Giving Thanks

It's time for an "I'm thankful" message.  I didn't do the facebook daily thankful thing, although I am thankful, daily, for a ton of people and things, I wanted to take it as an opportunity to write.  So, in no particular order, and with at least a month's worth of thanks....

I am thankful for my family, including Ivan, Charlie, and Lucy.  I am thankful to have them, period, and thankful for their health, safety, and security.  We are fortunate to have family who is supportive of anything we choose to do, who is positive, and that we really truly enjoy spending time with.  To Ivan I am thankful to have my best friend.  We laugh and laugh and laugh every single day.  He is far more considerate and selfless than I am, a great encourager, and best of all loves me just the way I am.  I am thankful we had Lucy as long as we did and that she passed in her sleep so we didn't have to make any tough decisions for her, and I'm thankful Charlie is still here to unknowingly pick up the pieces! :)

I am thankful for the great group of friends we've accumulated throughout the mid-west, California, Arizona, and all over the world :)  Collecting good people is one of my favorite things.  I love keeping in touch with old friends and making new ones.  To our Arizona friends, I thank you for being fun, up for new things, for keeping your word, and for always being supportive.  To our California friends, thanks for always bringing the good times, giving us a place to crash, and for giving us a reason to get back to the ocean every so often.  To our mid-west friends, some of you have been around over 25 years....which just means we're getting old I guess....but thank you too for always being supportive, for making the trips out, for being the same people I became friends with years ago, no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other and no matter how long I've been gone :)  To my international friends, I am so thankful for your perspective on the world, for keeping in touch via email & skype, and for giving me places to travel to :)

I am thankful for our business.  We love our business because we have great products that really do make our life better (I'm thankful for XS which is the tastiest/healthiest energy drink on the planet.  I'm thankful for my light-up lipgloss which has been making my lips purty and providing a mini-flashlight when I need it.  I'm thankful for the meal replacement shakes which are delicious and allow me to have my every 2-3 hour snack even when I'm super busy!  I'm thankful for our skin care products for helping me get my skin in check.  I'm thankful for my lemon flavored "vitality" perfect water, which is yummy, fills me up, and gives me energy.)   We get to help people every day through products or by offering them a new life in starting their own business.  I'm thankful for the mentorship we get in business, from successful people who teach us how to be successful too, and more importantly, value being a good, upstanding, honest person.  I'm thankful that because of our business we get to dream bigger than we knew we could.  I'm thankful for the travel we get to do because of our business, and I'm thankful for the potential we have in our own life and the lives of anyone we want to help.

I'm thankful for our jobs.  While I'd rather not need one, I am happy to be in a position where I get to help people, I get to have fun, I get to make it what I want it to be (to an extent!), where I can change it up from hour to hour, where I can completely change up what I do by walking into a different setting.  I'm thankful my job is in high demand and pays well.  I'm thankful for school holidays & summer break.  I'm thankful for each student & patient I work with.  They at the same time are able to remind me of how good I have it, and also what's possible with some hard work.  And most of the time, make me laugh :)

I am thankful for our house.  I'm thankful we got it for a deal & then refinanced for an even better deal :) haha  I'm thankful our home has exactly what we need from it.  I'm thankful for the neighbors we've become friends with.  Since we're on location... I'm thankful for the Arizona weather, it keeps me happy!

The seemingly more frivolous things...

I am thankful for appletini's, massages, Target & Old Navy & Kohls, Nike shoes, Ho Ho's, pizza, mashed potatoes, my bed (It's the best bed in the world), trashy TV-most of my thanks in this department go to Bravo, MTV and E!.  I'm thankful for Las Vegas, which has become a third home, and the beach, and being only 5 hours from it; I'm thankful for chocolate chips which a handful of will quench my chocolate thirst; for Dirty Dancing-Beetlejuice-Steel Magnolias, DoubleTree beds & comforters & chocolate chip cookies; for my phone & the internet!; for sparkly things; I'm thankful my leader of choice is in office, and that we live in a country that can change leaders without a war; I'm thankful for music & comedy....

