Springtime in Montana

There's just no better time nor place. The wildflowers are in full bloom now. Tim and I stopped and picked ourselves a little bouquet on our walk tonight.

A few weeks ago when we were doing a siding project way out in the middle of nowhere, way west of Buffalo, a short little rainshower passed through. It left behind this really neat wall of rainbow. It wasn't in the sky like usual, but was ground level.

Memorial Day

We had a pretty nice, relaxing Memorial Day. We had planned on packing a little picnic and taking a drive up Buffalo Canyon. We wanted to go up near the Twin Sisters, but weren't really sure how to get there. We drove through some people's yards and ended up at the edge of their gated pasture, so we weren't sure where to go from there. So we took a different adventure. We took the back road from Buffalo to Utica, then went up above South Fork and found a little tiny campground to have our lunch. I kind of felt like we were on our own episode of "Backroads of Montana" on PBS. It was really nice out, and we had the whole place to ourselves, so it was really peaceful. On the way down, we enjoyed turning off at every road and seeing where it lead. Other than that, nothing too exciting. We finally have our garden all planted now. Can't wait to see what comes up! We are just trying to set everything up with the automatic timer to get everything watered when we are gone. Guess we'll see what happens.

Across the State

I've really been putting on the miles lately, and boy do I feel like it! Last week we went to Billings and I took part in the Women's Run. I know what you're thinking, no I did not run! I walked! I did the 2k. It's a pretty fun race. Joni and I did it last year, but I flew solo this year.

This past weekend, Tim and I went to Helena and stayed with his sister and brother-in-law. We participated in the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure. Tim signed us up for the 5k! It started and ended at the Capital. It was a really fun time. Our friends are runners, so we caught up with them at the end!

Then on Sunday, I drove to Missoula from Helena. My friend Sarah was scheduled to be induced with her second baby early Monday morning, so I drove over to be with her. She was supposed to go in at 5 a.m. But as fate would have it, she went into labor at about midnight! It's funny how things work out like that. It was a good delivery, and little Charlie Michael arrived at 5:34 a.m. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs. 15 oz! He was 22" long. They are all home now and doing very well. I'm so thankful that I could be there during delivery. I was there for the birth of their first son Christopher. Congratulations Sarah & Jimmy and thanks for letting me be apart of this special occasion!

So hopefully I will be staying put for the next two weeks. We leave for our honeymoon in Costa Rica on June 2nd, and I am so not prepared yet!!

Cousins Reunited!

On Sunday, Jessica and baby Ian and Uncle Dale and Aunt Corinne stopped in Judith Gap for a visit. Jessica had flown in from Wisconsin for a week's visit. We last got to see Jess and Ian in December for the wedding. I can't believe how much he's grown since then! He is crawling and pulling himself up. And he has the cutest little front teeth that he's happy to show! It was a nice afternoon to catch up. Joni, Jess, and I were fortunate to have all grown up together, just miles apart. It was great to be together and see the next generation get to know eachother.

Springtime

True to Montana weather traditions, we had some wonderful days in the 70's followed by a lovely spring snowstorm. Last week when it was so nice, we started to think about our garden this year. We have decided to move it from where we had it in the past. It just wasn't doing well where it was. It wasn't getting enough sun through all the trees, and I have a feeling the trees were competing for all the water. So we are moving it out into our yard where it will get great sun exposure but will have a little protection from the back fence on some other trees that won't overpower it. On Sunday, we went to mom and dads to borrow the rototiller. Tim plowed us a nice little plot, and we are anxious to start planting!

Today has been filled with snow. All day. The birds have been flocking like crazy. They keep flying around over the house landing in one spot, then the other. Until today, I had only seen one yellow-headed black bird, but now there are well over a hundred! And there are tons of robins and meadowlarks and others milling about. They've been fun to watch all day. And they are quite chatty as well. Probably trying to get me to go out and fill their feeders!

Upstairs-- Done!

Except for the hard wood floors, the upstairs is completely finished! We replaced all the bedroom and kitchen windows and that was the finishing touch. It's so much brighter and cheerier now, not to mention more efficient. Just wanted to share some before and after pictures of the kitchen. We just finished the framing in the basement yesterday. So after we get the foundation dug out this summer, we'll slam some sheetrock up and finish the bathroom and laundry room and hopefully the end will be very near!

They're Back!

Since we put up our bird feeders last week, it has not taken long at all for the birds to find their way back. The red-winged blackbirds have already wiped us out. During the summer we will get some really colorful birds hanging around. If I'm quick enough I'll get some pictures. Tonight was the first sign of the yellow-headed blackbirds. They're pretty aggressive towards the red-winged ones which is good because they always chase away the littler ones. Each day more and more birds and different varieties find their way. It'll be fun to see what new ones pop up this year.