A Year Later...

So it is a bit shocking to me that it has been almost an entire year since I last blogged... it's not like nothing exciting has happened. Just a move to Louisiana, finding a wonderful church, making new friends and of course buying the house. Oh the house. We have done so much work and the end is finally in sight. Pictures to come!

Kort left for another 6 month deployment in the end of June. He is overseas this time and will hopefully be home right around Christmas. This is probably the reason I find myself attempting this blogging thing again. No one can see me just staring at the computer, wondering how to lend a sense of "read me, read me" to my words.

Maybe that's because there aren't any entertaining children to write about; that being said there are two adorable kitties Dwight and Toby (yes, after The Office characters)! We got them from friends back in September and they have been a lot of fun for us. Kort likes to try his hand at "advanced cat yodeling" (search for that one on youtube) and I particularly enjoy the fact that they seem happy to see me in the morning :)

I just returned from another wonderful time in Iowa. It seems to be our new tradition...July 4th warrants me being in Iowa, seemingly never with Kort. Hopefully we will be able to make the trip together at this time next year :) Doesn't really seem fair that I get to spend so much time with his family, but at least we got skype hooked up!

The end of this month holds a bit more preparation for VBS, the actual event (can't wait) and then a year-long awaited trip to Montana! I can't wait to see my family again...YEAH!

Well, that about wraps up my rambles. Hopefully more coherent writings will follow soon. If not, see y'all in July 2011!

Dwight and Toby when they first came home. They are HUGE now!

Recap of Last Month Without 1 Complete Sentence

6/28- 7/5 Drove to Iowa, picked up my wonderfully accommodating mother-in-law and drove to Louisiana to go house shopping. Stopped at some very questionable gas stations, went through a town that smelled indescribably awful, got lost in Texarkana. Arrived in Shreveport Wednesday night. 85 degrees at 10:45 pm! Met realtor Thursday, found a beautiful house Thursday, made an offer on Thursday. Experienced drama, felt a bit anxious buying a house without Kort there, drove back to Iowa. Ate at a Lambert's Cafe on the 4th, didn't not catch either of the two rolls thrown at me, Mama K and I laughed until we cried/attempted to eat the most grandiose chef's salad ever seen.

7/6- 7/11 Relaxed and had lots and lots of fun with family, bought a table and chairs off of craigslist, got lost in the mall parking lot after driving through NINE states the prior week. Waited for Kort to fly in from Washington D.C.

7/12- 7/19 Reunited with Kort, celebrated his birthday, conversed with a hilarious old man at the Amana Colonies. Crammed the car full of my glorious finds (and luggage). Said goodbyes :( Drove back to Montana. Continued house-buying process from across the country.

7/20-7/29 Put house back together after being gone for 3 weeks. Switched mortgage companies. Praying things go well with the move, Kort's new job, the house. Camped/floated the Missouri for a couple days. Lots of fun. Caught 2 fish. Experienced a sunscreen FAIL. Movers will be here in a couple weeks. Sewed pillowcases galore, a tablecloth, and matching seat covers. Been busy, but loving it!

Hiking in snow, Mile after mile...

To get us started with the account of this weekend's adventures, I present you with this picture:


Now don't let my balancing act fool you; I did in fact slip and fall twice. However, I fared better than my mother, who involuntarily did the splits while trying to avoid falling into a creek. But in our defense we were not planning on hiking in snow. I told Kort that my brother's old Nikes from 1999 were a little weak in the traction department...

We drove up to Many Glacier on Saturday with my parents. We planned to go on a little hike up to some waterfalls and enjoy the astounding scenery. I knew before we even started that it would be "interesting". I just don't come from a family of outdoor excursionists. My parents are in good shape (me- not so much) but we have never been ones to go hiking/running/biking on any sort of regular basis. (I hope Kort will bring some "running" genes to our family, I don't know a single person in my EXTENDED family tree who runs for fun.) Anyhow, I diverge. We hiked along quite nicely for a couple miles until we reached the falls. It was an absolutely beautiful view and gorgeous day for a hike. I just want to say that before I start sounding like I am complaining :)


Upon reaching the falls, I think Mom and I were about "all funned out" and in favor of heading back. However, I could see the look in my husband's eyes saying "please please lets go on..." So in the name of love, I consented to continuing on to Iceberg Lake. The name should have been a clue as to what we were about to encounter... but I didn't think we would actually make it to the lake (the path was supposedly snowed over and we would have to turn around within the next mile). A bit up the path we asked some folks who were on their way down if the path was clear and they responded that there was "some snow" but we could get through it and that our effort would be well worth it. Within the next hour it became very apparent that "some snow" meant vast snow fields. Slippery, smushy snow fields. We kept going, led on by Kort (whom Mom was pretty sure was trying to kill his parents-in-law :). The Iceberg Lake was lovely, although by the time we got there we were regretting having not packed a lunch in with us.



Luckily, the trip down the mountain went much quicker, albeit not less painfully. I think I speak for all of us when I say our muscles are screaming at us (still are and today is Tuesday). All told we had a great weekend with my family, celebrating Father's Day and quality time! I'm pretty sure I see a pattern developing... last year Kort and I hiked 6 miles to fish in a cool river, this year it was 1o miles to see a lake, next year it will be 15 miles to a bayou!

