All Dogs Go To Heaven

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Champ

Rough few weeks for the Pirtle’s.   We lost Champ end of May.  The cancer just became too much for him.  To lose him left more of a hole in our hearts then I think even we had anticipated.  Those four legged little creatures sure become your normal, your life and everyday routines.

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He was my shadow.  Where I went, so did he.

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He was Clint’s best buddy.  Where Clint went, so did he.

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If I was down the hall and Clint was in the living room, Champ would pace back and forth to make sure each of us was still there and ok.

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My morning routine shadow, hitting his head on the bathroom door each and every time.  My favorite dog to harass.

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  Clint’s favorite dog to snuggle.  He was the best at it.

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Champ loved it when Kyle came home, even if just for a few minutes.   He loved that kid

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Champ and Sasha became the best of buds over the years too and we can tell the impact of him being gone left on her too.

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Champ was the BEST at giving Mother’s Day flowers.

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We miss that pup something fierce but our hearts are starting to heal.   He left our hearts full as I am confident we did his.

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Tragically within a week of losing Champ, Kyle lost his pup Buddy Randall.   That dog was Kyle’s sidekick, going everywhere with that kid.  There wasn’t a place Kyle went that Buddy Randall wasn’t by his side, or hanging out in his truck waiting for his return.

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Call it cliche and make fun of me all you want… but what helps ease the pain of losing them both so soon is knowing that Champ and Buddy Randall have each other on the other side of that Rainbow Bridge and are rough housing as only those two knew how.

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Thanks for all the kind words, texts and cards sent over the last few weeks.  They mean the world. ❤

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Life Lately | 5.31.16

Hi Friends!   Today’s exhilarating and nail biting post brings you a few key moments in Jordan’s life from the last half of May.  Thrilling… I know!

 

May 21st, 2016 – INSANITY Certification – Waterloo, IA

This actually was thrilling.  And, apparently, I am lucky to have come out alive from my overnight stay in ol’ Waterloo.  Listen, I am a cheap-o when it comes to hotel rooms the night before out of town certifications.  That is money out of my pocket for less then an 8 hour stay, so I choose cheap over lux.  I guess this particular hotel I stayed in usually means trouble.  Let’s just say I got 4 hours of sleep, saw multiple deals go down in he parking lot.. and by deals I mean things I can’t even repeat.   I had about enough of the commotion by 5am that morning that I was up, ready and out the door by 5:30am, found a Starbucks and sat in my Jeep until 8:15am.  After hearing the whole hotel story, Kayla made me promise to put a $100 minimum on any future hotel stays when flying solo.  Clint told me to not forget my gun.  Got it.  Check!  When all was said and done, I survived and helped certify this  AMAZING crew of new INSANITY instructors.  They asked some of the most intelligent questions and really dug deep into the material.

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CHAMP Snuggles.

As mentioned in my last post, Champ has cancer.   And it’s getting really close to the end of his time with us.  Closer then I had ever hoped it would come.  It’s been a rough last 24 hours.  I will keep you posted and many many many many thanks for the love and well wishes.  I feel them.  And WE are going to need them in the days ahead. ❤

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Memorial Weekend

Friday – A wonderful Happy Hour with none other then Ms. Tyree.

Saturday – A trip to Brownville, NE where I was overdressed, the town was packed with junk… err, “treasure” if you are a flea market type, the beer was good, the company in our gorgeous cuz Erika was great, the pickings for Clint was just what he wanted and the afternoon away from the city was glorious.

Sunday – A trip to Clarinda on the bikes…

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for some grillin’ and chillin’ with the greatest friends a couple could have.  We even got to hang with Kyle, the Lane’s and Dustin.

It was the perfect summer night.

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And that Sunset was INCREDIBLE!

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Monday – A trip to the soon to be open Walkup Woods to watch Clint get some mill-work done.  Clint is opening a second business, in conjunction with Walkup Tree, slated to open on June 20th.  He’s the hardest working, most dedicated and most visionary man I know.  Proud of him.  More details to come on this new adventure.

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Ended Monday with a ride to Blair for some afternoon beers, good music and time spent with friends.

