Well, it's been a rough stretch since the last post. After losing Beau, we had another hard shot. A good family friend, Uncle Steve, passed away in New Mexico. I knew Steve for my entire life and though we only saw him a couple times a year, he and his family were always at the forefront of our minds and the top people on our list when we visited Albuquerque.
Steve reminded me of Yogi Bear (and I say that as the biggest Hanna-Barbera fan). He was smarter-than-the-average bear, tended toward genuinely good-nature mischief, loved his treats, and had a heart the size of Jellystone.
I am so thankful that he and his wife, Auntie Donna, came with us on our cruise into 2015. And I'll never forget Steve taking E on his first jeeping trip on the mesa west of Albuquerque or his breathtaking carpentry -- especially the "stepping stool" he made for our wedding (which they drove 1100 miles to attend right after Steve's knee replacement) or the many or the many meals we shared or hearing about all his antics at work from my mom or that he was there the night Lisa & I got engaged...or...or...the countless other laughs and conversations.
Steve was too young and WAY too much fun to move on. As they say, he was the life of every party he ever went to, and quite a few he didn't. Pretty much all the parties around the globe will be a little less lively without Steve.
We miss you, Steve, but it'll be impossible to forget you, even if we wanted to try.
Besides losing Beau, we had a great trip in New Mexico. It was 17 hours total of driving for me & the dogs (of course, Lisa had the true test with two hour flights with both kids -- alone). It was worth it...seeing the dogs barrel down the entry into DMR -- the Doggie Mountain Resort, lounging on the leather couches -- a luxury not afforded to them in our house, and loving every step of our daily mountain walks.
The people had fun too: visiting GG, going on hikes, viewing a sail plane museum (yes, they have a museum for just about everything), and eating...and eating...and eating. Of course, we hit up our favorite spots...especially the pizza shop where they let the kids play with pizza dough while waiting for food. I've mentioned it before, but BRILLIANT.
A highlight of the vacation -- for E -- was when Papa took me & E on a ride in the semi truck. I swear they both talked, simultaneously, for the entire couple of hours. It's hard to judge who had more fun in the endeavor. It really was amazing to sit back and watch my son and my dad bond like that.
Halloween was nice as well. We'd orginially planned on both kids being Giants baseball players, since Oma & Opa had given them each a nice jersey (Buster & "Betsy" Posey, we were calling them). All seemed well with this plan until a week before when someone asked E about his costume to which he promptly replied: "A pumpkin!" No matter how many times he was asked or how we tried to convince him to wear one of the costumes we already owned (didn't even have to be Giants), he'd smile and tell us, in fact, he was going to be a pumpkin. While we were in New Mexico, Oma saved us when she found a steal-of-a-deal on a jack-o-lantern costume. And, boy, are we glad...he had a fantastic time showing off at his preschool parade. Disaster: adverted.
And then there was J. At 20 months, she should just wear whatever we put on her, right? (ok, all you parents with little girls stop laughing...she's my first daughter). Anyhow, the only thing she wanted to wear was the approximately 1,187 strings of beads that she got when Oma cleaned out her jewelry box. My wife, the creative genius, was able to piece together a "material girl" or (as I refer to it) "toddler Madonna" from clothes J had in her closet and was willing to wear. In the end, both turned out so cute and we loved trick-or-treating around our block AND at Oma & Opa's.
We miss you, Steve, but it'll be impossible to forget you, even if we wanted to try.
Besides losing Beau, we had a great trip in New Mexico. It was 17 hours total of driving for me & the dogs (of course, Lisa had the true test with two hour flights with both kids -- alone). It was worth it...seeing the dogs barrel down the entry into DMR -- the Doggie Mountain Resort, lounging on the leather couches -- a luxury not afforded to them in our house, and loving every step of our daily mountain walks.
The people had fun too: visiting GG, going on hikes, viewing a sail plane museum (yes, they have a museum for just about everything), and eating...and eating...and eating. Of course, we hit up our favorite spots...especially the pizza shop where they let the kids play with pizza dough while waiting for food. I've mentioned it before, but BRILLIANT.
A highlight of the vacation -- for E -- was when Papa took me & E on a ride in the semi truck. I swear they both talked, simultaneously, for the entire couple of hours. It's hard to judge who had more fun in the endeavor. It really was amazing to sit back and watch my son and my dad bond like that.
J got the dreaded hand-foot-mouth disease. This was a month after E, so we have no idea if it was related or not. Either way, I do not wish this virus on my worst enemy's kids (maybe...on my worst enemy, just not their kids -- kidding -- I don't even have a nemesis). It was a long week. To add injury to injury, E got a cold, which he promptly transferred to Lisa and when I was sure I was in the clear, to me too. There are lingering coughs, even as I type this, though nothing too serious at the moment. We made it as fun as we could, finding new & inventive quarantine play (and our share of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes).