That's all I've got for now, although to sum it up I'm thankful for everyone & everything, both good & bad, for I know everything is just as it's supposed to be :)

Dreams, of the sleep variety

I have always been one who has very vivid dreams, but lately they seem even more vivid, and a little strange too...I am on some hormones which I'm guessing may be a contributing factor...haha  I've been dreaming a lot about the past, and people who have passed also.

For example, Friday night I had a dream that I was holding myself as a baby!  Yes, I was talking to baby Chelsey.  It was like I was back in time, my parents as younger selves, dropped baby me off to adult me to baby-sit.  Now, we could say that came partially from just finding out a friend was pregnant and going out to dinner with a friend and her baby earlier.  So, that explains the baby, but it wasn't just any baby, it was me!  I'm sure you could get really deep with meaning there if we wanted to...!

That same night I had a dream that Ivan & I were back in Jacksonville where we met, where Ivan went to college.  In my dream he had year left of school to finish.  So we moved back into the dorms.  I was sharing a room with Megan and Ivan had his own.  For some reason I was 'living' there but still had a job back in Bloomington (like it really was in college), and I was just going to drive down on the weekends to live with Megan & Ivan.  And, Erin Sessions was moving back in too.  She had all of her uncles and her boyfriend there to help her move in, and her Dad!  Erin's Dad passed a couple years ago and in my dream I was so excited to see him, Dave!  So we hugged, it really did feel like a lifetime since I had seen him ;)  Throughout the whole dream I kept saying to anyone who would listen, "I cannot believe I'm 27 and am living in a college dorm!"  Note to everyone-- I'm 30...  so that's weird! :)

Last night I of course had another series of dreams, one of which had my Grandma Spaulding there, holding a baby.  I had a dream about her earlier in the summer and she was holding a black baby.  I really do think she & Grandma Beehn are watching over our future children or something.  I dream about both my Grandmas quite a bit and it seems like every time it takes me a second before I'm like wait, I can't believe I'm seeing you right now!  If anyone reading this knows Grandma Spaulding, the only thing she ever says in my dreams-- because usually she is just there, holding a baby but not saying anything--remember how she would say, "Well."  Like if you told her something exciting or anything at all, almost like you're about to say, "Well I'll be..."....  but just the well?  She was saying that last night when she was holding this baby, trying to entertain the baby.  It's always so good to see them...

I had another dream that our group of friends from California were coming to visit.  Our friend Chad was so excited because he was bringing a box crusher to recycle boxes with this time...  He was advertising he needed a friend to come party and that "the position of box crusher was open from 4 p.m to 4 a.m!"

Lucy Lou the Maltipoo

Well friends, our little Lucy has lost her battle.  She passed in her sleep last night.  I really couldn't have asked for a better way for her to go, but I definitely didn't expect or want it to be this soon.  She's only 6 years old.

For those of you don't know, or want the details, here's what's been going on.  At the end of June it all started with Lucy just being mopey and not lifting her head up for about a day and a half.  This is so unlike her that I was already concerned and took her to the vet.  She was given a mild pain killer because we thought maybe she had pulled a muscle.  Then she started having spasms, losing control of her limbs, not very steady on her feet.  Back to the vet for blood tests (which came back normal), and a new medicine.  Shortly thereafter it turned into seizures.  With the advice of several friends I asked for a certain seizure med and it really did the trick.  After she adjusted to it she was up and walking, albeit with the new problem of low vision, she was eating/drinking, wagging her tail.  I was happy because as long as she was moving, and seizure free that was a good quality of life.  We can deal with blindness as long as she can move & eat.  In the past week she started to regress a little.  She wasn't walking anymore, and started to cry and seize/spasm again.  Although they were very short.  I knew this was a possibility, and if we were going to live with seizures that were only seconds long that was ok with me. 

