June 2008

I'm not quite sure where May went. It seemed it was just starting and then it was over. We have been in Montana for exactly a year! The time has gone by so fast and it seems like we've always been here. Well, maybe not always. I do miss the wine festivals and I know Rocky does miss teaching, but Montana has been good to us this past year and we are here to stay!

We drove back to SD for Memorial Day weekend. Rocky sits on the advisory board for SDSU's journalism school, so he spent Friday in Brookings. Maggie and I spent time with Grandma Alana and visited Uncle Ardie, Aunt Jeanne and Great Grandma Alberta. Maggie enjoyed spending time with Uncle Ardie in his backyard and even tried some rhubarb. Arden told me that he would cut some peonies from his garden that came from Granddad Gilbert's. I wanted to plant peonies in the backyard anyway and it will be nice to have some "Gilbert Heirloom." It was a nice enough day that we were able to go outside a bit at the nursing home. Grandma is in the secured unit now and they have a dog -- an old Lab I think. He was very gentle, but seemed to love having a little girl pay attention to him (I think Great Grandma enjoyed watching that)! Maggie ran about the backyard and picked dandelions for everyone. When it got a little chilly, she tried to get everyone involved in a domino game and do a couple of puzzles. That evening, we spent some time at Aunt Natalie's house and saw brand new cousins Kinsley and Parker. Maggie was not impressed and was much happier when her older cousins arrived to play with. Maggie did not want me holding either baby for very long and told me to put Parker in the swing ("Baby in the swing!")

The next day we drove to Sioux Falls and spent time with Aunt Holly, cousins Jada and Jeffery and my friend Kristy and her boys at the zoo. Maggie loves animals. She did ask to see the elephant and "hip-it-to-potomus", but seemed pleased with the animals we DID see. Since returning home, she has asked to see the giraffe several times.

Maggie spent most of Sunday jumping on the trampoline! "I jumping!" She didn't care who jumped with her. Taylor and Maggie put on a show (Here's Maggie! Here's Taylor!), which consisted of Taylor dancing and Maggie jumping. She really enjoyed jumping with Delany and Amy who would hold her hands and help her jump really high.

Our yard is finally getting worked on! There has been so much rain in Billings that it's taken awhile and there have been a few days where no work could be done. The sprinkler is in in the front yard and the landscaper is working on the edging. He's planted several bushes, most I recognize on sight, but not on name, though he did plant miniature burning bush and a lilac! The backyard is still in trenches, but Maggie enjoys jumping over the trenches. There is still plenty of moisture in the soil (and it is raining right now!!), so we shouldn't have to use the sprinkers for a few weeks!!

April 2008

Another month flies by! We have Maggie signed up for pre-school twice a week this fall. Her day care offers it, so we figured we should take advantage! Plus it will come in handy in 2 years when we will be looking at kindergarten. Maggie loves to sing. I got her a Sesame Street CD and she just loves to sing and dance to it. Now that it's nice, we're hanging out in the garage more and she will run around, helping daddy fix stuff or "feeding" Otis.

We have plans for getting our yard in next month. We are very excited and very ready. We got a great quote and are going to do a sprinkler system at the same time. Not sure what we'll put in for bushes, trees and plants yet, but I'm hoping for lilacs, peonies, a fruit tree (apple?) and a burning bush or two. The yard guy said that most anything will grow in our backyard -- it gets lots of sunshine and it pretty good soil (if you don't go down too far). We are also looking into a pump from the creek, but we aren't sure if that's going to be more trouble than it's worth.

We are having a very pleasant spring and I'm really looking forward to having a backyard for us to play in. Now if I could just keep Maggie away from the tulips!

March 2008

We are adjusting to life as a one dog family. Having Otis made the transition easy for Maggie as she doesn't realize Nala is gone. Otis is enjoying his new status as well. He has many more privileges, such as sleeping in the house and being allowed on the bed. Of course, I had forgotten what it's like to be awoken at 5 a.m. to a dog trying to get your attention because he wants to go outside. Once it gets warmer and we get the backyard going, hopefully we'll have a fence and a doggie door so Otis can let himself out!

Maggie is talking more and more. She loves to smell food and declare it "Dee-lish-ous!" Her imagination is growing. She will have two toys talk to each other and will often make us food in her kitchen to eat (and we are told to "Eat it!"). She still loves books, but is not content to be read to. She loves to "read" to us and will make up stories as she goes. So far, my favorite is the "Princess Bassoon" story. I plan to upload it to YouTube for all to enjoy.

We are trying to figure out our summer plans. Along with putting in a backyard, we have 2 weddings to attend and would like to get a family vacation to Yellowstone in at sometime. That may get pushed back to fall, which would be fine as I'm sure Yellowstone is lovely in the fall. There are also lots of places right around Billings we'd like to see and maybe do a little light hiking this summer (if Maggie will cooperate and ride in the carrier!)

Rest in peace, Nala

Rest in peace, Nala.

On Saturday, March 15, 2008, we said goodbye to our beloved Nala. The lump the vet found last summer grew and spread. Nala had at least 2 tumors and the vet felt that surgery would be too much for our old girl (she was born in September 1992). We had 2 weeks with her before making the difficult decision to not allow her to suffer any longer. She had difficulty going up the stairs, didn't always finish her breakfast, didn't enjoy playing with Otis or taking long walks as much. It was time.

