HOGI YOGI

Here is a picture of our location in the Shepard Union Building, on the Weber State University Campus. I went to school many years ago at Weber State so it is alot of fun to be back on campus.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family! Jen and some of the kids made it back to Casper to join Michael and some of the other kids for Christmas. We will finish up on Sunday, December 28, back in Utah, with a late Christmas celebration with Courtney, Melissa and Sienna, who spent the Holiday in Heber with their dad.

We were able to locate an apartment in Ogden, super close to the Weber State University Campus and our HOGI YOGI stores, so that Jen and the kids who are working there would be closer to work and have a "home away from home". Micheal and some of the kids are still in Casper, STILL trying to sell the house. Hopefully, with interest rates going down and the holidays coming to an end, we will be able to sell it and once again be able to live together as a family. It has been tough to be apart during the holidays!

The top picture is of Aspen celebrating her 3rd birthday on Christmas Eve. She is definitely our Christmas angel and she is such a joy to our family! The other picture is of Acacia, who is 9 months old now and is such a cuddly thing! She is adored by all of us!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and we apologize for not getting any Christmas cards out!

Melissa's Surgery

This is a picture of Melissa, back in August, when she was having her bilateral sympathectomy. We wanted to post a little bit about this, as we have come to discover many other people suffer from her condition, to varying degrees, and don't know that there is a treatment for it.

The condition is called "hyperhidrosis". It is basically excessive sweating, usually of the hands, feet and armpits. Melissa was mostly affected on her hands and feet. After years of other treatments, none of which were effective, some of which were really INCONVENIENT, and still others which were down right PAINFUL, we chose the surgical route of treatment. The reason we put the surgery off as long as we did is because her local dermatologist is against this form of treatment, as are alot of dermatologists, we have found. However, when we did our own research (mostly internet) we found out it was SAFE, EFFECTIVE (98%) and PERMANENT. It is a good option for those who suffer from this condition. She woke up from surgery with DRY HANDS...we were amazed and thrilled! She left the hospital the same day she had the surgery and the only regret we have is that we didn't do it sooner! If you or a loved one suffer from this condition, we encourage you to seek out a doctor who is knowledgeable in ALL forms of treatment, including surgical.

Out of the Hospital

Saturday evening, I started having alot of pain, kind of like I was having a gall bladder attack, only my gall bladder went the way of all the world a few years ago. I ended up in the hospital for a few days while they did tests and pumped me full of morphine. It ended up being my liver going bad, due to a blocked bile duct. They did a procedure Tuesday afternoon and sent me home that night. I am on the mend now and we are still looking forward to heading to Utah in a matter of days. I hope I can get everything done!
Courtney is in town this week, although me being in the hospital was NOT a part of our plans for our time together. We will do some family pictures while she is here. We are looking forward to the Bertagnole annual Halloween party this Friday.
Ellie turns ONE tomorrow! I can't believe it has been a year since I had the privilege of delivering her. Home birth ROCKS!

EXCITING NEWS

We put an offer on a business in Utah and it has been accepted! Jen is moving BACK to Utah in November to run the stores. Michael will join her when the house sells in Casper. We will be moving to the Layton area.
We are sad to leave behind our many friends and family here, but look forward to renewing friendships and the adventure of owning our own business!

When we close on the loan November 10th we will be able to share the name of the businesses and we hope those that can will come by and see us sometime!

Sienna's Team Does it Again!

Sienna's team, coached by Michael, won the Thornton (Colorado) Kick off Classic held in August. Michael is on the far left and Sienna is laying down in front, also on the left.

We're Back Online!

We started a blog up years ago, but never kept up with it. We are going to make an effort to do better this time!!

To bring you all up to speed (for those who want to know!) Michael and I married in November, 2003. Michael brought three sons to the marriage, Josh, Aaron and Ben. Jen brought four daughters: Jacie, Courtney, Melissa and Sienna. In 2005 we added a daughter, Aspen and then another daughter in March, 2008, Acacia. Our oldest daughter, Jacie, gave us a granddaughter in October of 2007. Now you will at least know who everyone is and where everyone fits in! We hope you enjoy keeping up with our goings on as much as we will enjoy sharing them with you!!