Mexico

We had a great trip. Luke read a really thick book and I read several small ones. We alternated between sitting on the beach or the pool. We spent some time in the pool bar. I drank too much one afternoon at the pool bar, in fact. We took walks down the beach and to some nearby shops. The sister resort we stayed at last time has a popcorn machine and so we had to walk over there a few times so I could get my fix. We ate a month's worth of guacamole and drank a lot of coffee and margaritas. We watched several old movies with subtitles.

The last time we went to Mexico we had a picture taken on the beach and so we thought we should do it again. We saw the photographer and grabbed him and then instead of just a picture he had us do a whole photo shoot. We finally cut him short after a few poses. We are not photoshoot material! Luke did not have any sunglasses on and the photographer made him wear his instead. Thus, the aviator glasses that Luke would not normally wear.








p.s. I posted earlier in the day also - so keep scrolling

One-Armed Woman

Please go and read this post by a mom who lost her son to neuroblastoma a few days before we lost Nathan.

She explains this life very well...

In Mexico

We are having a wonderful time in Mexico! Today we have eaten several times, drank several drinks, hung in the pool bar, had our picture taken on the beach (we´ll see how it turned out this evening) and Luke is sleeping on the beach while I log on. We´re hot and burnt and feeling good!

The party

So, today is Julia's birthday party. She insisted on having it at Chuck E Cheese because that is where Nathan had his seventh birthday party. Luke and I were more that a little reluctant to have it there, for the sake of our feelings. However, we decided to let her have it there. Her teacher, who was Nathan's teacher, is coming. She came to Nathan's party, under the circumstances, and I wouldn't guess she would normally attend a student's party. So, of course Julia wanted her at hers because she is trying to replicate Nathan's party. I have heard Julia trying to tell Lauren all the things they would do at the party and have had to stop and warn her that they may have changed things and the Chuck E Cheese people may not do the exact same activities that they did at Nathan's party. I just worry that she will not have a good party with all these expectations. She can try to replicate it but she can't have her brother there, which is what she really wants.

In around 49 days she will be older than Nathan ever was.

Bad parents

This is going to be one of those things Julia tells later in life to explain how much her parents didn't really love her!

Luke and I have been wanting to plan a trip away together. We are WAY overdue. We last spent a night alone without kids in 2004. Considering everything that has happened in our life since then we really need that time together.

We narrowed our time frame down to January as there are some obligations for Luke in February and then things get busy in March with some other things. We wanted a Thursday through Tuesday to maximize the weekend and flights. There were a few other factors that narrowed it down to Jan 22 - 27. We talked about it figured out where we were going (mexico) and checked with my parents on dates and then I booked it.

I walked down to the basement to get the confirmation off of the printer. I picked it up and looked at it. At that moment Jan 22 for the FIRST time registered as JULIA'S BIRTHDAY. Whoops! I don't know how I could have forgetten my child's birthday, but I did. Thank goodness we will at least see her on her birthday. She will get tons of attention from my parents.

We told her a few days ago and she seemed OK but a day or two later asked why did we HAVE to leave on her birthday. I kind of lamely explained to her but there is no real excuse.

I remember being so upset to be stuck in New York for her second birthday. She doesn't know that I missed that one. This is just another thing on the long list of things that the neglected middle child has put on her. She has basically the worst case of middle child. Her older sibling is dead, her younger sibling is a mama's girl and her mom "missed" all that time with her from ages 14 months through 6 that she sees her little sister getting.

We are not going to change it. She will be able to tell the story about how her parents left her and went to Mexico on her seventh birthday. I pray that is the worst thing she can say about her parents (but I highly doubt it will be). We probably need to start a therapy fund.

December pictures

and also dance pictures