Goodbye 2008

New Years Eve

I've heard it so many times in the past few days, "I can't believe this year is over." It's true, it's over and it went fast.

How to sum up 2008…

The year started with a snow storm, putting snow on all the mountains around us for a little while. We had pipes freeze, and burst, and layers of ice an inch thick on water troughs. I learned how to solder pipe. We saw rain, lots of rain, and WIND. We dug lots of ditches to handle the water. I watched Natalie pitch her way into one state tournament and one western divisional, placing second in both. We had one horse escaped death with an amazing surgery to remove a 7 pound entrolith from his gut. We learned that Scottsdale has a really nice hospital when Bob had to have his belly shaved too, to have a hernia surgery. We survived another summer, the heat and the monsoons. We traveled to Prescott, Payson, Flagstaff and Sedona, and learned that Arizona is more than just a desert. We went to the Arabian show and saw what I call "Barbie Doll Horses" (what a trip). The family welcomed a new baby girl when Bobs niece had a baby in April, and we said goodbye to a cousin, aunt and an uncle. We watched as another family member battled breast cancer and won. We celebrated my mother-in-laws 80^th birthday. We're surviving this economy, saw a "half-white guy" (as I prefer to say) get elected to President and we watched more Saturday Night Live than I've watched in a long time. We rode many miles and explored a lot of area around us on horseback. We still love to get up every morning at the crack of dawn to feed and clean stalls. We watched meteor showers from the view deck and counted up to 22 shooting stars in one hour. We've seen amazing sunrises and sunsets. Patrick moved back to California after living with us for 8 months, trying something new. Bobby is applying to Business Schools to pursue an MBA degree. We are still awed and amazed when we come "over the hill", HOME. We've met lots of new people and made many new friends. We've rescued dogs and mini horses when they've escaped their homes. I've gotten involved in volunteer work and have begun taking real steps pursuing my dream of becoming a writer. Bob is making a name for himself in the Arizona car business, just as he did in California. We celebrated our second round of holidays here, and we all agree, it seems like we have always lived here.

Yes, it's been quite a year.

2009 has big shoes to fill. We're pretty sure those shoes will get filled, and then some.

Happy New Year Everyone.