Monday, December 31, 2012

Time for a fresh start

     It's been a few days since I have posted anything on here so let me catch you up on the activities of our past few weeks!  Kelli and I continue to try to adjust to our new life over here, finding a house to buy would sure go along way towards us meeting that goal!  Our search has taken us all over the Spokane/Coeur D'alene area, I swear there's not a neighborhood in either town that we haven't explored.  But like every other aspect of our lives we are making a conscious effort to turn it all over to God and just let him lead us to the right house that we can turn into a home! 
     We spent Christmas over in Stevensvile with Kelli's parents and had a delightful time!  I ate WAY too many goodies, which was made evident by the way I felt on Christmas morning!  Most of the weekend was spent relaxing, although Dan and I watched the Cowboys barely loose to the Saints on Sunday afternoon while the girls shopped and as you can expect that wasn't very relaxing for me:)  Christmas eve, after another one of the Dobson's amazing meals, we found a small candlelight service at the Our Saviors Lutheran in Stevensvile.  The service was one of my most memorable in recent years as the small little church in the country was nearly full and yet there was probably 50 people in attendance.  I loved it as it brought back memories of the church my mother grew up attending in Adrian, ND, so small and quaint that even though no one there had ever met us before we felt like members.  The pastor had a great way of connecting with the congregation along with emphasising the true meaning of the season!  We opened stockings on Christmas morning and had a fantastic dinner, followed by an episode of the Christmas Story and more relaxing!  Overall it was an awesome weekend!
     So now were back in reality and continuing the house hunt along with the job hunt for Kelli, she finally has an active assisting license with the state so that will help, it only took them 2 1/2 months to process!  Gotta love that Gannon luck!  As we continue to adjust to the new chapter in our lives we only hope that each of you have had as good of a year as we have!  We are very grateful to be heading into the new year with all of the blessings we have been given, we are both healthy, happy and ready for the next step, whatever that may be:) 

Remember, New Years resolutions are a great way to remind us that we're all human!:)

Monday, December 17, 2012

Daddy's hands

    Last Thursday, the 13th of December, our world as we know it lost a very special person.  My grandfather, George, left this earth to spend eternity in a much better place!  If you've talked to any of my family in the past few weeks you already know that he had encountered some setbacks that ultimately resilted in him spending his last few days here in a hospital.  Although his last few days were indeed a struggle, we all know that he is in a better place now and someday he will be reconnected to each of us. 
     George Heinrich was a man like no other!  I have extremely fond memories of my grandpa, like our summer visits to the Adrian valley where all of us kids got to take our turn being grandpas helper for the day.  He would load us up into the truck and make the short, but extremely fast, drive over to the farm where we would spend the day litteraly following in his footsteps!  Now if you knew my grandpa you understand how difficult this could be as not much grass ever grew underneath his feet:)  I can remember following him around as he would work on a piece of equipment, thinking that there is probably nothing he couldn't accomplish.  A true farmer with the gift to just simply make things work, he truly was the handiest man I know!  He would pass along his knowledge to us kids willingly, answering every single one of our many questions, never stopping until we were fast asleep.  My grandpa has many grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, so I imagine many of the same questions were answered hundred of times!  This never hindered him form making each story just as compelling every time he'd share them!
     Along with being extremely handy he was an expert craftsmen, if you've seen any of the woodworking projects he's done you know what I mean!  Grandpa took great pride in combining his love for his family with his craftsmenship as each of his grandchildren have recieved one of his masterpieces for wedding gifts.  Some of my fondest memories of grandpa come from watching him carefully turn a piece of ratty old wood into a beautiful piece of art in his Arizona workshop.  From the glass front hutches he built for his grandkids, to houses and barns, there simply wasn't anything he couldn't do!  I too find great joy in building things with my own two hands and each time I do so I think of him and am thaknful of the gifts he has passed on to me.
     My mother and her sister recorded an album many years ago which was titled the Heinrich sisters, easily the best song on that entire album is Daddy's Hands.  Many of us kids still have a copy of that old cassette tape and while listening to that song you can feel the love that both Amy and Georgia have for their father.  When I think about how fortunate all of grandpas children were to have him in their lives for as long as they did I am extremely greatful!  Many people don't have the chance we've all had to connect with their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents!  I think about all of the lives he has touched and I know that each of us who were privelaged enough to know him are very lucky! 
     I know he is up in heaven now, most likely whipping God in a hot game of cribbage, and one day we will all join him.  For now though, all of us who have been taught by him will continue to carry on his legacy, passing on his passion for hard work, along with his love and devotion to family, understanding along the way no matter what we run into in life that we all have one more gaurdian angel looking over us now! 

Remember, no matter how down we get, there is always love in daddy's hands!  We love you grandpa!!

Monday, December 10, 2012

What a week!

     Wow!  That is the first word that comes to mind when I think about all that has happened in the past week.  We started our week in sheer joy taking in a home game for my beloved Cowboys!  This can be described no other way than mesmerizing!  Even if you simply cannot stand the Dallas Cowboys, which lets be honest they're truly a love/hate team, even those of you crazy people who fall on the hate side of the line would be mesmerized by all that Cowboys stadium has to offer!  The sheer architecture of the building is fascinating in itself, then you throw in a show unlike anything else I've ever seen and you've got an unforgettable experience!  Even Action Gannon, who has arguably been to more high profile sporting events than most of us will be in a lifetime, was overwhelmed by how much of a show Jerry World puts on!  I could be mistaken but I swear I even caught him jumping out of his own seat when my 'boys scored the go ahead touchdown half way through the fourth quarter.  To say the least, it was the experience of a lifetime, and to be able to share it with two of the most important people in my life made it even better!  
     This trip was capped off by celebrating my tenth year of sobriety on Friday the 7th!  The trip to Arlington was my gift from Dad and Mom, now you can see why it was so special!  Most of you already know how much both of my parents have done for me over the years and Lord knows I wouldn't even be here today if it wasn't for their love and support, and Kelli has easily meant way more to my sobriety than she will ever know!  Each day I remain sober is a testament to how strong our love is and I know having her on my side has made things easier!  So being able to share that weekend with both Dad and Kelli was like icing on the cake!  
     We wound down our week by scouring the Spokane area in search of our next house to buy, we're currently in a rental in CDA but we are eagerly searching for our next home.  We've narrowed our search down to one area, now we just have to find the right house!  We know we will find it soon enough but this is the first time we've been able to take our time looking, we've always had to scramble to buy a house because of our animals.  It's comforting knowing that we can take our time and be really picky, that being said, we both really want to get into a house while the timing is right with interest rates and such!  We know we'll find the right one if we're patient enough!
     To cap off the down part of our week my grandpa has had a couple slip ups in the past week in Arizona.  The doctors think he may have had another stroke and right now Mother, Harlan, and a nurse who spends the night at the house have been taking care of him.  None of us know too many details right now, all that is for certain is that he could use all the prayers out there as he struggles to recover.  Please keep all of the family in your prayers, especially my mother who has been like a saint dealing with her Dad in this situation!  
     So we enter this week ready to get back on the roller coaster of life!  All of us know all too well just how fast and windy this roller coaster can get at times.  All we can do is hold on and enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts!  

