G-Parents & Sleigh Ride

Happy Monday Friends!

So as I mentioned in my earlier post this last weekend my parents came to visit. It came at a perfectly stressful time as expected but I can't tell you how great it was to get a big hug and encouraging pep talk from my parents. They got into town early Friday morning and came straight over, we've officially made the transition from my parents wanting to see us, to mainly just wanting to steal Wesson away from us.

 The rest of the day was spent eating yummy, juicy burgers, swimming in the hotel pool and lots of laughing. And of course showing off our new and improved Remmi Bean :) After living with my parents twice now since we've had Remmi, he's pretty much become my dads dog when he's around... it always makes me laugh how he follows him around. Saturday we got up early and went up the mountain to show them our favorite part of Bozeman. Seriously its so beautiful! I'd show off pictures but mother dearest is being slow on putting them on. We just went for a little hike around History Rock and man was there a lot of snow! It was hilarious watching the Remmi and Oakley try running through the snow. They were crashed the rest of the day after getting plenty of exercise.... they're so sweet together, even after not living with each other they still snuggle like brothers :)

After our adventure we came back and packed the boys up for their first sleep over and time to get ready for our first full date night alone. I'm not going to lie it was really weird coming back and not having them here but it was also nice to just fully relax!

The Sleigh Ride Dinner was absolutely amazing. It was at the Lone Mountain Ranch right outside of Big Sky... We've been getting lots of snow so the view was breath taking. The night started out with drinks at the Horsefly Saloon, well rather Mike had a beer and I got a bottle of wine, haha. We than went out and got to meet our horses, Pepsi & Rum. :) beautiful Clydesdale horses. Once we were loaded in the sleighs, we had a thirty minute sleigh ride to a remote cabin. The ride was so beautiful.... the snow, bright stars, only sound of horses going through the snow.... seriously perfect date night. The cabin was so cool. There's no electricity in the cabin so our only lights were powered by natural gas and candles on the table. Our prime rib was all cook there on the wood stove, including our cowboy coffee and blueberry cobbler with hand whipped whip cream. YUM! During the dinner a local cowboy played his guitar and sang Christmas songs. The ride back down was a little louder (since most of us had downed our bottles by now ;)) we all sang Christmas carols on the way back... hey we were just doing our part to keep the wolves away!

 It was a beautiful perfect date night (I know now why all those "good marriage advice" things on pintrest say make time for date night!! Needless to say we needed it bad.... but I was still up and out the door at 6:45 to go see my babies at the hotel! Thanks again mom and dad for a fun weekend and a night away :)

Here are our horrible, no flash, super dark date night pictures! If you want to check out nice, professional pictures of where we were check out the sleigh ride link here.

lone mountain ranch

at dinner

haha finally the flash!

Bruce, our cowboy singer

Pepsi & Rum

Our Sleigh <3

Big Sky Dog Training

Six weeks ago we took our fur baby to Big Sky Dog Training for some major doggie boot camp. If you've met Remmi or have talked to us recently you know this puppy needed it bad.... I know its a rough life living on a long line and not having a back yard, trust me I feel awful about this every day. But it was getting bad... our sweet puppy learned how to open the dead bolt on our trailer door and escape. He would never run far away but once I would get home and see him running the park, he wouldn't come to me. It was probably the worst, most frustrating thing. I was beginning to feel like I just couldn't leave him alone. Dogs are meant to be fun and good companies. Not piss you have to the point of tears.

Anyways after it was getting to the point of we need to get rid of him, we found Marty. The thought of finding a new home for Remmi made my heart hurt so bad so we decided it would be worth the time apart and the money. Yeah, it was not a cheap fix but lemme tell you it was SO worth it.

During the six weeks we were able to go see Remmi twice. We had the option to go more but with Thanksgiving falling in the middle of training we missed a few weekends. Plus it wasn't exactly a short trip. Its located outside of Billings so around 6 hours round trip for us... Wesson is happy this is over!

