Talon and Sherri

Happy Valentine's Day Daddy!

2012-02-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day Daddy! I sure do miss you!!!

Because I can't hide it any more...

2012-02-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

I spotted this on someone's blog MONTHS ago and I've been waiting for an opportunity to use it.... I really do think I'm that crafty ;)

Its true, my belly has been growing by leaps and bounds this past month. Baby #2 will make his/her appearance at the end of June. It will probably more like the beginning of July, depending on if we'll have to do a repeat c-section or if he/she will be so gracious to come all by him/herself. I FiNaLlY was able to visit a Dr. this week! Everything went great, baby is growing right on schedule. I'm 20 weeks 4 days currently. We are pretty excited, and I'm pretty sure Addy Faye has no idea what is about to happen to her.

Me and my 20 week baby bump... I must have been sucking in cause I think I actually look a little bigger than this...

Yesterday I had my 1st ultrasound. We are not finding out the sex, so the only person who knows what it is is the ultra sound tech. I think its a boy though...

I've been feeling great, no morning sickness this time (part of the reason I think it is a boy, but who can really tell). And now I'm well into my 2nd trimester and about half way done!

We're making progress!

2012-01-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Talon has been working really hard all last week and this week with his dad on our kitchen. Man oh man is it looking good! Here is a sneak peak at the progress we're making! No we're STILL not done. But the end is in sight! Woowhoo! I'm so done with dust. My house really needs to be cleaned but I haven't because I know that it won't be long till Talon is kicking up some more dust.

The brightness coming in from the windows is ruining the pictures.. sorry!

Anyways, our next step is finishing the counter tops. Talon experimented with them and made concrete counter tops himself. We figure that what we paid to make these counter tops (no more than $100) we could have gotten about 2 square feet of medium priced granite. They turned out looking pretty good! Talon just has to sand, buff (more dust, augh), and put the sealer on them. So hopefully by next week we'll have a fully functioning kitchen. Then we'll just need to finish up with our trim and such.

A kitchen! YEY! I haven't had a kitchen since we moved in. It is well worth it though!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-17T16:06:00.003-07:00

I know I know it has been over a month! I can't even believe it!!! We've been pretty busy with this kitchen stuff though (pictures to come). We had a great Christmas with my family in wonderful Southern Utah! It was beautiful and we really enjoyed each others company.

Before we left for Christmas Addy and I stopped by the bank to visit Santa. I'm pretty sure the only reason she sat on his lap and didn't throw a fit was because I told her he would give her candy.

So here is the traditional sitting on Santa's lap photo for 2011

While in St. George we made sure we still did all the traditional Christmas stuff. Like decorating cookies for Santa! Don't some of these cookies look delicious? Especially with all of the little kids liking their fingers and knives during the frosting experience?? haha. Poor Santa.

Nana and Addy

We (especially Addy) really enjoyed all the time with the babies!!! Here are Evie and Penny ;)

I stole this one off my sister's blog, but I figure I needed at least one photo of me on this post! I'm always the one taking the pictures, so I'm not hardly in any of them!

We also enjoyed all of the cousin time! I know Addy had a blast playing with her cousins. Every morning she would wake up so excited to go downstairs to play with her cousins. She still talks about them. It makes me sad that we can't see them more often! I'm also happy to report that Mila and Addy got along great. Our trip to Jersey was a little rough for the two who are pretty close in age. They played together really well this time.

Talon still holds the position of favorite uncle... or favorite uncle to take advantage of. He can't say no to the kiddos, so he spent the majority of his time playing games, and steamroller on the trampoline.

We spent one day on a hike in Zion National Park. I love how that place is so close when we are visiting down there. It is beautiful!

It wasn't ever very warm when we were down there... like the high 50's the whole time... but that didn't stop the kiddos from splashing around!

We had fun playing at the park!

Washington City has a really cool indoor pool with waterslides and such. We spent an afternoon there. This was the only picture I took! A cute one though if I say so myself. Addy (and Talon) loved swimming!

Suckers for baby Einstein! Lots of people comment on how Evie and Addy look a like. She has straight hair though... Which is funny because her father is the one with curly hair.

On New Years Eve my sister Kari threw together a game of Minute to Win It! It was actually really fun. Here we are stacking pop cans with a spaghetti noodle.

Happy 2012!

They're here! They're here!!!!

2011-12-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

I'm so super excited that our cabinets have arrived! Hurrah!!! Too bad we're not quite ready to install them yet. Hopefully by next weekend!

Just because we can't install them yet does't mean I can't use them....

These pictures aren't super exciting... but I know when we unpack all of the boxes and install them they are going to look amazing! I don't want to give too much away before we get everything complete

Hockey Night

2011-12-08T11:19:00.000-07:00

Once a week Talon plays hockey with a league he is on. If we're lucky his game is early enough that Addy and I can tag along to watch. Talon has been playing hockey with Addy lately so she has really begun to enjoy it (something i'm sure you'll like to hear mom!). She talks about it all the time and was really excited on Tuesday because we got to go to a game! On our way out the door when we told her where we were going she was saying "Come on! Let's go hockey!"

When we first got there while Talon was changing, the Zamboni was cleaning the ice. Addy was confused as to what was going on. She kept saying "Where's the hockey?!"

Watching the action!

Talon even came over to say hi to us at one point

This made Addy pretty happy to see Dad playing hockey!

It is just so funny to see how much of an influence you can have on your children! I love hockey too (not to play, just to watch) and that has everything to do with my mom's love for hockey! Go Sabres!

Spooky

2011-11-29T08:17:00.001-07:00

I was woken up at 5:55 am this morning by a certain little girl who was crying in her crib. I can't remember the last time she woke up crying. When I went to go check on her, I picked her up and she started saying "Spooky! Spooky" in between sobs. Awww... my heart broke. We let her crawl in between us in bed where she and dad promptly fell back asleep and I of course did not. The joys of motherhood :)

I wonder what she was dreaming about that was so spooky?

A bad hair day?

Her hair is always super crazy in the morning!

Update on the kitchen:

New door, new windows, insulation and some drywall in! We are making progress folks! Our new cabinets have been ordered and should be in next week. Hopefully we'll have the kitchen done by Christmas! (PLEASE?) There is still A LOT to do...

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-01T09:10:00.001-06:00

Cheese!! On our way to trick or treating.

This year Addy was a monkey like George. She thought she looked pretty funny. She also loved the Nana that was sewed into her pocket. It was a pretty cute little costume!

It was fun to take her trick or treating last night. She quickly learned how much she liked it. She didn't say anything to anyone (even though we tried to get her to say "trick or treat" and "thank you".) Since last night she keeps asking for "trick or treats" aka she wants her candy. I'm a mean mommy and only let her have two little pieces yesterday. Daddy ate way more than she did!

The best Christmas Gift I Ever Got

2011-10-26T08:57:00.003-06:00

This post is 10 months late... but better late than never!

I had a key/purse holder and shelf thingy that I loved. Anywhere we moved that sucker was on the wall by our door. It was cheaply made and after the dozen moves it started to get scratches and the corners were busted. I was pretty sad about my shelf/key holder falling apart. My wonderful husband knowing just how much I loved that thing (and how much of a pain it was for him to put it up anywhere we moved) made me a new one! Now why was this new one so special?

Lets take a look...

Now for those of you who know us pretty well or have been in my car know this piece of stone. It literally sat in my car for three whole years. (side note, I just glanced out my window and it is snowing!!!! ahh dang) Anyways anytime people were in my car they would pick up this piece of stone and say "What is this?" We would then tell them the story. The story of how right after Talon and I were married and we moved back to Rexburg for Talon to go to school, I some how landed a job through a temp agency working construction on the Rexburg Temple. It was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed the work. My tasks day to day consisted anywhere from vacuuming, to dusting, to caulking, to touching up the wood. Towards the end of my time there when they were just about done with all construction and clean up I was given permission to take this piece of stone. It is the stone that is used throughout the temple as baseboards and in other areas. When I left work that day with that piece of stone I sat it in my car unsure of just what to do with it. I knew that someday I would think of something....

