Busy Busy Bees

This is probably our first post without pictures and not solely about Kaylei! So much has changed that I figured we should update everyone. Troy has been attending Police Academy for the past few months. He is required to attend since his job is technically law enforcement. So he can now become any police officer if he wants to give up wildlife (which anyone who knows Troy knows that he wouldn't).

I have been working hard to make ends meet which has me working 6 part-time jobs! I have all but one weekend a month off and try for one day during the week off, though, that doesn't happen much. So here's the list:
1. Larry's IGA - the local grocery store
2. Chamber of Commerce - ~16 hours a week but I spread it over the week, Monday is my long day and then I just fit it in as needed.
3. National Guard - It'll be 11 years this year! I'm considering a change though since I've been trying for the past 2 years to get into a school for a promotion and it hasn't happened. I don't have a real position right now and so I'm considering some other options.
4. Tupperware: I've been selling since October 2009. Feel free to order online:
http://mytupperware.com/alicehinck
5. Broadus school: I sub a little here and there but not very often.
6. Ashland School: I sub here too! It's about 50 miles one way and they are on a 4 day week.

Kaylei goes to a local daycare and has a good time. She talks about her daycare provider and the other kids. We have playdates with other families too. She's adapted well to the new community and I think she knows more of the locals than I!

Starting now and going back a few months

Here's Kaylei in her Valentine's shirt and new glasses. Her hair has gotten longer and she's aged 2-3 years with her glasses.
We spent New Years' Eve working on treating the head lice Kaylei picked up. The store was out of the medicated shampoo so we tried Mayonnaise and then wrapped her head in seran wrap. She loved her new look!

Kaylei got her glasses the day after Christmas. She didn't like them at first-probably because they weren't adjusted too well but after we got 'em to stop sliding on her nose, she does pretty well for a 2 1/2 year old.

This is what happens when you get too involved in farmville and don't notice your 2 year old has been in the bathroom for awhile!

For Thanksgiving, Kaylei and I made my mom pumpkin pie from scratch. No cans involved (except for the evaporated milk). Kaylei loved digging out the seeds and strings and my mom loved the pie!

Some more recent pictures of the Family

These first two pictures are from last night. We were playing with the camera.

Here's mom and dad. Not real good pictures as they were taken by little fingers.

Here's Kaylei's favorite pastime. These were taken last Sunday after church. It was warm enough to play on the swing.

These pictures were taken about a month ago. We took a family day and went to the forest which is about 50 miles away. We ate fried chicken and walked around.

Not sure what she's doing here!

Still have Buddy. He's about 9 years old now. Of course, he had a WONDERFUL time.

Our second snow, First week of October

This is our view facing the highway. You can't really see the road unless there's a car on it.

This is the other side of the house. We got a new deck built about a month before. Aren't the railings beautiful in the snow!

This is on the same deck as above but the other side. We have one of the only pine trees in town! This is also the field we see most of our antelope and cows in.

Still on the deck but looking straight back. There are also some resident antelope on the close hills.

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, :)