There's still plenty of space for visitors this summer, but some particular weeks are completely full. If you are coming up this summer (and you haven't already told us dates) let us know so that we can get it on the calendar.

Granted, there's still space on the couch, but if you want your own room or rooms then you should probably let us know.

I will also be putting together a guide on getting here from California: which ways to go, info on the area, places to stop whether you do it in 1, 2, or three days, and other information of that type. Email me if you would like that.

Here's a good site to help you look at our small part in the flathead reservation.

Flathead Valley Area Map

We spent the larger part of Saturday having some good fun with the excavator that we rented. We pulled a few tree stumps, moved some garbage, and removed a lot of trash that had been left by the previous tenants -- most of which was hidden in piles out in the back forest.

At about 8PM I went inside, laid down and passed out. At about 11 or so I woke up hating life. By 11 the next day I only knew I was alive because I was exploring some of life's less pleasurable functions.

3 days later and I'm still in pain, but I came to work because I don't want to get behind. My only concern at this point is that Judy doesn't get it. So far she hasn't exhibited any symptoms, and my case of 'what's going around' is the worst that I've heard of, but I still worry about it since she is pregnant.

Hey, on the bright side I lost 8 pounds. Yes, 8, between Saturday morning and this morning. Ouch! Not a diet I would recommend.

I've been working with this magazine quite a bit. If you're doing any type of home imporvement and want to figure out how to do something go here:

Extreme HowTo

They have a ton of articles and you don't have to sign up for some silly membership to get access to them. Pretty cool

Count with me...
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Yup, that's how many years Judy has been putting up with me. Very very cool. Okay, so who didn't think we would make it this long?

Thank God for my wife. She has made my life 20 times better than it would have been without her.

Unfortunately the trip to Nevada and California tapped us, so we'll have to wait until next week to celebrate.

Actually I already had Skype, but I took my headset to work so that I could use it there to talk with overseas customers. These are my skypes:

Home: brandonssmith
Work: montanabrandon

The work one is good for work since I am the Product Manager on the Montana Brand Tool line. I thought of going Brand-N, but I wasn't sure anyone would get it. Anyway, I will soon have an IP phone so that I can take my headset back home and use my Skype there too.

So if you've got it, call me. If not, get it...



http://www.skype.com

Skype, it rhymes with type.
______________________________________

I forgot to mention that we are back home. I got a couple of days in Southern California (barely) and spent almost a week in Las Vegas at the National Hardware Show for work. It was tiring because whenever we go on those trips we never stop long enough to visit anyone. This time I was able to breifly see my friends at ECCU and also Jeremy Moser, but that was about it.

I also stocked up on electronic goods for the year at Fry's which, despite their stellar customer service (well, they are getting better anyway), they still have some amazing deals.

I leave this afternoon for Southern California/Las Vegas and will likely be in Idaho (the state with the fake indian name) around midnight.

As I sit here listening to George Winston's "Montana -- A Love Story" (thanks Mom) I am already missing my new home state. I miss the people in California, but now that I've been in Montana, I really have a hard time finding any reason to leave. It truly makes me sad that I have to leave.

I guess what John Steinbeck said in Travels with Charlie says what I can't.

“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”

Or even better...

“I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love, and it’s difficult to analyze love when you’re in it.”

So, yeah, it's kind of like that!

We're having a boy kid, but what do we call him? The leader for the moment is "Keagan" but we've still got four months to decide so if anyone has a suggestion that doesn't include a bodily function or a Star Wars character name then we are open to ideas.

Yeah, not quite as exciting as a boy, but my bow is pretty cool. It was handmade by Dan Toelke. Here are the stats:

Traditional Longbow
54 Pound pull at 28 1/2 inches
60" tall
Woods:
Body: Black Macassar ebony, black walnut, and some other African wood
Limbs: Black Limba, bamboo, black Walnut

Anyway, it's very cool. This one was a long time in coming, especially if you consider that I have wanted one since I was 9.

Don't forget to duck!

When I lived in California, it seemed like people died all the time and nobody really noticed -- with a few exceptions. One exception that I remember at APU was Daniel. He was the student body president, played football and worked for me in the cafeteria. One day he killed himself by jumping off of an overpass and it kind of threw things off for the rest of the semester. The point is, you felt it. It was real. It was mortal.

Such is the case here. When someone dies, you feel it. Last week there were four deaths in two separate auto accidents and you could feel the ripple go through the whole community. We all felt it.

You get that same feeling with the seasons -- well there are seasons here -- so you have a tendency to rejoice each one.

I guess what I'm saying is that I feel the presence of life here because these people are closer to life and death on a daily basis. They are closer to nature, and they are closer to each other. Anything I do affects someone else in this community and I am responsible for that. It's intimidating and inspiring all at the same time.

I still love California for family, friends and all the other things it offers, but the funny thing is, when I visit California, I feel the presence of death more than life. And it's something that I didn't even realize until I moved to a place that was more alive.