Along came Talon 3 short years later with a brilliant idea. He had someone laser etch a picture of the Rexburg temple onto my stone.

When I opened this gift last Christmas I cried. It was the perfect place to display my special piece of the temple. I was also impressed with Talon's skill to be able to make this shelf.

Thanks Tal, it is perfect!

Lake Powell and St. George trip

2011-10-21T14:21:00.002-06:00

This past week we took a trip down to southern Utah for the Platinum year end party. This year they had it at Lake Powell where we camped for 3 days. It was a lot of fun! One of the days we went and checked out Horseshoe bend where the Colorado river makes a 270 degree turn.

Addy and Dad all smiles and giving thumbs up!

Here is Addy checking out the sunrise by our campsite.

One of the days we were able to get out on the boat and that was the best part of the whole time! We all took turns on the tube.

Talon tried wake boarding for the first time and did really well. He was able to get up and do it on his second try. Go Tal! (last time I tried to wake board I couldn't get up at all...)

Thanks for ANOTHER great trip Platinum!

After hanging out at Lake Powell we headed to St. George. We loved spending time with family and Addy had fun with her cousins. We went and checked out a corn maze on Tuesday. It was pretty fun. Here are some pictures of the night.

Why I Blog

2011-10-07T19:11:00.001-06:00

Nope, I don't blog for comments. Although I LOVE comments :) It helps me to know that family and friends are reading and appreciating what I'm spending so much time on.

I started the blog to keep family and friends in on what was going on. It seemed like a fun thing to do. In April 2010 I got to experience something different though... I picked up my sister Annie's blog book. Check it out here. It was AMAZING. I wanted one. After that day I decided to blog more often (which I got better at, especially after the birth of Addy). I really wanted one of those books for myself. It was seriously SO cool. Today I got my wish.

FedEx dropped this off at my door this morning

I don't think I could be more happy with my book. It is perfect.

It comes out looking like a high school year book. Our book is a little over eighty pages and cost $48 to print and ship to my door. Plus it got here in a week. That's not so bad if you ask me!

I spent HOURS editing and making it perfect.

If you have ever commented on my blog... your comments are in my book! I love the comments, some of them are pretty funny to read and to remember what was happening in our life and what the people around us had to say about it.

I know there are several blog to book sites out there. I used http://www.blurb.com/ because it allows you to edit your templates and texts. But when you do that it takes a while.

So I hope to inspire at least one other person out there to become a better blogger for the sake of making a themselves blog book.

Happy Blogging!

PS when you are checking out Annie's blog book be sure to check out her latest post here. It is a SUPER cool stop motion video of her pregnancy. I mean it. check it out, it will be well worth your time, even if you don't know her!

PPS While I'm on the subject of Annie I should also mention not only did she inspire me to be a better blogger but she also takes all of our family photos and does an amazing job. She took our engagements, wedding, and maternity photos just to mention a few. Thanks Annie, you are seriously one talented lady (her book looks way better than mine.)

Bed Time Prayer

2011-10-04T21:07:00.001-06:00

Talon: Dear Heavenly Father.

Addy: Hevedly Fader

Talon: We thank Thee for this day.

Addy: Day

Talon: Thank You for our family

Addy: Dadu faamily.

Talon: Thank You for Jesus

Addy: Jesus

Talon: Please bless our family.

Addy: YYYEPPP

(Talon and I hide our faces so Addy doesn't see us laughing.)

Talon: In the name of Jesus Christ Amen

Addy: AMEN!

Quilts Part II

2011-10-03T09:50:00.000-06:00

Many of you will remember my first post about the quilts I make, check it out here. These quilts are super cute and SO easy to make. I just love them. I also get a ton of compliments on them, and I am not super good with a sewing machine by any means. My lucky nieces and nephews are the most common recipients of these quilts. I really enjoy making them. I bought the patterns from at a craft store in Rexburg but these ladies do have an etsy store where you can purchase their patterns for a decent price, check it out here. After I was more used to the technique I started to make my own patterns. But my own inventions aren't nearly as cute as the patterns I had purchased.

Addy enjoying her quilt

I made a quilt just like this for Raquel too.

Baby Penny's quilt

Evie and Addy's quilt

A Christmas present for my Mom last year.

She chose some of the fabric and the Southwest theme :)

Caiden's manly quilt

Characteristics of the Crane House

2011-09-29T20:07:00.005-06:00

Our house according to the locals is called "the Crane house".

It was built by C. L. Crane a well to do man in the area. He worked for the railroad (we live like 2 blocks away from the railroad). He built the house for himself and his wife upon moving here. It was a very fancy house for 1919.
When we first moved in an older gentleman in our Branch was helping us clean. He kept saying "You're living in the rich man's house." It was pretty funny, and makes me feel completely unqualified to live here. We are NOT anywhere near close to being rich... How is it possible that we ended up with such a beautiful house? I think that the Lord had a huge hand in guiding us here. He helped us put the winning bid on the house (we were in a bidding war over it). He helped us get the loan with the right bank (the first bank we tried didn't work out, so he guided us to a better one). He helps us and gives us tender mercies every day.

There is SO much character in this house. I LOVE living here.

Let me take you on a tour of some of the absolutely unique and beautiful characteristics of the Crane house.

The photo on the left is a close up of the built in cabinets in the dinning room.

The photo on the right you can see the pocket doors between the dinning room and parlor (aka living room, but back in the day it was a parlor).

The photo on the left is of the heating vents.

The photo on the right is of the front entryway.

Here are the old push button light switches (top is on, bottom is off).

Coat hooks in the front entry (I'm looking for some fun super cool ideas for here...)

All of these doors have some really cool fancy knobs. On top of that we even have the keys to lock them!!!

Have I mentioned the lights yet? I'm pretty sure most of the lights downstairs are all original. CaRaZy considering how many different families have lived here and just how old it is... Let me show you a few of the lights. We will be replacing them all. So contact me if you think any of them are super cool and you just can't live without it!!!

Probably the most loved chandelier around is the one in our bedroom with the parrots, or the "love birds" as my mother-in-law calls them.

We've started to update the lighting... Here is our first purchase, a chandelier from the home depot. We had been looking at these lights for our home and one day we went in and were checking them out again and they were all on sale! This one is originally $189, a little spendy, but we got it for $89.

A tender mercy?

I love this window seat in the dinning room... ahhh I'm planning lots of sitting here...

Here I am.. I definitely add character to this house.

So not everything in the house is good character.. for example the basement. It is creepy. Talon says when we paint it white and add lights it will be better. I agree.

First lets head down the stairs...

Next we can check out the cool light switch to the coal room.

Next, we should probably check out the coal room. Yes that is piles of coal in the corner. I'm not sure just how many years it has been exactly since they last used a coal furnace in the house... but I'm gonna say it has been A WHILE. Why then is there STILL coal in the basement??? huh.....

Next we can check out our wine cellar. We are HUGE wine bibbers (JK) so this is a huge plus for us. It comes complete with dirt floors and everything!!!

On the far wall of the wine cellar this written in the cement:

"Built by H Woods 1919"

Here is a photo of an old note pinned to a post in the basement. It is talking about the depth of the well in the basement.

The picture on the right is the stairway that goes up to the 2nd floor.

When Talon was tearing apart the kitchen we found this on the underside of the stairs, It says Neihart Lumber, Great Falls, Crane

Now we can check out the downstairs bathroom (which we don't use so don't judge the mess).

I'm excited to refinish this claw foot tub!

