Our trip to Chicago

I know we got back a few weeks ago, but our trip to Chicago was a success. Cole was really good on the plane on the way there and less than stellar on the way back. We crammed a lot of family, friends and fun into 9 days. It was so nice to see everyone again!

Ah vacation...

It's almost vacation time for me! John and I are going back to Chicago this Saturday and staying through the week until the following Sunday. John's already been off all this week too because our daycare lady is on vacation, but due to his funky 3 day workweek, he's going to actually be off for 18 days straight! We are looking forward to being in Chicago, visiting with everyone and showing off the munchkin, but it feels like we are going to be super busy rushing from one place to the next. The main reason for our trip is that Chris, my friend from high school, is getting married. I am excited to see everyone; since several of us live out of town, it will be the first time I have seen some people in several years! It will be like a little mini-reunion, so I thank Chris and Marilyn for being so kind to get married for all of us this summer and bringing us all together. I am sure that it's going to be so much fun! I can't wait to see everyone!

I think that John is most excited to take Cole to his 1st game at Wrigley Field next Wednesday. I'm not sure how the wiggle monster will make it through the game, but we are hoping for the best. We probably are most concerned about the plane ride. When we went back in December, Cole was only 8 weeks old, so he was still sleeping a lot. Now, he wants to look at everyone and touch everything, so we are hoping for the best. Wish us luck!

9 months and cranky....

Cole turned 9 months old yesterday. I tried to get him to take some cute pictures to commemorate the occasion, but he wasn't having any of it. He is cutting his two top, front teeth right now, so he is super cranky. I actually sent a text to John yesterday that said "some evil monster has taken over our baby!" I keep praying that these teeth will break through soon because when Cole's mad about something, he wants everyone to know it! And now, looking at these pictures, I didn't even put the right date on the sign! Sigh, I guess these pictures just weren't meant to be....

Our new adventure....

After 5 1/2 years, John and I have decided to put our house up for sale. We are slowly outgrowing our home and have decided to take advantage of all the low prices of bigger homes. We got in right before the big housing boom, so we are still going to make some money, which is good. We have already had three showings since we officially put it up on the market on Tuesday. It's kind of a pain due to the fact that I have get me, Cole and Ryno out of the house everytime someone wants to come see the place. Wish us luck!

Splish Splash

Cole's favorite time of day is bathtime, which is right before bedtime. Now that he can pull himself up, he likes to watch the bath fill up. It's almost like he's thinking "is it time to get in yet?" Trying to actually bathe him is getting increasingly more difficult as he wants to crawl around, pull himself up on the side of the tub, splash like a mad man and chew on his toys. We try to wash him as quickly as possible so that he can play. I'm pretty sure that he would stay in there all night if we let him!

Ryno's new BFF

Ryno's been pretty sad since his big brother, Leroy has been gone. However, it appears that Cole has decided to fill the role of Best Bud. They are still trying to figure each other out, but Cole loves to follow Ryno and grab on to him and Ryno loves to cover Cole with as many kisses as possible. If Ryno is outside, Cole loves to pull himself up on the back door and watch him.

So long, Leroy...

At our apartment when we first moved to AZ

Leroy loved that we bought him a house with a pool

Typical Leroy, lounging on the bed

Our sweet old dog, Leroy passed away last night. While we did what we could with the Valley Fever treatment, it was quite likely that he also had liver cancer and his body probably just couldn't fight it. He was an awesome dog and we will miss him terribly. Even though my heart hurts for him, I know that he lived a good life and he loved us.

I'm not a religious person at all, but I like to think that Leroy is up in doggie heaven having a great time. I told John this morning that I hoped that God's caterers are ready for Leroy with some steaks, french fries and peanut butter. John said that with all the beer drinking and up-close sniffing of cigarette smoke that he did in college, Leroy probably won't ever leave the Pub in heaven. I think that he's probably right. Leroy was known to "accidently" knock over your beer so that he could lick it up. We always called Leroy the man's man. He loved beer, cigarettes and even stealing my underwear. Leroy was quite a character and there won't ever be another dog like him. So long, old pal!