Thank you so much for all your comments and well wishes, it helps us to know that Bobby touched a lot of hearts.

It’s been a very tough week for us; the house feels so empty and we haven’t had much energy to do anything at all. It gets better with time, I guess. I’m heading home to Norway on a somewhat last-minute trip to visit my parents tomorrow, so that will definitely help.

I haven’t been scrapbooking much lately either, but I put together this one (using Karla’s products) last week – I’m thinking I should start making something like this for every season (or month?) so I can at least capture all the major goings-on in our life even when my scrapbooking mojo is nowhere to be found.

Just about 11 years ago, this little heartthrob was born:

That tiny, fuzzy rat grew into a very handsome boy named Bobby, and I fell in love with him and JK at the same time (some might say that JK lured me into his arms using Bobby as bait).

After we stole him from JK’s parents, Bobby became our furry (well, not that furry) son. He even came to our wedding:

Bobby was a perfectly healthy, happy dog until last year when he got very sick with meningitis. He somehow managed to pull through, and for these last two months he was like a young dog again. JK and I were amazed by how energetic he was, so it came as a complete shock to us when he suddenly collapsed and had a seizure in the dog park last Friday. We drove as fast as we could to the vet, but it wasn’t fast enough. Our beautiful little boy passed away in my arms.

I am so glad that both JK and I were there, that Bobs was so happy, and that he was in a place he loved so much, the dog park. Even so, I am absolutely devastated. Bobby was my constant companion through so many years, and I miss him so much.

Thank you for keeping us warm at night, and for keeping me company through some very tough and lonely times. Thank you for going on walks with us, even though some of them were very long. Thank you for being so patient when there was suddenly a little brother in the house. Thank you for being the best little dog in the whole wide world.

I’ll miss your weird little growl and how good your ears smelled, and that cute sound you made when you yawned. You were the most loyal friend anyone could ever have. I love you.

To celebrate my newfound ability to walk, Wellie and I took JK up Bandera Mountain this weekend (Wellie and I visited Bandera with Jasper and Dani in September, but JK had never been). The (lack of) snow was just as perverse as in the rest of the Cascades this “winter”, making a summit that would normally be beyond my capabilities in February a mere walk-up. In all honesty it felt like it was May or June (we both said it reminded us of Mount Persis last year), and I was kicking myself for not having the foresight to wear shorts.

The steep boulder/bear grass hillside was covered with a slushy, slippery layer of snow, so I was happy to have my hiking poles and Yaktrax – we met several traction-less hikers who had turned around due to slippage. Wellie made good use of his K9 crampons.

‘Twas a Moste Excellente Sundaye Outinge, especially since the sun decided to grace us with her presence. And because JK brought summit chocolate. And because it felt fantastic to go out and make my hindquarters sore after three weeks of injury-induced sofa sloth. Huzzah!