Remember, there was a time when all of us loved roller coasters, there's no reason why we still cant enjoy them:)

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Big D!!

    Amidst all of the chaos of our recent move, Kelli and nearly forgot about the trip to Dallas we had scheduled to watch the Cowboys game!  So after a long couple of days in Missoula closing on our old house, which happened yesterday morning, we hauled our last load of belongings over to Coeur d' alene and caught an early flight out of Spokane to head for big D!  
     We met Action down here and he has planned the entire trip out, even getting us a hotel room directly across the freeway from the stadium.  So in the event that my excitement keeps my eyelids open tonight I can step outside and just stare at the "8th wonder of the world", Cowboys Stadium!  
     So as I get ready to lay down and attempt to get some rest, I realize that this post is a bit short, but don't worry I'm certain that I will have PLENTY to write about after the game!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

On the go!

     In the past week and a half Kelli and I have had just enough free time each day to give the constant spinning of our heads a short rest!  In that short time we locked up a rental in Coeur d'alene and moved almost all of our belongings over there.  Now we are back in Missoula for one final load, Kelli's last day of work, and to close on our old house.  T say the least it has been a bit of a whirlwind!
     As was the case for our last move, we could not have done it without the help of our family!  Kelli's parents helped us load up in Missoula and then followed us over where Jill and Ryan were there to help us unload.  Before we could unload anything though we had to do a little cleaning.  Only those fortunate enough to be part of this clean up can begin to explain to you how much fin this was!  I like to think that I am a relatively calm person but due to the condition of the house a few lucky people got to witness a couple of my rare blow ups!  Spewing enough obscenities in a 30 second rant to make most truckers blush was not exactly my proudest moment:)
     Even with the blow ups though we managed to hold it all together and get settled in, we all had a fantastic thanksgiving dinner which was followed by watching my beloved Cowboys send me into yet another rant, then spent the rest of our weekend attempting to relax.  After all of our help had went home and it was just Kelli and I we were reflecting on all that has happened combined with all that continued to go on, and we both began to feel a little overwhelmed.  This all changed when we walked into the Fred Meyer store near our house and we could hear music, as we got closer we were surprised to see the beautiful tones were coming from the Salvation Army bell ringer who was singing carols!  All by himself, completely accopella and in perfect harmony, his voice had quickly changed our attitudes!  I dropped some change in the bucket which prompted him to stop singing just long enough to tell me "god bless you", and we left the store in a much better place than we entered.  The bell ringer probably has no idea just how well received his voice was by us!
     It's made both of us realize that we were probably far from over the speed bumps of this move, but no matter what we one across along the way, nothing will be impossible!  We simply have to remind ourselves each day just how great full we are to be where we are in life and never loose sight if the fact that we are not in this alone!  I hope each of you approach the speed bumps in your own life the same way and don't let anything get you down, I know more than anyone how difficult this can be at times but if we keep the faith it will all work out in the end!

Remember, anything is possible if approached with the right attitude:)

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Hello winter!

     Last weekend Ryan, a friend of ours Kris, myself, and Duchess embarked on another swan hunt to Freezeout lakes near Fairfield.  Last year during, our inaugural season, Dad was with us and we got two swans along with a few ducks and had a great time!  Kris is a die hard waterfowler so it seemed to be a no brainer to invite him to this years event.  Ryan was the only one of us who had drawn the swan tag but we knew there would be plenty of other birds in the air.  As the week drew longer and I kept a watchful eye on the weather, my excitement grew with each day.  Our first winter storm of the year was moving in and I just knew it was going to get some birds moving!  Freezeout lakes is one of the major fly ways for all of the migratory birds heading south for the winter, one of which is the snow goose.  When the snows migrate through they do so by the thousands and it usually happens in about a weeks time.  In all the years I've hunted there I've never timed it right, with the weather starting to work in my favor I just knew this was going to be the year.
     Ryan and Kris met me in Missoula and we loaded Duchess up and headed north.  The weather had already begun as we traveled on icy roads nearly the whole way!  We got to Fairfield just before dark and when we pulled out to the lakes all we could hear and see was geese!  It was just as I had imagined it, the sky was littered with snow geese!  My excitement was short lived however as I noticed that nearly all of the water on the lakes had froze already, there was a small patch of open water on the main lake still which meant we still had a shot.  So we headed to the hotel and made a plan to come back in the morning and sit as close to the open water as we could all day and see what happens.  You can't really decoy swans in so your only shot is to set up near the water and hope to have one pass by within range.
     Sunrise brought with it single digit temperatures and snow!  We bundled ourselves up for the day and headed to our spot.  We were not even fully set up yet and six swans flew right over the top of us, Ryan was caught completely off gaurd yet somehow got off two crack shots with his ten gauge as they flared away.  We quickly settled in for what we all knew was going to be a great day!  As the day went on the birds kept coming, we got a few chances at passing ducks and geese, Kris capitalized on a shoveler in one group so we didn't get skunked.  The swans appeared to be growing wiser as the day grew longer however and Ryan got a few more shots but each one was either too far away or too surprising to bring anything down.  Most of the birds would come in from behind us with no sound at all so by the time we noticed them it was already too late!  The most heartbreaking part of the day for me was that I had finally got to Freezeout when the snows were there, I was just a little too late as all of the birds were too high in the air.  We literally saw thousands of snow geese and canada geese, but with the water all mostly frozen they were coming back form feeding in the fields too high to shoot at.  It was still a remarkable sight to see though.
      We headed for the truck at dark with our one duck and our minds full of birds, the temperature never did get into double digits so we were all ready for a hot shower and a good meal!  Even though the water had all disappeared we decided to give it one more shot in the morning and when we woke up to -17 degrees we knew we were in trouble!  We all had a pretty good idea what our chances were of even seeing any birds on a day like this, but we bundled up and headed out anyway.  It only took an hour and a half and two small flocks of honkers so high in the air we could hardly tell what they were for us to decide to pack it in and head home!  The first leg of the trip home was fairly quiet as we all pondered what had just happened, then just like any good hunter we immediately switched our thoughts from what we could have done different this year to what we will do different next year!  I know we may not have brought home a lot of birds, but I'm sure we all brought home enough memories to get us through until next year!

