What Would Life Be if Not for Family and Friends

Damon, Julie, Kylor and myself participated (along with some fellow co-workers & Leadership Great Falls friends) in the 2009 March of Dimes March for Babies. I have always been a supporter of the March of Dimes, but even more so now having had a premature baby. I got a good visit in with friends while Kylor had a good stroll with Damon and Julie. The rain stayed away just long enough for us to finish our walk and have lunch.

We had a nice Mother’s Day. Damon’s brother, Tanner & his wife Kimberly had us over for a BBQ lunch to celebrate the Mother’s in the family. It was a nice relaxing day with family!

My little Caprianna turned 5-years old this month. She’s the first Grandbaby – I just can’t believe how quickly the years have gone. Caprianna also had her very first ballet recital – she was a beautiful bumble bee. She’s growing into such a darling little lady.

It’s official – I’m a Leadership Great Falls graduate! I successfully competed an entire course (only missing one session)! Here’s to my second-year commitment in LGF Public Relations.

I’m a bit of a TV addict – Desperate Housewives, 90210 and American Idol –with all seasons coming to an end, I find my evenings wondering what can be done. Why I wonder, I have no idea as there is always something to do, but after a day of work, it was nice to wind-down with some entertainment. Maybe now I can start catching up on some of those movies that are still in the wrappers.

We did it – after all these years – we cleaned out our garage! What a chore that was. I’d open the garage door and cringe. It would darn near send me into a panic attack just looking at everything that needed to be done. I figured it was going to take a minimum of two whole weekends to get the entire thing gutted and cleaned out. Nope! My friend Nikki came over took one look and said ‘piece of cake’. With the help of Nikki, Aunt Sharon and Julie, we got the entire thing knocked out in one Saturday! Some stuff to keep, some to Rummage and 2 trips to the Dump and it’s a done deal! We could not have done it without the help of our wonderful family and friends. Now…the next obstacle – planning & doing a Garage Sale (ugh).

We just finished the 3rd Annual Rick Heck Memorial Golf Scramble in honor of Damon’s dad. We are yet to know what the numbers are, but we had fantastic weather and a great turnout. Again, we are so thankful for our wonderful friends who participated! And, especially to Aunt Sharon – if it weren’t for her, I don’t think the Scramble would happen.

Kylor is 2 – definitely 2! We have good days and bad days. Most days are good, but when he’s a stinker, watch out. Kylor doesn’t watch a lot of TV, but he does watch a tad bit in the mornings. I feel bad for the little guy– as soon as he finds a program he really likes, Disney changes the morning line-up…first came Jo Jo’s Circus and then the Imagination Movers. Now we have to find him something else to enjoy – again. He just doesn’t understand where his shows go. Ky loves to play outside – so he’s really been enjoying the Spring-like weather.

Have a warm and fuzzy, sunshine day!

Up & Down & All Around

We had quite the April Fool’s joke…NOT! About 1:00a on the morning of April 1st, I woke up to a wet spot in the bed. At first, I wondered if I’d wet the bed, but the placement wasn’t right – mid abdomen on my side. That’s when I realized that our waterbed had sprung its last leak. Last leak, you wonder…yes, in December we had a leak too. It was at that time that I got my hands on two of the only replacement waterbed tubes in the city of Great Falls. It was a pain to figure out which of the 8 tubes had a leak and at that time, Damon said that he would NEVER go thru the process again. Well, it’d been so long since we’d had a leak (4+ years) that I figured that Damon would forget about his promise by our next leak. 4-months just wasn’t long enough for him to forget. So, after 15-years in a waterbed, I purchased a ‘real’ mattress. What an adjustment that’s been! I haven’t had a great nights sleep since. And then there’s Damon – he claims that he is now getting the best sleep he’s had in years. Give and take, give and take.



Damon / Blue Mountain Curbing had a booth at the Home and Garden Show again this year. Damon believes that they recruit two-thirds of their summer business at the Home Show. As the weather starts to brighten up, the business starts to pick-up.



