More good days:)

     Yesterday was Kelli's birthday and after the day we had I can't help but feel like it was mine too!  We started the day off by sleeping in, always a must on your birthday, then kicked it off with croissants at home.  We then went to the mall downtown for a little shopping for the birthday girl followed by a fantastic lunch at a local soup and sandwich shop.  Once we were finished with our great lunch we headed out to Liberty Lake in pursuit of stand up paddle board rentals! We'd done this last year with the Nagles and we fell in love with it!  It's so peacefull and relaxing to be coasting around a lake on one of these boards!  We found the rental place, as well as probably the best kept secret of the greater Spokane area, the Liberty Lake Community Park.  This place is a small sand beach on the far south end of the lake with ample picnic tables, a playground, and a roped off swimming area complete with a floating island dock!  We signed a quick release form and we were off and paddling.  The lake was beautiful with tons of great scenery as it is tucked into a small mountain range, for a minute we both felt like we were back in Montana!  

     The water was the perfect temperature for us to take a quick dip as we paddled our way around the edge of the lake wishing we owned one of the many houses with private beaches!  We called off our great day by having a wonderful dinner downtown.  Overall it was not just a great day for Kelli, it was just simply a great day!  And as I've mentioned on here before that's exactly what we've been trying to do!:)

Remember, if you can't beat the heat, get in the water!:)

Enjoy all the days!

     Last week I had another birthday and many of you would probably agree with me when I say that the older I get the more these days seem to happen!:). Every year my family finds the way to my heart through my love of ice cream cake and other sweets, but it turns out each year there are more candles on these deserts and I just don't think that's very fair:).  Every year I try to convince Kelli that instead of one day of fun that I am entitled to an entire birthday week!  Kelli, being the much wiser half of our team, came up with a far better idea than my birthday week.  She said instead of making your birthday a special day where you attempt to cram in as many fun activities as possible, why not treat EVERY day like your birthday and do something fun every day of the year!!  This of course sounded like a fantastic idea to me!  

     We do a fairly good job of this right now but her point was why wait to do that one special thing on a special day, aren't they all just as special as the rest?  She makes a very valid point, why hold off on taking that trip to the ocean, or playing that really nice golf course, or going out to that fancy dinner, for that one special day each year when you could do it any day of the year!?  None of us have any more of an idea than the next of what will happen from day to day so why not live each one to the fullest?  Kelli is absolutely right when she says that every single day we have on this earth is a special one so we better live them like they are!:)

This newfound philosophy of ours is why a couple days after my birthday I got online and made a tee time for that "once in a lifetime" type golf course!:). I'm going to be in Dallas in a couple weeks for a training so I figured I better take advantage of being in the hometown of my beloved Cowboys by taking in a round of golf on the worlds only NFL themed golf course, Cowboys Golf Club!!  From the replica of five Lombardi trophies to the blue stars in the middle of the fairway, I look forward to this round of golf more than possibly any other round I've ever played in my entire life!  Having my dad join me, a devout Minnesota Vikings fan, will only make the experience that much more enjoyable.  I look forward to this being just one of many special days to come!

Remember, it's too easy to forget just how special each and every day really is, don't lose sight of how lucky we all are just to have another day:)

Accomplishment!

     This past week I had a few things happen that made me think about just how blessed I have been to accomplish what I have in my life!  If you are unfamiliar with my past then that comment may come as a bit surprising, if you know where I've been and what I've done then you completely understand it.  It all started when I shared my story of my alcoholism and the wreck that nearly killed me with a stranger.  As I shared some of the details of the events with her she was brought to tears and said that it was too moving of a story for her to hide her emotions.  Naturally I was in tears by this point, cause I'm a bit of a crier, and as this lady left I began to understand again just how thankful I am that God has given me another chance at this life on Earth!  It has been nearly 12 years since that accident and although I have some lingering physical effects that I continue to deal with, they are very minor and it is easy for me to almost forget about what could have been.
     I have been running now for about five or six years, mostly recreational runs to try to stay in somewhat decent shape because as it turns out my steady diet of anything containing sugar started to slowly catch up with me when I turned 30!  I have run a few 5k's with Jill and a couple fun runs for the Diabetes Association and Susan G. Komen, but nothing longer than Bloomsday here in Spokane which is somewhere around a 10k.  So when Jill proposed earlier this year that we run a half marathon together I initially thought she was nuts!  But I agreed to do one with her as long as we trained together so we could help push each other into condition for it and we signed up for the Missoula Half Marathon.  I figured if I'm going to do one might as well be in the town in which my soul resides:)  So we trained for about three months and ran it yesterday on a beautiful day in a great little city.  While we were running it I was shocked at how "Missoulian" this event is!  At about the 3 mile mark there was a man wearing a tuxedo playing a grand piano in his yard cheering us on, as we crossed the McKlay bridge there were a couple of spectators rooting us on with their husky dogs, by the time we reached the university district there was 90's rap and classical music being played on the same block, and just when I thought we'd witnessed enough cultural commingling for the day at about the 12 mile mark we were passed by a guy signing Katy Perry's Roar as though he was the only one around.  The whole day I was amazed at just how much the entire community of Missoula has fully embraced this event and put their own stamp on it.  As we turned onto Higgins to head over the bridge and cross the finish line the sides of the road were lined with people cheering on strangers, coaxing us to push it to the finish line!  Once across the line we were adorned with our huge medals and as we cooled down with water and snacks I felt like an Olympian!!  

