Capturing Moments

This and That

2009-11-10T17:10:00.004-07:00

Big news in the Adams' household! Cailey's art was chosen again to be displayed ~ this time at the Highlands Ranch Library. She wants me to mention that she HATES chalk, so this was a great achievement for her to overcome her aversion to chalk and make this masterpiece! Way to go Cailey!!!

On another note, our friend, Jeannine, has been part of a project to create and bring to publication an amazing photo book dedicated to breast cancer survivors. The book is "cup half full: life in the face of breast cancer". Check it out at: http://cuphalffullbook.com

On Friday, Cailey and I were invited to the breast cancer fund raiser/book launch party. This is the first big event Cailey has been to and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T11:05:00.001-07:00

Halloween 2009 has come and gone. Cailey dressed as a baby and Ben went as a dragon. Despite the large amount of snow we got earlier in the week, the weather was surprising nice and we were able to trick-or-treat without a hitch! Ben lasted long enough to fill his pumpkin bucket and then he went home to play with his neighbor friend Braden. Cailey spent the evening trick-or-treating with her BFF, Molly. They sure did collect a lot of candy!!!! Grandma K came out with her dog Rosie to help us trick-or-treat ~ thanks Grandma K!!

The Story of the Not-So-Ferocious Dragon

2009-10-29T21:36:00.003-06:00

Molly Brown Museum

2009-10-23T19:58:00.004-06:00

Cailey is on Fall Break this week and I am on vacation all week. So, we have enjoyed some great adventures this week ~ we did everything except clean house!

Monday: Went to see the movie Where the Wild Things Are (we brought Matt & Zach):

Tuesday: Arts on Fire pottery painting (we brought Zach!)

Wednesday: The Hop Jump House...no pics...sorry!

Thursday: Molly Brown Museum and lunch with Jeannine (we found this little guy outside the restaurant ~ his name is Billy!)

Friday: JumpStreet (we brought Zach!) and Pizza Hut:

Cailey's First Choir Concert

2009-09-28T22:24:00.006-06:00

With the start of 4th grade, Cailey was able to join choir ~ she was VERY excited about it! Last night she had her first choir concert. This concert was special because it included all the 'feeder' schools. Which means it was six elementary schools, the middle school, and the high school choir groups! Wow! Over 800 students participated...so do the math on the number of parents and family camped out in the park! I can't believe that number! But, all you in bloggy world should know I spared you the video of the whole group singing...I only included video of Cailey singing with her school. Cailey was is heaven and can't wait for the Christmas concert ~ luckily that concert will only be her school. Phew!

Cailey Jazz Dance Recital 2009

2009-06-21T10:37:00.003-06:00

Cailey had her dance recital last night. They danced to Madonna's "Material Girl". She did a great job!!! We weren't allowed to take picture during the performance, so the performance pictures were taken during the dress rehearsal. Also, we weren't allowed to use a flash so the pictures are a little fuzzy. Oh, well. It was still a good time and Cailey really enjoyed performing ~ surprise, surprise!

Cailey's Art Award

2009-05-09T08:50:00.004-06:00

Cailey won an art award at school! Her art project was chosen to be displayed at Park Meadows mall for about a week. She got a small reception ~ although clearly 'reception' means something different to us than it did to her art teacher. We were expecting a ceremony with some punch, maybe some cookies. But, alas, no. It consisted of her teacher showing up 10 minutes late and then handing out a ribbon and a certificate. Cailey didn't care that much ~ she was just excited to have her art on display. She was very excited. In light of the 'reception' (or lack, thereof) we took Cailey out to dinner...just her, without Ben...I think that was the bigger treat!!!

Juicy Juice House Party ~ Wii Bowling

2009-04-19T11:29:00.005-06:00

Terra hosted a House Party sponsored by Juicy Juice. We had a Wii Bowling Tournament and all!! I have never played Wii Bowling and I thought it was a ton of fun. Maybe we will finally break down and buy a Wii. Maybe not. :o)

Friday night at the HB!

2009-04-10T20:41:00.001-06:00

House of Bounce with Zachary and Anna, Geoff, Jackson, and Ethan:

The kids had a great time jumping and running. Then, we met up with Scott, Grandma K, and Uncle Rich for CiCi's pizza. Good times, good times.

FOR ETHAN!

2009-04-07T00:00:00.002-06:00

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY ETHAN!!!

WE'LL SEE YOU ON THURSDAY!!

Time Warp Thursday

2009-04-02T00:00:00.002-06:00

Cailey ~ April 3, 2003... 2 1/2 years old

Cailey still had never had a haircut when this picture was taken! She didn't even start getting hair until she was 2! Poor thing. But now she has beautiful, thick strawberry blond hair...go figure.

Blizzard???

2009-03-26T16:05:00.003-06:00

The people who know ~ and they keep reminding us that they are, in fact, the people that know ~ are calling this the March 2009 Blizzard. Hmmmm, it's bad and it's still snowing...but I wouldn't call this a blizzard just yet. I've seen much worse...2003 and 2006 comes to mind. But, it is supposed to keep snowing through the night and we could get up to 22" of snow by the time it all ends. We didn't have any snow at 8:30 this morning, so this has all come down quick.

The kids are already suited up and playing! Ah, to be young and think the snow looks fun. I think it just looks cold and I would much rather stay inside next to the fire with a h~~ot toddy~~ cup of hot tea.

Time Warp Thursday

2009-03-26T13:10:00.003-06:00

August 10, 2003 - Disneyland

I think this is one of the most hilarious pictures of Cailey. This was the end of the day ~ a very long, very hot day. Cailey took on Disneyland ~ she put up a good fight but clearly Disneyland won this round!

Our new baby!

2009-03-25T11:40:00.000-06:00

~~Scott~~ We finally broke down and got a cat!!!! We adopted her from the Dumb Friends League Animal Shelter on Sunday. We have been considering a cat for a while and we have made a few trips to the shelter. This time we finally found one that felt just right for us!

After much ~~arguing~~ debate, we all settled on the name Panini (her name at the shelter was Terwilliger...yeah, that had to change immediately!). The kids named her after the character on the cartoon Chowder ~ not the sandwich. She is roughly two years old and she is the sweetest cat ever. She loves to be around people and cries when she is separated from us. Unlike most animals, she is not a bit frightened by the tornado we all know as Benjamin ~ that was our main concern. She actually loves the kids and 'plays' with them and snuggles up close to them.

She is actually 'kissing' Ben in this picture. She was playing cars with him ~ I am totally serious! Ben was lining up his cars and she would touch each one with her paw as he put them next to her. Then she leaned forward and licked his forehead! She is really sweet.

Unfortunately, Panini woke up just as Scott took this picture. But, before that, Cailey and Panini were sleeping nose to nose.

Time Warp Thursday

2009-03-19T00:00:00.000-06:00

Cailey ~ Pre-school graduation.

May 2005

Finding a pattern

2009-03-14T06:45:00.003-06:00

Holly, my sister, has two boys, Matt and Zach. The boys have been a big part of our lives since the day they were born. We love all our nephews (and one niece!) so much. But, we have been fortunate that Matt and Zach live in town and we get to see them often.

When Cailey was born eight and half years ago, a new dynamic was created. Cailey and Zach have been the best of friends, it seems, since she was born.