Remember, all hunting trips are more beneficial for the time shared with friends and family than they are by the success of the hunt!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Heading in the right direction

     After a few weeks of looking at our option between renting a place for a while or buying right away we've decided to rent.  I have been commuting back and forth for work and Kelli has been packing up and manning the fort with all of our animals.  In my travels for work I have been inside a couple homes with a realtor and I have quickly realized that the indecisiveness Kelli and I share, combined with the ample supply of houses on the market that closely match our criteria, that we need to rent for a while first so we can take our time for the next house we buy.  
     I scoured the internet and drove through countless numbers of neighborhoods in search of a rental that would accept our small zoo of animals we have.  After finding two houses that would work and looking at them with the help of my mother I felt like we were heading in the right direction.  These houses were both listed through a property management company however and they felt it necessary to have our complete bank account numbers, we had to agree to disagree on this issue as we didn't feel too comfortable giving our numbers out to anyone other than an employer who wants to direct deposit checks into it, so those two houses were out.  Meanwhile Kelli had found a house for rent on Craigslist that she wanted me to look into, I called the lady and tried to set up a time to look at it, she never returned my phone call though so I figured it was already taken and I headed home to Missoula for the weekend.  I got a phone call the next day from the lady with the house apologizing for not returning my call, she was at the hospital all night welcoming her first grandchild into this world, a legitimate excuse I guess:)!
     So once the new baby was home and safe and I was back in town we set up a showing and it is perfect, we only had one major criteria to meet in that it would take all of our animals!  We agreed to a six month lease and hopefully will be able to move in by the end of the month!  The six month lease will be perfect as we will be able to check out every little bit of the area before we decide to buy!  
     The last few weeks have been a little crazy in our house for sure, but Kelli keeps telling me that we are going to reach a peak in the roller coaster at some point and everything will be on the homestretch from there, I feel like now that we have an actual forwarding address to go to that we might be there!  We might be finally heading in the right direction!!

Remember, God has a plan for all of us, the hard part is having the patience to allow it to happen!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Waiting for the storm to pass!

     As one could imagine between selling our current house, starting a new job for one, looking for a new job for one, and looking for a new house for two, Kelli and I haven't had a ton of free time lately!  Our house has been listed for four weeks now and each Sunday we've had an open house, all of which have generated some interest and we feel closer each weekend to the right person finding our house to be the perfect fit!  
     Each time we have an open house we load up our two labs and take them either into the dog park for a few hours or down to Grandpa and Grandmas house in Stevensville.  This would normally be a fairly routine task as we would load them up in the back of the pick up, inside the topper, and head out.  Well we sold my old pick up as my new job brought with it a new work truck that I had a tonneau cover put on which meant the dogs would ride in the back of Kelli's subaru.  This turns out to be quite the show for anyone who happens to give us a look as we pass by, Duchess appears to be afraid of my driving, can't say I blame her, so she pings back and forth from side to side yelping the entire way!  To make things even close to bearable Kelli has to sit in the back seat and hold her collar and continuously attempt to calm Duchess down, to no avail!  Dan and Donna's driveway is exactly 43 minutes from our house, but feels like 4 hours with the dogs, by the time we slid in sideways yesterday afternoon neither Kelli or I could get out of the car fast enough!  Kelli opened up the back door and both dogs took off to the neighbors yard to investigate the smells and ten minutes of wrangling later we had them secured in Dan's garage.
     It was clear when we walked in the house that we we're slightly frazzled, both of us were mere seconds away from "accidentally" leaving our two dogs at their grandparents!  We both settled down by raiding the Dobson's fridge like a couple of college kids, then sat down to watch my Cowboys play.  We all know how this ended, in case you missed it, they mounted the best comeback of team history in the second half only to loose the game, literally by inches, as Dez Bryant's fingertips were out of bounds on what would have been the game winning touchdown catch!  The heartbreaking losses I endure as a beloved fan of America's team continue to mount, each one stinging sharper than the last.
     So we loaded up our dog's, put on some ear muffs, and headed home.  The whining continued out of Duchess on the return trip, not nearly as bad though for some reason, and I told Kelli this was the last trip they would take in her car!  We knew we could remove the tonneau cover from my new truck and haul them in the open bed around town, but we didn't really want to do this down the highway as Kashi has never rode in a pick up like this and the last time Duchess did she was four and fell out!  The girls grandparents were also concerned about this and little did we know Dan was conjuring up a plan as we drove home.
     Today Kelli and I got our Christmas presents from her parents a little early, two large dog kennels with insulated camo covers!  Now the girls can go any where we go safely!  They will be very much appreciated and well used!  I don't know if the Dobson's know it or not but they more than likely just saved us on a ton of therapy and medication!  Now wether we're just going to Stevensville for the afternoon or for the weekend after we've moved, the dogs have a means of travel that makes everyone happy!
     It seems like since we took this new job for me and decided to move we've been caught in a storm that seems to be getting worse.  I told Kelli today that we just need to listen to Gary Allen's new song to understand that everything truly will be okay.  His new song's chorus says that "every storm runs out of rain", even though we feel like we're smack dab in the eye of this storm, we both know that it too will run out of rain and brighter days are ahead of us indeed!

Remember, someday everything will make sense, so for now laugh at the confusion, smile at the tears, and know that everything happens for a reason!   

Saturday, October 20, 2012

A challenge!

     This past week brought with it a new adventure for me, while over in Spokane for work both Jill and Ryan had places they had to be at the same time and their number one nanny, GG, was in Arizona helping her parents get settled in for the winter.  This meant that by default the only person left to watch Jaxon for a few hours was yours truly.  At first I thought no big deal, this will be easy, the J-bird and I get along great.  Then Jill reminded me that he was going to have to be fed, and most likely changed, while I had him!  The feeding part was no problem, Jill and Ryan have this down to such a science that it took little training to bring me up to speed on what to do.  The diaper changing however, thats a bit more difficult!  Ryan gave me the once over using one of Jaxon's diapers and Tatums doll, then I gave it a try on Jaxon, under Ryan's watchful eye.  It went smoother than I thought it would and I felt like this was going to be easier than I'd expected!
     So Jill fed him and left for work, then Ryan put him down for his morning nap.  Just before Ryan took off he said, he should be good now for a couple hours when he'll need fed again.  I wish he wouldn't have said anything, 12 minutes after the door closed Jaxon was up.  And he remained awake for almost the duration of my watch!  I tried everything in my bag of tricks to keep him happy until it was time for his next bottle, Jill said I should try to keep his feeding times the same so his schedule doesn't get all messed up.  So I anxiously watched the clock and as soon as it was time I fed him, to my surprise though this didn't make him too much happier.  I decided that maybe he needed changed again so I went in and changed the third diaper of my career and it was bone dry!  I swear J-bird laughed at me as I struggled to figure out what it was he wanted.  I saw Jaxon rub his eyes briefly and like a light bulb I realized he hadn't slept at all this morning so I laid him down and he was out instantly!  He slept hard for the next hour, until Jill got home, and like any first time sitter would do I got up and checked on him four times in that hour to make sure he was okay!
     Just like that my first experience at keeping another human alive all by myself was over.  I had successfully kept him breathing and happy!  I was feeling like such a success that I even offered to babysit both Tatum and Jax some night so Jill and Ryan could have a date night, now that I think about it though I might want to wait to do this until Kelli is there to help me, I don't think I could handle it unless her and I can play man to man defense!  

