Whew! It's been a while..

Well, summer had many things to offer us this year which managed to completely remove our desire and ability to blog. Through the good's and bad's, up's and down's, high's and low's, we hunkered down to simply enjoy the company of each other all summer long.

Now that the sun and warmth has abandoned us, I figure it's about time to become part of the world once again and provide an update or two.

We learned that our wonderful and loving Boxer, Kota had Cancer which prevented her from eating. The smaller she got, the more our hearts broke and eventually we had to make the hardest decision of our lives. Special thanks to Oquirrh Hills Veterinary for caring for our dog.. and for us during that difficult time. Maybe one day I will be strong enough to tell the story of that day.

The void in our hearts was later filled with a spunky Doberman puppy, Tiana. While she is completely different than Kota was, she seems to have wiggled her way right into our hearts. As a tiny puppy, she was naughty, biting everyone and chewing on everything. With time though, she has gained some wonderful skills (thanks to some due-diligence, and fantastic training advice from Communicanine Dog Training Service, Thanks Ty!). Tiana loves to cuddle, eat and play in the snow. Sid has taken well to her but he obviously despises the fact that she will take his toys and treats whenever she wants.

Kylie started Chinese Immersion this year in 1st grade. She spends half her day doing normal 1st grade things, and the other half being immersed in Chinese. This has been great for her in so many ways! We didn't realize how much she was learning until we attend parent teacher conferences and watched our baby have a full conversation in Chinese. Fantastic!

Dan ran his first Marathon in South Jordan, rumored to be the hardest Marathon around, even by seasoned runners. He is excited to add to that count in 2011. We are all so incredibly proud of his accomplishments and hope that one day the whole family, can join in this new exciting and healthy way of life.

Dan also earned his Bachelors Degree this year. His dedication and hard work has finally paid off and he is thrilled about spending more time with the family with his extra time.

Laurie (that's me), ran a 5k this year and started to learn Chinese. While my progression on both fronts are not nearly as advanced as Dan and Ky, I am enjoying myself a whole lot.

Well, I think that about does it. Y'all enjoy!