Because Holly and I have been committed to keeping our families close, we spend nearly all holidays together and celebrate important events together as much as possible. We go to games and recitals and birthdays...those are all important :o) Zach and Cailey get so excited when they know they are going to get to spend some time together. Cailey begs me to go see Zach. She loves Matt, too ~ but Zach is closer to her age and they have always had a really sweet bond.

Today I was going through my picture folders on the computer and I came upon a pattern. It seems that every picture I pulled up of the kids had Zach and Cailey standing next to each other. If they are both in the picture, then they are standing/sitting next to each other ~ their body language almost always turned toward each other. I put a picture slide show together for my sister to show what I mean ~ there were, literally, only two pictures that didn't apply (where Zach and Cailey were standing apart from each other). I have two photo boxes of non-digital pictures (taken before I owned a digital camera) that prove to have the same pattern. I need to get those pictures scanned into my computer someday.

I love this relationship and I hope that it continues into their adulthood. I hope they will always have each other to lean on and confide in.

I showed Cailey the slide show this morning and told her I loved that her and Zach were such good friends. She replied, "We're more than friends...we're family."

Enough said.

Yoga Masters?

2009-03-13T18:28:00.005-06:00

Well, not yet.

But we're working on it.

Cailey and I have been taking Yoga classes ~ Hot Yoga/CorePower Yoga, to be exact. It's another version of 'regular' Yoga ~ done in a super humid, super hot room (about 85 degrees!). I have never produced so much sweat in all my life. But, it's so rewarding ~ it feels so wonderful when you are done! The bonus part is that I don't have sore knees or sore shins...but I still feel lighter and so relaxed when it's over.
My goal is so use Yoga to supplement my other workouts (especially the running) and to lengthen and stretch my muscles ~ hopefully giving them a leaner look. Cailey does really well and likes to show off her youthful muscles by doing some of those crazy balancing Yoga poses with such ease. I have a long way to go before I can do some of those. I am pleasantly surprised with myself and I think I have happened upon something I really love! AND...Cailey and I can do it together ~ yet another positive thing about my kids getting older! So far, I am not missing any of the baby stages...been there, done that! :o) Now we get to do fun stuff together.

Holy pants, Batman!

2009-03-10T04:00:00.006-06:00

Within three weeks time, Ben has managed to put a hole in not one...

...not two...

...but, three pair of pants!!! (I left the third pair dirty for the picture so you can see how dirty this kid gets in one day!)

And, if three pairs of pants weren't enough, Ben added a pair of shoes, too! We just bought these at Christmas!!!

What. Is. This. Kid. Doing. All. Day???!!! Cailey never wore through a single piece of clothing (that I can remember), but Ben seems to have a knack for it. Is it a boy thing???

Time Warp Thursday

2009-03-05T00:00:00.005-07:00

Messing around with the camera

March 5, 2006

watch Ben's expression...

This and That

2009-03-03T16:30:00.006-07:00

I have random pictures that I have taken within the last couple of months and haven't found time to devote individual posts to each of the them. So, I am throwing them all together with just a little comment. It's unbelievable, but I can keep my comments short..it is possible :o)

Ben eating his THIRD Macaroni Grill Meatball. He doesn't eat the noodles...just the meatballs! He gets very excited about these meatballs!

Swinging at the new park by our house...

Ben practicing writing his name

Cailey drinking from the carton...yuck, yuck, yuck. Don't worry I would never allow her to do this unless it was the last bit.

A couple pictures of Cailey at her Girl Scouts Thinking Day Event ~ their troop country was Madagascar

Trickle down theory...

2009-03-01T10:15:00.006-07:00

...of home improvement. Once you start...it just seems to keep going...

First we replaced the counter tops with granite (always in the plan from when we had the house built seven years ago)...but, then we needed to replace the stove because the old one didn't really work well with the new counter and it was white and seemed to stain even with boiled-over water...so we replaced it with a black stove (I am not a fan of stainless steel...mostly because I can't spend my life cleaning off the finger prints... :o)Then we added drawer pulls and cupboard nobs...

...we recently replaced the dishwasher because the old one started to sound like a jet taking off and didn't clean the dishes that well...

...which is next to the old white sink and really didn't look good...so we replaced the sink and faucet...

...now the white microwave near the black dishwasher and black sink doesn't look good AT ALL...plus, the double ovens and refrigerator are white and will need to be replaced...will it ever end???

We bought new pendants lights and are waiting for them to come in...we will put those up over the island counter...then, we are having someone come tonight to give us a quote on refacing our cupboards...we need to have the hardwood floors redone within the next couple of years.

See? Trickle down.

Time Warp Thursday

2009-02-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have no idea why my kids are goof-balls. Nope. No idea. I'd like to say these are rare and unusual happenings at our house. But, alas, they are not. I have tons of pictures like this. It's totally Darling Husband's fault. I swear.

A taste for fine cooking

2009-02-25T18:51:00.006-07:00

I wish I were an ~~excellent~~ ~~normal~~ ~~good~~ decent cook ~ let's get real here, I am not aiming high.

I like to cook but I don't enjoy any part of the planning...figuring out what to cook and grocery shopping ~ no, Terra, I am not going anywhere near your planning project.

What's worse, is I seem to be surrounded by great cooks. I wish I could pull leftover food odds and ends out of the pantry or refrigerator and on a whim throw a fabulous, delicious meal together ~ like it's magic or something.

I can't do that. I have to use a recipe. Even then, chances are it's going to go awry somewhere along the line and not turn out quite the way I intended. Over the years Darling Husband has smiled nicely and gulped down plenty horrible, horrible...really horrible experiments ~ it wasn't pretty...or tasty...I assure you. I have a few staple recipes that I know by heart and can make in a pinch ~ but those are usually recipes that have been passed down to me. I don't usually vary the recipe for fear of it going terribly wrong and poisoning my whole family.

I swear that my kids will eat anything that's made for them. Unless I make it. We eat out a lot.

But, alas, when we eat at home I am the one that does the cooking ~ our schedules just don't allow it to be any different.

The part that makes me go grrrr is that Darling Husband is a great cook! But you wouldn't know it. He doesn't cook but once...hhmmm...a year! I know this because I usually ask him to cook that one meal. He will argue that point, but I assure you it isn't much more than that. No, Sweetheart ~ frozen pizzas, hot dogs, corn dogs, and soup from a can do not count as cooking our family meal.

I finally ~~begged~~ ~~bribed~~ asked Darling Husband to make me dinner the other night! He makes the most wonderful Lemon Herb Ravioli and it is one of my favorite meals!! I realize the picture doesn't do it justice, but this is my most favorite meal and I wish DH would make it more often. I admit, I know how to make it, but it seems to taste better when he does it :o)

Good Luck!

2009-02-22T07:57:00.002-07:00

Good Luck tonight, Amy! I hope you have fun tonight! We'll be watching and, as always, we are rooting for you! So, whether you bring that little man home with you tonight or not, we will (and always have) think you are fantastic! We love you, tons!

Musings of a 3 year old...

2009-02-21T08:08:00.004-07:00

Benjamin is one of the funniest kids I have ever met. He makes me laugh out loud every single day ~ I am not exaggerating. Scott and I say every day that we need to have a pen and paper ready so we can write all these things down...we never do, or they happen while I am driving...it's always something that keeps me from actually writing them down. I get so mad at myself because I can't remember some of the most hilarious conversations!

