Okay,

We changed our minds.
We're not private anymore.
You're welcome.

Goodbye dear Milo...

Milo Heugly

Aug. 2002-Feb. 25, 2009

Milo came into our lives four year ago. I was feeling a little baby hungry, but since my third child wasn't even one yet, I tried to satisfy the craving with a dog. I searched classifieds, answered ads, checked the humane society, and never really found a dog that fit. Jake and Liz found out we were looking and mentioned that they were considering splitting up their two schnauzers (who were very cute and very naughty when they were together). We went over to their house to hang out with Milo and it was an instant connection. Of course, we had seen Milo since he was a puppy, but now he was a part of our family.

Recently, he has been acting out quite a bit so we took him to the vet last weekend to see what was up. He has had cataracts for a few years, so I thought they were just getting worse. His eyes were still bad, but we found out he had several bladder stones and kidney stones and was in constant pain. All of our options meant that Milo would be in severe pain for a long time, only to likely have the stones return again and again. I couldn't bear the thought of having my darling Milo suffer like that with no improvement in his quality of life. Today, we took him for one more vet visit to be euthanized. It is truly one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. He was my dog. My buddy. My shadow. I will miss him terribly.

We have had some good talks with the kids about death and spirits and eternity. Thank goodness for the Gospel. It helps soften the blows that come in mortality.

We want to say goodbye to our Milo...

We will miss your barks when someone is at the door.

We will miss your nubby little tail wagging whenever the kids get home.

We will miss whistling for you and the rattling of your tags when you come.

We will miss the cuddles and the licks.

We will miss your darling floppy ears.

We will miss your cotton fur that matted so easily.

We will miss the comfort of your presence.

We will miss the clicking of your nails on the wood floor.

We will miss you scooting up to the couch so we can rub you when we bounce our feet.

We will miss your innocent little face and your cute little beard.

We love you Milo.

Eat-n-Read... Literacy Rocks!!

My kid's school came up with a brilliant activity. To encourage literacy, they held the first annual eat-n-read at school on Friday. For over a month, they have been asking the kids to donate books off their shelves at home. I thought we were pretty good at donating about 10 books (I have a hard time letting go of books...), but we found out about some families that were extremely generous - one friend of ours donated 90 books!!

On Friday, they set out all the books for the exchange. My kids came home with three "new" books each and were thrilled. The rest of the books will be split between classrooms or go into the library. All the parents were invited to brown bag it and join their kids for lunch and story time. I figured there would be a little chaos, so I decided to bring all the kiddos. We spread out our blanket in the hallway and had a little picnic. We read "How I Became a Pirate" and "Waking Beauty" and enjoyed lunch together.

Of course, while I was packing the lunches that morning, Dakota said, "Just think Mom, pretty soon you'll have to make five lunches every day!" Thanks for that Koko. Just stay little for a bit longer. Please.

Presenting....

Not to steal any thunder from Joe's wonderful post below, I wanted to show you all the wonderful man I married.... in action. On our cruise, Joe beat out 6 or 7 contestants vying to be Garth Brooks in the final show. He won after a sing-off (and people that were in the same traveling group as his competitor started voting for him :) Don't be fooled by the swaying motion, I was holding as still as I could. Yes, the boat was rocking that much. Maybe it was the feet stomping for my honey.

Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight, Joe is Garth Brooks!!!!

Fireproof my Marriage

I can only think of a few reasons why my wife chose to watch Fireproof for Valentine's Day. (a show about a problem marriage) If you haven't seen the show, Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains) is the star. It's about turning a marriage around based on gospel principles (basically).

The problem with the movie was that the couple didn't have any children. Wouldn't we all agree that 24 hours in a day dedicated to making a marriage work is much easier than making it work with children? Not to make this sound negative, but it's simple math. With children, that leaves a smaller window (in some cases - tiny window) to "make it work". We dedicate ourselves to be the best Dad or best Mom, best employee or boss, to always magnify our church calling, say and do the right things to "that friend" or "that neighbor" or "family member", etc. If you are checking all the boxes, it's very difficult to be "great" at everything.

The movie should be altered to Fireproof my Family.

My wife is my most important relationship - it must be. How can I be the right kind of Dad if I lack respect and love for their Mom?