Remember, often the most difficult challenges turn out to be the most rewarding!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Fall changes

     Fall weather always brings with it many different changes, this fall has brought more changes than expected for our family!  Decreased hours at my job, combined with the fact that I was getting a little tired of crawling underneath trailer houses, has led me to a revised career move. I've taken a full time claims adjuster position with the same crop insurance company that my Dad and brother-in-law both work for.  As you may know I did this for about a year before moving up to Great Falls to be closer to the love of my life:)  This new position brings with it another move for our family as we will be relocating to the Spokane area so I can be closer to my new work area.  
     This move will be number four for Kelli and I as we seem to be keeping up with a once every three years average!  I know it may seem like we are semi-nomadic, which we are, but we have made many great friends through the years in our different moves and I'm sure we will do the same with this one.  I told Kelli the nice thing about this move is we can continue to move every three years, we'll just do some in-town moves now:)  
     We both understand that this move will be a big one, but we truly feel as though this is the best move for our family right now and we only hope that it all goes smoothly.  I have been commuting back and forth for the last couple weeks as we try to sell our house in Missoula.  Once it is sold then we will move over and Kelli will be on the search for a new job.  As you all know every time you move there is a whole bundle of little things that arise but Kelli and I feel like we're pretty well prepared for anything it throws our way!
     We are sad to leave the Missoula area as we have made many great friends in our short time there and Kelli's parents now live in the area also.  We are sad to leave them but at the same time 2 1/2 hours is still MUCH closer than we've ever lived to them, sure beats the heck out of the 8 hours we had before!  
     So as the leaves begin to turn color and we await the first snowfall of the year, Kelli and I are packing our bags once again, eager to take the next step in our lives!  We've had many big changes in our lives and so far not a single one has been a bad move, I know this one will be no different.  Someday we will look back on these moments in our life together and understand that each one of them helped define us as a couple!

Remember, as long as you continue to move forward, no move is a wrong move!
     

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

A true test!

     Kelli and I walked into our friends, Bryant and Haileys, last night with our Cowboys gear in full flair and eager to watch Americas team take on the Bears in Monday night football!  Hailey prepared a delicious salad for dinner and as we filled our stomachs, kick off began and hopes were at an all time high for the night!  
     You see there are two types of Dallas Cowboy fans in the world, there are the fans who have a closet full of jerseys but only bring it out on game day and if the team is doing well, then there are the types like myself and Bryant who wear the gear all year long and maintain faith in our team no matter the circumstances!  Every one who falls into the second category is exactly like I am while watching a game, we begin with high expectations and as the game progresses we start to loose a little hope but our faith for our team remains strong.  
     Shortly after halftime Tony Romo was stripped of the football while trying to escape a sack and it fell right into the arms of the Bears linebacker who returned it for a touchdown.  Hopes were officially crushed from here on.  The Bears went on to win easily and my emotions had been exhausted to the point of staring at the television quietly in disbelief.  After the game we drove home and Kelli found herself in an all too familiar role, trying to comfort me following another loss, and I told her that I think my Romo jersey might be bad luck.  Some people would have called me crazy for saying this but she's known me long enough to know that I am highly superstitious when it comes to the Cowboys, so she understood when I told her I'm throwing it away.  So when we got home I immediately took off the shirt and threw it in the garbage, I imagined the garbage man laughing in the morning when he notices whats in the  can, although finding Cowboys gear in the trash following a game probably isn't that uncommon.
     When I came inside Kelli told me one more time not to worry, it's still early in the season and I told her I wasn't worried, that my team was going to be just fine!  It was then that I realized something, this has all been a test.  I told Kelli I think God has discovered the most difficult test ever for an optimist, make him or her a die hard Dallas Cowboys fan!  It stretches me to my limits almost every game but I remain optimistic that we are the team to beat, not only in the NFC east, but in the whole league!  I am already planning my true blue fan club Super Bowl party, I think I might be passing the test so far:)

Remember, GO COWBOYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Almost perfect

     The cloud of dust following me up the gravel road had settled around the camper upon my arrival and just like that my elk hunt had begun.  Dad, Curt, and Ryan had all been here most of the week and each had hiked arguably more miles in this one week than they would for the rest of the year, all to no avail as they had yet to get a shot off at an elk.  They had successfully put themselves in the right situations nearly every day, but if you've ever hunted elk with a bow before you understand how the cards must all line up perfectly just to get a shot.
     The three of them had gotten into the elk earlier in an area not too far from camp so Curt, Ryan, and I decided to head back into the same are Friday night in hopes of finding the elk again.  Action was going to go check out a different area that he and Curt had tried early in the week.  We walked through some of the same area they had seen the elk before and found nothing, bugling our way through the trees in hopes of hearing a call back we got back to camp just after dark, Curt was so tired from the week of walking that he was already talking of throwing in the towel for this season.  That all changed though and Curt's legs received a boost of energy when Action returned to camp with some inspiring news, he had spotted 30-40 elk in the area he was at!  The four of us ate dinner as we devised a plan for the morning, all of us as giddy as teenagers on their first hunt!  The plan was simple, given the location of where Dad found the elk we would locate them again right at daylight, watch them go to bed, then sneak in on them.
     The following morning I awoke from excitement around 4:30 and lie there trying to force myself to get some much needed rest until Action got up to make coffee.  The four of us headed out in two different pick ups and just as the sun began lighting up the sky enough to see clearly we spotted them, they hadn't moved through the night!  The elk appeared as though they were in a location where they could feed and bed so we decided that Ryan and I, the two guys with the freshest legs, would hike in the 2 miles along the willow bottom and try to get on top of the elk.  Meanwhile Dad and Curt were going to go back up the bottom and find a good high spot to sit in anticipation that if Ryan and I spook the elk they would come towards them.  Much like every single elk hunt I've ever been a part of devising this one seemed fool proof in my head!
     So Ryan and I took off and very quickly our estimation of two miles felt a lot more like ten!  Once we got into the willow bottom we slowed down and began creeping from tree to tree, trying to stay hidden as well as keeping an eye on the elk to make sure they haven't spotted us.  What little bit of morning breeze there was blew directly in our face which helped is get as close as possible to the elk.  We finally approached the end of the willow bottom and now there was nothing standing between us and the elk but dry grass, if we were to get a shot now we would have to call one of the bulls down to us.  The elk were positioned in the perfect spot for their own safety, they were on top of a grassy hill with nothing but sagebrush flats behind them and the willow bottom in which we sat below them.  From their perch they could see for miles in every direction and they had an extremely accessible escape route behind them.  
     There was four or five bulls in this herd and Ryan had picked out the best one, a nice full racked six point.  He ranged them at around 300 yards and I could tell by the way they were acting that it was going to take some luck to get this guy to come down the hill to us.  I began calling and every time I would send out a note al of the elk would turn our direction, the six point began to come towards us but after he stepped away from the cows a short distance he decided against coming down into the willows to see what I wanted.  The longer we sat there calling the less interested he was, I could almost hear him telling me to come up the hill if I want to play that bad!  They slowly fed their way over the top and out the escape route previously mentioned and just like that our chance was over.  We stood up and looked back at Ryan's pick up, which was so far away we could barely make out it's shape, and our legs immediately got tired!  
     We regrouped at camp and Dad decided to head back home, Curt officially became camp cook, and Ryan and I decided to give it one more shot that evening.  We headed up into the national forest, an area that none of us had hunted before and Ryan and I made about a 4 mile loop through some of the best looking country we'd seen, only to find old elk sign and fresh wolf sign!  We came back to camp where our cook had prepared dinner for us and not long after dinner our bodies shut down for the night.  The following morning we broke down camp and headed home.
     Every time I leave elk camp, I am somewhat depressed form our lack of success.  But then as I'm driving down the road thinking about the time I spent with my family and the encounters we had with the mighty whapati, I am thankful for the opportunities I have.  SOme of my most memorable times in life have come from a long walk in the woods with a bow strapped to my back.  I realize every time I go elk hunting that I don't simply hunt to put meat in the freezer, I am equally as satisfied with the chance to spend some quality time with the ones that I love.  During a break in a spot so deep in the woods we were nearly on the Idaho border, Ryan and I questioned if there's any place one could feel closer to God than the serenity of the woods surrounded by a stillness so quiet the only audible sound being the beat of your own heart.  Sharing a passion of the outdoors with those that you love, that is the measure of a successful elk hunt in my book!
Remember, sometimes almost perfect is exactly what is needed!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Back to reality!

