Wednesday, December 31, 2008

John's Incredible Pizza

We took the boys to John's Incredible pizza to use up the gift certificate I won at our school's Make-A-Wish fundraiser raffle. We both thought it was going to be like Chuck-E-Cheese's but it was so much nicer and the food was actually really good. The boys had a really fun time and so did we.

First up was ski-ball (if that's how you spell it??) The boys liked it but had a hard time getting the ball to roll all the way up the ramp and actually make it into a hole. They did pretty good with our help of course. Dylan was just excited to get tickets...he didn't care how many just squealed with delight each time tickets came out :)

Dylan trying so hard to get more tickets...go, go, go, go, go......

Then they went to this roller coaster stimulator ride. Dylan didn't really want to ride because he thought it was an actual roller coaster. But after a little coaxing we got him to get on. We had to stand right next to him because he kept thinking he was really going up and around and up and down. Even when the ride went up on the stimulator he kept looking over the side, while holding on with his death grip, to see how high up he was...it was just cracking us up. After it was over he didn't want to go again...little stinker!!

Dylan and daddy winning some dinosaurs with the dino-grabber.

Dylan smacking the sharks. He kept laughing every time the sharks came up...it was so funny. Of course he won more tickets!!

Smile boys ;)

Logan and daddy on the mini-coaster ride. It was nice, they were the only one's riding at the time.

Logan winning some dinosaurs too with the dino-grabber!! Thank god Logan won a dinosaur too or a fight might have broken out, hee-hee, haa-haa....
The day ended with us winning over 300 tickets and the boys getting some prizes to take home. It was a fun day with exciting games, good food and cool prizes...what more could we ask for!!

X-mas 2008

We all had a great X-mas. Santa came and he ate the cookies we left out and left lots of wonderful presents for the boys. Below are some pics of Christmas Day :)

Rise and shine. The boys were up at 6:30am X-mas morning but they played in the playroom for about an hour and let us all sleep in. Then the fun began, opening presents at 7:30am!!

Here are the boys sitting on their new bean bags from Santa infront of their stockings loaded with lots of good stuff. Say Cheese Dylan :)

Dylan just couldn't contain his excitement about his new big wheel. Now both boys have big wheels and can race around the backyard after each other.

Logan on his new BMX bike. Wow, I guess Santa wants Logan to start doing some tricks...my wild man!!

Logan just loves Wall-E and superheros....Santa's so smart ;)

Logan riding his new bike around the yard...Go Logan, GO!!!!!!!!

Dylan speeding after his big brother on his new big wheel. Watch out he'll get ya!!!!!!!

One of Logan's favorite gifts was his new Leapster 2. He got the Wall-E game, Backyardigans game and Go, Diego, Go game.

A picture of the whole gang over for X-mas Day. We had a blast. Merry Christmas everyone and have a great 2009!!!!!!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Los Gatos X-mas Parade

Well it's been a little while since I last blogged but I have lots of updates!! So get ready for some multiple days of new posts :) I have until Jan 5th off from work so I am trying to catch up on my blog and also scrapbooking...ugh!!!!!! First off we took the boys to the annual Los Gatos X-mas parade back in the beginning of December. As always they had a blast and loved every minute of the parade. It started at 11am and ended a little after 1pm...I could not believe the parade was over 2 hours long, but I guess with 265 groups it would take 2+ hours!!! Here are some cute pics from the parade...ENJOY!!

Here is Logan around 9am in the morning standing in the middle of the road on the parade route. I don't know exactly how long the route is but I am guessing a mile and a half, or maybe more. We got there around 8am to find a spot to set up camp and there was already a sea of chairs lining the sidewalk and we were lucky enough to find one of the last spots right near the judging station!! It's insane how early people get there to save spots...crazy people!!!!!!!!!

Here is a picture of our new house we bought while in downtown Los Gatos. It has 4 bedroom, 3 baths and is 2750 square feet...and all within a few blocks from the heart of downtown Los Gatos. I just love it so much and can't wait to move in!!!!!!!! Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha, just kidding, I wish we could afford this $1.3 million dollar house...I wonder who is going to come up with this kind of money in this economy?? Cute house though, huh??
We went for a walk before the parade started to keep the boys busy and look what we found, this really cool old time car. The man was nice enough to let the boys sit down so we could take a picture. Say Cheese :)

Well, let's see...we got there around 8am to set up camp and went to breakfast around 8:30am and by 9am we were done and the boys were getting restless. So we walked around and watched all the people and bands setting up for the parade but it was still only 10am and the parade didn't start until 11am so what to do?? Shopping!!!!!!!!!!! My mom and I did some shopping to kill some time and this is one of the cute pics that Patrick took while I was shopping away. The boys were so excited for the parade, look at those smiles.

The gang hanging out waiting for the parade to start.

The endless sea of people and chairs waiting. I still can't believe how many people come to this parade!!!

It's almost about to start...the boys anxiously waiting, and Dylan eating of course.