In the picture on the right we can see an inside window that is in between the bathroom and the laundry room. When they built the house I'm pretty sure they put this window here to let outside light into the bathroom. But now its just fun to spy on people in the bathroom.

Lets head outside for a minute and check out the apple trees... We have four of them! I made homemade applesauce last night for mutual with my Young Women. I had picked a bunch of apples from our trees to use! Pretty fun stuff!

Also outside lets take a look at the front door and the wrap around porch!

Another original in the house... Most of the windows. I mean they are cool and all, but extremely drafty. So they also have to go.

We love this house and are so happy to have a place to call our own. It is the American dream, and we are living it :)

My mother-in-law's family grew up kiddie corner to this house (or at least they lived there for a while). I guess they knew Mr. & Mrs Crane. Penny remembers her being a really old lady and they always had to come trick or treating to this house. Mrs. Crane always gave them apples.

When talking with Penny and any of her siblings they talk about the bear rug in the parlor. Apparently they never used the parlor so the kids would always ask to go look at the parlor and the bear rug.

Talon now says we need to get a bear rug.

I say it doesn't go with my decor.

Why your sink might not be draining...

2011-09-15T11:43:00.003-06:00

So Talon and I are not completely naïve when it comes to our house and the problems we will encounter with it. We both grew up in houses much older than this one. Ever since we moved in, the sink in the kitchen has been pretty slow to drain. Talon moved the sink in the kitchen while I was away and when I got back we were using it more. It was very sluggish and then finally on Friday it just stopped draining period. Saturday I did our dishes outside camping style. Since then we've just been trying to avoid using dishes.
Last night Talon and his Dad were up until 4 am working on our plumbing. At one point Talon yelled up the stairs "Sherri, do you wanna come see why your sink isn't draining?"
Eww... probably not right? The house stunk like sewage and these pipes have been in the house since it was built 90 years ago... so no thanks tal. But when they removed the pipes they threw them in the yard where I could not avoid looking at them. Now I'm posting them for all to see...

EWWW! This pipe didn't even connect to the toilet or anything. Gross. I'm glad this is out of my house! I also will not take for granted indoor plumbing again!!!

Here is a picture of our kitchen currently. Its coming along, super slowly. Hard to live in a house with no kitchen, but I have a sink, a fridge, a stove, and a teeny bit of counter space so it works.

Next step windows and a back door. I've heard that they've come out with tripple pane windows. Those sound pretty intriguing. We're looking to get pretty energy efficient considering an old owner of the house told us she spent $200/month on heating this old place.

Trip to Jersey

2011-08-26T11:58:00.002-06:00

Addison and I just got back from our trip to New Jersey on Tuesday.

Now that we are finally over our jet leg and a little less busy I can finally blog about it!

We had a great time visiting the Moreno's. We hadn't seen them for almost 2 whole years! Needless to say Addy didn't remember ever meeting them :)

The girls had such a fun time playing together. We just needed to watch out for Mila and Addy who didn't always play so nicely which often resulted in tears and screams of "NO ADDY!"

We went to the pool a lot.

Mila and Addy.

Baby Penelope

Addy figured out how to go underwater. Kinda scary for me to watch her do this over and over. She would walk towards the deep end and go under. Tina said at one point she watched her try to open her eyes under water. Crazy girl! You're too little to do this :)

Addy was also a fan of the life jacket and learning to float on her back. At some points she would just be floating out in the middle of the pool all by herself... which looked kind of funny!

One Saturday Addy and I took a train into the city to visit my very first roommate Bryndee! It was so fun to hang out with her. I hadn't seen her since my wedding day 4 years ago! I should also mention that she was my longest roommate, 2 whole years we spent together until she graduated and left me. She is a big shot in Manhattan now a days... Addy and I really enjoyed spending the day with her. We first went to Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. Yum Yum!!! After that we headed over to Macy's (the largest store in THE WORLD).

Addy loved taking the choo choo into the city. She thought it was pretty fun! (even though she doesn't look very happy)

I unfortunately didn't take any pictures while we were in NY (I don't know why). So here is a picture of Bryn and I back in the day 2005.

Last Saturday we went to the Jersey shore!!! My oldest sister Amber was able to visit us for the weekend. It was SO great to see her and her family! We had a lot of fun at the at the beach.

Lunch Break!

L to R: Ayla, Camila, Raquel, and Addison

Addy loved playing in the waves. She wasn't scared by them and just wanted to jump right in. I really had to hold on to her because they were pretty big and crashing in pretty close.

Last Sunday they blessed Penny at church.
Here is a photo of all of us:

We were able to hang out all afternoon until Amber and her family had to leave.
The kiddos:

Raquel and Caiden

Mila!

The girls started to play Ring Around the Rosie and it got a little crazy!

On Monday (our last day) Addy and I took a drive to Philadelphia to hang out with my good friend from college Nicolina and her adorable kiddos! I met Nicolina the first day of school in our Landscape Design class. We were pretty much immediately great friends. We were both Horticulture majors and took a lot of classes together throughout the years. I hadn't seen her since the day we graduated 4 1/2 years ago!
We went and checked out the historical stuff in Philly.
Here is Independence Hall

The Rising Sun Armchair

Addy and I at Independence Hall

Here we all are checking out the Liberty Bell

It was funny, as we were touring around people (especially foreign people) kept checking out Nicolina's kids. Was it because there are three so close in age? Nope, it was their hair!!! They have really blond hair and I guess people just find it unusual to see such bright blond hair! I even caught this one guy behind us in line at the Liberty Bell taking pictures of them! ha ha... Nicolina, I hope you don't mind me posting a few pictures of your children on the Internet!!!

What's a trip to Philly without a cheese steak? YUM!!!

Cora, Mary, and Addy playing in their strollers.

On the way back to Montana we had a lay over in Salt Lake. From Salt Lake to Great Falls we flew past this familiar sight:

I was SO happy to be back west again and to see theses mountains greeting me. If you look closely you can see a wild fire burning on the far right of the picture. For any of you not from Idaho/Wyoming, these are the Teton mountains. They are not so far from Rexburg where we went to college for so long (as a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure the plane was directly over the burg/Rigby at this moment, I couldn't see it though as I sat over the wing).

2 Years Old!!!

2011-08-25T14:34:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Addy!!!

Dear Addison,

Wow little girl I can't believe you are already two years old! Time flies by, and you are getting SO big. You are such a pleasure to have in our home. You are such a happy child and so easy going. I think you get that from your Daddy. You brighten my day with your smiles, hugs, and kisses. Keep up your happy personality.

Much Love,

Mommy

Update:

Addy had a great birthday! We celebrated last night with some of Talon's family. She loved to open her presents, and was really happy to get Curious George paraphernalia. George is her favorite!

A Little Soggy

2011-08-11T06:55:00.001-06:00

Sunday night my nieces were taking a bath before bed. They were having tons of fun, laughing and splashing. Addy couldn't resist... She just had to get in that tub with them!

Gotta love that smile and curls :)

Dear Dad

2011-08-08T18:03:00.000-06:00

I don't have a journal entry to write about that day like Annie and Tina. They did a pretty good job with that. But I'd just like to say that I miss ya. You were a great Dad. You set a wonderful example to us about the rewards of hard work. All five of us enjoy being busy and working hard. You worked hard to make a wonderful life for us, and we are all reaping the benefits of it still.
It breaks my heart that you never had a chance to meet any of your grandchildren here on Earth (there are 11 of them now!). I remember we used to tease you in those last few months about becoming a grandfather. We wanted to get you a T-shirt that said "I'm a grandpa". It is comforting to me to know that you were with our children before the came to us, you are with all those who have yet to come join us, and maybe you are currently watching over Stryker for Kari's kids until they make it back there to take over :)
Life was changed so drastically after you left. You never met four of your five sons-in-law. I know you'd love Talon the best (as we all think that about our husbands). But for real. He is the best. But you'd like the other guys too :) Although we live in Montana far far away from home, its a good life. You are with me always. I think of you often.
Love you forever.