Ben: How far to Cailey's dance school?
Mom: Oh, about five minutes
...several minutes later...
Ben: How far now?
Mom: Maybe 1 minute
Ben: No, you're supposed to say 5, then 4, then 3...
Mom: Says who?
Ben: Daddy
Mom: What...is Daddy the boss or something?
Ben: No, he's just a perfect daddy.
------------------------------------------------
Ben: What's that building called?
Mom: The post office.
Ben: Check! The post office! Not the po-leece office. I sure do like the post office! I don't like the po-leece office, the po-leece office is not fun, huh Mommy?
Mom: Probably not.
Ben: But, that post office is fun. I stand in line and I wait and then I leave. That's what I'm talkin' about!
------------------------------------------
Ben: I need you to lay in my bed so I can talk to you.
I lay down with him
Ben: I am going to close my eyes and think about race cars...and monsters...monsters driving the race cars.
Mom: Are they nice monsters or mean monsters?
Ben: Hmmmm...they are nice monsters. We don't have mean monsters because Daddy kicked their butts out of our house!
Mom: Uh, huh. (suppressing a laugh) Are the monsters driving fast?
Ben: OH, YEAH...I sure do like to drive fast! Yes, I do!!
------------------------------------
Making things with Legos -

Ben: This is my auba-dauba

Mom: What's an auba-dauba?

Ben: Uh, it's actually just an auba-dauba...duh!

-----------------------------
Ben: Daddy. We need to talk. There are a lot of snacks in this house and I want to eat them all.

--------------------------------

This conversation happens often in some form or another ~ Ben thinks it's hilarious and always (eventually) catches me off guard or distracted and then I make my mistake...sneaky little kid:

Ben: We don't say stupid in our family.

Mom: Nope we don't

Ben: Stupid is not a nice word, we don't say stupid, stupid is bad.

Mom: Right. So, please stop saying it.

Ben: Correct. I don't say stupid. We don't call our friends stupid. If someone says stupid, we should say, 'no thank you' because stupid isn't nice. Right, Mom. Stupid isn't nice.

Mom: Ben, please stop saying stupid.

Ben: MMOOOOMMMM!!!! YOU SAID STUPID!!!!

-----------------------------------
And...our favorite little frequently heard quotes from Ben...
- "I sure do like..." (fill in the blank with just about anything)

- "Are you kidding me???" ~ hands thrown up

- "Sanks, Dude." ~ translation: Thanks, Dude...but he says it with the s sound.

- "Get your head out of your glass" or "Ugh! What is wrong with you people?" - my all time favorites and frequently hurled at other drivers on the road...even when we are waiting at a stop light :o)
- *heavy, exasperated sigh* "Mommy, I can't remember the words!" He's trying to "read" a book by himself
- "Grandma. I love you." This kid is GOOD and knows who to butter-up!

New Blog in Town!

2009-02-20T08:45:00.005-07:00

There's a new blog in town!

My good friend, Terra, has created a great new blog devoted to book reviews ~ what a fantastic idea!!! Check this new blog out! She will be kicking this new blog off with a great new book and there will even be a GIVEAWAY straight from the author! So, my fellow Bloggies, subscribe in a reader, email or follow the blog! Happy reading! click on the happy little owl above to take you straight to Tales from the Nightstand!

Time Warp Thursday

2009-02-19T00:00:00.002-07:00

Benjamin ~ May 2006

I couldn't decide which picture I like better, so I posted them both!

Happy Birthday, Dan!

2009-02-15T00:00:00.001-07:00

Hope you had a great day! See you in May...

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

Time Warp Thursday

2009-02-12T00:00:00.001-07:00

This is the only pregnant picture of me while I was pregnant with Ben. I think I am about six-ish months pregnant. I didn't realize at the time (or maybe it's just the picture), but 'the girls' were GI-NORMOUS...my goodness! :o) I was already gaining a ton of weight...weight that I am still trying to shed...

Time Warp Thursday

2009-02-05T00:00:00.003-07:00

February 2006

Cailey's first ski trip

Benjamin waiting for Cailey to finish skiing

Oops, he did it again!

2009-01-31T19:49:00.004-07:00

I retract my previous statement about Scott not doing this very often ~ http://coadamsfamily.blogspot.com/2009/01/who-knew.html. Maybe he's the one becoming accident prone ~ instead of me. But, I am not making this post to laugh or poke fun. He really needs sympathy this time. I truly feel bad for him.

Scott was washing the car in the driveway ~ trying to save some money by not using the car wash down the street. Even though it was 68 degrees today, he somehow found some ice leftover on our driveway and he slipped and fell. He went head first ~ all his body weight onto his head on the concrete. O-U-C-H!!!! With blood streaming down his face, I had to convince him to go to the Urgent Care ~ in fact, it took a call to his dad on Skype (we love Skype!) to convince him he should at least get it checked out. Yes, I told on him to his dad...I did it...I am not too proud to bring in the big guns when necessary.

Approximately 1 hour later and a $50 co-pay (s0 much for saving money), he walked out of Urgent Care with seven stitches in his head and a tetanus shot in his arm...and a GI-NORMOIUS goose egg on his head! I feel so bad for him and I am trying to be extra nice (trying :o). I love you, baby ~ sorry that happen :o/

Momma got a new pair of shoes!

2009-01-30T10:57:00.008-07:00

They're only running shoes...nothing really exciting. Except that I giggled at myself for getting SO excited over a pair of running shoes... not even a sexy pair of Jimmy Choo or Manolo Blahnik ~ okay, FINE, I can't afford those anyway...but you get the idea. Man, I'm getting old! Next thing you know I'll be posting about my great new pair of orthopedic walking shoes! Really, that's not so far off, either.

I have needed new running shoes for some time. But, I waited to invest in a really great pair until I knew I could stick with this running thing. I am up to running between 3 and 4 miles a day, five days a week. We are running another 5K Sunday morning ~ the Super Bowl 5k! Unfortunately, I have been getting these terrible shin splints that required ice and then a heating pad at night. I decided that it was time for new, actual running shoes ~ I have cross-trainers now...which, apparently, is the kiss of death for your feet when you are running ...they are good for walkers, but not so much for runners. I found out that I pronate something fierce...no idea what that meant, so I smiled and nodded at the helpful athletic-shoe-lady and bought the shoes she shoved at me and said would solve all my problems. I even bought the inserts that will further help me since my ~~stupid feet suck~~ condition requires a little more support. I have to say that my fancy-schmacy new shoes did work really great ~ I ran 4.5 miles and I had no pain in my shins! The shoes weren't that expensive, either. I was expecting to have to pay over $100...but I didn't...barely... but I didn't! Yeah, me! However, I am a firm believer in that, in most cases, you get what you pay for ~ so I am still skeptical about these new shoes. Time will tell.
I did look up pronate when I got home to make sure I wasn't being given ~~a load of crap~~ misguided information. It's true, my ankles roll inward because the tendon is weak and/or short. Nothing I can do to fix it...it's just the way I was born. Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad. I blame you... now you owe me $100 :o) :o) :o) Kidding, of course. (I'll still take the $100.) :o) :o)

Time Warp Thursday

2009-01-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

Cailey

September 2004

Carrie and Brandon's Wedding

Congratulations!

