we are so cute!

Without fail, my aunts Brandy, Barbara, and I take this picture every year. 

The good news: we just keep getting cuter!

whirlwind holiday

It has been a whirlwind of a couple weeks since Mikel and I left Dillon at the end of the fall semester!

About two weeks ago, we left Dillon for Hazelton to spend some time with Mikel's family. We had time to catch up and Mikel got to do some ice fishing and making some calls with his dad and we got some time to relax. Without fail, regardless of whether I'm in undergrad, graduate school, or teaching/coaching, the end of the semester wipes me out. The emotional and physical letdown at the end of the semester always causes me to spend a couple days absolutely wiped. I generally sleep more than normal and am generally spent! It's nice to relax but somehow, after nine years of college, I still usually don't see it coming and expect it! One of these days I'll remember!

Anyways, it was great to be in Hazelton and get to visit and catch up. One of the worst parts of having families far away and far apart is Mikel and I can't be at both families in the same day. We never get to spend as much time as we want or see them as often as we want. Either way, we definitely appreciate the time we have and the families we are blessed with!

snow fun

This past weekend, we were invited to go to one of our friend's cabin and go Christmas tree hunting with some friends. We have already put up our fake tree but went along for the fun!

They had an extra four wheeler for Mikel and I to ride.

getting ready for the ride

wearing A LOT of layers

some cool old buildings we saw

sun setting over the ski hill

Ben and Melissa and their Christmas tree

I was really cold at this point (mostly my feet)

Jay and Mikel

It was a really fun trip but I was glad to get back and sit by the fire to regain feeling in my extremities!

only in Dillon

The Dillon Tribune is the local newspaper here in Dillon and it only comes out once a week on Wednesdays. Yes, the local paper is only new once a week. There are other newspapers from bigger cities like Butte and Missoula that come out daily but that's beside the point. 

There is a paper (if it can be called that) that comes out every day. This is the Dillionite Daily and it is a small town, family production. It covers the local news and such and has some really random stuff in it as well. 

I couldn't pass up an opportunity to share this gem from the Dillionite today. Only in Dillon...

we look good

2011 Lady Bulldogs at the Frontier Conference Tournament 

painting time

Now that the season is over, there is time for projects! I love thinking of them but Mikel is better on the follow through (I guess that makes us a good pair). 

We are working on sprucing up the volleyball locker room and this painting project was step #1.

My cricket came in handing for making the letters and lots of patience was crucial for the rest. It came out great and now we're onto the next project!

only in Dillon

I bet I'm the only one who heard this today:

"Sorry I'm late; I would have been here sooner but there was a cow loose in town and I had to take a detour."

Yup, you read that right. There was a COW loose in town. (And yes, my first question was if Mikel managed to get a picture. The police diverting traffic probably wouldn't have taken too kindly to that though so you'll have to trust us on this one.)

Mikel was on his way to the university to help do some renovations in the volleyball locker room and apparently there was a cow in the middle of the road. Two guys had roped in and were fighting it to get it in a horse trailer thing. This isn't the edge of town either (or really close to any fields) so we're not sure how the cow got to that point but it did!

Just another Thursday in Dillon!

just another day in the kitchen

Yea right! While I do spend enough time in the kitchen to ensure neither Mikel I or starve, I'm not exactly Susie Homemaker by any stretch of the imagination!

However, while I was home for Thanksgiving, my mom and I decided to try making cake pops. By "we decided" I really mean my mom decided that she wanted to try it and I was the lucky victim that got to help. 

It was actually really fun and they turned out so good! 

They were definitely a hit at Thanksgiving!

the finished product

sugary deliciousness 

how can you have Christmas without snow??

Since I have moved to places where that white stuff falls from the sky during the holidays, I regularly get comments on how it's just not Christmas without cold weather and snow. Although I understand the association for them, I have to say that it's just not a problem for me!

Riding my bike to my grandparents on Christmas morning in shorts sounds like a wonderful Christmas to me!! No snow necessary!

Although it wasn't quite Christmas yet, the weekend after Thanksgiving I was at San Clemente with my parents and had the most WONDERFUL beach day weather.

Warmth and sun combined with views like this somehow help me get through the holidays without show!

Thanksgiving fishing

Over the week of Thanksgiving, Mikel was so excited to go steelhead fishing with his cousins. He hasn't been able to go on this trip for a couple years because we were in Michigan so it was nice to have the opportunity this year. 

The boys were in Shoup and out of civilization and cell phone service for the whole week and had a blast!

Jake and Lucas 

Mikel's first catch of the week

Jake

Jake and Lucas

another one for Mikel

Bloxham guiding service

Mikel, Dominique, and Jake

one of the only buildings there

fishy fishy

a good day's work

two big horn sheep

beautiful

wildlife in the river

It was a great trip!

