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)