this week in Dillon

Here are some random things from this past week. 

First of all, this doesn't happen very often. I have the weather for three different places on my phone: Dillon, San Clemente, and Riverside. It doesn't happen very often that they are all the same but it did this week!

And Dillon had the most sun. Weird.

Also, Mikel had a solid fishing streak going. He had fished something like 23 days in a row. When you fish that much you get some awkward tan lines like this one on Mikel's hand. The streak was broken the other day but I'm sure he'll get another one going soon!

that's a fishing tan

 Another great thing about spring (besides warm weather and fishing) is that it's baby chick season! I don't really want to take care of one all the time but I love going to the store and looking at them!

 They are so cute!

Ahhh. Life in Dillon!

being a grown up

There are a lot of good things about being a grown up. Things like setting your own bed time, deciding when and how much tv to watch, eating dessert before dinner (or in place of dinner), and going on your own vacations.

While all of these things are fine and dandy, there are some not so wonderful things about being a grown up. I've been compiling a list in my head of all the things that are not fun about being a grown up and figured I should share.

• Taxes. If they wanted my money, why didn't they take it in the first place?! I thought that between Mikel and I we had enough education to figure out our taxes but it took a couple nights and a boat load of frustration to seal the deal. It would be a heck of a lot easier if we stayed in one state and each brought home a W2 but of course that wouldn't happen. We had I think five W2s, four 1099s, and two states between us. What a nightmare. 
• Cars. When you turn 16, a car seems like a great idea but it's not. That's a lie. You have to register it, insure it, put gas in it, fix it, change the oil in it, and the only thing I know about cars is that they are expensive and I am cheap. I am thankful for the cars we have (incredibly) but I wished we lived in a city where I never had to drive again.
• Dinner. Now I'm not talking about the eating part of dinner because that, I'm a fan of. No, I'm talking about the part that requires you to find something that sounds good to two people, miraculously have the ingredients, and then cook it.  
• Insurance. All of it. Car, health, dental, vision, renters. Ugh.
• Setting your own bed time, deciding when and how much tv to watch, eating dessert before dinner (or in place of dinner), and going on your own vacations.  Sometimes I'm not responsible enough to do these for myself and could really benefit from a full-time babysitter. 

We really don't have anything to complain about because we have pretty simple and wonderful lives but these are things that I don't love about being a grown up.

glad we moved to Dillon

We have never questioned our move to Dillon but the fishing during the past couple weeks has definitely solidified the decision for Mikel! 

He is teaching right now in the mornings from 8:15-11:15. His class is Methods of Teaching Team Sports and, out of the 27 people in his class, there are only 3 girls. This leads to lots of testosterone-filled competitions in his class and he has had a lot of fun.

They turned in their first papers this weekend so we'll see how much fun it's going to be to grade those...

After he finishes teaching, Mikel generally sticks around for about an hour getting things ready for the next day, answering questions, and having lunch with me and then he has been heading to Clark Canyon Reservoir to go fishing. 

He has been quite successful and most of these catches are currently in my freezer waiting to be smoked. Mikel has a friend that smokes fish and we are going to trade fish for him for his services smoking our fish. Win-win. I can't wait to barbecue some of these too!

more fishing success

Just another victory for the fisherman in the family....

steelhead fishing

The weekend before Easter, I went to Spokane to go recruiting and Sarah went with me (for moral support and as an excuse to get out of Dillon for the weekend). While I was out of town, Mikel and our friend Ben went to Stanley, ID to go steelhead fishing.

Mikel found these cabins online and rented one for the two of them. He said they were really nice inside and had two beds, a bathroom, and a little kitchen area.

Ben outside the cabin

 They unfortunately didn't have the best weather for fishing but were still able to catch some and have a really good time. Ben isn't known as the most patient fisherman (or person for that matter) but he had a great time so that's a good sign!

Ben getting his first fish

Ben with his pretty fish

Mikel's dad was able to meet them and fish for a day. It was a good trip and Mikel never likes to turn down an opportunity to go fishing!

Mikel's sweet catch

Mikel named this post himself.

After teaching on Tuesday, Mikel went out fishing on the Clark Canyon Reservoir and had a good day! He caught this 24 inch rainbow trout!

It's a good day when you can make money in the morning and fish in 60 degree weather in the afternoon!

Easter fun

Easter this year fell over a block break so we had a nice long four-day vacation from school/work/life. This also meant that my class was OVER and I was done teaching for the year. I won't have to teach again until the third block of next year which will be in October. I really enjoy the teaching that I do but I am pretty busy and tired at the moment.

Mikel had to start teaching after the block break (which was this past Monday) but we enjoyed the break while we had it!

On Saturday, my friend (and our athletic trainer) Sarah and I went to Butte and got some shopping done and decided that we needed some Easter cheer in our weekend. We bought eggs to color and Mikel had no idea what he was getting himself into when he got home from fishing!

Sarah and Mikel coloring eggs

our work in progress

we do good work

yes, I am that pale

 While Sarah and I were shopping we decided to get Mikel an Easter basket. We had fun fighting though the people doing last minute shopping and choosing the cheesiest things we could find.

Mikel is always a good sport!

Mikel with his Easter basket

We had a great weekend getting some time to rest and relax and enjoy the Easter holiday.

Now, we are in the homestretch of the semester and Mikel is teaching his last class, Methods of Teaching Team Sports. The team is finishing up practice this week and everyone around here is getting ready to enjoy some summer time!