Happy Thanksgiving!

Where have we been?!

We don't have internet. That's the reason there hasn't been much blogging because we still do not have internet at home. We also don't get tv at home. I say get tv because we have two television sets but we do not get any channels at home so they are hardly ever on. This hasn't been such a big deal for us recently because during volleyball season we are incredibly busy and aren't at home all that much. Also, not having tv and internet at home causes us to be out and about a lot at nights hanging out with friends which is nice.

When we are not at home I am usually at the office doing scouting, recruiting, or travel planning or out with friends. When we aren't home Mikel is usually out fishing or out with friends. We also spend a lot of time at other sporting events at school, recently watching our men's and women's basketball teams as their seasons have started.

I have had hints dropped from all around about the status of the blog and I am working on it. I will get back on track and maybe even get internet at home again soon!

Until then, Mikel and I are both enjoying our Thanksgivings. He is fishing with cousins and I am in California seeing family!

Big Hole fishing

This past weekend while I was recovering from a LONG bus trip (4 hours on the bus on Friday and 13 hours on Saturday), Mikel went fishing with a couple friends. They were on the Big Hole River in Melrose, about 30 miles outside of Dillon.

They caught a lot of fish and Mikel caught a huge German Brown Trout (apparently the cool kids just call them Browns). It was the biggest Brown Mikel has caught on his fly rod yet.

The cell phone pictures are a little dark but it works!

parents visit

Last weekend, we were lucky enough to get a visit from my parents here in Dillon. You learn to appreciate having guests so much more when you move far away because it is a challenge for people to come see you (especially when you live in Montana and it's impossible to find a decent sized airport anywhere around)!

On top of the visitors, we came away 2-0 on the weekend and handed Rocky Mountain College their first lost to Western in at least 7 years (I can't find records before that)! It was a good weekend for sure.

Below are some of my dad's pictures from a drive we took to Kelly Lake, a spot where Mikel has fished before but I had never been.

big sky country

the lake is really low but still beautiful 

my new computer background

me and my mother

living the dream in Montana 

We love having visitors and exploring Montana with them! 

Montana's Biggest Weekend

It's been awhile since Labor Day weekend but it is Montana's Biggest Weekend here in Dillon. Over Labor Day there is a big fair, rodeo, and country concert at the fair grounds down the street from our house.

Last year the team was in Walla Walla, WA for Labor Day but this year we were able to schedule home games during the week and have the weekend off so the girls could experience the festivities and raise a little money for volleyball while they were here.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

bad weather at the fair

I am definitely not tough enough to ride these...

HUGE animals

view of the fair from the rodeo

the crowd at the rodeo

It was a good weekend and I'm glad to report that the girls were all well-behaved so we may be able to be home for another Labor Day in Dillon. 

catching up

It has definitely been a long time since I have updated this thing (trust me, Mikel has let me know about it as has my mom).

Two different things are probably to blame: 1. the volleyball season has started and that is just an incredibly busy time of year and 2. our neighbors cancelled their wireless internet so our "borrowed" connection at home is no longer available. I typically update the blog on my laptop at home so that is currently not an option. We really do need to get some sort of TV and internet at home but we are gone and busy so much that it's hard to set up a time to get it installed and it's hard to pay for stuff that we are never at home to use.

In other news, we are about half way through the games on our schedule this season. We are only about a month in but the preseason is so crammed with matches that we have already played 14 matches. We are 5-9 and playing much better competition overall than last season so I'm happy with the progress the team has made.

Mikel has been busy because he is teaching this block and has been hired this semester as a full-time instructor. We are hoping that it can transition into a permanent full-time position because he loves the teaching and the students seem to love him. He is teaching Methods of Teaching Individual and Dual Sports this block, Leisure Studies next block, and then Personal and Community Health after that. It's a tough schedule but somebody's got to do it!

Mikel has been fishing (as much as possible) and working at the golf course (a little bit) but other than that it's been pretty much ALL VOLLEYBALL ALL THE TIME.

I promise I'll get back to updating more consistently... At least I'll try... And maybe I'll get internet at my house, that would help!