8 Years

8 years ago today, my dad passed away. You can read more about him here. I still remember very clearly the events of that day- where I was when I found out, what time it was, the disbelief and overwhelming sadness that I felt. I didn't know how life could ever be the same without someone who meant so much to me. I think I can speak for my brother when I say that our dad was the single biggest influence in our lives. Life's not the same without him, but his name, the lessons that he taught us, and the memories he left us with lives on. He lives on in my brother who looks like him, and says "oh Heid" like he did, shortening my name by leaving off that last "i" when he is teasing me about something. He lives on in my nieces and nephews who have their own memories of him that we talk and laugh about every time we get together. I told him once that my life would be a success if I were half the person that he was. I have a long way to go. In the meantime, I'll remember all the things he taught me and keep being thankful for the difference he made in my life because he lives on in me- and I'll never forget him.

End of Summer? I say YES!

I know that the end of summer isn't technically until September 23, but I'm declaring it officially over for me! I am ready to move on to fall, my favorite time of the year!

We had some excitement over the summer with someone trying to break into our house. They didn't try too hard because they never succeeded in getting in, but it kept things interesting for awhile. We became very friendly with the Derry police. After the 1st break in attempt, Colin had the idea to put down powder at the door where the person kept trying to break in. The police told him what a great idea that was and were very impressed when they got a shoe print the 2nd break in attempt. Colin was too embarrassed to tell them he got the idea from an episode of Ghost Hunters! lol Some neighbors in the field behind us were broken into because they left their garage door open. The footprints there matched the ones from our house, but as far as I know they haven't caught the person. We have now added security cameras and extra locks on all our doors. They tried a total of 4 times to get in with no luck. The person always came when we were gone, so I wasn't worried about our safety, but I did worry about the dogs getting hurt or taken. I do realize that if someone took them they would probably understand what a mistake that was after an hour or so and bring them back, but they are my babies so I still worried.

In July we went to see the Seattle Mariners play the Red Sox at Fenway. Colin was all decked out in his Mariners gear. I was a little worried he would get beat up, but the Mariners were on a 13 game losing streak so Red Sox Nation wasn't too threatened by him. Sadly, but not surprisingly, the Mariners lost the game...in fact, I think they lost every game of that series.

Last week I had to have a d&c for my 2nd miscarriage in 9 months. I always naively thought if I were just able to get pregnant, the rest would be smooth sailing. That has not turned out to be the case. I know everyone has trials in life, and I don't know why we have this one, but we have been blessed with a supportive family and friends and we feel very fortunate to have each other. There is a song that Blake Shelton has out now called God Gave Me You and I told Colin that it's our song. Have a listen.



On a brighter note, hockey season is only about a month away! We pick up our season tickets at the end of September and the first game is October 7th. Go Monarchs!

Adventures in Idaho and Oregon

The first part of June we went to see our families in Idaho and Oregon. My nephew JD graduated from high school and also had his Eagle Court of Honor while we were there. So proud of him!



We met our new great niece Brynlee


We went looking for mushrooms in the Blues mountains


Saw my BFF!


Hung out with my girls


And my hun


And my brother :)


Had some good food




Spent some time on the Oregon coast






Celebrated mom Battersby's birthday


Saw some cousins



Had a great time!

Catching Up

I find myself having to play catch up again. I can't believe we are already over halfway through 2011! On March 8 we celebrated our 8 year anniversary in where else?? Maine! In April I celebrated a birthday (29 again)! I'll give you one guess where we went...yep- Maine! What can I say? We love Maine!

We have really gotten into hockey this past season and started going to a lot of Manchester Monarchs games. They are the AHL affiliate of the LA Kings. We loved it so much we became season ticket holders for this upcoming season and are anxiously waiting for October 7th to get here because that is their home opener. Here's Colin at a Monarchs game.