And here we go...the start of the parade!!!!!

The super cool awesome Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Pipes and Drums. This was one of the boys favorite parts.



Hey look it's rudolph the red nose firetruck...super cute!!!

Yummy, YUMMY, CB Hannegan restaurant float. I so wanted to run up and grab some delicious meat. You could smell them coming long before they went by. Oh, so GOOD.

Good old Hillbrook School. I went there from preschool through 8th grade!! Ah, the memories...

Super cool bikers doing tricks. Check out the sweet picture I snapped below. I caught the guy in mid-air doing his jump right infront of the judging station. The boys loved it!!!!



Shriner's trolley...cool :)

And now for the boys favorite part...the legendary Stanford University wild and crazy band!! Logan just loved them and when we got home he pretended he was in the band marching in the parade, going wild and crazy like they were!!

My sweet Dylan was getting tired watching the parade from the sidewalk so he decided to join me on my lap...my little love bug. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Finally after 2+ hours Santa Clause arrived on his sleigh from the North Pole. The boys had a really great time at the parade and until they get too old for the parade, I think we are going to make it an annual family tradition!!

Monday, November 10, 2008

In loving memory of Max


On Saturday the 8th of November we took our beloved cat Maxie to the vet to be put to sleep. It is the hardest decision I have ever had to do and one which gave me much heart ache, sadness and grief. Back in the begining of October we found out that she had kidney disease and we were just devisated. The vet told us that she 'maybe' gave Max about 3 months but I just knew in my heart it would happen faster. When I first found out I cried myself to sleep for many nights with Maxie cuddling right by my side in bed. I just could not believe that my baby was going to be gone so soon at only 7 1/2 years old. She has brought our family SO MUCH HAPPINESS and LOVE and it just broke my heart into a million pieces that we were going to loose her. So right after we found out about the kidney disease the vet gave us some over the counter meds to make Max feel better but there was no cure for her illness, we would just be helping to make her comfortable for as long as we could. At first she seemed to be doing well and seemed to be herself. She loved all the new wet food and acted pretty normal. Then a couple weeks ago I noticed she just did not want to eat as much and I had to sit there with her petting her and telling her to eat her food. And since she was not eating much she was getting weaker and since the begining of October she has lost about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, which is dramatic since we could never get her to loose weight in the past and this was a cat who LOVED...I MEAN LOVED TO EAT!! So everything seemed to be spiraling down and she wasn't eating much because she did not feel well and not eating made her weak and tired and she was just going from her sleeping spot on the couch to her sleeping spot on our bed, curling up in a small ball, not really interacting with the boys or her surroundings and just wanted to cuddle with Patrick and I constantly. So last week I was thinking it was time to let her go before she really began to suffer and get weaker and stop eating all together, but I didn't tell Patrick for a couple of days because I knew what he would say and I didn't really want to do it. Somehow I felt she would just get better. But on Thurday we talked and came to the conclusion that we should take her on Saturday when the boys would be with Patrick's parents. I couldn't contain myself and burst our crying and I just felt sick to my stomach. So when Saturday came around I just did not want to get out of bed. I wanted to cuddle for the whole day with Max. I just could not believe she was going to leave us. We went to Logan's swim lesson in the morning and then Dylan went with Patrick's parents so we could take Logan to see Madagascar 2 after swimming, then after the movies we took Logan's to Patrick's parents. The whole car ride after the movie I cried and cried and cried. I just didn't want to take Max. When we got back to the house to get her I just walked in and she was walking toward the laundry room to see us and I just dropped to my knees and cried. I grabbed her skinny little body and hugged her so tight. Then I spent about 20 minutes with her before we left brushing her and playing with her telling her over and over that I loved her and that I was sorry I couldn't make her better. To me she seemed fine and was acting normal but I knew that was my mind trying to find a way out and a reason not to take her. Then Patrick put her in her carrier and she instantly began to meow and I kept saying, she is scared, she just wants to sleep on our warm bed, she wants to go home, she doesn't want to go, we can't take her, WE CAN'T TAKE HER!! I cried hysterically all the way to the vet and felt like I was going to pass out. When we got there they took us right back to an exam room. Patrick filled out all the paperwork while I was crying my brains out petting Max. Then the Vet came in and we talked for a couple minutes about Max and he explained what they were going to do. He then took Max out of the room to put her catheder in her vein. The vet came back and placed a blanket on me and the tech placed Max in my lap. I felt like running the hell out of the room but I knew she had to go, she was only getting worse and worse and I didn't want her to suffer a long, slow death, I wanted her to go quickly and peacefully before her kidney's failed completely. So the vet knelt down and injected Max and I began to cry hysterically and I have NEVER, in my life, felt so much pain, sadness and agony. It felt like my heart was being ripped out. I grabbed the vet's arm and about 5 seconds later I felt Max's head lower down and her whole body relaxed and the vet said she was gone. I can't remember crying so hard in my whole life. I just held Max tight in the blanket and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried...she was gone...my sweet, loving, kind, patient, and cuddly baby girl was gone. Then the vet took Max out of the room and I could not stop crying, the pain hurt so bad. Everything that day seemed like a dream. I keep thinking Max is going to walk down the hallway or jump up on the bed at night to cuddle with me...but she is gone. The first night without Max I slept on the couch until Patrick went to bed and I woke up a couple of times and cried myself back to sleep. It's the hardest at night and in the morning but the kids keep my mind off things and distracted during the day. I know each day will get a little easier, slowly and time will help me heal. But just like when my other cat Balthazar passed away (Thanksgiving Day 2005), I have never really gotten over his death, I have just learned to live with it and that is just what I am going to have to do with Max. I gave her a really GREAT, wonderful life from the time we got her as a 6 week old kitten all the way up to her passing. She was always loved, got a MILLION kisses and hugs a day (literally), had the best food (tons of it) and I always treated her like my baby. She was the absolute perfect cat for our family, just the most loving and sweet soul ever who was a constant happiness in our life and never got jealous when the kids were born and just loved Logan and Dylan to pieces. She will be very greatly missed and I will always love her...my baby girl Max. Below are some of my favorite pic of Max the last month of her life.


