Grandma

I just wanted to take a moment to say how much I will miss my Grandma. We didn't get to see each other a whole lot since we were so far apart but she is very special to me. I am very thankful that Tyler and I got to see her last Thanksgiving in Mt. Airy. 

Every time Dad would call to let me know that latest on her condition, I just didn't believe it. I was in complete denial just always telling myself that she was going to come out of it. Even towards the end. And then when I found out that Grandma had passed away, I couldn't believe it. It didn't seem real. It hit me pretty hard when we all got together in Maine for her wake and funeral. It really was great to see all of the family (except Kimberly - wish you could have been there), but it was also really sad. And for Kyle, Tyler and me, it wasn't just about Grandma passing. It brought back all of the memories of our mom passing 5 years ago. A lot of things get easier with experience but I think losing someone actually gets harder every time because each time it reminds you of all the losses that came before it. And even though you know they've gone on to a better place, you can't help but feel selfish and want them back. 

Being in Maine and seeing Grandma and Grandpa's house for the first time in about 6 years was wonderful and awful at the same time. Wonderful b/c I have so many great memories there and I have always loved going there. Awful b/c there is something missing now. It was really sad to see her room where she painted knowing that she wouldn't be painting any more.

 I don't want t his to be too depressing so I'll wrap it up now but man, it hurts.

Gee Wiz, Sorry!

Hi guys! Sorry it's been so long! Our laptop broke mostly and so we had our internet turned off b/c we really couldn't use it without piling more viruses onto our computer. A LOT has happened in the past 6 months!

First of all, towards the end of last year and the beginning of this year, I had been having stomach aches all the time. Basically I had about a 2 month long stomach ache. It may have even lasted longer than that. I won't go into details but I kept going to the doctor and they kept not knowing what to do for me. They even took my blood and couldn't find anything. I gave up on paying a copay for the doctor to tell me to eat more fiber so I just kept calling and asking for suggestions. Finally the last doctor that I saw suggested that I go on a 'gluten free' diet. 'No big deal' I thought. Turned out to be a huge deal. Gluten is in so many things. So at first I was extremely frustrated and confused about what I could and couldn't eat. Then I became determined to eat the things that I like so I started learning how to cook with substitutes that made most meals taste the same, just without wheat. I thought I could keep making the regular meals for Tyler and then make something small for myself but that proved to be impossible. 

Now that I've been gluten free for about 6 months now, I feel way better! There have been a few times when I accidentally ate something with gluten in it and felt terrible within a day or so, so I know that's what was making me sick earlier this year. It's still difficult at times b/c I can't have anything breaded (like chick-fil-a nuggets) and I can't even have french fries from a fast food place if they are cooked in the same fryer as something that is breaded. There are a lot of things to remember to watch out for. It's kind of tedious but if it makes me feel better then it's worth it!

Tyler went down to Tampa for a WWE tryout at the beginning of May. It was a four day clinic. They told all the guys down there that they would be hearing from them within about 3 weeks. Well about a month and a half later we got something in the mail from them, but all it was was an evaluation which didn't give a 'yes' or 'no' on whether he was signed. We never did hear back from them or hear that anyone else got signed either. So that was a bit disappointing but we're still hoping! He actually just won the OVW Television Championship last Sunday! It was a lot of fun to watch and he brought the belt home! I'll be posting pictures of that soon! 

In April, Peter turned 1 year old! He passed Charlie in weight and size a long time ago but is still shorter than Charlie is. I think he weighs about 50-55 lbs now. He's just so thick! He seems like he is calming down a little bit though. At least it doesn't take him as long to calm down when he's hyper. Charlie likes him a little more b/c of that : )

Well that's all I can think of right now but I promise I will TRY to start writing more often!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Well, we've had a couple of snow days here so I finally had some time to write!

Christmas was great. We got to go home for a whole week! Tyler makes his own schedule for work but I was nervous about asking my boss for a whole week off when I had only been there for a few months. He was ok with it though! We were running around non-stop the entire time we were home. We went shopping A LOT, went to Atlanta for a day, wrapped presents and spent time with family! It was a lot of fun. On Christmas Eve, the entire Kluttz/diPretoro group + Aunt Karen and Ramiah, went to Church Service at Forest Hill. After that we all went back to Dad's and had dinner together. It was delicious and a lot of fun! On Christmas morning, we opened presents with the Kluttz's first then we went over for the diPretoro Christmas. After that, we headed up to Salisbury to see more of Tyler's family. It was a lot of fun but a lot to pack into one day. We've decided that we'll probably start going up to Salisbury on Christmas Eve instead. It went by way too fast and we were kind of sad to have to go back to our real lives in Louisville when our vacation was over.

