mountains and mole hills

No one has actually made a mountain out of a mole hill in this circumstance, but there ARE lots of mole trails running through the back yard. While Gidget is tearing around with a piece of mulch in her mouth, trying to avoid me grabbing her by the tail and taking away her "fun," I like to step on the mole trails... It's especially fun after the rain, because the dirt sinks so much easier right back into the ground. But lately, I've had the recurring thought that perhaps one day, the moles are going to get smart and when they feel me walking across the yard to their latest dig site, they're going to pop up and attack me... it'll look something like this:

I know logically, moles don't have red laser eyes, but in my mind, when I think of what a mole looks like when they're coming after someone who takes the oddest pleasure in squashing a hard day's (or night's) work under their feet, it looks like it's got angry red laser eyes... Perhaps I did just make a mountain out of a mole hill...

see, I warned you in my blog description, this is all part of the inner monologue. Welcome to my mind :)

True story...

This last week I drove my sister's minivan for a few days...


and I liked it. I couldn't believe it, but I actually ENJOYED being behind the wheel of a minivan! I've had a similar experience in a friend's "Swagger Wagon" - great gas mileage, good zip, sit a little higher off the ground, plenty of cargo room... however, I think mine would have to have limo tint, black rims and a roof rack... not that I ever have time to surf or kayak or anything like that, but it would at least make the van look a little cooler. we'll see how that plays out in the future, but for now, I am actually confessing to enjoying driving a minivan. *sigh* I feel like there's something wrong with that, but really it's just what my dad would call "cool factor."

the boys are back in town...

or just actually IN town! Zack & Chase arrived late last night in Bozeangeles, so Stephen & i were there to greet them. The rental car was upgraded to a Cadillac STS (rollin' in style!) and when we all met up at Albertsons to pick up some groceries, Chase decided to act like paparazzi - i was playing along and when i moved my hand to block my face, this happened:

my nose bled the whole time we were in Albertsons. When i went to the bathroom to survey the damage (thinking it was a small scrape), i tried to wipe off what i *thought* was dried blood, but was really the actual scrape. Oops!

All in all, it's been great to have them, even though it's been a short time so far (hopefully there will be no more wounds, self inflicted or otherwise!), although i'm a bit sad that today i am sitting behind the desk while they are experiencing their first day ever of snowboarding. hopefully tomorrow will bring more pictures (of the non-injured variety!)

Sunday, Sunday...

on the ride in this morning, i happened to glance in the side view mirror and though i had a beautiful view out the window, something about the rear view struck me and i had to share it...

(can you see the lack of snow on the ground?! it's an unseasonably warm early spring!) also, just in case you were wondering what i see when i walked into the parking lot after church on Sundays...

panoramic view...

i was going to blend everything all nice and pretty, but i liked the way it looked blocked out... this was the view last Sunday (and yes, i'm just now editing it...) - maybe there will be some more from tomorrow!

long time, no blog

Hello all! Life has been a little bit busy around Montana these past few weeks, so i apologize for the lack of information that has not been coming your way... today is actually day 13 with no full days off - one really busy day today, short morning tomorrow, then nothing until at least Sunday - pure bliss!

this last week i got a real nasty head cold - when i went to the pharmacy, they said that most of them had already gotten over what i had, so i had hope that it would be short lived... i'm still a little stuffy, but there's no head congestion, which is a fantastic thing.

Monday brought some exciting change for the whole family: Zachary Ian Sykes was welcomed to the world!
This blond bundle of joy made his entrance in just about 40 minutes and everyone is home from the hospital! This has been mildly torturous for me, as i've held every niece/nephew within a week of birth for a good old fashioned rocking chair cuddle session, but this time i have to wait until mid April! yikes! My sister was gracious enough to throw in an extra session with the rocking chair (which she suffered through) in my stead.

I've definitely been suffering from a mild case of home/beachsickness - the countdown is on and it's 32 days until i fly home! i haven't quite figured out how i'm getting everything home... my purchases of snowboard boots and bindings are the most bulky of the items and will probably have to be mailed home, but i'm hoping everything else will fit!!!

During my time out here i've definitely undergone a lot of personal growth, some a little more like awkward growing pains, but all in all, it has been a great experience (despite missing all my family, Coquina included). I feel like i have a little more direction, even if it is just that i know that photography is what i want to pursue, as well as recognizing (even more than i had already thought possible) how much more important my relationships are with everyone at Coquina! I have REALLY really missed the community and times of worship with my family and those times will be that much more precious once i return home!

All that being said, if you know of anyone who needs any photography work done, kids birthday parties, family portraits in the non-traditional style, events, promotional photos, etc and of course fashion - you know where to send them!

miss and love you all! les

slacking

i know i said i'd post pictures, which i am FINALLY doing tonight... my apologies for the delay - don't have a legit excuse :)

the first thing to point out is that the air is SO DRY up here that you can hang up clothes fresh out of the washer and they will be dry in probably 3 hours max. however, finding space to DRY said laundry, ESPECIALLY socks (being a FL girl, i've gone through more socks than should be allowed - my feet need to be FREE darnit!), is rather difficult. i decided to document the event of clothes drying in a hotel room with limited hanging space! time to get "MacGoober" (ASD, that was for you!)




then i had cabin fever and wandered around outside for a bit, these were some of the things i saw...



it's not overly clear, but this is actually a frozen lake and the view across to the aptly named "Dam Road"