No Mickey for Us

Last weekend we made our way to Orlando. I had a work conference and Mr. Wonderful and Cole tagged along for some fun. Cole got to put to use his new swimming skills in the hotel pool and what a fish he is.

Dad and Cole went to Kennedy Space Center. Both had a blast....

I was able to join them on the outing to Gatorland! It was amazing. We even got to hook up with Uncle Brian for dinner one night in Coco Beach. Brian and Chris spent their pay checks at Ron Jon Suft Shop. What a treat!

We even got to walk over to Universal Studio's City Walk. It was a fabulous trip.

But, we do have to report that Soft Bunny has gone missing. We realized he was left on the plane between the seats. We've filed missing persons report with the Orlando airport and are still waiting to hear from Southwest Airlines if he is in lost and found. Sweet Soft Bunny. He's been with Cole since birth, survived the attack of a bored dog (Estes - bad girl), lost an eye in the process, underwent surgery by Grandma, and was gently given back to Cole as his sweet "one eyed" soft bunny. We hope we find him.

Funny Faces

We've definitely had some fun over the past two weeks.

Some highlights include:

• Special Mother's Day activities put on by Cole's class at school
• Celebrated Michael's 5th Birthday (not just with a party, but with bowling and milkshakes)
• Graduated from swim lessons earning his own wristband so he can go down the slide by himself - what a great little swimmer
• Went on a family trip to Orlando (see next entry)

Funny face at Michael's B-day

Milkshakes before the BIG party

Bowling before the BIG party

Funny faces with friends at school (Sophia and Alexandria)

Some Tub Fun!

Look at those big eyes.

Belated Mother's Day

I was too tired to post yesterday and I'm not big on holidays like Valentine's, Father's Day, Mother's day, St. Patrick's Day, etc....When it comes to moms it shouldn't just be one day to say how thankful we are for them. I hope I show and tell my mom throughout the year just how important she is to me.

I got this out of a book Cole made me at school. I thought it was worth sharing:

Mom-isms: Those Little Things Your Mom Always Said

A little birdie told me! A little soap and water never hurt anybody. Close the door! Were you born in a barn? Do you think we're made of money? Don't make me stop this car! I said..No running in the house! Don't put that thing your mouth! You don't know where it's been! Go to your room and think about what you did. Do you want a spanking? How many times do I have to tell you? If I have to come in there.... Do you want something to cry about? I'm going to give you till the count of three....Look at me when I am talking to you. Do you think that money grows on trees? What part of "NO" don't you understand? Wait till your father finds out! Didn't you know all mothers have eyes in the back of their head! How was your day? Let me kiss it and make it better!What kind of cake do you want for your birthday? It's your special day! I am so proud of you! Goodnight sweetheart. I love you.

I know my mom said all of these to me and I've said about all of them to Cole. Love you mama mi soma sia (that's a Cole word)....

Playground Tour

Yesterday, I picked Cole up early from school and we rode our bikes for a Tour de Playgrounds of Broomfield. Our adventure lastest about two hours, 3.5 miles on the bike, and six playgrounds. We were both tired, hot, and thirsty by the time we arrived back home. I forgot to take a picture at one of them, darn it. But, according to Cole, I'm so awesome!

Angels

More on the Nilla front as Cole tries to understand what happened exactly and why she isn't coming back. He has been asking if Nilla is coming back to which we say no, that she is in doggie heaven. Well, on the way down to Grandma's on Saturday, he said to me,

" I miss Nilla."

"I know baby, but she's in doggie heaven"

"Well, how did she get there"

It's probably not appropriate to go into the literal meaning behind that question, like that it was the third hardest decision in Chris' life to date or the details about our trip the vets office. And as my eyes teared up, I said,

"The angels came and got her."

"How did they get her up there."

"They have wings and flew her up to heaven."

I can just picture the image in his mind being that of a John Travolta look alike (the one where he played an angel) carrying and flying Nilla up in the sky.

I've been feeling very sensitive lately and I'm not pms-ing. I don't get it. It's little things too, like the message Michelle left me last week, or Mr. Wonderful's comment about my "sophisticated" outfit, or my mom asking if I put paper down in my flower garden before putting the mulch down, or maybe it's that the world goes on and I'm still grieving for Beans and that makes me sad. Everyones lives including my own continue moving but in my heart, it seems like it should all stop and everyone should grieve for Nilla. It's a funny thing, death...sorrow...sadness. It's left me feeling a bit empty and lost....

Time heals all wounds.

Trouble

This dog named Smokey is trouble, trouble, trouble, but oh so cute. He is a runner and took off yesterday afternoon when Cole accidentially let him out the front door. We hopped in the car and finally found him the park, but the trick is getting him to come to us. It ended up working out and only took about 10 minutes, but, what a little stinker.

He loves Estes and Estes loves him. They play with the stuffed squirrel, the ropes, wrestle together and did I mention that he loves to be loved. I mean, he is an absolute sap for snuggles. He is learning the ropes of the Velez household and so are we (like don't leave the trash down)....

