I was sooo excited!! This year I am going to get into the Christmas spirit!!! We put three trees in our house. One on the plant shelf (fake), on upstairs in the loft (fake) and a real one downstairs in the living room!!! It was all going so well... until I started to remember why I don't put up a real tree. The stupid thing will not stay up straight. I am pretty sure it will end up falling over before the big day arrives. I am happy every night when I walk in the door and it smells like pine thougth. McKayla loves it.

We had a funny conversation about "real tree". One day she asked me, how would we get real tree? I told her we would get a saw, go out in the woods and cut one down. She said "no really mom... I am not joking". I told her I wasn't joking either. She was sure "they" would not allow us to do that. Then she commented, the tree would fall over. I said yes it would then we would drag it to the truck and load it up. She was getting slightly irrated with my comments and proceeded to say "no it would fall over in the house". (she was so right) I told we would put it in a stand and all would be good (I was so wrong). She then got excited about the prospect of going out and cutting one down. Well, we went to the grocery store parking lot to "cut" our tree. I had plans to do it right... but sometimes things don't work out as planned. Maybe next year we will do out and get one.

There was a constant line to hold baby Braxton!! He is such a sweet boy! It was really nice to get to spend the holiday with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Kristine, Uncle Clayton, Uncle Kevin and (almost Aunt) Courtney. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Aunt Katie her family would have been there!!

Thursday was sunny and warm. Thursday night it started snowing and we woke up to a white morning. It was pretty fun. Good thing there was a firing going in the arena to keep us a little warmer.

McKayla on Kid... the horse Aunt Kristine rode all through high school. He is a good horse and McKayla enjoys riding him. Grandma Donna roped off of him that day.

McKayla sitting on the fence in the arena. She had a blast watching everyone rope. She likes to hang out with the horses and all that stuff. There was little boy there that was seven and participated in the roping. It inspired McKayla to want to learn how to be "real" cowgirl. She did have a close encounter with a steer that was not so much fun. A steer got loose and came pretty close to her. She was up on the fence, but it did come pretty close. I was up in the timing booth watching... thinking someome grab her. Jeff grabbed her and pulled her off the fence and out of the way. I am sure she would not have gotten hurt, just scared.

GRIZ vs. CATS Game 2008

Getting ready to head out the door to the best game of the year... McKayla and I really enjoy going to the games and seeing lots of friends! I really missed the GRIZ games when I lived in Phoenix. There is nothing like seeing the stadium full of people in maroon and silver. GO GRIZ !

This is Debbie and Stanley. They are the pugs that hang out at a tailgate a little ways away from our tailgate. The girls love to stop by and say hi to them almost at much as they like to watch the game. If it wasn't for Debbie, Stanley and Monte I am not sure McKayla would be as excited about going to the games as she is. We will be able to see Monte at the basketball games... Debbie and Stanley we will have to wait until next football season!!

The little girls having fun at the tailgate before the game. Hanging clsoe to the little heater even though there was no snow... which is not the norm for this time of the year.

Having some shots to keep warm... at the tailgate before the game. It is the only occasion that it is acceptable to drink alcohol at 10 am.

The GRIZ came out in their "old school" colors!!! It was surprise that made the crowd even noiser. The only bad part for me was... those were the school colors when I was going to school there. Does that mean I am "old school"....

McKayla, Sarah and Heather at the game!! It was a really good game and of course the GRIZ won 35 to 3!!! We did our usual tailgating before the game and then headed in. It was beatuiful day!! It wasn't that cold and the sun was out for most of the day.

Baby Braxton

McKayla holding her newest cousin... Braxton Dale Marxer. My little sister Kristine had Braxton on October 17, 2008. He is a sweetheart! I have gone to Dillon a couple of time for "work" and to hold him for as long as I can. Kristine is an awesome Mom and he is adorable. McKayla had a good time holding him.

McKayla looks way to grown up in this picture. She is my baby... it seems like she was just little like Braxton. She is an incredible little girl and looks forward to baby sitting Braxton when they both are a little older. I told Aunt Kristine we would baby sit anytime she was willing to give him up. I am sure we will be line behind Grandma Donna.

Katie, Nick and I at the BSU vs U of I Game

Katie and I had to go to the Chinese Village for dinner. Our Dad used to take us there when we were little girls and would visit him in Moscow. We would frequent there in our college days too. It was a quick trip over the The Plantation to play a little darts after that. It was great food... Katie had not been there in like 15 years. Nick had never been there. Katie said it was as good as ever and Nick was surprised by the good food. Being the party animals that we are we went back to our hotel in Pullman and were asleep by midnight. It was a little more tame that it would have been 15 years ago. It was an incredible trip. Thanks for inviting me along Sister... I love you!!!!

Katie and her husband Nick. They are sooo good together. It is fun to hang out with them and see how much they enjoy each other.

