Summer Fun: Baby Birds, The Peas are Ready, and Rodeo Time!

My new favorite season is definitely summer... All my life I have been a fall girl, but I have officially converted.  There is so much that we have done, and so much more to do... in so little time.  I can't even keep up!

The Nest
Our summer officially started with the new bird family that built their nest on the flood lights right outside our kitchen window.  It was truly amazing to have watched all of this take place.  This bird was bound and determined to build this nest at our house.  It started on a different set of lights outside our bedroom, but after a long day's work, the nest was blown off by strong winds.  Again, the next night, she rebuilt it stronger than before in the same place, and to her dismay...blown away....again...
When she moved to the new light outside the kitchen, she got really serious and brought what seemed like every twig, string, scrap, etc. from the whole neighborhood, and that thing was not going anywhere.
We were thrilled by the new friend that wanted to live with us, and we watched....
A couple weeks went by and she always seemed to be there, sitting loyally in her nest.  There had to be eggs in there!   Wasn't long until we heard the chirping of 5 baby birds in that little nest!

Then she worked like no mother I have ever seen for probably 10 days or more.  I had never thought about how much work it would be to feed 5 babies.  Luckily the father bird surfaced to help her.  Both of them were scouring the nearby land for worms and flying them back, then again, and again, switching off all day long.  And we could see the babies growing rapidly.  I was amazed that they grew so fast, and then all of a sudden we would see one start to get brave and inch toward the side...  Slowly but surely, they each left the nest.  And it was so wild, there was one baby left in the nest, and it was chirping like it was all alone!  Then, when we looked out into the big piece of land behind the backyard, we saw the mom and the dad and a couple smaller birds all chirping towards the nest, as if to say, "Come on- Everyone's waiting on YOU".  Of course, I felt for the slow bird ;)
Next time we checked, he had apparently made it out, and that was that!  So interesting- and Kaitlyn loved it- She would always Shhhhh Gunther if he barked, reprimanding him "The BIRDIES are SLEEPING- Be QUIET!"  

Harvesting!
So, I don't know if I added on here that we have a huge garden in the backyard from the previous owners, and we thought it would be fun to plant some things this summer, and see how it goes!  So the first weekend in June, we got it done!  Onions, garlic, sweet bell peppers, potatoes, carrots, peas, sugar snap peas, and green beans!
It's been a lot of work, but very interesting and rewarding at the same time.  Especially now that we are seeing everything in action.  All of a sudden, one of our pea bushes was ready the other day.  It was like one day there were a couple pods, and then the next, a whole bush full!

 Here's pics below- So fun for Kaitlyn (...and us)!

Rodeo's in Town!
The Gallatin County Fair and Ranch Rodeo was in town last weekend, so we went to check it out with our friends we met out here that are from Marietta.  It was a fun time!  Kaitlyn and Bridger rode rides together, had ice cream, and we experienced our first rodeo.  The first event was roping and branding calves, so hopefully Kaitlyn wasn't traumatized.  I think she just liked seeing all the horses and the real cowboys! Here's some pics...

Busy summer!
The most exciting things for us this summer have been some quality family time and visits!  Late June we had my Mom, Jenny, Shelby and Julie come out.  Then over the 4th, we had Justin's parents and brother Sean. We had two amazing trips to Yellowstone, hiking, pool time, and great weather!  I'll have to do another post all about those adventures once I get my pics organized!  Then, Justin has gotten some great pics on fishing excursions that I'm sure he'll want to post about, so stay tuned!
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer as well- we've still got a little left, so let's keep playing!  :)
-The Hills

Where'd The "M" Go?

So, in Bozeman, the most notable hiking trail is called the "M"... The history here is that students from Montana State University whitewashed a ton of rocks in 1913 and placed them strategically off the south slope of Baldy Mountain about 5,800 feet up, and it has since been a landmark of the city and a fun thing to do. The actual "M" is about 250 ft in length and the trek up is about 1.5 miles with both a short steep route and a longer meandering easier route.  Kaitlyn now constantly looks for the "M" and if she can't see it from wherever we are, she gets a bit concerned, hence the title of the post "Where'd the "M" go?" Here's some pics...

Justin has done the hike with Gunther, but we have not all done it as of yet.  I don't know if Gunther will go on the second excursion because Justin said he didn't think he would make it back down. Haha! I can just see Justin carrying the 85lb Giant Schnauzer down a mountain b/c the dog got too tired... Here's Gunther on the trail...

