I'm slow.

I wish I had the desire to actually do things. I'm a dreamer and I spend my time doing a lot of things in my head and before you know it I've cleaned the house, wrote more in my book I want to publish, taken Brooklyn to the park, fixed an amazing dinner and learned about 5 new skills....oh, and traveled to at least one place over seas....now it's bedtime. On my way to bed I notice something....there's laundry to do, I haven't left the house since I got home and I couldn't tell you where a pen is if I tried. Wow....really? I could have sworn I accomplished something today. Okay, so maybe I am a little hard on myself. I do try and clean a bit everyday, cook dinner, play with Brooklyn and do something for myself but I guess when your daily accomplishments are bigger in your head than in reality it can leave you feeling a little ..... lazy? Oh, well. I have wanted to blog more and I feel like I am at least doing that. This is Brooklyn's last week of camp and then she will be having surgery next week. I will be working from home for 2 weeks so maybe I can put get refocused. I'm sure the day she has surgery I will be a mess however. I'm so nervous right now that I really try to not even think about it. The doctors have prepared me for her "silly, somewhat scary" demeanour after the surgery and I know how loopy people are from previous experience but I know when it's my little beeb laying there it will be horrible and terrifying.
Well on to something more positive. I do think I am going to be trying a little harder to accomplish some of my other goals. I should write more and I will. I want to take some natural health courses so I've been researching and "trying" to get that in order. I only say trying because my only road block right now is financial. I also want to do some "good for the mind, body and soul" things for myself. Scott and I have both had an interest in acupuncture so hopefully we will be doing that soon. Oh, and a massage. Scott is the world's best when it comes to this as he is ALWAYS willing to give me lengthy massages. However, we both enjoy the atmosphere and calming effect going to a masseuse gives you. Plus, couples massages are always fun. I'm a firm believer in psychology as well. This was my major when I first went to school and my savior through my divorce. I have come to believe in this area of medicine so much and I would really love to sit down with someone and talk about dealing with my fears. I'd like to not worry as much as I do. I've truly never understood the stigma that goes with seeing a therapist. I do think our society is embracing it more now than before however. I do have to say that I'm not as supportive for psychiatry. I still believe in it's goodness I just think that we're an over medicated society and that shouldn't always be the first choice. A world of help can come just from talking and maybe we should all start there. So anyway, hopefully all of my plans will continue to develop into active endeavours. My goal to be a better me each day is in the priority. I have a great family and they make me want to be great. I say that sincerely.

Wild, Wild Brooklyn

So Brooklyn has been enjoying a number of camps this summer. She started at Harpeth Hall with a sports camp. I have always known B wasn't into a lot of sports such as basketball and soccer but it was something I thought she should at least try. She of course didn't care for the sports but had a great time making friends and seeing what it was about. The second week was cheerleading and that was a sport she enjoyed. This past week was dance and I knew she would like that. Brooklyn has taken dance and gymnastics classes before so she was looking forward to this. They learned 6 dances in 5 days and then had a recital the last day. Scott, myself and our friend Katie went and we all were so proud of her. That's a lot to learn in such a short period of time. So here is a little video that Scott put together from the show. This is my first video post so hopefully it works! Scott also has another video to go with this that is up on the Scott and Brooklyn page. Check it out if you'd like as there is about 10 min. more. P.S. Thank you to Katie for coming with us to support Brooklyn. You're a great friend! And another Thank You to Scott for putting this video together. You constantly show your love in ways like this and I'm so blessed to have you!!

