Josh made bacon for breakfast this morning. The sun was streaming in from some windows and Cason and Jonah were fascinated by the look of the smoky sunbeams.
Later after breakfast, Cason runs over, stands in the sun and declares, "I'm standing in the sunburn!"
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Friday, July 03, 2009
Two more parks
I haven't been keeping up very well with our park visits. I'm afraid I'm already conceding defeat and admitting that we will probably not make it to all of Fort Collins parks before school starts (only 7 more weeks, yikes!). I'm amending my goal to visit all of them in the next year.
First up, a couple weeks ago we met up with my cousin Cara and her three kids at Troutman Park. This was one of the parks we had never been to before. Again, I'm struck with how blessed we are in Fort Collins to have so many really nice city parks. Troutman has a nice sized playground. Small enough to spread out a blanket on the grass and let the kids go. Another common feature with other Fort Collins parks is the playgrounds are built on sand. Somehow I keep forgetting to bring our sand toys, but luckily Cara brought a few shovels for the kids to dig with. The playground is at the center of the park surrounded by green fields, trees and two ponds. Cara told me that the ponds were good for fishing too. Josh has only had one good chance to fish this year, so we may have to make another visit for his sake. The kids had fun while Cara and I caught up on each other's lives. We brought a picnic and it was very relaxing.
Jonah, Cason, Ethan, Aly and Lexi playing in the sand.
The playground.
Unfortunately for the next park, I forgot to bring my camera. This time we went to Landings Park to meet up with other member's of the Mom's Club. One mom brought a 4th of July craft for the kids to do on a break from playing. We've been to this park before and again it's a nice one, though not one of my favorites in town. It is close to a busy street so I'm glad my guys are a bit older and don't wander off. The boys had a great time and I enjoyed chatting with the other moms.
First up, a couple weeks ago we met up with my cousin Cara and her three kids at Troutman Park. This was one of the parks we had never been to before. Again, I'm struck with how blessed we are in Fort Collins to have so many really nice city parks. Troutman has a nice sized playground. Small enough to spread out a blanket on the grass and let the kids go. Another common feature with other Fort Collins parks is the playgrounds are built on sand. Somehow I keep forgetting to bring our sand toys, but luckily Cara brought a few shovels for the kids to dig with. The playground is at the center of the park surrounded by green fields, trees and two ponds. Cara told me that the ponds were good for fishing too. Josh has only had one good chance to fish this year, so we may have to make another visit for his sake. The kids had fun while Cara and I caught up on each other's lives. We brought a picnic and it was very relaxing.
Jonah, Cason, Ethan, Aly and Lexi playing in the sand.
The playground.
Unfortunately for the next park, I forgot to bring my camera. This time we went to Landings Park to meet up with other member's of the Mom's Club. One mom brought a 4th of July craft for the kids to do on a break from playing. We've been to this park before and again it's a nice one, though not one of my favorites in town. It is close to a busy street so I'm glad my guys are a bit older and don't wander off. The boys had a great time and I enjoyed chatting with the other moms.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Overdue Update
Do you ever just need a week off? Who doesn't? Being in a vocation that doesn't allow for vacation time means stealing moments of restoration from other areas. We had a good week, a much needed quiet week. And now I'm back, feeling rested where I needed rest. Now I can recap Cason's birthday and our camping trip.
We had so much fun celebrating Cason. Josh was able to take the day off. We were expecting Mark and Lorrie and family for dinner, but got a pleasant surprise when they called saying they could come early since Mark had less work than expected for the day. We met them after lunch along the Poudre River for some wading and rock throwing fun. Then back to our house for dinner, presents, games and cake. Then the big highlight was the boys first real sleepover with Ethan and Owen. They were awake until 10 talking and messing around...having fun. The next day I took Cason, Ethan, and Owen to story time at the library while Josh took Jonah to the doctor. One of the ear tubes he had came out during a bath and he had gotten an uncomfortable amount water in his ear, which then became a waxy seeping mess. Thankfully no infection though. We met up with Lorrie just before dinner to return Ethan and Owen and headed back home to start preparing for our camping weekend.
Click to be taken to an album of photos.
