3 years old

     There's nothing like a dog to teach you unconditional love. They are always SO excited to see me when I get home. They always make you feel so loved. I get to come home to a big smooch from my husband and lots of puppy cuddles, so lucky!

 

    I can't believe Butter is 3 years old. 3 was a big year for me. There's not a lot of dogs that I know that make it past 3. One of the girls I know that loved her Golden Retriever lost him at 3 years old and I've been so traumatized ever since. Needless to say I was so happy to be celebrating birthday number 3. And, I know Butter has been eagerly waiting for this day too ;)

For his birthday I took them to Petco. I was actually a bad doggie mom and didn't celebrate on his actual birthday because I had to work. So, I had to make it up to him. (Okay, okay maybe I was the only one feeling guilty since he really has no clue what's going on)

                      

They had a good time walking around the store chatting with other dogs (aka smelling each other's butts) I got them some treats and we headed back home.

I waited for Michael to get home to give him his birthday treat, since it's quite the production taking a picture of a dog, wearing a birthday hat, while turning on candles, while getting the camera ready, and making him stay, and keeping Gus away from the picture, and, and and... you get the picture :)

He was so excited to get his mouth on that cookie. Such a patient boy! Golden's are such pleasers. They will do anything to make their owners happy, all in exchange of some belly rubs.

 Then it was time to open presents, or taking the tags off the rawhides, whatever :)

  Gus is so naughty when it comes to treats. He will hide his own and go take Butter's. Butter is so sweet that he always gives up his treats. He will look up at me when Gus takes his treats away because he knows he'll get another one. He is SO good at sharing. I told Mike to keep Gus away so Butter could enjoy his birthday cookie all by himself.

I'm in love with these two pups. These two are part of our little family and we wouldn't have it any other way. Happy Birthday my little Butter ball!

Hiking to the Y

The day we headed out from Utah, Alex said that they had talked about going on a little hike. I had mentioned that I wanted to go hiking but we went to watch Jurassic World instead (which I loved!) I was surprised that they wanted to go hiking. Marsix had mentioned to me to bring my hiking stuff while I was packing, so I was ready to go when they said we were going hiking. I love being out doors. Specially in Utah, it's so beautiful. I love anytime I get to go hiking, I love the challenge. And oh boy, was that hike a challenge! Marsix had asked me how hard this hike was, I didn't want to be brutally honest because I thought maybe she'd back out, but I told her that atleast there are benches all along the way so she could sit. Unfortunately it was later in the day and it was getting hot, which really didn't help our situation. (It was Armando's fault since he made us chilaquiles from breakfast, yum!)

Vanellope loved having daddy carry her. Alex is SO stubborn and carried her up the entire way! This hike is already hard enough, I can't imagine carrying a baby up. But he wouldn't let me carry her. She was so happy and content until it was really hot and she got cranky. Poor thing all she wanted to do was to sleep. We made sure she got plenty of water since it was getting quite hot. 

 There were a couple of times I thought we wouldn't make it up. I told Marsix that we needed to walk slower since it was so steep. This really helped us both, it wasn't as hard when you go slow and steady. Last time I went on the hike, Mike and his long legs were racing up the hill, man that was a toughey to catch up.

 When we 3/4 of the way up Vane started crying. She was expressing what we were all feeling. Alex wanted to take her back down to the car. I was sad that he wasn't going to finish the hike. He had worked so hard and had already gone this far. When we had only like 100 feet to go he said he was done, and that he would work his way down. WHAT! Both Marsix and him wanted to go down already. You could LITERALLY see the Y right behind them. But, I don't have a baby and I know that they were thinking about Vanellope and her being hot so I understood. I told them I would go up really quick and take some pictures from the top.

 

 

Right as I was going up Marsix started going behind me. I was so happy that she was going to finish this hard thing. I think it's so important to do hard things. Maybe that's why I like hiking. I like knowing that If I persevere, that there will be a price at the end. That for me is always the majestic view you get when you get to the top of a mountain.  

 

We did it!

