Christmas 2008

We had a great Christmas spending time with family! On Christmas Eve, we went to Monument to be with Chris' parents and his sister Lydia. We hung out, ate lots of yummy food, played Apples to Apples and attended a beautiful midnight mass at their church. On Christmas morning we exchanged presents with everyone and ate breakfast. After breakfast we gathered everything up and headed to my parents house in Castle Rock. We enjoyed stockings and presents from Santa with my parents, James, Grandma Youngs, and my aunt Judi and uncle Steadman.

The family expanded since last year with 2 dogs... Uber and James' new puppy, Penny. Lucy and Uber played and wrestled outside as Penny tried to join in, although she is quite a bit smaller and timid...for now (she is a German Shepherd/American Bulldog mix, so she has a lot of growing to do). Hopefully when she gets bigger all the dogs can play together!

In the afternoon, my aunts and uncles, Sheila, Tim, Cheryl and Gary came over for a delicious Christmas dinner and gift exchange. There were two very important people missing from the celebration in Castle Rock this year as they both passed recently... Grandmother Allen and Granddad Youngs. However, I do believe that they were there in thought and spirit.

It was a fun day, and we are so blessed to be able to spend time with both of our families on the same day. Though we can't be at both places for everything, I think we get the best of both worlds!

James' new puppy, Penny.
All 3 dogs playing...
Aunt Judi and Mom...

Grandma Youngs and me...

Mom and Dad Youngs...

Aunt Judi and Uncle Steadman...

Uber's new toy...

Stay tuned for photos from Christmas at the Bengers'...

Snow Dog

We got a few good snow storms in November and December, and discovered that Uber loves the snow. If he could choose, he would just stay outside and play all day long!

He likes to catch snowballs!

Watching the snow fall...

Warming up by the fire...

Merry Christmas To All...

I Am Thankful For...

With the holiday coming up, I have been thinking of things in my life that I am truly thankful for. Here are just a few of the things I am thankful for this year, in no particular order. Hard to list everything, I find things everyday that I am thankful for.

my husband Chris
living in Colorado
close relationship with my parents
wonderful girlfriends
anytime spent with family
Grandma Youngs
my great "new" family (Chris' family)
my brother
a beautiful house
a fun puppy
my happy marriage
life lessons I learned from Grandmother Allen and Granddad Youngs
long lost friends I have reconnected with
having a job
spending time in June with family I don't often see

November

There is not a whole lot going on at our house in November. Chris and I both celebrated birthdays, however, no milestones and both on workdays. Getting older is no fun!

Unfortunately, my birthday was on election night, so we went out to try to avoid all the election TV, but ended up at a sports bar that had every TV on the election news. The weekend after, we went to Comedy Works and saw John Caparillo perform, which was a blast, as always. Christopher's birthday was last Friday, and after work we went to the Air Force hockey game with his parents to see the Falcons beat up on Sacred Heart, and went out to dinner.

For Thanksgiving we are headed to Kearney, Nebraska to spend the long weekend with Chris' family. It will be a fun time!

Here are some pictures from November...

Hanging out at home

Uber and Chris... you can see how tall Uber is getting!

Uber's cousin, Lucy Youngs

They played for a few hours at my parents
house and were absolutely exhausted.
Uber is no longer the littler dog.

Chillin' on the deck while we hang Christmas lights

Happy Thanksgiving....

Fall in Colorado

Fall is a beautiful time in Colorado, with the cooler weather (not so cool this year), and the great colors in the trees. This has to be my favorite time of year! Here are some photos of the pretty colors and of course the always-growing puppy...

Goodbye Granddad

Sadly, a month ago today, we lost my granddad, Bill Youngs, to a battle with cancer. It has been a tough year for my family and me, having lost two beloved grandparents in a matter of months. I am comforted to know that Granddad is in Heaven and at peace and in no pain. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer just months before he died. Luckily, my grandma was able to spend everyday with him until he passed. He left us peacefully, with my dad, and his brother Tim by his side.

The most beautiful thing happened on the day of his funeral though. As my family and I walked behind the hearse from the church to the cemetery, a bald eagle soared low over us, and then circled around the church for awhile. If you didn't know my granddad, he had a passion for birds of all kinds and carved amazing wood carvings of the birds he admired. This bald eagle was definitely Granddad's way of letting us know he was safe and happy. I have lived in the area by that church for 20 years and never have I seen a bald eagle! They don't usually hang out in the city.

We were blessed to have a beautiful funeral, full of laughs, smiles and tears. It was an amazing Colorado day spent with friends and family and giving Granddad a beautiful farewell. I miss him terribly. He lead a great life, he was a great dad, husband, granddad and friend, someone I will forever look up to.

Here are some great photos of him over the past few years and the family he helped build.





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It was a tough day, but after the funeral we spent the day enjoying the company of family and remembering Granddad. Weather in the 70s is rare for Colorado in late October.

Getting bigger

Happy 65th Anniversary!

On Sunday, September 7th, my Grandma and Granddad Youngs celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary! What an amazing example of a strong marriage they are. Granddad is currently in a rehab center, dealing with many health issues, but everyone took the celebration to him. Mom and dad, Gary, Cheryl, Tim and Sheila all contributed and brought a fun comfort food lunch to the center, along with chocolate cake, flowers, cards and balloons. It was a nice time to celebrate their marriage, family and love for one another.

Doggie Splash

Every year at the end of outdoor pool season, Highlands Ranch opens one of the outdoor rec center pools to the dogs. We had never been before, but luckily Uber was old enough to take part. man did he have a blast. It was pretty chaotic, with hundreds of dogs and their owners, but what a cool time! It was fun to see all the dogs go crazy, swimming and playing all their energy out. I just feel bad for the person who has to clean the pool out.

Uber was a bit timid at the beginning about jumping in, but before long, we couldn't keep him from diving in and swimming across the pool. We figured out that if Chris and I stood on opposite sides of the pool, Uber was eager to get across to see us.

Uber was exhausted!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend is host to many fun activities, but for us, the most exciting is the CSU v CU football game. Every year we try to get together with friends and root for our CSU Rams football team. This year friends are more spread out, but we managed to get Chris and his 3 college roommates together to hang out and watch CSU (too bad we didn't win).

Chris and I also "celebrated" the day we met, five years ago. We met at the CSU v CU game back in 2003. Actually, I not only met Chris, I met all the guys too.

Chuck and Amy brought their two dogs, Ollie and Kiwi with them for the weekend. They are miniature Dachshunds, and Uber was just dying to play with them. After they warmed up to each other, Kiwi played with Uber and it was quite comical. Ollie on the other never quite warmed up to Uber and his size.

Uber playing gentle with his new pal Kiwi

A Big Hug

Ollie watching the others play

The guys at the pre-game rally in the tech center.
Yep, that is the one and only, Cam the Ram in the middle.

It was a tiring weekend for all of us!

My Garden

Since this is our first year in the house, it has been fun to see what blooms in the backyard. The neighbors told me that the person who owned the house awhile ago, set the yard up to be attractive to birds. It sure it attractive and there are many different things popping up all the time. From beautiful roses to lilies, and hibiscus to clematis. Here are photos of some of the pretty greens!