Monida Moments

Family in IF...Mommy in MT...reunited on Friday night @ good ol' Leo's Place...with good ol' pals, Steve and Ayla.

Look closely - we're ALL there (at least parts of us are).


From wormy-worms


To tractor rides - where's your hard hat, Ives?


So much fun that Liza doesn't know which way to run!

harMonica

We are so happy to hear that our dear friend is on the road to a full recovery. Nonstop thoughts of strength are flowing your way, sista. It would take far too much to stop the dynamic wonder woman that we all know you are.

We love you!!!
MTshadows

Flat Stanley decides to stay

We received a new friend in the mail. His name is Flat Stanley. Cousin Griffin sent him west from the Midwest to spend some time with us as a school project. Stanley has had a busy time since he arrived.

We got some fresh, wet, good snowman-making snow, so we took advantage of it. Stanley did not have any winter attire, so he had to wait inside while we enjoyed the snow.

We went to the Patagonia outlet in Dillon and bought him an outfit so he could participate in the activities with us.

In Montana he went cross country skiing with us. He is inside the chariot with Griffin's two cousins. For a flat guy, Stanley really added to the weight of the load...or we are just getting old.

Stanley also endured the windy drive back to I.F. with us and has been helping out around the house quite a bit. He has helped us shovel the snow that keeps on accumulating.

He has even helped us pack up for our move to Montana. The last I saw of him he was packing some boxes in the basement.

Dear Mrs. Wills,

Please excuse Griffin for not having his original Flat Stanley to class by the due date. It is by no fault of his own that Stanley has not returned to class. Stanley's exact whereabouts are currently unknown. We will get him returned to you as soon as he is located. I think he may be in the box with the missing silverware.

Thank you,
Griffin's cousins



Dear Griffin,
I hope this helps you out. We will be sure to include a flat apple for Mrs. Wills in the package with Flat Stanley to make up for any trouble this delay causes.

HISTORY

January 20, 2009 (MLK's week)

WE: desire for change = the will
MADE: democracy = the way
HISTORY: first African-American President of the United States of America, celebratory spirit among millions on the mall, greatest number of new voters

Just as so many doubted that this day would ever come, we made history. As so many expressly fear our nation's future, so many others share our new president's high hopes as we collectively inherit the daunting responsiblities and tackle each task one bright new day at a time, side-by-side, reaching beyond our borders and bloodlines to humankind. If one odd couple can figure it out....

The US Forest Service welcomed Sonja back. She signed her oath of office as a public information officer on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest while the United States of America hailed President Barack H. Obama as our 44th commander in chief...unforgettable moments, now history!

ARGH, Matey!

It's yours truly - the photographer himself - and the following impressions I captured of the generously-hosted good-bye gathering that our dear friends threw for us last weekend.

Thanks to har-Monica and Rich-turd for this really cool pirate hat you found for me on your recent Carribbean cruise!

My daddy

My mommy

My sister

and her self-proclaimed "boootiful" coloring

The stuff everybody was eating

THESE are the reasons we will miss IF

So many memories . . . so much further future fun - SALUD!!!

Darbarians to Dillions: We have an address (almost)

You've seen what we're selling...here's what we're buying. We're one signature away from a done deal and being the owners (superstitious Greg is knocking on every piece of wood in sight). It'll be March before we're the residents, however. In the interim, we are set up at the GH - easy exit off I-15 for a visit (even if your true destination is the Patagonia outlet - we know who you are : )

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How are the kids handling the move? Ivan would like to "just wait until our house is broken before we buy another one," which means Liza is following closely behind echoing, "just wait until our house is broken before we buy another one."

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They are both very familiar with the long (sometimes multi-day) van rides to visit friends and family, so painting the picture of less carseat-time most likely will sell them on the idea of moving and living in a new house, in a new town, in a new state, with a new yard, etc., etc.

Any Takers?

Ta-dah! Now we can include a family room picture as part of our house flyer. When Greg ripped off the old roof back in October, our driveway was completely overtaken by an enormous dumpster which Sonja partly filled with old, worn, stained, nasty carpet from this very room. We've been living with a concrete floor ever since, and that concrete floor just wasn't going to sell well. (Nice work, Greg - again).

We are counting our lucky stars each day that goes by WITHOUT interest (22 so far), that we signed up for the Relocation Services Program. If our home hasn't sold after being on the market for 90 days, then Sonja's employer (you) steps in to offer us the average of two appraisals.

We have had one looker so far. She liked the place well enough to buy it. The catch was that her daughter would have to attend the one junior high school in town that the woman detests. Apparently we weren't factoring in the public education options when we bought here 3.5 years ago???

illiterate bloggers

From the previous three posts that were supposed to be just one, including the video clip that was supposed to have audio, it's no surprise that we are figuring this blog thing out as we go. We'll have to pay closer attention to our blogging professional friendlies, Team Wilco - they definitely don't screw around and really can't afford to without the luxury of high speed internetting!

A big thanks to Grandma Janie and Grandpa Larry who were kind enough to entertain Ivan and Liza for the two weeks over Christmas and New Year's so that we could get right down to the business of finding a house in Montana AND preparing our Idaho house to sell. It seems that both this move and the last we were finishing up tiling projects that really turned out better than expected in both instances. Next time, that'll be the first thing we do so that we can enjoy our efforts rather than just sell them.

. . . and a whole lotta dancin'

. . . with a little remodeling . . .

Movin' on up...

Ringing in one happy new year . . .