We've had Remmi back for only 5 days now and I don't think I could say enough about how amazing he is. I had a few fears of getting him back: he's going to be a stiff, too behaved, not lovable dog and that maybe once he got here he'd forget all his training and he bad again.

Thank goodness both of those aren't true. Remmi is still his fun/happy self and still adores Wesson... seriously he's been following him around sleeping at the foot of the crib, so cute. He still cuddles with me and yes sleeps on our bed. The only difference is I don't feel stressed out when I'm going in and out of the door and I don't feel like a prisoner anymore.

Saturday while I was running in/out trying to unfreeze our pipes with the blow drying, biiiig sigh! Remmi happily ran around the trailer and never bolted off. He was just happy to be able to be outside with me. Sunday when we drove up the mountain to really test him, he did even better than we expected. He stuck by our side and I didn't feel that horrible anxiety if I couldn't see him, I now know he'll always come back. Nightly we've been able to go for walks as a family and have him off the leash. He just runs around and gets so much more exercise.

The training was fairly simple, he didn't learn any new commands Marty just enforced them more. Also he now has his electric collar, so if he really doesn't listen we just turn the collar on. Simple as that.

All in all I guess if you have a puppy who didn't respond to regular dog training, (Remmi didn't respond to 2 different classes in two different states.... he's insane.) it doesn't have to mean you need to get rid of your fur baby, there are options and I am so happy we found another out for ours.

i think he's happy to be home

i missed my monster!

 

having way too much fun in the snow.

tuckered out after running like a wild dog!

SO happy i finally have my running buddy back!

seriously so sweet... best buddies.

Also friends if you could please add Jeff Gandy's family, friends, and students into your prayers. He was one of Mike's instructors, he passed away last week. Mike is heading over to Helena with a few others for his celebration of life. Such a sad situation especially so close to Christmas. Makes you hug a little tighter...

Journeyman Lineman Test

When I met Mike 6 years ago, he was a 17 year old kid who talked a big talk about being a lineman one day. I was so impressed, seriously who knew what they wanted at 17! I remember having no clue what a lineman was, hell who really does know? I know when I tell people what Mike does they always look at me a little funny. I mean honestly Mike really doesn't look like a football lineman... sorry honey! I've gotten used to saying my husband climbs poles for a living and using the term apprentice lineman. Well I suppose now (well in 2.5 months) I better start saying journeyman lineman.

my first picture of mike climbing... right after his lineschool graduation.

Mike wanted to keep his test a secret (this was really hard for me not to blurt out to the world so if you knew count yourself very lucky that I trust you ;)) he left Friday morning for Helena. His written test was Friday afternoon... the written test consisted of 3 different tests. Mike passed them all except for transformers theory by a few points. Saturday morning he woke up to take his pole yard practical test. Basically he had to be acting Foreman for 2 other guys and was tested on this... I haven't heard the full details yet but he passed so I'm sure he passed with flying colors. Next his had his knots test and passed that as well. Mike will be returning to Helena in Feb to retake that one test, it'll work out great because he should have all his hours a few weeks after that.

this is what we did while waiting, watch the snow fall... well this and my 5 am bad ass tramp wife move (more on that another time...)

These tests are what Mike and other apprentices have been working towards for the past few years. Almost four years in Mike's case... he started his lineman journey just shortly after he graduated lineschool and took a starting position as a groundsmen in southern Idaho. He was there for about 6 months... those hours did not go towards his apprenticeship but that's how dedicated he's been. Willing to pack up and live in a sketchy motel, 12 hours away from home just to maybe get his foot in the door.... Shortly after my visit to the Thunderbird Motel we decided it was time to buy him a travel trailer... best decision ;) That following September he got the call from Mountain States and headed to Utah to fully start his apprenticeship.