We got a hiking pack for Kaitlyn, but the weather has had a slow start to summer, so we are hoping for a good opportunity here soon!  It's been raining and windy with sunny spurts here and there, but you just never know when they are coming!  It's not as predictable here for some reason.

The Double Rainbow!
This was the biggest coolest rainbow I've ever seen- Went across the whole sky, and was a double!  The picture does not even do it justice!  Very cool!

Summer Fun!
We've been very busy checking out new places, getting settled with work (if that's ever possible), and preparing for a long list of visitors this summer!  We cannot wait to see our family and friends!!!  My sister and her girls are coming this Wednesday, and my mom is coming Thursday staying about a week! Then Justin's parents and brother Sean are coming for the 4th of July!  Then we have our friends, Emily and Will coming the first week of August as they do a cross country road-trip (fun)! Next is both of my parents in August, and then my best friend who just got married, Jen and Reagan Evans coming for Labor Day! 
Beyond having lots of visitors come, we get to go to Thermopolis, Wyoming for Justin's semi-annual company trip, which will include all kinds of outdoor adventures including some serious whitewater rafting through the Wind River canyon, a water park, golf, and more!  Justin gets to go to Vegas for his friend, Mike's bachelor party and also to Colorado for another dirt biking trip with his dad and brother Sean.  The dirtbike trip that they did across the state of Montana several years ago is what really sparked Justin's interest in Montana.  Then, we get to go to Mike Goss' wedding in San Diego in late August!
So I guess just like everyone here, we will have a packed summer in order to get it all out of our system before the 7-8 months of snow hits!  Even then we have some visitor's tentatively planned for Thanksgiving and we are coming back to Atlanta for a few weeks over Christmas.


Hyalite Lake- Eager Us...
It is becoming the common joke around here that every time we try to check out something new, we are just a bit too early. There is apparently the most amazing canyon and lake with trails and view etc. about 30 minutes away.  Of course when we went a couple weeks ago, it was still snowing and the lake was covered with ice.  Very pretty none the less, but just humorous...

Justin actually went the next weekend to try and find some places to fish and it was completely void of snow and 2/3 of the reservoir had melted.  There were lots of people up there, but he mostly hiked along the river below the damn looking for some places to fish to no avail.  I think he enjoyed the scenery and solitude just as well.

Growing Up So Fast!
Are we potty-trained? "You betcha" (as they say here for everything)!  Yay!  She's potty-trained, we've taken the front off her crib, and she actually has enough hair for pig-tails! Slow down Kaitlyn!!!  She also has complete somewhat adult conversations with us that are rather hysterical!

This last one is of our visit to the "Museum of the Rockies"!  They have one of the most famous Dinosaur exhibits in the country and other cool stuff for adults and kids- Fun times!

Post #6: Things We've Learned About Montana... And More!

This will be funny to you all.... because these are all the things that we've found interesting over this first month we've been here!  The slight differences you notice after living in one place for most of your life...

The Bozeman Top 10:
1) It is not unusual for guys to wear full-on cowboy hats to dinner at night! No, Justin has not done it yet, though we all know he is tempted...

2) It is standard to take your dog everywhere, even if they just sit in the car... the grocery store, coffee shop, dinner, gas station.  The owner of the building I work at brings his dog, "Decoy," to work with him everyday, and he greets everyone as they arrive, and most people bring him treats regularly. Gunther has already noticed this and it is apparent that he wants to take part in every activity (because all the other dogs are doing it, and it is the Montana way).

3) It is not uncommon to see strange animals all over.  Within a few minutes of us, everyday,we see: Llamas, Peacocks, Donkeys, and Gophers.  There is always horses and cows, of course, and then we've seen wild turkey, bison, and big horned sheep- Bizarre! Here's a pic Justin got of the 2 llamas that live down the road!

4) The first week we were here, I discovered that there are not stop signs at every intersection!  Throughout most of downtown Bozeman, I guess it is just "understood" that everyone will slow down and look both ways before driving through!

5) The speed limit on the main I-90 is 75mph!  So nice!  Which means everyone goes 80!

6) There's no sales tax!  This was strange...first day I was here and went to Target, I got something that was 3 for $5- she rang me up and said $5 please.  The state income tax rate seems to be less, too. Score!

