Happy 2009!

Happy 2009!!! New Year's Eve was spent pretty mellow. My parents and my brother had been talking about coming out to Salt Lake to visit, but during the day on New Year's Eve, my Dad called to say the flights were impossible on his airline and they weren't going to make it out. The hardest part was getting my brother here. My parents can fly on different airlines, but he can't. At some point, he must have told them it would be okay if they went without them, so my parents called to say they would try to make it out on the 1st! So, I spent New Year's Eve relaxing until Gregg got home from work a little early, around 10:00 pm. We rented a movie and spent the night with each other! We even paused it for a 12:00 smooch! :-) It was nice. The next day, my parents did make it in around 2:00 pm and we had a wonderful couple days together! Gregg went to work early that day so he could go to dinner with all of us that night. The next day was my 17 week OB appointment to check up on everything and my parents got to hear the heartbeat! It was so great! I had my blood draw to test for disorders like Down Syndrome and Spina Bifida, etc. We'll have to see how those turn out when the results come back. We all went bowling and had some fun! My parents just happened to be in town the night of the Sugar bowl, Utah v. Alabama and we all had a GREAT time watching that! Utah proved most of the country wrong and beat Alabama, 31-17! When nobody thought we could do it, it was a great win for Utah!

After the game was over, my parents broke some news to Gregg and I. Our family dog, Rocco (Paco as I loved to call him), had finally come to the point he needed to be put down. They had to do it a couple days after Christmas and wanted to tell us in person. He had been sick for quite some time and they had really gone above and beyond in doing everything they could to prolong his life. They thought about doing this a while back so I was somewhat prepared for the emotions, but he got better, so they didn't go through with it at the time. But the time had come. He wasn't eating, but he was still throwing up constantly. And my parents said that even though he would not typically leave the deck in the back yard anymore in the winter, twice, he had taken off and headed below the retaining wall behind the pool and wouldn't come back when called. They believe, and I want to believe, that he knew it was his time and was looking for a place to die. Even though I knew this was coming, it didn't hurt much less. I'm sure it is very hard for my family to have to come home each day and have him not be there and knowing he won't be there the next time I visit home breaks my heart. But I guess this is all a part of having family pets. In my family, they have always truly become a part of the family and each loss has been difficult. But I find comfort in knowing my parents did everything they could and we all loved him very much. It was his time.

It's back to work on Monday after some great time off here and there over Christmas and New Years! We spent some wonderful time with Gregg's family in Wyoming, all of the Australians that came to visit, and my parents when they came to town! I wasn't able to see my brother, but he's been talking about coming out to visit for the first time and snowboard! So, we're really hoping that will work out this year! I might not be able to board with them this year, but Jeff would really love the mountains here! Happy 2009 to all who read this and we hope 2009 brings you many amazing blessings!