Max cuddling with her brother Logan. They loved each other so much.


Hanging with Logan at Breakfast. Believe it or not, she really used to love to nibble on those eggo waffles...little stinker.

One of her favorite hiding spots, my closet.


Max cuddling with Dylan on the couch.


She always loved looking out the kitchen window.


Hiding in the hall closet in the blankets...another favorite hiding spot.

Our Halloween Black cat.



GOODBYE SWEET LOVING FRIEND. YOU WILL FOREVER BE A PART OF MY SOUL AND IN MY HEART. YOU ALWAYS BROUGHT US HAPPINESS AND I AM DEEPLY SADENED THAT YOU ARE GONE. I WILL LOVE YOU ALWAYS, DEAR SWEET MAX...I WILL LOVE YOU ALWAYS.


Saturday, October 4, 2008

My Beautiful Baby Girl Maxie Cat


Well today has been a hard day on all of us. Today we got word from our Vet that our cat Maxie has severe kidney disease and is only given about 3 months left. The Vet said that it was genetic and that it is very common among cat. And even if we had caught it a year or so ago, there is still no cure and we only would have extended her life by a few extra years but the end result would still be the same. Max's illness seemed to have come on so sudden but the Vet said it probably started a couple of years ago before any symptoms surfaced. But I noticed about a week ago that Max's breath had a foul smell to it and she had been drinking a little more water than usual, plus she just did not seem to be looking well. So Patrick took her to the Vet on friday for a check up and to have blood work done. I had done some research on the web for some of Max's symptoms and everything kept coming up with kidney disease and that is exactly what the test results came back with, severe kidney disease. Even though I had a feeling it was her kidney's it still was such a shock to actually here the Vet say that she had kidney disease. Patrick talked with the Vet this morning about the results and when he got off the phone to tell me he was practically in tears and I instantly began to cry. I can't believe my beautiful baby girl, my princess, is going to leave us soon. My other cat Balthazar just passed away 3 years ago on Thanksgiving day 2005 and I can't believe that Max is going to pass away soon too around the same time of the year and month as Balthazar. I seriously though she was going to live to at least 10+ years being an indoor house cat. But unfortunately that is not the case and I am just devistated and completely heartbroken beyond words. She is our baby and I am going to miss her so much it hurts. She sleeps right next to me or on my pillow at night. She wakes up with me in the morning when I get ready for work. She gives me endless kiss when I get home from work. She cuddles on the couch with Patrick and I at night when we watch our TV shows. She loves to hang out with Logan and Dylan and watch them play. And most of all she just loves to be loved and gives so much love in return. I am going to miss her so much it hurts very, very bad. I don't want her to be in any pain but at the same time I'm not ready to say good-bye. I still remember the day we brought her home from the shelter at 8 weeks old, both she and Balthazar were so sick and were covered in fleas. We cleaned them up and nursed them to health and they both grew into big healthy house cats. It feels like we've had her for decades but it's only been 7 1/2 years...ONLY 7 1/2 years!!!!! And now in a matter of months we are going to loose her. My stomache aches in pain and I can't help but cry and cry and cry when I think about it. She is our baby and no matter what anyone else says or how crazy or ridiculous they think I am, it's just as hard to loose an animal as a person!!!! So for now we are going to watch her and see how she feels day to day and soon we will have to make the painfull decision to let her go. I seriously wish I could stop time so I can cuddle with her for one more day and tell her over and over how much I love her, how much we ALL love her. She has made all our lives so VERY happy filled with tons of love and I am so glad for all the wonderful times we have spent together and all the wonderful memories. She will forever be my baby girl and I will forever love her...my beautiful, beautiful Maxie Cat.