We had a vet appointment last night anyway for a check-up and to get more seizure meds.  About 20 minutes before her appointment she started screaming, crying, spasming, seizing--I'm honestly not completely sure what it is...it lasted for like an hour & a half-- only started to end by the time we were leaving the vet.  On the way to the vet I was thinking this may be it, but the vet didn't seem as concerned...so we had decided to try a steroid in addition to her seizure med.  Basically give that about a week or 2 and if that didn't help then we would  know we're dealing with something only a neurologist could diagnose.  I had asked if the things a neuro could diagnose are even treatable, some things were, most were not.  So in my mind if we got to that point we'd be looking at how do we make her comfortable or how do we know when it's the end.... I had definitely thought to myself over the past 6 weeks at different points that I would really hate to have to make that decision for her, but I was prepared to if we needed to, but I'd much rather she just didn't wake up....  

When we got home from the vet she had calmed down and seemed realllly tired.  Which I figured she would be after a long seizure (or whatever it was).  We gave her the meds, and she just rested.  Occasionally crying out, but nothing long again.  By the time we went up to bed I told Ivan when I was carrying her up that her breathing was really labored & shallow.... so I was a little concerned, but also knew she was exhausted, heavily drugged, and she had been snoring & things lately anyway.  I held her for a bit, laid her down & then I laid down and about 5 minutes later I couldn't hear her labored breathing.  I watched her and didn't see her breathing, but wasn't sure if it was just my eyes, so then I called up Ivan and after awhile of convincing ourselves we weren't just seeing things realized that was it... so we just wrapped her up in a towel with her head out and let her sleep next to the bed.  Today will bring figuring out what you do with a pet when you don't live on a farm & in the desert!  Back home this is a no-brainer...

I had several dreams last night that we were wrong.  That we woke up and she was breathing, and better than that acting herself.  I really did think I heard her breathing or crying a few times in the night and I would wake up to look at her just to be sure.  We only told a few people last night and I really wanted to text them this morning and say, aw, we're idiots, she was just breathing really quietly and slowly, she's fine! (Still hoping actually).

I do know this much, even if the vet said she probably hasn't been in pain, I think she has, at least in the past week.  I'm a big believer in looking at quality of life, and even in the past week have wondered if this was a life worth living.  So I know she's far better off.  And especially after my dream where she was her happy, spunky, self.  She hasn't been that in 6 weeks.  

So we're going through the things you go through when you lose anyone you love...  I just miss her.  I always had some hope she would eventually be herself again, and even if she wasn't I could deal if I could still talk to her and had some kind of quality of life.  Someone asked me once which dog I loved more, which of course, like any parent I love them equally but I do love them differently.  Charlie I love like a child, she is a perpetual puppy who needs mothering and play.  Lucy I love like a best friend, more like an equal.  I feel so bad for Charlie.  Although she has seemed pretty oblivious through all of this, Lucy was still always there.  And of all the dogs in the world, Charlie was never meant to be independent.  

So, we'll be happy for the time we had, try not to question too much why (although my guess is the episode she had before we got to the vet, she just couldn't recover from.  The vet had given us some valium to give her if another long episode started, but I think that was the one).  

Hold your puppies close, don't get too mad at them! haha  Over the past 6 weeks all I've wanted is for her to do some annoying thing she always did....constantly grooming, licking the carpet, standing underfoot in the kitchen (Charlie has successfully stepped into this role since Lucy wasn't able!)

So last night, she 'slept' next to the bed, we cried, and listened to "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds".... :)

Summer's Over

We go back to work tomorrow (although this came as a surprise, I will accept the challenge in the name of increasing my bank account), and I'm thinking to myself...I did nothing this summer.  I usually go home for a couple weeks and visit friends & family, at the minimum, but I keep thinking, "Man, I just sat around a lot."  So I decided to really look back at the summer and see where it went...