     Finishing this race was an extremely gratifying experience that was only made better by the fact that I got to share it with my sister.  We ran the entire race side by side so we could help each other stay at the pace we needed to, and at about the 7 mile mark I told Jill if I finish this thing it might be one of my prouder moments in life.  She asked why and I told her about sharing my story with that lady who had not known it and I explained to Jill how it gave me a reminder of how lucky I am to even be able to run, let alone run a half marathon!  It sometimes slips my mind that more than one doctor had told me that I might not ever walk again!  Because of the fact that my day to day life has really not been affected that much, I often forget how staggering my chances were of doing the things in this life that I love to do without having to clear a major obstacle first.  As I pounded the pavement yesterday working my way to the finish line I couldn't help but feel completely blessed to be able to take each step!  It may be surprising but even I need a reminder sometimes of how blessed I am and how lucky I am to be doing the things that I do.  I can only hope that I never stop taking advantage of my fortunes and never stop experiencing this life to fullest!!

Remember, sometimes all of us need a brief wake up call to remind us of the things that really matter in life!

Half over or just begun?

     Time just seems to slip by faster by the day anymore!  Here we are in the second week of July already and I find myself asking wether my summer is half over or just beginning!  Holdin true to my new form of consistency with this blog this is only about my second post of the summer and I'm already asking such a deep question.  This is probably because this far our summer days have been rapidly filling up with work and house projects.  Work has been busy with Ryan and I handling most of the claims in Klamath Falls, OR, we are on our way back down again for trip number three on the year for me:).  That part of the country is becoming far too familiar for my liking!

     Aside from work stuff Kelli and I decided to install all new windows in the basement, including an egress for a future bedroom.  We did it with the thoughts of finishing the basement this winter but now that the windows are in I'm having a tough time not diving right into the rest of the project!  We had Dan and Donna come over to help out and despite having to cut two holes in the foundation, which is never an easy task, they went in smoothly and look great!

     We have snuck in a little fun this summer so far, I got to do a little fly fishing on the Yakima river on my way home from Yakima, and we've taken in as much of our local summer fun as possible along the way.  Things like the music in Manito park, and outdoor movies at the Shop in the Perry District!  

     

     Kelli and I also spent the fourth on a boat cruise on lake Coeur D Alene to watch the amazing firworks display they set off from a barge on the water!  This was made even more enjoyable by the fact that we sat right next to a little old grandma who had brought her grandchildren, who were probably our age, to the show.  That alone was a special enough story as it was, but as I chatted with her, like I tend to do:), I discovered that she worked for president Regan!  She didn't divulge exactly whatshe did for him but whatever it was it warranted two secret service agents to be at her beck and call!   You just never know what kind of story the stranger next to you has to share:)

     So as we enter the midway point of summer and I look at our calendar full of events with only about two open weekends between now and September, I think I have my answer, our summer has just begun!!  We still have plenty of fun activities planned for the summer, starting with the Missoula half marathon this coming weekend!  So as long as in still standing after running 13.5 miles next Sunday, which in still trying to figure out why I ever thought was a good idea, I'll continue to update this page with nothing less than the stellar consistency you've all grown accustomed to!:). I hope all of your summers are just begging as well!!

Remember, if life seems rushed just look at your clock as often as possible, that always seemed to make school go by slower!:)

We are all broken

     I am a wounded warrior!!  Kind of a strange way to start a post I know, but that is a message we heard at church the other week and it was reiterated last night at an AA meeting I go to.  One of the guys there said he'd been told one time early on in recovery that every one of us is put on this earth broken.  We are put here with our own faults because God knows this is the best way to get us to come back to him.  I thought about that for a second and at first I didn't think it made any sense.  But then it did start to clear up a little, if we were born into this world without any problems then we would just coast through life and easily loose sight of the fact that we need some help from God.  Think about it, if you never had any troubles growing up and you just kind of coasted through school, then you graduated and got a great job you have no complaints about, married the perfect person, made more money than you knew what to do with, had exactly 2.5 perfect kids who never misbehaved in any way, and lived in a house that was flawless, would you turn to God that often?  I don't know about you but if I had a "perfect" life I would probably tend to think that I have a handle on things myself.  

