SSFC vs. RSL

Well, it's that time of year: the trees are going bare, the air is getting cold, the MLS Playoffs are here, and for some dang reason, Seattle Sounders (SSFC) and Real Salt Lake (RSL) are battling it out again. There are few things in that stir anything up remotely resembling a family feud in our house. There are only two, in fact: Mac vs. PC and.... SSFC vs. RSL.

We're disappointed that we aren't going to a playoff game this year, as we did last year. We're trying to adjust to Jeff's new work schedule, Norah has had lots of appointments, Harper and I are getting over a bug, and things are just too all-around crazy. But I probably don't have to explain that to my readers.

So instead, we battle it out at home tonight. And really the point of this post... to share two photos of the two cutest soccer fans on earth:

Seattle: Harper's birthplace, the
hometown of my heart, and part of
the USA's unofficial soccer capitol.

Salt Lake: Norah's birthplace, more or less Jeff's
hometown, and... I have to give it to them -
the home of some pretty great soccer. 

Roots

My homesickness for Seattle is no secret. I miss the weather. I miss the water. I miss the culture, the people, and the whole PNW vibe. I miss vegetarian-friendly restaurants and grocery stores. I miss the breeze and the intense greenery of the Emerald City. I miss it all (well, except for the traffic and high cost of living). But there are things that Utah has that Seattle doesn't. Most of Jeff's family is here, and they've proven invaluable in these recent years. And Utah also has... hmm... well... okay so the family is what keeps us here. When we moved here, we had hoped it would be for about five years, then we'd move back. That just doesn't appear to be in the cards right now. So we've decided to plant some roots.

We are eager for Norah to be able to come home, but we can't bear to bring her home to this house we're in now. Our landlords are fantastic, and the rent is a great price, but we need a house better suited to Norah's needs. We began the rental search, only to find that our needs and our rental budget didn't match. After exploring several options, we decided to buy a house. Yes, those are some pretty thick roots to be planting.

With the financial burdens that we've been facing lately, we knew a home purchase wouldn't be an easy feat. So we brought out the big guns and bit the bullet (not sure exactly how that saying works, but I've said it). Jeff and I withdrew hefty chunks from our retirement funds in order to be able to pay off one of our auto loans to in turn afford a mortgage, put money down on the house, afford the move, and hopefully get some furniture. Sure, we may be mad at ourselves in about thirty years... but maybe we'll strike it rich by then. Besides, our retirement funds were only losing money. Perhaps this will be a better investment. We may need you to remind us of these things when retirement time rolls around.

The house is fantastic, and suits our needs perfectly. The scary thing is that now we are completely tapped out. Financially, we have little to fall back on in an emergency, but we always think of something... right?

So it's a quick close, scheduled for August 15th. Then we hope to move (from Layton to Farmington) the following weekend, on the 18th. Fortunately, our family (big strong Gunnells) will be helping. Remember what I said about Utah having things that Seattle doesn't? ;) We still hope to move back to Seattle someday, it just appears that it will be much farther out that we had originally planned.

The Pack Family

I first crossed paths with the Pack Family on Christmas Day. Kelly and Ryan didn't know me, and I didn't know them. But I was in the PICU the day they lost their sweet 18-month old son, Colum, in a tragic car crash. I have thought of them often since that day, and finally decided to reach out to them, to share what was in my heart about the loss of their son, and how it personally affected me.

If you don't know anything about the Packs, a good place to start is here. Of course, if you haven't heard about them, you're either 1) not in Utah or 2) living under a rock. Their story was all over the news when it happened. Kelly and Ryan, with their son Finn (who's Harper's age) still have to work so hard every day to heal their bodies and their hearts. Just a warning: Kelly's blog will make you cry - and if you are brave enough to watch it, Colum's funeral video is also posted on there. It is quite possibly the saddest video ever; it will tear you to pieces. I heaved heavy sobs when I watched it, as it hit far too close to home. Our situations are so different, but the fear of losing my children sticks in the front of my mind and my heart every day in a very real, very unwelcome way.

Why did I email Kelly? Well, I have a feeling that her sweet boy Colum was with us when Norah semi-coded on Christmas Day. Here's the deal... back then, Norah was having frequent oxygen desaturations. She was turning blue multiple times a day, and always needed bagging to resuscitate her. But on this Christmas night, it was the first time in my recollection that Norah was able to work through it without being manually bagged. Her oxygen saturation had dropped really low (probably in the 50's), and her heart rate was something like 40. I turned her from her side to her back to talk to her, and she came back to us without further medical intervention. I am not at all religious, but I feel in my heart that Colum was there with us. You can read my email with the rest of the story, along with her feelings on her blog here. It is a very worthy read. And for those of you that have come here from Kelly's blog - welcome.

I have the feeling that our families are meant to be great friends. I look forward to meeting Kelly, Ryan, and Finn. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: life is fragile. Go hug your loved ones, and make sure you tell them what they mean to you. You never know which cuddle and kiss will be your last.