Sherri

Jersey Bound

2011-08-07T17:59:00.001-06:00

Addy and I have been in Jersey since Tuesday visiting my sister Tina and her family. Tina just had a baby girl 1 month ago! Baby Penelope is beautiful! Addy is having so much fun playing with her cousins here. More on that later. I have to brag about her for a second because for an almost 2 year old she is a GREAT traveler! She was able to keep herself fairly occupied for the whole day!

Watching Dora on the iPod. Why didn't they have these things when I was young?

Thank heaven for them now!

Christmas in July

2011-07-31T15:04:00.003-06:00

As you can see we aren't even remotely close to being clean or organized here. It is going to be a while.

I'm SO happy to be finally settling down somewhere. In the four years we've been married we have moved 12 times! We have lived with my in laws for a total of 7 months (not consecutively). We've lived in Florida, Idaho, Colorado, New York, and Montana. That is way too much moving for me. The majority of our stuff has been packed up in storage for over 2 years. Hence this week being Christmas in July! It is so much fun to unpack our stuff and find things that we've completely forgotten we even had.

Oh kitchen aid, how I've missed you! You will help me make delicious things for my family!

The Big News!

2011-07-28T14:46:00.001-06:00

No no no... I'm not prego.

Our big news is.... WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!

We were supposed to close a month ago when I first posted about the big news... but then a whole bunch of drama and bank hassle happened and it was pushed off until today.

We couldn't be more thrilled with our latest purchase! We are SO excited.

The house needs a TON of work done on it, and it hasn't been lived in for over a year. So don't mind the fact that there is no upkeep on the landscaping. I can't wait to get my hands on that anyways:)

Side

Back

Facts of the house:

Victorian built in 1919
5 bedrooms
2 bathrooms
3,560 square feet (including closets)
It sits on about .6 acres.
We got it for a STEAL of a deal.
It was a foreclosure.

These are pictures of the dinning room. I'll be sharing more pictures later on as we start to move in and redo stuff. The house has amazing wood floors downstairs, and all original BEAUTIFUL woodwork. Did I mention how excited we are? We have way too much room and are anxiously awaiting our first house guests :)
So if anyone is looking for an excuse to come visit wonderful Montana... You've got a place to stay :)

Crazy Spring

2011-07-15T11:26:00.001-06:00

So I have had nothing to post on recently. We've been pretty busy/stressed, but just haven't taken many photos. So I decided to share some photos about the flooding we had this spring. Some of the stuff is pretty crazy. Now that the flooding is WAY over I can even show the after pictures as well :)

This all happened in May/June. There was very high snow pack in the mountains and it wouldn't stop raining for about a month (literally). It just spells for disaster. Luckily it wasn't worse than it was.

Before:

Today:

Before:

Today:

In this one you can see how the creek is flooding over the road (when I say creek, I mean crick like a real Montanan, even though I personally still say crEEk). This is the dirt road we currently live on. The creek started to wash it out. It made it real fun for trying to go anywhere. Pretty much you just had to step on it and hope to not get stuck in the muddy ruts. They just came by yesterday to fill in the ruts with dirt. It has been over a month!

A little bit further down the road it is caving into the creek (will no one come fix this ?!). I can't even imagine something in New York going for over a month like this!!! HA. Oh Montana! I do love your cheap taxes.

Down a different road.. It just completely collapsed in a slide.

I tried to get Addy in there for some perspective... but she just sat her little hinee down and started to throw rocks into the pit. I'd say it was about a 20ft drop. Good thing it isn't a busy road.

Nicolina dear... I hope you can better appreciate the Greenness in these photos than in my Bull riding post :) For Montana, it is still pretty green.

On a completely different note...

I found this picture at my in-laws home recently. It was WAY too cute to not share. This is Talon at 3 1/2 years old. How cute is he?

The House That Built Me

2011-06-30T14:05:00.008-06:00

A funny thing happens when you have a sister... sometimes you are just on the same wavelength. So it goes for Annie and I today! Last night Miranda Lambert sang this beautiful song with Dia Frampton on The Voice. It reminded us that we wanted to make a post about this song! This morning I received a text from Annie asking for a picture of our old house. I told her I do have one but it is in storage, (which I actually found on my hard drive) but I was going to ask her today for the same thing! We figured out that we both had plans to make a post about this song... But Annie had beat me to it (darn the two hour time difference). She told me to go ahead with my plans. I haven't checked out Annie's post yet as I don't want it to influence mine.

I LOVE this song! It makes me cry especially when I watch the video.

It reminds me of our house growing up. We had all of our childhood memories there.

A few months ago while driving in the car this song came on the radio and my darling husband told me that every time he hears this song he thinks of my sisters and I. I burst into tears. It stirs up so many emotions.

Memories of every Christmas, playing in the yard, all of the fixing up my parents did, my family, our dog Maggie who we buried in the front yard, hitting golf balls into the field across the street, and the passing of my dear father.

We lived there for about 21 years. It was a perfect place to raise a family. We had lots of room to roam and explore. There were paths through the woods and fields. When we built the garage on we placed our handprints in the cement. I labored for hours in the yard to keep it up after my Dad passed away. Its where I learned that I loved to landscape. I miss that place, and I'm still trying to move on. It's hard to let go when so much of our life is left there. Things in our lives are TOTALLY different now. I never thought that we would each be living in a different state... thousands of miles apart from each other and home.

back yard circa 2006

circa 1985

Tina, Annie, Dad, and Myself 1986

If I'm ever back in Western NY you better believe I'll be stopping by 6830 Heise Rd and taking nothing but a memory...

Link to Annie's Post

HaPpY SuMmEr!!!

2011-06-29T14:23:00.004-06:00

We are so happy summer decided to finally stop by!!!

Yesterday it was even 94 degrees!! woot woot!

As I was taking this picture of Addy yesterday I thought to myself, "Hey don't we have a picture of me this age sitting in a bucket???"

I found it on our wedding DVD... a screen shot later and WALA! (Annie I was smart enough to figure out that I could take a screen shot of it!! I'm so smart.)

Yes, Addy gets her amazing curls from her mama (although her's are a bit curlier, and mine aren't as curly in this photo).

Stay tuned readers... BIG NEWS ~~tomorrow~~ Friday!!! dundundun.

An Apple A Day

2011-06-13T09:35:00.006-06:00

Typically I HATE taking pictures of myself and posting them on the blog, but I just had to for this one!

A few weeks ago my sister Tina tipped me off on how the online dress boutique Shabby Apple was constantly giving away their cute dresses on blogs. I was hooked (I'm not gonna lie, I spent much time entering these giveaways). It all happened in about two weeks. I entered a lot of giveaways hardly expecting to win even one. Then the emails started coming... I was THRILLED with the first one I won. ASTONISHED when I had won a second. It became kind of FUNNY when I won the third and fourth. I started to feel bad that I had entered SO many giveaways. I had stopped entering them after I had started winning them. Anyways here are some pictures of me in my ADORABLE new dresses!!!

I must say that I am constantly getting compliments on them, which never really happens to me when I put on a dress :)

My favorite to wear:

Azure Coast

Spanish Steps and Bali Ha'i'

The forth dress I won was a little girls dress. They didn't have it in Addy's size so I got a size 6 for her. Which she will probably be able to fit into in like mmm.. 4 years?? haha, anyways, I hope it is still as cute to me then as it is now!

Aviary

I should also mention that between my sisters Annie, Tina, and I we have won eight Shabby Apple dresses (they both won two)!

Thanks SO much to the blogs that hosted the giveaways that I won these dresses on!

Debs Here

Fashion Gal In DC

Mommys Idea

SHE- Style through Her Eyes

Bull Riding

2011-06-07T19:16:00.006-06:00

Saturday night we went to a bull riding event. It was a beautiful night and tons of fun!