Marci, I love you with all my heart...through it all. With my wife at my side, I have found greater love for my own children.

I guess this isn't your typical V-Day post, but it means a lot to me. In order to Fireproof your family, you must Fireproof your relationship with you wife. The movie was a reminder of that.

Fireproof simply means that your relationship is strong enough to handle anything.

So, if your wife brings home a DVD about a struggling marriage...it should make you think twice. But the movie made me realize that the gospel is the key in our lives - to making anything work. It will make you a better husband, father, employee, brother, friend, etc. The gospel doesn't have a short shelf life. It lives and grows within us.

I love you Marci

"I hope the plane is delayed..."

We just wrapped up the best week ever! My Mom and Dad took us on a 5-day cruise to celebrate their 50-year wedding anniversary. Yes, THEY took US - that's how they roll, they are that great!! Mom, Dad, Kevin, Lorchin, Charlene, George, Cheryl, Jon, Lori, Lisa, Scott, Trish, Eric, Me, Joe, Kristi, Anthony, Brad, and Emily....we missed Nathan, Randy, and Suzette.

It was an amazing week with a little bit of everything and lots and lots of laughing! Here are Mom and Dad boarding the Carnival Elation on their maiden voyage...

"Cruise Joe" came and he was so much fun....
Here is my dad, the wonderful Patriarch of the Pulsipher family. Thank you Dad and Mom for 1)Having all of us, 2) Liking (and loving) all of us, and 3) Giving us a week that we will never forget!!
Don't forget the life vest drill...

Lookin' good Char :)

The newlyweds...

And the newer-newlyweds... We partied all week with Mom and Dad - They even won a bottle of champagne for being married so long! They gave each of us a valentine every night at dinner, they thought of everything...
Cheryl and Jon brought the party hats and noisemakers...Char and George decorated Mom and Dad's cabin...Lisa and Scott brought the chocolate frosting...and we all joined in the festivities! We played lots of fun games, sang lots of karaoke, saw lots of shows, and even participated in a few...
Kristi and Anthony playing the Match game.... they ALMOST won, but got beat out by the Lindseys. Yep, that's me in the middle. Fast asleep on some stranger while I was being hypnotized. Eric came to the stage, too, but was eliminated before me. Guess his mind isn't as weak as mine. Do you smell something? Quick, use your shoe as a gas mask... Not to be outdone, Joe won the popular vote as Garth Brooks. He performed in the big Carnival Legends finale show, and kept getting stopped everywhere we went "Hey, aren't you Garth? I voted for you!" Of course, when he was wearing his Bears jersey, a few people mistook him for Brian Urlacher. And don't forget Michael Jackson. Let's hear it for the dancers!We had time to relax and play a little mini-golf, if you know what I mean....
Lots of late nights up on deck, lots of hot chocolate, and lots of warm chocolate melting cake...
We did get off the boat one time in Cabo San Lucas. We were swimming. In the ocean. In February. It was awesome. And don't forget about the chips, salsa, and guacamole.

Kevin and Lorchin tried scuba-diving. I think Kevin's hooked. Lorchin? Not so much. :)

Kristi and Anthony went snorkeling, and we chartered a boat that took us around Los Cabos and saw the beautiful sites. Here's one of them. Can you say "Christmas Card Photo"?....

We were also supposed to get off in Ensenada, but some poor man had a heart attack after we left Cabo and we turned around. To our surprise, the day after we left Cabo, we woke up back in Cabo. Because of the time we lost, we had to spend two days at sea and miss Ensenada. The good news is that the man survived. They were able to get him the medical help he needed quickly enough, kudos to Carnival for saving a life!

Saying goodbye was hard. This week we laughed a lot, cried a little, and bonded (again) forever.
Here's the whole gang, nineteen of us in all.

Thank you Mom and Dad for everything. Happy 50th!!

Back home, Grandma Heugly watched the kids for us. Because of her, we were able to enjoy our trip without worrying. Of course, things did not go as smoothly as planned, but we never knew. She took care of everything and the kids had a blast! Koko said, "I'm so glad that my mom and dad got married so you could be my grandma!" and the day that we were coming home, Grandma told the kids that we were at the airport and were on our way home. Emma replied, "I hope their plane is delayed!" Thanks, Sue, for making this week a special one for our kids and rolling with the punches.