Many thanks to family and friend's!!!!

Well, we had an amazingly productive weekend that could not have taken place without our friend's and family. Clint's parents came all the way from Oregon and then our friend's, Brad and Gena, came up from Great Falls.

With all of their help, we got a lot done and are on the way to having a cabin!!!

Here is a picture I took as I was leading the concrete truck to the property. Montana is truly "big country", you can just barely see the site.

As all of you know who have worked with concrete, I couldn't snap any pictures while we were pouring, but this is what the slab looked like right before!

So, the pour went well, and then the next morning, we woke up to this....

Luckily, it didn't freeze hard, just got cold enough to snow. The slab looked pretty good for a bunch of "rookies"!!!

Then, some of the snow melted, and we were able to strip the forms.

Then the walls started going up...
Clint and his dad (Bill) working on the first wall

Clint, Bill, and Brad working on the second wall

One of our favorite cheerleaders!

Bill helping secure the third wall

Clint, Bill, and Sheri inside the structure with all four walls...

A storm had rolled in, but here is a look at the view from inside.

The walls are up, windows are in... Yahoo!!!

Here are the tired, but happy, workers!

More Kitten Pictures!

Well, I've had these on my camera for a few days, but now I have the time to sit down and put them on the blog, I'll be getting these cute buggers back tomorrow so, I'm sure you will be seeing more pictures!!! I can't help but take pictures of them cause they are so darn adorable!!! The black one has his eyes open, and the grey one does not yet!

Preparing for the slab!

The kittens went to stay with my boss, Shanna and her family for the weekend. We went up to the property and did some major work.

We arrived Wednesday night (after dark, so we started Thursday morning). Clint had already started digging it out. So, we thought we totally had it made for getting the slab poured on Friday afternoon. This is a picture of the site.

The gravel arrived Thursday morning, and I was fantasizing about swimming and spending a relaxing afternoon at the lake, since we were going to have all the work done early!!!

Yeah right.

Even with the help of Bones, we realized that we weren't going to be ready for the concrete to arrive Friday afternoon. So, we made the tough choice and called and canceled the concrete. It was tough cause we continuously second guessed our self... But, we wanted it right...

This antelope decided to check us out and got quite close before taking off!!!

Well, we were super glad that we made the choice we did, cause this morning (Saturday morning) we finished getting the site ready. There was no way that we could have had it done right yesterday... It is amazing how much time and work something like this takes!!!

Here is what it looks like right now, we are going to pour this next week sometime...

I even included a picture of the pooper that we had to work so hard to get a permit for!!!

The kittens seem to be doing well!

Well, Mittens (the black one) and Stormy (the gray one) are doing pretty well. I am quite the kitty mom, if I do say so myself!! Clint has been working on the property a bunch, but since I'm on call I'm stuck around here. Having the twins is pretty time consuming, so it works out well that this is the week I'm on call.

When closely monitored, the dogs even get to see them. Bones is very good with them, but he is so oral (everything goes in that mouth). I still can't decide what Rebel wants from them. He gaurds their kennel all the time and is so intense, but he really doesn't like it if they touch him.

They do seem to be growing, but look how tiny they still are! They are amazing!

It was stormy the other afternoon, and Clint was able to snap this picture. This rainbow streched all across the sky. It was awesome.

New Project

Well, two kittens were abandoned outside of my work... Being the big hearted individuals that we are, my boss and I decided to try to raise them until they are old enough to be adopted by someone. We agreed to take turns keeping them so that one of us doesn't get too burnt out on "kitten duty"!

They are only a couple days old (still have umbilical cords attatched). They are SO needy, they must be fed and you must even help them poo and tinkle.

Rebel is so intense, he watches them constantly and wants to be close at all times. I'm not sure if he wants to help, or eat them... I'm erring on the side of caution right now!

Clint was pretty hesitant at first, but being the great sport that he is, he jumped right in and helped me feed them. I'm not sure that these pictures show how truly tiny they are... The black one weighs 3.5 oz and the gray one weighs 4 oz. The black one isn't doing as well as the gray one. We actually thought he was dead when we first found them. But, we are doing the best that we can and we'll keep you updated on how they do!

Training!

It was a beautiful day and I decided to snap some pictures while we were working with the dogs.

Both dogs are always very excited about the "dummies" and did a nice job for us.

Bones is a very quick learner and is so eager to please.

The HOLE is done!!!

The next morning, we continued working and the dogs continued sleeping!

Surprisingly, we actually finished the hole in plenty of time and got our permit.

To celebrate, we went on a drive and were lucky enough to see a lot of critters.

We saw Bighorn Sheep

Lots of whitetails including this buck

and a Snowshoe hare

The Big HOLE!

On our Augusta property, we needed a privy permit.

In order to get that, we had to dig an 8 foot hole...
Because of our limited resources, and very frugal tendencies, we dug it by hand.

(There are a few rocks in the soil up there...)

As you can see, as we worked, the dogs relaxed and enjoyed the view.

The first day, we made it 6 feet.

Bones vs. The Hose!!!

Life's little mysteries...

Where is that water coming from?

(And when they leave I will chew the hose into tiny pieces and figure it out!!!!)

Here's a Robin that is nesting by the house