     Well our trip to Seattle is officially over and we have settled back into reality.  While we were away no one had left a couple million dollars in our mail box, so Kelli and I both had to get back to work.  Getting back to your daily routine after a fun relaxing vacation such as that is always hard but it must be done!  Our last couple of days in the big city were amazing!  We wont talk about the game much because the wounds are still a little fresh from our terrible loss!  I will say however that we had a really fun time, the only truly bad thing was the hearing loss we all surely have because of how loud it was in there!  The Seahawk fans are always loud, their noise level just reaches unspeakable levels when they are winning!
     After the game was over we had dinner at the cheesecake factory, followed by watching the sunset on the city from the North side of lake Union.  This created some unforgettable views and when it was completely dark the city lights glowed with a fascination form this small town boy that won't soon be matched!  On our way back to the house we stopped and listened to the Gregorian chants at the Episcopal church, this was an unbelievably moving experience!  The church men's choir has done this every Sunday night for over 50 years and they open the entire church to seating however you wish.  The four of us laid out a blanket and lie on the floor looking up at the 30' tall ceilings, letting the soothing hymns cleanse our souls.
     Our drive home the next day went pretty fast, we stopped in Spokane and had dinner with my parents, it was great to be able to see the Spokane clan both on the trip over and our return trip!  JAG's world famous clam chowder hit the spot as we'd all been in desperate need of a hoe cooked meal!
     Now that our work week is coming to a close I am getting ready to head out this evening to meet up with the rest of the guys at elk camp down in the Bighole valley.  Dad, Curt, and Ryan have all been there most of the week and I hope to get down there and get a chance to fill our freezer!  If things go well I will return Sunday night with a really good story:)

Remember, the easiest way to cope with reality is to immediately plan another vacation!:)

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Game day!!

It's a beautiful fall morning in the big city of Seattle and the four of us are preparing ourselves for the big game!! The last couple of days have been amazing as we spent pretty much the entire day yesterday taking in all of the city life time would allow! We spent the morning down at Pike market watching the fish get tossed around, saw the very first Starbucks but passed on a coffee as the line was roughly 45 deep at 8am. This was followed by some downtown shipping which Kelli hated, if you know my wife you know that's a joke:), then we headed to the university district for lunch and more shopping. Bryant and I spent close to an hour in the Microsoft store playing Madden '13 while the girls heated up their credit cards in Pottery Barn! Then our evening finished off with a fancy dinner at Purple followed by a stroll through the lobby of the Fairmont in hopes of spotting one of the Cowboys! Now we're heading out the door to catch the bus for the game, I'll post the next chapter of our adventure after our win this afternoon!:).

GO COWBOYS!!!!!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

First time for everything!

     Yesterday brought with it my annual visit to the dentist for a check up, or as I like to refer to it, how many do I have this year!  You see I am what you would call a cavity head, I don't know if it's the fact that I floss about once every ten days or that all 32 of my teeth are sweet ones and I consume sugar on a rather regular basis!  Whichever the reason is I typically don't go into the dentist very optimistic that I won't have to return for some fillings.  Even though I married a woman in the dental field who has tirelessly pleaded for me to take better care of my teeth, I still seem to find a way to slack off on my oral care.  
     This past year however I have made some significant improvements, I now floss a lot more regularly, and I have drastically cut down my sugar intake.  I also had Kelli clean my teeth and take x-rays last week and she couldn't see any noticeable cavities, so I went into yesterdays appointment with a slightly better expectation than normal!  My dentist probed around, looked at the x-rays, probed some more, took another x-ray forma different angle to double check a spot, probed around some more, and told me I was good!  I was so shocked I didn't know what to say, other than are you sure?!  Maybe it happened when I was younger and just don't remember, but this was the first time in my memory that I was cavity free!  I was so thrilled I nearly skipped out of the office!  As I waited for my bill to be processed I thought about going back and having him check one more time, this was such a foreign concept to me I wasn't sure how to react!
     So I guess the moral to this little story is, listen to your wife when she's giving you advise because she more than likely has your best interests in mind!  It only took me seven years for Kelli's advice to sink in, I can be a little stubborn, but I sure am glad I listened!  I know one thing, if there ever was a good reason to take my flossing from a few times a week to every day, this is it!  
     We are off to Seattle early tomorrow morning, should be a great time, I know were both really looking forward to it!  No cavities and a live Cowboys game, next weeks going to have to work pretty hard to live up to this one!:)

Remember, theres a first time for everything!:)

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Happy customer

     Just in case you haven't heard, Kelli and I cancelled our dish service back in May, which means I have to plan ahead if I hope to watch my beloved Cowboys games this season!  When we decided to cancel it I had no problem though because living up here in Seahawk, Viking, Packer, nation we only get to view about four games a year anyway!  The fact that the  Seahawks-Rams game is televised over the Cowboys-Eagles game simply because of geographical preference will never make sense to me!  So for the first game of the year we headed down to the Dobsons for some steak and a well received victory from the 'Boys!  
     Tuesday and Wednesday were exceptionally bad days at work, you know the kind where nothing seems to go right at all, and I made the mistake of telling Kelli that I could handle bad days at work if it means the trade off is a Cowboys win:)  Well the work week kept up it's end of the deal as I swear I was under more trailer houses than real houses, but for the sake of my own personal sanity I won't relive the work week again!
     Instead I will focus on the positives, that's what an optimist is supposed to do right:)  So when I got back to the shop yesterday afternoon I went to get into my personal pick-up and noticed my back passenger side tire was about half flat!  I know what your thinking, I thought he was going to focus on the positives, don't worry, I am.  I grabbed the air compressor and pumped the tire back up then called Bitteroot Ford, where we bought the tires, and asked them if they did free flat repairs on the tires they sell.  They told me of course they do and told me to bring it down.  When I got to the dealership I went into the service desk and explained my issue and he looked at his schedule and told me "Sorry, I don't have anyone here right now who can do that".  Needless to say I was slightly agitated!  I went into a small rant on why the heck they told me to come down if they didn't have any tire guys there, and asked him if I was supposed to believe that the technicians he had there could rebuild a motor but were incapable of busting a simple tire!  I nearly offered to do it myself using their tools!  Surely that would have ended in disaster, but I was a little upset and willing to try to prove a point.
     So I stormed out of Bitteroot Ford, remembering that when we bought the tires we had a similar experience and vowed to never use them again, and drove down the street to Les Schwab.  I'm sure you've all heard their latest ad campaign using real stories to depict how great of a service they provide, I figured if I was going to have to pay for a repair I might as well give them a shot.  Well they treated me with the best customer service possible from the start!  I told the guy about my experience down the road and he tried to hide his smile and simply said, "we hear that one a lot".  They wheeled my truck back, pulled the screw out of it, made the repair and when I went to pay the guy told me this one was on them!  Now granted it was only going to be a $16 repair, but if your wondering how to improve on return customers take a page out of the Les Schwab book, they took a ticked off customer and completely turned his day around!  I can tell you this, we won't have any questions about where to buy tires ever again!  
     So with the work week behind us and no plans for the weekend, we look forward to a couple of days to unwind and recharge for another busy week!  Kelli starts a new job on Wednesday, she was putting in more hours than I was at work so she's going back to hygiene part time so she'll have the same income with much less hours!  She's excited about it and looking forward to utilizing the degree she worked so hard for!  Just two days after she starts her new job the Ralstons and us our heading West to Seattle to watch the Cowboys!!  I haven't seen the 'Boys live since Action took us to the game in Arizona, that must have been about 1994!  I still remember that day and how giddy I was and I fully expect the same level of excitement next Sunday, I would love to see another win so I guess I better mentally prepare myself for another week spent underneath trailers!  Oh well, it's totally worth it!:)

