So it is February 2, 2013 and I have not blogged at all since August and even then I was still 2 months behind. I have faced reality that I will never catch up, so I am cheating, giving up and catching up 7 months in one large blog. I realize no one may want to read this since it could be so long and boring, but since this is my chronicle of how I remember things in my life and my kids, I am ok with it!
So here is what I am going to do...summarize and highlight :)
July - We enjoyed not traveling and just being a family. It had been months since we were all at home and not going in multiple directions...We explored the zoo, aquarium and just enjoyed not being busy!
August - Gabe and I celebrated 9 years of marriage. We didn't do anything super special. Just a nice dinner out just the 2 of us which is very rare.
September - my biggest baby, Landon, turned 5 - my Lord where did the time go. It felt like the other day that he was my big baby - and he was BIG - toddling around the kitchen!
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| On his first birthday! |
Now he is 5, writing all his letters in upper and lower case and as of today so 5 and a quarter, he is counting and writing to 100, knows all his continents and can tell you the strangest things ever...like the fact that a cuddle fish has 3 hearts and it has blue and green blood...I didn't believe it either until I googled it...He amazes me every day. While his thousands of questions can really get exhausting, at the same time I love that he just wants to learn.
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| On his actual 5th birthday |
Another thing about Landon is that he is very loyal and he is already super into girls. I will never forget Gabe's mom telling me a story about Gabe at the age of 5 having to buy a special Valentine's for a girl in his class that he loved...well, he has passed that trait on to his oldest (and youngest) son who is in love with Ava. He loves spending time with her and is always asking when they can play again. Can't deny he has good taste!
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| Landon and Ava at his 5th birthday party! |
October - I had my 35th (shutter) birthday...I was not looking forward to being 35...something about being that much closer to and starting to see the crows feet in my eyes. However, Gabe made it awesome. He surprised me by taking me to a gorgeous resort in Clearwater Beach where we had an amazing suite with an even more amazing view. We went to a great dinner at Bern's which was a restaurant that I had been wanting to try since we moved here and then an awesome pampering day of a massage and nails the next morning..It turned out to be one amazing birthday!!!
I also went to Berlin for work this month...Berlin was an amazingly fun city with tons of culture...I had the best group of girls to work with which made the trip that much better. However, this trip was very tough on me. I knew deep down that I couldn't do these trips much more. I was too hard on me to be away from the boys...I missed Landon's first field trip which sounds silly but broke my heart...I just didn't have the passion for it anymore like I had in the past...I love to work but the trips were now just too much!
For Halloween we were invited by some new friends to join them for a neighborhood trick or treat. Of course Landon and Dylan could not wait to go bc Ava was there :) I decided that we were all going to dress up this year and while we may have looked silly...we had an absolute blast..