Katie and I at the game. It was very fun. Boise State killed the U of I... which made Katie and Nick very happy. I was happy too... but more along for the ride and visit with my sister

Katie and I having a little lunch at Arby's in Moscow... we were wishing Weezy was there with us!! Just like the good old days.

Halloween

Here are the pumpkins that we carved. McKayla carved one in Helena and the rest we did tonight at our house. It was very fun... as always!!! One McKayla did with mommy one with her dad... grandma, grandpa and Jeff watched. One mommy did all by herself. McKayla said..the one with the eyebrows was very difficult.

hi this is mckayla. i am 8 yeas old.it is 10/28/08 stay tuned for the picture of me carving pumkins.

Not much new going on here

So it has been a while since I have posted anything... what have I been doing?

I did go to Boise over the weekend. It was a crazy drive. It snowed off and on for the entire drive. It is way to early to have bad roads already!!! The main reason I went was to go to my friend Kim's wedding reception. It was beautiful. She looked so pretty and they both looked so happy. It was fun to see them in that place of bliss. I was very privileged to be able to be a part of her special day.

I also saw my sister and her family and my mom. It was great to see everyone. Katie is doing so well, it is great to see her so happy. Taylor and Courtney are both doing really well. The are going up so fast, it is hard to believe Taylor will be 16 in Feb.

McKayla and I had some great conversations on the long, long drive. The drive down she slept a lot (it was night) but on the way home she talked my ear off. It was very fun to answer her questions. She asked me things like "if you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?", "if you could be any animal what would you be?". I was amazed that she would come up with these questions. She would then tell what she would be and where she would go and why. It was great. It made driving in the snow and on slick roads one of the best things I have ever done in my life. She is such a smart, insightful, and thoughtful little girl. I don't remember being that mature when I was 8. She is an incredible! I might be a little bit bias though.

I have big plans to go to the GRIZ game on Saturday. I think I am looking forward to taking elk stew to the tailgate almost as much as going to the game. The people we tailgate with are going to be impressed with my elk. A couple of the guys that I tailgate with have never shot an elk and I am looking forward to gloating a little bit, ok maybe a lot!!

McKayla is with her Grandma and Aunt Kila in Salt Lake City visiting more relatives. She loves to spend time with her cousins and all of her family. I am looking forward to hearing all about her good times on Sunday when she gets home.

correction

Ok, I do need to make a little correction. Kelley is older than me, but maybe it is more like 100 days instead of 8 months. Kelley pointed this out and so I am passing it on. I think 8 months and 100 days are pretty close to the same amount of time. No matter how much older she is or isn't than me I still love her.

The other correction... McKayla was looking at our blog the other night and pointed out that she thinks Jeff is more than just OK. She really likes him and agrees he is very fun. They play together alot. She asks me frequently if he is coming over in the evenings. He helps her with her math homework. They like to jump on the trampoline and play with Sparkle. She likes to ride on the 4 wheeler when we are at his house. He also won her over by taking her flying the first time she met him. She thinks he is crazy because he went swimming in Flathead Lake when it was like 60 degrees and raining. I was in agreement. They got in the water I took pictures.

Lastnight we went out to Jeff's house for a little while after running some errands and having dinner. All three of us were sitting on the couch watching a little TV. Jeff put his arm around me and McKayla said "don't leave me out" grabbed his hand and put it around her too. She told me she really liked the three of us hanging out. This, of course, makes me love him even more!!!

Who is Jeff?

OK

Jeff is the incredible person I have been dating for the last couple of months. He is a very nice, fun, thoughtful guy who I really like to spend time with. McKayla thinks he is ok too. We have done lots of fun things in the last couple of months. This picture is from when we went to Glacier Park for my birthday. It was very fun!! We saw lots of animals and had a blast.

Another Great Weekend

This is why I live in Montana!! I had another incredible weekend. Jeff and I went on little horseback ride on Saturday. Our original plan was to go for a long ride (ok, the long part was Jeff's idea) but it was raining like crazy Saturday morning. We waited around for a while and decided what the heck we will go even if there is a little rain (ok, again this was Jeff's idea). I was thinking I want to go, but I really don't want to be wet and cold. It rained on and off all the way to the trial head. There were huge black clouds and the wind was blowing like crazy. I was thinking as we were driving, I will just stay in the truck and read a book. We got to the spot and it was pouring down rain. Jeff says "we will wait 10 mins and then we will go". I again am thinking, you will go I will stay and read my book. Within 10 mins the rain has slowed down and Jeff hops out of the truck to saddle the horses. I am trying to be enthusiastic, but have my reservations. He saddles the horses and all I need to do is go out and hop on. Thankfully, it stopped raining. I was telling myself, "a little rain never hurt anyone, I can handle this". I also have to admit I was a little apprehensive of riding a horse I don't know that is not my dad's. Jeff did buy the horse I would be riding from my dad... that should count for something. I am determined to enjoy the great outdoors and I am tough enough to handle this.