Charlie and Peter had a great time while we were home. There were four dogs at Dad's: Misty, Guapo, Charlie and Peter. Guapo and Peter played non-stop the whole week! That was nice for Charlie to get a little break from Peter's constant chomping. They always get spoiled when they go to 'grandpa's.' Charlie goes right back into his old habits of making Dad get up 1,000 times per day to let him outside, only to bark as soon as the door shuts because he wants to come back in! And Peter learned how to jump on couches which is okay on some but not okay at home since we only have one couch. He's working on that :)

Well, it's 2009 now and although our Economy is not doing so hot, I feel like it's going to bring many good things! It feels like Tyler is getting very close to getting a contract with the WWE. It would be so exciting and so much fun to move to Florida! Last year, when we thought we'd be moving there, it was because we heard about the new wrestling school down there and we thought we'd just move to Tampa and that Tyler would start over at a different school. Then we decided, it would be better to just wait until he got a contract to move since the other way, there wouldn't be any guarantees. We like it out here in Louisville, but we both think that Tampa would be a lot of fun. It would be nice to be able to go to the beach at any time. Tyler's never known what it's like to live so close to the beach and I miss that.

This year will also bring Peter's first birthday! He'll be one on April 23rd...very exciting! And then on June 10th is our two year anniversary and then Charlie will be four on October 15th. We're looking forward to warmer weather too. I love winter but it seems like whatever season we're in, I'm always ready for the next one. And ever since it's been cold here, I've wanted snow so bad and we hadn't had any...until now!

We had a winter storm that started with snow on Monday night, then turned to freezing rain all day Tuesday and then turned back to snow Wednesday morning. Since it snowed on top of the ice, it made it a lot more fun and we took the doggies outside to play. They had a blast. Peter ate as much snow as he could and Charlie likes to stick his nose in it and then run around in circles as fast as he can. They played a lot together and wore themselves out. The weather has kept me from going to work for two days now which has been fun because it's always nice to get days off when you're not expecting it! And I got some extra cleaning done which I usually don't get to on the weekends.

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully in 2009, I'll be better at posting blogs more often! We hope everyone is doing well!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was great this year! Tyler and I drove home with the doggies on Tuesday night and got into Fort Mill around 4:15 am! We were so glad to finally be visiting home b/c we hadn't been home in about 5 months! Crazy, I know...We went to Joanne's (future step-mom!) on Thanksgiving but first we stopped in Salisbury so that we could see Tyler's family too. We had so much fun in Mt. Airy! Joanne's house is g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s. Seriously. It's amazing. The food was great and it was so nice to see some family that we hadn't seen since our wedding. It's too bad we all live so far apart. Tyler and I aim to move back closer to Charlotte once he gets his wrestling going and we don't have to live in Louisville. At least we'll be closer to some family that way. Anyway, we loved seeing everyone and getting on the webcam after dinner so we could see the rest of the diPretoro's that couldn't make it was really fun too! Unfortunately, Tyler and I forgot our camera in Louisville so we didn't get to take any pictures. If anyone has some that they could e-mail me that would be great! My e-mail is jollygreen315@hotmail.com. I LOVE taking pictures and I was so upset about forgetting our camera.

The day after Thanksgiving we got our little bit of shopping in and then we got a tree with Tyler's family. It's 11 feet tall and perfectly shaped! We didn't have enough time to help decorate it this year so when we go back for Christmas, it will be our first time seeing it all lit up and pretty. On Friday night, we went to see the new James Bond movie. I didn't like it as much as I liked the first one with Daniel Craig but I still liked it a lot. On Saturday, we did a little more shopping and then made our best attempt to pack up and get ready to go back to Louisville. We planned on leaving by 3 or 4 but we didn't leave until 5:15. The dogs did great on the trip home. Peter slept most of the way and Charlie just looked out the window at the landscape and other cars. He couldn't have been seeing much since it was dark out though.

We went to bed as soon as we got back into town and then the next morning we went out and got a Christmas tree! Our ceilings are only 8 feet high but we went ahead and got an 8.5 foot tree and just cut the very top branches off! It can't be that much taller than last year's tree but it seems so much bigger. Probably b/c it just about touches the ceiling. Peter didn't pay much attention to the tree at first but now he's getting more and more interested. It's been a bit of a challenge to keep him from nibbling on the bottom branches. Having presents under there now helps block him from getting too close. And Charlie goes crazy when he sees reflections of light or spotlights shining on things so he likes to stare at the wall by the tree where the lights are shining on it. He would stand there for days if we didn't stop him. After we set up the tree, we did the rest of the decorating and everything looks great! Tyler is very creative when it comes to decorating. We can't wait to go back home again in one week! My boss is letting me have the whole week of Christmas off which is so great b/c we'll get to spend more time with family!

We hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! And hopefully you've already received our Christmas card but if you haven't, it's on it's way!

Sorry It's Been So Long!

Over the past two months, we have been staying very busy! The week is busy just because we have to work and Tyler has shows on Wednesday nights. But then the weekends are busy too b/c there's so many chores to do and we go to Smokey Bones almost every Sunday to watch the Panthers play since their games don't come on tv here. Hopefully since they are so good now though they'll be on locally so we can actually watch them at home. The one time we would have been able to watch them at home, we had that crazy windstorm and the cable went out right when the game started and then came back on right when the game was over!