Addy and her Grandpa

I just love taking pictures of these two. Someday they'll look back and be super embarrassed their mothers made them do things like this to get a photo. Addy was smiling, Jaxon wasn't too sure about the whole thing. Maybe it's because Addison was semi strangling him.

Can you believe how green everything is? I can... It has pretty much been raining for a month.

It's Been Three Whole Weeks...

2011-05-10T14:40:00.002-06:00

Three weeks since what you may ask?

Three whole weeks since I've seen this face:

Which may also explain the no shaving... aughm.

Talon has been gone working for Platinum. He was given the opportunity to go out and work for the first part of their season while the summer offices set up. It is always pretty busy in the beginning of the summer for Platinum, and there are always offices that need help. He has been super busy and has done 60 installs so far. This puts him ranked #1 in the company as of this moment! I'm so proud of him! If I wasn't dying to see him and if he didn't have a meeting for church (he is in the stake young men's Presidency) back in Montana I would suggest him staying out longer. He'll be coming back on Sunday. Platinum sends him to the offices that need the most help, which means he does a lot of installs. So far he has been in Chicago North, Chicago South, Milwaukee, and today he flew to St. Louis.

Addison and I have been hanging out in St. George. It has been AWESOME! I sure do love it down here. The weather has been great (in the 70's - 90's), and we sure do love spending so much time with family. Before we came down to St. George we spent a whole week in Logan, UT with the Murdocks (thanks for letting us stay guys). We were only planning on staying two nights, but plans were changed when the CRV broke down in Pocatello on the way down... Why had I never known that you need to change your timing belt? Did you know that if you don't it can ruin your engine? Why don't people talk about these things? It is a very timely and costly mistake!

Anyways I was happy to be in Logan when Annie had her baby. I got to sneak over to the hospital that night and give that baby a squeeze. I was the first non nurse, or parent to hold her!

Evangeline Mae is an adorable little girl!

It has been great for Addison to be with some of her cousins. The other day my sister Kari and I were working on my Mom's mothers day present and my niece Brinly was given the charge of watching Addy. She did an awesome job. At one point I came in to check on them and they were cuddling. If you know Addy you know this is a rare occurrence.

Next week we will be headed back to good old Montana and my flash of summer will be over :(

But it will be nice to get back to normal life!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T22:06:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Easter Sabbath! Addison and I have been hanging out in Logan, UT with the Murdock crew.

Here are some photos of our fun today! The Easter Bunny came and brought this little girl some pretty fun stuff!

The BEST part of the day (besides the wonderful turkey dinner my mom made) was the Easter Egg hunt!!!

There was a nice surprise in these eggs... Jelly Beans!

This look is the "Mama Peasy Pease?" look. She wanted me to open the egg for her.

Tangled

2011-04-06T16:45:00.002-06:00

This morning Addy and I watched Tangled (which is a pretty cute movie by the way). As soon as it was over and the credits started running I jumped up and said "Ok lets dance!" Addy got totally into it! It was a riot. Check it out:

Grandma Great

2011-03-29T15:05:00.000-06:00

Talon's grandmother passed away yesterday at the age of 85. She was a wonderful lady. We will miss her presence in our lives.

This is a four generation picture, taken last Easter.

Book Reads

2011-03-25T09:26:00.002-06:00

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.

• Bold those books you've read in their entirety.

• Italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read only an excerpt. I changed the color, as you can not tell in my font that it is italicized.

Underline the ones on your list to read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling, I read the first one!

5 To Kill a Mockingbird

6 The Bible - I'm currently in Leviticus. I've got a LONG way to go, but I WILL finish it!

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens - On my bookshelf for someday.

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma -Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas On my bookshelf for someday.

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Inferno - Dante

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Whelp I've read 11 of these books. So I guess I've had my fill for life :)

I need to read more, and this list is a good place to start. I'll let you know how it goes!

Which ones have you read?

*Disclaimer, I do read often, just most of the books I've read in my life are unfortunatly not on this list. I'm sad the twilight series didn't make the list (jk, I did read them though).

Montana Girl

2011-03-22T10:10:00.001-06:00

Addison LOVES animals. She would have just stayed there all day had we let her.

Ancestry.com

2011-03-18T16:24:00.001-06:00

Have you checked this website out yet? It is AWESOME! Granted I haven't used it in a few years, but it is so cool none the less. 2 years ago when I was pregnant and only working part time I found that I had a lot of time on my hands. I started to use ancestry.com and was instantly hooked.

I found that as you start your family tree and type in as much information that you know, it starts to link your family tree to others who have those same people in their trees. It also notifies you when it found a record that may match a person in your tree. Because of ancestry.com I now have a line on my mother's side back to Heinrich Merklin born in 1430 in Germany. Obviously someone else did all of this work, and I was just able to connect the their tree and reap the benefits.

My dad's line is a totally different story. When I started to work on the Gagliardi side I could only get back a few generations off of information we had from my dad before he passed away. When you look up his relatives online there aren't many records and dead ends everywhere. In my efforts on ancestry.com I came across someone who had my 2nd Great Grandfather listed in his tree. Turns out this man is my Grandfathers 1st cousin.

It was such an amazing feeling to find someone one who was out there searching for someone like me to help him. I was able to give Kenny names and phone numbers of my great aunts and uncles (his first cousins), whom he had never even met. He was able to give me more information about my Great Grandmother Rose Cali's line, all the way back to Italy and then some.

Kenny also gave me pictures:

My 2nd Great Grandfather Biaggio Cali

My 2nd Great Grandmother, Concetta Cali

Now I must insist you go and give it a try. It is AMAZING what you can find. When you first sign up you get a free trial for 14 days with access to all of their files.

They also have a feature that lets you see what famous people you are related to!

I can't find where my famous relatives are... I know I have a bunch, so I will use Talon's instead. I'm related to these people through marriage :)

6 American Presidents including JFK - 9th cousin twice removed

5 First ladies

Judy Garland - 8th cousin 3 times removed

Emily Dickinson - 6th cousin 3 times removed

Butch Cassidy - 8th cousin twice removed

JP Morgan - 6th cousin 6 times removed

Langston Hughes - 8th cousin 4 times removed

Geoffrey Chaucer - 21st great grandfather

Talon's Favorite Famous Relative:

John Browning - 5th cousin 4 times removed

amongst other great peoples.

Now to think how this list would be multiplied if we had my side added, and more than just Talon's mom's info!

Talon and I have also been really into watching the show Who Do You Think You Are?

Its a show that follows around celebrities as the research their family history.

Its on Friday nights on NBC.

Now if only I had a TV show paying for me to travel around and find distant relatives. I could get SO much more achieved!

I dont want this...

2011-03-17T11:12:00.002-06:00

We just returned from a trip to Utah. It was lots of fun and we were happy to see family and friends! On Tuesday night Talon handed Addison her snack cup and this is what came out of her mouth:

She doesn't actually know what she is saying because she promptly started eating what was in the cup. It totally took us off guard because she doesn't say much, and especially not full sentences! Today I asked her to say it once, and now she wont stop... good thing she doesn't know what it actually means!

Just one of them days...

2011-03-04T14:38:00.002-07:00

Dear readers,

We have been up to absolutely nothing lately. Hence no updates for a while. We are hoping to change this soon.

Love,

the Uricks

Laundry Day

2011-02-09T13:39:00.006-07:00

Whenever the house goes silent and I don't hear the shuffle of little feet or jibber jabber, I know that something is up. Something like finding a loaf of bread and going to town!

Last weekend it snowed and snowed and snowed! I think we got about 18 inches. We ventured out into the 14 degree cold on Monday and started to shovel ourselves out.

Little rosie cheeks ready for some hot (or cold in her case) chocolate!