2009-01-27T12:50:00.002-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS TO ED AND KATIE DARYL ON YOUR WEDDING ENGAGEMENT!!

WE ARE EXCITED TO WELCOME KATIE DARYL INTO OUR FAMILY!!!

25 random things about me

2009-01-26T09:46:00.005-07:00

25 random things, facts, habits, shortcomings or goals about me .

1. I am painfully shy ~ yes, I know, shocker

2. I have lived in CA, CO, UT, AZ, and OH

3. I went to four different high schools ~ a different one each year ~ and I was in the National Honor Society.

4. I hate Christmas music, but I love Christmas lights

5. I am learning to be comfortable in my own skin

6. I am married to the person who knows me better than anyone... and still likes me. I have one daughter and one son, Cailey has blue eye and Ben has brown eyes (love that!). All three make me laugh everyday.

7. I love, love, love the Valentine's Day conversation hearts and wait all year long to have them!

8. I am spiritual, but I am not religious

9. I love to travel and wish I could do it more; someday I will get to Paris and London...plus countless other locations on my list...

10. I wanted to be a nurse when I was little, but now I am not sure what I want to be when I grow up :o)

11. I have one biological brother, one biological sister, 5 step-sisters, 3 step-brothers, 10 nephews, 1 niece, 3 and 1 to-be brother-in-laws, 1 sister-in-law...oh, bother...this could go on forever!

12. I've had three surgeries; two c-sections and my gall bladder removed

13. I love dessert ~ almost any kind of dessert will do, but I especially enjoy fruit pies with whipped cream.

14. I hate to dance (see number 1), but it makes me smile to watch other people dance.

15. I put myself through college ~ worked full time, got married, and had a baby...and I still graduated...with honors (Cum Laude)!

16. I love bubble baths ~ they are best with a good book and a glass of wine

17. I like to go out to eat ~ be it breakfast, lunch, dinner, or just dessert/cocktails. I especially like to go out with a group of friends and/or family and I actually get giddy with anticipation!

18. I really like Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes ~ I love when they bring this back each year!

19. I force myself to stay awake during a professional massage because I want to enjoy every single minute of it!

20. I like to cross-stitch ~ an "old-lady" hobby is what Scott calls it ~ and I can sew, but I wish I had more time to do it.

21. I like to go to the movie theater by myself ~ especially when it's a "chick flick"

22. I can develop black & white photos and would like to set up my own dark-room in the basement someday. For me, the dark-room is very therapeutic.

23. I love to hear the National Anthem and it makes we tear up when I hear it.

24. I sob every single time I watch the grave site scene in the movie Steel Magnolias.

25. My favorite color is pink and my favorite flower is the Tulip.

The common criminal?

2009-01-24T16:00:00.006-07:00

This is Ben trying to act coy like nothing was out of the ordinary:

This is Ben telling me he doesn't have anything in his pocket ~ even though I can see that there is something in his pocket and he is really, really trying to protect it:

This is Ben finally fessing-up to the candy he was sly enough to sneak off the counter and try to smuggle to school in his pocket:

Ben knew EXACTLY what he was doing and was trying really hard to hide that candy from me. Ben quickly learned that Mommy knows everything and he will get caught every time! So, now I need to figure out how to ~~stop him from becoming a teenager~~ catch him doing everything!

2009-01-22T14:16:00.003-07:00

Today I harbored a fugitive.

Yes, I admit it. I took in a fugitive. This boy had escaped from his backyard and I couldn't resist his sweet face, or his wagging tail, or the way his ears perked up. I let him seek refuge in my house. But, alas, I was forced to turn him in to his human. His human came to retrieve him and he is back in secure custody.

The whole story: He showed up in front of my house just as I pulled into the garage. He happily ran over to me and I cautiously got a chance to look at his collar tags. His name is Smoke and he lives just around the corner. I was afraid he would head to the busy street and get hit by a car, so I walked him back to his house but nobody was home. I couldn't put him back in the yard because he had dug a hole under the fence. I called the phone number on his tag ~ no answer, so I left a message that I was holding the dog for them. I let Smoke come in the house and get a drink of water. He's a really sweet boy and kept me company for about 30 minutes. Luckily, we being kept in the backyard with a new puppy ~ but, according to the owner, the puppy didn't bother to escape. So, now they are both home and safe.

Congrats!

2009-01-22T08:12:00.002-07:00

Congrats, Amy! We love you!!!

Time Warp Thursday

2009-01-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

California May 2006

Utah visit

2009-01-20T17:51:00.006-07:00

On Wednesday we decided to hop in the car and drive to Utah on Thursday. Yes, we decided the day before. Cailey and Scott had Monday (the 19th) off and I had a really funky feeling that we needed to visit Scott's Grandma Colleen. GG Colleen (as Ben refers to her) has never met Ben and Cailey was only 2-ish the last time GG Colleen saw her. We haven't had a chance to visit so many relatives that live in Utah and it was about time we made the trek. Grandma K was able to go with us, too! We left Thursday evening and arrived at GG Colleen's house at about 2:30a. It was an okay drive, except that part where Scott got a speeding ticket...again. Yes, Scott got a ticket for going 75 in a 65...not so bad, really. But, the police officer was trying to look for every reason to add to our ticket ~ checked all the lights intensely, even asked if our kids were in car seats! Yeah, duh!...and shined his flash light in Ben's sleeping face...and woke Ben up. I was irritated with the cop, he wasn't being very nice. I teased that he was mad because I have University of Colorado Alumni license plates...and we were just outside Laramie. Maybe he was just being a jerk.

We seriously surprised GG Colleen and spent several days visiting all sorts of family.

Friday: We had lunch at a popular beef/chicken place on the way to Logan...but I can't remember the name of it. It was yummy food. Then we drove to Logan to visit the land investment we have with Scott's sisters ~ there is big promise in that land investment!!! Whoo-hoo! This is a picture of the view near our land ~ look how beautiful the mountains look. This was even a cloudy day, so you can imagine the way it looks on a clear day. So pretty.

Saturday: We went to breakfast at The Oaks, a restaurant up the Ogden Canyon. It's so beautiful and had lots of snow. The restaurant food was yummy and GG Colleen got to see Ben eat sausages ~ it's a fun experience to see Ben eat sausages. I found out at breakfast that morning that GG Colleen is almost 80 years old and has never had a pedicure or manicure. That's just not right. So, the girls all headed to the nail salon for GG Colleen's very first pedicure and manicure. Saturday night was spent eating homemade spaghetti (YUM!) with Scott's Uncle and Aunt and cousins. Ben was thrilled to have little cousin Riley come and visit. Baby Boston (3 months old!) was so cute! We enjoyed seeing family and spending time getting to know some of the family again.
Sunday: We spent the morning taking it easy. Poor GG Colleen has been run ragged and her back was hurting her pretty bad. So, it was a good rest day for GG Colleen and Grandma Kathryn while we went south to Scott's cousins from his dad's family. We got to visit with Aunt Vicki, Cousin Steve and his family (Lisa, Adam, Alyssa, Eric, & Brittany), Cousin Wendy and her family (Doug, Josh, Jacob, Alexis, and Taylor). They made us a wonderful late lunch ~ complete with a chocolate fountain!!!! Then we met Andres, Olivia, and Lexi for dinner. I was only sad that we didn't get to spend more time talking and laughing with everyone. Such a great visit.

