Off to the islands.....Mid-Winter Update

We leave for Hawaii this evening. We are staying at the airport hotel the night before our flight as we depart at 6AM and can park for free for the week if we stay there. The kids think we are leaving Saturday morning at 430AM so they will be really excited to learn that we are actually leaving Friday. Miss Wendy had stomach flu on Monday so daycare was closed. She said that it is going around Trav's work and the VA where two of the other daycare moms work so Brian and I decided to tag team it and keep the little ones home all week. It's been a little challenging, but luckily work has been slow. It has been so fun to watch them play together with little interaction from an adult. They are clearly each others best friend. I don't think they have so much as argued all week long and have been doing everything from Nerf War to Legos to snowball fights with Jackson. Of course that has all been interspersed with lots of coloring and quite a bit of TV.

Everyone is so excited for the trip. We are all packed and basically ready to walk out the door after work tomorrow. Tanner has marked Kauai on our map, Faith has heard all about the leis and hula dancers, and Jake is looking forward to the ocean and sand. However, I think Tanner is most excited at this point for the plane ride. I guess from a five year old's perspective that must be pretty cool- to have seen the planes flying through the air all these years and finally be able to ride on one! I am sure the thrill will wear off sometime around hour 2. Or minute 15. We'll see! For me, I am looking forward to sunshine and spending time with my sisters (not necessarily in that order).

We drop Jackson at the kennel at 5PM. He has so quickly become part of our family. We are all going to miss him- although I think Brian will miss him the most. Those two are like peas in a pod. When Brian is gone Jackson lays in front of the front door sadly until he comes home. We are working on the training. He is not very good on a leash and has no fear of the street or cars and will gladly chase any other animal that he sees. But he uses the doggie door religiously, sleeps where he is supposed to, and is learning that the table at dinnertime is no place for doggies. The kids adore him and often spend an hour at a time throwing the ball for him in the backyard (or snowballs at him, as happened yesterday!). Although we all truly miss Milo it is nice to have a younger dog in the house.

Here's to safe travels, warm weather, fresh fruit coladas, and lots of downtime.

Pitchers and Catchers Report

It was a beautiful weekend here, record high temps both days. The first nice weekend towards the end of February always gets me. The sun shines the kids want out to play, the dog wants a walk, people are outside on bikes and my thoughts turn to baseball.

It was so great with the Giants playing until the end of the season for the first time in a few years that it seems like baseball just ended, but as pitchers and catchers get set to report again already, even us LIttle League families are getting back into it.

One of the parents of Jake's team from last year made arrangements for some private hitting practice with the Boise High Baseball coach for the boys so Jake and I headed over to the American Legion indoor hitting facility today for some practice. There were four other boys from his team there and they all got some personalized hitting instruction and got to hit off tees in the cages for awhile. Jake did great, the coach noted that he has a pretty natural swing and gave him a couple of small tweaks to work on and kind of signed off on him. Jake had a really good time, was happy the coach thought he could hit well and just hit the rest of the time. He's really ready for baseball this year and can't wait to start minors.

Since I knew I was taking Jake out this evening, I made it a point of getting Tanner out earlier today on the green across from the house. We hit off the tee, took some grounders, played catch and just worked out for an hour or so. He does really well and is a natural like his brother. One of the aforementioned little league parents came by while we were playing and was amazed by how well Tanner was hitting the ball since he hasn't played league yet. Jake's PE coach also came by and commented on Tanner's strong arm and accurate throws. So Tanner is all fired up and ready for T-Ball to start as well.

We are off to Hawaii this next weekend, but wil be back at it, I am sure, in full swing, when we get back leading up to opening day.

Super Bowl Sunday

After the success of our "Grown-Up Game Night" on New Years Eve, I suggested to Marisa (yes, I suggested...me, I know, right?) that we host a Super Bowl Party for the same group of friends.

Marisa set the whole thing up, sending out the invites, assigning food etc. and come kick-off, there were ten adults and twelve kids in our front room. We had a very good time, with a ton of food and beer (we didn't make the cake in the picture, one of our neighbors did), good conversations for the football and non-football fans alike.

