In loving memory of Kaya

It is really hard for me to type this message because of the sadness I feel, but I want to honor the memory of our beloved dog, Kaya. Last week, unexpectedly she passed away after almost 8 years. She was such a wonderful dog and was much more than our pet... she was a part of our family.

Gordon and I spent some time over the weekend sharing stories and fond memories we have of Kaya. She was my first dog and my only friend when I first moved to Des Moines. Gordon let her live with me for 6 months before he transferred here. We really bonded and she helped me cope with the loneliness. Gordon loved hunting with Kaya; she was a great bird dog and an excellent retriever, and she would literally hunt until she dropped. Being close to our family and hunting were the two things Kaya lived for.

In hindsight, I wish we would have had the opportunity to take her out to hunt more often.

Recently, Kirsten learned to say the word "Puppy"... it hurts when she says it and looks around and then points to where Kaya used to lay down.

Of course, she is too young to understand the loss, but we have many photos of them together that we can share with her when she is older. Drake is aware she is in Puppy Heaven, but we aren't sure if he fully understands either.

She was a cherished member of our family, and she wanted nothing but our love and attention.

For those of you that have had a dog like Kaya, you are fortunate enough to understand what true unconditional love feels like. She will always be in our hearts, and will be dearly missed.

We love you, Kaya!

-

Drake turns 5 years old!

We had a great time celebrating Drake's birthday. As you can see, so did Drake! I can't believe he is already 5 years old. Drake brings so much joy into so many peoples lives--we love you Drake!

Happy 1st Birthday Kirsten!

I can't believe a year has gone by since our little girl was born. She brings us so much joy and we are so thankful for the blessing God brought into our lives.

Kirsten-- we wish you many, many years of happiness and we are so proud of you!
We love you, Mommy, Daddy & Drake

Happy Halloween

Kirsten's first Halloween was a success and we found out she LOVES chocolate and lollipops!

Gordon and I were torn on which Halloween costume Kirsten should wear, so I put a poll on Facebook about two months ago to get some other opinions. The options were a Little Cow (see left), a Kitty Cat and a Little Ducky. I took pictures of her in all three costumes and the Little Cow was the winner! My first choice was the Cow and Gordon's was the Kitty... then I started to shift towards the Kitty, but ultimately we both decided the Little Cow was going to be her first Halloween costume. Although, I would love it if we could get her the Kitty costume for her second Halloween!

It was a last minute decision, but Gordon and I decided to dress up too! I went as a farm girl and Kirsten was my little cow. I borrowed one of Gordon's plaid shirts, put on some jeans, fixed my hair into pig tails... and voila! Gordon had a police uniform from a couples Halloween outfit we had from a few years ago. Our neighbors were giving him a hard time about the outfit, but I do have to say he certainly looks good in uniform!

We only went to a few houses together because Gordon had to get back to the house and answer the door for all the trick-or-treaters. In Central Iowa, it is tradition to have the kids go door to door for treats the night before Halloween -it's called Beggars Night. This year it fell on a beautiful Saturday night, so the neighborhood was hopping with kiddos all around the sub-division!

Our Little Cow

Vegas Trip 10/2010 (slideshow)

We had a great time spending time with friends and family in Las Vegas last month! Gordon's parents and his Godfather Chris and his wife Linda joined us too. We also invited our friend Chad to come with us to join in on the fun!

All of us enjoyed a wonderful dinner at my Mom's, visiting the Clark County Heritage Museum, going to the PBR (Professional Bull Riding) Finals, playing tourists on the Strip and celebrating Kirsten's birthday (those pictures will be posted seperately on another blog).

Gordon, Chad and myself went and enjoyed the Vegas nightlife on two separate nights. We were able to get the VIP treatment at the Encore hotel 's club Surrender. An awesome DJ, Steve Aoki, was performing--we all had a fabulous time!!

