December

We have been trying to potty train little Miss Addyson. She has been doing alright with it. It's a little frustrating at times, but we know it takes time for that kind of thing. December has been a really busy month for us. We went to see Santa, shopping for our family members, trying to make goodies with Addyson for platters to our families, to trying to make it to work with out going into the ditch. I forgot how its so stressful to drive in the snow. We really like our house in Pierce, Idaho. It's a little small though, and hard to keep warm without using tons of propane. Josh's grandma is getting really sick. I'm starting to really stress out that she isn't going to make it much longer, and it really upsets me. I don't know what I'd do without her. She's always there for us when nobody else is. We're always going to see her, which is a two hour drive for us, almost every weekend. We haven't had much snow, its probably snowed once this December. Addyson had a very interesting week at her babysitters. She cut her long sleeve shirt with sicciors that she got a hold up, due to the fact the babysitter never put them up, and the babysitters dog chewed up her shoe. We haven't been very happy about that. Josh gets a whole 10 days off of paid vaction for Christmas. We love the Night Force Optics! We recently attended their Christmas party at this nice hotel along the Clearwater River. We had a couple drinks, a nice dinner, danced, and we even got a room there. It was lots of fun. My job is going well, I am finally getting promotion at work, from office, to my own area making bowstrings, where I can make more of an income. Things are really going well for us.





We'd like to wish all our friends & family a Merry Christmas and a Happy Happy New Year. We're so blessed to have all you in our lives, you all have done so much for us and hope we can do the same for you guys.





As Addyson would say "Ho, Ho, Ho, Bye-Bye!"

Family Pictures 2011

Addyson is 18 months old and we wanted to update our family pictures. A woman I have known for a long time does pictures. She capture our family at Josh’s grandpa’s house where we could pose in front of all things that we like, outdoors.

Nightforce Optics -- Josh’s Job.

The job that Josh was wanting to get outside of the military life, was a job at Nightforce Optics. They make scopes for military guns, mainly the Navy Seals, Cabelas, and many other dealers. These scopes are used in the war in Iraq, for military guns in general for sniper shooting mainly, and competed shooting. These scopes are $3,000 each. Josh can buy one for $900 since he works there. They also are branched off another company called “Lightforce” which is located in Australia. My aunt works there as well and bought a scope already for her husband, and a flash light for my grandpa, which are normally $70 but, again, Josh can buy it for $25. I’m very proud that Josh has found something he loves, he hated working at the mill doing all the machanicing for it to get running, but honestly that isn’t a job for, forever. At Nightforce Optics our family has very good health, dental insurance. Josh is 100% free, but we have to pay for Addyson and I. He can work 4 days 10 hours each like me, or work Fridays for overtime which are only eight hour days. He works overtime usually, but they get a lot of vacation time during holidays. It’s nice having a husband who is around more than he was. Nightforce has a Chirstmas Party. It’s held at this nice hotel along the Clearwater River, called “The Edge.” Josh and I are getting a room, and going to enjoy a night with out a screaming toddler. I never really like to do anything without Addyson, but she can’t come to this. I never got to attend the military Christmas party, so this is my first event where its for my husbands job. Good news! Josh works in the machine shop, which you usually have to go to school to run these machines, but they are so impressed with Josh’s work that they are training him to do what they do, instead of being a laborer, which that just powder coats the scope parts, so it was awesome to hear how much the bosses like Josh’s work. Josh is feeling a little under pressure, because there is a lot of math involved, and programming, and Josh isn’t a computer person, so he is very nervous but pretty happy.

Addyson Update

Addyson is saying all sorts of things, as well as doing all sorts of things.
(Sorry if I repeat, I forget what I update about with her sometimes…)
She throws anything that should be thrown away, away in the garbage.
She has been going potty in the big girl potty.
She tries to wipe her self when she is done going potty.
She puts out her hand and says “STOP!”
She knows what cookies, cake, basically the yummy stuff is, bad parenting?
She loves Josh to pieces, its very cute.
Stop
Pee Pee
Potty
Night Night
Hai-ee (Hailee)
Papa
Santa
Ohhhh cute!
Cute
Santa
“Ho Ho Ho”
Blankie
Cup
Socks
Woo hooo!
Oh No.
Yick
And the famous one; NO! but to her STOP is NO!
That’s mainly the ones she says a lot. But her new thing is STOP! And Ho Ho Ho! I’m wondering if that will help her with going to see Santa today.