 The view is always worth it

Marsix said she was going go to stay with Vanellope in the shade so Alex could walk up. When I turned around I noticed they were both climbing up together. I was so happy. It made me think about this life. And how hard it is. But it's important that we get through hard things. It's even better when your family or friends help you get through hard things. And we had done that. We had been each other's cheerleaders through out the whole (steep) way. And at the end we were able to finish together. It was such a wonderful feeling.

 

 After some pictures at the top we made our way down. That was a much happier and faster way.  

 Vanellope woke up very happy from her nap

 

I could barely catch up with Marsix. We had all been drooling about some super cold Gatorades and the A/C in the car. We couldn't wait to get down.  

 I'm glad I was able to conquer this hike again. Next time I will definitely pack more water and I'll bring Mike with me (so he can carry my water, hehe) (just kidding) (maybe)

 

 

Teenagers

     I had the privilege of attending my cousin Yesica's funeral services. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to make it because I couldn't find a plane ticket since I decided to go last minute. Thankfully my cousin Marsix and her little family were going late Thursday night which was perfect because I did school during the day and listened to lecture on my way up to Utah. She's my bestfriend and really any time that I am able to hang out with them, we always have a blast. I was sad that Mike wasn't able to make it :( He had just asked for vacations for his grandma's birthday in July so he couldn't turn around and ask for more vacations. We really missed him. It wasn't the same without him. I always feel a little home sick when he's not able to travel with me.
     Yesica's funeral services were so beautiful. Everyone who spoke about her during the services had such wonderful things to say about her. She was such a beautiful person both inside and out. I usually don't like viewings but before the services, my family was able to gather together with her one last time. I didn't know that I would want to see her, but I did. When I approached the casket I noticed there was a white beanie with a red border. I turned to my aunt (her mom) and asked why there was a beanie in there. She said her oldest son Santiago Jr (the one that graduated high school days before) had made it for her mom. He said 'I bet she loved it because I made it for her'. I looked at my aunt and smiled with my eye balls full of tears and decided that it was best I go and sit my butt back down before I started to ugly sob :)
     You could really tell by looking at her self less, loving, friendly children what amazing parents they both are. During the service my family and I had the opportunity of all going up together and singing a hymn. I remember looking up for a split second at all of my family gathered together. We were all wearing white. I remember thinking, 'this is what Heaven is going to look like' and immediately got a big huge knot in my throat. My aunt Mary elbowed me because I had stopped singing and she was following me along with the melody. I smiled and went on to singing. I'm so in love with the family Heavenly Father has given me.
     After the program we went to the grave site. I was in awe with Yesica's little family. After their mom was buried, they did a little family hug. Santiago said Yesica used to be in the middle when they did family hugs. There was no doubt in my mind Yesica was in the middle that day. At the end of saying our goodbyes to Yesica, some one noticed there were some ducks flying right above us. They were all white, flying around in a circle. It was such a peaceful, beautiful feeling. We all watched as the birds slowly flew away. It was such a beautiful closure to Yesica's life.
     Santiago's ward prepared some yummy lunch for us. You could tell they live in a great ward, every one was so nice. Santiago came over to our table and just like he always did since I've known him, he shared his testimony with us. He said he had seen Heavenly Father's hand this whole week, and even for the last couple of years. He said looking back God had slowly been preparing him for this day. He also shared on Facebook how the day before he was upset with Yesica and went to sit on the couch. He said something told him to forgive and forget and he went back with Yesica and had a great day, sharing stories, laughter and they went out and got food. My testimony of eternal families has really been strengthened by watching him go through this hard trial. I'm sure it's been heartbreaking every day for him. But he has managed to get up and keep going. It makes me happy to know that we will be okay if a family member passes away. If President Hinkley who was the President of the church can cry over the passing of his sweet wife, so can we. It's okay to feel sad like Jesus when his cousin had passed. We can morn over the loss of others, so long as we keep going and working towards making sure we do everything we can to meet them in Heaven.
     After having lunch together with my family, Santiago's job 'Grand America' invited us to their beautiful hotel to have dinner. They accommodated us in a beautiful room and all of the food was very good. Even during this hard time, Santiago treated us like he always does. His job even let family stay in the hotel rooms for free because most of them were out of town. We had a great time at the hotel. It is unfortunate that we only get together during funerals, but I'm thankful for even those opportunities to see cousins and uncles that we don't get to see too often. The hotel was beautiful and my cousin took pictures of families outside by the fountain. When the sun was down we found ourselves (cousins) all gathered around in a circle having a good time. I felt like such an old fart surrounded by teenagers. It seems like all of my cousins are the same age and are all growing up together. Before you know it we'll be going to weddings every other month.
     We decided the night was young and didn't want to leave. We wanted to go see Jurassic World but since no one ever decided on anything it got really late. Marsix had the idea of going up behind Capital Hill to see the city lights. Yazmin let me borrow her van, Marsix took her dad's van and my cousin Jessica took her truck. We piled up all the teens in the cars and headed up the hill. One of Santiago Jr's cousins was 'wild'. Man that kid acted like he had just eaten 30 packs of sugar! When we were hiking up the hill he was going around scaring the girls. It was a residential area and we had told them to be extra quite. Needless to say as soon as we made it to the top, the security guard flashed his lights at us to come down the hill. Womp, womp. Down we went. We decided to go to plan B, which was temple square. We were able to make it there un-eventfully, just the way I like it :)