Friday morning we quickly packed up our van for a two night camping trip. We had been invited to join Josh's new friend Rob and his two sons and it was great timing for us to so we jumped at the opportunity. All in all we had a great time. We are very much looking forward to the next chance we get to go camping again. The boys did great, especially when it came to sleeping which is always my biggest concern. We mostly just hung out around the campsites. Rocky Mountain National Park is really restrictive when it comes to dogs, so we weren't able to do any hiking in the park but we did drive to one nearby trail just outside of it for a short hike. Cason and I took a drive to the top of Trail Ridge Rd (12,220 feet). He napped for the hour and a half that I drove and woke up when we got to the visitor's center at the top for a pit stop. We saw a yellow bellied marmot, elk (of course), and a fox. It rained a little, but we didn't mind because that just gave us an excuse to go into Estes Park for dinner and ice cream. Sunday morning we woke to gorgeous blue skies. We would've loved to stayed in the park for the day to enjoy the beautiful weather but by then we were feeling more than a little grimy and thought it best to just get home. If it's the only bit of vacation we get this summer, that's fine with me because it was a great memory making trip.
Of course there is more to write about, but I'll save that for another post.
We had so much fun celebrating Cason. Josh was able to take the day off. We were expecting Mark and Lorrie and family for dinner, but got a pleasant surprise when they called saying they could come early since Mark had less work than expected for the day. We met them after lunch along the Poudre River for some wading and rock throwing fun. Then back to our house for dinner, presents, games and cake. Then the big highlight was the boys first real sleepover with Ethan and Owen. They were awake until 10 talking and messing around...having fun. The next day I took Cason, Ethan, and Owen to story time at the library while Josh took Jonah to the doctor. One of the ear tubes he had came out during a bath and he had gotten an uncomfortable amount water in his ear, which then became a waxy seeping mess. Thankfully no infection though. We met up with Lorrie just before dinner to return Ethan and Owen and headed back home to start preparing for our camping weekend.
Click to be taken to an album of photos.
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| Cason's Birthday |
Friday morning we quickly packed up our van for a two night camping trip. We had been invited to join Josh's new friend Rob and his two sons and it was great timing for us to so we jumped at the opportunity. All in all we had a great time. We are very much looking forward to the next chance we get to go camping again. The boys did great, especially when it came to sleeping which is always my biggest concern. We mostly just hung out around the campsites. Rocky Mountain National Park is really restrictive when it comes to dogs, so we weren't able to do any hiking in the park but we did drive to one nearby trail just outside of it for a short hike. Cason and I took a drive to the top of Trail Ridge Rd (12,220 feet). He napped for the hour and a half that I drove and woke up when we got to the visitor's center at the top for a pit stop. We saw a yellow bellied marmot, elk (of course), and a fox. It rained a little, but we didn't mind because that just gave us an excuse to go into Estes Park for dinner and ice cream. Sunday morning we woke to gorgeous blue skies. We would've loved to stayed in the park for the day to enjoy the beautiful weather but by then we were feeling more than a little grimy and thought it best to just get home. If it's the only bit of vacation we get this summer, that's fine with me because it was a great memory making trip.
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| Camping June 2009 |
Of course there is more to write about, but I'll save that for another post.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Busy Week!
I want to write so much more about Cason's fourth birthday but I'm short on time. We've had a wonderful week celebrating his life. Now we're packing up for a weekend camping trip, so I'll just leave with this...
How I love that kid!
How I love that kid!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
I can't make a cake to save my life...or
to celebrate my son's birthday, evidently.
I followed the recipe perfectly. No it wasn't a box mix. It started to go wrong when I opened the oven as the timer went off and discovered that the cake was overflowing. I let it finish baking in hopes that it could be salvaged.
Cason wanted a chocolate cake with orange frosting.
You might be thinking that's not so bad. Maybe if I just wiped up the crumbs around the bottom a bit.
But then there's this side.
What would you do? Eat this incredibly ugly, but actually yummy cake or run out to the nearest grocery store for a Diego or Transformers cake?
I followed the recipe perfectly. No it wasn't a box mix. It started to go wrong when I opened the oven as the timer went off and discovered that the cake was overflowing. I let it finish baking in hopes that it could be salvaged.
Cason wanted a chocolate cake with orange frosting.
You might be thinking that's not so bad. Maybe if I just wiped up the crumbs around the bottom a bit.
But then there's this side.
What would you do? Eat this incredibly ugly, but actually yummy cake or run out to the nearest grocery store for a Diego or Transformers cake?
