It has been a very long time since I last blogged. There have been a lot of posts I meant to make and then the world kind of fell apart, pulled back together and then got stressful. It is no different than anybody else, really, but after nearly a year, it's time to catch up...So here goes, ... in one entry... ???
I really left off in May, so here's the short version of the catch up:
May 2013:
We lost our sweet Natasha Rose. We have older dogs than her, but she aged very fast from December to May and when her time came, we released her with the dignity she deserved. Our hearts were broken as our family dynamic changed and our dogs went through a mourning process.
We have a great veterinarian who came to the house and helped her relax. The other four dogs came into the room with us and, to our surprise, lay down next to Natasha as she passed on.
June 2013:
Sandy and I celebrated our 40th birthday. My sisters decided to come into town for a little gathering to celebrate and it turned into the funnest (not a word) birthday party in recent memory! We celebrated for two days with family and friends at Echo Reservoir. Family and friends came and went as they could and we all had a wonderful reunion! We had the two boats out on the water and pulled out the water weenie. We swam, and talked and roasted marshmallows and had memories to last the remainder of my adult life...and as the summer turned to autumn, the memories became bitter sweet. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the two days (really this weekend deserves a blog entry of its own):
August 2013:
Of course, we had more lake time. Echo Reservoir wasn't very full of water in 2013, so when the water began to be drained for the farmers, the water was low fast! The benefit was, not many came up to put their boats in the water because there wasn't much room. They weren't wrong, but there was enough room for us, so we had fun.
I took some pictures of lightening in a summer storm. I wasn't ready for it, so these are what I got, but I think they are pretty cool. Just one of the reasons I take my camera with me everywhere I go:
Football season began at the end of August (the 24th). The sunrise and sunset that day were pretty dang amazing:
September 2013:
Eric and I, along with a chunk of SLC, geeked out at the first Comic Con in Salt Lake City. We had too much fun enjoying the sites, conversations, people, panels, costumes....yeah, we'll be going back. Here are some of the photos I took.
September 16:
My mom and I joined friends in honoring our friend Troy Williams at an Equality Utah dinner. Eric and I go to various events by Equality Utah throughout the year and thought it appropriate to be present in honoring Troy for his work in advancing the cause of equality in Utah.
I'm not going to address the passing of my cousin in this blog entry.
October 2013:
Chance earned a new belt in karate and we were there to watch the program. We don't the the opportunity to see many of his activities, either because they happen during work hours or because we don't get information about them until after the fact. When we get invited, we get excited.
love this series:
Halloween 2013:
I dressed up a day early in my Dia de los Muertos clothing. I've never participated in the tradition. It is mostly one that takes place on November 1, and is used to celebrate the passing of loved ones. Normally I wouldn't use it as a costume, since it isn't traditionally a costume, it's a tradition as part of a culture. As part of my culture, having lost a close member of my family, I was still in mourning and really struggling to come to grips with the loss. I thought it might help me to honor Brad if I could celebrate his life in a more culturally traditional way, even if it wasn't his culture.
I took a few days to make the headpiece and the veil. This picture doesn't show the skirt, but I made it, as well. I also made a blouse which is part of the full outfit, but didn't wear it to work.
November 2013:
Andrew's football team, which couldn't gather enough boys to make a full football team at the beginning of the season, made it to the championship. At the beginning of the season, they had three boys to rotate into the game, so the boys learned to play a lot of different roles. The coaches were begging for boys to join the team....and then, they were amazing with the few they had!
They played their championship game against Skyline and it was a nail biter! They had played Skyline earlier in the playoffs and barely beat Skyline, so we knew the championship would be a tough game...and it was!
Both teams scored a touchdown early, and through most of the game they were tied up. Both sides knew that one side HAD to score and neither side wanted the game to go into overtime, because these are 9 year old boys who are tired and in the end they want their treat and medal. LOL!
Finally, in the very last two minutes of the game, Andrew's team had the ball....they ran down the clock and gambled with the play. In the last 20 seconds, one boy, ran the full length (50 yards) of the field for the touchdown and South Summit Wildcats won the championship! The kids were so excited. The parents were even more excited.
When the boys returned to Kamas, the fire department was waiting at the edge of town to let the boys ride on the firetrucks into town for a celebration.
November 14:
Our oldest dog Bandit passed on due to old age. That morning we could tell in his breathing it was his time. I stayed home from work in hopes of comforting him. We called the vet for him to be put to rest that evening.
He didn't make it that long. The dogs, as dogs do, all slept during the day. Bandit moved around a bit, napping.
Around 1:15, I check on him, and he was napping. Five minutes later, I went back into the kitchen to check on him, because he'd just moved to a new spot and I wanted to make sure he was comfortable. I felt him take his last breath as he slept.
I was relieved that he went on his own terms; but saddened that, again, our family dynamics would change.
Our remaining dogs went through their own mourning process. They each lay down next to Bandit in turn. Tamika was very upset, talking and howling at us. Casey paced through the living room and wouldn't look at Bandit. Cocoa checked on him constantly until the vet came to collect Bandit.
We still miss out precious Bandit.
December 2013:
December is always busy with the holidays. Work was intense and we had a vacation freeze, as we prepared for our training for the go-live training that would begin in February 2014. (I use the word intense because that was how it felt at the time. I've since come to realize just how intense work can become, since we've actually gone live with the software we were preparing for in December)
Through the busy days, we went to Elise's winter dance recital. She is growing up into a beautiful girl!
We also celebrated Lexi's birthday on December 21:
Finally, in December, gay marriage, for a brief time, was made legal in Utah. Many of our friends were married during the brief window. We celebrated with a cousin who had been planning on traveling out of state to be married.
There's the quick snapshot of 2013, missing other big dates and items from the year. But it's the brief version of the year.
The one thing I will add in retrospect to the year is this: although the year had it's share of heartbreak and pain, as many years do, it's fair to say, it's not my worst year. I had so many things to celebrate and be happy for. My heart broke. I felt so much pain. But, I was so grateful for my family and friends and the time we spent together. The memories I've had have become precious to me. I've become more determined to expand my photography to capture the moments in my life that matter, that touch my heart.
