It's Spanish for "Mountains" but I See No Mountains

So, here in the good state of Montana I sit writing to y'all. Mike has been gone on a business trip to Portland for the last two days which has not been so fun for me. I hate being away from him, and I especially hate being alone at nights. I get so paranoid. The reason Mike is in Portland is because a large branch of the company he works for is located in Lake Oswego, and he's there to meet some fellow colleagues that he'll be talking to on a regular basis. It's funny, because for awhile there we thought we were going to move to Portland, since coincidentally, all the companies that wanted to interview Mike right after graduation were in Portland. However, it seems that Montana is where we're supposed to be for the time being. But chances are we will have the option to move to Portland within 4-5 years when Mike's boss retires. I guess we'll have to see how much we like it here by then. Anyhoo, so Mike's gone and I've been trying to keep my mind occupied with other things. Yesterday I took Vessel to the Electric City Water Park. He loves the water and there is a perfect kiddie pool for him to play in. Today I took him to the Children's Museum. He spent about 2 1/2 hours there exploring the many exhibits. I was able to meet two other moms with children Vessel's age. One of the women has her own salon downtown and so I might go in there to get my hair cut next week. Who knows, maybe we'll end up being friends. I sure hope I make some friends soon because it feels awfully lonely here without anyone to hang out with. I think the biggest thing I miss most about Salt Lake is our friends and being close(r) to our families. Here are some other things that I miss:

• Temple Square---I think I took it for granted while we lived there. I also really miss just having a plethora of temples nearby. The closest temple is 2 hours away in Cardston, Alberta. The next closest is 4 hours away in Billings. But we are having a ward temple trip next month so we'll get to go then and I couldn't be more excited! I guess I just miss the convenience of having a temple so close to us.
  
• Our old ward---I miss all the people there and I really miss my calling in the YW.
  
• Harmon's---Okay, this was the best store ever. They had really good meat and deli sections, a great bakery, great produce and an awesome gourmet cheese section. Here I've just found Albertson's and Van's IGA, which are both lame in comparison.
  
• Washer and Dryer---I miss having a washer and dryer in my apartment and doing laundry whenever I wanted. Now I have to go to the laundry mat which is super expensive or try to beat the rest of the tenants to the only washer and dryer in the complex. It's less money here at the complex, but at least at the laundry mat I can just get all the loads done at one time and get it over with rather than dedicating my whole day to washing and drying our clothes.
  
• Linoleum---You guessed it folks. One of the worst things about our apartment is the fact that it has a carpeted kitchen. It's my biggest pet peeve! If I spill something on linoleum, no big deal, right? Just wipe it up. But on carpet, all you get are stains everywhere. And having a toddler learning to feed himself doesn't make for a great outcome either.
  
• Diswasher---Mike and I have had our share of dishwasher-less apartments. I don't mind washing the dishes by hand that much, but the sink here in our apartment is the kind that's like 2 inches deep. So just after breakfast it seems the sink is already overflowing.
  
• Bajio---They don't have one here! I used to eat there all the time. Oh, but don't worry, they have about 4 or 5 "Taco Treat" restaurants in this fine city.
  
• "The Bubble"---I never thought I'd say this but I miss the bubble of SLC. Some of you know what I'm talking about. Not to be confused with the Provo bubble, which is similar to the Rexburg bubble.
  

Okay now something I don't miss:

• Construction on 3300 S. and 900 E. and several nearby streets. Trying to maneuver through that crap was HELL.
  

So here are some things I like so far about Great Falls:

• Wal*Mart---The store here is so much better and less trashy that I can't even describe it in words.
  
• Butter Brickle Ice Cream---When I lived in Idaho I could find Butter Brickle in the freezer section of my local grocery store. But when we moved to Utah I could never find it! It was disheartening. But as we were walking through the store last week I found Butter Brickle again! Hooray!
• The River---I'm happy there is a big river that goes through this town. I just found out that they have a River Festival every summer, so I think we'll try to go to it. It reminds me of the Green Belt in Idaho Falls. And there are ducks here, so Vessie can still feed them. Oh wait, I forgot...we aren't allowed to feed the ducks here. Psh.
  
• The Farmers Market---We've only gone once but it was enjoyable!
  

And here are some things I just find plain interesting about Great Falls:

• One Way Streets---They are everywhere. I have turned into oncoming traffic more than once since being here. I can't get used to the one way streets.
  
• ATVs on the street---It's not uncommon to see four wheelers, dune buggies, and other ATVs cruising along the regular roads.
  
• Lewis and Clark are like gods here---There are so many things named after them including a holiday. They are a big deal, as is Sacajawea.
  
• Everyone has a Canadian accent.
  
• In front of the Civic Center are 3 flagpoles---They fly the American flag, the Montana flag, and....they fly the Canadian flag as well.
  
• Getting a college degree isn't as sought out as other places---Or at least it seems. Mike was telling some guy in our ward that we both just graduated and the guy asked what I did for a job. When Mike told him that I stay home with our son, the guy was shocked, and didn't understand why I went to college. As if having an education was a bad thing.
• There are a million churches of various denominations here.
  
• EVERYONE has a tattoo, and some kind of body piercing---At the pool, I swear I didn't see one adult that didn't have a tattoo, a belly ring, or a facial piercing. It's no big deal, I'm just not used to seeing it in such profusion.
  
• Many more mosquitoes here---Probably because of the river.
  
• It gets lighter earlier in the morning and darker later in the day---Maybe it has something to do with the fact that there are no mountains around. (Hence the title of this post.)
  

So, those are just some things I've observed since I've been here.

Anyway, I guess things are going okay. The carpet cleaners came the other day, but the carpet still has a faint smell to it. I should have made them go over it two or three times. They showed me the water after they had cleaned it and it was BLACK. So nasty. But the rug does look and smell a little better.
I think Vessel is adjusting better to the place and hasn't had many freak-outs this week so far. I am regaining my sanity. I have been listening to a ton of music lately and I've been inspired to write a lot since moving here. So I got a new notebook to jot my ramblings and thoughts and poems. I go through spurts of creativity, and recently I've had such an urge to create. I just want to pull out all my art supplies and make something. I've been thinking about making a bunch of paintings to cover these walls. I'm not a good painter, but trust me when I say it would make these walls look a heck of a lot better. And add some color, which might brighten my mood. I also want to try to learn guitar since we have one just sitting here. We'll see if I actually make time for it though. There are a ton of things I want to learn, but never feel like I have enough time to commit to learning them. Ahhhh, "Someday" I always say. :)

I suppose I better wrap this up and try to get some sleep. I've had an awful cold for the past 2 days and it's wearing me out. So good night y'all.