Monday, June 15, 2009
Weekend Fun
We're on our way with this park quest. Saturday was a great day, finally a small break to all the rain we've been having lately. You'd think this was Seattle. Rain practically every day for the last month. Anyhow, this weekend was the Taste of Fort Collins. And while we didn't actually go into the Taste we did go to Old Town to hang out for the afternoon. I really wanted to go to the Taste but there was an entrance fee and then I could just envision us standing in long lines for hardly anything, the kids would get bored, we'd pay outrageous amounts for two minutes in a bounce house and so on. On the other side of town there was a classic car show going on so we went that way. The boys loved the cars. There was live music on the plaza near the fountain so we also stopped there for a bit before going for a late lunch/early dinner. On the way home we were passing by one of the parks on our list so we decided to stop. If you haven't guessed from the picture above, it was Spring Park. It's a nice small park along Spring Creek and the Spring Creek bike path. Lots of open green for lounging and playing. Some baseball diamonds and a basketball court.
Swing Flyer
A classic Cason look.
Sunday was equally as great. We took care of household stuff. The boys got messy painting. We grocery shopped. The big event of the day was a trip to the movies. We've only once before taken Jonah to a movie theater, when he was probably about Cason's age now. This was Cason's first time going to a movie. We choose UP after hearing a lot of good reviews on it. It was so fun! Cason was just so enthralled by it all. The big screen, the huge tub of popcorn, the contraband candy in Mommy's purse. The movie was great, what a wonderful story and Pixar does it again with their amazing animation. We made it through the whole movie without incident, no potty breaks, no melt downs. It was just a delightful experience. There was one point during a scene change that the screen went black and Cason says out loud "I can't see the...oh!" Another quiet point in the movie he empathetically said "The man is sad." and then he got tears in his own eyes. Jonah was on the other side of Josh so I didn't get to experience his reactions as much, but I think he also loved the movie.
This picture doesn't really show how big that tub of popcorn was. Cason was sticking his whole head into it.
I think this is how Jonah was through the whole thing. This was during the pre-movie entertainment and he was already mesmerized.
What a great weekend and a great kick off to Cason's birthday week. We've got lots of fun stuff planned for the week, including more park play dates, puppet shows at the library, a birthday party with Cason's favorites, a Transformers sleepover with Ethan and Owen, more parks and other fun.
Monday, June 08, 2009
City Park
We've begun our park quest. Yesterday was the "end of the year" picnic event for my Mom's Club and since it was meeting at City Park I thought it would be a good time to get going on our list.
As you can imagine from it's name, City Park is THE park in Fort Collins. It's located near Old Town and includes a lake, huge open green spaces, a playground, a nine hole golf course, an outdoor pool with waterslides, a train, a trolley that goes to Old Town, and plenty of picnic shelters.
We were looking forward to spending a few hours with other families from the Mom's Club. The club had even reserved the train for an hour of unlimited rides. Unfortunately, earlier in the day we were struck with a classic Colorado spring storm. A storm that included a lot of hail and lowered the temperature by about 20 degrees. It meant that fewer families showed up than originally planned, but I think those of us who did still had a good time. The unlimited train rides turned into only two rides due extremely wet tracks that were making the train work too hard. It was a bit disappointing, but still fun for the rides we did get to take.
This is what the park looked like when we arrived. The picnic shelter we were in was also flooded with curtains of water dripping from the roof. This was about 3 hours after the storm had passed through. The amount of hail was impressive.
My cold toes.
The boys enjoying themselves despite being cold and wet.
Cason peeks from the "dangerous animals" car.
Jonah choose the caboose.
All in all it was a fun start to our summer season even if it felt more like winter.
As you can imagine from it's name, City Park is THE park in Fort Collins. It's located near Old Town and includes a lake, huge open green spaces, a playground, a nine hole golf course, an outdoor pool with waterslides, a train, a trolley that goes to Old Town, and plenty of picnic shelters.
We were looking forward to spending a few hours with other families from the Mom's Club. The club had even reserved the train for an hour of unlimited rides. Unfortunately, earlier in the day we were struck with a classic Colorado spring storm. A storm that included a lot of hail and lowered the temperature by about 20 degrees. It meant that fewer families showed up than originally planned, but I think those of us who did still had a good time. The unlimited train rides turned into only two rides due extremely wet tracks that were making the train work too hard. It was a bit disappointing, but still fun for the rides we did get to take.
This is what the park looked like when we arrived. The picnic shelter we were in was also flooded with curtains of water dripping from the roof. This was about 3 hours after the storm had passed through. The amount of hail was impressive.
My cold toes.
The boys enjoying themselves despite being cold and wet.
Cason peeks from the "dangerous animals" car.
Jonah choose the caboose.
