it just doesn't seem natural.

PS I am loving all the daylight MT has to offer, being so far north...it doesn't get dark until 10pm (maybe slightly earlier). Though this does result in me staying up too late.

Yellowstone on a Whim

As of 11pm m.d.t. last night, we are back at our house. Not home, because home is where I've been for the last month. Home is where my parents are. Home is where my fabulous sisters are. Home is where my wonderful brothers are. Home is where my life is. Buck up, you say? I'm trying. We decided (sort of last minute) to add several hours to yesterday's already long (10 hours) drive so that we could take our children through Yellowstone. I'm happy to have seen the sights, but leaving Aunt Sandy's at 9:30am and getting home at 11pm makes for a long, long day. Warning: unaware that I would be photographed during our trek, I chose to not apply make-up. Carry on...

Our timing couldn't have been better. Old Faithful gave us long enough to park and unload, even walk over to some shade before blowing its top. There were thousands of people around us.

Anyone who has been to Yellowstone knows that if other cars are pulled to the side of the road, slam on your brakes and join them because that is your opportunity to take in what nature has to offer. I had to hang up on Jaye when we came upon these girls. The jury is still out on whether they are mule deer or female elk, but we saw lots of them throughout the park.

We also saw a lot of bison. Supposedly (no, not supposably) these guys can run 30 m.p.h., the park tries to convince of this in the fluorescent flyer they handed out at the gate. There must be a lot of stupid people attending our national parks for them to go to such great lengths to warn us of getting gored by these creatures. Alas, I did see one of the stupid ones taking his sons in for a closer look. I should add that his brilliant wife waited in the car. By the way, our puppy felt the need to growl at one of these bison, like she could take him on.

Maddie and I braved the extreme heights to take a quick peek at Artist Point. A very quick peek.

After stopping for a potty break, Isaac informed us that this sign meant "No peeing".

Though I was sad to leave the comforts of my extended family, I must admit that I was excited about the beauty that my new state greeted me with, welcoming me home. My current, but hopefully temporary home.

Grandma J.

Like my own children, when I was born I had lots of grandparents, most within 75 miles. I've stayed especially close to my Grandma K. (my dad's mom), and Grandma J. (Grandma K.'s mom).

I love their stories of years gone by, and try to burn them into my memory so that these precious moments will live on.

Not to be cliche, but it was smack-dab-middle of the depression when Grandma J. was a young married woman. Her and Grampa J. shared a 16x16 one-room house with her brother and sister in-law, also a young married couple. A sheet draped down the middle of the room offered their privacy, and romance had to be saved for when the noisy train passed through town at night.

They still lived there when their 1st child was born. Their baby girl was breech so the doctor (and Grandma) had a difficult time delivering her. Since it was such a small hospital, Grampa was permitted to remain at Grandma's side. Years later Grandma learned that several hours into the labor, the doctor told Grandma's sister that he wasn't sure either the mom or the baby would survive. Thankfully, they both did, but the doctor gave Grandma so much ether, the family believes it turned her hair white overnight. Her children only remember her with gray/white hair.

Grandma's second baby girl (my Grandma K.) was born much easier, and much, much quicker. Grandma J. had only been at the hospital 20 minutes when she delivered, not even having time to undress.

Grandma's third baby brought them a boy, also with a nice, short labor and delivery. When the doctor was delivering baby number four, also a boy, he told Grampa J. that it was going to be 2 hours before the baby arrived, would he like to go home and rest. Grampa told the doctor that he didn't care if it took 4 hours, he wasn't going anywhere. Baby arrived in 2 hours, 10 minutes.

While I wished I had been fortunate enough to have short labors like Grandma J., these stories are my treasures.

Grandma J. turns 94 next month. Her mom and a few of her siblings lived into their 90s. She truly is a joy to be with and I am so thankful for the wonderful spirit she brings into our lives. Grandparents like her and Grandma K. should be immortal.

Things I Did Last Week, And Wish I Was In Town to Do Next Week

1.) Give Fudge (the chocolate lab) a backyard bath with Dad. I think her coat is 4 shades lighter. 2.) Scrapbook with Mom. She's just starting out, we've got a long way to go. 3.) Late night run to Wal-Mart with JP. For some reason it's okay to act childish in the store after 10pm. We do it well. 4.) Torment the cats at Jaye's house. I'm not happy until Regae is growling and Fiona is running from me. I'm such a child. 5.) Late night bowling with Jordan. His score will never be higher than mine. 6.) Give Jamesson more driving lessons. He needs a lot.