     I was so glad when we made it back with all 18 people without losing any one, and getting Yazmin's car safe and sound. We sure had fun hanging out with these goofballs.

     The next day my cousin Anabel and her huband had us over for lunch. Once again we had the opportunity to get together as a family. (I made Marsix jump in the trampoline so that I could get a cute Vanellope smile) 

My uncles are always SO funny and I love hanging out with them. I think they get it from my grandpa, he was always making us laugh. Thank goodness for eternal families we also get to see him again one day.

Gus

I can't believe we've had this little guy for over a year and a half now. He used to be so crazy and naughty, it's great to see the progress he's made by just hanging out with his big bro Butter.

These two have become the cutest little friends. They do everything together, I love it!

I LOVE this picture. It was at our old house. I had heard some noise in the kitchen and immediately knew who the victim was. I called Gus and he came over looking like this. I couldn't help but laugh at him. I didn't even have to go see what he did to know that he was being naughty.

Gus is the sweetest dog ever. He loves being independent and isn't much of a cuddler like Butter. He loves sleeping in his bed and will cuddle up in his blankets. He's always slept on his blanket. If he didn't have his blanket he would find our dirty clothes, take out a shirt and sleep on there. Now that they sleep in the garage, he has his own blanket. He loves bed time. Bed time means he gets to sleep in his blanket and he gets a treat. ( aka dental sticks)

He has the hugest smile ever. Oh you should have seen him yesterday. I left them in the garage and left the door propped open with a big gallon of paint so that it could cool off in there. Some how (not surprised) he managed to get on top of the bucket and into the house. I heard him sneaking around in the living room. He came over into my room looked at me ( with the hugest grin I ever did see) and took off running all over the house. I couldn't even be mad at him cause the stinker is so cute.

Gus is SUPER smart but only when it comes to being naughty or when he knows he's going to get a treat, then he's EXTRA good.

It cracks me up the way he sits and the way he lays, definitely not your typical dog!

Last week we took them to the park to get some wiggles out. I didn't realize that right next to the park was a high school and right across the street was a middle school. Oh, and we happened to go right when kids were getting out of school. I was SO impressed with the way these two behaved. We even had them off their leashes. I was so happy to see that Gus stayed by my side the entire time. My nieces and nephews have sure trained my dogs right. They don't even think twice about being around large groups of people. They're totally used to it.

 I made Mike take a picture of Gus cause I've never seen a dog lay like that :) I love our fur babies. Butter has always been an awesome dog, but Gus has really come a long way. His only problem is that he LOVES to play. That's his biggest default. Whenever there's dogs around, he'll start whining and pulling the leash wanting to go play. He's been a lot better and coming back whenever we let him run around the park without a leash. Some times he'll take off a little farther than I want him to, but he knows to follow Butter and usually comes back after exploring or sniffing whatever it is he's after.