Today I've been working on cleaning and doing the laundry. Addison feels like she wants to help in whatever it is that I'm doing. Whether it be vacuuming, scrubbing the tub, or the laundry! She's such a huge help, well maybe a little bit of a hindrance. But I'm happy to put her to work!

Picture Quiz

2011-01-27T09:26:00.001-07:00

1) Go to Photobucket
2) Type your answer to each question in the "search" box
3) Copy the html of the picture (your answer) then paste, for the answer
The Questions:
What is your relationship status?

What are you currently listening to?

the temper trap...

Last movie you watched?

had to check out the john wayne version last night last night after watching it in theaters on friday... jeff bridges did a better job. hands down.

Your favorite disney character?

What do you love most?

What is your obsession?

What is your favorite book?

What did you do last weekend?

What do you do for a living?

What is your favorite instrument?

I only played for nine years...

What is your favorite zoo animal?

What is your favorite pet animal?

What brand of shoes do you wear most?

What is your dream job?

Who is your favorite actress?

ha ha... jk. I really don't have a favorite actress...

What is your favorite season?

What CD is in your currently in your CD player?

You know I like my chicken fried...

What is your last name?

What is your current mood?

How old are you?

What is your favorite TV show?

I've been waiting for a quiz / tag like this... I spotted this one on someone's blog. This was fun!!! Give it a try :)

Seattle and Oregon Trip

2011-01-21T16:34:00.003-07:00

(Maximize your window for best viewing pleasure)

We got back from an AWESOME trip to Seattle on Tuesday. We went to visit our friends Dan and Rochelle. They showed us around and we did all of the touristy stuff. Matt and Clint came along too. Anyways it was an awesome trip despite the rain/clouds/fog.

Day 1

Seattle

a.k.a. the day where we randomly found everything we wanted to see.

We took a ferry into Seattle.

We then walked around Pike Place Market. We came across the Gum wall. Talon really wanted to take a piece and eat it... but I limited him to just one lick.

Ha ha... JK.

We went on a hunt for the Fremont Troll and quickly found him under a bridge (the first bridge we crossed).

Day 2

Bremerton

We went to the naval base in Bremerton WA. We checked out the air craft carriers.

We went to the Naval Museum on base.

Boys will be boys.

We then went and checked out the docks...

Day 3-4

Oregon Coast and Portland

The two Addison's playing... by eachother :)

On our trip down we made a stop in Astoria to check out the Goonies house!

We spent the night in Seaside, OR and headed to the beach in the morning.

We found this monument for Lewis and Clark. Apparently this is the spot their journey ended. If you are ever in the North West you know that Lewis and Clark are a pretty big deal around these parts. In fact there is a Museum in Great Falls dedicated to them. Come visit us in MT and I'll take you.

Group Shot!

At one point I had to leave the group to get back to the van where Addison was sleeping. When I walked away I turned to Talon and said don't walk out there... Pointing to the ledge. Low and behold these pictures surface. Dumb Dumb Dumb. They are walking across a tiny ledge that slopes down to a cliff that drops into the rough ocean.

The Oregon coast is BEAUTIFUL!!!

Next we headed to Tillamook. I love cheese!!!

After that we headed to Portland.

We only spent a few hours in Portland but we ended the night with a slightly disapointing stop at Voodoo Doughnuts.

The Maple Bacon Bar didn't disappoint... It was acctually very good :)

In other news we are back here in MT for a bit. We just moved back into the ranch house we were living last winter! If anyone wants to come for a visist we have LOTS of room now!

Precious Moments

2011-01-11T17:24:00.001-07:00

So I thought I'd take a minute and jot a few things down about lately. Sorry no pictures this time....
Addison and I have been in St. George, UT visiting with the family since the New Year. We have been having a ton of fun! It is great for Addy to be around her cousins. They keep her semi occupied and she isn't the center of attention all of the time then (not that she doesn't still try to be the center of attention). It seems like since we have been here she has really started to talk more. She says new things constantly leaving me wondering "where did that come from?" It has been pretty fun.

Church lately is a HUGE challenge. We are excited that she will be going into nursery in 1 month! oh but wait... there is no nursery in Belt... nevermind our challenge will be continuing. Anyways, this past Sunday we were sitting in the 3rd hour of church and she was getting a little anxious. At one point I noticed she was trying to get my purse onto her shoulder so I helped her out a bit and put the loops on her shoulder. She was very proud of herself and proceeded to wave at my mom while saying "love you". She then turned around and grunting under the weight of the purse headed for the door. Instead of saying bubye she recently has been saying "love you!" It was too funny! I love that girl!

She has also started to put her finger to her lips and shush... I'm sure she has done a million other things that I can't think of at the moment. I love the precious moment that I have with her as her mother. I love seeing her learn new things. I love the moments that she opens up and lets you teacher her something new (like where is your head? and where are your eyes?). Being mommy is great :)

Santa Who?

2010-12-22T20:46:00.001-07:00

Addy and I went to the bank today and Santa was there!!!

She cried when I sat her on his lap, so they had me sit next to him with her on my lap. After he gave her the candy cane she thought he was ok.
I regret not getting a picture of her crying on his lap... this one is as good as it gets. Dang!
Anyways we've been practicing with her what Santa says... "Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas!" . When you ask her about Santa or say Merry Christmas she responds with a "Ho Ho Ho". Seeing Santa in person took her off guard... she wasn't prepared with her list of what she wanted. We'll see what Santa actually brings her.

Welcome Back!

2010-12-21T14:56:00.003-07:00

Clint came home last Thursday! It has been fun to have the whole family together again. The last time the family was together was about four years ago when Matty left on his mission. That was a few months before Talon and I got married! It seems like forever but man did the time go by fast. So pretty much Matt and Clint's missions overlapped and they haven't really been around each other for almost 4 years (Clint did go to visit Matt in Oklahoma when we were in living in Denver 2 summers ago). This is the last time we were all together in April 2007:

and this time:

wow we have changed!!!

And this next one is for kicks and giggles. This is from when Talon left on him mission in 2002. hehehe...

It was hugs and smiles all around!

It is fun and funny to have Clint home. He has changed a ton in some ways but not in others. He always adds humor to conversations and now he has an accent like he's from the South Pacific!

Click here to see the post from when Clint left on his mission.

Where's Uncle Clint???

2010-12-06T10:04:00.002-07:00

Talon's little brother Clint is coming home from serving a mission for our Church on the 16th of December. He has been gone for 2 whole years teaching the people of Vanuatu. Addy has never met Clint. At his request we have been showing her pictures of him and telling her that's Clint! The other day Addy found this little monkey with Clint's picture on it somewhere in the house. She has been toting it around ever since. When you ask her where is Uncle Clint? She looks at the picture on the monkey and points to Clint's face. It is pretty cute. Hopefully she is now prepared to meet him in a week and 3 days. We are all very excited to see Clint!!!

She is pointing at him in this picture.

See you soon Clint!!!

Giveaway

2010-11-24T09:56:00.002-07:00

My sister Tina is a very talented floral designer. She is having a giveaway on her blog here. Go check it out!!! Its free to enter :) Just post a comment on her blog. Giveaway ends December 3rd.

You can also check out her Etsy store here. She has a lot of cool things for sale... and Christmas is coming! who doesn't like a little greenery in their house?

First Snow

2010-11-17T12:47:00.003-07:00

Yesterday it snowed... A bunch! Technically the first snow was in the beginning of September but yesterday it actually stuck. And to think it was 70 degrees a week ago...

Addy just loves to be outside... so outside we went.

