Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Remembering Rob
Tim and I have many, many memories with Rob, but I think the greatest moments we spent with Rob were spent out on the boat. Rob taught us to wakeboard during the summer of 2006 and we have been loving the great outdoors, Milford Lake, boating and wakeboarding ever since. This video footage was taken the during the summer of 2006, shortly after Rob bought his boat. I feel the need to offer this disclaimer on Rob's behalf: we were all learning to wakeboard the summer this footage was taken, Rob included. Also, it was a pretty choppy day out there when we shot this film, though it is not completely visible in the footage. I remember the guys sort of whining about it that day. At any rate, Rob can wakeboard circles around all of us and definitely learned some new skills since this was taken. Rob would probably want anyone viewing this video to know that he was an awesome wakeboarder :)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Remembering Rob Yllescas
It is with a heavy heart that I write this entry today. Yesterday, our dear friend, Rob Yllescas passed away after a a hard-fought battle with injuries sustained in Afghanistan last month. I simply do not have the words to express the level of grief and sympathy that I feel for Rob's wife, Dena and their two little girls, Julia and Eva. Last night as I got home and spent sometime alone thinking about Rob and the impact that he has had on our life, I started to go through the photographs and videos that we have of some wonderful memories shared with the Yllescas family. I am completely at a loss for words to express the emptiness that Rob's passing will bring to our family, but I am still filled with several good years of warm memories. I have created this video as a tribute to Rob and the wonderful memories that he has left with Tim and I.
I also have some video footage of Rob from the first summer he had his boat (his pride and joy) and we were all learning to wakeboard. Rob is the one who fueled our passion for boating and wakeboarding and prompted us to buy our boat and continue wakeboarding. I will never get on our boat again without a warm memory of Rob and that summer of 2006 when we spent every weekend together. I'll never forget how Rob used to talk about getting his boat nonstop thoughout our deployment together in 2005. I used to just listen to him talk about how "good things were going to be" when he got back to the US and saw his family and bought the boat he had been dreaming about. It wasn't until I actually started spending time on the boat every weekend that I really began to enjoy it and share Rob's passion. I will get the wakeboarding video posted as soon as I get it rendered.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
We hope that you have all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! Tim, Timmy and I have had a great time over the past few days, though we have met with a few "challenges." Tim came home on Thanksgiving Day and thankfully had a safe trip. It was up to me to get the turkey started and everything ready for having company over in the afternoon. No big deal...right? Well, the night before a friend delivered the turkey and I decided it was a little "smallish" so I ran out on Thanksgiving morning and grabbed another small turkey just in case. Needless to say, this was frozen solid. So, I ran it under hot water for while, and in the middle of this process, I heard water running through the pipes(predictably), but it was making a weird sound. So, I went out to the garage to check things out and noticed water leaking from a pipe. Now, by "leaking" I mean "like a firehose." So, Thanksgiving being the second cheapest day of the year to hire a plumber, I frantically called one at about noon. So, let me paint this serene picture for you: I was running late, frozen turkey in sink, dressed in my dress blues (military uniform) running through my garage that is overflowing with water trying to get to the shut-off valve for the water (which of course was corroded, rusted and difficult to operate). The plumber agreed to meet me after I got back from work in a few hours. He showed up, turned a few knobs and charged me $20 for the less than five minutes it took for him to fix the problem and explain it to me. Oh well, I was just glad t have my water back and begin working on the turkey. I ended up having to nuke it in the microwave for about an hour. After all of this, we expected that it would ultimately have the consistency of a rubber frisbee, but it was actually the juiciest turkey I have ever had. We were running a "little" behind and did not get to dinner until after 8pm, but those are just details. The moral of the story is microwaves save Thanksgiving. :)
Tim is still back for a few days and we have been getting everything moved back into the house from his move to Kentucky. It is nice to feel like he lives here again, although he will be returning on Sunday for another few weeks. It has been really nice to have him around to help out with Timmy. Timmy still goes to him and really enjoys the extra play time. I really enjoy the extra nap time and ability to run in the morning.
