Frank Neil Jackson, my dad's dad, passed away on Thursday November 4, 2011. Kyla and I visited him a few weeks before his passing to introduce him to his first great grandchild. Needless to say, he was all smiles and ready to get a photo with his hand on Kyla's belly. Ky asked him what he thought it would be, a boy or a girl, "a boy" he said. Simple as that.

Jed and I visited him again on the Saturday the 30th of October. He had gone down hill quite a bit in those three weeks and was now slightly disoriented and extremely tired. We stayed for a while and then decided to grab some lunch with my aunt. I kissed him on the head and Jed put out his hand to say goodbye. Grampa shook his hand and groaned as if Jed's grip was unbearable. Then he stopped, looked up and gave him the biggest toothless grin on can imagine. Later Jed told me that that moment to Jed meant that Grampa approved. Which is completely correct.

The Love Blog

I have been so in and out of deciding what to blog about that most of the time I just ignore the fact that I ever even created a blog. I have changed my mind again and this time, I am posting about what I am most passionate about in this wonderful world. LOVE.

This past weekend my dad's side of the family gathered in Durango, CO for my Grampa Frank's funeral. It just happened to be my Aunt Anne's 60th birthday as well. I remember thinking at dinner the night of her birthday how wonderful that she can be with all four of her siblings and all five of her children on such a milestone in her life. She thanked her mom, my Gramma, for taking Grampa's hand and bringing us all together. My Gramma passed away 19 years ago. And here we were, all together again celebrating life. That's love. In all it's awkwardness and irony, to have your mom take your dad with her so that you can celebrate your birthday with your entire family, that is love.

This is not the type of love I will be talking about most of the time. My love, is my love, Jed. And he will be my main focus, but there will be tidbits from all over that I will share with you. And maybe some photos too.

Thanks for reading!

Iron Svens: A Colorado Wonder

Jed and I decided to revisit the place where we were engaged because of this rare and unusual geological process. Two weeks ago when we were in this same mountains there were signs posted in areas that said 'no motorized travel due to the fragility of the iron fens'. No more explanation than that. We consider ourselves somewhat clever and after eliminating the idea that the iron fen was a type of bird, we decided it was, in fact, a plant. A very fragile plant that only grew on the left side of the road (where the signs were). Of course, that decision didn't keep us from googleing iron fens when we got home. Turns out, there are eight of these anomalies in Colorado and they are found no where else in the world! I'm not giving away their location, if you are that interested, you can do the research (we have to protect these bad boys), but WOW! Gorgeous!!!! The dogs loved it, but I'm not sure if they should have been drinking the water. Pico looks a little drunk.

Jed and I also decided to take some of our engagement photos while we were up in our special place. We'll do a real photo shoot with Kyla soon, but my goodness we had fun making fun of ourselves.

My Belated Birthday Gift

I found this really organized person on the internet one day. I apologize for not remembering who you are :( But I mentioned to Jed how much I loved the idea of a peg board above my computer and three days later he told me that he knew what he was going to get me for my birthday. That was in June. The other day I came home from a trip to Durango and Whha Lah... I've already overloaded it with stuff and I still want to put up more!!!!

Semi Anual Friendship Test

I would love to say that this group of people get together annually. Some of these fine folks see each other several times a year (since they reside in the northwest). However, two years ago in July was the last time we were all caught in the same vicinity. This year, we added Jed to the mix! And like a glove, hit fit perfectly. Here we are in Tacoma, WA/ Olympia National Park...

Best Buds

Jed and I just visited my best friend from college, Brit and her hubby, Hunter. They live on a private lake in Lakewood, WA. I think we are all still a little shocked at how quickly we grew up. It wasn't long ago that Brit, Hunter, myself and three other housemates were sharing a four bedroom house with a dog, a cat and two lizards. Wow. Time flies and great memories are made! Here Brit and her best bud, Augie, on the wooden barge that we took out on the lake the day we arrived :)

Adorable Adoptables

Steele and Hutchess are two of the adoptable dogs from Maxfund this month. Both are gorgeous, one more serious than the other. Steele is big on keeping his cool, while Hutchess found my jokes absolutely hilarious.