Change

March proved to be a very challenging month!! On top of everything going on in our personal lives. I was asked to take on a new challenge at work. They had to let another Director go and asked me to take that store. This store needs alot of work...nothing I can't handle right? lol

So, now I have been in the Riverton store for a month. It has been a long month but so far We have made great success. The staff in this store is simply awesome!! Just last week we had our Regional Directors meeting. I was asked to give a presentation...SCARY!! I was SO excited about this opportunity. I took this challenge to the max...asked my staff to get involved and had it perfected. Then the day came...I was nervous the whole day!! Then the last hour of the meeting it was my turn to stand up for my presentation. I started off just perfect, with an aweome quote by Dale Carnegie "If you want to gather honey, don't kick over the beehive". Then...I Froze up!! I managed to sputter a couple words and then just showed the video my staff helped prepare. They did such an amazing job!! I am so proud to have them as part of my team. The most awesome part is....the Regional Director of the Canyon Region even used them in part of his presentation. Once I can get the video downloaded I will put it on here for you to see. Keep your eyes out for the Adventure Boyz!!!

Our family will never be the same!

March 15th, 2010 our family lost the most amazing, loving, compassionate family member ever!! Doc had been having seizures for about 2 weeks before his passing, so we knew it was close. But, nothing could have prepared us for the pain we have felt without him. Maybe I speak more for myself, but I know it has been extremely hard on all of us. With each of his seizures we would all lay around him and pet him, just praying he would pull through..and everytime...he would. Matter of fact, he would just jump up and act like nothing ever happened. Just the day before his passing, he was having a seizure in my room and Kasey went to grab him a treat. When kasey set the treat next to his face...he jumped right up and gobbled it down.

The day he passed away I had cuddled with him that morning, before I went to work. I went to work for a couple hours and came right back home. Then I got a call from work and needed to head back there for just a minute. Well, I guess when we were walking out of the house Doc came out from under the bed. He made it half way through the room and went into a seizure. All three kids were home with him, they gathered around him and tried to talk him through it. Then Kasey went to get him a treat...only this time he didn't get up. Kylie got the kids out of the room, then she layed down next to Doc, pet him and talked to him as he passed away. Kylie doesn't talk much about this experience and I can definitely understand why. After he passed away she walked out of the room, closed the door and calmly went to the neighbors house to call us (her phone wasn't working). When I answered the phone I was helping a customer at work. I said "hello" and Kylie calmly said matter of factly "Doc just died". I dropped the phone, walked away from the customer and just broke down. Luckily, Jeff was there to catch me. Poor customer had no idea what had just happened...my awesome employee knew by my reaction what had happened. She took right over at the store and Jeff and I drove home. When I walked into my bedroom and saw my precious baby laying in his feces and vomit...I felt as though my whole world had come to an end! Jeff and I both layed next to him and pet his now hard body. I was so upset that I wasn't there to comfort him during his passing. Kylie was just SOOO mature through this whole thing. Poor Kennadie said that while he was having the seizure, she could hear him trying to breath. She said "Mommy, he just couldn't catch his breath". Honestly, my children have handled this ten times better than me! Kennadie tells me everyday (even now a month later) not to cry. My heart just aches for him to be by my side!! We burried him in my parents backyard. Right next to Cody(my childhood dog). It used to be called Cody Corner..now it is Dog corner. Words cannot describe the constant ache in my heart. I know he is in a much better place and can run and even jump again! Doc has been there through every single malady that our family has been through in the past 8 years. We actually got him when I was extremely sick and incoherent. The name Doc came from the title Doctor. He was my Doctor through everything...right up on my bed next to me after every surgery, hospital stay and even simple colds. He stuck around to make sure I could stay healthy...simply an amazing companion!! We will surely miss him!!

Chess anyone?

A couple months ago Kennadie brought home a paper about a Chess tournament. I kinda just ignored it cuz really I didn't know she was interested in Chess. A couple days before the tournament Kenna said "Mom I really need to register for the tournament". I asked her if she even knew how to play chess and she said "Yes, I play everyday during recess". Ok so I sure dont get Mother of the Year award! Who knew?? Well, I got her registered for the tournament and we spent an entire Saturday watching hundreds of elementary kids play...or should I say..fight to play Chess. It was amazing to me to see how intense this event was. This was a regional tournament, so there were kids there from all over the valley. Kasey's third grade teacher had a kid in the tournament. When his kid didn't win one of the matches, he flipped out on the judge. We saw a totally different side to that man!! Too Funny! Kennadie did Awesome in this tournament! There were hundreds of kids there and at least 30 of them were second graders. We got to watch from windows separating the rooms. She was so fun to watch...she really got into it!! She came out of there so happy...and we were just SO proud of her!! She took 10th place of all the second graders. She is now on the school Chess club and plays every day! We look forward to her next tournament.

Nala

Just for the sake of journaling I thought I would write about our newest family member. Kasey just really loves playing ball with dogs. He always begs us to get him another dog. Several years ago we got him a yellow lab, he was way too young to take care of her and I wasn't really healthy enough to care for her either. So we gave her away. Now, 4 years later, I am healthy and he is much older and responsible. So....I set some guidelines for picking one out. He has always been enamored by Border Collies...but a pure bred doesn't meet my weight requirement. So, we found Nala! A very sweet Border Collie Mix. She is about 3 or 4years old, 25 pounds and just as sweet as ever!!! When we got her (in December) she didn't know anything about playing ball. Now, she LOVES to play ball!! Most nights she sleeps on Kasey's bed with him. She is definitely HIS baby!! Very good catch for our family!!