We adopted Nala over the Labor Day weekend back in 2002. We got her from the Golden Years Alaskan Malamute rescue, near Holland Michigan. All it took was one visit and we were hooked! Nala had beautiful read coat and a wonderful personality. We got her after we bought our first house. She loved Michigan -- lots of snow, cool temps, we lived near 2 parks so she got lots of walks. She also knew how to be a couch potato! Much to Rocky's chagrin, she adopted her place on the couch. We took her camping and if we were still living in Michigan when we got married, she would have been a part of the bridal party! As an only dog, Nala loved to play. Any toy we bought was quickly destroyed! We bought her a giraffe-spotted stuffed bone that she would play with for hours, though it only took her about 20 minutes to break the squeaker. She also loved to chase squirrels. Mals are not built for speed, but she did catch one -- in the parking lot of WXMI TV station in Grand Rapids. She was so proud of herself, seeing the squirrel on the ice and knowing he couldn't go anywhere. She killed and carried it until Rocky was sure to see it.

She came along in the cab of the Uhaul when we moved to Richmond, loving all the attention the entire trip. We bought a house with a big back yard and she quickly found her favorite spots. Nala was lonely in Richmond. We worked further away from home and were gone longer. So in November, we adopted Otis. Nala didn't like to play fetch with us, as every toy needed to be kept from Otis. But she enjoyed playing with him. Otis was quick, but Nala was bigger. She never lost a match.

Nala liked Maggie from the start. She was always interested in checking out the baby, especially if Maggie was in her car seat or on the floor. Nala was always very gentle and never got jealous.

Nala never did like the weather in Virginia. The heat bothered her. She dug a lot of cool dirt holes in the backyard. So she was thrilled when we moved to Montana. She was like a puppy again after the first real snow fall. She bounced and played. She also loved staying in the nice cool garage. At night, she would go stand by the door to the garage when she was tired.

I don't think Maggie quite realizes what has happened. 2 nights ago, she went and sat by Nala, gave her a hug and a kiss. She really didn't pay much attention to her after that. Nala did love the attention from Maggie. Maggie always shared her half-eaten baby carrots with Nala. And Nala could always count on some pats to the head.

When I said goodbye to Nala this morning, I told her to look for Moria, Lady and Alan and Frank Gilbert. They would know where all the animals to chase are.

February 2008

Happy new year! It's been an interesting year so far. Maggie is learning so much so quickly. She is identifying shapes and colors. She loves to sing and dance. She loves "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" at the end of the Chicken Little DVD and loves dancing to Dan Zane on the Disney Channel. She loves it when I dip her. And we must all dance together. Maggie is quickly becoming a little girl, instead of a toddler.

We started Maggie in SoccerTots a few weeks ago. She tells us "I LOVE soccer!" (She LOVES many things.) She is pretty good at kicking the ball and has pretty good coordination. One of the really nice things she is learning how to follow directions and take turns. While she probably gets a lot of that at day care, it's good for her to see it in other settings. But it's loads of fun to watch 10 two year olds running around, laughing and trying to figure out how to play without using their hands.

It's a lot of the same old same old for Rocky and me. Rocky is getting a lot of hits for the Gazette web site. I think he'd still rather be teaching, but enjoys what he does while waiting for something to open up at one of the colleges. There's lots of expansion going on at the Clinic and I feel like I'm right in the thick of it -- and not just because the HR office is next to some of the construction and it can get a little loud.

We are getting our first "real" winter in 4 years and still don't want to go back to VA. It has actually been fairly mild, with some sub-zero temps to bring us back to reality. I kind of forgot what bitter cold felt like. But I do love that we have snow, even though it is mostly gone right now. It would be nice to have a light dusting, especially over the backyard. But it was nice enough today that Maggie and I took a walk to the park and played for about 30 minutes (that wind does get chilly). I love living just 2 blocks from a state park!!

Merry Christmas 2007

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Well, another month got away from me. November and December were busy in the Dailey house. We are now all unpacked and settled into our home. I found the last box of Christmas decorations in the crawl space, behind the crib mattress. Once I found that box, I figured I know where everything is.

My dad came out for Thanksgiving. I enjoyed putting my kitchen to a true test with a turkey and all the fixings. We all really enjoyed it. Rocky worked the day after by shooting a story with the early risers at Target. (You can see it on Billingsgazette.com.) We did do a little shopping on Black Friday, but fortunately, the stores in our area were not that busy. Maggie had fun opening her presents from Papa "Wich" and visiting the airport.

We took Maggie to see Santa at the Gazette family Christmas party. She was very excite to see him, but didn't want to get too close. She took a bag of candy and the gift (a singing Eeyore), but wouldn't let us get close enough for a photo, even with Momma and Daddy. We also got a family photo taken and she was very good through that.

Rocky and I are both done with classes. I'm taking a break and am going to try to figure out what I'm going to do. The pre-reqs for the MBA course are difficult to do online, so I'm looking into other options for that. Rocky is still waiting to hear if he was accepted into the PhD program at MSU. So, no classes for us this spring.

Rocky's parents came out for Christmas. They got a chance to babysit Maggie. She really enjoyed spending time with them, unless Momma or Daddy was around. She loved playing "Get Papa!" or scare "Grain-ma". Several times, she would make sure all of us were around. She impressed Papa and Grandma with her prayers "Bess us oh Lowd" and her singing -- especially "Feliz Navidad." We got a very cute video of Maggie saying "Mewy Kis-mas, Felz Na-dad, Joy Nol" now we just need to get it so we can share it. She was a very good girl at Christmas eve services.

We had a really nice Christmas. Way too many presents, which at the time of this writing, some are still waiting to be opened by Maggie. She loved her kitchen and Woody doll. I think next year there will be a limit on the number of presents!! The rest of us were very blessed with gifts as well. We had a very nice lazy day.