8 States (5 states he's been back to more than once and 3 more states have been in the last year and a half with us), 2 trailers, 2 trucks, roughly 6,500 hours, almost 4 years has gone into all this. his has moved within days notice, gone months without seeing family, worked days on end just to earn a few more hours. if that doesn't say a lot about my husbands character I don't know what does. How many of you can say your husband climbs poles and flips on the city lights? (okay linewives that doesn't count you!! ;)) yes I am SO incredibly proud of Mike. It has been a long journey to start seeing the road back to our home state, but he's worked his ass off and kept his chin up... and we're finally seeing the end. (we started the house buying process woop!)

my boys! we're so proud of you!!

If you've had the pleasure of watching Mike grow through the past few years, than you've first hand watched my high school crush turn into the strong man I'm married to today and know how tough this has been. It's been such an amazing experience watching Mike follow his dream. It hasn't been easy being married to a "rambling man" but I thank God he's kept me around so I can write this extra braggy post and share it with you all! Besides I know you all love hearing about our ridiculous stories.

We still have a few months left, around 500ish hours, and one more test to go but I think I can say this for both of us a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders. We'll be able to fully enjoy the Christmas season, making memories in Montana in the trashiest trailer park :)

santa & wes

happy monday everyone! we had a pretty quiet weekend around here... mike worked all day saturday and called me last minute as wes and i were heading to the christmas stroll. we wanted to all drive together but mike ended up getting hung up at work. needless to say we were all a little frustrated and ended up missing the stroll.... we were bummed but it was probably for best. wes and i are just now recovering from a nasty cold. i'm glad i got that first experience out of the way... being sick with a sick baby is horrible. i wanted to sleep, he wanted to be held. so our saturday night turned into homemade pizza, a few redboxes and snuggles on the couch... not too shabby :)

sunday morning i got up bright and early, meaning before wes was even awake (ick!) and hit the road to go see my furbaby. it had been 3 weeks since i'd seen him so i was due for some remmi time! i have to say its been really tough not having remmi around but this has SO been worth it. i spent a little over an hour walking with marty and remmi around a field... a big field, with lots of distractions, no fence and remmi NOT on a leash. this is huge! he responded so quickly to me calling him back. marty defiantly worked his magic. now i only have to wait FOUR more days before i can make the 2.5 hour drive there to bring him home. please send well wishes... i'll be getting remmi all by myself. 6 hours round trip with wes and remmi will be hard. we've done it before but i swear it never gets easier!

after i made the trek back home mike and i loaded wesson up to go see how crazy the mall was and see santa. it was so fun. wesson was great... he laughed the whole time and kept trying to grab santas beard. it was so sweet... we had a hard time picking out which picture we like best! the bozeman santa is a winner... he not only looked legit, he was so kind. as we were picking out our picture a special needs boy wanted to talk to santa but he was a little unsure. the santa was so patient and gentle it seriously melted my heart. i love seeing christmas magic and kind people still around.

isn't this the most perfect santa picture?!

the rest of our day was spent with hallmark movies and studying. i'm so proud of my husband and his dedication towards his trade, i just love him. i also really, really love hallmark movies ;) come on bride for christmas anyone? hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season so far!

my favorite christmas tradition so far... i actually think we'll just move to regular chicken soup books after this.

Its a Trailer Park Christmas...

i am so excited to finally share pictures of our trailer again this year! i had fun making christmas crafts (and gifts!) pintrest is such a great invention ;)

this year's december will be a first for me, we will be spending christmas here in Bozeman. just the four of us... i'm not going to lie, i do get a little knot in my stomach thinking of not waking up with christopher at 4 am, but its time for us to start our own tradition. we have a very busy month coming up. i am trying to think realiscally and get in my mind i will probably be doing a few things with just me. we're not sure if mike will be going to 7 10's yet (i'm praying hard they wont... 6 10's is plenty!!) so that only leaves us with one day to fill with christmas joy, give or take a few hours after work. here ya go here's how we'll be spending our december in the trailer park...