Remember, if you stop and think about it, even your worst of days have good moments!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

How 'bout them Cowboys!!

     As expected our Labor day weekend was a blast!  We took off with our good friends Hailey and Bryant to Haileys family cabin on Flathead lake Saturday night, where we spent the evening hanging out listening to music, playing board games and enjoying the spectacular view!
     We then headed up the west shore to Dayton where we met up with Haileys parents, drove over to Big Fork to listen to the Singing Sons of Beaches, then came back to take a little dinner cruise on their 1971 lobster boat!  We dropped anchor in a calm bay off Wildhorse island and barbecued burgers before heading back into the marina just before dark.  The four of us then slept on the boat, which was possibly the best sleep any of us have had since we were babies, the boat rocked us to sleep like an adult sized cradle!  
     We woke from the boat Monday morning and drove around the lake and down to Helmville for our second annual trip to the rodeo.  I love the Helmville rodeo because they still do things the way they were done 50 years ago, no smoke and fire, just rodeo!  Of course they do some sheep riding but in Helmville it's referred to as "Championship mutton bustin'". This is always a crowd favorite and it was made even better this year as the rodeo secretaries little boy helped one of the bullfighters out.  He got into his stance every time and was right there to help the riders up and encourage them with a high five.  
     The only lowlight of the entire weekend was the phone call from the Dobsons Monday morning telling us they came home from spending the weekend in Glendive to find a broken water line under their kitchen sink!  We went down there Monday night to cap off the water lines so they could have running water again and the better part of half of their laminate flooring had to be removed by the restoration company because of water damage!  Luckily I'll be able to do the plumbing repairs for them, which will help the cost a little bit.  They're dealing with this in the best of ways however as Dan told us that night, "things could be worse they could be dealing with cancer or something much more difficult than this".  I couldn't agree with him more, even though watching your kitchen and living room be turned into a construction zone for a couple weeks is pretty tough to deal with, there are far worse things to have to tackle in life!  
     So we are having our weekly dinner get together down at their house tonight which won't hurt my feelings at all, we don't have cable anymore and the Cowboys open the NFL season tonight against the Giants!  It's the first game of the new season and of course my hopes are just as high as they are every year, sometimes I think the only person in the world besides me who has as much faith in his team going all the way every single year is Jerry Jones!
With that todays closing is simple.....how 'bout them Cowboys!!!!!

Remember, hopeful optimism can only go so long before it's deemed desperation!

Friday, August 31, 2012

Competition!

     Last night Kelli and I were invited over for dinner at our friends the Smiths, Lindsey and Brandon recently bought a house and dinner was our first chance at checking it out now that they're all settled in.  They have a son, Jaxson, who is a little over a year old and he is just getting to that fun age where most of the things he does or says are hilarious!  The last time we had dinner with these guys Jaxson was much younger and he kept staring at me like he wasn't quite sure what to make of me, and when he would look at Kelli he would instantly start smiling and giggling.  The four of us all had a pretty good laugh over this, joking that Jaxson had a crush on Kelli and I better look out!
     Well last night my competition took it up a notch!  He continued to pretty much stare at me with a look that was mildly intimidating considering who it was coming from, every time I would take a drink of my lemonade he would point to it saying, "mine!".  Lindsey would show Jaxson that he had his own but it didn't matter, he wanted the one I had!  Then after dinner he did probably the cutest, most intimidating act of the evening, he'd finished eating and was walking around the table giving everybody nuckles, and when he made it over to Kelli she put her fist out for him to bump and he gently stepped in and kissed her hand!  It was the cutest thing in the world but I swear I saw him smirk at me while he was doing it:)  As the night went on he continued to keep telling me anything that I picked up was "mine!", I said, "man everything I have he thinks is his, including my wife!"  
     We all had a great time and we know the real reason he's so fixated on Kelli instead of me is I am much scarier than she is, at least thats what I told myself:)  The whole thing is quite funny and extremely cute, he's a little character.  Kelli had some fun with it as well when she told us all, "what can I say, blonde guys really like me".  No argument form this blonde guy on that statement!:)

Remember, a little friendly competition is good once in a while!

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Reason #78

     I know this may seem silly to some people, but I seem to come up with another reason I love this girl every week!  I guess after 6 years of marriage that is probably a really good sign!  Well reason #78 why I love this girl is a good one!
     Monday when I got home from work Kelli had been pinteresting for a bit, if you don't know what pinterest is by now then you've been living under a rock for the past few months as it is the hottest thing on the world wide web since Facebook, and while she was on there she told me she had found the perfect addition for our dream house we are going to build.  We often talk about the fact that in order to get everything we both would like in a home we are probably going to have to build our own, I've always wanted to follow in my fathers footsteps and do this anyway so I think it's a great idea!  If we ever do build a house it will most likely have a loft or upstairs for a master suite, Kelli's idea she found on pinterest was to build a slide next to the stairs so you have the option of starting your day off by sliding to the bottom! How cool would that be?!  I know everyone who's reading this, wether they would admit it or not, has a burning desire to tap into our inner child every time were at the park but we usually don't simply because it's rather awkward for a 30+ year old to share the line with a bunch of 8 year olds!  So how nice would it be to have your very own slide to go down every single morning!?  
     The enthusiasm Kelli showed for this slide made me smile as she debated over wether or not she liked the straight slide or the spiral one better.  I only hope that we actually do get the chance to build a house someday so I get the opportunity to make her dreams come true.  Reason #78 then is one of my favorites, she keeps me young at heart!  It may be hard to believe but even I struggle at times with falling too deeply into the daily grind of all of the responsibilities we have in our life and need a little reminder of the bigger picture.  Kelli has an uncanny ability of bringing me out of that trap seemingly without even knowing I'm there!  That is just another one of the many reasons I love this girl! 
     We have an exciting weekend coming up as we've been invited to go sailing on Flathead with some friends, sleep on the boat, and then go over to "the biggest little rodeo of the year" in Helmville!  Should be a great weekend filled with fun, sun, and friends!  Ironically Jill and Ryan and the gang will be on Flathead also as they are headed to the same bible camp Jill went to when she was a kid!  I hope you all have something fun planned with family or friends for our last summer holiday of the year!  

