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!

bulldogs in the big city

As practice is quickly approaching I wanted to make sure I told all of our Riverside people that our team would be in Riverside soon, playing at a tournament at La Sierra University.

Our team will be playing at La Sierra on August 15th and 16th and is really excited about their first trip on a plane (and their first trip to California).

Below is our playing schedule:

August 15th
11:30am UMW vs. La Sierra University
4:30pm   UMW vs. San Diego Christian College

August 16th
12:30pm UMW vs. CSU San Marcos
3:00pm   UMW vs. Hope International University

It's going to be tough competition but it will be great to take the girls on a special trip!

And HERE is our complete schedule for anyone who is interested.

Digger/Dawg tournament

While I was at home, Mikel got the chance to play in the Digger/Dawg Golf Tournament. It's a competition between Montana Tech (their mascot is the Orediggers) and the University of Montana Western (Bulldogs).

Montana Tech are our biggest rivals and it's a joint fundraiser for the two athletic departments. The tournament was played at the golf course at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort in Anaconda. 

the longest hole Mikel had ever played

looking down the really long hole

the trophy for the tournament

the pools at the resort

We didn't win this year but Mikel had a lot of fun and was glad to get to play in a tournament instead of work!

fun in the sun

This past weekend, before Mikel had to go to work at the Member-Guest tournament at work, we went out to Sleepy Hollow (the par 3 golf course in Dillon).

We met our friends Ben and Melissa there and the three of them played while I drove the cart. I have never played before and being left-handed makes it challenging to just borrow clubs from someone and try it out. The left-handedness, combined with my competitiveness and resulting temper maybe just make it best for me to drive the cart and document the memories although I do have plans to try sometime soon.

It was a beautiful day to play ten holes. The course is technically a nine-hole course but they just recently added another to make ten!

Melissa, Mikel, and Ben on the green

Ben and Mikel

my view from the cart

A good course with good friends and good weather. I can't complain about my Saturday!