All in all it was a fun start to our summer season even if it felt more like winter.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Weekend recap
Our weekend actually started last Tuesday with the arrival of Josh's parents and his brother's family. Steve and Tessa are moving from Japan to Hawaii (Air Force) and they have a couple weeks leave time in between. They flew into Kansas City, had a short two day break and hopped into a van to drive here to Colorado. They got in late Tuesday night and so stayed with us that night. It was serendipitous because it gave Josh and I a chance to go out to breakfast Wednesday morning for our anniversary. Midday Wednesday they headed to a cabin in the Red Feather Lakes area about an hour and a half away from us. We stayed here because it was Jonah's last week of school. It was a good last few days for him and we're already enjoying summer break.
Friday Josh's folks drove back into town for some provisions and also to pick up Jonah and Cason to take back with them to the cabin. Josh and I then were able to attend a reception in Estes Park that was given in honor of all the contractors at Della Terra. It was a really fun evening. Better than any work Christmas party we've attended. Also nice to see my husband recognized for the quality of the work he did for them.
We got a night to ourselves and then joined everyone else at the cabin on Saturday. It was a quiet relaxing weekend. My sister in law Tessa is into henna art so she practiced on me and Josh's mom.
This is what it looks like after it's dried and you've scraped off the paste.
We took a little hike on Sunday.
Josh gave the pre-hike talk, reminding the boys of the trail rules.
Later that day the guys played football and set up races for the kids. Our boys love running races.
All in all it was a nice weekend visiting. Especially since we know we probably won't see Steve and Tessa and their kids for another four years.
Friday Josh's folks drove back into town for some provisions and also to pick up Jonah and Cason to take back with them to the cabin. Josh and I then were able to attend a reception in Estes Park that was given in honor of all the contractors at Della Terra. It was a really fun evening. Better than any work Christmas party we've attended. Also nice to see my husband recognized for the quality of the work he did for them.
We got a night to ourselves and then joined everyone else at the cabin on Saturday. It was a quiet relaxing weekend. My sister in law Tessa is into henna art so she practiced on me and Josh's mom.
This is what it looks like after it's dried and you've scraped off the paste.
We took a little hike on Sunday.
Josh gave the pre-hike talk, reminding the boys of the trail rules.
Later that day the guys played football and set up races for the kids. Our boys love running races.
All in all it was a nice weekend visiting. Especially since we know we probably won't see Steve and Tessa and their kids for another four years.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
I took that list to town!
I crossed them all off, every single thing. I took the test, where, by the way, I wrote a pretty nifty essay on cell phone technology and it's effect on our society. I went to First Step Advising. Then Second Step Advising, where I met a lovely woman from the nursing department. She told me that she doesn't always see the "nurse" in the students she meets, but that she sees it in me. It was a very cool moment that I won't forget. Then I came home and registered for my first two classes. Human Growth and Development and General College Biology Lab I. Then I finished my FAFSA application. Then I took a deep breath, followed by another. I've thought and planned for this for so long and it's finally happening.
Now I just wait it out until August 24th when my first class begins. They are both night classes. Monday and Wednesday nights I'll be in class from 5:30-8:50 and Tuesdays from 7-8:50. Cason will be in school on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 12:30 to 3, so that will be a nice junk of study time each week.
Back to school at 32!
Now I just wait it out until August 24th when my first class begins. They are both night classes. Monday and Wednesday nights I'll be in class from 5:30-8:50 and Tuesdays from 7-8:50. Cason will be in school on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 12:30 to 3, so that will be a nice junk of study time each week.
Back to school at 32!
Cross that off the checklist
I just got back from taking my college placement test. I have a mild headache, but came through it okay. Actually I did great. Okay so I bombed the algebra section. Thankfully, algebra doesn't seem to play much of a role on my quest for a nursing degree, so I think I'm okay. Can we all just take a deep breath? There that feels better.
Next up, this afternoon I'll go to the first step in Advising. Then I'll have one on one advising, then I'll register for classes and well it's uphill from here. This test was probably the biggest hurdle for me and now I'm getting excited.
More deep breaths needed!
Next up, this afternoon I'll go to the first step in Advising. Then I'll have one on one advising, then I'll register for classes and well it's uphill from here. This test was probably the biggest hurdle for me and now I'm getting excited.