The kids watched here and there (loudly...kids do EVERYTHING loudly I've come to realize), and played in the yard in the dark and up in the boys bedroom and generally left the adults to socialize and/or watch the game. With the exception of a couple of kids rooting for the Steelers to be contrary, everyone was rooting for the Packers and the room was in good spirits for the entire game.

As the game dragged on, we started to lose some folks to bedtimes etc. (it is a school night after all) so only a few die-hards saw the actual end of the game. This was my kind of social event, where watching the TV in the corner is actually encouraged, instead of something you just get caught doing. We had bad food and beer, which I don't really drink that much anymore, but did enjoy during the game.

Jackson was the hit of the party, playing with the kids and making new friends with all the grownups. Now that this party is down we'll see who in the group steps up next time. We have a pretty good gang of friends with Jake's classes parent group. Now we'll have to set something up with Tanner's friends, maybe after T-Ball season...

Grief 101 or 'Everyone Has Their Own Way of Healing"

The kids and I were in the hot tub last night and Tanner suddenly pointed up to the sky and said, 'Look, Mom, there's Milo!". He started waving and telling Milo he loved him. He said he was on the moon, on the star, up in the clouds. I played along, and so did Jake, saying things like, "He's watching us to make sure we are OK" and "Look at that... he is on a big soft fluffy couch!". Jake added that he is sure that he is God's favorite dog. Faith, meanwhile, was looking more and more bewildered and started getting indignant. "I don't see him! Tanner, where is he??? I don't see him!". After explaining that we saw him in our imagination and that he wasn't REALLY in the sky, she enjoyed this way of remembering our Boy.

We received two beautiful condolence cards from our vet this week. One was from our regular vet- Milo was so healthy I think he only saw this vet twice since we moved to ID- and one from the emergency vet that was with us when we had to say goodbye. Both cards were handwritten and so thoughtful. We also received a wonderful card from Auntie Sue (along with some gift cards for ice cream because "ice cream tends to help the grieving process") and a gift box from Grandma Mary and the whole Crebar clan with new toys/treats for Jackson (more on that later) and chocolate and skittles for us (I am a big fan of chocolate, candy, and ice cream helping to heal....). Thank you, too, to everyone that sent emails of condolence- Lissa, we so appreciated your "raising two glasses" in honor of Milo on Monday night and laughed out loud at your offer of a "loaner" :)

So.... Jackson. He's our puppy. Yes, you read that right. Out of no disrespect for Milo, in fact, probably out of a need to fill a very empty spot in our hearts and home, we have a dog. Not a "new dog" or a "replacement dog"... just a dog. We found him online. A military family was being transferred and couldn't take him with them. He is 9 months old and he and Brian bonded immediately upon meeting. We had to take him home. He is a mutt- part Airedale Terrier we think. He joined our family on Wednesday and he is making himself right at home. The kids adore him- Faith loves to play tug-of-war with him, Tanner loves to throw the tennis ball for him, and Jake has already found Jackson's favorite place to be scratched (underside of belly, left side). He follows Brian from room to room. He will clearly be Brian's dog first and foremost.

Even though I was nervous about getting another dog so soon after Milo passed away and felt like we were "dishonoring Milo's memory" in some way, I think this is Brian's way of healing. He hasn't forgotten Milo and never will, but this has helped ease the sadness and given him something different to focus on. Milo's death was really traumatic and sudden. Brian was amazing during the two hours it took to get our boy through it. He was calm and so loving. During that difficult morning I took care of the kids- helping each one to say goodbye before calling a friend/neighbor to come pick them up at 745 so we could get Milo to the vet. Brian sat with Milo and I like to think he helped ease his pain and suffering. He rode in the back of the Suburban with Milo on his lap, petting and talking to him for the seemingly endless drive to the emergency vet. We both cried as we said goodbye and held him in his final minutes. Driving home from the vet with Milo's dog tags jingling from the rearview mirror was hard, but even harder was the quiet and stillness we found in the house when we returned home.

In the hot tub last night I found myself really hoping that Milo was up there, looking down at us, and feeling happy that his people are doing well. The kids wanted to know if when they die they will get to be with Milo. Wow. All these questions about death and heaven and faith and God are hard ones. I guess for me...I'd like to believe that Milo is up there with Grandpa Simonich, eating some bacon treats on a comfy bed, enjoying watching the daily lives of the Alan Family unfold.