• decorate wesson's first christmas tree- we did this before we went home for thanksgiving... i didn't take any pictures though, i know bad mommy. wesson wasn't really into but now he's always reaching for the tree
• holiday parade- we lucked out and get to attend two holiday parades (aren't we lucky!?) cda's of course was last friday and so much fun. wesson really loved watching all the lights and trucks... bozeman's holiday parade is this saturday (unfortunately its at 3 and my dear husband doesn't get off until 6... momma/son day?!)
• bake/decorate gingerbread men- in the past we've done gingerbread houses and although they've always been fun they never taste good and they're typically in the way. so this year we'll be attempting gingerbread men!
• go on a sleigh ride- now next to watching wesson on christmas morning and getting remmi back, this is what i am most excited for in december! well i guess i should say after seeing my parents as well ;) they are coming to visit in a few weeks to babysit so mike and i can take off to big sky for a real, old fashion sleigh ride. its going to be beautiful and romantic, i cannot wait!
• chicken soup for the christmas soul nightly readings- we started this tradition tonight! we read to wesson nightly anyways but to tell the truth we're a little over reading about pokie the puppy and to get into the christmas cheer we decided to switch. i love having us snuggled on the couch without any distractions, its wonderful.
• snow shoeing- i'm really hoping this will a december thing but most likely will turn into a winter event.
• operation christmas shoe box or christmas angel- we all should really practice giving all year long but especially during such a special time. i will fully enjoy shopping for a little girl!
• build a snowman & snow angels- wesson's first!! yay!!
• attend christmas eve service- ideally it would be a candle light service but the chances of wes lasting that late is slim.
• bake christmas goodies to take to the neighbors and crews- i love, love, love baking but come on i do not need the extra calories in the house... spreading christmas cheer!
• polar express night- pintrest idea? you betcha. i love it... popping popcorn, putting hot cocoa in to go mugs, throwing sweats on and grabbing blankets to hit the town and look at lights. can't wait!
• visit santa- we'll see how wesson does but after getting passed around to strangers and putting on quiet the sweet act i think he'll do great. probably stick his tongue out at him, haha.
• visit a live nativity- not sure if bozeman actually has one or not, i heard a rumor.
• watch the classics- of course this has to be on here! buddy the elf, Rudolph, grinch anyone?! you bet my dvr is filling up as i type!

so there we have it....it may seem like a lot but this time of year is so special to me, i really want to start out right with wesson "a family is a little world created by love..."

our whittle tree...

thank you again tyler & aimee... the candles are perfect!

few pintrest ideas! i love my diy glitter candles (old bath & body jars?! heck yes!)

cozy :) just missing Remmi laying by the fire...

chicken soup for the chrismas soul...

aren't they the sweetest?!

my little christmas blessing

FINALLY get to put these out... my favorite gift from my parents last year... personalized santa plate/mug... you can bet santa will be enjoying goodies off these gems...

Thanksgiving 2012

i think i am still stuffed from our trip home... i think i literally ate my way through our vacation. classes are going to kill me this week, ha. we had the best trip home, much needed! it was very, very busy... i can't wait to be home for good so we don't feel so rushed in each of our visits. even with our extra day i didn't get to fit in everyone i wanted to see, boo. i am so glad we got to come home though... the thought of trying to cook in the trailer again makes my head hurt. in case you forgot that  fun experience here ya go ;)

i won't bore ya all with the written details instead here's some pictures... by the end of the week i got lazy with pictures, my bad!

Jussy came over to visit. short trip but oh so sweet!!

wrestling with oakley... i think its time remmi comes home

our fav place!

uncle bug showing wes how to drink...

happy thanksgiving :)

we were stuffed

my most favorite people in the whole wide world!

lights parade

my very, very best frans. finally we're all married :)

the boys... and mwalls manly drink ;)

got to see ash for a little bit, also nicole came down after for awhile...

married people can get crazy too. haha

here's the back to wesson's new wagon g.grandpa made :)

3 generations

i love my dad!!

 



on our way home we got to stop in Butte and visit more family!

 

all in all we are so incredibly blessed with wonderful friends and an ever growing family... this has been a year of so much to be thankful for....we love you all and really appreciate those who squeezed us in your busy holiday week. 