     I'm not saying that if I never had anything trying happen to me that I wouldn't be a believer, I'm just saying that I know for a fact that I turn to God more in my trying times than I ever do when things are going perfect!  I turn to Him in all of my times of need and as a result I am quick to thank Him when I am blessed in any way.  I think if I didn't have those troubling times to go through then when something good happened I would easily forget who made them possible.  So when my AA buddy said last night that we are all made broken so that we are forced to turn to God in order to be repaired, it made perfect sense.  Nothing in this life comes easily, even for those who seem to be the lucky ones.  If you think about it even the richest people on the planet who have the family that could adorn the cover of a J Crew catalog has been made broken.  Only them and God know what this brokenness is, but they are no different than the rest of us in the fact that they cannot repair themselves.  Every one of us need His help to be repaired!  This may sound crazy, but I am grateful for every single one of my flaws, and I have plenty of them!  I am thankful for them because without them I would not have such a good relationship with God.  And I for one think that the stronger my relationship with Him is the easier this life on earth will be.  I can clearly look back over the tapestry that is my life and see where I leaned on Him for guidance and he responded by showing me which way to go.  My life continues to get better, every day I am thankful for all of my blessings and I look forward to whatever challenges come my way!

Remember, instead of looking at the greener grass on the other side of the fence, water the grass your standing on and be patient as it comes back to life! 

Time Flies!

     I know this sounds a little cliche, but it seems as though the older I get the faster time slips by!  This week we've had a few big events happen that have made this more of a reality and less of a perception.  The first being my baby girl Duchess turned 12 on June 4th!  At the risk of overloading this post with cliche's, it seems like just yesterday that I picked up this tiny little bundle of black fur and paws and brought her home with no real clue what to do next!  

     I would imagine bringing home a new puppy is somewhat similar to bringing home a new baby, you're extremely excited but yet slightly scared.  Somehow though we managed and even though each day brought with it new challenges, they were met and together we learned from them.  From the moment she was a part of my family Duchess has been on a roller coaster, I picked her up in Laurel and on my way back to Conrad as we were leaving town my pick up broke down!  Luckily Jill and Ryan lived there at the time so we borrowed Jill's car to get home while my truck was getting repaired.  From then on has been an adventure to say the least!  Duchess has lived in 11 different houses in her lifetime!  That's almost one move per year!  Yet each time her dad and mom wanted to pack up and move she eagerly gathered up all her tennis balls and embraced the adventure!  

     I know we have truly been blessed to have Duchess in our lives for as long as we have, it seems like every day someone will tell me another sad story about their lab who looked just like her but passed away at 8.  I cherish each day that I have with her and as I write this looking out the office window, watching her and Kashi follow the morning sun around the yard, I can't help but wonder where I would be without her.  She was with me during the darkest days of my life and no matter how low I would get, every time I came back home she was there for me, ready to bring me joy in any way that she can!  They say that dogs are mans best friend, well I feel like Duchess has proven that theory to it's core!  

     The next thing that happened making me realize just how fast time flies is Tatum's kindergarten graduation yesterday!  The graduation was very cool as they sang a couple songs as a class, watched a very well put together slide show where they each held up signs saying what they wanted to be when they grew up, then finally received their diplomas.  As we sat there watching the little girl who just wont stop growing up I couldn't help but think about how quickly she has gone from crawling around on the floor, to walking across the graduation stage!  

     We have watched her go from a curious little girl who is not afraid to try anything once, as long as she thinks about it and does it her way, to the mature little school girl who seems to get smarter every single day!  I've been lucky enough to coach Tatum in t-ball two years in a row now and the difference I see on the field on Friday nights between last year and this year is unbelievable!  Last year she was on a different team so she didn't really know anyone and was kind of quiet and shy, this year even though she's got almost all new teammates she's one of the "veterans", interacting with the other kids and leading by example rather than just doing what everyone else is doing.  Last year she wouldn't play catch before the game with anyone unless you pretty much forced her to, this year she plays catch with the first kid to show up no matter who it is.  Every week she tells me something that she learned in school that I didn't even know!  It's pretty humbling when you start learning things from a 5 year old!