So this past weekend we went to Ohio to visit with Scott's family and to hit up Cedar Point. We had originally planned to fly but decided to rent a car instead. Let me first say that an 8 hour drive with a child, a guy who hates car trips and a girl who is always paranoid about accidents is not the best way to start any mini vacation. However, I think we all surprised each other. Brooklyn did amazing on the trip there and back. It really shows how fast she's growing up. She didn't complain at all and was such a joy to have in the car. AWESOME! Scott even had an enjoyable car ride there but especially on the way home. Friday we spent the day with the Velazco's. This included a steak dinner and a trip to Fred's Ice Cream. I can't begin to tell you how much I love Scott's family. His mother and father have absolutely taken us in as family and they have been so kind to us since day 1. It is an amazing testament to the hearts they have. We don't see them often but it's great to see the relationships grow each time we do get to visit with them. I grew up with brothers and so did Scott so it feels pretty normal to hang out with Tim and Cory(scott's bros.) Although my family is drastically different than Scott's. :) Friday night we got to hang out with Scott's friend Deweb, his wife and daughter. I had heard a lot about them but this was the first time I got to meet them. Sadly, I was exhausted after driving 8 hours on 4 hours of sleep so I was probably no more fun than the mannequin in the movie "Mannequin" before she came to life. I did chat to Deweb's wife for a bit about Indiana. We grew up in neighboring towns so that was interesting. The rest of the time I spent convincing Scott that babies were fun and drooling with envy over their little Ella.
On Saturday we were off to Cedar Point. Now, I was looking forward to Brooklyn getting to ride rides but I must tell you that I have crippling fears of falling. I avoid escalators when possible or hold up lines by looking at each stair going by trying to time the right step....each time telling myself "Step now, no now, okay now!" I hate stairs you see through and must have handrails or I'm a mess. The list goes on but as you can see, I'm every man's adventurous dream woman. I decided to go on the sky ride first thing. This is a simple air trolley similar to a ski lift except their are two sides connected so it's much less open. I made it approximately 10 seconds. I don't remember much after that except tears, shaking and reminding myself to breathe. Brooklyn held my hand! It was horrible but Brooklyn wanted to do the Ferris wheel and I knew she had been looking forward to it. So, that was our next ride and I was determined to make it enjoyable for her. Well, I did it without tears and even managed to smile and take a few pics. We were up there for awhile so thank goodness I handled it well. That experience convinced me I needed to ride a roller coaster. The rest of the day I took Brooklyn on rides we both could do.....this included antique cars and the scrambler. :) Scott got to ride one coaster and then came back to hang with us. About 4 we decided to get in line for the two of us to ride a "big kids" coaster. I was pumped and mentally in the right place. We waited an hour and looking at the line we had about 20 min. left.....but Mother Earth decided I didn't need to overcome my fears that day. Storms showered us and cut our day short. The good part was Brooklyn had an awesome time and that was my goal. We also got good sleep that night and were well rested for our trip home. Before we left on Sunday we got to eat at our favorite restaurant in Marion and had more family time. I really loved getting to see Grandpa Graham so much too as he's the most wonderful person. He makes my heart smile and I think the word "sweet" was created by people to describe him.
Our trip home was truly rockin'. It was a very Query-Velazco sort of ride. I'm sure if we had a reality show and just that trip was an episode, it would be a viewers favorite. We spent our time singing along to Blue October, Stevie Wonder and Johnny Cash. There is nothing greater than hearing Brooklyn sing along to these songs she has come to love so much just like we do.
I truly love my family.

A melting pot of updates.

This weekend is our family trip to Ohio and I should be packing right now....or putting away laundry, cleaning the house, getting food in order, pretty much anything but this. However, we had a luncheon at work today and the theme was ecuadorian dishes. Being the lover of food that I am, I had to try it. Lesson learned for the day: Ecuadorian food is not your friend. I am sitting here with no energy, no supper and no desire to have either. I could go to bed right now and be fine.
Anyway, back to our trip. We don't leave until early (like 5 am) on Friday but I have to work tomorrow, pick up the rental car, pack, go to the grocery store and make our food for the trip. Whew. I'm hoping to make food for the trip there and back. I hate going on trips and feeling horrible from the fast food so we're trying to stay healthy. The weekend is going to be super busy as we will only be there till Sunday. Friday will be spent at Scott's parents house visiting with them and our distant Napoleon. Sat. we are getting up early to head to Cedar Point for a fun filled day with our friends William and Mandy and Williams son. Sunday we will be with Scott's family again to have the traditional Sunday lunch at our favorite restaurant in Marion (House of Hunan) and then back on the road to Nashville. Brooklyn starts dance camp that Monday so besides taking her there and picking her up, I will be spending a lazy day at home.
This week Brooklyn has been at cheer camp. The first day I picked her up she was on top of the pyramid and it was so cute. She's such a wonderful little girl and she just shines when she's smiling. It was a great moment but it's still hard to see her growing up so fast. This morning I woke up to Brooklyn crying in her sleep. I went in and laid with her, calmed her down and waited to leave until she was peacefully asleep. When she woke up she said her dream was that she went to a party with her Aunt Haylee and they took Rudolph with them. When they walked in, everyone ran up and hugged Rudolph and not her. :( She cried as she told me and it was so sad but so cute. Needless to say, she was tired today and camp wasn't as fun. Brooklyn tends to get quite sensitive when she's tired!
Scott has been working long hours this week. We've been really lucky this last year as his work has been full but the hours have allowed him to be home with us a lot too. This week is the first real week that he hasn't been home to go to bed with me. We're thankful for the work though. I know I'm not directly in the music industry but knowing what I do from Scott, I feel like we're lucky for what we have and should appreciate that. There are a lot of people that would love to be where Scott is and to have him making a living, supporting a family doing what he loves is truly a blessing.