Tim is still back for a few days and we have been getting everything moved back into the house from his move to Kentucky. It is nice to feel like he lives here again, although he will be returning on Sunday for another few weeks. It has been really nice to have him around to help out with Timmy. Timmy still goes to him and really enjoys the extra play time. I really enjoy the extra nap time and ability to run in the morning.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Grins and Giggles
We are all eagerly looking forward to our upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Tim is planning on driving back from Fort Knox. After he returns from the long weekend, he will only have a few weeks until graduation! I will take over dog-duty for a few weeks while he moves out of the crack house he lives in and mooches off a buddy for a while. It is a lot easier to mooch when you don't have a 140-lb dog vying for some floor space in someone else's house. So, I will have Chance and Timmy to keep me busy for a few weeks, but I look forward to having Tim back to spend some quality time with Timmy. It will b good for him to have some leave time to re-connect with his son and have some fun.
I am also looking forward to starting some serious running training. I am less than thrilled about running through the winter in the cold, but I have decided to enter some races and begin serious training for a marathon. I have some triathlons under my belt, but I would like to go for the 26-mile challenge before I get too old to cross the finish line. I haven't decided on a marathon location, although I am leaning towards some place like Disney or Hawaii so we can take a family trip and have some fun after race day. I have had to take a little break from running for a few weeks, which has left me about ready to crawl out of my skin. I grew accustomed to a 4 or 5 mile run every morning, but an inner ear infection put the brakes on that training for a while. I tried to train through it and learned very quickly why people with medical degrees often give good advice. :) I am hoping to be back on the road this week and fully training by the time Tim gets back!
Timmy is doing a great job at keeping me busy lately, but he is such a fun, happy, smiley kid it is all worthwhile. He has learned the finer points of a well-choreographed temper tantrum. I usually respond to these by ignoring them or offering a sarcastic remark about the problem-solving effectiveness of throwing one's body onto the ground and kicking and screaming. Obviously he won't understand sarcasm for a few years to come, so I will probably need a new technique. :) That being said, I am still very blessed to have such a great baby like Timmy. His "moments" are usually confined to the evening hours. The rest of the time he is a load of fun to be around and usually keeps me laughing. He is also incredibly adaptable, including those Saturday nights when I get called at 0230am to go handle a situation at work and have to drag him along. Luckily, he is like his Dad and can sleep anywhere :)
I am also looking forward to starting some serious running training. I am less than thrilled about running through the winter in the cold, but I have decided to enter some races and begin serious training for a marathon. I have some triathlons under my belt, but I would like to go for the 26-mile challenge before I get too old to cross the finish line. I haven't decided on a marathon location, although I am leaning towards some place like Disney or Hawaii so we can take a family trip and have some fun after race day. I have had to take a little break from running for a few weeks, which has left me about ready to crawl out of my skin. I grew accustomed to a 4 or 5 mile run every morning, but an inner ear infection put the brakes on that training for a while. I tried to train through it and learned very quickly why people with medical degrees often give good advice. :) I am hoping to be back on the road this week and fully training by the time Tim gets back!
Timmy is doing a great job at keeping me busy lately, but he is such a fun, happy, smiley kid it is all worthwhile. He has learned the finer points of a well-choreographed temper tantrum. I usually respond to these by ignoring them or offering a sarcastic remark about the problem-solving effectiveness of throwing one's body onto the ground and kicking and screaming. Obviously he won't understand sarcasm for a few years to come, so I will probably need a new technique. :) That being said, I am still very blessed to have such a great baby like Timmy. His "moments" are usually confined to the evening hours. The rest of the time he is a load of fun to be around and usually keeps me laughing. He is also incredibly adaptable, including those Saturday nights when I get called at 0230am to go handle a situation at work and have to drag him along. Luckily, he is like his Dad and can sleep anywhere :)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Halloween Fun and Nashville Trip
There has been a lot going on since my last post on the babysites page. First and foremost, at the front of our hearts and minds have been Rob and Dena Yllescas. Rob was injured in Afghanistan a few weeks ago, which was absolutely devastating news to us. We care deeply for the Yllescas family and it breaks our hearts to know that they will be walking down a long, painful road to recovery. 
Please keep them in your prayers, especially now.
