Monday, December 26, 2005

Nice surprise!

A movie she wants to see Posted by Picasa

New stuff

Apparently I'm supposed to drink lots of Starbucks coffee while wearing my favorite new cardigan and watching Spongebob. Posted by Picasa

Always a hit...

I got Rich an expensive Citizen watch "with lots of gadgets" Posted by Picasa

Fusion Dome

Zack really wanted the Fusion Crew Dome! Posted by Picasa

Heavy!

I got Rich a rock. Lump of coal? Err...that's an amethyst, actually. Better than your average rock. Posted by Picasa

Dino-riffic!

Zack loves! his huggable triceratops Posted by Picasa

In the stocking

Santa thought he'd give Siena and Zack a shot at the golden ticket. No one got it, though. Posted by Picasa

Cousins

Siena liked the picture of Caitlin Posted by Picasa

Much needed

A place to put my stuff Posted by Picasa

Spongebob again

Zack likey the spongebob video game Posted by Picasa

Booze!

Rich like'm the Cognac! Posted by Picasa

Siena gets a pony

Uh...not a real pony. Much cheaper and easier to care for! Posted by Picasa

I sense a theme

Carol gets the first Lord of the Rings related gift! Rich got me a leather-bound copy; very nice! Posted by Picasa

Ah...Spongebob

Rich and Zack play Spongebob vs. Sandy in a kind of rock'm, sock'm robots. Posted by Picasa

Warming up...

First gift on Christmas eve: Zack got a dinosaur with a rider Posted by Picasa

Christmas

Just before opening presents on Christmas eve Posted by Picasa

At Kindergarten

Zachary and Siena sitting in her class Posted by Picasa

Monday, December 19, 2005

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Gingerbread. This is the new holiday currency apparently. Must be Christmas-time, because the kids are chowing down on sugary things like it's going out of style! Meanwhile we have to wait an agonizing few (uh, 5) more days until we can open presents. I am done, baby done!, with buying and wrapping gifts. So, we're taking it easy until the big day. Maybe we'll get all Martha Stewart: you know, bake cookies and sprinkle glitter on colored paper. More soon, because I'm sure we'll be taking a lot of pictures...

Siena and Zachary made gingerbread houses (again) at Kindergarten. Zachary attends all their parties - he's like an honorary classmate. Posted by Picasa

Siena's new Xmas dress Posted by Picasa

The caption for this I've thought about a while: let sweeping cows lie...? How bout that one? Posted by Picasa

The kids made a gingerbread house Posted by Picasa

I thought they looked alike. Definately, except different smiles. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Fillmore - goodbye

I'm sad to report that Filly has gotten terminally sick. Soon I'm going to take him to the vet for the last time. We are, and especially I am, totally miserable about this, because Filly was so loving, such a sweetie. I was the only one in the whole world he would hang out with - like his mother. I'm going to miss him terribly! We love you, Filly.

looking regal Posted by Picasa

Fillmore, Sept. 04 Posted by Picasa

Filly washing his face Posted by Picasa

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Life isn't all fun

We've mostly used this blog to post happy stuff- pictures of our kids doing cute things, holidays, and our many vacation adventures.

Bad things, of course, have been happening. For many reasons, 2005 has been the most difficult year of our lives. But, as these pages witness, it hasn't all been bad.

Things got alot more complicated on Sunday morning when I took an unexpected fall during my semi-regular bike ride with Mike. I've crashed many times, and broken several bones in the process, but this one was a real surprise. I lifted my hands of the handlebars for a second, and I went right down. On a flat, wide road. I knew the second that I hit the ground that it was serious. The first question whenever a rider is down is "should I call 911?". The answer was a resounding yes.

After to trip via ambulance to stanford, I was rushed into the ER for emergency surgery. I recieved 3 titanium screws in my hip. I'm told that there is a 25-50% chance that I will need hip replacement, because the bone was fully disconnected and may die from blood loss. I'm plenty scared of that.

I stayed in the hospital until yesterday. Overall, I can only describe the care I recieved as horrible. Nurses were too busy to do much other than the basics, and I had some unpleasant complicaitons. Finally, a physical therapist insisted that I go home, that "nothing good can happen for you here".

Now that I'm home, I am strugglinng- it really hurts, and the pain medication only helps a small amount. We're trying to get into a routine. It's hard to see carol running around doing EVERYTHING, and having to take time out to deal with me.

I am looking forward the the pain receeding enough to be able to get around with more confidence. But right now everything totally sucks. Thank god for Carol.

-Rich