dear dad

dear dad,

thank you for all that you gave me during my first 21 years of life.  i miss your smile, your wisdom, your laugh, your hugs, and your unconditional love.  there are days that i wish so much you were still alive.  i am very thankful that you documented many things in your journal and my journal so that i can remember the little stuff, which is so easy to forget.  with just a turn of a page your wisdom and love comes back to me when it is needed most.

small excerpt written by my dad, taken from my baby book/journal....

10-6-85

Today we all went to church, to watch General Conference.  It was nice to have the kids with us.  I had to get after Skye for teasing Brandon.  She pouted, but she was so cute that all I could think about is how sweet she has always been.  I thought about holding her in church when she was just a few days old, and thinking about what a special young lady she would become.  She has certainly lived up to those expectations and then some.  I love her more than I know. 

i love you dad.

flashback friday #20

circa february 2009.  at the m.a.c / hello kitty party in las vegas with michaela and jordan.

we spent too much on makeup and had very sore feet after parading around in heels for hours but it was so fun and worth it.

p.s.  unrelated but important.....our houndsie seems to be feeling better today.  she is still not completely herself but worlds better from how she was last night so that is a wonderful thing.

emergency vet visit

this evening we noticed houndstooth was not her playful self.

at first we thought she was just extra tired, but after poking at her a bit it seemed as if she was in pain and almost felt hot to the touch like she had a fever. 

last night she was running around like crazy.

this morning she seemed totally fine and playful, so it really scared me that in a matter of hours she could be weak and sickly.

you could just tell by looking at her something wasn't right. 

ultimately no amount was too much so we took her in.

high fever is leaning towards some sort of infection, maybe upper respiratory.

she got fluids, antibiotics, and a shot for pain/inflamation.

now we are home resting and hoping that she shows signs of her usual wild self tomorrow.

 poor little girl.

faithful blog readers

houndstooth & pellegrino like to look at blogs too.  we won't discuss their favorites, they prefer to keep it hush hush.

that's all.

a birthday for the princess

once upon a time on june 9th it was my dear friend lexie's birthday.

luckily our friend christian decided to take her to lunch and invite me as well.

i painted her a special present

and wrapped it up real pretty

elephants are her most favorite so i had to paint one for her.

i wish you could have all seen her reaction as she started to unwrap the paper slowly at the corner and instantly realize it was an elephant.  it was priceless.

we celebrated by laughing, eating, and telling silly stories.

i ♥ lexie. 

for those of you that know her, you know why

and for those of you who don't know her...you should.

mr. lovey dovey kitty doll

i do not know the right words to adequately explain just how precious and cuddly our little pellegrino is, so i shall show you.  i have never known a cat to be this way.

i cradle him like this about 15 times a day. 

sometimes he wants to wiggle free after a minute, sometimes he snoozes.

as i was doing a few things on the computer this morning he crawled up in my lap and then climbed up to my shoulder and fell asleep like this.

and right now as i type this post the scene is as follows.

pellegrino totally took advantage of the fact that i was home most of the day.

every time i walked to a different room he would follow me meowing until i picked him up.  at one point it went from being adorable to annoying because i was trying to get a few things done around the house, so i ignored his plea to be held.  want to know what he did?  climbed me.

yep he used his little claws to climb his way up my pants and my shirt until he was in my arms. 

wildly productive

i vote for more days like this.

away from the office

marking items off my always long list, but also taking time to celebrate the little things.

*i may not love summer the most but i try

 to find the beauty in every season.