Mrs. Katelyn Wiig

Gordon and I attended the wedding of some dear friends, Katelyn Moore and Justin Wiig. We had a fabulous time!

Katelyn is a fellow employee at Wells Fargo and I am proud to say I hired her straight from college. She is a wonderful asset to Wells Fargo! The funny thing about it is... Justin and Katelyn met at Wells Fargo, and had cubicles near one another. Justin fondly gave a speech and had myself and his former manager stand so we could be publicly thanked for hiring them, and assigning them a workspace close by--hmmm.... sounds like more like He had something to do with it, then I do. However, I'm so happy to know I was able to help :)

Their story remind me of my wonderful marriage and how blessed I am to have Gordon in my life. As we get older, we're attending fewer weddings, and as I get older... I appreciate our love even more.

Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze

We're a little late posting these pictures, but they are too cute to not share! Drake and Daddy drove to a small town in Iowa to check out the pumpkin patch and corn maze. Drake especially loved running through the corn maze, and I mean running through the maze. It was a work out for Daddy to try and keep up! Drake would ask if he was heading towards the exit and whenever Daddy replied "yes" he would run the opposite way! So Daddy had to start telling him the opposite answer, otherwise they would have been there all night!

It's beginning to feel like Fall

Today Gordon and I woke up to chilly weather and I immediately thought of Fall, one of my favorite seasons! Growing up in Las Vegas I didn't get to experience each season to its fullest, but living in the Midwest allows for a traditional 4 seasons and I love Fall the best. It is my favorite for a few reasons--the changing of the leaves, the chilly weather which means I get to snuggle up to my wonderful husband, and it also is the celebration of our anniversary (September 27th).

Time has gone by so fast, I can't believe we are in the middle of September already! A lot of fun things have happened these past few weeks, so I will try my best to recap them all.

In late August, my Mom flew into town to visit us and help watch Kirsten since our daycare provider had vacation time. We had a blast enjoying her company and all the home cooked meals she made. Of course, Drake and Kirsten loved every minute of it, too! Meme (my Mom) played hide-and-go-seek with Drake on numerous occasions. She also played an airplane game with him where she hoisted him into the air using her legs and held his hands. She was a great sport about all of it! Kirsten was loving all of the attention from Meme, from cuddling her on the couch to playing tea party. Everyone had a great time!

Over Labor Day we were fortunate enough to have Gordon's parents and his sister Megan, along with her husband Shawn and their girls, visit us for the weekend. We had a wonderful time and so did all the kids! For starters, Megan and Shawn drove into town with their camper, so Drake got to "go camping" and sleep with them, which he thought was amazing. Then everyone went to Adventureland (a local amusement park) for the day and fun was had by all. We also checked out their new water park while we were there - needless to say everyone slept well that night!

I tried to do another photo shoot with Kirsten and Drake, but neither one of them was up for smiling at the camera that day... however, I did get a pretty cute one of Kirsten while she was trying to climb around on the couch!

We are going to be getting family photos taken in early October, so I will try and post those if I can! With cooler weather upon us and less time outdoors, I should have more time to post pictures and blog stories. Until then :)

Summer is almost over...

I can't believe it is already August and the summer is almost over. I took the camera out last night and shot some nice photos of the family. Check out some of our summer fun!

Trip up North

I was going to title this blog "4th of July" but then I looked at the date and realized it has taken me over a month to post these pictures! So instead, I will call it our "Trip up North". We had the pleasure of spending the 4th of July holiday with Gordon's parents in his hometown of Minocqua, WI. We all had a great time! Drake and Kirsten enjoyed playing with each other and they even shared a stroller seat together while watching the parade. It was raining on the 4th, but we didn't let it "rain on our parade" and we headed out to see the action! Fortunately, we found a nice spot with an overhang to protect ourselves from the elements. It was a great time! Drake also practiced hitting the baseball--after a few pointers from Nana, he was hitting the ball like a pro!