The new addition . . .

We inherited a kitten from my parent's prior to coming to Montana. He turned out to be a mean kitty so we found a nice kitty for Kaylei. His name is Max and tolerates Kaylei better than Tiggy does. Though, all the scratches from Tiggy has taught Kaylei to let Max go when he wants to get down.

Eastern Montana State Fair

The weekend of August 21 we went to the Eastern Montana State Fair in Miles City, Montana. We drove up Friday mrning and did some shopping in town. That afternoon my dad met up with us. (He's a long-haul truck driver and was driving through.) We headed to the fair grounds where Kaylei rode her first ride all by herself. I was very nervous letting her go by herself but she did fine!

Kaylei's 1st solo ride. Notice how she holds the center bar.

Look how high it goes! I really didn't want her to go alone.

By the second time around Kaylei lets go of the bar, leans back, and enjoys the ride. Silly mom, this isn't scary at all!

Riding like a pro!

On the merry-go-round with her pop-pop.

Kaylei's favorite part: The petting zoo! The owner of the zoo commented on how Kaylei could catch and pick-up the animals with such care. (Right after this comment, Kaylei was caught hitting the alpaka in the face so we took her out.)

We wrapped up the fair by watching the rodeo. (Troy's trainer warden's younger brother took first in the bucking bronco contest!)

Becoming Thrifty

We've had some big change lately with the move to Montana. One of the biggest changes is that we do not have access to a good cheap grocery store. There's an IGA in town (I start working there Monday) but the products are limited and a little more pricey than a main grocery line. Thus, we have to diligently plan ahead to make sure we have the staples necessary to keep us going for 2-4 weeks at a time. With this we also needed to cut back on spending, which has been easier in areas such as dining out. To help supplement, we are cutting coupons and checking out new thrifty ways to help stretch the dollar. Currently, I've entered a drawing (recommended by Jillian) that will award a $250 gift card to help vamp up the pantry. This is a big concern since it may be up to 6 or 8 weeks before we can make it to the store in the winter. If you're interested, visit the following link: http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/08/250-grocery-store-gift-card-giveaway.html/comment-page-6#comment-21534 Also, check out the coupon pages on the right. You will need to download a coupon printer program for free to help the coupons print. Good Luck with your savings and thrifty spending, :)

Reptile Gardens, Rapid City SD

Watching the alligator/crocodile showKaylei petted the baby alligator!

We found a wanted poster for Kaylei: Oh my, we're raising a criminal!

The snake show: Notice all the kids are sitting except for Kaylei! She would've gotten in if they let her.

Kaylei petting the BIG snake! She petted it twice!

We all became snake enthusiasts!

Looking for prairie dogs.

A day in the country

Our kitty, Tiggy, caught his first mouse outside!

A grasshopper invasion! Can you count how many grasshoppers are on one plant?

Our new view in Montana

We are here and about 85% moved in! Kaylei is loving the place. She spends most of her time outside or chasing the kitten. Troy just finished training so he can now go patrol on his own and work his own hours. I am still trying to find where I fit in this town. There's a math teaching job in the neighboring town which is a 50 mile commute one way and then there's the grocery store. I've been considering how to offer private science lessons to the homeschool kids. I'm not sure how the public school system would take it and if I could make enough money doing it. Our 4Runner is dying fast so I'm going to have to start working to pay for our new vehicle. Any home business ideas that would survive in an itty-bitty town? Here are some pictures from our first week in our new home:

The pronghorn that visits us regularly

Kaylei didn't take a nap this day and was being pretty grouchy. She demanded this picture so I let her hold it while I went to the bathroom. This is what I found when I returned. She totally passed out!

Kaylei's first toad.

Checking out old bird nests in our shed.

The view from our deck.

4th of July

We spent our last weekend in Idaho Falls with my family. My mom, Kaylei, and I went to the parade in the morning. It wasn't until the last floats went by that Kaylei learned to hold her hand out for candy! It was pretty cute. We sat near the beginning of the parade route more for convience than anything but Kaylei ended up with TONS of candy. I would through it down for other kids but she still had plenty!
My mom at the parade:Kaylei at the parade:

We had a BBQ with my dad, mom, and brother; then went to the fireworks show. Kaylei enjoyed all of it. Too bad Troy had to work. He spent most of his 4th giving out DUI tickets.