In April, Damon took his annual trip to Spokane over Easter weekend to play in a Hockey tournament. Kylor and I had to make due without him. We found plenty to keep ourselves busy. Kylor dyed Easter Eggs at Grandpa Don’s house with Uncle Kelly. On Easter Sunday, Ky got to join his cousins, Caprianna and Carter, for an Easter Egg Hunt at Grandpa Don and Grandma Denise’s house. Kylor had quite the kick. Fortunately, Damon did make it home in time for Easter dinner. As selfish as it is, I’m glad this was the last year for the Spokane tournament. It’ll be nice to have Daddy Damon home next Easter.
What’s new with my Ky-man this month? Well, for starters, he loves to sing about how much he loves his Grandma Julie. The other night I put him to bed only to hear him singing, ‘I love my Grandma Julie’ – over and over again. How cute is that? He’s quite the little lover – he’s got a couple of ‘babies’ that he loves to tend to and nurture. (I call them babies –Damon would croak if he knew that’s how I refer to them…to be more specific: Glow Worm, Curious George and other ‘male friendly’ toys). He really is such a good boy.



Until next time, God Speed.

Jump In...Come On, Let's Go...

My second attempt at blogging...

The Heck family has been bad, very bad about going to church over the last year. As promised to Reverend Peterson, we made our first appearance of the year in March. Unfortunately, the first hasn't been followed by a second appearance, but it was a start. We always have the best intentions to go - then life happens.

We attended the Appreciation Night at our newly-opened Ice Plex. We braved the chilling temperatures and went to mingle for a bit. I couldn't feel my feet by the time that we left and Kylor's fingers were inhumanly blue & that's not because mittens are not provided, but rather because Ky refuses to wear them - it must come with the age as Kylor's cousin Lilli was the same way. What did we get out of the Appreciation Night night other than learning how to dress warmer? We learned that Kylor is terrified to be out on the ice. Damon still has high-hopes for his little hockey boy...only timewill tell! By the time we'd fully defrosted from the Appreciation Night - it was time to bundle back up and go to Guns and Hoses the following night. Guns and Hoses is a local fund-raiser put on by the Police (Guns) and Fire (Hoses) Departments. Poor Kylor moved like a little stick man with his 2-pairs of pants, 2-shirts, big winter jacket, hat and mittens (yes, he wore mittens - that was the rule). While it's nice to have the Ice Plex, it certainly doesn't have enough seating for the crowd that attended. Good for the fund-raising aspect.

Some exciting news on the basement project we've been working on. We got to order flooring in March. Wahoo! I LOVE our new flooring...and paint. I could live in the basement- it's GREAT.

We all contracted the 'crud' this past month - kept us down and out for a couple of days each, however, Kylor's ended in a massive ear infection. Poor little guy. Fortunately or Unfortunately, he's not the complaining type so we didn't realize it until his ear was oozing. After a 2-1/2 hour wait to get in at the walk-in, we were off to get some healing potion. All is good now - thank goodness for good drugs.

This month's Leadership day was Energy, Transportation and Infrastructure. It was likely the most boring day of my life. R emember the teacher from Charlie Brown and Snoopy (wah, wah, wah, wah, wah)? That's what my entire day sounded like. A tour of the Refinery, Rainbow Dam and the Water Treatment Plant - just to name a few. I'll pass on this day next year.

What kind of Ky-isms do I have this month...well, he's a growing boy with agrowing personality and attitude. I'm reminded of 3 stories this month...1.) There is the night that Kylor wanted a drink of water before bed. Kylor had a glass of water before we read our bedtime stories so I felt as though he'd had enough to drink & I wanted to do what I could to prevent him from wetting the bed. When I explained that he wasn't going to have any more water that night, he proceeded to say, 'Mama. One...Two...Three. Spank a butt!" (That was my first clue that maybe I repeat that too many times). 2.) We went grocery shopping one night. Kylor was a very good boy considering it was 5p and he hadn't had dinner yet. A couple of times he got a little loud and mom had to remind him to use his 'inside voice'. After his second reminder, he looked at me, put his hand on his hip and said, 'Mama - you're bossy!' (Where do they pick this stuff up?) 3.) One evening Kylor was reading books (his favorite thing to do). I plopped down on the couch to watch a little TV and relax. Ky didn't like what I had chosen to watch. He told me several times, "Mama, I don't like it." Knowing he was doing his thing and I was doing mine, I ignored him. Big mistake! He responded by saying, "Mama, I don't like it - CHANGE THE CHANNEL PLEASE". (Well,okay).