Here's to more adventures......

Calling Nilla

Cole and I ate lunch outside yesterday, in the glorious sunshine, watching the dogs play when he asked me,
“Is Nilla dead?”
“Yes, baby. She’s in Doggie Heaven, but I bet she can see us right now.”
Then Cole yells, “NILLA! (slight pause) NILLA! (slight pause) NILLA! (slight pause). Do you think she heard me?”
I softy say, “I bet so, baby.”

We miss you girl. The house isn’t the same without you.

Saying Good-Bye

In Loving Memory

Nilla Beans

1996-2009

We're going to miss you girl!

New Editions

We added to our family with the addition of another Boxer named Smokey. He's a little over a year and quite a bit of a puppy still. Like today, while we were at work, he decided to tip over the trash can (that has a lid), rummage through it, chew on an SOS pad and eat who knows what else. He also decided that it would fun to pee all over the family room...and I do mean all over. So needless to say, he'll be going in the kennel tomorrow, in the basement, where he can think about what he likes better...

On the positive side, he is a lover, a cuddler, a runner, a great playmate for Estes. He knows how to sit and stay and shake. It was love at first sight when I saw him.

Celebrations and Blessings

Happy Birthday to my new baby nephew Parker Jackson. He was born yesterday and I was born some 34 years ago. Aprils birthdays are the best.

Not only was it birthday celebrations, it was Easter celebrations too. Cole and Eliana had an easter egg hunt and they found ALL the eggs.

Uncle Brian made the best ham EVER! It took six hours but she was worth it.

It was wonderful to have family over, to be grateful for the new life that has entered all of our lives, and for the tasty food that filled our bellies. Thanks for a perfect day.

Second Family

I'm one of those lucky people that LOVE their job. I enjoy the people I work with, my team seriously kicks ass, AND I love what I do.

Take my team for example: There are 11 of us out of the 43 employees and we have a blast. They take care of me and I take care of them. They are my second family, my friends, my pride.
We try to keep it fun like:

Having flip flop day in the middle of winter

Celebrating work anniversaries

letting our aggression out

Or the time they completely rearranged my office (in the best way...I LOVE my office )

or bringing me pretty flowers for my birthday and saying "I was thinking about you this morning and thought you might like this"....oh, Nick - so thoughtful.

Here is to my team: Katie, Nick, Raquel, Mary, Connie, Vicki, Katie K, Michelle, Clea, and Kevin. I love each of you for all of your hard work, personality, trust, and respect. Thanks for making my days worthwhile.

The Land of Enchantment: Part B

Last time I wrote about our adventure to New Mexico. This time, it's still about being in NM, but it's about the people we met, and they weren't New Mexicans. They were Kazakhs. Yes, that's right people from Kazakhstan https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kz.html. I like this link because it's from the CIA. It makes me feel like I'm reporting on top secret military intiatives.

My dad is like a top secret government guy. He's a highly regarded, probably the best in the business trained fire arm specialist. He trains people over all the world on how to protect important things like nuclear war heads, nuclear waste, top secret facilities, etc. He runs simulations like war games to see how long and how hard it is for his team to breach security at a number of high security facilities. He's basically a bad ass and super smart. He was a special ops, Green Beret, if that tells how bad ass he really is. Anyway, he has been in NM for five weeks training 11 Kazakhs and Cole and I had the opportunity to meet some of them.

First, we met the "Colonel". And while I thought that the Kazakhs would look like Russians, they, in many cases, look Mongolian. But I didn't know this at first so when I met the "Colonel" I was a bit surprised. We met at breakfast, but he doesn't speak much English. We met up a couple hours later to go to the flea market and he brought all sorts of gifts for me, Cole and Emma. We only had said "Hi" hours earlier and now he bears gifts for us. Here is a shot of Cole with all is gifts. Amazing.

And here's a shot of us at the flea market.

Next was the "General". Yeah, that's right, basically the third guy in charge of Kazakhstan. He was so much fun and if given the chance, I think he would have eaten Cole right up. He just adored him - played "tom and jerry" with him with popcorn, wrestled, gave him chocolate, kissed, hugged. Cole LOVED him too. We sat outside for a few hours playing and talking and eating. The General doesn't speak English either so my dad played interpreter for me and Carol. The "General" was so animated when he spoke - big arms, detailed facial expressions, expressive voice tones - and it was so awesome to hear my dad interpret EVERYthing. The "General" brought out Lamb stew, pie and of course Vodka and we all ate on the lawn at the hotel. It was such a wonderful experience - laid back and informal. My dad told us alot about their customs, from eating horses and how they kill their animals (they hang them by their feet and slit the throats - it's much better for eating and cooking), to how important gifts and food are, and the does and don'ts of honoring their customs, like eating with forks, not your fingers.

Thank you for a wonderful opportunity to meet interesting people. We had a great time.