To kick off the summer we had a Memorial Day cookout which was a lot of fun.  We had some new faces in the mix and played a lot of Phase 10.  Later that week we went out with friends bowling at the new bowling alley in Surprise.  This was so much fun!  We went out to celebrate with a friend I haven't seen in 3 years so it was great to catch up and meet some new people.  We really hit it off with all of her friends as well.  The following night we were out for dinner & more bowling for another birthday.  Always a good time :)

As I wrote about in a previous post, I also had the chance to do some volunteering delivering meals to seniors in the area.  It was a great experience and I'm sure I'll help them out when I have time.  I also had a couple favorites, one of which I exchanged numbers with.  I would really like to go visit her from time to time and she really enjoys it too.  What I learned is that although a lot of them are lucky to be living independently, there is a lot of potential to be lonely.  So why not go visit here & there?

Ivan's dad & his wife came to visit, so that was fun.  I do really like showing people around AZ and listening to them go on about the heat! haha 

In June we also grew our business adding a partner and having their grand store opening.  That was a lot of fun.  I'm always happy to have the business grow & am excited to see what it is to come for them!

I also finally caught up with my friend Kametia.  We hadn't seen each other in quite some time so we spent the day together.  Another fun thing is that Kametia was in need of a wedding dress for her upcoming wedding.  I happened to have an extra one lying around...doesn't everyone?  See I ordered it for my wedding (it was inexpensive, and from China).  I loved the dress online but when it came it just didn't fit me right.  I decided to hold onto it and maybe alter it in the future into a party dress or something, but 2 years later I still haven't.  It just so happened to fit Kametia perfectly!  I'm happy to have given her a dress for her special day, and not only that, it's something old (to me), new (to her), and technically borrowed :)  Not too bad!  And she looked great in it!

In July we took our trip to Colorado which I think I already wrote about, and the following weekend we had our 7 friends from Cali visit.

Outside of that, I worked at least a few days a week each week in skilled nursing which has been a great experience.  And, been a nurse to our dog Lucy.  Late in June she started having seizures so it's been a long process to get her back to eating, drinking, moving, and finding the right medication.  She's improved in a lot of ways, but I don't think she'll ever be herself again.  So that is still an ongoing concern that we're dealing with.

I think that's it in a nutshell!  Although I'm heading back to work tomorrow I still consider summer fun until Labor Day....  this coming weekend we're going to Spokane, Washington for a business conference.  That will be fun because I love hotels :)  Especially the DoubleTree.  And, the last week of August my parents are coming to visit & we'll head to Vegas, so still some fun to be had in the next month :)

Home Delivered Meals

So, since I wasn't going home this summer I decided to do some volunteering which I haven't done in awhile it seems like.  We got an email at school from this local organization asking for any teacher volunteers so I took the bait.  A couple days a week I go to this place, pick up the meals, and they give me my route for the day.  Typically I always have the same route on Tuesdays, sometimes it's a different one on Wednesdays.  Usually I have about 6-8 stops.  All of the clients are seniors, and maybe a handful with disabilities, who either can't leave their homes to drive, shouldn't be cooking, just don't want to cook, whatever the reason.  Some of them just had operations or something like that.  They are always so appreciative of the service & have been really wonderful to get to know.  I have some favorites, I know you shouldn't :)  I have one who always likes to update me on her recent doctor's appointments and the progress of her illness.  Another who is 94 and still living on her own.  Recently she's been having some falls and tells me she's been sleeping more, and that she just wants to go in her sleep, so I'm not gonna lie, every time I go to her house I'm worried about what I will find.  I have another client with dementia.  We already know that there's always a possibility she won't be home, she has a tendency to walk around the neighborhood *so dangerous!*  But she has notes all over the house "Don't do this, do that, etc".  Every time I pull up she says "Oh I can't pay you,"  I tell her she doesn't have to and I take the food in.  She's always so surprised that someone is bringing her food.  The first time I came in there was a loud whistling coming from the kitchen.  So I get in there and she goes "oh what's that noise?"  I tell her I think she has made some tea so she moves it, and I remind her to turn the stove off; so scary to think what if I didn't come that day??  When we drop off the food they have to initial that they received it...she didn't know her initials.  So now I tell her what letters to write from the get-go.  And I always tell her "Lock this door when I leave!"  Obviously the point is to get them their food but it's as volunteers we are also to be aware of what's going on---is the a/c on and working?  Have they been eating?  So far so good.  It's been fun and not only that, it gets me up & moving on summer days where who knows how much time I could have wasted...! This week is my last week delivering so I think I might let a couple of them know I might swing by sometime just to say hi, I'll miss 'em!

