If there is one thing I am a firm believer in, it is that love comes in different forms for everyone. In this little house, we share a lot of love and the vast majority of it is directed to our furry friends. To us, they aren't just animals, and they certainly surpass the title of a mere pet. Our pups are part of the family, and we love them like such.

Each of our dogs came in to our lives at different times, and in most cases, at just the right time. Murphy and Cheech were the ones who came in to both mine and Wyet's lives at the precise moment they were needed most {when we each really needed some unconditional love}, and I truly believe they helped pull us through some of our most difficult days. With Rio, it was different. Rio was there for it all.

Wyet has had Rio in his life since he was eight years old. She was the family dog, and the stories he has of her are endless. In her younger days, she was agile as ever; taking laps around the kitchen and up the stairs as fast as she could go. She indulged in tomatoes {straight off the neighbors bushes} and once lost an encounter with a beehive. She was everything a family dog is meant to be: a perfect snuggle partner, the favored child, a best friend.

Even though I have known Rio since I began dating Wyet {in 2004!}, it wasn't until we moved in together that we truly became family. Over the past three years, Rio has had a major presence in my daily routine, and she has played an enormous role in both my and Wyet's lives. While we have spent a good deal of time taking care of Rio over the years, there is no denying the way she took care of us. It takes a great deal of work to implement patience in two people as short fused as us, but she certainly did it. Because of Rio, we have learned how to be more compassionate and understanding, to not get angry about things that are out of our control and to remember that above all else, everyone needs love and attention.

When we realized that Rio's time on earth was coming to a close it was a somber moment, but the memories made and the affect she has had on our family will last a lifetime. As difficult as it has been, we both have taken solace in the knowledge that all dogs go to heaven and that someone was happily waiting for her with arms wide open.

Forever in our hearts Deena!

Brian Head: A Weekend Getaway

As most people would likely agree, moments matter more than things. Which is why over the past few years, Wyet and I have made a conscious effort to give the gift of experience rather than material objects as often as possible. An experience shared will last longer {and mean more} than any mere present. This past Christmas, we celebrated in the way that we know best, running away for a weekend retreat together. Regardless of how far away we go, weekend getaways always leave me completely refreshed with a subtle reminder of how blessed I am to be sharing my life with the one I love the absolute most.

It was a white winter indeed!

Since I have come to the realization that snowboarding isn't for me, I really tag along with Wyet for the excuse to indulge in bar food and hefeweizens :)

Can you blame me?

By far, the best part of the trip was night tubing!

Until next time!

Holiday Cheer

This holiday season has definitely seemed a bit different than the past few. While I am generally in favor of attending every holiday function and volunteering myself for the most demanding of tasks, this year has been just the opposite. I have felt overwhelmed at the thought of "doing it all", and as a result, I feel like I have cut myself loose from some holiday obligations.

Last year, I went above and beyond with my Christmas cheer. I participated in a December Daily photo challenge, and because of that, I felt like I tried even harder to make memorable {photo-worthy} moments. This year, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Plainly put, I felt tired of trying so hard to make a picture perfect life.

As a result, I have significantly less photos this holiday season and, ironically enough, a much more grateful heart. Rather than spending every moment focused on capturing my perfect day, I was able to see things that may have went unnoticed. The simple things, such as Wyet turning on the Christmas lights before I get home from work {because he knows how much I love seeing the house lit up} and the freshly shoveled walkway are daily occurrences that have previously went unnoticed. Now, I see the importance of the everyday moments {the way the dogs sit in the windowsill waiting for us to get home} and how those little things are what I truly want to remember.

Just because I am in a bit of a holiday funk this year doesn't mean that all of our traditions went out the window. We still held true to those traditions that mean the absolute most to us. We still decorated sugar cookies, went to A Christmas Carol and celebrated the birthday of Matye. We focused on the important aspects of the season; family and spending time together.

I am sure that in years to come I will have those holidays seasons where I go overboard and want to do everything just perfectly. But for now, here is to a holiday season where I didn't try so hard, and it turned out fine.

Taking pictures for our Christmas cards turned out to be quite the adventure. The day before these photos were taken, I had every one dressed up nicely and was working so hard on getting the perfect photo. When nothing was turning out right,  I bagged the idea. We tried again the next day, and while the photo is simple, it is real.

The cat refused to be a part of our family photo

I spent a Sunday with some of my closest friends watching A Roman Holiday {a black and white classic} followed by a stroll through the Festival of Lights. I am so grateful for these friends in my life.

