Big Sky Country

I arrived in Montana on Tuesday night(Sorry, it has been a while since I blogged! I started writing this post on June 16 and am finally getting around to posting it on June 21.)! Woo hoo! It's been a long journey the last few months and I feel so...relieved! It has been a CRAZY couple of months. I feel like I have been bouncing all across this great country of ours like a ping pong ball. To recap, we found out our assignment to Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls, MT in December. Mike reported to New Mexico for additional training in January and I moved to my parent's house temporarily due to there not being pet friendly accommodations in NM. We received pet friendly lodging and so Crockett and I moved to NM in March. We have been living our of suitcases for six months. We lost the pet friendly lodging in NM last week, so Crockett and I journeyed up to Montana by way of Colorado Springs. Mike is still in NM, but we are feeling super optimistic and think he will be here in about a month. Whew! I get tired just thinking about it all over again.

I spent the weekend in Colorado Springs with my brother in law and some friends from college. I was hoping to get in some hiking in, but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and it was rainy and cold all weekend. On Monday morning, I rushed around Steve's house packing the car, loading the cooler, making sure the dog didn't freak out, etc. I filled up with gas, grabbed some breakfast, weighed my car, and was on my way to pick up my mom in Denver. (You may be wondering why I had to weigh my car. In the military, you are paid for items that you move yourself. You weigh the car empty and full and are paid for the weight of the items you move yourself as well as the mileage you will be moving those items. It can be a pretty sweet deal!) We grabbed lunch with my good friend Bri and her mom, and headed north to our first stop: Casper, Wyoming. We got on the road the next day and made the final push to Great Falls.

I thought Wyoming was beautiful. There were hills, mountains, rock formations, and it was GREEN. And there were lots of cows and antelope. Montana was beautiful as well. The landscape flattened out a bit, but I felt like there was more water: lakes, rivers, etc. Mike is going to enjoy fishing! It was different to be driving and to not really come across any towns or civilization or anything. We ended up getting off I-25 when it ended and were on state highways for the rest of the trip. You would literally pass through a town consisting of ten buildings (one of them was ALWAYS a casino...and all the town's cars were parked there) and then the town would be gone. My sister-in-law Rebecca advised us to stop for gas whenever possible because Montana is the least populated state, so you never know when the next gas station will come along.

Unfortunately, the closer we got to Great Falls, the weather became rainy, so we couldn't see too much as far as scenery goes, but I think at that point I was so excited to arrive that I really didn't care! I haven't seen Rebecca in almost two years and I hadn't met my nephew Asher yet, so there was a lot of anticipation! I am already obsessed with Asher. Oh my goodness, he is ADORABLE. But more on him later.

On Wednesday Rebecca took me to the housing office so that I could see if a house on base was available. There are brand new houses, as well as older homes that have been renovated. Obviously, I would like a brand new house. Who wouldn't? Also, they are in the process of tearing down the renovated homes and rebuilding new ones, so we would have to move again once a new home is ready. I was offered a renovated home, but it isn't ready until July, so I declined since I have a place to stay. And if I'm going to be waiting anyway, I may as well wait for a home that is brand spankin new! Currently we are first on the waiting list, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the very next new house that becomes available will be ours, as you also have to factor in the people moving from the renovated homes into the new ones. Hopefully a new home will become available soon.


The new houses are amazing! They are behemoths and I have no idea how I might fill one of them up, but I know that Mike is finally going to get his man cave. Hooray for him, I will also get my craft room! There are 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, an eat-in kitchen and a separate dining room, 2 living room areas, a laundry room, nice sized backyard, and tons of storage. I cannot wait!


I am incredibly lucky that I have a place to stay while I am waiting for a house to open up. As you can imagine, I was by no means ready to stay in a TLF again. I (and Mike, once he gets here) have a very unique opportunity to spend quality time with family and am so excited about it! This assignment is a huge blessing for our family and I am so thankful to Rebecca and Jon for opening their home to Crockett and me while everything gets sorted out.


After our visit to the housing office, Rebecca drove my mom and I around town. By America's standards, it is a smaller city (50,000 people, not including those on base) but for Montana it is one of the larger ones. Immediately off base there are 44 miles of hiking trails near the Missouri River and in town there is actually a mall, a Target, and a Barnes & Noble. While you may think this is nothing to write home about, you have to understand that these amenities are things that were an hour or so drive away when we lived in Alabama. We are moving up in the world!!!


Mike flew twice last week and is done with night flying! That means he only has 5 flights left! AND...he is on the schedule three times this week! I am trying not to get my hopes up (it seems like every time I do he gets cancelled or something) but I am really excited that things seem to be moving along quickly for him. I am really excited to explore more of this state with him once he arrives in Big Sky Country!


So all in all, I am really happy at the moment. Happy for time with family. Happy for a new house coming soon (hopefully). Happy for time with my sister. Happy for time with my nephew. Happy that all the dogs (Crockett, Kenai, & Denali) get along. Happy that Mike will be here soon (again, hopefully). Happy that I really think we are going to enjoy Montana. Thank you Lord for all of these blessings!

(Sadly you are going to have to wait for photos...I think I left my transfer cord in a suitcase that Mike is bringing. But I promise to put some up ASAP!)