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May riding wouldn’t be complete without getting caught in a storm.  I love the thrill of watching the rain roll in, the lightening crack across the sky and those first few raindrops.  It’s not so bad getting poured on when you know you are headed home.   It’s another story when you are just starting out your journey to Sturgis in the pouring rain, but we won’t go back and dig up old bones now, will we?  🙂 😉

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Cheers to a lovely May full of friends and fun.  And here’s to bringing in June with a much needed girls vacation around the bend and a few more long lasting hugs with my buddy, Champ.

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Friday Faves

1)  Let’s Start This Friday Fave session with links to a few of my favorite blogs.
Check them out.  You won’t be disappointed.

Yellow Mango Life

  • Katie
  • Fellow Omaha Blogger
  • Cruz- her adorable little boy
  • Killer fashion
  • Awesome vacation recaps
  • Kardashian fan
  • And a girl I am confident I could have some serious Happy Hour fun with once we finally meet up.

High Heels and Shotgun Shells

  • Dani
  • Hilarious
  • Cute style
  • Lives in Kentucky
  • Killer blog name
  • She’s legit.

Prairie Californian

  • Jenny.
  • Beautiful, passionate and has the most interesting and romantic love story I know.
  • I came across her blog last fall when I started mine (I think I searched the word “Harley Davidson” (no way, me?) and she popped up).  I’ve loved following her ever since.   And, she’s gracious enough to swing by my lil old blog and leave me fun messages occasionally too.
  • Jenny…I will meet you and your hubby one day on those Harley’s of ours. 🙂
  • Some of you may already be familiar with her due to the popularity of this post: 10 Ways Marrying a Farmer will Change Your Life

Peanut Butter Fingers

  • Julie
  • All-around fun person to follow
  • She posts some incredible workouts
  • Sadie- the most adorable pup
  • Blogs frequently about her adventures with her husband Ryan.
  • Seriously cool chick.

Iowa Girl Eats

  • Kristin
  • Iowa
  • Hawkeye Fan
  • Adorable son Lincoln
  • Killer recipes that make you want to lick the computer screen
  • Enough Said.

 

2) Leinei’s Summer Shandy.  It’s summer, it’s hot, it’s beer drinking time.   CHEERS!

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3) Bodybuilding.com deliveries on my door step.  They even threw in some free stuff.   Christmas at my house!

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4) My fave part of this picture is that it shows we survived cooking enough food for 100 people.   Other fave part?

We won’t ever do it again.

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5) My Loves

 

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6) We are almost done with the basement remodel!   Buuuttttt, considering our calendar schedule for the next few months, it might not actually get finished until Fall.   Eh.

 

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7) Homemade Clif Bars.  Recipe coming next week!

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8) Brantley Gilbert’s new album Just As I Am dropped on May 19th.

It’s delicious.

 

BG Just as i am

 

9)  My YMCA.  I LOVE all the people at the gym, especially the Tuesday / Thursday crowd.   It’s truly a family.  Come join my Turbo and Insanity classes.  You won’t be disappointed.

 

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10) The Omaha Bloggers Group I belong to.   Such a fun group of women with incredible blogs.  I have learned an awful lot from many of them and have been involved in some pretty exciting activities, no thanks to the connections made.

Check out our new website and stay tuned for some cool things to come!

Omaha Bloggers

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

Five On Friday!

1) How adorable is my step-son?  He officially asked his girlfriend to Prom yesterday.  He is much like his dad in that they pull cute and thoughtful tricks out of their hats sometimes.

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PROM?

2)  I am completely into stacking bracelets.   My cute HD bracelet I got from my MIL at Christmas and the sweet skull bracelet from my brother.

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3)  BABY stuff!   While I am not having babies, I LOVE planning/buying/snuggling/taking pics of anything baby.   Myself and two other gals are throwing a baby shower for a dear friend tomorrow.   Can’t show you what the craft project is until after the shower, but this gives you an idea!

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4) Basement remodel.   We’ve been working on this baby for well over a month now.   Ripped out the carpet, tore off the steel from the walls (don’t ask) and put in new light fixtures.  We chose to tile the basement in place of carpet and as of yesterday it is all sealed!  YAY!    Now to paint and replace all the trim work.   Yes, I should have painted first, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way.

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5)   This guy.   Man does he make me SO mad with his never ending wake-up calls in the middle of the night.   I swear he does it just to check that I didn’t abandon him.

Yes, Champ.  I am STILL here to take you outside at 3AM, just like every other stinking night.

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But, who can be mad at that face for long?

CHEERS to the freakin’ weekend, y’all!