Catching Up

It's been a while since I've posted. This is a combination of computer issues, lack of what I consider interesting news to report and a lack of pictures to go with the post. But, I decided to write anyway. So this entry might be somewhat redundant since most of this was already shared over the phone.

Last month, my parents and brother came to visit. We had a great time showing them around Great Falls (which didn't take very long). We went down to Helena and went shopping since there is a severe lack of stores here. Probably the best thing we did was the Gates of the Mountain tour. The tour is a guided boat adventure down the Missouri river through limestone cliff walls and forest. The boat adventure was gorgeous. Halfway through we were able to get back on land and go for a walk. We hiked a mile or two. Justin and Stephen went off on their own and climbed up the mountain, almost to the peak. It was really scenic and had great opportunities for photos. Sadly, my camera batteries died halfway through. But I was able to get a few good pictures before that happened.

Here is the view down the river from the boat. We went through the mountains. We saw a few bald eagles and ospreys. They nest along the river up in the trees.

There were also in tact drawings from Native Americans from hundreds and hundreds of years ago. We had a really good view of the sketches from the boat.

Here is what Montana looks like in August. I thought this was a pretty landscape with the wheat and the big, puffy clouds. Some days the sky is perfectly clear and then other days the clouds are huge. The sky looks very different this far north.

The base had its annual inspection the two weeks after my family left. Justin got called in to do a test and did really well. A lot of people failed the tests during the inspection, but overall, the base passed. Justin also got a new crew partner, Capt. Bassman. His new crew partner is working out really well so far. Justin likes him a lot and they get along well. Granted, Justin gets along with pretty much everyone, but still. Not too much else is new with the Air Force.

My computer died again. Third time since I've had it and second time in the last month and a half. We went to Missoula yesterday to go to Best Buy and Red Robin and check out the used bookstore. The Geek Squad guy at Best Buy said that the laptop I have has known motherboard issues and that's why it kept dying. The laptop got sent off the get fixed again. But in more exciting news, I got a new computer! We got a desktop for me since my laptop has so many issues. That laptop will just be a backup now in case anything happens to either of our desktops. Also, if we need a portable computer, we will have that. We had to rearrange the family room area to fit another desk.

Here's Justin setting up my computer. We moved the couch and sort of sectioned off the room to make a TV area and then a computer area. Justin's computer is just out of the picture on the left side. It's strange for me to use a desktop since I've been using a laptop for the last 6 years or so. However, I'm really enjoying the huge screen and not having my computer overheating.

That's about all the news from Montana. I will leave you with a picture of a kitty looking down from the banister upstairs.

She's so cute.