The United States Coast Guard

Our ward scouts lined our streets with flags for Flag Day on Saturday. As I sat outside watching the dogs and all the flags blowing in the wind I thought of all the brave soldiers over sees and what they are doing for our country. My youngest brother Derek left for coast guard boot camp last week. I am so proud of him. My other brother Dan is already in the Coast Guard and is loving it. He is stationed in Astoria, Oregan. He is specializing in many areas of the coast guard. Most recently he passed his swim and written test for dive rescue. I am sure most of you have seen the movie The Guardian with Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner. If not it is a must see good movie. He has also been trained as a police officer and sharp shooter. He spends his off time surfing and fishing so life must not be to rough for him. Hopefully Derek is able to be stationed near Dan. I think it would be a great experience for both of them.

I am very proud of my brothers and also of my cousins. Right now both of my brothers and 2 of my cousins are in the military. My cousin Logan was in the Army, Mike is in the Marines and I hear that my youngest cousin Tim might also be joining the marines. How brave. I think it is great that they are following in my grandpas foot steps and joining the military.

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy father's day to our wonderful fathers Brett, Bruce, and Corey! Also, to the rest of the wonderful fathers in our family, brothers, uncles, grandpas, and cousins. We hope everyone has a great day and we love you! And to my wonderful husband we love you very much and are so thankful for everything you do for us.

Josh has found a new job in the Union. He now works for Positive Power and he loves it. It is a smaller company so he feels a little more valuable. They specialize in UPS and back up power systems. He is a foreman now which means better pay and a truck. Thank goodness! He is much happier now because he gets to work indoors most of the time and doesn't have to drive to Park City anymore. Since he has a company truck we don't have to worry about gas prices which is a great relief. I have been taking the bus and trax to work so we have been saving a couple hundred bucks a month on gas. I am sure that it is hard for Justin and Tiff not to have a car in Italy but it is great compared to the alternative right now. We just happened to buy Bretts truck at the perfect time. Unfortunately it doesn't get to leave the driveway very often :)

Things are looking up and getting better. Josh is happy with his job which makes him much happier at home also. I just got a raise and am a coordinator at the lab now. Thanks Justin for helping me get a geatnjob at IHC. We are looking at buying a house further North. We love Bountiful but it is way to expensive here. The duplex is just to much for us. It was a great thought at the time but we just don't have the time or money to keep it up. I look forward to living in a house again with our own yard and room for us and our crazy dogs. Thanks mom for all your hard work this past week. It helped out a lot and I really enjoyed spending so much time with you.

Happy Fathers day again and we love you all!

Another Dog Show!

We had another dog show this weekend and again our dogs did great! Leila got second in her age group in confirmation and Trajen got 3rd in his weight group and pulled 10 times his weight. I showed Leila for best black nose. She was so hyper and excited that I couldn't get her to stay still. The whole time she was pulling away from me and trying to get to Trajen. All she wanted to do was play. So of course the judge wouldn't even look at her. At least she was having fun right! Trajen did great in weight pull. I had to pull him once because Josh was showing Leila in confirmation. I was really worried that he wouldn't listen to me because he usually pulls with Josh. Just when I was starting to get him to pull his time was up. I was so excited because I really tought he wouldn't even move for me, then he gets going and his time was up. Oh well, I know that he was really tired. He tried his best. He isn't into it as much as Leigh is. By the end of the day we were all sooo tired. When we got home Leila, Josh and I passed out on the couch watching the movie Juno ( good movie)and Trajen passed out on the floor. He is so funny! We still haven't got our air fixed so the dogs get really hot. So to cool himself down Trajen will sprawl out on the hardwood floor.

The dogs shows are always so much fun and it keeps Josh and I busy. I really do enjoy the dog shows. There are so many great people and everyone is willing to help and love their dogs and others for what they are. It doesn't matter to me if my dogs win first as long as they are having fun because I know they are great dogs.