We hop on the horses and head out. About 2 minutes into I was thinking, thank goodness I didn't wimp out. It was sooo beautiful. The fall colors were incredible! Fall is my favorite time because of all the pretty colors. It was very peaceful. The fact that it had just rained made everything even prettier. It smelled clean and was perfect. The best part is it only sprinkled on us once for a little while. We could not have planned the weather more perfectly.

I look forward to doing it again.

Middle Age

Middle Age? I recently read my friend Kelley's blog about being "middle aged", at least in the eyes of her 12 year old.

I don't think it is possible for me to be "middle aged'. I have so much to accomplish before I am "middle ageD". Although when I think about it... I am better off right now than I have been ever in my life. I am more comfortable with who I am, what I look like, where I am going, and what is important to me than I ever dreamed possible in my early 20's. I have found that most people are not nearly as critical as I once thought they were. I have also learned that I have no idea what other people have been through and given their experiences I may have made the exact same or even worse decisions than they did. I have consequently learned not to be as hard on myself or others. On my way to "middle age" I have met some incredible people. I have friends that have been with me in good times and others that were not so great. I am very thankful for both types of experiences, they helped me grow and allowed me to grow closer to my friends. I have been able to get a great education, both academically and through life experiences. I have gotten to know and love my Dad and learned to let go of the past and forgive my Mom. I have come to peace with lots of my issues (I still struggle with some on days). I have learned that life is what I make of it. I can be happy if I want to be. Happiness is the capacity to enjoy what you have, rather that always wanting what you don't have... this is how I try to live my life. On second thought, "middle age" is a good thing not a bad. I am glad to be "middle aged", and even happier Kelley is, and will always be older than me. (I know it is only 8 months, but I will take it)

The Mighty Hunter

WOW!! We had a very new and exciting experience this weekend. I shot an elk!! I have never shot anything but a piece of paper before... and was not sure I could do it. I was afraid I would miss or only injure the elk and then have a real mess of tracking it down. My dad made it pretty easy for me. He had the herd all scouted out and he knew exactly where to go. As the boys here at the dealership like to point out, it was not much of a "hunt" but I did "shoot" really well. I hit it right where I was aiming and I am pretty proud of myself. I know the boys are just jealous, most of them have never shot and elk.

McKayla had a great time too. She was watching from a distance with Jeff and Grandma Donna. They said it was pretty cool to watch. They were far enough away they saw the elk fall before they heard the shot. McKayla was right in there when it was being gutted (yes, my Dad did most of that part too he is an excellent guide). She was touching all the organs and asking a million questions. She is excited about being able to shoot an elk when she gets older. She was right in there when we got it back to the ranch and skinned it and got it ready to go to the butcher. She helped as much as she could.

We just hung out on Sunday at the ranch. It was a beautiful day!! It was very fun to be outside all day just walking around seeing the horses, cows and all typed of wildlife. McKayla did not sit on the couch, watch TV, play video game or anything that is "normal" all weekend long. She told me she thinks it would be fun to live on a ranch. I told her it would be until we had to work. She is looking forward to going back again too. Jeff is also looking to going back very soon. He loves being outdoors and we all had a great time.

I was bummed to hear I missed a pretty good Griz game, but I am glad to hear they won. I wasn't sure they could do it with out me... ha ha.

Giving Blogging a Try

I am looking forward to keeping in touch with all my friends and family members better this way. I have been saying for years I wanted to keep in touch better and this looks like a great way to do just that! Thanks Kelley and Tayna for inspiring me.

McKayla is loving 3rd grade so far. She is an incredible little girl who trys hard to do the right thing all the time. She is doing gymnastics and loving it. I am trying to talk her into doing soccer, but she is not that interested. She tells me she is busy enough with gymnastics... I guess I can't argue with logic.

I am super busy doing... I have no idea. I feel like I am on the run all day, but I still have a huge list of things to do at the end of the day. I am cooking up a plan to get back into the Social Work world. I am confident if I keep working at it, it will work out one way or another. I am working on a project to get that done currently, so say a prayer it will work out.

I have been dating an incredible guy for the last couple of months. He is a very sweet man. I really like spending time with him and McKayla likes him too. The first time she met him she told me "Mom, you can go on a date with Jeff if you want. I like him." That is always a good sign. He likes to play with her and be silly, she loves that.

Last weekend was the first Griz home game of the year. We had a blast. There is nothing like being in the stadium with all those people in maroon and silver. It was Jeff's first Griz football game. He liked it and he is looking forward to going to more games. He does think I am a little bit of a "fanatical" fan. (I think that was the word he used).

Sunday, Jeff took McKayla and I flying. It was very fun. We went over the Mission Mountains. It is sooo beautiful. It is hard to put into words how pretty it is. McKayla was in the back saying "this is awesome!" and it was!!