Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009!!

It was a busy year for Trudy, Koda and I in 2008! We were just going over some of the highlights for this year. We adopted Koda in early January and she has rapidly become a much loved family member. She has taught us about patience, tolerance and unconditional love. We got her at our local SPCA- there are so many animals looking for a second chance there! She has been tons of fun and is such an amazing pet... we are grateful for her every day.

After settling in with Koda and Trudy getting comfortable at her new job with National Geographic we took a little vacation to Yosemite. I was looking forward to Trudy learning how to ski but mother nature had other ideas- as we arrived on Super Bowl Sunday Yosemite had been buried under 5 Feet of Snow. They had to close the mountain for 3 days to dig out! Instead we tried Snowshoeing, toured the Valley Floor, ice-skated in the shadow of mighty Half Dome and marvelled at the pure beauty of Yosemite covered in white powder. Truly a spectacular thing to see. It felt like we had the whole Park to ourselves. (the trip was even nicer thanks to the Patriots perfect season crumbling into a million pieces!)

I took a trip out to Utah and Colorado in April with my buddy Lance from Monterey. We hooked up with my old roommate Keith in Colorado and mountain biked in Fruita, Co and Moab, Utah. It was awesome and i am especially grateful to Keith for setting it all up and the gal who rescued us down by the Colorado River and got us back after one heck of a ride.

Next was one of the most painful memories of the past year... my oral surgery. Finally, with a strong nudge from Trudy and the support of my folks, I was able to begin getting my teeth fixed. Through this process I was grateful for Trudy, mashed potatoes, Jamba Juice, my employers , hot wash cloths, Koda's company, Ibuprofen and Netflix. It was not a pleasant couple of weeks but we survived together.

As usual ,fortune smiled on Trudy and I, and we were able to take road trip up the coast into Oregon and Washington. We got to visit good friends like Ray,Heather, Aaron, Carrie, little man Josiah, trusty hounds Bodhie and Coltrane and my buddy Kyle. We learned we could survive multiple nights of camping, rain and Hail Storms --and even a couple of wrong turns! Seattle was super cool and the rivers and mountains of Northern California and Oregon are better than advertised. We are grateful for the friends we spent time with, the new ones we made ( Carrie's folks and their fishing stories, the couple at Richardson SP who fed us carne asada and all of the good people we met along the way.

On September 21st we celebrated our First Wedding Anniversary! We were not able to revisit our honeymoon spot due to the wildfires that ravaged Big Sur over the summer but we did have an amazing dinner at Pacific's Edge in the Carmel Highlands. This is the restaurant we ate at with our parents after our wedding ceremony... it is a special place for us and the food is out of this world. We are so lucky to have found each other and are looking forward to many more years together!

The Summer of 2008 also saw some of our friends get married as well. Jeremy and Stacy married in a beautiful little ceremony in Monterey , Shawn and Kris were married in Carmel Valley and Jolane and Taylor were married in Sacramento. Congratulations and best wishes to them.

The Summer of 2008 was marked by numerous wildfires across California. They got as close as Big Sur and Carmel Valley. Trudy could see smoke from her office at the time and it was not uncommon to have ash falling from the sky in our hometown of Pacific Grove. We are grateful for all the firefighters , cops , rescue workers and citizens that worked so hard all Summer to minimize the damage and save a lot of homes and lives.

I turned 36 In October and have never felt so young, so alive or so grateful for all of the good things I have in my life. It also marked the 15 year anniversary of my younger brother Brian's passing. He is still in my thoughts and I appreciate the good times we had together while he was here.

Let's not forget about those Fightin Phillies finally bringing the World Series Championship back to the City of Brotherly Love. What an amazing season it was!!!! I finally got my Shane Victorino Hula bobblehead this Christmas! (Trudy says: now my perfectly color coordinated tree has a Phillies and an Eagles ornament on it, thanks Louise! haha!)

In November a new sense of hope arrived as a new President was elected. It seemed to me as if you could hear entire communities breathing a giant sigh of relief and hope coming back to a nation that did not have some of its finest last few years. I know that both Trudy and I are truly grateful that we have a roof over our heads, friends and family that love and support us and decent paying jobs that afford us the benefits we need to move forward in our life together.

(Trudy taking over from here)

John and I both agreed that the holidays this year was one of the most enjoyable yet. Like many others, we kept it simple, donated to charities in lieu of gifts, and enjoyed the simple things of the season... our annual holiday party and white elephant gift exchange, the local clock tower chiming christmas carols every hour on the hour (although I think the neighbor's dog is traumatized, it hasn't stopped howling yet), holiday movies, baking cookies with my friend Stacy, and looking at our fabulous tree!

My parents moved to Sacramento in October so instead of a 20 minute drive to see family for the holidays, it's now 3 hours. Koda does not like this very much (we found out the hard way after 5 hours of whining in the car the night before Thanksgiving) so she, and her owners, are very appreciative of her doggie medication that helps her relax and sleep straight through until we get to our destination!

My mom and Mark (and the poodles) really made us feel welcome at the new house. Now we get to see Jolane and Taylor for the holidays which is an added bonus since they only live a few minutes away.

As we reminisce over 2008, we are preparing for new adventures in 2009. We've made our reservations again for Yosemite and I will hopefully learn how to ski this year. We're saving and planning to look for a house to rent at the end of the year. We're also looking forward to seeing the Sharps for Christmas(Louise, start planning that 'open house'!).

2009 is also predicted to have its share of challenges. We never take our simple life here for granted. We want for nothing (except maybe that 37" flat screen John has been eyeing for months now). So as 2009 kicks in to high gear, we wish you all the health, wealth, love, and happiness in the universe. To our friend Molly, we wish you safety as you continue your work in Jordan.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!