Addy and Jazzy (grandma and grandpa's dog) are pretty fun together. Addison loves Jazzy. She looks for her and calls for her. She actually can say "Jazzy" (we talk about the dog a lot). Sometimes when we are outside Addison will disappear and we always find her sitting next to Jazzy petting her. Jazzy isn't one to LOVE children... She has taken a liking to Addy though :)

The cat still isn't much of a fan of Addy ... Addy scares it because she shrieks with joy when she sees it (Jazzy is deaf, so Addy can't scare her). Addison Has started to meow like the cat. It is more of a "rearrarr" than a nice meow because this cat does not meow. When you ask Addy what a kitty says she says "rearrarr".

Poor terrorized kitty.

This next photo is called 'Face first' I'm a mean Mommy for taking the photo before helping her up, but it was just too funny. You can even still see the imprint in the snow of her face.

Baby prints

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-04T16:46:00.002-06:00

We had a very fun Halloween... We didn't do too much. Earlier in the week we carved some pumpkins. Addison thought it was pretty fun to take its guts I had just pulled out and put them back in.

On Halloween Addy dressed up like a lion! We practiced saying ROAR! She would... just never when she had the costume on. She says it at random times... Or when she sees something scary, like cookie monster.

We had a lot of fun visiting family and friends that night. We didn't do any of the door to door stuff... Maybe next year!

At the end of the night we had lots of popcorn and the Kolste's came over. Jaxon was a cute little frog :)

Here is a little clip from that evening.

Disclaimer: I'm not really a mean mom. I was not letting her have the toys so she wouldn't be distracted by them. She did dance... in the next clip, but I don't have movie editing software on this computer. Sorry!

A trip to the E.R.

2010-11-02T17:38:00.007-06:00

I'd like to title this next photo "I'm still in shock"

I guess it hurt a little bit when they pulled out the nail... But the Doctor had numbed him up. If you look closely you can see the yellow part of the nail and that is just about how deep it went into his hand.

Talon was out working with his dad today. They were working on a roof when Talon's nail gun accidentally shot twice and slipped. That second shot went straight into his hand...
Something like this was bound to happen some day...

Talon is just fine. He is a very lucky boy that the nail didn't hit any bones. It shouldn't do any damage to his hand.

Stay tuned, I'll post Halloween photos soon!

Vacation from our vacation

2010-10-14T11:44:00.005-06:00

We have been down in St. George Utah for a week and a half now hanging out with my family. We have stayed pretty busy and have gained a lot of weight :) First off, I turned the big 25 on the 5th. What? I swear I still feel like I'm in college, but that was almost 4 years, a marriage, and a baby ago. We celebrated my birthday last week by ditching the kid and taking off to Vegas for a night. I'm starting to feel about Vegas like I feel about Niagara Falls. I've been there so many times that I'm about ready to stop going. But this time was different because we actually splurged a little and saw a show!

The Lion King was a great show and we really enjoyed ourselves. We also hit up a Vegas Style Buffet.

Note: the Flamingo doesn't have the best buffet.

We had Crab, Shrimp and Prime Rib... YUM!

We always go on a ton of hikes while we are down here. There are a lot of places with awesome scenery. We enjoy being with family. Normally when we go we are gone for hours and it really wears out Addison.

Tuesday night we went with the Plumbs to a pumpkin farm / corn maze. It was a really cool place and we had a lot of fun!

Roping Steer.

Cowboy Bronson was sad he didn't bring his cowboy boots and hat along.

Addison liked that goat and kept sticking her finger in its nose. Before we could stop her, she then stuck her finger in her own nose. YUCK.

Everything at this place was homemade. It was all made out of stuff you could find on a farm. Lots of fun games like the "red neck trampoline" which was mattresses surrounded by hay bales.

The specks you see in the pictures is just the dust in the air... not dirt on the lens.

The corn maze was a blast. We wandered around the first one for a good twenty minutes before coming out the entrance. Feeling defeated we had to try another one (there were four). We went into the second and came out the exit in 5-10 minutes. YES!

Aren't they cute?

Addison was a really good sport even though she was exhausted. She is normally pretty easy to please :)

We are leaving St. George today and heading up to the Salt Lake area for a few days. We have the Platinum year end party to attend to and we are hoping to win big this year!

Addy Addy Addy

2010-09-30T10:10:00.005-06:00

Hey! I'm 13 months old!!!

I weigh: 22.2 pounds. (65th percentile)

I am: 28.5 inches (24th percentile) tall. I'm a shorty, take a look at my pants!

I have: Crazy curly, frizzed out hair.

I love: Doggies and Kitties, but that is nothing new.

I follow: Anyone when they head out the door. I love being outside! I love to crunch the fall leaves under my feet. I really enjoy picking up stones and handing them to anyone around... they are quite tastey and I want to save them for later. I love getting in the dirt!

I still: Like to nap twice a day, even though mama and dada try to keep me up till one. I normally throw a tantrum early and get put down in the morning.

I walk: EVERYWHERE! I especially like to try the stairs the moment I see I can get to them. I've been walking for almost 3 months now so I'm pretty much a pro.

I say: HI (in a whisper), Dada, Mama, and Uh Oh!

I Can: Wave bubye/hello, and fold my arms during prayer.

I'm learning: Lots everyday! but mom is trying to teach me how to sign for milk, sometimes I can do it, but other times I just forget.

I want: More toys! When I see something I want I stick my hands out and scrunch them in a "come here, I want that" motion.

My favorite toy: Pillows!

I Can't wait: To see family and friends this weekend in Utah!!!

Yep I'm amazing!!!

Labor Day

2010-09-08T10:04:00.003-06:00

Whelp made it to Montana safe and sound last week!!! It has been great to get up here and settle in a bit. We (mostly I) were very sad to leave Colorado and the awesome apartment we lived in all summer long. But, it is nice to be with family again.
On Labor day we took a drive down to Helena with Talon's parents and brother Matt.

We stopped by Marysville which is an old mining/ partial ghost town. The old buildings were pretty cool to check out.

After that we headed into Helena. We have driven through Helena many times but have never stopped or actually gotten off the I-15 for anything but gas. I was happily surprised at how nice of a city it is. It has a lot of cool history and it is beautiful. For all of you Utards, I'd compair it to Logan. One feature is Reeder's Alley. Which again is part of old mining history. This alley has been restored and kept up so you can go check out the old shops and teeny apartments the workers lived in.

Another good thing about Helena is that there is a Buffalo Wild Wings!!! YUM! A little of my home town so far away from home. We had to end the day there :)

I have to share this side note story. As I'm sitting here typing this Addison is rummaging through some of our boxes... She pulled out the box of band aids and pulled them all out one by one then put them back into the box one by one. At some point she stopped moving. I got a little nervous thinking she got into our box of medicine and started popping pills or something. Don't you worry I got what was in her mouth out. A bug's wing! EW! The rest of the bug's remains are on the floor... Oh Toddlers! I need to watch her more carefully.

The Zoo

2010-08-30T08:41:00.004-06:00

I'm going to take a moment to catch up on a few things... A few weeks ago we went to the Denver Zoo. It was pretty fun and quickly got very hot. I wont post all of our boring pictures but there were a few cute ones I would like to share.

We loved checking out the gorilla!

Thanks for the visit!

2010-08-30T08:41:00.003-06:00

It is always a lot of fun when family comes to visit! Last weekend (as I stated in my previous post) My mom, sister and her husband were in town. We love having guests :)

We went and did some fun things like...

Checking out cool old mining towns

Playing with pugs

Visiting Rocky Mountain National Park

And of course hanging out with NANA!

Seriously, thanks for the visit guys!

Talon is done with work on Tuesday, so we will pack up and head onto our next adventure. We don't really know what life is going to throw at us next. We are headed back to Montana to stay for a spell... then? We'll keep you posted as we go :)

HaPpY BiRtHdAy AdDy!!!!

2010-08-25T18:30:00.008-06:00

Holy smokes! Can you believe it has been a whole year since this?

Happy Birthday Addison!

On Sunday night we had a birthday party for her. It was so much fun! We had lots of friends over. My Mom, Annie, and Brett were all in town for it!