I miss this place

I'm not blaming facebook...but since the introduction of status updates, yes years ago, my blogging fell off. It's not that I don't like to write anymore, I do, I just don't feel the need. So last night I was looking through old blog stuff and for the millionth time realized I miss it, and more importantly, how much I love reading through old things. There's so much I wrote about on there that I just completely forgot about. So many details of vacations and reunions and stuff like that. The last time I wrote was the wedding...clearly, a thing or two has occurred since then. The sad part being, since I didn't write about it I don't remember all the wonderful things that have happened since then! I'll do my best to briefly recap the highlights & important moments.

Labor Day weekend 2010 we went to Vegas for our friends' Clint & Shiloh's wedding which was beautiful and so much fun :) Kara nearly got into a fight (I totally would have had her back had she needed it...although I don't think she believes me. I was just waiting in the wings 'til I was needed, didn't want to make it worse by springing into action too soon). All ended well in case you are wondering. A couple weeks later we were back in Vegas for our friend Kristin's birthday, another fantastic time as usual, spent with great friends :)

In November 2010 Ivan & I started our own online business called Great Expectations. We sell all kinds of amazing products. What has really been great about this business is the mentorship we get. Outside of business, all the people in this organization are just good people, who want to help everyone succeed, and most importantly have great character. People live on principle and with purpose, they do what's right, and they have their priorities in line. It helps Ivan & I stay focused on our goals, even outside of the business, doing things like paying down debt, and helps us just be better. One of the big things in the business is just sticking to your word and honoring commitments, so we have become so much better at that, in my humble opinion :) The business has proven to be fun, although hard work, and we hope to stick with it long enough to really have some success.

In December 2010, my Grandma Spaulding passed away kind of unexpectedly. That hit me pretty hard because as awful as Alzheimers is, I had kind of long goodbyes with my other grandparents who had passed previously. You certainly don't want anyone to go through that and it's awful to watch, but I still felt a little more prepared or maybe at peace with it when they passed. With my Grandma Spaulding I really didn't see it coming and I'm still not convinced it was her time. Who am I to argue with that I guess, but it's just a feeling. What I am so thankful for is the last time I spent with my Grandma. I was on my way home to Heyworth after spending the weekend in St. Louis at Ivan's family reunion (which was awesome). I was just feeling very family oriented, loved, sentimental, all of that, so I stopped in McLean to visit my Grandma, which as many times as I passed through McLean getting off 55 to 136 over the years, I should have seen her dang near every weekend! But that day I did stop and I'm so thankful. I took her pictures from the wedding for her to have. And she & I watched the wedding DVD so she got to see the ceremony & all of the fun details--and now that I think about it, I think outside of Ivan & I she's about the only other person to really see the whole video... it played in the background at our reception in Heyworth, but it wasn't like anyone was watching word for word. Anyway, then I just really wanted to go to the cemetery to see where my Grandpa Spaulding was buried, which I don't think I had done since the funeral. So I took my Grandma out there and we visited Grandpa. All of this was just so out of the ordinary and I can't help but believe that there was definitely a reason I felt like I needed to stop, spend that time, and go visit Grandpa with her. Because it would be the last time I saw her. I did talk to her on her 80th birthday on the phone and asked her how it felt to be 80, she said "Oh, I didn't think I'd make to this age!" She passed later that month. Still miss her and my other grandparents quite a bit. I have a couple wind chimes that I had bought her while traveling that now hang here in Arizona and anytime they blow we know it's Grandma saying hi. And the other funny thing is I actually dream about her & Grandma Beehn relatively frequently. Some people believe when you dream about someone who has passed that it is them coming to say hi. I think I choose to believe that. It's a nice thought & I love getting to see them. I had one dream where Grandma Spaulding was just holding a little black baby--maybe she knows something I don't know? :) haha

