One Year Down, Eternities to Go

Yesterday, Julie and I celebrated our one year anniversary. We went down for a short weekend to St. George to celebrate. By short, I mean really short. We got there late Friday night and left Sunday. In between, we mostly watched March Madness. Julie blames me, but she was obsessed with checking all the scores to make sure her bracket was still winning in my Dad's office pool. We also went to Olive Garden to act like high rollers...but when we got there the polygamist from "Sister Wives" was there with his newest wife and we were so distracted by our weird fascination with him that we did not talk that much (that and my mouth was constantly full as I devoured about 10 bread sticks. They said all you can eat, and I took it as a challenge). Overall, it was just nice being with my sweet honey and reflecting on the year we've had. In honor of the 10 bread sticks I ate, I'd like to list my ten favorite things about Julie.

10- She is an excellent cook.  She makes the best meals as you can tell by my ever expanding waist line (it probably doesn't help that I haven't worked out in months).
9- She really listens to me; even to random stuff I forget about. A few months before my birthday, I mentioned how I once had the Beastie Boys anthology but it had been stolen in high school (possibly by a kid at West, possibly by a brother, possibly by my Mom). Then, to my shock, she had gotten the CD for me for my birthday.
8- She at least pretends to take interest in the things I like. She will come with me to ball games, action movies and plays the Wii with me simply because she loves me. I try to do the same in return (her interests, I mean. I don't show my love to her by asking her to do things only I like). 
7- My family loves her and she is good to them. I often think my siblings, parents and grandparents are more enamored with her than me. It doesn't bother me; it leads to more free meals for me. But, when my dog, Aggie, started being more interested in her than me, that was a bit touchy.
6- She makes an excellent sugar mama. She has been excellent at supporting me through school, but still lets me "pay" for our dates with her money. 
5- She is feisty. It is something that attracted me right off the bat to her when I would tease her and she would dish it right back. She doesn't let me get away with anything and I find it very attractive.
4- She knows my love languages and utilizes them. She knows how much it means to me to receive a hug/kiss and to be complemented for something I'm doing. She does these things often. 
3- She has a close relationship with God. She talks to God as a friend and she is one to Him. I am sure she prays often for me to not do stupid things and I think it has worked; since I've been married my stupid decisions have been cut down drastically.
2- She has the greatest sense of humor. She makes me laugh all the time and we have tons of couple jokes. The majority of these jokes would be very dumb to most people, but she can make me laugh at any given time.
1- She said yes to being my wife and sticking it out with me. It's been a year and she says she's still not even tired of me. I love her more everyday, and I'm sure that will only continue to grow throughout the years. I love you, Julicious. 

Goodbye, Sweet Friend

  First of all, before you read this post, I want you to know that it's highly sentimental...and it's about a dog. I am an absolute sucker for dogs: I love them. I didn't end up taking most of the philosophies of my neighborhood of birth: like God doesn't exist unless it's one not worshipped by Christians, Joseph Smith is Satan (if Satan existed, which of course, if you're from the Avenues, he doesn't), being in a heterosexual marriage is so yesterday, etc.  However, people from my neighborhood are crazy about dogs, and I am, too. But, one dog in particular had her paws wrapped around my heart.
   My Mom loves dogs, as well, but my Dad is more picky. So, when Mom said she couldn't stand not having a dog in the house (our family dogs all had passed away), Dad flew out to Texas to pick out a sweet little Field Spaniel. Immediately, everyone in the family was enamored with this loving, affectionate, and feisty dog we named Aggie. Aggie was such a cute puppy. She had ears way too big for her little body and so when she would run down the stairs to greet us, it wasn't uncommon that she would flop down them after tripping over her ears. When we took her for walks, when she got tired, she would just plop on the ground and expect whoever was walking her to pick her up and carry her the rest of the way. As she grew to maturity, she became less outgoing with strangers but we could not have asked for a smarter and more fun dog. When we first got her, I had hurt my back and she would just lay with me for hours and spend time with me. She truly was the best friend I had for quite some time.

Aggie, in the middle, with her siblings. Such a cute puppy.

Aggie trying to fit into our kitten's bed. She thought it was comfy, for some reason. 

Yes, the Cannons are your weird neighbors who view their dog as part of the family.

Like weird people who think their dogs are part of their family, Aggie celebrated birthdays with us.

Aggie couldn't believe it was me, so she was cautiously optimistic when I came home. Or, she didn't recognize me because how fat I had become. 

   I eventually went to college and then on a mission. While I was on my mission, I missed my family but knew that they were proud of me and happy with my decisions. So, to be honest, I missed Aggie more than I missed anyone else. I worried that she wouldn't remember me or that she would (like dogs do) eat something toxic. When I got home, she was fine and we had a great reunion. She couldn't believe it was actually me and I thought she was going to wet herself from excitement. That's one thing I love about dogs; they always make your day because whenever you come home it's like the greatest moment of their lives. Every time I came home, I would pet her and hang out with my friend.
   While I was in Virginia doing my interviews, though, I got a call from my Mom that Aggie had been having seizures. We thought the meds they put her had fixed the problem, but when I got home, she started having more. On Monday, March 7th, we had to put Aggie down. There is nothing like putting down a beloved family dog to make grown men weep like babies. It was sad to see her go, but it was nice to get to say goodbye to a good friend. And it's nice that Joseph Smith was an animal lover like me, and said that animals can go to the Celestial Kingdom. Here's hoping that I live my life right, so I get to see my dog, again!