More deep breaths needed!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Gym teacher fail
I have wonderful memories of field day. It was the end of the school year and it was a day of running and being free. Usually there was water of some sort involved. And suckers. I don't know why but from my kindergarten memories the two things that stick out are tater tots and big red suckers on field day. I'd sit there eating my sucker while they announced all the summer birthdays over the loud speaker. "And last but not least...July 31st...Amy Hostetler." I can't quite figure out now why my birthday was the last one, surely there would have been other birthdays in August before the start of the school year. But that's how I remember it. The other great part of field day were the ribbons. Everyone got a ribbon. Oh sure, maybe the blue ones where better, but getting a yellow or green one still felt pretty special. The blue one's would say 1st place, but the yellow or green ones would say something equally as great like "great effort" or "most improved".
At Jonah's school field day for the 1st and 2nd graders was last Thursday. I didn't get to attend, but Jonah seemed to have really enjoyed it. Favorite part for him..Tug of War. I think times have changed and there are no sticky treats associated with field day anymore...too bad. Jonah did not come home with a ribbon. I really wish I could scan his "award". What he came home with was a piece of green card stock titled "Field Day Certificate' To the right there is a clip art picture of a heron or stork sitting in some reeds. Next to that it says "A stork brought me the good news. You did a great job today!" "Thanks for all of your hard work this year and remember that PE is important for everyone!" Signed Coach J. Umm, stork? Is it just me, aren't stork's usually associated with bringing news of a new baby?
I can just picture the stork union.
"Louie, you're headed to California, the Johnson's are having a girl!"
"Sally, off to New York, the Smith's are having a boy!"
"Clarence, you're on special assignment to Colorado, deliver the news to Coach J, his 1st graders did a great job on field day."
At Jonah's school field day for the 1st and 2nd graders was last Thursday. I didn't get to attend, but Jonah seemed to have really enjoyed it. Favorite part for him..Tug of War. I think times have changed and there are no sticky treats associated with field day anymore...too bad. Jonah did not come home with a ribbon. I really wish I could scan his "award". What he came home with was a piece of green card stock titled "Field Day Certificate' To the right there is a clip art picture of a heron or stork sitting in some reeds. Next to that it says "A stork brought me the good news. You did a great job today!" "Thanks for all of your hard work this year and remember that PE is important for everyone!" Signed Coach J. Umm, stork? Is it just me, aren't stork's usually associated with bringing news of a new baby?
I can just picture the stork union.
"Louie, you're headed to California, the Johnson's are having a girl!"
"Sally, off to New York, the Smith's are having a boy!"
"Clarence, you're on special assignment to Colorado, deliver the news to Coach J, his 1st graders did a great job on field day."
Friday, May 22, 2009
Early start = sleepy child
I should've made a disclaimer to yesterday's post saying that waking at 5 a.m. is not routine for our boys. Typically they wake around 6:30 and I'm hopeful that this summer they'll push that back to 7/7:30. We'll see.
Cason was groggy most of the day. Then around 4 he complained of a headache again. I gave him some tylenol and asked if he wanted to rest in my bed. He was sound asleep by 4:30. He barely woke a few times only to conk back out. We transferred him to a comfy spot on the floor when we went to bed and he didn't wake until 2 a.m. He sat up, declared he needed to go potty, went potty, and told me that he was fine and was ready to sleep in his own bed. Then he was back in our room by 5:30 again. I have a feeling he'll be ready for an early bedtime again today.
Cason was groggy most of the day. Then around 4 he complained of a headache again. I gave him some tylenol and asked if he wanted to rest in my bed. He was sound asleep by 4:30. He barely woke a few times only to conk back out. We transferred him to a comfy spot on the floor when we went to bed and he didn't wake until 2 a.m. He sat up, declared he needed to go potty, went potty, and told me that he was fine and was ready to sleep in his own bed. Then he was back in our room by 5:30 again. I have a feeling he'll be ready for an early bedtime again today.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Early Start
There was a time when I used to sleep in until 11...every day. I think that ended just about six years and nine months ago. I'm not kidding, three months from today my firstborn will turn seven (but we'll save the freak out on that for another time).
This morning we were awakened by the sounds of a distressed child. At five o'clock. The child had slept on our floor for more than half the night. (I tell myself we're just getting him prepared for camping this summer) I decided to guard my last few precious minutes of sleep by transferring him back to his own bed, which promptly woke up his brother, who came in at 5:15. At this point the man of the house saw the writing on the wall and chose to get up. Jonah took his spot in the bed and was overcome by twitchiness. I'm like the princess and the pea, so it clearly was not a good sleeping condition for me. Cason came crying up the stairs fifteen minutes later. He had a headache. He flopped back on the floor where he had started. I'll admit I tried to ignore him for just a little bit longer. But one thing I'm learning is that being a parent is the greatest exercise in learning to become selfless. So I gave up on sleep. I scooped him up and snuggled him up and it was 1000 times better than sleep.
