At the Park

KristinInMontana's photostream

KristinInMontana's photostream on Flickr.

Here are some pictures that AJ took today while "working". I put quotes around the working part, because he wasn't listening to screaming and whining and fighting all day. By comparison his day was peaceful and relaxing.

Freezing

We visited another lake in the park.  We didn't expect the snow.  And the wind.  And MY GOD it was sooooo cold.

Lesson: Never go anywhere in Montana without a full set of winter gear for the whole family.  I should just carry a tub of clothing for these moments.

But it was beautiful. And we saw Mountain goats just hangin' out  . . . lookin' like goats. For some reason I expected my first sighting of mountain goats to be more exciting.  These guys were hangin' out by the road, like cows would do, and they looked like normal large goats to me.  Not the wild, super cool goats of the northern rockies that I'd read about.

OOOHHH.  BUT I did see a Pileated Woodpecker!!! 

Beautiful Weather

It has been beautiful up here!!  For the last 8 days it has been spectacular.  Yayyyy!!  NOW I see why everyone loves it up here.  It is beautiful.  The sun is out, it is warm, we can actually wear a short sleeve shirt in the afternoons . . . . our hair will dry after we shower.  The kids are able to go to the park and slide down the slides without getting soaked.  Life is good.

I do have a problem though.  Nick keeps pulling his boy parts out the top of his pants and walking around with things. . .  peeking out.  I don't always notice.  I think he likes the reaction he gets.  It is awful.  What do I DO???  Stop giving him a reaction?  It is really hard to not react to that.

We are in the process of trying to get drivers licenses and register the cars. . . and Montana likes to complicate things by making you run all over town to different offices to register the car and get a license.  If you need a VIN certification you are triple screwed.  The kids are doing their best but this is not fun for anyone.

We are debating enrolling Lucas into the smallest elementary school in the district.  It had 36 kids in K-6 last year.  Here we are allowed to enroll kids in what ever school we want in the county.  I have heard fantastic things about the teachers at that school and we already know a couple of kids that would be in Kindergarten with Lucas at that school.  It is a 4 day a week school - the days are long, but the kids get rest times in the middle of the day as needed.  From what I've been told the classrooms are mixed ages and the parents and kids love the set up.  I'm hesitant because of the longer days.  My poor little dude. . . . he's getting so big and I AM NOT READY FOR THIS.

MOMMA'S NOT READY!!!!!

He is ready for it though.  I think my heart is going to be ripped from my chest on the first day of school.  So if I right a sobbing, hysterical post on that day (including baby pictures and pregnancy pictures) - be forewarned.


So.  Here are some kid pictures from the weekend.  We went exploring again.

Little Boys

THIS is a picture I took really fast as I came out the door into the "new yard".  Nick is standing there with his pants down, bare ass in the breeze, peeing on the lawn.  He is holding his shirt up so he doesn't pee on it.   This is common.  Bare assed little cutie pies running around.  I am just going to assume that the house full of seasonals across the street will be understanding.  The kid just won't stop whipping his penis out.  I really think boys are just born to do this.

I edited the photo and put a little black box over his boy parts. Just so ya know. . . .

Sunny and Warm

Our first sunny AND warm day.

*sigh* This is the face I got when he was in a timeout sitting on the log.  He is a charmer, when he wants to be. 

I told them not to go in past their knees.  So they sat in the water and looked back at me to see what I'd do.  I laughed.

Nick was investigating

A beaver stump.  The kids were very interested.

Entertainment, Montana style.

I've also (somehow magically through Blogger) attached the location map to this post, so if you are interested you can see exactly where we were.

Shiny Lips in a Redneck Town

The drive to town is long - especially for kids who aren't used to being in the car so much.  So we got creative the other day to halt an emerging fight between the boys.  I pulled out shiny lip gloss.  They both carefully applied the stuff (on a lip gloss stick - you know the kind) in a moving car without a mirror - a 3 and 4 year old.  It was funny watching them try to get the stick in the right spot on their faces.