Remember, don't stop going down the slide just because everyone else has, break away from the norm and act like a kid again!:)

Monday, August 27, 2012

Renewed!

Kelli and I found time to unwind from our hectic summer schedule as we took this past week to complete the refurbishing of the secretary's desk that used to be my grandmothers, was housed by my mother for years, and now resides in our office. The pictures don't really do justice to how much detail is in this old piece of furniture! On more than one occasion we both just had to set down the sand paper and take a break before frustration set in! Thankfully though we stuck with it, giving the timeless piece a modern spin by painting it black and reusing the original hardware.
After putting the finishing touches on it we moved the desk inside so my in house Tetris master, Kelli, can start trying to find a way for an entire office to fit inside a desk that was designed to hold only stationary and a pen! I know she enjoys a good challenge, this thing will require every one of her skills be put to use! I hope it works out as repurposing an old piece of furniture feels even more gratifying when it's a family heirloom:)

Sunday, August 19, 2012

What a weekend!

     This weekend concluded our month of craziness as we headed over to Bozeman for our good friends Erika and Nicks wedding.  Kelli and Erika were roommates in college and I stayed with the two of them while working in Bozeman earlier this year.  The wedding was a lot of fun and took place at a fantastic setting.  A lovely ceremony was followed by a dance under the stars on the patio.  The time we had at the wedding was made even more special however because Kelli and I celebrated our 6th anniversary today!  We were at the dance until after midnight so we even got to wish each other a happy anniversary during a dance, it almost felt like our wedding night all over again:)  The wedding of good friends of ours was the perfect way to celebrate, what had happened earlier that day sure was a nice little bonus too!
    
     Kelli was one of Erika's bridesmaids and had to meet the rest of the party for hair, make-up, and the rest of the preparatory duties for the day so I asked her if I could play golf before the wedding instead of hanging out at the hotel.  Kelli thought it was a good idea so I invited my uncle Jim and another one of the bridesmaids husbands, Brett, to join me.  My Dad's brother Jim lives in Bozeman and is a member at Cottonwood Hills so we set it up and Brett and I met him out there Saturday morning.  I hit the ball fairly well all day and even though I couldn't quite figure out the greens I was still pleased with how the day was going, plus I was having a lot of fun catching up with my uncle and getting to know Brett better.  We'd caught up with a single on the tenth hole and he joined us for the rest of the back nine, little did he know that by the time the round was over he would have been a part of something special.  As we walked up to the seventeenth tee box I told Brett, "this looks like a good birdie hole!"  In my mind it really did, the 17th is a short downhill par 3 surrounded on both sides by a creek.  With the pin where it was it only played 104 yards that day and any time you have a wedge in your hands on the tee box it feels like a birdie hole!  
     I'd hit quite a few decent iron shots all day and had yet to turn any of them into a birdie so I kept telling myself that this was my chance.  Uncle Jim hit first and found the front right side of the green, he was followed by our fourth Zeb, who missed the green to the right.  Brett went third and he hit a really nice shot that ended up just short and left of the flag, leaving himself an uphill putt for birdie, I told him nice shot and he replied, "all you have to do is hit one a little farther and slightly to the right and you'll be perfect".  If your a golfer chances are you've hit a shot that as soon as it leaves the club face you just know it's going to be good.  I pulled out my 52 degree gap wedge and as soon as I made contact I had that feeling.  I heard Brett in the background say, "oh that looks good......go in"  We all watched as my Titleist listened to him, it landed about a foot short of the hole, bounced once and spun back into the hole!  A hole in one!!!  I threw my arms in the air and we all hooted and hollered for a few moments.  High fives and hugs were going around and I trembled with joy for what seemed like hours!  It was a day none of us will soon forget as it was my first hole in one as well as the first one any of the other three had witnessed.  We played the last hole in a blur, and the four of us went in to the pro shop to have a score card signed and attested so I can hang it up on my wall.  Hole in one's are all special and just like my Dad's that he got in Arizona while playing with me, Curt, and a random fourth form Canada, mine was made even more special because of the group I was with.
                                    left to right, Zeb, our fourth, me, Brett, and uncle Jim

     Now you can see why I couldn't wipe the smile off my face for the next....well I guess it's still on there:)  They say in the game of golf all it takes is one good shot per round to get you to keep coming back out, I am fairly sure the memory of watching that ball disappear in the hole will be bringing me back for the rest of my life!  I don't know if I'll ever leave home without my clubs again, you just never know what the next rounds going to bring:)

Remember, all of the bad bounces you've had in a lifetime can be wiped away with one good one!

Monday, August 13, 2012

A fish tale

     Our weekend on the Blackfoot was as spectacular as I had hoped it would be and then some!  I feel like it would only be best to post on this blog the highlights of the weekend as they were put to paper the moment they happened.  The following is a chronicled tale of the journey we embarked upon.

8-11-12
Day one:
     After mobilizing to the put in, the Harry Morgan fishing access along the North fork of the Blackfoot, we loaded up all of our supplies for our two day adventure on the river.  Tetris skills were in full effect as every individual piece had to be placed in just the right spot so they would all stay dry.  We finally launched the raft and as Bryant sat down after pushing us from shore he grabbed for his oars and realized they were on the bank!  He quickly jumped out of the boat and into the knee deep water, scrambling to simultaneously hold onto the raft and retrieve the oars.  I said nothing but thought to myself, I hope that was the last we'll see of the Gannon Luck!
    The morning was beautiful, hardly a cloud in the sky, just enough breeze to keep from getting too hot, and the temperatures were nearly perfect.  As you may know by now I have spent a fair amount of time and energy attempting to land my first fish on a fly rod, Bryant informed me that he had a good feeling about this weekend, that I would finally be able to make it happen!
     A little over a couple hours into our float, Hailey had loaned me one of her Golden Stoneflies, and I was carefully positioning it near the bank.  Seconds after my fly hit the water a good sized fish slashed out from the bottom and lunged at my imitation meal, I set the hook and the fight was on!  He fought me vigorously for what seemed like an hour before Bryant finally netted him, a nice sized cutthroat was my first landed fish on a fly rod!  I was elated!!  I literally shook form excitement for the next full river mile!