Frosting sugar cookies is something Wyet and I started doing together years ago. When Wyet first told me Kev was coming over that night, I was irritated because I wanted it to be just the two of us. However, sometimes it's true that the more the merrier, and we ended up having an awesome night.

While Wyet and I didn't make it to every Christmas party this year, we did make the most of the ones we did attend. Wyet even won the ugly sweater contest {obviously}.

Now that Ash has such a crazy work schedule, we didn't get to spend her entire birthday together like we usually do. Nonetheless, I am happy I got to spend a bit of the morning with her at least. She is truly a great friend, and I am grateful for her presence in my life.

Setting up Matye's Christmas decorations.

After A Christmas Carol, my parents treated us all to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory. Having the whole family together is rare, and I treasure these photos and moments together more than anything. These are the moments that holidays should be filled with. These are the real gifts of Christmas.

October Recap: List Edition

This past week at work I was introduced to a new trend called Listers Gotta List. It is from The Reset Girl site, and each month there is a list of prompts to help you document your everyday life. As a list enthusiast, I fell in love with this idea. Here is my October recap using this month's prompts:

1. Favorite October Memories: Watching The Addams Family play at the Hale
2. Favorite Fall Beverage: Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pumpkin Beer
3. Favorite Comfort Food: Macaroni & Cheese
4. Fall Fashion: Lace up boots and sweaters
5. My Favorite Accomplishment: Making big decisions regarding our future housing situation
6. Cherished Childhood Treasure: A cardboard book I have had forever called Sweetie & What's For Lunch
7. Things I Want to Accomplish This Year: Budget Planning
8. Halloween Costume: Moriticia Addams
9. Currently Reading & Watching: Mainly reading magazines lately {Real Simple, House Beautiful & Food Network} watching all the seasons of 3rd Rock from the Sun
10. Things That Inspire Me: I am constantly inspired by my creative friends.
11. Favorite Scary Movie: The Burbs {even though it's not that scary}
12. Favorite Pattern: Floral and Houndstooth
13. What's on my Desk: A wooden cat from Jamaica, a C marquee letter and a picture of Wyet and the pups
14. Morning Routine: Rushed! 
15. Looking Forward To: A new home
16. Evening Routine: Homemade dinner with Wyet, a shower, a show and sudoku
17. Favorite Snack: String Cheese & Pickles
18. Something I Learned: That Wyet and I can make difficult decisions together {without completely going crazy on each other}
19. Why Fall is Magical: Everything changes - the colors, the weather, even my outlook on life
20. Favorite Music Genre: 80s rock
21. What I Can't Live Without: Murphy
22. Ways I am Still a Kid: Pixar movies are still my favorite
23. Things That Make Make Me Fall in Love: Weekend breakfasts with Wyet that seem to last for hours
24. Where I Want to Vacation Next Year: Yellowstone
25. Holiday Plans: Getting a tiny Christmas tree {that is all that will fit in our house}, attending A Christmas Carol production and playing board games by the fire with Wyet
26. My Reading List: The Girl in the Spider's Web {a continuation of the Stieg Larsson series}
27. What's on my Craft Planner: Working on my yearly Christmas scrapbook
28. Things I Love About the Internet: Pinterest
29. Times I Have Surprised Myself: Managing life as a grown up is surprising enough!
30. Something I Accomplished in October: Finally getting caught up at work
31. Favorite Halloween Candy: Hershey's Cookies & Cream 

October has always been one of my favorite months, and Halloween is definitely my preferred holiday. To celebrate this year, we kept true to our yearly traditions of carving pumpkins with Wyet's mom and dressing up. The festivities exceeded even further with the invitation to a Halloween wedding of our old friend Robert. To top off the eventful month, Wyet pushed himself to get back in the drawing room with an Inktober challenge. Overall, it was cheerful month, and we made countless memories along the way.

Carving time!

Pat carving her crayons!

Matye's colorful pumpkin.

Two crazies and a cheshire cat!

Wyet working on one of his many Inktober drawings. 

My personal favorite!

Hendryx dressed up as a skeleton this year and came trick-or-treating at my work. He scored these funny glasses in his bucket and instantly became obsessed with them.

Enjoying the warm weather in Kanab after the wedding.

Making the most of our trip to Kanab, we spent the weekend with some of our oldest friends. Walking around with Wyet and Kevin took me back to the early stages of our friendship before any of us could drive. 

After the Halloween party/reception, we headed back to our hotel to continue celebrating. As it turns out, we are all way older than we want to admit. We were fast asleep by 10:00 p.m!