7) Houses here don't have AC!  When we moved in, we noticed there is no switch on the thermostat that says "Heat" and "Cool", just a temperature gauge.  Apparently, in the summer, you just open the windows and let the fans work... as long as we have heat in the winter, I think I'm ok! :)

8) There is no Waffle House, Chick-Fil-A, Publix, or Suntrust out here!  But there is a great mom and pop local breakfast place, the "Pickle Barrell Sandwich Shop", "Taco Johns", Albertson's and the local Co-Op grocery store, and we have officially switched over to Wells Fargo- switching banks is a task...

9) Most people have a full-size camper in their driveway- I would say about 70-80% of neighbors around us!

10) With the weather getting nicer this week, this is one of the strangest ones...  It does not get fully dark here until after 9:30pm or so, even though the sun technically sets earlier. Because we are in the west, and we can see so much farther west, it still looks light where the sun hasn't set yet, if that makes sense. One of my co-workers said in the summer it is usually light until at least 10pm!

Kaitlyn Goes To The Zoo!
Last Saturday I had to take the dreaded Montana Life and Health Insurance licensing exam, which was a 3 hour test, over in Billings, MT, which is 2 hours away. So Justin drove me and took Kaitlyn to the zoo there! She loved it and is still talking about the Tiger they have!  Luckily I passed my test, so we don't have to do that trip again- it was an all day thing... and much harder than the Georgia test, I might add!
Here's some pics from the zoo!

Gunther's Birthday!
Kaitlyn is at an age where Birthdays are a big deal and very fun, so for Gunther's 5th birthday, we had Sloppy Joe's for dinner and then ice cream cones... Only in Gunther's cone, he got sloppy joe, and Kaitlyn blew out a candle for him! We might have to make it a tradition- too funny!

 She had to give him his Sloppy Joe cone!

Mother's Day and First Ponytail!
Mother's Day was fairly low-key- We ran around and went to dinner at a couple's house (Tasha and Brian) that we were connected to through Pete and Courtney Lee (from Alpharetta). Pete works with Tasha and they moved to Bozeman 6 years ago and are from Marietta! They have a 3 year old little boy named Bridger and a 11 month old little girl named Brianna.  We had such a great time and are having them over next weekend, so it was really nice to meet new people with so much in common!
Here's me and Kate on Mother's Day!

Monumentous Occasion!  I finally got that hair in a ponytail! It is more like a sprout, but it stays for a few hours or until she pulls it out!

Some others! She has really learned to say "CHEESE" for the camera!

And her new favorite food is corn on the cobb- who would've thought? For some reason, she calls it "Apple-Corns"???

Hope everyone is doing great! We are looking forward to a fun summer of nice weather, outdoor adventures, family and friends visiting, and Kaitlyn getting potty-trained!!! :)
Have a great weekend!!

Post #5: Back to Work, Easter Fun & Terrible Two's!!!

What a week!  Did I forget how hard it was to work while having a 2 year old?  She absolutely wears us out!!!  Well, to start at the beginning, last Monday I took Kaitlyn to her new daycare for a half day before starting my part-time job on Tuesday... I ended up having to completely come up with a "Plan B"!   Long story short, they did not make a good first impression when she arrived- the Director did not even take 5 minutes with me to go over her paperwork, collect any money, have a place for me to put her things, or even welcome her into the class! Most importantly, they did not change her pull-up for the full 4 hours she was there (I would put $100 on it).  It's a shame because the place has a good reputation and I liked her teacher (who happened to be out that day), but it was just unacceptable!
Justin and I were a little disturbed... I was close to panicking (yes, I really was), and Justin went driving around to see what other good places nearby he could find.  Luckily he saved the day and found a place while purchasing a snowboard from someone off Craigslist (he does not waste any time).  I immediately called and loved the Director, told her our situation and me and Kaitlyn visited at 4pm that afternoon.  At 5:30pm we were on our way to the other place to collect her belongings.  So just in the nick of time, she went to the new school Tuesday morning and I went to my first day of work at the Bozeman Northwestern Mutual office!  It was a success- she said she had fun, her teacher said she did great, and what almost was a disaster turned out ok!

Easter was a blast this weekend- The weather was beautiful, and we were out and about checking out all the fun things going on around town!

