Big Sky Country!

I believe we have hit the dog days of summer. As Rocky mentioned the other day, "I thought we left VA because of the heat!" I do better understand the idea of a "dry" heat though. The heat in Richmond would just wait at the door and hit you like a ton of bricks as you walk out.

I'm also really enjoying the Montana "Big Sky." Last night, we watched a rain storm come in from about 7 miles away (at least that's what I've been told how far away the horizon is). The rain came down in streaks in front of the big red ball of the sun -- perfectly round and not diminished in it's light. We saw the lightening and heard the thunder. And we stood outside playing with water balloons and bubbles until 9 and then continued watching the storm from our bedroom until 9:30 when we all feel asleep. I love that I can see all of this from my backyard. This morning, we played in the pool for a few hours and watched 2 hawks search for a meal. The farm on the other side of the creek and slough has cows we can hear bellowing in the morning. The deer have gone off for the summer, but seem to spend the fall and spring in a small clearing of trees just past the slough. I had truly forgotten what it is like to live on the prairie. We got a huge rain on July 5th and we saw the best rainbows ever. I think it was the first time I was able to see all five colors so clearly.

We actually have grass now! It is rather patchy, but is really coming in. Our neighbor says that next year we will really be able to tell that the hydro-seed was a good investment. It's nice as we can actually walk in the backyard barefoot. Otis loves it and never misses a chance to roll around on it. Maggie's not sure what she thinks yet, but I'm sure next year she'll be ready to run around barefoot. The front yard looks really good.

Maggie was doing really well about sleeping in her own bed, but has regressed a little in the past few weeks. I think it may be because of my rehearsal schedule. But she's also been stuffy -- with the weather being so hot, we are spending a lot of time in the air conditioning. She loves to go to the zoo and knows exactly what animals she wants to see when we go. We took Grandma when she was here over the 4th of July. We also went to a baseball game at the new stadium. The stadium is really nice, but we only stayed until the end of the 2nd inning because it was raining so hard and Maggie had seen enough. On the plus side, we got to see a lot of the great rainbows!

June 2008 part 2

FINALLY I have a reason to update that doesn't involve what Maggie's doing now! A week ago, I decided to go for a long time dream of mine and auditioned for the community theatre here in town. They are putting on "The Producers." It's been ages since I've sung and even longer since I had to audition for anything. And I've never auditioned for a musical, which I've always wanted to do. I was very nervous, but fortunately, I know the choreographer, so there was a familiar face in the audience for me. I had to wait until Wednesday to find out that I got a part in the chorus! I'm excited and nervous, but just thrilled that I finally get to be in a musical. It's a huge time commitment --- rehearsals start tonight and go through the end of August, and there are 4 weekends of shows. I'll get the actual schedule tonight, but according to my co-worker, it's pretty much 5 nights a week, 3 hours a night. Rocky and I will have to do some balancing, especially with his class schedule, but I know it will be worthwhile. If there are any videos to share, be certain that I will!!

Other than that, it is business as usual in the Dailey house. Our yard has been hydro-seeded and we are seeing "baby grass" (as Maggie calls it). We are already talking about what we want to do next year -- plants, a pergola, maybe a fence. Otis does such a good job of keeping his "business" outside our yard!

Rocky is in another class and hopes to take a least one class a semester until he has his Ed.D. He is also keeping an eye on jobs at the local colleges as that will help with the tuition bills! And of course, Maggie is still growing and becoming a little girl more every day. She loves to give us hugs and say "I love you Mommy." She is starting to make up songs, with whatever is in her hand or whatever we are doing. She even has a "Poopy goes in the Potty" song -- even if she's not getting to the potty prior to the poopy!

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.