Then we had them pucker and pose for shiny lip photos.  They both asked us if their lips looked good and shiny.  They are sooo sweet.  So adorable.  GOD I love these kids.  As tough as it is to raise kids and as much as I complain, they are my whole world.  If I get frustrated, it is mostly because I'm afraid I'm screwing them up and scaring them for life by setting and enforcing rules.  The day to day decisions on consistent rules is what wears me down.  But it will be worth it, they will turn out to be great people.  They already are great people.

Finally A Rental

WHOO HOO.  We finally found a place that we will be able to call home.  It is on 5 acres, and is very comfortable feeling.  That was a big problem we were having- every place we saw just didn't "feel" right.  And if I am going to survive the winters up here I need to be in a place that puts me at ease.  This is that place.  We will move in August 1st.  The landlords seem very nice and very relaxed.  The home is heated with a wood burning stove.  I will have a bit of a learning curve with that, but life is all about learning, right?  I'm kind of excited to give the whole wood-heat thing a try.

Here are some quick pictures that I snapped today.  I wasn't able to get very many because we were signing the lease and I was trying to hold conversations and make sure the boys didn't harass their dog too much. . . . you know the drill.

This is the beginning of a long shared driveway.  I think there are three or four homes back here, but I can't tell because they are all tucked away.

The driveway branches off, after a few hundred yards, and the right driveway is a guest house of the house we will rent.  There is a tenant there now.  The middle driveway is the driveway we will use, and the left driveway seems to go off to two homes.

We follow the middle drive and this is the house and the lawn we will mow.  And mow.  And mow.  And I am kind of excited about having nice green grass all over for the kids and dog to enjoy.  I know.  I will likely get tired of mowing a lawn.  BUT please remember that the growing season here is about three months (not too far off) so it isn't as if we will maintain it for 6 months. . . it will only be three months.

I forgot to get a picture of the front of the house. This is the living.  There are two bedrooms and two bathrooms over on that end.

The other end of the living room.  Kitchen and dining.

Dining room and back door thatta way.

Out the dining room window.  Veggie garden and fenced yard for kids and pets.

Bad shot of the kitchen. Through that door is a laundry, and HUGE rec room.

Rec Room.  The door leads to the driveway and the garage.

More Veggie garden.  The tree line to the left is the river.  It looks far away in this picture but it is close and we can see the water rushing past.  There are three fence lines (all pastures on the property) between us and the river.

Back of house.  Dining room to the right, living in the center, master bed to the left.

Huge Lilacs.  They are just now starting to bloom.  In Rio Rancho ours bloomed in mid March.  Here, they are just now getting flowers. 

The garage, and wood shed.  The garage is much bigger when you are over there.  It is deep and wide.  There is a wood burning stove in there and a large workbench.  The propane tank is for heating the rec room - the wood stove just isn't effective in that room.

Looking from the back yard into the front yard at the driveway and fruit trees

Fruit trees and flag pole

Side of house and driveway.  There is pasture land all around us.  They were hoping we would have livestock, but I am unwilling to be responsible for yet another life.

Anyway.  It is a lot of plowing to do, but there is a mini tractor/mower to use so it feels like it will work out.  Plus, life is slower up here.  Things are more relaxed and somehow I have time to bake and do all the little things that I didn't have time for in NM.  It is strange.  Maybe it is that I don't have any friends up here to spend time with.  Many people around here are from cities, and have moved out here because life is calmer and more peaceful, and I can really see that.

OH and you know how I mentioned that people haul their own garbage here in the park??  IT IS EVERYWHERE.  Everyone hauls their own trash to the dump.  There is curbside pickup but that is only for old people who can afford to pay a LOT of money to have it done.  So.  We will continue to haul our own garbage and recycling around. The garbage station is about 10-15 minutes away . . . . thankfully in the winter i can stick it in the garage and it will freeze and not be so stinky. 

I better toughen up.  Hauling trash.  Driving a mini tractor, and plowing long ass driveways.  It is a whole new world up here.  It feels like a sink or swim situation.  I better adapt.  Fast.