Montana pictures

 Grandma Kathy has some cool toys that are a fun change for the boys. 

We all got involved in this one though. Marbles away!

 Jeff couldn't wait to take the boys hiking and in the snow. This is a hike they did up to Mary's Peak over by Stevensville (about 15 minutes south). We realized quickly that snow gear gets grown out of more quickly when you don't use it. Calder had to get new everything and Phaelen is wearing stuff Calder got in Utah!

This is one we did as a family and it was short and sweet. We were losing light fast so we didn't go very far up Bass Creek. Jeff and I rode some mountain biking trails near there the first week we were there. Now it's way too cold and snowy to bike anywhere!

Butte was cold and it started to snow while I waited for Jeff during his interview. The town has a long history and used to be the largest city in Montana. There are a lot of old buildings that make for great photos but it wasn't so easy with the snow falling.

Well we are getting into a groove here, but we know it won't be long until it gets changed again. We are making progress though and Jeff has an interview December 8th in Great Falls. They said they have one vacancy now but are hoping (if money gets approved and sent from the Fed's) to hire eight people next year. Yeah! There are only 15 people interviewing so that helps us realize that Jeff is improving on his desirable qualities and being recognized for his skills as a Firefighter. We know that moving here was needed and inspired from the Lord and that timing was important too. Patience and faith are two things that we have, and probably will continue, a lot of experience in. Thank you to all of you who have been so encouraging and supportive in all of the different ways. Well keep you posted!

That last post is now voided

We have tons going on now! For those of you who aren't in the immediate circle of family or noticed my Facebook postings here is an update for you of what has happened in the last two and a half weeks.
Jeff now has a job as a security/emt officer in St. Patrick's hospital in Missoula, Montana and we moved! Jeff got a call a couple weeks ago about a possible job lead from a family friend that was injured and referred Jeff to be his temporary replacement. I guess they take those suggestions and recommendations seriously b/c they offered him a job ASAP, after a few drug tests and phone chats. The position is temporary until January and we'll see what happens after that, but we've been told that other job opportunities will become available in January at the hospital as well.
No sooner had Jeff gotten here that he found, tested, and signed up for a local Paramedic night course. So, Monday and Thursday evenings he goes to class and Friday, Saturday, Sunday nights he goes to work at the hospital. Not too shabby, eh? The course is finished in May, but then clinical and hours will need to be done along with the State and National tests. We are super excited for this progress in attaining Jeff's goal of being a Firefighter.
Wow! It really was a whirl-wind of moving and packing for about a week and a half, but we are here in Montana and doing fine.

With all of this craziness, the boys and I had a day or two to chill and gather up the last things in Vancouver before heading over to Montana. With the help of Jeff's mom Kathy, we had all of the information we needed and contacts to get Calder in kindergarten with only two days missed! We didn't want to get too out of routine with the kids so the boys and I stayed behind to make the transition easier. Calder likes his new class and is making friend fast, but still pretty shy in large gathering situations. He is #14 in his class and gets to go FULL day instead of half like before. He was excited to be able to eat at school and have recess two times a day. He doesn't ride the bus here b/c he would be on it for an entire hour in the morning before school started, so we just drive him the whole 1 mile it is to school and pick him up in the afternoon. The school here is really small and the HS, MS, and Elementary are all in the same campus.
On another side note, Jeff has another interview for a Firefighter position next week in Butte, MT that we just confirmed this morning. I guess some things are stalled in the address change b/c they called to see if Jeff got his letter. Thank goodness that message was relayed in time!
Well that's all I will post for now. I'll add some pictures of a few other things that have happened lately that I didn't get to b/c of the craziness.