The Thoughts of AmyG...: Hot Birthday Fun!

Howdy!

Goodness, it has been HOT in Montana this summer guys... I know it's always hot in Texas during the summer months, but Montana has been giving Texas a run for its money. In fact, there have been more than a few days where it has been hotter in Montana than Texas! Say what now?!?!

I actually don't mind the heat, usually. Growing up, the best way to escape the heat was to go inside into the air conditioning. Well.... slight problem... I don't have it here! And since my place is three stories, with the bedrooms on the top floor, it has been quite unbearable.

This should not EVER happen in Montana...

It became increasingly obvious that this wasn't going to work anymore:

London, chilling in front of the fan, trying to cool off...

Luckily, I have parents who love me, and my momma bought me an air conditioner.

The cat was not too sure about it at first. You can see in the pictures how he 1) is very anxious and confused about what this white block is making noise, 2) not too happy I forced him to sit in front of it, 3) finally realizing that this thing is 'the bomb' and making himself comfy, and then 4) a bit angry that it turned off, so he stuck his head right up against it to see why it wasn't working anymore.

Summer are pretty fun because my birthday falls right smack dab in the middle! Every year that I've been in Montana, I've arranged a float trip down the Madison on tubes. It's one of my favorite things to do in this state. This was year 3!

This year my lab went with me. I've been telling them for months that they are floating with me. I didn't think my boss paid any attention, but it ended up we had a surprise experiment. Now, three of us could have handled it in under 20 minutes. However, my boss knew that we were heading out the door, so he offered to do the experiment for us! Honestly, I think he just wanted to work in the lab. But him working in the lab makes us students and techs nervous. Let's just say that since he became a boss and not working in a lab anymore, every time he works in the lab, he makes a bit of a mess. As we were walking out the door, feeling guilty for making him work while we played in the sun (don't worry, he was invited, but since his wife is about to have their third kid, he needed to stay close by), we kept telling him what to do and making sure he knew where everything was. He wasn't so happy about that... But he let us have fun on the river, so for that, I am greatly appreciative!

Before we left, I found this little gal on my desk:

The thing on the left is a moss ball, to help provide the fish food and water..

My lab got me a female beta fish, to keep my male fish company. Haha!

Since we worked half day, we didn't have time to really get some lunch. Since we had to stop and get gas anyway, we ended up with a couple of these guys:

Which we then chowed down on in the parking lot:

A, the new grad student my lab. I'm not the only grad student anymore!

J and I

The float was so much fun! We forgot to bring a camera, so we didn't get any pictures until we got off the river. During the float, a couple of people snorkled. They didn't see any fish, but they said the river looked cool. We also stopped at one of the islands and caught some crayfish. I actually spotted one, and then held another that someone else had caught. I felt so brave!

Once we got off the river with a camera, that's when more shenanigans occurred!

J and I (her hat kept getting in the way, so she let me wear it)

P and A

So, I'll be honest, we did drink beer. Another reason I like floating the river. But we were good, and we had two DD's so we didn't have to worry. I'm all for responsible drinking ;)