Day 36: Chef Cole

Cole and I have been blessed with amazing parents. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I think that Cole and I are the people we are today because of our wonderful upbringing: our parents raised us to be kind, loving and generous, and have always encouraged us to give 110% in everything that we do. We hope that we are blessed with children someday, and that we are able to be the parents that Ruby, Rudy, Sharon, and Tim are to us.

During this busy summer, my parents have offered to watch Mini during our long weekends away, so that we don't have to put her in the kennel. We have recently joked that Mini seems to enjoy her time with "Lolo" and "Lola" a little too much... she has been reluctant to get in the car every time we've come to pick her up. It's clear that Mini loves my parents and that they love her... and it probably has a lot to do with how much they spoil her with belly rubs, dog treats, trips to the park, new tennis balls, and lumpia.

In our four years together, Cole has single-handedly cooked about 90% of our meals, we've cooked 9% together, and I have cooked a whopping 1%. My parents have told me repeatedly how lucky I am to have Cole, and I love that they adore him so much. But, in all that time, Cole has never cooked a meal for them (and neither have I). As a "thank you" to my parents for taking Mini during these trips, Cole and I made dinner for them last night: we picked up four lobsters and threw them on the grill, and made my Mom's version of lumpia. They loved the meal, and the effort we put forth in making it. This is definitely one of those "new things" we look forward to doing again in the future.

We truly enjoy the family time that we get with them, and are fortunate that they are only a short drive away. And as sad as we are to be away from our pup this weekend, we are so excited that we'll be getting in family time in Denver this weekend with Cole's side of the family.