March brought my 3-year anniversary at Mountain West Bank. It's been 3-great years and I'm hopeful for 3+ more!

That's it for now - Back in a few weeks...

Have a Blessed Easter!

January and February - In a Nutshell...

I have a few girlfriends that have been trying to convince me (for sometime now) to get into this blogging thing. I’ve conquered MySpace and I’m working on my masters in FaceBook. So, now, I guess it’s time to add a bachelors in Blogging. This wonderful world of technology…my, how its come along.

I try and post updates monthly on my networking sites, so at the veryleast, I’ll try and ‘blog’ at least monthly too. Here’s to my anti-MySpace, anti-FaceBook, blogging friends!

I’d like to pretend that I started this blog as a ‘New Year’s Resolution’ in January…it’s my blog, so I can pretend.

Quick recap: January and February in a Nutshell –

In January, I vowed to keep in better contact with my girlfriends. Seems life can just get away from me at times – as it does all of us. So, as part of this vow, my friends Kristie, Kylee and myself vowed to meet at least once a quarter for a ‘Jaker’s Night’ and whatever may follow. We had a super, nice time in January…here’s to our next ‘Jaker’s Night’.

We all had birthdays in January…Damon rolled another year – to 31; I turned29; our little Kylor turned 2! Holy-moly, where have the last two years gone? Very little celebrating was done for Damon and I – a simple dinner out is all. Ky, on the other hand, had a happening party. We were fortunate to be able to have his party at his Grandma Julie’s house (it’s more ‘space friendly’ than our home). Looking back, I think I may have lost my mind, but I invited a few of Kylor’s day-care friends (yes, we’ve entered that stage – inviting ‘friend’s' to birthday parties). It was a crazy, busy, quick party, but it was so much fun. Kylor wanted a Sesame Street birthday, but we did that for his 1st birthday so we both agreed on a Monkey party. He is my little monkey – so it seemed fitting. Sub sandwiches, cake and ice cream – who could ask for more?

In January I was educated about the local Health and Medical field in GreatFalls on my monthly Leadership Great Falls day. It was very interesting –a day I’d like to repeat again next year. It was much fun to go behind the scenes.

My little Bella is getting older and older. I realized this when I took her for her annual check-up and shots. Much to my surprise, Bella had a broken tooth and it was advised that we needed to have her tooth pulled.The day of her abstract, it was learned that Bella has two extra teeth that cats normally don’t have. She doesn’t need them – it’s a little abnormal (fits her personality though).

I know I say this over and over, but Kylor really does amaze me – so much. Everyday he sings ‘Happy Birthday’ to someone. His latest is ‘I love you much’. He’s quite the talker. He calls his dad by ‘Damon’ – I suppose that is because he hears everyone else call him by his name. We are still struggling with the potty training. I hear that boys are a little more difficult than girls, but holy cow – he went from having a tad bit of interest to no interest at all. They say I can’t push him to train though– so I won’t. I guess, when the time is right, he’ll let us know.

February was a little more ‘low-key’. Our niece Lilliana turned 2 – it just amazes me how fast these kids are growing.

We are in the process of finishing our basement – we were finally able to pick paint, flooring and furniture. I can hardly wait until it’s completely done and I have all of the extra ‘living space’. I was ready for a new house, but this will feel like we have a new house without the hassle of packing, moving and unpacking.

In February, I had a very interesting Government and Legal day with Leadership Great Falls. We got to observe a trial and tour the jail – VERY interesting. Another day I’d definitely like to participate in next year.

What’s new with my little man? Hmmm… He’s very vocal when he doesn’t like something – he’s quick to say, ‘I don’t like it’ – doesn’t matter if it’s food, clothes or a TV show. He has a very vibrant opinion. He LOVES to color – if he could do nothing more than color, he’d be content. And he’s become very interested in cooking – he loves to watch (and help) daddy any chance he gets.

Here it is end-March and I’m just finishing up my January and February blog. A few more days and I’ll be posting for March.

Keep in touch!