This morning we were awakened by the sounds of a distressed child. At five o'clock. The child had slept on our floor for more than half the night. (I tell myself we're just getting him prepared for camping this summer) I decided to guard my last few precious minutes of sleep by transferring him back to his own bed, which promptly woke up his brother, who came in at 5:15. At this point the man of the house saw the writing on the wall and chose to get up. Jonah took his spot in the bed and was overcome by twitchiness. I'm like the princess and the pea, so it clearly was not a good sleeping condition for me. Cason came crying up the stairs fifteen minutes later. He had a headache. He flopped back on the floor where he had started. I'll admit I tried to ignore him for just a little bit longer. But one thing I'm learning is that being a parent is the greatest exercise in learning to become selfless. So I gave up on sleep. I scooped him up and snuggled him up and it was 1000 times better than sleep.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Our park
No school today...it's a teacher work day. We just got back from the park. Our park.
This is the park that is attached to our neighborhood. It's one of my favorites. Not because it's fancy and has all the latest and greatest playground equipment, but just because it's small, but not too small and quiet and pretty.
Our neighborhood sits on a hill, that's the view of the park from the hill.
The boys were excited!
They ran...
and ran...
and ran.
We're really working hard one when it's okay to totally leave Mommy behind. Every time we go to the park and they run ahead like this I pray over and over "please let there be no snakes, please let there be no snakes..."
Parts of the park are a little old. Like these guys...
and these...
I think that may be the last working merry-go-round in this city. That's some dangerous stuff you know. Can't have the kids spinning themselves sick these days. We'll have to see if I find another one on our quest to visit all the parks this summer. I've made my list. There are 22 parks to visit. That means during the 11 weeks of summer vacation we'll hit two per week. Wheee!
This is the park that is attached to our neighborhood. It's one of my favorites. Not because it's fancy and has all the latest and greatest playground equipment, but just because it's small, but not too small and quiet and pretty.
Our neighborhood sits on a hill, that's the view of the park from the hill.
The boys were excited!
They ran...
and ran...
and ran.
We're really working hard one when it's okay to totally leave Mommy behind. Every time we go to the park and they run ahead like this I pray over and over "please let there be no snakes, please let there be no snakes..."
Parts of the park are a little old. Like these guys...
 |  |
and these...
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I think that may be the last working merry-go-round in this city. That's some dangerous stuff you know. Can't have the kids spinning themselves sick these days. We'll have to see if I find another one on our quest to visit all the parks this summer. I've made my list. There are 22 parks to visit. That means during the 11 weeks of summer vacation we'll hit two per week. Wheee!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
I'm that much closer to being a college student again. My petition for residency status was approved today. I've been working on that little piece of the puzzle for a while and now that it's worked out, I can move on to the next step. Which is really just a bunch of steps that I need to take at the same time...financial aid, assessment testing, advising, registering...yikes. I still haven't decided how many classes I want to take, but I think it'd be best to start small.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
It's Wednesday already. Jonah is off school on Friday so we only have one more day until the weekend! This week has been pretty nice and quiet. Yesterday Cason and I went to a planned Mom's club activity, but it turned out that whoever had done the planning hadn't planned very well. It was supposed to be something organized by the city parks and recreation department, but was an activity they only have during the winter months. We got a smoothie to share and headed to the park instead. I've decided to set a goal of taking the boys to every park in the city this summer. (Credit goes to Jessie Crow for the idea) We've been to quite a few already, but it will be fun to make a list and check them off as we go. An added bonus, is that it will give me something to blog about and pictures to post.
We signed Jonah up for an Intro to Karate class for the month of June. He's pretty excited about it since he's been on a Kung Fu Panda kick lately. I'm hopeful that it will be something that will click with his personality and needs. I'm also hoping to find some sort of class for Cason. One of the things that I was so excited about when we decided to move to Fort Collins was the parks and recreation offerings. I'm a little surprised at myself that it took this long to finally jump into something. Better now then never though.
We signed Jonah up for an Intro to Karate class for the month of June. He's pretty excited about it since he's been on a Kung Fu Panda kick lately. I'm hopeful that it will be something that will click with his personality and needs. I'm also hoping to find some sort of class for Cason. One of the things that I was so excited about when we decided to move to Fort Collins was the parks and recreation offerings. I'm a little surprised at myself that it took this long to finally jump into something. Better now then never though.
