And Time Marches On

I've completely neglected this blog, but I knew I'd come back to it eventually. I guess posting all my Shutterfly projects on here doesn't really count as updating it. (I do that to get coupons from them!) You know how I love words--grammatically correct ones, in particular. But sometimes pictures are wonderful shortcuts to the stories of our lives, so I will utilize my other love--photography--to tell the brief story of the holiday season. I was bound and determined to post again before 2013, so I'll let my camera do much of the talking...

This was the fall of two beautiful weddings...of Shelley and Jeff on the beach (this one was by the wedding photographer, not me!)...

...and Tina and Daniel, in the mountains.

There was fall ball on the Angels...

...and Halloween with cats and ninjas.

We hosted Thanksgiving on a warm November afternoon.

 

Nathan immersed himself in reading...

...and earned an award for Scholarship.

 

There were lots of friends...

...and beautiful twinkling lights.

And before we knew it, it was Christmastime.

This is what our tree looked like...before we had to take it down due to a certain overly-curious critter:

We enjoyed four (yes, four!) Christmas celebrations, including the one in our own living room on Christmas morning.

 

 

A Merry Christmas was had by all!

And thanks to Brendan and his gift of a new-and-improved Canon DSLR, our 2013 will, hopefully, be filled with lots and lots of wonderful pictures of our memories to come. Pictures like these...

And, ahem, occasionally, these:

Wishing you--friend, family, or stranger--a joy-filled new year, filled with pretty pictures, beautiful words, and happy memories!

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Words and Words and Words...

If you're scrolling down my blog, it might look like the only thing I've done over the last few months is create Shutterfly photo books. Yep. That about sums it up. Bye.

Just kidding. There's been plenty of stuff going on; I've just been too lazy and preoccupied to come here and share. And, when it comes down to it, my free time has been consumed by words. Granted, some of those words have come in the form of voices from TV as I lay listless in bed. But many of those words have come from the numerous books I have (metaphorically) devoured and from the articles that I have published on the Yahoo! Contributor Network. If you have the time, please visit my profile here. I have become a little obsessed with writing articles for Yahoo!. It's just a fun hobby of mine right now, one that I'm sure will ebb and flow. Yet I realize I've been neglecting this blog, not that anyone really cares. But I care. And I'd like to give a very short glimpse into our summer, with a few pictures...and a few words, of course.

The summer started with Nathan's first sleepover at a friend's house. He was invited to a camping party in his good buddy Cole's backyard:

He had no separation anxiety at all--especially since he was expecting his first visit from the Tooth Fairy!

She made it. Phew!

A few short days later, it was time to party at Nathan's seventh birthday bash. We had this monstrosity in the backyard all day:

An awesome time was had by all. Even Grandpa C, who probably doesn't appreciate my posting this picture of him:

Whack it, Evan!

The boys and I took a hike Placerita Canyon one day. We'll have to head back in the spring.

We even went to the beach one day, which is enough for us sunburn-phobic Conrads.

We hit up the Fourth of July Parade with Grandma T and Papa. It was, amazingly, not that hot. The parade participants were, not amazingly, almost the same as last year.

And we swam and swam and swam. As you can see from the picture below, Nathan lost all fear of the water. He's a crazy good swimmer now. I'd like to attribute it to swimming lessons FOUR summers in a row, but really, I think it was just the right time to make that leap.

Speaking of athleticism, Brendan competed in his first triathlon at Castaic Lake. We were very proud of him. I did not compete in my first triathlon at Castaic Lake. I took pictures like this:

And what else is there to do when it gets hot but visit Las Vegas! We had a fun whirlwind trip--bowling, swimming, visiting with Brendan's aunts, touring a children's museum, and doing this, whatever "this" is:

In addition, while the boys had a special sleepover at Aunt Kack and Joene's house, Brendan and I got to see the Cirque du Soleil show "Love." Then we got to drink things like this back at their house the following day.

In August, we got a visit from my cousin Kalynn from Idaho and her two kids, Willow and Zac. Nathan and Willow got along so well, as you can clearly see...

I had the privilege of being the "official" photographer for my sister-in-law Shelley's bridal shower, where I got to photograph such wonderful things as these:

I guess I did well enough with the cake pops, so she let me do her engagement photos, too. It's all about having a photogenic subject:

We watched crayons melt. Kind of self-explanatory.

And then, just like that, it was time to go back to school...

The sun may have set on summer. But there's plenty to look forward to in the fall... Hope to see you soon!

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Somewhere in Time

Last weekend was my dear parents' 40th wedding anniversary. To celebrate, we took them and my brother Matt out to dinner at an Asian restaurant we've come to enjoy. We gave calorie-counting a backseat for the night and stuffed ourselves with grilled shrimp, fried rice, beef with broccoli, and spicy chicken. We all enjoyed writing on the paper tablecloths, which led to this fun picture:

They either look really tiny or their glasses look really big. I can't tell which. Even the boys liked their food, although Evan's dinner consisted mostly of fried won tons and Grandma T and Papa's complimentary dessert. It was a great way to celebrate two people who are loved by so many--but especially by me.

On Monday, however, my parents and Matt had to deal with something heartbreaking that we'd all seen coming but didn't want to really quite face. They had to put their beloved dog Chance, whom they cared for for over 15 years, to sleep. I know they are still reeling from his loss and will be for some time. As he became older and more infirm, they were more than just his "owners," they were his loving caretakers, who fed him peanut butter (his favorite, and mine, too) whenever he wished, took him outside to do his "business" at all hours of the day or night, and even made a comfy doggie apartment for him in the terraced level of their home when he was no longer strong enough to walk up and down the stairs to get to the backyard.