On a happier note, we have had a few fun activities to distract us lately, namely Halloween and my trip to Nashville, TN. For Halloween, Timmy dressed up as a lion, and I must admit, he was REALLY cute. We were planning on doing some Trick or Treating on post, and planned to meet up with another family. Unfortunately, we got the times wrong and missed most of the main event. Oh well, I would go for a quiet evening of hot apple cider and good conversation over a freezing night or Trick-or-Treating any time. That being said, I was disappointed I didn't get the opportunity to show Timmy off in his little lion suit. Everyone on post was cheated out the the opportunity to see the World's Cutest Baby in his Halloween garb. Oh well, definitely next year.
Timmy has also made huge improvements in his walking skills! He took his first few steps a few weeks ago, on October 25. I was playing with him in our living room and was able to coax that first challenging step out of him. He decided he prefers to walk around upright on his knees instead (always the nonconformist) and refused to do it for me again. He took a few more steps the next night in our Command Sergeant Major's kitchen. Our CSM was kind enough to invite Timmy and I and a few other people form work over for dinner and ghost tours. Timmy graced us all with his walking prowess. I contend that he was just interested in having a big audience for his new feat. At any rate, he has been walking more and more over the last few weeks, which has been a lot of fun for me to watch.
This past weekend I had to leave Timmy behind for a few days and go on a little "business trip" in Kentucky. While I was there, I took a few days of leave and Tim and I met up in Nashville. We were both under the weather for the entire trip, so we kept cancelled our plans to do dinner cruises and concerts in favor of more low-key candlelit dinners and some periods of just hanging out. We did get a chance to visit Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's historic home. We were thrilled that not only did we get a military discount to visit the site, the military discount was free! Tim and I spent several hours walking around in the cold visiting the history of Hermitage. We really enjoyed it and it sure beat getting seasick on the big concert boat. I got several pictures, which I will post shortly. Unfortunately, Timmy was unable to come with me since this was a work related trip, so Tim was bummed that he didn't get to see his son. We are definitely eagerly awaiting his return to Kansas so we can be a family again!
Please keep them in your prayers, especially now.
On a happier note, we have had a few fun activities to distract us lately, namely Halloween and my trip to Nashville, TN. For Halloween, Timmy dressed up as a lion, and I must admit, he was REALLY cute. We were planning on doing some Trick or Treating on post, and planned to meet up with another family. Unfortunately, we got the times wrong and missed most of the main event. Oh well, I would go for a quiet evening of hot apple cider and good conversation over a freezing night or Trick-or-Treating any time. That being said, I was disappointed I didn't get the opportunity to show Timmy off in his little lion suit. Everyone on post was cheated out the the opportunity to see the World's Cutest Baby in his Halloween garb. Oh well, definitely next year.
Timmy has also made huge improvements in his walking skills! He took his first few steps a few weeks ago, on October 25. I was playing with him in our living room and was able to coax that first challenging step out of him. He decided he prefers to walk around upright on his knees instead (always the nonconformist) and refused to do it for me again. He took a few more steps the next night in our Command Sergeant Major's kitchen. Our CSM was kind enough to invite Timmy and I and a few other people form work over for dinner and ghost tours. Timmy graced us all with his walking prowess. I contend that he was just interested in having a big audience for his new feat. At any rate, he has been walking more and more over the last few weeks, which has been a lot of fun for me to watch.
This past weekend I had to leave Timmy behind for a few days and go on a little "business trip" in Kentucky. While I was there, I took a few days of leave and Tim and I met up in Nashville. We were both under the weather for the entire trip, so we kept cancelled our plans to do dinner cruises and concerts in favor of more low-key candlelit dinners and some periods of just hanging out. We did get a chance to visit Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's historic home. We were thrilled that not only did we get a military discount to visit the site, the military discount was free! Tim and I spent several hours walking around in the cold visiting the history of Hermitage. We really enjoyed it and it sure beat getting seasick on the big concert boat. I got several pictures, which I will post shortly. Unfortunately, Timmy was unable to come with me since this was a work related trip, so Tim was bummed that he didn't get to see his son. We are definitely eagerly awaiting his return to Kansas so we can be a family again!
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