     The last thing that happened came today when our other daughter Kashi turned 11!  Duchess and her ironically have birthdays a day apart from each other just like Jill and I and Kashi and I are both the second one so we can share in each others sorrow a bit.  It's an ongoing joke in our family that growing up I never got the birthday I wanted because we always celebrated them together and Jill got all the attention since hers was the first birthday and shes the "favorite":)  Kashi is the same way, since Duch is the first birthday she usually gets all of the attention and poor Kashi just gets to celebrate hers with Duchess.  Well everyone knows that it's not actually true and just like Kashi will get her own special day today, I too got my own special day.  Much like Duchess when I look at Kashi now I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by since she joined our family!  I can remember seeing her in her kennel at the shelter we were volunteering at and knowing as soon as our eyes met that she was supposed to be with us!  She proved that our feelings were right when the day we picked her up and she jumped in the pick up to meet her new sister for the first time and they looked at each other, Kashi licked Duchess's face once and they sat down next to each other and looked at us as though nothing was out of the ordinary.  It was like they were two kindred spirits that were always meant to be together all along.

     In no time at all Duchess and Kashi were inseparable, now after spending the last 8 years together if one of them is more than 50' form the other they start getting worried:)  They say that nobody just bumps into another person by accident, that everyone we meet in life is for a reason, I truly believe that dogs are no different.  Kashi coming into our home was no accident, she was supposed to be Duchess's little sister all along, we were just lucky enough to bring them together!

    

     So as I look back on this week and can't help but feel like time just won't slow down, I understand that this is just how life is and I am okay with that.  Knowing that things won't be slowing down helps me to fully cherish every moment that happens in this life, whether big or small.  If we don't cherish these little moments we won't remember them, and you can't get them back so we have to enjoy them as they happen!

Remember, time isn't a factor in the highlight reel of your life, only the moments matter.

Movie stars!!

    Have you ever had a weekend that felt like you were in a movie?  I did this past weekend and it was so much fun I hope to replicate it many more times this summer!!  Nothing abnormally special happened, just a series of events that all felt right.  It all started with another t-ball game, I've been helping Jill coach Tatums team this year and we have another game each Friday night.  Tatum had a birthday party to attend so she didn't play this week so Kelli decided to stay home and we made plans to meet at the park after the game.  Manito park, which is just a few blocks from our house, has music in the park every Friday night through the summer and last weekend was the kick off.  My first moment of feeling like we were in a movie came as I walked past the small pond in the park admiring the baby ducks that had just arrived.  I made my way to the small hill in front of the Park Bench Grill and sat down to listen to some music while I waited for Kelli to get there.  After waiting for about two songs I looked up and the sun was shining through the tall trees, forcing me to squint my eyes as they met the most beautiful girl in the park making her way towards me!  As she walked over to me I stood up and smiled as she walked her way right into my arms.  

     After we ordered some dinner from the grill we laid there on the hillside for the next couple hours, soaking up the good music and relishing each other's company.  Just a short while after we walked back in the house we were invited to ice cream at a new place downtown with some friends, ice cream is always the perfect way to end a great night!

    The next morning we slept in for a bit and Jill came up to the hill so we could do our long run for the week, her and I are training for a half marathon and each Saturday is our long run, this week was 8 miles!  So if this past weekend was a theatrical version of our lives this time would be reserved for intermission!  As fun as it is to run on the hill and know that we're getting that much closer to our goal, running that far is rough!!:).  On the bright side though the ice cream I'd had the previous night was long gone after the run!  Once that was behind us though we took care of a few minor little house projects that had been lingering and spent a little quality time with our dogs.  We went for a long walk then sat in the backyard playing fetch, petting heads, getting Kashi kisses, and BBQing!  It was such a relaxing Saturday of soaking up the sun, we stayed outside right up until there was no more vitamin D left in the air.

     Sunday brought with it a new experience, we tried a new church which is a sister church of the one we normally go to.  It's up here on the hill, within walking distance of home, and it was pretty neat!  We both thoroughly enjoyed the message and left feeling recharged for the week!  We went to the book store next and after we got home we walked down to the park with a blanket to read under the days new dose of vitamin D.  We read for a while then went up to a local market to pick up some bread, cheese, grapes, and dessert for yet another backyard picnic.  As we sat at the picnic table in the shade and I looked across the table, I couldn't help but show the same smile I had shown in the park on Friday as I truly felt blessed to be dining with such a stunning woman!  Each time we spend a weekend like this one where we don't really leave a 20 block radius and have so much fun, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be in this life.  And when the leading lady of my life's "movie" is so beautiful and fun to be with, how could this life not feel like a movie?!  Kelli really likes looking at the baby ducks each spring and we wrapped up our weekend a little late, this evening, by running into a family of ducks in the pond near the restaurant we ate dinner at tonight.  As I watched Kelli's face light up while she watched the babies swim around I couldn't help but smile and put my arm around her. The show must go on:)

Remember, sometimes the most memorable moments in life happen when you least expect them to!