That is love, pure and simple. And I know, absolutely positively know, that Chance knew he was loved every day with my parents and Matt. And, in return, he was the perfect companion to them over the years.

Chance had a rocky start in this world. The sad story goes that he was rescued off the street in a bad neighborhood, where he was being used as "bait" for fighting dogs, to make them aggressive. How a person could be so cruel to an animal is beyond me, beyond most of us. So, when he landed at my parents' house during my college years, he was more than skittish. He was downright terrified of just about anyone who wasn't a part of his circle during those first weeks. Fortunately, Brendan and I were immediately in his circle, and Chance was always good with children. Nathan and Evan always knew him as a lovable hunk of fur who would do anything to chase a tennis ball. Or ten. As the years went on, Chance eventually came to accept other people, though it did take a very long time. But for the most part, that never mattered, because he was perfectly content in his warm and loving home with my mom, dad and Matt.

Chance had almost as many stuffed animals as my kids do. It was commonplace to find him curled up with a couple of his "babies" in his nice comfy bed. Sometimes he "loved" them a little too much, but my parents became handy with a needle and thread, often sewing up his toys with comical results.

I don't know if Chance knew he was a dog, but he certainly had no idea about his size or body shape. His constantly-wagging tail would knock things over and bang into walls all over the house. And if Chance wanted to sit, he wanted to sit, even if it was where you were sitting. Numerous times, he'd plop himself down into a sitting position on my lap, legs askew, not a care in the world.

Chance was treated to all sorts of special comforts and joys: the fluffy toys, the many walks in the mountains with my dad, the disturbingly-crunchy pig ears as special treats, the tennis balls, the empty peanut butter jars to lick clean, the sprinkling of rice and cheese on his kibble dinner, and the perfectly plump bed that cradled his sleepy head both day and night. After what he endured as a puppy, the spoiling he got at my parents' house was a well-deserved.

Chance could not have had a more perfect home for his long life of 15 years. And I know my parents will say that they could not have had a more perfect dog, a more perfect companion. And even though it's so sad to see him go, I think his sweet presence will always be part of their home. The "inner circle" will always remember him.

Ca(s)t Week

In a week, our lives sure changed in a couple of interesting ways! Last Saturday, after having lunch with my wonderful friend Sam, her baby Brady, and her mom, I did a little shopping, meeting up with Brendan and the boys near PetSmart. I guess the "vibes" were in the air, and we ended up perusing the dozen or so adorable cats in the adoption area. We had been discussing the possibility of adopting a cat for quite a while now, but it never felt completely right. But recently my "caternal instincts" had been in overdrive, and the fact that it was our late Pumpkin's birthday may have had a little something to do with it, too.

Frankly, I was in the mood to adopt any of them. Even two or three! And while Nathan was initially hooked on an orange baby kitten named Nacho, we quickly zeroed in on a young, black-and-white tuxedo cat. A Kitten Rescue volunteer told me that he was a very friendly, curious cat--great with kids. We got to know him in the partitioned room, and he was immediately very tolerant of the boys and didn't seem afraid. Fifteen minutes later we were filling out the paperwork to adopt him.

Logan has been in our house a little over a week now, and we adore him. He made himself at home immediately. He sleeps for hours on our dining room chairs, walks all over Brendan's desk, tries to hop onto the counter tops, goes nuts every day at around 4 am, cuddles with us in bed, plays with shoe laces, tears laps up and down the stairs, stalks us around corners, and has just generally inserted a dash of character and spontaneity into our home. The phrase "Where is Logan?" has replaced "Do you have to go potty?" as the most commonly used utterance in our home.

So, just as we were getting used to having Logan in the home, something weird happened on Tuesday--something that you just don't see coming. It was almost time for Nathan to leave for afternoon baseball practice. As he was was climbing down from his bed, where he had been playing on his Kindle, his practice shirt caught on his bed rail, and he tumbled to the floor. He was in pain right away, pain that we thought would just subside. But by the time Brendan was home from coaching, I figured this was worth checking out, as he was still cradling his left arm. We went to urgent care, where he had some x-rays. According to the doctor, they didn't show an obvious break, so Nathan was sent home with a sling and told to take it easy for a week. But.........two days later, we got a call from a nurse at urgent care. Upon reviewing the x-rays, the radiologist thought there might be a break after all. The next day Nathan was seen by a pediatric orthopedic specialist in the Valley, who immediately told us that it was, in fact, broken near the elbow. After joking with Nathan that one option was to cut off his arm (no, I am completely not kidding--he actually did that), he let him choose his cast color, and before we knew it, baseball season had ended early. And handball season. And wrestle-with-your brother season. And shower season.

The cast has been on for two-and-a-half days now, and Nathan was excited to have a lot of family sign it today at our Mother's Day lunch. He's also looking forward to showing it off tomorrow at school. But I imagine in another week or two, the novelty will wear off before the cast has worn off. So, we'll be counting down the days until June 7th, when it will most likely be removed. And after that, Ca(s)t Week will be a memory. We'll move on to the end of school, Nathan's birthday, and lots of fun summer activities. It's nice that Logan is here to keep him company until then.