Whoa, Baby!

Yes, the rumors are true. There's a little peanut in this mama's belly. On Wednesday I'll be just five weeks along, putting our due date around July 27th. If anyone knows of a good VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Caesarian) doctor in Utah (preferably Salt Lake or Davis counties), let me know because I'm on the hunt.

...and yes, we're going to let the gender be a surprise again! Hooray!

Knitting, Snow, and Doggies

I can strike a couple of things off of the UFO list I included in my previous post... Including Harper's new black knit hat with a red stripe. He was a wiggly worm while modeling it, so the shot to the right was the best (which is quite blurry as you can see). I'm happy with how it came out, and ready to go onto the next knitting project! See, I get too excited to finish the UFOs that I should work on instead of something new. Oh well, I just can't help myself!

In other news, it snowed yesterday. Snow is still a bit foreign to me, though I'm sure I will become accustomed to it after a few more winters in Utah. It inevitably melted, so it will be fun once it starts sticking with some sort of permanence. I can't wait to take Harper out to play in it for the first time (last year hardly counts since he was so small).

I also LOVE playing with Dexter in the snow. He goes into some sort of puppy-mode when he plays; he loves to jump to catch snowballs in his mouth. It warms my heart. Poor buddy had a rough time during his racing career - he was overworked, obviously physically abused, and mistreated overall. I love seeing him so happy. It's hard to believe that my big buddy is considered a senior.

Just for fun, below are some pictures from some of our walks to the nearby park. I'll miss these long walks when it will be too snowy and cold to take them regularly. Note that I do not take both of the hounds at once. They are just too big (Dexter is about 100 lbs, and Dottie is usually between 55-60 lbs depending if she is currently on a snobby hunger strike), and I am only talented enough for one hound and one stroller!

Dexter unsure of why we've stopped (for me to take a photo). He's so pleasant to walk. He doesn't stop to sniff, and pays no attention to the other dogs - even if they bark or whine at him. He does, however lose focus and run into the stroller once in awhile. Greyhounds tend to bump into each other when the walk or run together, so maybe that is why he runs into the stroller. I take him out a bit more than Dottie mostly because he's the only chubby greyhound I've ever known.. but I love him dearly.

Our "Skinnie Minnie" Dottie who (unlike her brother) always insists on stopping to sniff EVERYTHING and whimper at every dog we pass. Regardless, I love her SO SO SO much.

Our little dude, laughing (as always) at Dottie. It was an unseasonably warm day - in the mid-70's. And of course, I LOVE LOVE LOVE him! How cute is that face?!

Autumn Begins

The dramatic drop in temperature tells me that Autumn is finally here. Is it pretentious to say "Autumn" instead of "Fall"? If so, I don't really care :) I love Autumn. The chill in the air makes me want to knit a hat for Harper, make a comforting cup of tea, and cozy up to Jeff while we're bundled up enjoying the evening air. The hat is in progress, I'll put the tea on later tonight, and Jeff and I enjoyed the crisp Autumn air the other night while taking the dogs out. This is definitely my favorite season of the four - which probably helps explain why I love the weather in Seattle so much.

Speaking of Seattle weather, we had a steady, gentle drizzle yesterday in Utah that reminded me so much of the Pacific Northwest. Sometimes I miss it there (and the SF Bay Area) so much. However, the old saying that "Home is where the heart is" couldn't be any more true. For now, my heart - my two men - are in Utah... so my home is here.

Halloween is right around the corner, which is one of my favorite Holidays. I love the costumes, the playfulness, loads of goodies, and spooky silly fun. We're planning to go up to Logan to trick or treat with Harper's cousins. Below is a sneak peek of his costume. I can't wait!

Noodle

About two years ago, Jeff and I were perusing through greyhound-data.com, looking at Dottie and Dexter's pages. Each registered dog has their own page with links to (somewhat comprehensive) race records and breeding information. We clicked through the links of their siblings, to find that Farisita, one of Dottie's many littermates, was available for adoption in Portland. We saw these adorable pictures of the precious girl:
We were amazed at how much she looked like Dottie; it was love at first sight. She had been racing at a Tucson, AZ track when it closed, and I think she wouldn't have wanted to retire if she had been able to continue racing. We made arrangements to adopt her then made the trek to Portland (we were living in Seattle at the time). Little did we know at the time, that "Noodle", the name we picked (because Farisita wasn't easy on the tongue) would be so fitting for her spunky, goofy, wild, bucking, puppy-like personality.

It was decided that we would meet one of the volunteers from GPA NW (Greyhound Pets of America - Northwest) at their annual picnic, where the foster family would drop her off. When we got there, we enjoyed the fun of the picnic while waiting for Noodle to arrive. Four or so hours went by with many unanswered calls to the foster family. We continued to wait patiently, when the volunteer finally got in touch with them. There was some miscommunication somewhere, but we ended up meeting them at a zoo parking lot a bit more northward. Upon meeting our precious little girl, we fell even deeper in love with our little Snicker-Doodle-Noodle.