That's right... we are officially moving to Louisiana in August. No more 6 months in Virgina, etc. We are excited on multiple levels about this change in plans. It's been less than a week since we got the news, and we already have a realtor to help us in our search for a house. This will be our first time as homeowners, so it is really exciting (maybe more so to me as I envision painting and decorating :) The Air Force will also be taking care of all the packing/moving stuff which is a relief.

It's hard to imagine moving to high humidity, triple digit temperatures so soon- especially since I am wrapped in a blanket right now. The apartment is 60 degrees and my toes are freezing! I am getting prepared though; a couple weeks in Iowa should help. Plus I bought some antiperspirant in bulk yesterday at Sam's Club :)

Speaking of personal care, it looks like this guy could use some help...

Bon Appetit!

This here is a French free form loaf known as a boule ("ball"). And the verdict is: delicious! Kort and I already polished off a loaf with our dinner tonight. It's just right with a crispy crust and chewy interior (the "crumb"). The mixing of the dough was really easy and the forming of the loaves went pretty well, and should be even easier as the dough is refrigerated. I'm looking forward to trying some of the other recipes :) But probably not the one that calls for 16 egg yolks! Maybe I'll give that one a try in Iowa, when I can make some super healthy omelets for everyone! What else can you do with 16 egg whites?

Ahh, Fresh Bread

Today I am off to Fairfield to spend the day with my mom. We read about this book, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, in an article by one of our favorite money-saving ladies, Mary Hunt. She estimates the cost to be about $0.40 for a 1lb loaf. And the best part is, it only takes 5 minutes of active work a day! Now we will see if the bread turns out as well as we hope. It seems like this artisan bread thing is quite the craze right now, and I'm hoping if so many people are doing it and writing about it, it should be quite easy. I have my KitchenAid and my baking stone all ready to go, and I have a pizza peel waiting for me in Fairfield. For those of you who don't know what that is (ahem, like myself a few short days ago) it is that cool flat circle with the handle you use to stick a pizza (or in our case, bread) in the oven. This is going to be fun :)

Picked up my new glasses yesterday. I was super excited about this event, as my previous pair was purchased in 1997. Not complaining... that pair was a vast improvement to the pair purchased in 3rd grade ('93?) They were awesomely awful- baby blue with gold flecks. I loved them at the time...sigh.

99 Little Brown Deer on the Road...

Sing along (to the tune of 99 Bottles of, well you know). When you don't have a radio, you eventually start singing some sort of annoying tune out loud. Based on the dozens of deer and other four-legged creatures we saw, the tune "99 Little Brown Deer on the Road" was composed.

Kort and I went fishing on Saturday to Newlan Creek Reservoir and got our little float tubes ready, sunscreen on, flippers secured (more on that later) and proceeded into the water. BRRRR! It was cold, as in, my feet were burning, cold. We had gone our separate ways when I heard Kort calling for me. His flipper was falling off and he was trying to reel in a fish. This resulted in a series of events which could have ended with both of us going for a swim, but luckily didn't. Time went by, I grew colder and wasn't catching any fish so I decided to head toward the shore, when I caught a lovely fish. Which meant I had to paddle over to Kort, dragging the fish behind me so he could help me with it. I'm not so good with that part of fishing yet. The afternoon went on very pleasantly. I laid in the sun and read Jane Eyre on our new gadget, the Kindle. There is nothing like soaking up the sun (and wind) while reading and watching your husband have a blast catching fish after fish. The Kindle is a fabulous piece of technology. I could read and look up words I didn't know on the built-in dictionary. So far, definately worth the investment!

Around 6:30 we decided to head home, even though Kort wanted to teach me how to fly fish. It was getting too chilly! We took the extreme scenic route on the way back. It was absolutely gorgeous and fun even when we had to navigate through 12 inch deep ruts in the road and broken cattle guards. We were able to soak up the beauty around us and enjoy God's handiwork. "I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done."

On a complete separate note: Week 1 of being a "homemaker" was really busy. I had a chance to catch up on all the appointments I've been meaning to schedule, got to eat lunch with Kort, order new funky glasses and got some blonde highlights :)

School's Out for the Summer!

It is hard to believe that this school year has come to an end. It went by quickly in some ways, but incredibly slowly at others (the 6 months Kort was gone dragged by). The kids change so much in 9 months, some for good, others just grow in knowledge of this world... I learned a lot this year going from a small Christian school to a public school with a 90% poverty level.

The strangest thing about wrapping up this year was not knowing when I will return to being a classroom teacher. The whens and wheres of moving will play a big part in that decision. I have 3+ years of experience, so hopefully when the time is right I will be able to find a new position. Although it will be weird to not get up and go to work on Monday, I am looking forward to cooking, cleaning and Curves ( a membership highly neglected since Kort came home). I'm also hoping to get up the nerve to take advantage of the pool here at the apartments! Swimming may have to be postponed- the high tomorrow is supposed to be in the low 40s. Hello Montana in June!