Catching Up

It has been quite a while since I have posted a blog. There has been a lot going on this past year or so and I thought I should catch up on what has been going on. I know most of our blog followers are already blog buddies with my siblings, so some of you are probably aware of my Dads passing this past summer.


On May 10th my father passed away at 54 years old. It is still something that I myself am still struggling with, as well as my family so that is why it has taken me so long to get something posted. He was such a great father, and I cant even begin to express how much I loved and still love him. He Had been sick for quite a while and we knew that eventually his body wouldn't be able to hold on any longer. no matter how long someone is sick, and no matter how long you think you have or have had to try to prepare yourself for a loss of a loved one, nothing can really prepare you for when they are really gone.

When one really takes for granted the little things, like just being able to hug them or hold their hand, or even just to hear their voice, you start to kick yourself a little for not realizing how special that little thing really is. For Christmas Mariah and kyle were able to put some of our old family home movies on DVD for all of us to watch. It was amazing how moved I was just to hear my dad speak and say something small like mine or my siblings name. The anticipation was killing me to see him in the video. It was nice just be able to see him in something other than a picture. It was very nice and comforting. Thanks Mariah and Kyle for that, everyone really appreciated it.

In the end as a family we all appreciated everyone's help, love and comfort with everything. It was especially nice to see our family that we normally don't get to see often and both my dads and our good friends from all over. I was shown an immense comfort and support from amazing friends.

Below are some pictures I was able to snag from my other sisters blog.

Daddy

Family Picture Excluding me

My Uncle Dan and Dad


Dad with adopted parents Grandma and Grandpa Okelberry and my oldest sister Nakoa

Dad with his parents Grandma and Grandpa Tsinnie

He was in a play, that must be where I get the "drama queen" from

Dad with my mom..... she still dresses like that on special occasions

Mariah's baby blessing

His best friend Uncle Richard

Mariah and Jeran with dad

Grandpa Bingham and Nakoa (grandpa was in his Kenny Rodgers days)

Mom, my brother Jeran and Dad

Fishing with Jeran, he loved to fish whenever he could

Most of his siblings

Mariah, Jeran and Dad in the Santaquin house

I think this is baby me

My baptism

Mariah, Dad and me

He loved to read to my niece Jada

Mom and Dad's wedding

Mom and Dad's engagement pictures

One Christmas morning

I love this family picture

Jeran looks exactly like him

Baby Nakoa

Mariah's Baptism

Mine and Scott's Wedding

Our last family picture with Dad for his birthday

Mariah and Kyle's Wedding

At the park feeding the ducks

Just after my dads passing we were able to make a trip to Colorado to visit our good friends Kyle and Ashley. It was a much needed vacation and after several times of them making trips to Salt Lake, it was nice to be able to see where they live and spend most of their lives. We were able to go hiking in the Rockies, which was absolutely beautiful. We hiked to 3 different lakes all of which were amazing and had incredible views on the way up as well. We were even able to see a moose at the first lake hanging out in the water.

We also get to see 2 Rockies games! Nothing like hanging with good friends and watching a baseball game during the summertime. We got to see parts of Denver and some of Fort Collins, and were able to also take a tour of the place that kyle spend most of his life now days. I wasn't able to take any pictures inside of the hospital, but some of it was a little iffy if you don't care to see animal anatomy. It was very interesting to see some of the process and training that Veterinarians go through.... a very long and difficult process.

Kyle has now passed his final test and from what it sounds like, is happy and very excited to start his new career. We just hope it's somewhat closer to Salt lake and we hope to be able to make it down to Fort Collins to make it to the graduation in May.

Mr. Moose

My hubby is a pro

The Hammond Family

I love this picture

Scott met his new favorite cat Cigi (I think thats how it's spelled)

The hotel from the movie "The Shining"

Elk from the golf course relaxing in the grass

Rawr!! They're fighting over there women

Uncle Scott and Cache

Scott accidentally fell in the water

Loved the beautiful view

Downtown Denver

Chillin at the baseball game

I love this little boy... he is so cute

Our Babies

I have now realized that I will be 24 in a short few days. Am I really that old? It seems like just a few days ago I graduated from high school and started working for UPS. I have now been graduated from high school for 6 years and have been working for ups for about 4 1/2 years now.

Thinking about my birthday, I have realized how young I am....... and just how much I love my husband and my family. It may be a little family, but it's full of love, and I love it. Our little family consists of my husband Scott and I, and our children Manny and Presley. They may be dogs, but they're not just dogs to us, they are family......... our babies. Going through some of the pictures on my phone and camera, I couldn't believe how little they used to be. So I have decided to post a few pics and a little about our adventure of being parents.

Manny, the Golden Retriever, our oldest was our first little boy. I remember when we picked him up, he was so cute and little and just loved to lay in his daddy's arms. He was a little skittish at first and just cuddled up next to him and didn't want to leave. He just seemed so tiny and a little fragile. Then came the kennel training.

We knew that when we would have dogs, we wanted them to be the most obedient as possible. We got advice from our friend who had had experienced kennel training before and was also a soon to be Vet. We knew that it was what we had to do. We did searches online, got the kennel and had it all set up and ready to go. The first couple of days and nights were terrible. He cried and cried all night long, and it was all I could do to not just take him out and hold him in my arms to cuddle and sleep with throughout the night. I refrained, and with the help of Scott, I didn't scoop him up and cradle him. After a few nights of not much sleep and getting up every 2-3 hrs we were exhausted and need to fix the crying. After Scott scoured the local Petsmart, he talked to one of the trainers there and he recommended we try a squirt bottle with water and a little bit of vinegar. So we decided that we were gonna try it that night and try to get some sleep. It worked! It took maybe 2 squirts when he started to cry and he settled right down and went to sleep. We were finally able to get some sleep, and from that day Manny fell in love with his kennel.

Our 2nd oldest is Presley, oh Presley....... She was our biggest challenge of the two. From reading about her particular type of breed we knew that she may be a little stubborn, but would have the funniest personality and just be a little dopey. We drove to Genola to pick her up, and she was the fluffiest thing I had ever seen. She, however did not like to ride in the car, and was all I could do to keep her calm. She was so scared and nervous and just climbed all over me. We got her home and absolutely just adored her. She was so cuddly and because of all of her fir, loved to be inside with the central air. She does like to spend time outside when its not to hot but while its getting a little warmer, she enjoys the cool breeze outside. We decided that we had such a good result with the kennel training with Manny, that it was best that we do the same with Presley. Needless to say she did not like her kennel one little bit. We tried letting her cry for a few days, tried to settle her down every few minutes and after a few days getting up every 1-2 hrs every night, we decided it was time for the squirt bottle with vinegar. She didn't really mind the squirt bottle spray enough to really care, so she was just a big ball of fir that smelled like vinegar. The kennel training with her took a good month and half to 2 months to get her to sleep through the night. She is stubborn alright, but has the cutest personality and loves to be loved. We still have to ask her a couple of times to go to her kennel when it is bedtime, but we just recently started finding her in her kennel with the door wide open sleeping. Even though that has only happened maybe twice, we still have hope she will soon love her kennel like Manny does.

Even though they aren't human children, I still think it's a small preview of what parenting children might be like...... but don't expect kids any time soon. Both Manny and Presley have there own cute personalities and we both love them with every fiber of our being. Our parents may not have grandchildren from us, but they do have granddoggies!

This was the day we brought Manny home.

We used to be able to cradle him in our arms and rock him to sleep.

This was the day we brought Presley home.

This one is my personal favorite.