Anywho, we didn't do much for Halloween b/c we didn't get a chance to make costumes for Charlie and Peter. We went driving around to see trick or treaters but there were hardly any left b/c we went out kinda late. It was only about 9pm and I remember being out until at least 10 when I used to go but I guess kids here don't stay out. We may not have had costumes for Charlie and Peter in time for Halloween but they went on sale afterward and I ended up buying 3! We got a pumpkin, ladybug and a bumble bee. Charlie is always patient with me when I make him wear things so I wasn't surprised by him but Peter immediately calmed down as soon as the pumpkin suit went on! It was crazy! I'm almost tempted to make him wear it all the time since he's so hyper! They were very cute.

Dad (Kluttz) came to visit the weekend of Halloween too. We had a lot of fun! We went downtown to the park b/c the weather was so nice and then we went and walked around the city and then stopped at the hotel that is on the water and enjoyed the view for awhile. We also went to Huber Farms again. We did a lot more exploring and they have really good pumpkin icecream! It was a lot of fun having someone out here to visit.

Tyler's wrestling is going really well. He's always improving in the ring and in the weight room! My job is going well too. I still could always use a little bit more to do but I'm learning how to be patient and how to spend more time exploring projects. I'm trying to take advantage of the extra time I have to work on things now b/c I'm sure in future jobs, that won't be the case.

NOTE: I was planning on posting pictures but we are having trouble with our computer right now. Hopefully it will be fixed soon!

"...AND HIS OPPONENT...BRETT 'BEEFY' WELLINGTON!!"

I finally was able to get to one of Tyler's show's now that he's wearing his tights! Here are some pictures from when he first started wrestling til now:

Since last time I talked about how well the dogs walk on a leash now, I thought I'd better prove it! And then there's just a funny video of Charlie with a cardboard box.

Autumn Goodness

So, the writing every week thing isn't going to work out I guess. I kind of had to wait until there was enough to write about and kind of forgot a couple of times. Anyway here's the latest news from the Kluttz household in Kentucky:

Charlie turned 3 on October 15th! For his birthday, I took him and Peter to the tennis courts here so that they could run around and play. They both really had fun and were very worn out afterwards. When we got back I couldn't help myself and I made a hat for Charlie to wear so that I could take pictures of him! I tried to make Peter wear one too but he wasn't going to tolerate it.

Speaking of the dogs, we have been watching the show "The Dog Whisperer" a lot lately and learning a ton. Tyler and I are practicing being 'calm assertive' which will make the dogs become 'calm submissive.' Cesar Millan is the Dog Whisperer and he goes to people's houses who are having problems with their dogs and fixes them. It usually only takes him a few minutes to solve the problem and let the person know what they were doing wrong and what they need to do in order for their dogs to behave the way they want. He gives a lot of valuable tips during the show like not using the dog's name when you are correcting a wrong behavior. And if they are doing something wrong, you can usually just touch them on their neck and it gets their attention so that you can tell them 'no.' Also, they can feel the energy that you project so you have to make sure that you are always calm. If you become angry or frustrated, they can sense that and they view it as weakness so they won't listen to you. It sounds sort of silly but it's true b/c they don't work the way humans do. As much as we try to humanize dogs, when it comes to disciplining them and teaching them how you want them to behave, you have to act like a dog or they just don't get it. Now that Tyler and I have been working so hard to become 'pack leaders' of Charlie and Peter, we both feel like we should be teaching people around the neighborhood how to train their dogs too! Anyway, they have responded very well to our takeover. When we take them out, they stay by our sides with little objection! It's so cool! I would recommend to anyone who has a dog to watch "the Dog Whisperer."

Well, after an extremely long summer, it has finally started to cool down here. Tyler and I couldn't wait for that to go out and try to enjoy fall though. Last weekend, we went to a place called Joe Huber's Family Farm. It's a really big farm where they have lots of activities for kids and country restaurants and they also have different activities depending on what season it is. Right now they have wagons that take people to pumpkin patches so that they can pick their own pumpkins. Their pumpkins are pretty expensive though so Tyler and I ended up getting a couple of big ones from a church on our way home. We had a lot of fun at Huber's though. We walked around and saw where they have miniature pony rides for kids and they also have a winery and a gift shop which were pretty cool. They had a bakery where they sold regular bakery stuff like pies and bread but it smelled soooo good! They also had a WACKY WAVING INFLATABLE ARM FLAILING TUBE MAN! We thought that was funny. On our way home, we got a little lost because we had to go on a lot of small country roads to get to the farm. It was really fun though because for some reason, the leaves were much prettier out there and it was such a nice day that we enjoyed driving around and seeing Indiana's countryside. We eventually found our way out!

Tyler is having fun with wrestling. He gets to wear his tights that he made most of the time now. He's got a pretty big show coming up tomorrow night so I'll have to take lots of pictures!

My job is going pretty well. I finally got the satisfaction of seeing the signs that I created hanging up in the local store. It was really cool! I'm more excited about the signs that are up now and the flyer that is going to be coming out soon b/c those have more of my ideas in them. This first set of signs that went along with the flyer had already been started when I started working there. It was very cool to see them up but it will be even better next time!