There’s a good reason for me not updating the site: things suck! Ok, not all is bad, but if winter doesn’t end soon, it won’t be pretty.

It started in Feb. when I got a call from the Anaheim PD – there was an emergency. Cody decided to have his friend take him to lunch. (Yes, we had told him no driving with kids we didn’t know.) They were involved in an accident on Santa Ana Canyon Road. The other kid walked away from his car rolling twice and ending up in a ditch 20 feet below. Cody was not so lucky. He broke his left hand, which required emergency surgery so that a pin could be put in. His right arm was even worse. He dislocated his shoulder, broke his arm and fractured his elbow. The surgeon inserted a rod put into the arm. He was hospitalized for 3 days, at which time his head swelled an enormous amount. We called him Sloth from the Goonies. Not to skip a beat, he started saying “hey you guyzzz!” He has 2 out of 3 nerves working in the arm but the 3rd will require electrode therapy. He’s very much on the mend, but still can’t drive (Keith was taking him for his license the week following the accident) and by the way he carries his arm, he looks like he’s had a stroke. So the Air Force is out. He says he’ll attend a JC and take forensics.

The end of Feb, we has a good 4 days in Las Vegas. Nick and Ash flew in from Atlanta. The Hattaway’s, including Brae, flew in from Macomb. Nick had a grad school friend, Brian, fly in as well. This motley crew visited the flower lady, cake lady, tux place and wedding venue. I even bought a dress for the wedding. Tim and Debbie were wonderful to hang out with. We had so much fun, I think Nick and Ash are worried about us ganging up on them.

The night that we returned home, we received a call in the middle of the night that Danny’s brother Claudio had ended his life. The details are too horrible to write about, but it’s a big loss – and a mess left behind in his wake. I’ll suffice to only say that. But when you see Danny or me, just be kind an gentle and help us heal.

We flew Nick and Ashley back into town and with TJ, Elyse, Lani and Luke, traveled up to San Francisco to mop things up. It was a hard 4 days. The day after our return, I returned to Las Vegas for a week long conference. The conference was better than most, with Bill Clinton as the keynote speaker. Still, it was hard to be away from my family.

We are now in count down mode to easter break and Puerto Vallarta. I can’t wait to lounge with a margarita in my hand. We also just made plans to return in November, to meet up with our Calgary owners. Our Dallas owners might join us as well. Bernie is now official as our 4th owner, too.

So life is getting back to normal, with countdowns to look forward to: Cody’s 18th birthday, a wedding shower in June, and a wedding in July. We may be down, but we’re not out.