August 2007 part 2

There have been a few changes to the Dailey family since the last update, so I thought I would take minute to update the blog. I've been hemming and hawing about going back to school to get my MBA. My VP recommended UM (which is where I spent a year of college back in 91/92). So I got in touch with them to see what I would need to do as far as pre-reqs as my BA in English didn't require many business-type courses. Part of my hemming was me procrastinating because I didn't want to take Calculus. Well, for UM, I don't have to, but there are 5 pre-req courses that I have to take. Of course, I put it off and put it off. Because of that, I thought I'd just start Spring semester -- all the courses are internet based, so I didn't think there would be much of a problem. After talking to my contacts at UM, I found out that doing that would push back a possible start in the MBA program by over a year. So I bit the bullet and submitted my application for non-degree seeking status!! I'm 5 days past the registration deadline, but there is room in the class (internet based) and I shouldn't be too far behind by the time I'm able to register and get my books. Rocky starts class September 6. And we will once again be attending rival schools!!

Our other big news is we are starting the hunt for our "real" house. Our goal/hope is to be in our "real" house by Christmas. We want to find something newer and depending on what we see tomorrow, we may build. There is a lot of new construction around here and some nice neighborhoods. We both have fairly specific wants for our house and sometimes it just seems that building to get exactly what we want might be the way to go. Our top desire is for this to be our "forever home" and not have to build again unless we decide to relocate.

August 2007

July turned into a busy month! Rocky is now gainfully employed by the Billings Gazette, the local paper as an on-line reporter. If you go to the above link and look under Multi-media, you can see some of his work. The timing was great. The week before, we got Maggie into day care at the YWCA. She is in a smaller class than the one in VA and seems to like it, though there are many more tears than before! Hopefully as she gets used to it, the tears will subside (for Rocky's sake). Rocky drops her off and I pick her up. He gets the hard part as I have to be to work by 7 and day care doesn't open until 7:30.

Grandma Alana drove out for a visit at the end of the month. She stayed over her birthday and mine. Maggie even stayed home with her 2 days while she was here. They had fun coloring, watching Maggie's shows and reading stories. I think Grandma was a little tired out after running after Maggie for 2 days. We also went to Zoo Montana. The Billings Clinic had a company picnic there. Maggie got to see lots of animals (and even got pecked by a chicken) and had her very first sno-cone -- her 2nd sno-cone she decided to wear, at which point we decided it was time to go home. Maggie seems to have shot up a bit in the past few weeks. We have had to do some clothes shopping for her. She is singing along with her shows and Grandma! Grandma got her to sing "Jesus Loves the Little Children." But when I asked her, she claimed she didn't know it. She surprised her day care providers by singing the ABCs to them. She is really starting to recognize her letters and numbers and is getting better at counting, though she loves to count to 3, regardless of how many items are there. "No!" is creeping it's way into her vocabulary more and more. Sometimes, you can tell she is trying to be funny.

We visited Great-Grandma Hansen this weekend. Maggie thought this would be a good time to show us she's ready to stop the afternoon naps (she's not!) We had lots of great food and Maggie loved visiting the horses that live near Grandma and going (out) "side!" It was Rocky's furthest trip west in Montana and his first time meeting Grandma. We got to see old pictures and some new pictures of all the cousins. We also heard a lot of great stories, which I need to write down so Maggie can hear them again someday. The drive along I-90 was beautiful. I keep expecting the mountains here to be like the mountains in Colorado. But there are so many ranges here with lots of prairie and farm land between. It is a stunning tribute to God's creation.

July 2007

Maggie has been doing pretty good with potty training. She likes to sit on her potty and throw toilet paper in. She doesn't care if she is pantless or not, she just likes to sit on it. She does get excited if she goes while she's there, but hasn't gotten to the point of knowing when she's ready. She will talk your ear off and LOVES to talk on the phone. Even if no one is there. She will pick up a phone and say "Hello? Ohhh. Bye bye." She can count to 12 on her own and loves to sing the ABCs. She also tries to sing along with the Veggie Tales theme song.

On the 4th, we took a drive to Red Lodge Montana with the intent of driving a bit along 212, which is supposed to be the most scenic drive in America (according to Charles Kuralt). We drove a few switchbacks on the way up to Bear Tooth Pass, but as we've only been here a few weeks, Rocky didn't feel confident enough to make the drive to the top of the pass. Hwy 212 is one of the routes to Yellowstone. We are starting to look at the calendar and figure out when we'll trek down there for the first time. First, we need to find a kennel for the dogs. Once we get that, we can plan a lot more trips -- like to Eugene (probably over Labor Day) and Deer Lodge. We recently started a flexible schedule at work (4-10 hour days each week), so when my long weekends come around, we'll be able to do more. Plus, we'll be able to run errands during the week sometimes as well. And as always, visitors are welcome, just let us know when you're headed this way! We also discovered the drive-in theatre in Laurel. We have gone twice and seen "The Fantastic Four" and "Ratatouille." Maggie hasn't seen much of them, but it is nice for us to be able to get out and see a movie on the big screen. Plus, it's very affordable!!