Monday: We left for our long drive home. We enjoyed seeing GG Colleen and we hope she can make it out to Denver soon for a visit!

Time Warp Thursday

2009-01-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Rich's birthday is tomorrow, so this Time Warp Thursday is dedicated to Rich!

I am not sure of the dates...clearly, it was a looooonnnngggg time ago! :o)

...And still playing (July 2008):

Happy Birthday, Richard!!!

Who knew?

2009-01-11T20:37:00.008-07:00

Who knew

that taking down the Christmas lights

would be so dangerous?

MORE: HE FELL OFF THE LADDER!!!! Well, sort of...the top of the ladder slipped off the edge of the roof while he was on it and he fell with the ladder to the ground...into the rocks/bushes...Griswold style (from Christmas Vacation...Chevy Chase...can you see it?) I can't stop laughing...every time I look at him I start laughing. I had asked him if he wanted my help or needed me to hold the ladder... but nope, he could do it. Even better, he fell last year (same exact thing!) but caught himself and was hanging from the gutter ~ bent the gutter all up and busted up his hand. I didn't see either incident, but I have these hilarious visuals in my head. He doesn't do things this embarrassing very often so, yes, I am taking advantage of it! Next year, I am setting up a not-so-secret video camera!

Time Warp Thursday

2009-01-08T00:00:00.001-07:00

Ben's First Birthday - July 5, 2006

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T10:08:00.002-07:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We spent New Year's Eve at Keith (with an A....HA!!!!) and Lorna's house ~ Holly, Randy, Matt, Zach, Nick, and Bill were there, too. Good times!!!

2009 ~ here we come!!!!!

Atlanta ~ Day 8

2008-12-31T09:21:00.010-07:00

Saturday, December 27. Our Atlanta trip had come to a close. Our flight didn't leave until 9:20 PM. We flew on Delta for the first time ever and possibly the last time ever. I will avoid, at all costs, having to fly Delta Airlines in the future. Our flight back to Denver was worse than the flight out ~ but, Ben didn't get sick this time. The flight was delayed 1 1/2 hours out of Atlanta, not because of weather, but because one of the flight attendants had an "accident" and they were waiting for a replacement. Huh? That's a first. Then it took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to get our luggage after we landed in Denver. I realize this time of year is always difficult, but it was midnight in Denver and the airport was nearly empty except for the few Delta flights stuck waiting around at the baggage claim. Holly came to pick us up from the airport and had to wait all that time, too ~ sorry, Hol. We didn't get home until 1:30 AM. I was very tired and very angry. We did not have a good experience on Delta Airlines for either flight.

On another note, I was thinking of all the fun things from our Atlanta trip. I know there are many more, but these are a few that stick out in my mind:

Playing Wii ~ Lily and Cailey kicked butt in bowling!
Eating TONS of good food ~ It was "calorie free" week :o) But, somehow I think I gained 10 pounds :o)
Carne Asada!!!!
Ugly Christmas Sweater party ~ Juli and Robert's friends are really fun!
Hearing Lily and Ben say they are "best friends"
All four kids playing so nicely ~ I still can't believe how well they all got along! Ben says his favorite part was, "Playing nicely with Lily" ~ I swear, his words totally! That is cute.
Playing "cooking" with Ben and Lily
Playing "school" with Ben, Cailey, and Lily ~ Lily was the teacher and boy did she take her job serious :o) I joke that Cailey and Lily compete for high-ranking diva-dom in our family :o) They are such girls.
Lily's reaction when she opened gifts, "OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH. IT'S JUST WHAT I WANTED. What is it?"
Being there to see Dane learn to say "CHHHEEEESSSSE" with a big cheesy grin!
Christmas morning! ~ Cailey's favorite part
All 10 of us packed into the truck for our drive around Lake Linear to look at all the light displays!
The Christmas Village and the live Nativity scene at Lake Linear, plus the hot cocoa (BONUS!) and cotton candy (Ben informed us that that is his favorite part about the carnival!)
The sudden Georgia DOWN POUR OF RAIN at the Christmas Village ~ it was the craziest thing I have ever seen
The funny face camera program on Robert's computer ~ Cailey and Lily laughed so hard playing with this program; making bug eyes, big chins, pink hair...
Matching PJs
The MARTA ride from the airport ~ we get a five year cap on talking/complaining/bringing up this topic...yes, Juli...Scott and I decided five years would be sufficient! HEE HEE :o) :o)
Driving around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights ~ hearing Ben get really excited about the palm tree light display in front of one house.
Listening to music in the kitchen while we cooked ~ how many songs are there about Julie's? :o)
Our "European" style Christmas dinner ~ we had a three hour delicious dinner of salad, steak, mushrooms, potatoes, asparagus with hollandaise sauce and, or course, lots of wine :o)
Friday night at the Irish pub ~ playing pool and listening to live music by a young guy that sounded a lot like Grandpa Rich...ahhhh, memories.
The Georgia Aquarium ~ we went early only to find a huge line...but the line was much, much, much longer when we left later in the afternoon.
Skype-ing
Noodle Art ~ my new favorite thing!
Re-connecting with a sister and her family. Love you, Juls.
Making memories to last a life time.

Atlanta ~ Day 7

2008-12-31T08:23:00.005-07:00

Friday. We all headed off to the Georgia Aquarium. It is a HUGE aquarium ~ the Denver aquarium is good, but this one is a lot better. The kids, especially Cailey, were very excited. Once we got there, we found out that most of Georgia had the same idea that we did...okay, it wasn't most of Georgia (duh), but it certainly felt like it. This place was packed with people, shoulder to shoulder. But, we are nothing if not persistent and we took our deep breaths and pushed forward. We did skip several attractions, but the kids didn't notice and we ended up spending most of the day at the aquarium.

Friday night Scott, Juli, Robert, and I went to dinner, a movie, and drinks while Grandpa Rich and Grandma Sunny watched all the kids. It was a great kid-free night and the grandparents got some good quality time with the kids ~ they got a bath and some fruit smoothies. Cailey enjoyed being the "helper" all night.

I don't normally keep the pictures of the animals/fish, but I love the jelly fish and these are a couple of my favorite photos. I just think these pictures are beautiful:

Atlanta ~ Day 6

2008-12-30T13:45:00.006-07:00

Thursday. Christmas Day. I won't comment much, except to say, it was a wonderful day filled with lots of family time together. The kids have played so nicely all week ~ with only a few disagreements and no fights!! They have all been great. We had a non-traditional Christmas dinner of steak, potatoes, and salad. The kids definitely enjoyed the gifts, but I think they enjoyed being with each other more. Ben and Lily love each other and said several times they were best friends. So, my Christmas prayer this year is that all the cousins stay close to each like this forever. Ben misses his cousins (all of them) terribly ~ I guess he is like his mommy and wants family around all the time :o)

Atlanta ~ Day 5

2008-12-30T08:21:00.012-07:00

Wednesday. Christmas Eve Day. A busy day that started with a trip to the Urgent Care to find out why Ben still wasn't feeling well and complaining of neck and ear pain. The Urgent Care didn't open until 11:00 AM, but we were there at 10:30 AM ~ whoo hoo, a chance to make a quick stop at Starbucks! When we arrived back at the UC (11:06 AM), we encountered some not-so-Southern-hospitality from the ~~mean~~ lady at the front desk because we had taken a 'number' and should have been there 6 minutes ago when they opened the doors. I made a not-so-quiet-comment about the rudeness and the apparent myth that Southern women were nice. Someone must have heard me, because after that we were treated VERY nicely ~ everyone was nice as pie...Southern pie, that is :o) $50 and two hours later we left ~ Ben just had a virus and some sores on the back of his throat that needed to be treated with Motrin around the clock ~ that's it! Geesh.