On Easter we had some friends over and had a peanut butter cup hunt instead of an Easter egg hunt. Our friend Erik (aka Bobo), LOVES peanut butter cups, so one of our other friends set up a Bobo trap with some Bobo bait...


Making sure he got them all...I don't think he shared with anyone either!


We celebrated a nice spring day with a NH Fishercats game


In June we had to say goodbye to some friends..Luke moved to Durham, NC for a new job. He's working with some Duke professors so I expect him to score me some tickets to a Duke game at Cameron. I would recommend not wearing this shirt at your new job Luke! :) In fact, it's probably best just to burn it so you aren't tempted!


Tyler and Mitra moved back to Arizona to go to UofA and become doctors because they weren't smarter than us already! :) O.k...so they may not look very smart in these hats but really, they are!

We miss our friends and wish them the best in their new adventures!

Happy New Year

Time to play catch up after a busy couple of months with the holidays. We had a good Christmas and New Year. We spent New Year's Eve in Maine and had a wonderful weekend. It's always nice to get away and we love going to Maine.

Christmas was pretty low key this year. We had some friends over for dinner and just enjoyed a quiet day. The dogs got "me" a Duke snuggie. I'm not sure which of us enjoys it more.


Colin also got a snuggie- Oregon of course!


Christmas dinner wouldn't be complete without a prime rib dinner and Christmas crackers. Tyler and Mitra hadn't experienced Christmas crackers before, but they wore their crowns proudly and were fascinated with the little toys inside. :)


We had a party to celebrate the Super Bowl with our friends. I was rooting for Green Bay, and my brother and nephews were rooting for the Steelers, so it made it that much sweeter when the Packers won! Much trash talking took place via text message during the game. We had the NFL Sunday ticket this year, so many Sunday afternoons were spent with friends at our house watching the games and eating some good food. Here are some pictures from the Super Bowl party.

Colin with his Super Bowl cake


Go PACKERS!


The mini footballs were a cute decoration- too bad I'm still finding them all over my house!


The winners of our friendly football pool


It's always a let down when football season ends. I'm certainly hoping that there is an NFL season next year but that is still up in the air. Right now I am gearing up for March Madness! My Dukies are pretty good this year and I'm hoping for back to back national championship wins! GO DUKE!

Thankful

I have always loved Thanksgiving. It's the holiday filled with family, friends and good food without the stress of having to buy gifts and brave the craziness of the mall. Although I have much to be thankful for, we have gone through some things in the last couple of weeks that have made it difficult for me to remember to count my blessings. Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to take some time to reflect on what we are thankful for. Here are just a few things I'm thankful for today.

-A loving, supportive husband who puts my needs before his own.
-My extended family.
-My friends.
-My little fur babies Wally & Skittles who show me love every day- even those days when I don't deserve it.
-A job that I enjoy, and the great people I work with.
-A warm house to live in and enough food to eat.
-My faith.
-My freedom.
-My health.

We are truly blessed. Happy Thanksgiving!

It's That Time Of Year Again!

The time has finally come for us to tag our Christmas tree. We always go on the first day that they are open for the year so that we can get a good tree. Colin was at work when I found out when opening day was this year, so I texted him because I was certain that he would be as excited about this as I was. This is how that conversation went.

Me: Oct. 30th is the day! Mark your calendar! Christmas tree tagging!

Colin: You do realize this is before Halloween right?

Me: Only 1 day.

Colin: You do realize this is like 56 days before Christmas right?

Me: You do realize that you have to go on the first day they are open to get a good tree right?

Colin: Can we at least pick a thin light tree near the exit?

Me: Ummmmmmmmmm..NO! We will find a nice full one in the back like we do every year.

Colin: Are you going to decorate it?

Me: With your help.

Colin: Bah Humbug!

Me: Scrooge!

This year we actually did pick a tree that was thinner than we normally get and near the exit because we didn't ever see a really full one that we liked. I guess it's good to try something new once in awhile.





Let the holiday season begin!