Birthday and Easter celebration

A few weeks ago we celebrated Brandon's b-day at his mom's in Mt. Pleasant with his family and some yummy food. It was a cold, rainy Saturday, but luckily that led to a beautiful sunny Easter Sunday! We had a wonderful dinner at my parent's house, and Easter games. We love getting together with our families!

Spring Riding

This is what I love... riding powder and music. Well, yesterday I got both. This season I haven't exactly gotten as many days in as I would like, but the spring has treated me very well. I rode the Canyons last weekend with my sis, and yesterday AS my sis. Being an identical twin has it's advantages. We just had a big storm this last week and there was still some powder to be had on this beautiful sunny spring day, the "pond-skimming" contest was going on, and the Wailers were playing at the end of the day. I had so much fun, and my husband was nice enough to take the responsibility for the day so I could play!

Saying Goodbye to "Gramps"

This has been one of the hardest weeks ever. On Saturday evening we got the sad news that Brandon's grandpa had passed away- this was a shock to all of us, because he was so healthy and active and vibrant- we thought we had many more years with Gramps. Apparently he died peacefully in his sleep with his arms folded, sitting in his chair with the morning paper. This has brought comfort to many of us.

Yesterday was the funeral service and it was such a wonderful tribute to a kind, compassionate and loving man. Brandon's family has been an incredible strength and support through this ordeal, and we will continue to lean on each other as we will still go through tough times ahead. But we have also had moments of laughter and smiles as we reminisce about fond memories and watch home videos of Gramps. It was wonderful to hear his familiar voice on video again and hear how lovingly he spoke to his kids and grandkids.

Gramps was an accomplished professional trumpet player, he was a member of the Phoenix jazz and swing band, and gave many thousands of performances over the years and recorded 8 albums. He was an avid tennis player, won many tournaments and was still playing several times a week at age 82! He gave over 5,000 hours of service at the VA in his retirement, after working many years in this organization. He made time for his family and friends, calling his daughters who live far away every single day. We were lucky to have a birthday celebration together just 3 weeks ago and had a nice family gathering. Jesse spent most of his time with his sweetheart Nancy, who had become the family's adopted grandma. She is such a sweet lady and we are all lucky to know her too.

Brandon and I have become a lot closer through this experience and it is wonderful to be part of such a great family. If we could all be like Gramps, this world would be a better place. Brandon has said many times that he will try to follow the example of this wonderful man, and we resolve to make more time and not take one minute for granted that we have with our loved ones here on earth. So go see your grandparents, or call them on the phone and tell them you love them. Take time to listen to their stories and learn from this incredible generation that won't be around for too much longer. We will miss you Jesse Carter, but know that we will be together again someday!

Funny Stuff

If you haven't ever checked out this website "Stuff White People Like" I suggest you go to it immediately. I laugh out loud reading this stuff, and usually it's at work when it's slow, and really quiet, and I feel a little silly. My favorite one so far, obviously because I have dogs now, is this one.

Speaking of, Coal and Zoe are so dang cute, and getting bigger by the minute.

They are 8 weeks old now, are potty-trained for the most part, and are learning to follow commands and getting into a better routine. I think it's Brandon and I that have been trained better for that. I never would have thought I'd ever become a dog lover, but these two have grown on me, and now I can't imagine life without them!

Celebrate for as long as possible

Wendi's mom said it best, "You aren't through celebrating until the last party." And February is full of several birthday parties. Of course I share my b-day with my twin sister, but also several close friends and family members have birthdays in February as well. So we have several occasions to go out to dinner, have family dinners, friend dinners, and even go out of town to celebrate in Brianhead ski resort. This is the longest standing tradition among friends. We have been going to Aubree's cabin in Brianhead ski resort for 9 years in a row now, and we plan to continue this forever hopefully!

This year, the President's Day weekend also shared Valentines Day, so I felt extra guilty leaving Brandon home to take care of our new puppies while I went to play with my friends. But he was so sweet about it, and it was nice to get some sleep and a break from my little ones. We had many yummy meals, late night talks, sledding championships on the huge sledding hill, and wonderful memories made! Oh, and we aren't through celebrating yet, we have our combined family dinner planned for next week since mom was sick for our actual birthday! 

Daddy-daughter date

For the past several years, whenever the Irish dance troupe comes to town, my dad has taken me to see Riverdance and this last weekend we saw Lord of the Dance. We both absolutely love celtic music and the unique and wonderful Irish dancing!

But mostly I love the time I get just with my dad. We share dinner together before and talk about all the things going on in our busy lives. We have such an amazing relationship, and I feel like we can talk about ANYTHING at all. He is such a great listener, gives me perspective and advice or whatever I need without sounding preachy or telling me what to do. I look up to my dad and hope I can be like him with my kids. I love my dad and he is my hero!

Are we crazy or what?

So, instead of bringing home one puppy, we brought two! We loved Coal, but then this sweet little girl, Zoe, melted our hearts too, and we couldn't decide- so we now have two puppies at home! We thought they could keep each other company- and they certainly do. But they are sure keeping us busy, and sleep-deprived! It's a lot of work, but also lots of fun. They have very different personalities and Zoe often picks on Coal (I think she's trying to make up for her small size in attitude).

Our little buddies make us happy and we look forward to the days when a.) they are potty-trained b.) they don't need to be let out every 2 hours and c.) they are trained and can come on all of our adventures with us.
If you want your puppy fix, come on up and play with us!