While we were gone, Juli let Cailey, Lily, and Dane take a bath and let Cailey and Lily have a picnic lunch in their bathrobes on the floor in her bedroom ~ so cute.

After we were all showered and ready, we ate dinner, Grandma Sunny gave Baby Dane his very first hair cut, and then we helped decorate the Gabsa's tree (they waited to put the ornaments on until Christmas Eve). Cailey really liked that part. Then we went to Lake Linear to see all the light displays (driving several miles around the lake that was decorated with so many light displays...it was amazing), the live Nativity scene (that was cool), and the Christmas Village (with carnival rides and all!). After a late night out, we let the kids open one Christmas Eve gift ~ matching PJs!! Thanks Juli!!! The kids had a really great night and, as the mantra went all night, "This is what memories are made of!" :o) We sure created a lot of memories!

Christmas Eve Day:

Christmas Eve at Lake Linear:

Atlanta ~ Day 4

2008-12-29T13:06:00.007-07:00

Tuesday. We spent most of the day doing last minute Christmas shopping and grocery shopping. We had a blast eating Juli and Robert's famous Carne Asada for dinner (YUM!) and playing Wii late into the night. There was a lot of resting and snuggle time for everyone throughout the day. Ben still wasn't feeling well and went to bed early, I joined him :o) Dane seemed to be having a blast with so many people around to play with. Cailey and Lily were great and enjoyed playing Wii with everyone.

Atlanta ~ Day 3

2008-12-29T10:22:00.011-07:00

Monday. We started the day early with Ben wide awake at the crack of dawn and Dane up shortly after him.

Ben and Dane watching morning cartoons:

This picture is of Dane sneaking up on the stool by the sink. I was washing Ben's hands at the sink, went to put something away, and as I walked back I see this little blond head pop up over the counter. I started to laugh and grabbed the camera...I thought it was so cute. Obviously, after I took the picture, I moved the stool and gave him a strong "no, no" ~ he smiled at me. Love that Dane.

Lily had to go to the doctor on Monday...she has asthma and the beginning of pneumonia ~ what a way to start Christmas. By the end of Tuesday evening and a couple of breathing treatments, Lily was feeling much better.

Scott, Robert, and I took Cailey and Benjamin to Monkey Joe's ~ it's a huge warehouse of bouncing things. Lily and Dane didn't go because they were napping and not feeling well. We promised Cailey and Ben we would go and during nap time was the only option. It was a great way to let Cailey and Ben blow off some steam. Just a few picture:

This is my favorite picture from Monkey Joe's. Robert took this picture with his phone of Cailey flipping upside down. I absolutely love this picture. I think it captures the mood of the day.

Grandma and Grandpa Adams arrived from Phoenix late Monday night. Ben still wasn't feeling up to par, so he was sound asleep on me on the couch when they arrived at the house. The other kids were up and were excited to see Grandma and Grandpa ~ all of the kids ran up to them and gave them big hugs and kisses!

Atlanta ~ Day 2

2008-12-29T09:06:00.004-07:00

We spent the day recovering from a long travel day and a late night. We managed to make it out of the house for dinner at Steaks and Shakes. That's about it. The kids played SOOO nicely together and it was nice to just hang out with the Gabsa's.

If you are thinking of taking a big trip with kids...

2008-12-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

... DON'T!!

Once again, Ben got sick on the way out of town for our big vacation (see July post for a reminder of our last big trip). We were fine, great even, until we went through security at the airport. Ben got really agitated and upset and started crying ~ uncharacteristically...he's usually very easy going and doesn't get upset about much. He was clingy and whiny and whimpering. I figured he was just nervous and scared about flying, but at the gate he suddenly spiked a fever and wouldn't eat. He was limp and pale, so I gave him some of the Tylenol I had packed in my purse (I threw it in my purse just at the last minute, thankfully!). Just as we were getting in line to board the plane, Ben said his tummy hurt and then proceeded to throw up all over the carpet at our gate and, after I flung into action and lifted him over the trash can, he finished by spewing his entire stomach contents into the trash can (so much for the Tylenol) ~ at least it wasn't on me, Scott, Cailey, more of the carpet, or anything else we were carrying ~ yes, that's the silver lining in the story. By the time we got in our seats and in the air, the flight had been delayed an hour (ugh!). Then we arrived in Atlanta and waited 45 minutes (!!!!!!) for our luggage. The topper was having to take the MARTA (mass-transit rail system) through downtown Atlanta on a Saturday night (the train was PACKED), with more luggage then we could handle and a sick kid. By the time we arrived at Juli and Robert's house, I was done. But, we were scheduled to go to an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" party. I was prepared to back out and stay home with the kids (and with the babysitter), but Juli and Robert convinced us to go ~ the kids would be fine with the babysitter and Ben was fully medicated with Motrin.

The party was a good way to defuse and mellow out after a very stressful travel day. Thanks to Juli, Scott and I had matching Christmas turtlenecks to wear!!! I wonder where those went after the party??? They were so cute, after all. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves :o) :o) I used some discretion and only included the more mild pictures (HEE HEE).

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

More to come later, but for now...

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Another early Christmas

2008-12-18T23:36:00.003-07:00

We had another early Christmas before we leave for Atlanta. We met with the Emerson girls and exchanged gifts and wishes for a great holiday ~ I love my blocks, Terra! Then, The Bergs came over and we had another gift opening. Ben thinks that Christmas is everyday ~ because of all the Christmas decorations and the fact that we has gotten to open Christmas gifts on several different days :o)

Time Warp Thursday

2008-12-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

California ~ May 2006

Record low

2008-12-15T09:55:00.006-07:00

From record highs of 100+ degrees....

...to record lows in only a few months. We reached -18 degrees last night. Ben is trying to demonstrate his smokey-breath from the cold. :o)

Early Christmas

2008-12-14T12:53:00.003-07:00

We are going to Atlanta for Christmas so we decided (on the spur of the moment) to celebrate Christmas last night. Because it was last minute, only Richie and Kathryn were able to make it. None the less, we had the kids open gifts from us, Grandma K, and Richie ~ Santa will be bringing his gifts to Atlanta :o) We wanted to let the kids open the gifts now from us so they have some time to enjoy them before we hop on a plane and leave the new presents here. Ben was very excited about every gift and enjoyed lining his gifts up in a straight line :o) Cailey liked everything, too. They are still young enough that they don't care about the cost ~ it's just the thought that counts and the thrill of opening a present. Some of their favorites are the least expensive. That's nice ~ for us :o) :o)

Cailey got a brand new bike, clothes, books, jewelry, and craft projects. Ben got a new computer game (Kid Pix) with a wireless mouse, movies, toy cars, board games, and toys. We got Ben the computer game because, unbeknownst to us (until last weekend), he knows how to work the computer ~ he uses the mouse like a pro...clicks and drags, erases, clicks in and out of programs...it's really very cute...and disturbing. Our three year old can use the computer better than some adults. He has computer class at school, so I guess it doesn't surprise me when I think about it ~ but it was quite surprising as I watched him for the first time at the Apple store doing things I never showed him and had no idea he even knew how to do! He gets really focused on his computer project ~ he never sits still that long for anything else.