Monday, May 11, 2009
I never know where to start when it's been a couple weeks since my last post.
April 24th-25th
Josh and I had a much needed overnight date in Denver. We went to see a favorite female artist named Jonatha Brooke. Life has been so consuming lately that it's been hard for us to make time for ourselves. We were very thankful to Mark and Lorrie for taking care of Jonah and Cason. The concert was great. It was at the Soiled Dove. Just her and her guitar and keyboard ten feet away from where we were sitting. She was awesome, incredible voice, just enough funny. One of the best parts of the night was that I got to dress up. I guess my need to escape from my SAHM persona was high. In the morning we went to breakfast at the the best breakfast place in Denver. The Snooze A.M. Eatery Oh man, that was the best breakfast we've ever had. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Not a great picture, but here we are getting ready to leave.
May 1st, 2nd, 3rd
It's crunch time for Josh's job at Della Terra. Since they were really wanting Josh to keep working, they offered our family a cabin for the weekend. This cabin is almost starting to feel like our own personal vacation cabin, since this is the third time we've stayed there since the job started. I wish I could say that it was a wonderful weekend, but the truth is we came home feeling a bit fried. The weather had been cold and rainy, so we were mostly stuck inside while Josh was working. And the cable had been knocked out by a cut line, so we watched Meet the Robinsons three times, Kung Fu Panda twice, Thomas and Friends once and Honey I Shrunk the Kids once. There were some nice moments though. Jonah had a very wiggly tooth, so on Saturday while Josh was taking a lunch break they worked together to pull it. Jonah did not want us to touch the tooth but he was willing to hold on to and let Josh yank on his arm. It popped out after about twenty tries and a lot of laughing. He was very excited that the tooth fairy was able to find him even though he wasn't at home and she left two dollars. The boys and I did get out twice, first to watch the annual Estes Park duck race. They release 1000 rubber ducky's down the Fall River. People "adopt" them and the money goes to charity and there's a ton of prizes. It was pretty fun and we capped it off with a trip to one of the many fudge/candy shops in town. After the kids were in bed, Josh and I tried our hand at some of the games provided. We found that we were terrible at "Friends" trivia, but had fun asking each other personal questions from another game that I can't remember the name.
Our second outing was for a teeny hike on Sunday around the property. Rocky Mountain National Park starts right behind the building. I think we will have more fun hiking this year. Cason still has some stamina issues, but they do love "adventuring".
Jonah with his brand new holey mouth.
Some of the ducks on the river.
Climbing on rocks on our mini hike.
(Mom, in case you are wondering, the boys got haircuts this week. : ))
After working through the weekend, there was a ton of stuff for Josh to take care of at home so he was home Monday and Wednesday. Let's just say it was a rough week. I'm thankful that it's behind us and we're moving forward from it.
May 9th-10th
He worked Saturday (did I mention it's crunch time?). The building had it's first event last week...first wedding, we hear, is the last weekend in May. There is still so much to be done, it's crazy. The boys and I actually had a decent day and Jonah surprised me at one point by announcing that he had lost another tooth! This time the tooth fairy didn't have change, so since it was the fifth tooth lost, he got FIVE whole dollars for this one. I just realized how funny it is that teeth that come out are called "lost". How else would you describe it though? It's just that technically they are not lost, they're just not in his mouth anymore. Hmm...
The hole in his mouth got bigger!
When Josh got home we talked about what I wanted/wanted to do for Mother's Day. The weather wasn't looking to be great so being out wasn't an option. In the end, we all ran out to pick out my Mother's Day present...a new gas grill! We haven't had a grill since we moved here and I have missed it so much. I consider myself to be a bit of a grill master, so I'm really looking forward to how this will open up our menu options this summer. We also ran to the store for some breakfast provisions as Josh wanted to make breakfast for me. Then we ordered chinese for Josh and I to eat after the kids were in bed. My parents had sent a package including the movie P.S. I love you which we watched while we ate. (We loved the movie, Mom and Dad!)
Sunday morning came rainy and cloudy, which was wonderful because it meant the boys slept in until 7. Josh started breakfast and I got to sleep in even more. There was a little waffle crisis, but in the end it was a great breakfast and I really appreciated the break. We spent the rest of the day just really enjoying being together and it was the best mother's day for me. We assembled the grill. It was christened by hot dogs for the boys, followed by some chicken that I grilled to make chicken salad and then by a big fat juicy ribeye that Josh and I shared for our dinner. Oh boy, we are definitely going to be eating more protein now. Yum!