Addison wasn't too huge on getting her fingers dirty... she pretty much just stuck her fingers in the frosting, but it was still pretty stinkin' cute!

She loved all of her gifts, especially the cheese puffs!

Camping

2010-08-13T11:45:00.003-06:00

This past weekend we enjoyed a camping trip with the guys Talon works with. We went boating all day and then found a great camping spot. The elevation at the camping spot was 12,000 ft. We were right above the tree line... That's pretty high up. Needles to say it was a little bit chilly at night. A little chilly for camping with babies if you ask me... Despite the cold temperature Addison did pretty well and survived the night. I'm glad to report that there were no bear or mountain lion attacks on us like I sadly convinced myself there would be :) The camping spot was beautiful. The boys had a fun time shooting guns and rolling rocks down the hill. We had some great camp fire food too. Thanks for another great trip Platinum!!!

And so it begins

2010-08-11T17:39:00.002-06:00

I knew this day would come. The day my baby turned into a toddler. Addison learned to walk a few weeks ago and gets better and better on her feet everyday. And with every passing day the more and more trouble she gets into. Just last night I was telling friends how Addison doesn't open the drawers or cupboards in our kitchen. Today was the day I ate my own words.

At least it was only raisins she got her little fingers into. Later in the day i caught her in the cupboard under our sink playing with soap. Next it was the drawers, pulling out all of our Ziplock bags.

Tonight she shut herself in the bathroom in the dark. She somehow managed to find the toilet paper and went to town.

She's a stinker :)

I swear I watch my child. She isn't neglected... Just mischievous.

I need some of those shoes that squeek when you take a step. Anybody know where I can find some?

Quick Trip

2010-08-03T15:20:00.001-06:00

We just returned from a quick trip to Montana. We went up for a Urick family reunion on Saturday. It was a very fun trip but way too short. We were so happy to see the whole family!

Addison was a hit at the party... She is just such a happy baby and loves people SO much that you can't not smile back at her. I'm pretty sure she's showing off her awesome clapping skills in this picture.

We really enjoyed being in Montana. The weather was beautiful. We love grandma and grandpa's garden and their sweet peas! YUM!

We especially enjoyed time in the Hammock.

I really wish I would have taken more pictures with the family, but I did not. Next time :)

3 Years Down

2010-07-07T16:15:00.001-06:00

Week of Family Fun

2010-07-05T09:27:00.001-06:00

Addy and I are officially back from our trip to Utah. It was so fun to see all the family! Here are a few photos from the week.

Hanging out with the cousins.

Addy with aunt Amber and Mommy!

We did lots of hanging out in the pool. It was SO hot! Over 100 every day, one day it was 113! Holy smokes! That's 150 degrees hotter than the coldest air I've ever felt in Montana.

And the best picture of the week by far!!! Addy and Ayla kissin!

Hmm... that picture my be embarrassing later on in life :)

Guilty as Charged

2010-07-02T16:34:00.001-06:00

7:45 pm July 1st, 2010. I notice the baby is no longer playing in front of me in my mother's living room. I don't hear her happy squeals so something sneaky is up. I immediately know where she went. I saw her eyeing that bowl earlier in the day.

It was her... she did it! Ate some of that dog food. She wouldn't open her mouth to let me get it out, and she had some more clenched in her tiny fists. Daddy says we should feed her this stuff if she seems to like it because it would be cheaper. Yet, she still makes funny faces when I dish veggies into her mouth. Humph.

Cheeks

2010-06-26T10:25:00.001-06:00

No... not baby cheeks, mama cheeks.

This post is for my husband who I am apart from until the 4th of July.

I had my wisdom teeth pulled yesterday and this is what I look like today.

love you Tal!

Fun Around Town

2010-06-19T12:59:00.002-06:00

Earlier this week we went to the Hudson Gardens on a free day. We walked around for a bit and got some pretty good pictures of us.

Addison and Jaxon

Tiny Town

Yesterday Addison and I traveled to this cute little park up in the mountains with some of the wives in the offices. They had a ton of minature houses. It was really cute.

The Mommy's and babies

Addy and her two boyfriends, Jaxon and Rocky

Sleeping after a long hard day.

(I love it when babies sleep with their butts in the air)

Oh Addy

2010-06-14T13:45:00.004-06:00

The newest thing that Addison does is pull herself up onto stuff so she's standing. She literally thinks its more fun than any of her toys. If I'm sitting on the couch she crawls over and pulls herself up and just stares at me. Standing is very entertaining!

Very Few things make Addison laugh. She is SO hard to get a laugh out of, but daddy and spinning sure do get some giggles!

Thanks for stopping by!

Something BIG Happened Today

2010-06-09T21:19:00.001-06:00

This was taken on Talon's cell phone... so sorry its sideways, and not good quality at all.

Weekend with the Uricks

2010-06-07T15:04:00.004-06:00

Last weekend Talon's parents and sister Sydnee took a roadtrip down to visit us. They just couldn't stand being another day without us... or their one and only grandaughter. It was great having them here. Talon took Saturday off and we took a drive up to Estes Park and had a Picnic. We also walked around the haunted Stanley Hotel. The thing about Colorado is that yes it is beautiful and there is TONS to do but it seems like EVERYONE is along with you. You can't ever really get away. Even growing up in New York I feel like we could get away from everything and everyone. Maybe I spent too much time living in Idaho and Montana... where you can drive for 10 miles and literally no one is around. Anyways.... here are some photos of the weekend.

Talon and his dad

Taking a snooze

A view of the Stanley hotel, the inspiration for the Shinning. We walked around it for a bit, but unfortunatly didn't see any ghosts (fortunate for me).

On our drive we came across this cool looking church

Family shot by the church with Kelsey Luongo (old family friend)

On Sunday we went downtown and took a tour of the Margaret Brown house. She is known getting a life boat to turn around and look for survivors after the sinking of the Titanic. She did many important things in her life and was a prominent citizen in Denver.

After the tour we came back and had dinner before the family had to take back off to Montana.

Talon, Addison, and I at the Margaret brown house.

Eating Strawberry shortcakes!

Addison had SO much fun with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Syd

Talon's cousin John (top left of this photo) really likes to tease babies... But Addy likes to play with him anyways.

It was great to have the family here! Thanks for coming to visit guys!!!

For your amusement

2010-06-04T08:47:00.004-06:00

May in Review

2010-06-02T11:39:00.002-06:00

Well May has flown right by... we've kept very busy around here. Here are some randoms from the month (sorry they mostly consist of yes, the baby). She is what our whole life is all about right now...

The picture on the left is just a cute random, on the right Addy fell asleep while giving herself a bottle.

I love this litte tutu that Addy got for Easter from my mom. TOO CUTE! She got so many compliments this day in church..

On Mothers day we took a hike up by Boulder. It was pretty fun. We had to test out the new baby carrier we got from Once Upon a Child for a steal of a deal!

I can't even believe how big Addison is getting... She is now 9 months and pulling herself up onto stuff! In this picture she's trying to get her toys :)

We took a trip out to a lake nearby with some of the guys in the office and hung out for a bit. We cooked some delicous hamburgers over the campfire. Note to self: you are not alowed to start campfires wherever you want to in Colorado, it might be a $100 fine (we didn't get fined but we were threatened). That backpack carrier we got also makes a good seat for babies while we are outside. Addison is to that point of crawling and grabbing EVERYTHING and putting it into her mouth. It is about impossible to put her down out side. But she enjoys the seat, especially if you are feeding her!

Mommy, baby, and a delicious runny nose that same day by the lake.

Talon's family came down to visit this past weekend. I'll be posting about that soon, so check back!

Dance Dance!

2010-05-20T06:59:00.002-06:00

Addison is preparing for the season of So You Think You Can Dance to start up.