Update...FINALLY!!!

Well hello there. I know, I know... it's been way too long since I updated this. Well, we've had some things going on lately. Jake's grandma, Texana, in New Mexico passed away so we travelled over there for her funeral. I had never been to that part of NM before so it was fun and exciting. I got to see the Rio Grande River... never seen that before.

Jake's brother, Sam, graduated from the CA Highway Patrol Academy. Yep, he's a CHiP now... more John than Ponch though.

Jake and I have been working like crazy. Our schedules have changed... again... so we only see each other about 4 nights a week. We do have the same days off though so that is nice.

Jake and I are going to the gym quite often. There is a half marathon in Sedona next February and I have been dared to take part. I can do 6 miles on the elliptical but running is a different story. We'll see how that works out... I'll keep you posted... really I will.

Well, our local minor league hockey team won the league championships and the President's Cup. Jake went to the celebration and got his picture taken with the cup. He was so excited! It is pretty cool. It was fun having season tickets again this year and watching them go all the way.

We found this great little trail/road across the street from our house that Nico really enjoys. We let him off the leash and he runs around like an excited child on Christmas morning. He finds bunny rabbits and roadrunners and chases them. We encourage this of course knowing that there is no chance in Hedes he'll ever catch one. He's a little too big and clumbsy for that. He's a good jogging partner though... he has more energy than I do and way more than his huge body should have.

Here is the view on that trail. Isn't AZ beautiful. Just 2 days ago it was pushing 100 degrees, and now it's raining... go figure. I love that kind of weather though. It keeps you on your toes.

Well, I guess that is about it. I promise to try to be better with this updating thing. I've added a few pics and a video to the past blogs as well. I worked very hard on these, computers don't come natural to everyone, so check it out. Have a good one and enjoy!

Our Info

Well, this last year has been a little crazy. Many of life's big events have happened. We rescued a new dog. His name is Nico and he is a Neapolitian Mastiff.

He's a big, clutzy goff but a lot of fun. He has been a challenge but fun. He loves to play with the water and loves to be right next to you all the time. He's about 125 lbs and thinks he is a lap dog. And yes, with those droopy lips, he drools. We've adapted though, by having towels next to every door and nearevery water bowl.

We also got a new car. It is a 2007 Toyota Camry. It has all of the bells and whistles. We love it. We still have the Dodge truck as well.

Both of us got a job working for Lockheed-Martin as air traffic controllers and we could not be happier! It is a fun, exciting, and challenging job that we enjoy doing. We give weather briefings to pilots and inform them of what is around their route of flight. It is amazing! We love it. We enjoy going to work everyday... funny huh?

My mom and dad bought a house about 7 minutes away from ours. They have 2.6 acres and they have all 3 of our hourses at their house. Their house is beautiful!

We went to Las Vegas for our 1 year anniversary in November. We stayed at the Mandalay and it was so fun! We don't really gamble much so we went to the show "Stomp" and it was amazing We went to the other hotels and just looked around. Wow. It was fun.

In December, Jake and I found a house to rent. We just love it. It is about 1760 sq. feet and is almost brand new. We moved in late Dec, early Jan. and absolutly love it. We have been working on furnishing it and doing a pretty good job I think. It has a waterfall and pond in the back and we know Nico will love his "swimming pool" in the summer.

In September we got a phone call that my Grandpa Hart up in Oregon was having health problems. It turns out it was liver cancer and it was failing. I lucky enough to get the chance to go up there and visit for a weekend before he passed away. It was a great visit and I was able to say my good bye. On September 11th, he passed away. One month after that, my uncle Don passed away as well. Needless to say, it was a hard couple months. My grandma decided to come down here to AZ for awhile just to get away. She stayed until last weekend. I expect she will be back in not too long. I imagine it is hard to go home without your husband there. They were married for something like 55 years.

Just about a month ago, we found out that my parent's dog Smokey had bone cancer. She was doing so well and was still so happy and excited to see everyone so my parent's decided to just keep her comfortable until her quality of life changed. Her left hind leg was very swollen (that was where they found the cancer) but it never seemed to bother her. Last weekend, her leg became more swollen. She was taken to the vet and found out she had licked her leg so much that there were sores where you could see the bone underneith. They decided that the time had come and put her to sleep. They said as the vet started to inject her, she looked at them and wiggled her little nub of a tail. She seemed happy.

On a happier note, as I am typing, it is snowing outside, big flakes. It is not sticking but it is pretty anyway. I think this will be the last storm of the season. We have had a lot of rain and snow this year. It has been wonderful. Well, I think that is all I have for now. That is a quick update of our last year. Hopefully we are all caught up and we'll stay in touch.

Love to you all!

Kayla