As a bonus, Richie and Kathryn helped us decorate our tree. We've had the tree up for weeks, but have been so busy that we haven't put any ornaments on it. It was actually a lot of fun to have a bunch of people decorating the tree! I am glad we waited.

Shim Sham Shimmy

2008-12-12T22:49:00.005-07:00

Cailey did her mid-year Tap3 review last night. There are only two of them in the class ~ Cailey and the little boy, Camden. They have been in tap together since the beginning and they are starting to get really good. The first dance is a famous tap dance called the Shim Sham Shimmy. I think they did a good job with it. They will continue to perfect that dance. But, they are also working on their dance for the big recital in June. Cailey and Camden will join the girls from Tap2 on that dance so it's a bigger group. They think they are going to do "You're The One That I Want" from Grease. It would have a good part in it for Camden. So, enjoy the Shim Sham Shimmy and the mid-year 'taste' of Cailey in Tap3. We are very proud of her and she loves it so much!

Time Warp Thursday

2008-12-11T00:00:00.004-07:00

Cailey's First Dance Recital - June 2004

Ben's Winter Festival

2008-12-10T08:29:00.011-07:00

Ben had his very first ~~Christmas~~ 'Winter Festival' concert. We started out good ~ I brought dinner to school and we all ate in his classroom. We didn't have time to go to dinner and get back in time so I just brought dinner to the school. Ben needed to eat first or he would have been a grouch. Unfortunately, just as we were leaving the classroom to take Ben to the 'holding room', Ben bumped his head (his ear) hard on the shelf in the classroom...so then his ear was bright red and he wasn't very agreeable. But, we successfully cheered him up and left to find ~~a seat~~ standing room...in front of other people...who didn't like having people stand in front of them ~ but there really was no other choice! Ben's class came out and, as you can see in the video, Ben was singing until he jumped and bumped his elbow ~ the rest of the video is of him crying. Scott and I both tried to get him to stop crying from our standing position way in the back of the room. He only had to sing three total songs! But no, he cried for most of the time and the whole way out of the gym. They went back to the holding room, where Ben received a 'Boo-boo Pad' for his elbow and all was well again for the finale. There is a little bit at the end of the video of him singing during the finale. Enjoy the video...it's really kinda funny. I edited out most of it ~ since he was just crying anyways :o) Sorry about all the bumping around ~ 1) I am clearly not a good videographer, 2) we were standing in a walk way of sorts and I was trying to stay out of the way, and 3) someone at the end kept sticking their camera up right in front of Ben's face ....grrrrrr.

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs

2008-12-07T17:32:00.001-07:00

Jeannine asked us if we wanted to go to the museum with her on this last free-day of the year at the museum. Of course we wanted to go! For free! Yes! They have the Dinosaur Exhibit that is going to be leaving Denver soon and I wanted to take the kids to see it ~ particularly Ben because he is obsessed with dinosaurs right now. Ask him to name a dinosaur...he can probably tell you the correct name of the dinosaur. We also invited Kathryn to join us because it was a good opportunity to spend time with the kids.

We started the morning with breakfast downtown. Jeannine, Richie, and Kathryn met us for breakfast ~ we needed to get extra fuel for a day at the museum! Then, Scott headed off to catch up at work (since he left early on Friday) and Richie went back home (he wasn't interested in the Dinosaurs at the museum...geesh!). Jeannine and Kathryn hopped in their cars and met us at the museum. It was still early and it wasn't nearly as crowded as I expected. We headed straight to the Dinosaurs and spent a good portion of the day there ~ learning about fossils and preservation. Then, we headed to the other dinosaur exhibit ~ the one that Denver has all year round ~ and learned more about dinosaurs and evolution. I was really, really surprised at the the interest both of my children showed in these exhibits. We even had time to visit the Space Odyssey exhibit and the Egypt exhibit ~ both kids seemed fascinated. Cailey liked the Space exhibit the best, but it was after lunch time (and nap time) and Ben was getting restless. I will definitely take Cailey back to the museum soon (without Ben) so we can spend some time at the Space exhibit. It was a fun day ~ but now we all need to rest and officially kick the cold bug out of our home. :o)

Saturday ~ revised

2008-12-07T07:36:00.009-07:00

Teddy Bear Tea ~ check.
Birthday party number one ~ nope.
Birthday party number two ~ sort of.

We made it to the Teddy Bear Tea, but Cailey wasn't feeling great. Just tired and worn down with the cold and cough ~ she didn't get a good nights sleep with the cough keeping her awake most of the night. But, Cailey got to participate by donating a teddy bear to a children's group, making a picture frame, and a birthday card for a soldier fighting overseas. Then, they had a cute little tea party and we were done.

We made a quick stop to pick up more Christmas cards and then went home to see if Ben was going to make it to his little friend's birthday party. Nope. Ben's cough was worse and he really needed a good nap if he was going to go to Zach's party that night. So, we skipped the afternoon birthday party.

We gave both kids a decongestant ~ which works great to dry them up and keep the cough at bay (the cough was from all the drainage from the nose...it wasn't a chest thing). Cailey seemed to be okay, but Ben's cough was kinda bad and it makes him gag to the point of throwing up. So, Scott and I took Ben with us to do some Christmas shopping while Cailey hung out with Zach at his birthday party.

Another so-so night of sleep ~ no fevers or anything, just the normal every-day cold. But both kids were coughing and coughing so they didn't get the good deep sleep they need to kick this cold for good. We are now off to the Denver Museum... it's free day at the museum and we want to see the Dinosaur Exhibit before it leaves Denver. The little sniffles won't keep us away.

I've just made several posts, so keep scrolling down to catch up.

Friday night Nutcracker

2008-12-06T08:10:00.006-07:00

On Friday we started the morning with two sick kids ~ coughing, runny noses. I gave them cold medicine and sent them to school ~ only to get a call from Cailey's school (low fever of 99.4 and lots of coughing). I decided to take some Tylenol to the school, but once I got there I decided to go ahead and bring her home since we were scheduled to go see the Nutcracker that evening. I would let her rest at home until it was time to leave. Just as I got home with Cailey, Ben's school called (no fever, but lots of coughing). I called Scott ~ he's on his way home so he can pick up Ben from school!!!! Yeah! I look in Cailey's mouth and see white spots on the back of her throat ~ strep, maybe???? I call the doc and make an appointment for both kids. Luckily, neither of them had anything more than a cold. My date with Cailey to see the Nutcracker was still on. Unfortunately, I was now running 45 minutes behind schedule.

Quick shower, makeup, and hair and we were on our way...only to meet rush-hour traffic...ugh. So, we quickly change plans and decide to stop for dinner closer to home instead of near the theater. If we eat first, the traffic will be less when we get back on the road. Restaurant number 1 ~ 3o minute wait, but has a children's menu. Restaurant number 2 ~ no wait, no children's menu. Hmmmm...door number two, please. Cailey will enjoy Chinese Bistro even if it kills her :o) We actually had a nice dinner and found several menu items that we would both enjoy.