We thought Dottie and Noodle would perhaps recognize each other, but their reunion turned out to be quite anticlimactic. If Dottie did recognize Noodle, she was probably thinking "OMG, not you again!!" We began what we thought would be an adjustment period with Noodle. She still thought she was a puppy, and still wanted to run her heart out. She had separation anxiety, and would chew the coffee table, dig holes in the backyard, chew up anything she could get her paws on, howl whenever we came home, jump all over everyone, would make Dottie let out the GSOD (Greyhound Scream Of Death) by stepping on her feet, etc etc... As time went on, we started to realize that what we were going through was NOT an adjustment period. She was always going to be a wild child. Even today, at 6 years old, she remains a puppy. Still, we loved her.

Moving to Utah has been especially difficult for Noodle. The combination of our smaller living space, Harper crawling all over the place, and many other little things.... it has been a recipe for trouble. She even knocked Harper down onto the floor last week. We always find ourselves scolding her, and know that the situation isn't fair at all. It is with a heavy heart that we contacted GPA Salt Lake so they could find her a new home. I have been crying for the last few days, but I knew in my heart that it was better for her, and better for us. She deserves a household where she can get the attention that she needs. We wouldn't do this unless we knew she was going somewhere that would be meticulous about finding her a new forever home.

We dropped her off this morning at Liberty Park in Salt Lake so she could be with a foster family. I cried the whole way home, and now feel a surprising amount of emptiness in my heart. Somehow, my mom has a sense for when I'm upset, because she called as we were driving home. I'm not sure how she knows when I need her, even from so many miles away. We talked for awhile, and it helped. But - I'm still left feeling lonely for my baby girl. We made a difficult decision, but know it was the right one. I'm just glad we were able to give a rescue a good home for a couple of years. Many greyhounds aren't so lucky.

Getting used to this is going to be harder than I thought it would be. Perhaps in some ways, getting used to being without her is going to be harder than it was getting used to being with her. Though a trying fit, she was a loving part of our family. We love her so so so much. But as I've realized before... sometimes, love just isn't enough.

Some of my favorite things/memories of Noodle:
*The way she sleeps with her legs up in the air like a dead horse
*The way her ears flop like they're in the wind, or pile on her head like an old fashioned hat (as seen in almost every picture of her!)
*How she loved to rile up the barkaholic neighbor dogs by running full speed (45 mph) to their side of the fence, stopping to sniff, then running away... only to do it all over again. She thought she was playing, they thought she was jerk
*The way she always runs up to you - so excited - like you're her favorite person in the world
*How she'd come up to the side of the bed to wake me up in the morning (well, that one is a fun and and annoying memory)
*the fact that she was there for our wedding in CA - I'm sure everyone who was there remembers Dottie and Noodle's Great Escape ;)
*She kept me good company during my time on bedrest at the end of my pregnancy - she was sure to be posted at my feet all day, every day
*cuddles - she was good at cuddling
*The way the three of them would stand together, looking like the gentle version of the three-headed dog in Harry Potter
*She almost always came when we called her name; she was so eager to please
*Our many long nicknames for her - Noodley-Boo, Snicker-Doodle-Noodle, Schnoodle, Schnood, Noodle-doodle-do, and many other variations
*She was so happy to see us come home; she always wanted to be near us
*How much she loved Dottie and Dexter, always following them around like an annoying younger sister
*How much we loved her, and how much she loved us.

I hope you hold those happy memories of us, Noodle... because we will always remember you fondly. We'll always love and miss you, my Noodley-boo. <3

Snowy Utah

We made it! We are in Utah, and have settled in as best we can while only partially unpacked. We're endlessly thankful that Jeff's sister Emily and her family opened their home to us during this transition. We're also thankful to Jeff's entire family (and my mom!!) for helping with the entire move. The Gunnells are such wonderful people, and I feel fortunate that I am a part of their family.

Things are quite stressful (and disappointing) with selling the Seattle house, but I just keep telling myself that, "It's only money". With so much love all around us, we don't need anything else. I'm just thankful for what we have (which is indeed so much), and especially for our healthy baby boy.

I do admittedly have a few regrets about the move - especially that time flew by so quickly that we didn't have the chance to say some goodbyes that we would have liked to. That pretty much goes for all of our friends in Seattle. Okay, so I don't like goodbyes, but I wish we would have had time for some kind of adios. Heck, we hardly had enough time for a proper packing job. Things are so much more challenging with little Harper, though I wouldn't change that for anything.

Harper was such a good boy on the trip down here. He is growing so fast. I can hardly believe that he is almost four months old. I'm pretty sure he's starting to teethe, because he has been getting fussy now and then, and has been gnawing on his fingers like they're made of candy.

Moving here is admittedly a bit of a culture-shock compared to Seattle, but I am sure it will grow on me. I am already loving the snow (there are a few inches on the ground right now). Only time will tell what is in store for our little family - but I am sure it is only good things.