Cowboy @ His Squaw

Grandpa & Jayne had fun on Halloween too! Too perfect!!

HALLOWEEN 2007

Hi everyone! It's been awhile since anyone posted to our family blog. With the holidays coming I expect to see a few more contributions from everyone. Joe & Erica...we need to see your recent Hawaii trip!

I got to go trick or treating with Amy, Fred & the boys. What a great little neighborhood. After Fred came up with the great pirate costume, the boys, of course, had to match Dad. So we quickly came up with their "matey" costumes. Jack didn't quite know what to make of the whole activity...Derick....well, when we came to a "scary" house, he'd look in his treat bucket and say..."I'm good! I've got enough candy!! And Amy....well, could there be a more beautiful witch??

Leah...we need to see Bryce' costume!!

Thanksgiving...it seems that Eric & Leah will be hosting our dinner this year. I understand very few want turkey??? Joe, I guess we'll need some input from you. Don't forget....this is Eric's Birthday too!!

Alaska Trip

We had such a great time in Alaska. It was fun for us to have our last hoorah with just the three of us. I took more video than pics,but here are some. My goal is for all of us to go do this next summer. It is truly the last frontier and the most spectacular sights of my life have been here.



Munchie and I doing the Ziplines in Whistler. She was scared out of her mind at first,but she overcame her fears and we had a blast.
A picture worth a thousand words.

Cool bison.
This was so cool. I standed next to him and just stared. He is huge. Very impressive.
On our whale watching cruise we saw 2 groups of whales and both were bubble feeding. To see this is very rare so it was a treat. Pictures dont really jusify this or anything in Alaska for that matter. We were alot closer than it appears.

Uncle Sam
This is where we went to the dogsleeding camps. These are actual Ididerod dogs and munch absolutely fell in love with every dog there.(all 100 of them)

Grizzley bears are one of the best things we saw.

We've had a sad night

Hi Everyone,

Right around midnight tonight we had to have Bomber put down as his body was succumbing to a tumor on his spleen which had ruptured and was bleeding into his stomach. I went out to say goodnight to the dogs around 11:00 and noticed that Bomber was extremely lethargic, he wouldn't move, his stomach was very distended and he barely responded to me calling his name. Normally, as soon as I'm opening that sliding glass door he's there and ready for his goodnight pat.

I came into the house and told Eric that there was something really wrong with Bomber. After going out and seeing him for himself, I found an emergency animal clinic. We got Bryce out of bed, loaded Bomber up in the truck and had him there in about 10 minutes.

After the doctor examined him and took an x-ray he explained the tumor, the internal bleeding and our options. They could most certainly do surgery, but he would only have a 30% chance of making it through and if it worked, his life would only be extended 6 months...and they wouldn't necessarily be enjoyable for him.

So we had to make a really tough decision. In that time, Eric spoke to the staff and inquired if we could bring his body home with us to bury him. It isn't something they normally allow, but Eric somehow talked them into it. So Eric, Bryce and I all went back and said our goodbyes. Bryce even gave him a hug. It was very sweet. We stood by him, petting him and talking to him as he fell asleep.

Eric and I buried him tonight when we got home. I put Bryce to bed and we went to work. Katie laid next to him and wouldn't move. He was all wrapped up, but she knew who it was. It just broke my heart.

He was the best dog I've ever known in my life. It sounds cheesy, I know, but he was what I had to take care of all of those years we didn't have children. It's been a very emotional night for us. Sorry for the sad news, but I thought I'd get a post up tonight before we go to bed. And, of course, a picture :)

Leah

All that hiking can be so exhausting

I think I'll use Gramma Clark's walking stick for awhile

Leah and Bryce up in the Mariposa Grove

Eric, Leah and Bryce at Glacier Point; Halfdome in the background

That's all for now. I'll get some more posted later!

Leah

Amy feeding the squirrel...bad example!! :) But he was so cute when he begged


This bear crossed our trail as we were hiking at Hetchy Hetchy and went up the hill. He looked to be about a year old.

This is the waterfall we hiked to at Hetchy Hetchy. It was much more impressive up close and personal. If you look at the top of the photo, it starts much higher at the top and then comes down and hits all of these rocks just above us. It throws up an amazing mist. As we walked along the bridges there the mist was so thick it felt like it was raining on us. The hike was pretty hot, so it was a welcome reward.

Three Peas in a Pod
Connie gets her hugs
Bryce is hard at work hiking
Jack lends a shoulder for Bryce to sleep on
Leah, Eric and Bryce next to the river on the Mirror Lake Hike