June 2007 part 2

Here we are in Billings, Montana. It was an incredible drive! Rocky did an excellent job planning the drive: we were never in the car more than 10 hours any day. Maggie and the dogs did really well. The DVD player was wonderful, though we did shut it off a few times and she told us about all the cars on the road. We were able to spend about 1 1/2 (total) days in South Dakota. We arrived in Watertown Friday June 8 and left from Redfield on Sunday June 10 around 1:30. We took Highway 12 through SD and arrived in Billings about 9:30 that night. There was much confusion on Monday about where the movers were. Our Virginia cell phones don't work in Montana (not even roaming). Rocky ended up purchasing a calling card to use on his cell phone to clear up the confusion. Apparently, they didn't have our address. Rocky is fairly certain he gave it to a couple of people with the moving company. Regardless, they made and were done unloading the truck (at least of our stuff) by 5 p.m. that night. It was so nice to sleep in our own beds!! We didn't set up the crib and Maggie now has a cot almost like at day care. She does pretty good with napping on it, not so much sleeping at night though. We're all still adjusting! It stays light much later here than we are used to -- 9:00/9:30 p.m. before it gets very dark. Right now our only complaint is no central air -- and it's been fairly hot these last few days. Fortunately, it does cool off at night and we have all been sleeping well. Nala loves that cool night air!

So far, I am really enjoying my job. While most of it is familiar, there is still plenty to learn and of course a new hospital to get lost in. The Billings Clinic has done a lot of work to make it seem like you aren't in a hospital -- muted wall colors, lots of art work, everyone says hello. Walk into the front door and you think you are in a hotel. The ED waiting room looks like a ski lodge. Okay, enough selling from me! Rocky and Maggie seem to really enjoy their time together. Rocky is getting Maggie on a schedule, which of course is blown to bits the moment Mama walks in the door. It's kind of hard knowing Rocky gets to spend so much time with her every day, but when I see her at the stop of the stairs and hear her voice the minute I walk in the door, it's all worth it! Mags is really growing. She loves to talk on the phone, sing her ABCs and will count to ten (though sometimes leaves out 7).

June 2007

Okay, I'm a little behind. May was simply crazy! As you all know, we are relocating to Billings, Montana. After we both gave notice, the time seemed to zoom by. Our house was on the market for 7 days before it sold. That was a huge relief! Then Rocky's parents came for a visit. Rocky and Mike did a lot of work on the house that the buyer wanted. We took Maggie out of day care for a few days and she really warmed up to Papa and Grandma. She had fun running all over the place and all the attention. We also went up to Alexandria to visit Uncle Matt and his bride-to-be. Some of her grandchildren were there and Maggie had a great time running around with them. Uncle Matt also gave us his china cabinet! THANKS, Uncle Matt. Now, once we get our real house in Billings, I can finally display my grandmother's china.

The best news of all is we do have a place to live. We are renting a house until we can find our "real" house. This will give us time to look at neighborhoods, research the schools and figure out where we want to live for a long time. We don't want to move again!! Maggie and the dogs don't really seem to realize what's going on yet. We just have a few things left to pack, so I'm going to have her help me pack her clothes. So for the next few weeks we will be on the road. I start my new job on the 18th. And Rocky is looking forward to spending some time with Maggie and is looking into a PhD program.

April 2007

April has gone by quickly! So much going on. We had a quiet Easter. It snowed the Saturday before so it was a little cold to do anything outside (it was very pretty though!). We did some shopping and got to listen to a reading at Barnes and Noble of "If you give a mouse a cookie." Maggie wasn't sure what to think of the mouse, but kept saying she wanted to say hi.

We still have to take her 18 month pictures, even though she's almost 19 months old now. She had her first dental visit this month. She didn't like it very much, but the student dentist (we went to the dental school) said she has very healthy teeth. She likes to brush her teeth. She talks so much. She is starting to get frustrated when she can't do something or we don't understand her. She is starting to count -- and can count to 6, though she usually forgets 1. She also loves to sing a long with Elmo or the ABC song.

Maggie and Rocky have gotten a lot of Dadda/Daughter time this month. I've had some extra time at work for events and even made a 3 day trip to Billings Montana on an interview for a recruiter position for the Billings Clinic. I liked them and they liked me, so we are moving to Billings this summer!! We are very excited to move back west and be within a day’s drive of family. I'm happy I found a position that is similar to my current position. Rocky is looking for jobs, but is also looking forward to the possibility to staying home with Maggie for a while. Though, we do want to find something for Maggie at least part time so she can continue to get interaction with other kids.