 

these are a few of my favorite things... par deux

its no surprise i'm an anxious person. i like to have things planned out and if i get an idea in my head it needs to happen... like right this second. so with our upcoming trip home for thanksgiving of course i've been preparing so we'll have an organized, stress free trip.... problem: i did that last week. so here i am bored out of my mind, seeing facebook updates of "heading home" gah. i wanna post that! to make matters worse wesson has been a dream baby all week (yes i said worse... i don't have little mister distracting me from time watching) and Mike has been packing on the hours this week... he's already at 70 hours and that's not counting today monday or tuesday. plus he's beens studying like a mad man for his upcoming JL test so he comes home, eats and leaves again. as Kristina (another fellow linewife blogger) said I did not move into the trailer to be alone! -insert big sigh!-

so in light of my pity party today i'm trying to focus on little positives we have going on and since i'm bored why not share it with all of  you?? ahh aren't i sweet? ;)

• the fact we are 75% done christmas shopping! woop. wednesday we'll be completely done... mike and i are finally getting a whole day to ourselves to go christmas shopping for wes and rem, seriously its going to be wonderful.
• we only have 3 weeks left until we get remmi back! this of course is a half full/half empty deal... i miss that dog so much its kinda pathetic. i went for a walk last week and the neighbors asked where he was. now that's sad.
• i've managed to sneak away (before mike sneaks away to study... boo) the last two nights for a quick run. again bittersweet deal because running at night is scary enough and without remmi its really terrifying!! but the neighbors still cheer me on so that makes me feel better, ha. i better get my booty running, seeing all my running friends throwing the miles behind them is really exciting slash really intimating! proud of you all!!
• finally finding tea i really like! i love, love, love coffee but its been really messing with my head if i drink it in the afternoons so i've been testing different teas out and have decided i really like the brand Yogi. (i know right?)
• speaking of i've found a new studio right up the road! i've only had a chance to go once but after vaca mike said he's giving studying a rest (thank God) so i can go twice a week.
• finishing the last 8 week challenge and still managing to keep up and loose another pound this week. i think i've finally found a solid routine with eating and working out where its just habit now. fyi we'll be doing another challenge the start of the new year... any and everyone is welcome to join!!
• being able to finally put our flannel sheets on the bed. flannels + electric blanket makes me never want to leave my bed!
• my linewife ladies... they are the best group of ladies. even though i've never met some of them in person i feel like i could call them up (and i have) any time of the day if i needed to bitch about the job, trailer, or just life. they understand. they get it. they are all totally my person.
• having so many baby options in this community! its so great, the library really does a great job of providing an up to date schedule of events.... so far we've only gone to books & babies. but its on our december list to check out baby yoga and baby sign language. wesson is getting to be so active and now that he claps he's able to really show when he's excited! sometime in december we get to go sign christmas carols at the retirement center, fun!
• having our dvr is the best. i don't have to miss any of my old favorite and new favs... nashville anyone?! love! plus since mike's been ditching out on me this week we have a whole week of shows lined up that we didn't have to miss.
• oh and how could i not add the most recent happy moment... that i'm 5 1/2 weeks along! hahaha seriously that whole post just made my day yesterday. i did recieve a few phone calls and texts for those dear friends who did not read the whole thing. and of course again my favorite of christopher calling me basically in tears because he had to find out over facebook. poor guy... i'm glad to see if we really were expecting already how many people would be happy for us :) thanks for the chuckle!!

alright i could really go on and on about the little blessings (like my diy spa night i planned! haha my life is so lame...) but really i know i'm boring you all so i guess i'll sip my tea, do some facebook stalking, probably call mom and bug them..i know they're bored. dad took a picture of a cookie on wesson's high chair saying wes needs a cookie. i know where i get my lameness from ;)

all rambling aside i am so ready for tuesday night!! i have a bag full of junk food and a new pandora station ready to roll! only roughly 52 hours left, but who's counting.