     We reached our island we would camp on around 4 and after setting up camp, going for a quick swim, and cooking a nice dinner, Bryant and I headed out for some dusk fishing in Walters lair.  For those who don't know, Walter is the giant cutthroat that Bryant has battled with on an annual basis and so far Walter has won each battle.  As you may recall, earlier this summer I found a nemesis of my own who goes by the name Carl, I found out this evening that Carl and Walter live in the same place!
     I changed flies to a yellow sally and on the first cast hooked into Carl!  He grabbed the fly like it was his last meal and he turned for the deep water immediately, spitting my fly out as he made his way to safety.  It was very brief but so exhilarating I will certainly have trouble falling asleep this evening!

8-12-12
Day two:

     Bryant and I awoke this morning around 5:30 and started our day by brewing up a pot of cowboy coffee.  Once the coffee had woke up our bodies we headed down to attempt to catch Carl and Walter.  While Bryant worked upstream, I fished the same spot I had hooked into Carl the previous night.  After a few minutes I landed a small 8" cutty and took this as a sign from Carl that our battle would be over for this trip, so I tipped my hat to him and bid farewell until next year.  After working my way up past Bryant, I was fishing one side of the island and he was on the other.  I heard him yell from across the dry land and I immediately reeled in and started sprinting over to where he was.  When I arrived I could tell by the bend in his rod that he had Walter and the fight was on!  I quickly unhooked his net from his vest and slowly made my way downstream in an attempt to get behind Walter so I didn't spook him.  Bryant gave him one more good pull towards the shore and I swooped in with the net, hitting bottom as I tried to scoop him up.  Walter was on the bottom himself though and I couldn't get the net in between his massive body and the rocks on the bottom.  I tickled his nose with the front of the net and he instantly turned, shooting himself towards the safety of the deep water, snapping Bryants line as he disappeared.
     This was Bryants most lengthy battle with his nemesis and the closest he's came to landing him, this round goes to you Walter, I'm just happy to be lucky enough to be a part of it!

     As you can tell it was a fantastic weekend!  Considering my love affair with his writings along with the location of my first ever trout on a fly rod, I feel it is only fitting if I end this post with one of my favorite Norman Maclean quotes.

     "My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe.  To him all good things-trout as well as eternal salvation-come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy."
Norman Maclean, "A River Runs Through It"


Saturday, August 11, 2012

Look out Carl, here I come!

Well after three days of golf in the 90+ temperatures, I played fairly decent and finished tied for 26th overall. I'm happy with the way I played and it was a ton of fun getting to know some new people from around the state and catching up with old friends from years past. I think Curt had a lot of fun also, he played well enough on the last day to take second place in his flight!
Now it's off to settle a score with another old friend of mine who dwells in the depths of the mighty Blackfoot river, Carl the cutthroat! I'm headed out this morning for an over night float with our friends The Ralstons and If all goes well ill be posting pictures of the big boy on here Sunday night! He narrowly escaped my grasp the last time we floated and I feel confident hat we will meet face to face today!!
Be sure to tune in Sunday for a recap and hopefully it will be a very good story coupled with an excellent picture! I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, I know mine should be fun!

Remember, winter is full of boring weekends so be sure to make the most out of the ones the weather cooperates on!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Just like old times!

     Well the second segment of our whirlwind month of August is over and we had a great time!  Saturday was spent tying in the plumbing for Ryan's shop so he can eventually move his office out there, short of hitting the main water line for the house with the excavator, everything went pretty smoothly.  This wasn't too big of an issue however as we needed to connect the shops water to the house water anyway, two birds with one stone:)  The girls had an amazing day at the spa, Kelli assured me she would have no trouble transitioning into a rich persons lifestyle!  Sunday we all relaxed by spending the day under the sun and in the water at Williams lake.  This place is a ton of fun and really convenient, being only 25 minutes from Jill and Ryan's.  We went down the floating water slide, soaked up some rays, and took a paddle boat out to the middle of the lake and jumped off.  Short of turning myself into a human lobster, it was a great way to finish out our weekend!
     This week I'm playing in the Montana State Mid-am golf tournament.  My brother Curt came over from Butte to play in it as well and yesterday we played our practice round with the tourney starting today.  It's being played at the Missoula Country Club which neither of us have played before yesterday.  This golf course is extremely old, it opened in 1916, and it sits along the banks of the Bitteroot river and is protected by tons of big trees that are older than the golf course itself!  It's very tight and kind of short which I think will make it a lot of fun!  There is a sign on the back of the 16th green giving some perspective of just how old the course is, the sign tells you that the 16th green was the first grass green in the state of Montana!  If your a golfing nut who loves the history of the game, like myself, thats pretty cool!
     After our practice round yesterday Curt and I decided to go out to my home course, Canyon River, and chip and putt a bit.  We got out to the practice facility and instantly got into a game of the "Masters".  The Masters is a game we used to play back in the high school days at Cottonwood in Glendive.  You each get one ball, the wedge of your choice, and a putter.  One guy picks the hole you'll you'll be playing to and then it turns into match play with the winner of each hole picking the next hole.  It's a really good way to improve on your short game because your not just chipping a bunch of balls to different holes, you have to putt out so you tend to concentrate a little more.  After falling one down through three holes, I made a move on Curt, winning five holes in a row and eventually beating him 6 and 5.  I know thats a bunch of random golf lingo for some of you but it basically translates to we had a blast!  It's always fun to do something like this to take your mind back to all of the good times you had as a kid, the practice green at CCC was easily the best video game we ever had!

Remember, do something that makes you laugh every single day!:)

Friday, August 3, 2012

Busy summer!

     Last weekend officially kicked off Kelli and I's busy summer schedule.  She made the loop from here through Great Falls and into Kalispell, taking in a bachelorette party and meeting up with me in the Flathead valley where I was playing in a golf tournament.  All of the time I spent as a kid under the lights at the practice green in Glendive payed off as I won a four way chip off!  It was pretty exciting, the green was surrounded by easily the largest "gallery" I've ever hit in front of!  We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing in Whitefish, this was the first time we've been back there since we lived there and both of us were amazed at how much things have changed in five short years!  We only had one mishap during the weekend and that came when Duchess decided to swallow a whole rib bone on Thursday night!  I panicked like most parents would and must have called the vet half a dozen times on Friday.  He simply said all we can do is keep an eye on her and watch for any changes.  It's been over a week now and so far she's just as crazy as ever:)  Thankfully Dan and Donna were able to stay here over the weekend and keep an eye on her.  Kelli keeps telling me it's going to take a lot more than a simple rib bone to take out Duchess!
     We continue our month of travel this weekend by going over to the Nagle ranch in Spangle so Ryan and I can tie in the plumbing to his shop and the girls are taking in a complete spa day to celebrate their thirtieth birthdays!  I'm sure we'll find plenty of time to try and wear out the T-bug too!  It works out well now because while one of us is entertaining Tatum the other one is holding the Jax-man, all while Jill and Ryan take a much needed break from their man to man defense. everybody wins:)
     With one down and three to go we have plenty of traveling to do in the month of August, and I'm sure there will be an ample amount of stories to tell with each trip, so I hope all of you get your own chance to get out and enjoy the days of summer while their still here!


Remember, in Montana we're forced to cram 12 months worth of fun into 3 months of good weather, yet we do it with a smile:)