Black Friday 2011

This year I was unsure about attending “Black Friday.” We don’t live near any amazing shopping places, we have a Macys, JcPennys, Maurices, Claires, and Bath and Body Works for our “Mall,” and for other stores we have Ross, Wal-Mart, Shopko, K-Mart… and many other little stores. Nothing big. Moscow, they have more, but I wasn’t going to travel thirty more miles when I had Addy all by myself. I woke up that day and decided we’re going. Didn’t get to Lewiston until 9 am. Let me remind you I live almost two hours from the nearest “city.” Which sucks and I can’t wait to move down to a town where the grocery store doesn’t close till later than 7. With what I did have I got some good deal, plus some groceries bought while I was down there, Nobody was interested in buying food, the day after Thanksgiving. I am more than likely going to do this the right way next year.

Thanksgiving 2011

This Thanksgiving we were actually able to make it to see our families. Now to say it was fun, isn’t exactly what it was. My parents had their dinner in the early afternoon, around one o’clock. My step dads side of the family were making their way to my from Elk River, Idaho. Our plan was to attend my parents dinner but not eat just visit and then go to his parents later that day, which they usually have their dinners at five o’clock. Well, Josh was told that it was suppose to begin at three o’clock. I knew it wasn’t going to be ready by that time. Josh made us leave right when my sister and my aunt, uncle, and two small children showed up. I was furious. When we got to Josh’s grandpa’s house it was empty. Nobody was there yet. I was even more furious. I knew I was right, I just knew it wasn’t going to be doe till later. We ended up going to Josh’s parents house and waiting there and then going all the way back to Josh’s grandpa’s and waited even longer. It was all awkward, Nobody was being the same, due to the fat that days before we had a blow up between us all. LOVELY! After dinner, around six - seven o’clock I was ready to get the heck home. We did stop and say hi to my parents at my great-aunts house. Lesson I learned from this whole day was never split between two families who one, don’t get along, two, next time have one with just Josh and Addyson at our place. I really wish my grandparents, well my grandma, celebrated holidays, I would so be there!

Debating about writting a book?

I sometimes think about writing a book about what my/our life was like in the military, maybe make it a little fiction? I just have so much I want to write down and have people hear our story. I’m sure there are stories out there like ours, but I always wanted to do that. Maybe someday? When I’m wiser?

Update; my job

I really like my job, they days go by so fast working, I am still working in the office, and I sort of like it, there are times where I get super bored because we can’t chat, but sometimes I just can’t help it but talk and laugh at the actions of other people. They have mostly women working there. Its nice to talk to other mothers and girls about their guy problems. I have met a girl name Mindy, which I have known of her for sometime, just never had talked before, we have hung out outside of work. It is nice to have a friend. I miss my friends in Washington so much. She has a little girl Addyson’s age, only two months older than Addy. I am probably not going to work forever. Josh wants me to not work anymore once he makes more. My little pay check helps our family out some but mainly pays for child care. We are happy with the way things are for now, but I am anxious to move off the “hill” more like Mountain we live on.

Nothing new with this....

Josh and I are going to be an aunt and an uncle again. Josh’s sister is having another child. We were, of course, last to know about this, and we also found out from everyone else but our family. We sometimes feel that we aren’t even a part of a family here, I feel that our family is still in Washington. Reasons for keeping it from us are far out there. She is recently unemployed and happened to apply for the business I work for, even though they aren’t really hiring anytime soon, but Josh’s family thought if we knew I’d go run and tell my boss and ruin her chance of getting hired, due to the fact she is pregnant, because I am like “my mom” and will tell everyone. First off, if we knew her wishes, we would have followed them, but they didn’t come to us what so ever and say this is whats going on. No, instead I waited a few weeks and I was having a private conversation with my Aunt about hearing that she was… having another baby and other things I heard, well I happen to get a phone call and other people know too. So Josh and I were thinking maybe we should call and say what we heard, but we decided that if its true they’ll come to us. Better believe your biscuits they came to us. A phone call late one night, when we both have to work the next day, saying how I’m like my mom spreading rumors (sorry mom, they said that!) and I’m an F******* B***** and I don’t know how to talk to people because I was cooped up in a house with Addyson for so long, and working in a grocery store she learned to talk to people. I did say somethings that were wrong, but probably true, but I never once lost my cool where I was calling names and putting down family members. I was almost un-invited to our nephews/Addyson’s cousins birthday. When we went it was like nothing happened. My feelings weren’t healed and I was very upset about what was said. It’s been a while but a week later they go and post that they are expecting on face book, but still haven’t apologized for over reacting, calling names, and all that junk… I can never move on with things they way they were left, no resolved. But we did attend Justin’s birthday, and it was nice to be there for him for his birthday. I can’t believe he is three and is going to be a big brother. It’ll be nice for him to have a sibling.