I can’t believe another year end is upon us! This year has been a year of highs as well as a year of lows. Without further ado, here’s the 2017 wrap up!
January
- Jan 21: Moving Day! After what seemed like the longest process ever, we FINALLY moved to our dream home and ranch! I still can’t believe it’s ours when I wake up every morning!
- Jan 30: Filed LLC paperwork to open Black Dog Stables. Never in a million years did I imagine we would have our own business! It is so amazing to have the ranch and to be able to work with horses!
February
- Feb 5: Superbowl Party. Our first get-together in our new home! Mike made ribs and we had an absolute blast!
- Feb 18: Jeremy & Mary Ann’s wedding. I practically grew up with Jeremy, so it was wonderful to watch him find his true love and to marry her!
March
- Mar 4: New chicks & ducks. We lost several chickens this year
to old age and heat. I got a new batch of chicks and decided to give ducks a try. Enter Quackers and Cheese! They’re disgusting animals, but the duck eggs are absolutely amazing!
April
- Apr 6: Shadow diagnosed with cancer. My little old man started showing signs of not feeling well in early April. We took him to the vet and found out he had cancer. We ran some tests to prep for surgery and discovered that it had wrapped itself around several organs and was inoperable. We brought him home to spend his last days in peace.
- Apr 14: Shadow passes away. On one of the first beautiful days after a week or so of rain, Shadow went out, laid down by the pool in a patch of sunshine, and passed away in peace.
May
- May 6: Run for Rory. I am beyond proud of my stepdaughter, Kayla. Her friend Rory committed suicide and Kayla organized a run that benefited the local suicide prevention group. It was a beautiful day and so good to see a large turn out!
- May 7: Jenny joins the family! In what can only be described as God’s plan, little miss Jenny started hanging around Mike’s fire station. She was clearly a stray and we decided to make her ours! In a twist of fate, we found out that day that she was pregnant!
- May 13: Kennedy Mine Tour. For Mother’s Day, we headed out to the local mine for a tour. It was absolutely amazing to see and to learn all about the history!
June
- Jun 7: Seven puppies!!! The puppies were born just four short weeks after Jenny joined the family. It was absolutely an amazing thing to watch and Jenny is such a good mama! Little Tritip was the first born and I fell in love almost instantly!
- Jun 24: Guild tea party. My mama is a fantastic quilter and a member of a guild. They had a tea party that also raised money for the guild and my sister and I joined her. It was so much fun and I can’t wait for next year’s event!
- Jun 26: My “puppy shower”. My sister and best friends tricked me into thinking we were just having lunch, but it turns out they threw me a puppy shower! Everyone brought gifts for Jenny and it was absolutely the sweetest thing ever!
July
- Jul 1: Mom’s Surprise 60th birthday party. We pulled off an epic surprise – a surprise “diamond jubilee” 60th birthday party for my mama! We held it at the ranch and had her friends from all over join in the fun! There was music and even riding the blow-up bull in the pool!
- Jul 24: Tari joins the family! We own a horse ranch, so of course we were going to end up owning more than one horse! Tari joined the family and is retired. She gets to be ridden once in a while but mostly gets to hang out in the pasture with her friends and just be a horse!
August
- Aug 5: Jamie’s baby shower. My good friend Jamie was expecting her first little one and her shower was amazing!
- Aug 7: Epic dog collision. A game of ball turned into an epic mess. Jenny needed 7 stitches and knocked a tooth through her lip, while Brady broke a canine tooth in half.
- Aug 10: Brady’s surgery. After the collision, poor Brady had to have his canine tooth removed.
- Aug 15: Lady Gaga concert. I won tickets to the company suite at work – Lady Gaga was absolutely amazing!
- Aug 19-26: Lake Almanor aka “Tippy’s Big Adventure”. Normally Brady would go
with me, but he was recovering from surgery, so I decided to introduce Tritip to Lake Almanor! He was a mere 8 weeks old, but had a blast – he went for his first swims, rode in the boat, and did really well!
September
- Sept 1: Jenny gets spayed. As much fun as the puppies were, it’s not something I wanted to undertake again, so little miss Jenny had to get spayed. She did really well!
- Sept 15-17: Cabin trip. I loaded up the horse trailer and headed out for a great weekend of riding with my friends – it was amazing!
- Sept 19: Mike promoted. I am beyond proud of my hubby – this year he was promoted to Division Chief! I had the honor of pinning him – so very proud!
October
- Oct 14: Juliette’s 3rd birthday. My sister knows how to throw a party and Juliette’s Paw Patrol birthday was no exception!
- Oct 20: Preston Castle Haunt. I went with my sister in law Nicki and her friend Lori to the Haunt – it was so much fun!
- Oct 22: 6 Year Anniversary. Time flies while you’re having fun! We took our anniversary trip a little later this year, but spent some time together on our special day!
November
- Nov 2: Nate pinned as a battalion chief. I’m so proud of my brother in law who was promoted to Battalion Chief this year!
- Nov 10 – 14: Chicago anniversary “roadtrip”. We spent 5 days in Chicago and had a blast! While we were there, we went to the Shedd Aquarium, caught a Chicago Bears game, visited the “bean”, and stood on the glass in the Willis tower!
Nov 20: Oma passes away. After a hearbreakingly long battle with Alzheimers, my sweet Oma passed away. It was difficult, but I had a few days to go visit with her before she died and I’m so thankful for that!- Nov 26: Seahawks vs. 49ers game. As a surprise birthday present for Mike, I snagged us tickets to see the 49ers play the Seahawks at Levi stadium. Our good friends Sean and Erin came along with us – we had a really wonderful time!
December
- Dec 1: Oma’s funeral. It was a beautiful day to lay my Oma to rest with my Opa.
- Dec 16: Chloe’s 5th birthday party. This sweet little girl had the best princess birthday party!
- Dec 24: Christmas with the Blankenheims. We had a great Christmas at my in-laws!
- Dec 25: Christmas with the Smithsons & Barcklays. It was a wonderful Christmas at my parents house!
- Dec 27: Tritip gets snipped. Keep him from running, jumping, and rough housing, they said. Yeah, right.
Down The Road I Go 