I'm sure I'm missing a lot of fun times, but we were back in Vegas in March 2011 for Kara's sister's birthday (Katie). What else can I say? Another fantastic time :)

In April 2011, a big group of us did the Warrior Dash, which is a 5k with obstacles along the way, like climbing a net, running over cars, jumping over fire, and crawling through a mudpit. At the end of it there's a concert, you get this little warrior helmet, munch on a giant turkey leg. Good times were had :) And to anyone thinking about doing it-- the obstacles were fun, not difficult, you could do it!

Summer 2011 Ivan & I went on a road trip with his mom & Aunt Ruth after the family reunion in Tennessee. We traveled to New Orleans, which I have always wanted to go. It was a quick trip but we covered the basics--Bourbon Street, saw where Katrina damage is still present, went to a cemetery (the cemeteries there are above ground--in some really old ones you could see inside the tombs), went and had some chicken & waffles, and stopped in Mississippi on the way home to do some gambling. It was a great trip; I'm happy to have been to New Orleans and would love to go back someday and do a little more exploring and some volunteering too. Also spent a lot of time at home that summer. I was home at the right time and got to watch all my nephews & niece in their baseball & softball tournaments which was pretty fun-- actually gave me more of an appreciation for the sport watching them :) And I took them geocaching which was great too. Also made it up to Iowa for my friend Breigh's wedding, it was beautiful of course.

Oh of course, I almost forgot also, in early summer 2011 Kara, Liz, and I went to California for a few days. We stayed with Breigh and I took the girls to many of my favorite places (Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood, La Brea Tar Pits) and some new places too- we went to a taping of Chelsea Lately & out to dinner in Newport Beach. It was good to be back in Cali visiting my favorite places & seeing old friends too, while showing some first timers all the fun stuff.

Also in June, we had a little anniversary party and 5 of my friends from home flew in. We all stayed out at the resort, went tubing on the Salt River with about 20-30 people, went to Martini Ranch to watch Rock Lobster, and just hung out at the resort. It was so much fun to get everyone together and just have a blast. So thankful I have great friends :)

Late in the summer I went up to Portland for a business conference. Ivan wasn't able to make it but I had a great time. After the conference I went to Seattle for a few days with Rowena. I really enjoyed the northwest & would love to spend some more time in Seattle specifically. I just thought it was a really clean, nice, cool city. Ivan & I found ourselves back in Portland in November for another business trip and we got to see a bit more of the city, beautiful!

Back to Vegas for Thanksgiving in 2010. This was a different kind of trip. We didn't go to party necessarily. We went to Fremont Street which I fell in love with. It's so different than the strip, so laid back and just plain fun. We did some shopping, I FINALLY say the fountains at the Bellagio! Yes it took that many visits before I had time to go see the fountains! I loved them! I could have watched for days I think.

In December 2011, Ivan lost his Grandma Herron. She had been through just about everything under the sun over the past years and always came through everything. Unfortunately she had quite a few obstacles and couldn't overcome this time. So, Ivan went home for almost 2 weeks. I'm happy he got to spend all that time with his family as he doesn't get to be home as much as I do, and I know it was great for all of them during that time. At Christmas Ivan went to Texas to his sister's house, and I went home. We decided that would be our last year doing Christmas separately-- we've NEVER spent Christmas together! haha It's about time :) It's not so bad when he's in St. Louis and I'm in Heyworth because we can easily see other later in the day or the following day or something, but when he was in Texas and I was in Illinois is when we really felt it ya know? So we'll figure it out this year. I'm hoping we can maybe with his family on Christmas Eve and early Christmas morning, and then go to my family for Christmas Day/Evening...we'll see! :)

