Can you ever be prepared for something like this?

Hello friends,
I think this year is not my year to blog.  I have barely had any time on my hands for myself that I have not been able to sit down, take a breath and then write something, until now.  My last post was in June promising to be back soon and share what I had been up to but that was almost 3 months ago...so you can see how tied up I must be to not be able to come back soon enough.  Anyways, here I am and without wasting any further time, I would like to share few things with you.

This year had started out alright but soon enough my grandmother got unwell.  She passed away in March and it was the hardest thing for the whole family.  She was 93 and still strong mentally at that age, but it was her body that started slowing down and before we could even know it, she had left us.  I was close to her and that's why I don't think I was really prepared for what happened.  But honestly, can you ever be prepared for something like this?  No, I don't think so.  Whether you know that death is coming to your loved one, or it comes unexpectedly, it is never ever easy to loose a loved one!!  We were all taken a back by her going but we also knew that she had lived her life to the fullest and worked really hard to give her kids the life they have right now.  We know that she is in a better place now and in peace!  March had not been the best month overall.  One of my colleague's, and a good friend, father passed away at the end of March as well, completely unexpected, when his father was in perfect health.  His father's death was a complete shock to their entire family.  Death is pretty hard to accept and move past it...especially when it's one of your loved ones!

In May, one of my close friends' was going to move out of US, so they planned a one day trip to Sand Dunes National Park.  This is the first time I went and it was really nice to see a different take on Colorado.  Usually, when you hear Colorado, you instantly think of mountains, but this one was a desert in the middle of the mountains!  Be aware, there is lots and lots of walking.  If you think you will go all the way to the top, think again! Our plan was to go all the way to the top but the more you walk, the farther you will see the top of the sand dunes :).  So I suggest you return back the moment you feel tired because you have to go back down the way you came back up!  Here are some glimpses of the visit.

Sand Dunes National Park - At the base, getting ready to climb the sand mountain :)

Great capture of Sand Dunes in front of the Mountains!

This was the last trip that we did with our close friends before they left US.  Hopefully, they will return soon and we'll have lots of more memories to build together.

Soon after this trip, I had another milestone in my life...my family bought a house, something we had been searching for a loooong time!! Finally, we bought a house we loved and we actually got it!! The reason I say "we actually got it" is because of the way Denver real estate is rising up...the prices are soaring high year after year!  And in the midst of all, we were able to get a house where it's seller's market and buyers are having a bidding war.  I do consider myself lucky in that manner.  That was a sweet happiness for the entire family :).  But with sweet happiness comes a load of responsibilities and I am going to leave that for the next post for me to write and share my experiences.

Hope you guys enjoy this post.  I am writing after such a long time, and it feels good to be back here.  Hope to continue this from now on.  Until next time, have a great day :)