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| Superhero style! |
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November - November 1 was by far the hardest day in my life so far...I started the day going to our Tampa office which of after living here for almost a year, I had to go to. I went to the office that day and met many people that I have talked to and worked with and had dinner with a girl friend of mine. Dinner was nice and good conversation. We say good-bye and I am about to start by 50 minute drive back to my house at night...note that I already don't see well in the evening. I am not even 5 minutes into my drive and I get a strange text from a girlfriend saying something about - Isn't that crazy about Rue? I immediately called her and asked her what in the hell she was talking about...I could hear the shutter in her voice when she realized I had no idea what she was talking about. She said, "I am so sorry Helen...I thought you knew. Rue died today." I told her there was no way and she had no idea what she was talking about. I instantly called my sister...she didn't answer. I kept calling and calling and then I called Chris...I asked her when she had last talked to Rue...She said last night (Halloween) and that he was having a great time! I told her what I had heard and she instantly broke down as I had already done...I am driving on a interstate bawling my eyes out and shaking uncontrollably..There is no way this is true...Rue is only 30 years old...I told her I would call his parents as he wasn't answering his cell and I would call her right back. I called his parents house and his dad answered the phone. My heart was pounding out of my chest as I am still driving...I know now I should have absolutely pulled over...I didn't want to have it be the first thing I asked bc in my mind there is no way it was true..I apologized for calling so late and I asked how he was..His response was, "I am ok for under the circumstances." At this point I was hoping that maybe Rue was in an accident and in the hospital...just maybe..and then I knew I had to ask...I will never forget this part of the conversation and I can still hear it...I said, "Mr. Rue...I am sorry to have to ask you this, but I just heard something about Michael which I am hoping is not true...so I just have to ask...is he alright?" His response as I could hear the tears and the shaking in his voice was, "No, unfortunately not. Rue died in his sleep last night. We have been told it was peaceful and he did not suffer." He kept talking about that and I have no idea what he said...I was in absolute shock. How did my friend at the age of 30 die? How am I going to tell Landon his god-father has gone to heaven? How am I going to tell Gabe who was at a football game in Miami about one of his best friends...then I remembered I had to call and tell my sister...I called her back and I know that I have never been that upset in my life..All I could say was..."It is true...it is true...Rue is dead"...We both cried together for about 10 minutes until I made it to my driveway...we said we loved one another and we would talk in the morning...Gabe found out that night from a friend and drove home from Miami and got to the house around 3:30 am..I was still awake going through pictures...we got into bed and both just cried...We left for Atlanta the next day as we knew the funeral would be soon and we just wanted to go home and be with friends. While the funeral was hard, seeing Rue's smile in pictures all over the place was heart warming. He touched so many lives and made friends wherever he went...He was honest...he was real...he was a gentleman...he had faith...he had integrity...and most of all he had loyalty...I can still hear his voice in my head and until his phone was cut off, I would still call his cell and listen to his voicemail message...his phone was turned off recently...even though I know he is gone, I cried when the operator said the number had been disconnected...it was really real...I couldn't hear his voice...I miss him terribly...
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| He never missed a birthday party! |
December - New York and Christmas - I went to New York for work this month which was nice..I had never been to NY in December so I was excited...Also, after living in Tampa for almost a year, I was longing for cold weather...!!! The conference went well and by fast and at the end, Gabe came up join me for the weekend. He had been in Chicago all week for work and we had not had a weekend away just the 2 of us in a long time...while the weather was not in our favor, we still had an amazing time. We were nerdy tourists...Gabe had never been to NY and I knew after one trip that he would never come back either :) Too big of a city for my small town boy!
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| Gabe with the bull |
Before Christmas, we got an Christmas gift...After over 2.5 years of weekly speech therapy, Dylan graduated!!!! He talks all the time now...I love hearing his voice!!!
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| Dylan with Ms. Diana - I cannot forget Ms. Nancy from Atlanta either as I cannot thank them both enough |
We decided to stay in Tampa for Christmas this year. My boys didn't get a real Christmas last year bc of our move. The movers came on December 26 last year so we were fully packed and ready to go. No tree, no lights...nothing...So this year we went all out!!! Family came to us and I took 2 weeks off work. It was absolutely amazing.
January - Last month flew by...School started back and I had been out of work for 2 weeks...I took a while to get back in the groove but everything settled into place. We took the boys to the circus and the Monster Truck Rally...They LOVED it...I on the other hand realized that these events are my future!
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| Circus |
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| Monster Truck |
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Gabe and I were invited by some new friends to join them for Gasparilla...the best way to describe it is Tampa's version of Mardi Gras but just with pirates. We had an absolutely amazing time out on the boat, being with friends and having some good old fashion adult time!
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| Boats and police were everywhere |
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Gasparilla was last weekend so I am now caught up! Gabe is on his annual ski trip with my dad and Chris joined them this year! The boys and I had a great day and night together and while I should have long been asleep this blog has been something I have been wanting to do for a while. So here's to doing a better job in the coming posts! If you are still reading this, I am shocked :)