April 24th-25th
Josh and I had a much needed overnight date in Denver. We went to see a favorite female artist named Jonatha Brooke. Life has been so consuming lately that it's been hard for us to make time for ourselves. We were very thankful to Mark and Lorrie for taking care of Jonah and Cason. The concert was great. It was at the Soiled Dove. Just her and her guitar and keyboard ten feet away from where we were sitting. She was awesome, incredible voice, just enough funny. One of the best parts of the night was that I got to dress up. I guess my need to escape from my SAHM persona was high. In the morning we went to breakfast at the the best breakfast place in Denver. The Snooze A.M. Eatery Oh man, that was the best breakfast we've ever had. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Not a great picture, but here we are getting ready to leave.
May 1st, 2nd, 3rd
It's crunch time for Josh's job at Della Terra. Since they were really wanting Josh to keep working, they offered our family a cabin for the weekend. This cabin is almost starting to feel like our own personal vacation cabin, since this is the third time we've stayed there since the job started. I wish I could say that it was a wonderful weekend, but the truth is we came home feeling a bit fried. The weather had been cold and rainy, so we were mostly stuck inside while Josh was working. And the cable had been knocked out by a cut line, so we watched Meet the Robinsons three times, Kung Fu Panda twice, Thomas and Friends once and Honey I Shrunk the Kids once. There were some nice moments though. Jonah had a very wiggly tooth, so on Saturday while Josh was taking a lunch break they worked together to pull it. Jonah did not want us to touch the tooth but he was willing to hold on to and let Josh yank on his arm. It popped out after about twenty tries and a lot of laughing. He was very excited that the tooth fairy was able to find him even though he wasn't at home and she left two dollars. The boys and I did get out twice, first to watch the annual Estes Park duck race. They release 1000 rubber ducky's down the Fall River. People "adopt" them and the money goes to charity and there's a ton of prizes. It was pretty fun and we capped it off with a trip to one of the many fudge/candy shops in town. After the kids were in bed, Josh and I tried our hand at some of the games provided. We found that we were terrible at "Friends" trivia, but had fun asking each other personal questions from another game that I can't remember the name.
Our second outing was for a teeny hike on Sunday around the property. Rocky Mountain National Park starts right behind the building. I think we will have more fun hiking this year. Cason still has some stamina issues, but they do love "adventuring".
Jonah with his brand new holey mouth.
Some of the ducks on the river.
Climbing on rocks on our mini hike.
(Mom, in case you are wondering, the boys got haircuts this week. : ))
After working through the weekend, there was a ton of stuff for Josh to take care of at home so he was home Monday and Wednesday. Let's just say it was a rough week. I'm thankful that it's behind us and we're moving forward from it.
May 9th-10th
He worked Saturday (did I mention it's crunch time?). The building had it's first event last week...first wedding, we hear, is the last weekend in May. There is still so much to be done, it's crazy. The boys and I actually had a decent day and Jonah surprised me at one point by announcing that he had lost another tooth! This time the tooth fairy didn't have change, so since it was the fifth tooth lost, he got FIVE whole dollars for this one. I just realized how funny it is that teeth that come out are called "lost". How else would you describe it though? It's just that technically they are not lost, they're just not in his mouth anymore. Hmm...
The hole in his mouth got bigger!
When Josh got home we talked about what I wanted/wanted to do for Mother's Day. The weather wasn't looking to be great so being out wasn't an option. In the end, we all ran out to pick out my Mother's Day present...a new gas grill! We haven't had a grill since we moved here and I have missed it so much. I consider myself to be a bit of a grill master, so I'm really looking forward to how this will open up our menu options this summer. We also ran to the store for some breakfast provisions as Josh wanted to make breakfast for me. Then we ordered chinese for Josh and I to eat after the kids were in bed. My parents had sent a package including the movie P.S. I love you which we watched while we ate. (We loved the movie, Mom and Dad!)
Sunday morning came rainy and cloudy, which was wonderful because it meant the boys slept in until 7. Josh started breakfast and I got to sleep in even more. There was a little waffle crisis, but in the end it was a great breakfast and I really appreciated the break. We spent the rest of the day just really enjoying being together and it was the best mother's day for me. We assembled the grill. It was christened by hot dogs for the boys, followed by some chicken that I grilled to make chicken salad and then by a big fat juicy ribeye that Josh and I shared for our dinner. Oh boy, we are definitely going to be eating more protein now. Yum!
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