We'll miss you Max

Yesterday was a bittersweet day in which we said goodbye to our best friend Max. He was our lovable Irish Wolfhound that we had for about 9 years. Over the past several months he developed a tumor in his chest and arthritis in his legs. It was apparent that the pain was too much to bear so he was put to sleep. We will miss him deeply.

There are countless memories of Max that we will ponder and cherish forever. I will always love the many nicknames that he seemed to collect because of his size. Being a 180 pound dog that stands well over six feet tall on his hind legs attracted many names like Horsey, Monstrosity, or my favorite Gluteus Maximus. However, the most fitting name was likely the Gentle Giant. It was always so thrilling to see him get excited and run around the yard, with his smile as wide as can be, tongue flapping in the wind, and slobber flying as he passes by. You certainly did not want to get in his way.

Max had an innate ability to sniff out chocolate. It was definitely his favorite treat. The disappearance of any Halloween candy had to be attributed to him. The evidence was always found in the next day's droppings that were littered with partially digested Twix and Snickers wrappers. He was a great resource for finding those last few chocolate-filled easter eggs that the kids could never find. On days when he was fortunate enough to find his way into the house he seemed to know where every piece of chocolate was hidden. One day he managed get into Christopher's upstairs bedroom and nose open the dresser drawer to find all the candy he could possibly enjoy. It's from that point on that we just assumed he could sniff out chocolate through a lead blanket.

Although Max was large, hairy, and ferocious looking, he was by far the nicest and most gentle dog there could ever be. Somehow he could sense the fragility of small children and animals, and would take extra care not to play too rough in their presence. On one occasion our parakeet managed to escape its cage. In response, Max very quickly jumped up and as the bird flew past his nose he grabbed it with his mouth. Naturally, we thought his first instinct would be to crush the poor birdy and have it for a treat, but as we all rushed to save the bird he simply waited with the chirping parakeet in his mouth until one of us reached in and fished it out.

There were only two occassions when Max showed an aggressive nature, and on both occassions it was probably warranted. While his favorite master, my mother, was at the mail box, a man out for his morning jog crossed the street as if to be running at my mother. Max took it as a sign of danger and lunged at the jogger. In his efforts he mannaged to bite his hand, an action that eventually led to his week long imprisonment at the local doggie jail (I had no idea dogs could be arrested and thrown in jail as a punishment). The second occassion was when we wanted to get rid of a gallon of vanilla ice cream that had collected freezer burn for probably over a year. Since Max was the best garbage disposal ever, we set it out for him to enjoy. He certainly enjoyed it! He enjoyed it so much that when Bud tried to take it away he growled, turned, and snapped at his leg. Bud suffered a small scratch in his groin from one of Max's teeth, however that was only a small price to pay considering the general area that Max seemed to be aiming for.

We will remember Max often. He was our lovable, gentle giant. He was one of a kind that could never be replaced.

Welcome to our Blog!!!

We have decided that we want to keep a blog to share with everyone. It will be a great way for us to keep a journal for ourselves as well. It would probably be best to begin this by introducing ourselves with our spectacularly perfect love story. On June 10th, 2005 we met through a mutual friend of ours. We both secretly had an interest for each other, but were to shy to pursue it. Michael was still a little scared to talk to girls because he had just returned from his mission in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and Alissa was preparing to go on her mission to Chicago, Illinois (Spanish speaking). Alissa left for her mission in August of 2005, and Michael received a second opportunity to get to know Alissa. While Alissa was in the Missionary Training Center, Michael was going to school just down the street at Brigham Young University. Michael would drop off treats and letters to Alissa during the nine weeks she was in the MTC, and thus began our fantastic journey together. From that day on we had grown more fond of each other through letters, and eventually our fondness grew to love.

Eighteen months later Alissa returned from Chicago (in February of 2007). The day she returned home we went on our first date to Downtown Disney. We spent the time holding hands, talking, and enjoying eachothers company, a treat that we both desired for so long. We watched the Disneyland fireworks, but decided to improve on the Grand Finale with our first kiss! Two weeks later Michael proposed in the Celestial Room of the Salt Lake City Temple, and the date was set for early June. In three short months wedding plans were made and we were sealed for time and all eterninty on the morning of June 1st, 2007 at the San Diego Temple. It was the greatest day we could ever dream of! We felt (and continue to feel) as a Prince and Princess that will live happily ever after.

We lived in Utah for a year while Michael finished his undergraduate work in Genetics at BYU. We then moved to Irvine, California in July 2008 so Michael could begin a PhD program in Molecular Biology, Genetics, and Biochemistry at the University of California, Irvine. Alissa picked up dancing again at Irvine Valley College. We both love living in California again. It was always our dream to stay in Southern California; it is our home and will always be home for us.

We both look forward to posting blogs about once a week at least. One of our greatest dreams is to be examples of how happily ever after really exists. We want to share our experience in making that dream come true with this blog. We plan on making this at least a weekly activity for Monday nights during our family home evening, so visit us often for more on our journey through "Happily Ever After."