I know my life is crazy right now having three dogs but I wouldn't give them up for anything. Right now they are my children. I always laugh because all my friends and family blog about their children. My children our my dogs. My dogs, my husband and of course Alyssah are my life and they are what keep me going everyday. Life can be rough but without everyone in my life I am not sure how I could do it. Hopefully someday I will be blessed with children but if not I will still be happy with all the wonderful blessings I have been given!

Long, Fun Weekend!!

Wow! What a weekend. We started off our weekend with my dad who flew in from Nebraska on Wednesday night. I am so glad that he was able to visit Salt Lake. My little brother had a little going away party at a restaurant he has been working at. He has some really cool friends. We then left for Montrose on Friday for my little sisters high school graduation. On the way down we stopped to see Tyler at the hospital. He is doing much better. He has opened his eyes and is looking around. They still don't consider him awake because he is not recognizing things. They described it as the lights being on but no one home. They have started a little therapy with him, taking him outside, trying to get him to eat, and move his arms and legs. It will take some time but he is improving. It felt really good to see his eyes open. Every little movement he made made me smile. I can see a little relief in my step dad. He just wants to hear him say something.

On Saturday we drove up to Black Canyon National Park. It was the first time my dad had been up there. It is so beautiful! I have been up there many times and it is always an amazing sight. Josh did everything he could to scare the crap out of me. Climbing on cliffs, one slip and he would be a goner.

Then we moved on to my sisters graduation. She is 9 years younger than me so it sure made me feel old. The ceremony was nice. It was outside so it was hard to hear but it was a beautiful day. She is going to be attending Weber State so I am really excited to have her so close. She already has plans for us to work out and get buff. She is definitely motivating. She is a soccer player so she will be sure to keep me motivated. I love my husband but it will be nice to have someone to do adult girl things together. Being that we are so far apart in age we haven't gotten to spend a lot of time together. Alyssah is really excited too. She keeps asking when Megan is going to be moving down here.

Well, it was a busy and fun weekend but all good things must come to an end. I think this is the first time I was a little anxious to get home. Of course I changed my mind as soon as I got home to my crazy dogs and real life. It was hard for me and Josh to get up on Tuesday but tried to remember that we only had to work 4 days this week. My dad will be here until Wednesday so we are going to try and take him up to Weber State so he can see where Meg will be going to school. I am sure he is going a little crazy with all the action at my house with the dogs. He isn't use to all the hussle and bussel and I know he is missing his wonderful wife. I love you dad and am really glad that I was able to spend so much time with you. Love you!!

Alyssah

Alyssah got a digital camera for her birthday and it is fun to see life through a 7 year olds eyes. She changed when she turned seven. She grown up so much. She is still sarcastic and tests the waters at times but she is a really good girl. She completes her sentences and speaks like an adult. Shes completely independent. She use to get up at 7 on the weekends and just stare at us till we got up. Now she gets up, gets dressed (doesn't always match), plays in her room or watchs tv and waits for us to get up. Gifts get alot more expensive when kids get older and they are asking for more expensive things. Of course she is still into Barbies and dresses but she has moved on to Hannah Montana instead of princess. She really makes me laugh. Being a step mom I really worry that she might hate me when shes get older but I sure do enjoy spending time with her now. She makes life interesting and fun. When else would you be able to play games and dress up for hours!

Thank You!

I wanted to say Thank You for everyones prayers and support for my step brother. Tyler is getting better each day. He had a bit of a rough weekend! He has been on a respiratory and got pneumonia. They tried taking him out of sedation but his blood pressure and heart rate went up and he was having a hard time breathing. But this week has gone much better. He has started to open his eyes a bit and follow people around the room. He has also been moving a bit more. He is not talking yet so they are not sure how neurologically he is doing. He isn't coughing as much so they think his pneumonia is is getting better. It is a long process and they are not sure of the exact results but at least he is opening his eyes. For all of my family and friends that ride ATV, dirt bikes, etc. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE wear your helmets. Tyler is only 18 yrs old and I know that he was thinking that a short fun ride would never end like this. He may not be the same person he once was but he is very luck he survived since most of his injuries were to his head. Again, thanks for all the support.

Love you all!

Go Jazz!!

Way to go Jazz! Man, that was a nerve racking game!