We had a nice few celebrations of Lisa's birthday...with lots of treats that the kids (and I) loved. We had a fun first experience for all when we went and ate at the counter of Stan's Donuts. Now, donuts are good. Stan's donuts are great. And Stan's donuts at the counter are...are...I'm speechless. I can see why they haven't remolded the place since opening day in the late 1950s -- call me superstitious, but I wouldn't risk a vinyl stool being out of place and ruining the mojo.
E cracks me up these days. He's developing quite the sense of humor ("Where does Batman go potty?" "THE BAT-ROOM!"). He has some of Lisa's traits showing up already. For example, when you ask him for a favorite baseball player or type of food, he answers: "ALL of them." And I can't believe he finished his first "semester" at preschool...he passed the final with flying colors: he recognized all his letters, could make the sounds of 23 of them, and could easily count to 5. I'm not counting on a soccer scholarship at this point, but am investigating t-ball, gymnastics, and balance bike riding, since he really loves those. And there should be some money out there for being the best big brother -- because he really takes that role with passion.
Those of you who see J on a regular basis can back me up: the girl bursts with personality. Phrases she's mastered: No thanks, Up please, and Cody / Bailey come, and of course, Poop! Though her favorite is, "No way!" (Something that's cute now, though I worry in 10 years will have less charm). She says 'hi' to every person in store that we walk by. When asked if she's ready to get out of the bath or brush her teeth or go to bed, her response is always, "Almost." She's starting to tell stories too..."E. Minnie. Trip" = "E was running on the front lawn and tripped over the blow up holiday lawn decoration." It's a stretch without context, I'll give you that, but still cool that we can have that level of communication with a person who's sole obsession was the pacifier a few months back. Speaking of which, we managed to get rid of that habit in New Mexico...a crutch I was terrified of removing. It turned out to be far less painful than anticipated.
Ok, so I know most of you connected expecting a Thanksgiving post...and I'm going to disappoint you (for now). I've used up too many pixels and my fingers are tired as it is. Though, not to worry, there'll be plenty of Turkey updates later.
Until then, go hug a loved one or "ALL of them" because if this rougher patch has re-affirmed anything, it's that life is precious. Our family -- be it blood, friendship, furry, or human -- is the reason we're here.
We had a nice few celebrations of Lisa's birthday...with lots of treats that the kids (and I) loved. We had a fun first experience for all when we went and ate at the counter of Stan's Donuts. Now, donuts are good. Stan's donuts are great. And Stan's donuts at the counter are...are...I'm speechless. I can see why they haven't remolded the place since opening day in the late 1950s -- call me superstitious, but I wouldn't risk a vinyl stool being out of place and ruining the mojo.
E cracks me up these days. He's developing quite the sense of humor ("Where does Batman go potty?" "THE BAT-ROOM!"). He has some of Lisa's traits showing up already. For example, when you ask him for a favorite baseball player or type of food, he answers: "ALL of them." And I can't believe he finished his first "semester" at preschool...he passed the final with flying colors: he recognized all his letters, could make the sounds of 23 of them, and could easily count to 5. I'm not counting on a soccer scholarship at this point, but am investigating t-ball, gymnastics, and balance bike riding, since he really loves those. And there should be some money out there for being the best big brother -- because he really takes that role with passion.
Those of you who see J on a regular basis can back me up: the girl bursts with personality. Phrases she's mastered: No thanks, Up please, and Cody / Bailey come, and of course, Poop! Though her favorite is, "No way!" (Something that's cute now, though I worry in 10 years will have less charm). She says 'hi' to every person in store that we walk by. When asked if she's ready to get out of the bath or brush her teeth or go to bed, her response is always, "Almost." She's starting to tell stories too..."E. Minnie. Trip" = "E was running on the front lawn and tripped over the blow up holiday lawn decoration." It's a stretch without context, I'll give you that, but still cool that we can have that level of communication with a person who's sole obsession was the pacifier a few months back. Speaking of which, we managed to get rid of that habit in New Mexico...a crutch I was terrified of removing. It turned out to be far less painful than anticipated.
Ok, so I know most of you connected expecting a Thanksgiving post...and I'm going to disappoint you (for now). I've used up too many pixels and my fingers are tired as it is. Though, not to worry, there'll be plenty of Turkey updates later.
Until then, go hug a loved one or "ALL of them" because if this rougher patch has re-affirmed anything, it's that life is precious. Our family -- be it blood, friendship, furry, or human -- is the reason we're here.
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