Thanksgiving 2011

One of the benefits of having both sides of the family so close to home is two Thanksgivings (maybe both a blessing and a curse with all the extra food)!

This year we were able to do one Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday and the other family on Friday!

the Bushman girls on Thursday

Mascari family hike on Friday

me and Michael resting on our hike

work in progress

This is my work in progress from the trip! Just the top of a Michigan State quilt!

holiday travel

One of the many blessings of our new life in Montana is that we are able to see more of family and friends. For Thanksgiving, Mikel was looking forward to seeing family and have the opportunity to go fishing. Because Mikel was going to be out of town, I decided to go home to Riverside and see some family and soak up some sun over the holiday. 

After a crazy first season in Montana it was nice to have some time to relax and visit!

My flight was set to depart the Helena airport about 1:30 in the afternoon so the two hour drive shouldn't have been a problem but we kept hearing about a winter storm that was supposed to dump the night before we left. At the last minute we decided to head to Helena the night before and, when we woke up to this, we were glad we did....

snow outside the hotel in Helena

 It snowed 5-6" that night so it was much less stressful to already be in Helena. Mikel still had to drive back to Dillon but at least he only had to go over the pass once and there was no worry about missing my flight!

The Helena airport is very small but easy to work with: 4 gates and 2 runways!

Helena airport

a good view from the airport

Everything was going well until the plane I was supposed to get on to Salt Lake City had to turn around because of mechanical problems. Initially we were told the flight would be cancelled and we wouldn't get out until tomorrow. With Mikel half way home and headed to Idaho it was going to be a  long night in Helena!

Luckily, we were able to get on a MUCH delayed flight into SLC and caught a later flight from SLC to Orange County. I was one of the few people on my plane who actually made it to their destination that night so I can't complain about a couple hours of delays!

happy Thanksgiving!

How can you pass up a picture like this when you drive by it everyday on the way to work?!

This hay bale turkey has been sitting outside one of the buildings on campus all month and I love it!

whew!

Whew!! We survived the season! It seems like it flew by and I cannot believe it's already Thanksgiving time. In the back of my mind I always knew that we would get a chance for some vacationing and family time around Thanksgiving but it seemed so far away when the focus was all around the volleyball season. Now that the season is over, I better do some laundry, cleaning, and packing!!

On top of the volleyball season ending, my first block of teaching has ended as well. We are on a block scheduling system here at Montana Western called Experience One where basically our students take one class at a time, three hours a day, for 18 days; there are four of these blocks each semester. Because I only teach part time, I teach three blocks throughout the year: one in the fall and two in the spring.

This fall I taught a Coaching Volleyball class during Block 3 which just ended yesterday. It was definitely a different teaching experience than having classes that last an entire 16 week semester but I loved it! I had seven students (all boys and only one non-athlete) and it was a lot of fun. Next semester I will be teaching two blocks: Biomechanics as well as Public and Community Health. It looks like Mikel will also have the chance to teach two blocks next semester: Foundations of Health and Human Performance and Methods of Teaching Team Sports.

As for volleyball, although there are always games and matches that I want a chance to do-over, I couldn't have asked for a better first season. This year we went 7-19 overall and 2-12 in conference. We do plan on those numbers going up in the future but it was a huge improvement over the 1-24, 0-14 from last year and was the best season since at least 2005! The girls worked hard and did everything I asked. At times we were over-matched physically by our opponents (I need to recruit some size!) but we battled and improved throughout the season. I had two amazing seniors who I will definitely miss going forward but I cannot thank them enough for what they have done for the program. It was great to be able to have Mikel travel with us and sit on the bench to support both me and the team. Although I'm sure both me and the team are enjoying some rest time, I am excited to get back in the gym and start working towards next season!

what?! winter?!

Saturday we woke up to a surprise. Not a "oh yea, what did the postman leave!" surprise but a "I closed my eyes for 8.5 hours and this happened?!" kind of surprise.

We got snow.

Not just a light dusting but real snow.

The snow did hold off until November though so we can't really complain too much. I am looking forward to later in the week when the weather is supposed to be back in the mid 40s. Yea November!

snow at school

steelhead fishing

This weekend Mikel went steelhead fishing in Shoup, ID with Lucas and Lucas' neighbor. He was prepared for a cold weekend but was lucky enough to have beautiful weather (especially for the end of October)!

It was a slow weekend for fishing but it was great to get away!

Salmon River

Friday's catch

old mining cabin

beautiful river

about all there is in Shoup

big horn sheep in the road