March, 2008

Our Tasha is still hanging in, barely. She keeps getting lapses that last about 5 days, of not eating and drinking very little water. We have to assist her to the backyard potty, and help her back in the house. She still has the loud cough, but the vet has her now on a medication that seems to be helping that. We can tell that she is not in any pain, as she still manages to give us kisses and wags her tail with excitement. We are thrilled to still have her with us.

March 8th - Spring Rec Soccer season is in swing. Nicole's U-14 team won 9 to 0, Nicole making 1 goal, and Brandon's team played a tough, first game in the U-8's, losing 3 to 0. The field is a bit bigger, and the teams they're up against are a little older. They were exhausted by the time the game was over, but, nevertheless, ready to get ice cream at Dairy Queen.

Nicole's school soccer team has done extremely well in their short, 7-week season. They have won all of their games, with one last game to play next week.

March 15th - This week, I noticed Brandon had a few extra teeth in his mouth, BUT, his baby teeth were not loose. So, today, I took him to his dentist, and Dr. Phil (his dentist) said he would help him get them out. Brandon was confused. "Mom, how is he going to do that?"....I said that he was going to pull them out. My brave boy walked in the office with the nurse, and came back within 10 minutes with his two teeth in a cute little treasure chest container. He said it really hurt and he cried just a little. When I looked at his baby teeth in the box, I couldn't get over how long the roots were. Nicole's were never like that. Brandon's teacher said all the kids in his class that she has assisted in removing teeth from this year, have had the longest roots. Hmmm....I wonder if that means anything?? I'm sure the Tooth Fairy will be generous to him tonight, being he was extra brave at having them pulled.

Brandon is graduating tonight to a yellow-stripe belt in Karate. He made it through "breaking the boards" at practice recently. He absolutely loves karate, and is top in his class. Pictured with him to the left are his friends from school, Tyler, Evan, and Sara.

On our way out to Brandon's karate, our dog, Tasha, collapsed. I knew this was it, so I told David to just go, and I'll catch up with them. Within 30-minutes after they left, Tasha went into a coma, and her breathing started to change. She even started to bark and growl, as if she was fighting off her demons. I called David, and he left the kids with friends at karate, and rushed home. We decided after a few hours of watching this, that it was time to take her in. We loaded her on my lap in the van, and drove around the corner to get the kids. Nicole really wanted to be with us, and we were glad she decided that, because as soon as the two kids got in the car and gave Tasha love and kisses, Tasha took about three breaths, and was gone. I didn't tell the kids until we got to the animal hospital. Needless to say, it was devastating to say goodbye to our Tasha girl. She brought all of us so much joy, and we feel so fortunate to have had her all these years. We have so many wonderful memories of her and Worf, and now she's joined him and Missy (our cat) at the Rainbow Bridge (http://www.rainbowsbridge.com/Poem.htm), pain-free, doing what she loves to do best, chase her ball, and waiting for us to join them someday. Tasha is being cremated and will rest in peace in our home, right next to Worf.

TASHA

This was taken in 2003 when she was 11 years old!
Rest in Peace, Puppy-Girl!!! We love you!!

March 15th - The last basketball game of Brandon's YMCA league. It was truly unbelievable to watch this team of 6 & 7 year olds play. They are really good!!! Brandon is certainly taking after his Dad in his love of sports. When Nicole was this age (6), she was still watching "Between the Lions", "Barney", "Out of the Box". What does Brandon watch? ESPN Sports!!! His Dad is very pleased, needless to say!!

After basketball, we were off to the soccer field in Campbell to watch Brandon play first. The Might Tigers did a great job, once again, keeping up with a tougher team, coming out tied, 0-0. We're so proud of them!

Then, Nicole's team was next. They did extremely well too, winning, 7 to 1, Nicole scoring 3 of those goals.....a hat trick!! Nicole wrote an email to her friends about her experience with Tasha and here is a quote from it:

"I had a soccer game today and I told my mom and dad that i was going to play extra hard for Tasha. And I ended up scoring a hat trick (3 goals)! I'm sure that made Tasha, Worf, and Missy proud! I love them very much! And I will always know that they are always there for me in spirit!"

Her entire email was so beautiful, and I didn't even know about it until my Dad told me about it (she sent it to my brother). I had her send it to me, and just cried when I read it. I guess all these years of writing thank you notes has helped.

March 16th - PALM SUNDAY - went to church with my cousin Colleen. The youth group performed the stations of the cross. They started this program two years ago, and it is extremely heartfelt. From the music to the acting....it truly makes you feel as if you lived this event yourself. Father Jon does a fabulous job at directing the youth (http://www.stjulies.org).

March 18th - Nicole's last soccer game at school. They played Britton from Morgan Hill, one of the better teams in the league, and we won 3 to 0. This means Bernal is in the playoffs for the first time ever. The first playoff game is schedule for Tuesday, April 1st.

March 22nd - Attended the annual Easter Egg Hunt at our pool club. Brandon enjoyed finding Easter eggs with is neighborhood friends. He even won a large Easter basket filled with goodies. We always enjoy this event with Lili and Marissa, especially (also pictured is Lili's friend, Amber).


We all were busy today cleaning and preparing for Easter Sunday brunch, making time for our goofy kids to color Easter eggs.








March 23rd - HAPPY EASTER!!!

We celebrated Easter Sunday with family and friends at our home, with a nice, sit-down brunch. The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed all of our blessings.





March 24th & 25th - Time at the Castle on Pajaro Dunes --
Our friends, The Carmichael's, asked us to join them and others, once again, at their Pajaro Dunes castle. They're the ones that had us at their Tahoe home in February. Such generous friends. Nicole brought her friend, Haley, and even though it was a bit chilly on the beach, the kids were brave enough to go in the freezing cold water.



Each morning, the kids would go down to the beach and collect fresh sand dollars. They each found about 30. Then, they collected debris from the beach and created this creative fort in the sand.













This is a view from the third floor of the castle. That's David and Nicole in the water at 9:30 am. The weather was beautiful, and the wind was perfect enough to fly kites. We flew the "Black Pearl" kite that Brandon got for Christmas, for the first time.

David was on the beach at 9:00 am to have his coffee and read the paper. I served him breakfast on the beach, and at lunch, brought him down a sandwich (what a life!). He only came up to use the facilities. Then, about 7:00 pm, he finally came up to watch the sunset with all of us from the balcony. The most beautiful sunsets I've seen here yet.

Thanks Carmichael's, for being so generous to us.