 In March 2012 my parents came out for Spring Break as usual. We did a ton around the house...I suppose really I should say that THEY did a ton around the house haha And then we took them to Vegas for their first time, which is one of my favorite trips to Vegas ever! It was fun to watch them see everything for the first time. We went to Fremont Street and had fried twinkies, we took them to see the Beatles LOVE--which is the most amazing show EVER!, we went to the gun store so Ivan & Dad could shoot machine guns, we walked the strip, saw the fountains at the Bellagio, and played some slots-- it was actually my most successful trip ever on the slot front :)

In May 2012 we were back to Vegas for my 30th birthday! I had a few friends from home fly in (THANK YOU!!), friends from Cali drive in, and lots of AZ friends go up to celebrate. Ivan & I went to see Zumanity (after seeing LOVE I am a huge cirque du soleil fan), and we also went zip lining which was super fun. Again, I have to say, we have THE greatest friends. Everyone is fun, drama free, always there for each other, and we all come through.

Ivan & I made a decision to not go home this summer so we could focus on some business things, save some money, and because I started working in skilled nursing facilities back in December, so I wanted to get some more experience over the summer. I work for a couple different places, one in particular has been a really great fit. At first I was beyond scared to work in a different setting than with kids. All I've done since I graduated is work with kids (except for a few months in California, where I really didn't learn anything because I was just thrown in & that's what I was so afraid of this time too). Anyway! I've really come to enjoy it quite a bit, although my preference is still working in the schools. I really like most of the patients I work with (you'll always have those stinkers, no matter their age or ability!). It's nice to have conversations with them about their life and you really do hear some amazing things. Not only that, I am so much more comfortable now with the idea of working with more physically involved kids after having worked on the physical side of things with adults. A lot of the time in the schools my work is more on visual perceptual skills, sensory processing, and fine motor skills, so it's different. It's been fun, boosted my confidence, and of course the money isn't bad either :)

Ivan's dad and his wife came to visit in June. They have never been out to see us so that was a nice visit! We got them a room at the resort where we were married and they really enjoyed staying there. I had to work some of the time they were here so Ivan got to take them shopping some and they got to see our house. We also had some great meals out, good conversation, went to Scottsdale, and to see University of Phoenix Stadium.

 This summer we went to Colorado for a few days. Neither of us have ever been so that was fun, and we haven't been on a road trip (outside of the New Orleans trip), so that was nice just to spend time together & have fun. The scenery was amazing as I'm sure you would expect. We went to stay with our friend Shiloh is who is originally from there but now lives in AZ, and has become a business partner with us. So, we went to do some business things with her up there with her friends & family and do some quick sightseeing too. We visited Royal Gorge, which is home to the world's highest suspension bridge. We also went to the Olympic Training Center, to the Air Force Academy, and to this place called Cave of the Winds. We got to go down in some caves and hear the history, see the sights. Pretty cool. Nice to get away for a few days too, and business is actually always fun as well.

Just before heading off to Colorado our dog Lucy got sick. We're still not quite sure what has been going on with her but I'm hopeful, again, that we're on the mend. It started with her just not being herself for a couple days, moving slow, keeping her head low. Then she had some spasms, and eventually she started having seizures. She's tried several different medications. The one she is on now seems to have gotten rid of the seizures, and the side effects are wearing off so she is starting to walk around. However, I'm worried throughout all of this illness she has lost some vision... She's not eating well either and that is my other concern. For right now there are more positives than negatives so we'll see what happens. If we need to we'll head to a neurologist but for now we're just seeing what happens!

 This past weekend 7 of our friends from California came to town. This group is so much fun!! We met them through another AZ friend and everyone just hit if off and have become closer over the years. Typically we see this crew in Vegas and we were lucky enough to host them this year on their visit to AZ. We had so much fun hanging in the pool, going tubing on the Salt River, and going out to eat. It was so nice to have more time with all of them that just in the club where we normally are. I loved getting to know everyone better and to have those great conversations. I'm excited for years to come of traveling, fun, and getting closer with everyone.

 That should just about do it for the moment :) Here's to hoping I stick with it more, I really do love writing, to nobody in particular, and more importantly keeping track of these details for myself.