Classic! Some co-workers told me about a huge Easter egg hunt that one of the local churches puts together for the whole community, so we went to that on Saturday morning!  A funny thing about Bozeman is that you HAVE to wear sunglasses if there is snow- It gets so bright, you literally will not survive without them, so of course she had to get some too!  That is before the hunt...

They do the hunt at the MSU practice fields.... 50,000 eggs, inflatables, face painting, etc.  This is right before the hunt. No one told us you needed to camp out in order to actually get in position to get some eggs!  It was packed!

 It had snowed about 6 inches the night before, so luckily they had shoveled the fields for the event. She didn't get any eggs, but didn't really care one bit!  There's the mountains behind Justin- that is a standard view no matter where you are in the city!

This is Easter Sunday morning when Kaitlyn found what the Easter Bunny had left!  So exciting!  Followed by this was pancakes, dying our eggs, and visiting a church to celebrate the real meaning of Easter, which we were looking forward to. Kaitlyn said she did NOT want to go to church...

However, we finally all got dressed and out the door and even arrived early (which has not been our standard church way).  *Thanks Jess/Allie for the adorable purple dress!

This is Justin teaching her to use her new golf set! This is for Dad, Paw-Paw, and Mark!  It looks like Justin broke his back, but he is fine now :)  Justin made enchiladas for Sunday dinner, and we spent most of the afternoon outside.  We got a trailer for our bikes to tow Kaitlyn in and went for a ride as well.

THE TERRIBLE TWO'S:
So this is not a myth, they really go through a terrible stage, and we do not like it!  She has been obstinate, whiny, clingy, stubborn...hmmmm....difficult, hangs on you, wallers (some people have never heard this word- my mom used it when we were growing up: it means to roll and flail around regardless of your surroundings or what someone's asking you to do).  The whining really gets us- Do they realize that they are whining and that it doesn't get them anywhere?  Hopefully this stage passes soon!
We hope everyone had a Happy Easter and a great weekend!

Post #4- Goodbyes & New Adventures...

We've all been getting settled in this week and on a mission to find Kaitlyn a good school!  After a lengthy search, we have finally decided on the Children's Development Center in Downtown Bozeman.  She starts next week; she went for 1 hour today to meet her teacher and her class, and the visit was a success!  She came home and told Daddy "I liked my teacher, and met new friends Daddy!"  Too cute!  She was also excited about carrying her back-pack and getting to wear her snow boots on the playground... the little things!

I also start my new job at the Northwestern Mutual office in Bozeman on Tuesday!  There is ONE Northwestern office in the whole state of Montana, and it happens to be in Bozeman.  I will be doing a similar position to what I was doing in Atlanta (supporting an Agent), but I will also be helping their staff with office support and training.  I'll be doing 3 days a week, Tues/ Wed/ Thurs, so I am thrilled about that! The office looks very rustic like a log cabin and has a lot of "Montana" decor!

Now that I have access to all our pictures, I can share some good ones from those last couple weeks we spent in Atlanta with my family and Justin's family!   These first ones are of my sister's girls, Shelby (7) and Julie (3).  They has so much fun together, and are going to be very close cousins, despite the distance!

These next couple pics are of Justin's sister's girls, Ava (5), and Allie (3)!  Girls, Girls, Girls!!!  Kaitlyn LOVES spending time with her cousins, and Ava and Allie and Kaitlyn will also remain close despite the distance! They always have wild and silly times together!

Justin's job is going well! He stays pretty busy, and it is challenging because he is sort of creating his job as he goes. The company he works for did not have anyone focused solely on operations before he got there.  He is getting used to working from home, which is something he has never done before. It is so nice because we are able to have coffee and breakfast together in the mornings and most days lunch too!  He has gotten to be a part of some of these hilarious moments we've gotten to experience being home with Kaitlyn all this time, including peeing and pooping on the potty!  This is a work in progress, but she's doing great with it!

Justin is branching out as well and has met some people through the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce as well as some of the local leaders of Trout Unlimited which is a national conservation organization that works to keep stream and waterways clean and healthy for fish.  He may be looking to take on some responsibility with them in terms of children's programs and education.

Other things we have been doing is checking out some of the local restaurants, which have been great. Over the weekend, we drove up to Big Sky, which is a little ski village about 40 miles away. It was some beautiful scenery.  We even brought Gunther, who was ecstatic, and then we had lunch at a little village pub. Here are some pics of us and the drive...