Now, off to the theater. Traffic is much lighter, but we are still running a little late. We arrive at where I thought the theater was ~ nobody around...can't find the actual theater. A quick call to Terra (Lauren was in the Nutcracker and Terra was saving us seats) to find out I was just two streets away from the correct parking garage. I pull up to the parking garage only to suddenly (and to my absolute horror) realize I don't have any cash for parking! Crap. Turn around, drive to the 7-11 across the street, but the ATM is broken and 7-11 won't cash checks!!! WHAT THE *&^%! I look at Cailey, try to figure out how to find parking on the street and get into the theater within five minutes ~ yes, we only had about five minutes. I run back into 7-11 and plead with the nice lady behind the counter to let us park in the 7-11 parking lot for the two hours we needed to watch our first Nutcracker. The nice lady said, "Okay, just this once." I seriously wanted to kiss her. So, we park way down at the end of the parking lot and run ~ me in heels ~ into the theater just in time to find Terra and get seated for a few minutes before the show starts ~ whew. Thankfully, the Nutcracker was great, wonderful, and amazing ~ I am sure glad we didn't miss it. Lauren was great as a mouse and Bon Bon! Cailey enjoyed her first Nutcracker and I was glad we got to see it together...just us, just the girls.

Today is another busy day ~ with the Girl Scout Teddy Bear Tea and two birthday parties. Not, sure how many of these we'll get to with our two little sick-eys.

A Taste of Jazz

2008-12-05T23:14:00.002-07:00

Cailey had her mini mid-year recital on Thursday ~ just a taste of what they have been working on. The weather was horrible which made for a stressful trek to the dance studio and then I had to go get Ben from pre-school and get back to the dance studio in time for the performance. We made it just in time. After the recital, we met Scott at Red Lobster for his birthday dinner ~ Yum!

I finally remembered to video record the performance ~ hope you enjoy the little video. This is her first Jazz class, so she is a bit older than most of the girls. She will have her Tap3 performance on Thursday and I will post that video, too.

Time Warp Thursday

2008-12-04T00:00:00.004-07:00

A special Time Warp Thursday for my husband on his birthday! Love you! I am not positive about all the dates, but they should be pretty close.

Scott ~ circa 1973

Scott ~ circa 1973 or 1974

Juli and Scott ~ circa 1974

Scott ~ circa 1974

look at that 'car seat'!

Scott ~ circa 1975(?)

Even I remember the Big Wheel ~ we had one, too! Scott looks like he's about 4 or 5 (???)
Look how he's grown ~ Like a fine wine, he keeps getting better with age!

Loves!!!

Happy Birthday, Zach!

2008-12-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZACH-MAN!!

HAVE A GOOD DAY! WE'LL SEE YOU SATURDAY!

Happy Birthday, Kevin!

2008-12-01T07:45:00.003-07:00

Happy Birthday, Kev! 4o is a BIG number :o) :o) Glad that's not me (HEE HEE)! Hope you have a great day!

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas!

2008-11-29T10:43:00.008-07:00

We. Got. Snow! We got snow last night! We got snow last night! Ben suited up and played for awhile, making snow angels and snow balls. Ethan and Jackson joined in the fun...being from California, this is the first time they have seen the snow. Cailey put her new ski suit on is still playing outside with her friend Molly. The little guys couldn't take the cold for that long. Yay, snow ~ now, go away. :o) :o) :o)

Happy Birthday, Rich!

2008-11-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Remember ~ You're getting old :o) and won't recover as well in the morning. Hope you have fun tonight!

Happy Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-27T23:19:00.002-07:00

Scott and I started Thanksgiving day with a 5K run! The race started at 9:00a and we finished in 32 minutes 30 seconds! Yeah! It felt great ~ after the race was over ~ it sucked while we were running! :o) We were going to run it with the kids, but Anna and Geoff surprised us and drove into town Wednesday night. We decided, since it was so, so cold, that the kids could stay home with Anna and Geoff. That worked out best. The best part ~ when we checked in for the race we were presented with these numbers:

As you can see, the Universe has spoken: I (wife) am number one, Scott (husband) is number two. For any successful marriage, that fact must be established ~ and now, the Gods have spoken and showed us the sign...it is declared as truth and it is forever accepted as reality! (HA HA HA) :o) :o) This is good ~ and, yes, I framed them!

While we were running Cailey, Jackson, Ben, and Ethan made this sign and hung it on the door:

Jackson was thankful for Cailey ~ (so cute!)

Cailey was thankful for freedom in our country and her family

Ethan drew an E for "Ethan"

Ben drew a ghost and Abby (the hamster)

The rest of our day was about cooking and eating with good friends and family! Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.

Time Warp Thursday - Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

2008-11-27T00:00:00.001-07:00

Thanksgiving in California - 2004

Thanksgiving in Utah - 2005

Look what I did!

2008-11-26T10:04:00.005-07:00

I made drapes for the living room! I sewed them ~ they are even lined! We have lived in this house for six years and I finally got around to buying the fabric and getting them done. I have been putting it off because I kept changing my mind on what I wanted to do...so I finally just settled on something really simple and got 'er done. Yeah, Me!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANNA!

2008-11-20T11:28:00.003-07:00

Happy Birthday, AnnaMarie. We love you! Hope you have a nice day!!!

Time Warp Thursday

2008-11-20T00:00:00.001-07:00

Benjamin and Cailey - October 2005

Did I miss Thanksgiving?

2008-11-19T09:08:00.002-07:00

I am wondering if I missed Thanksgiving this year because I see lots of Christmas decorations already going up ~ even the Christmas tree! Several of our neighbors have put up their Christmas lights and decorations, the stores already have all their Christmas items out. When did decorating for Christmas come before Thanksgiving? I clearly remember using Thanksgiving, or rather, the day after as the marker to pull down all the fall/Thanksgiving decorations and put up the Christmas decorations. So, I have to wonder, did I miss Thanksgiving? Is Christmas coming early :o) and that is why everyone is rushing to put up Christmas stuff. Are we skipping Thanksgiving this year?

Cailey's Poetry

2008-11-16T13:22:00.005-07:00

With Cailey's permission, I am posting a poem she wrote. You may already know that she has a very deep, very pronounced, creative streak running through her, but did you know that she loves to write poetry/verses/songs in her journal? She won't always share them, but she agreed to share this one ~ as long as I typed it just as she wrote it ~ geesh...what's that about?

I am...helpful and special.
I wonder...why the sky is blue.
I hear...the blue birds sing.
I see...the sunset.
I want...everyone to be happy.
I am...helpful and special.

I pretend...to walk on the beach.
I feel...wonderful.
I touch...a kitten's fur.
I worry...about people who don't have friends.
I cry...about all dead things.
I am...helpful and special.

I understand...what some people feel.
I say...everyone needs to have a friend.
I dream...people love me.
I try...to work my hardest.
I hope...you are thankful and caring.
I am...helpful and special.

Time Warp Thursday

2008-11-13T09:15:00.000-07:00

My good friend, Terra, has done 'Wordless Wednesday' on her blog to post older pictures. I think that's a great idea so I am stealing...I mean...copying it. I am going to try to do a post every Thursday as "Time Warp Thursday" (because I am not patient enough to wait until next Wednesday to do Wordless Wednesday!) and I will be posting random older pictures of times gone by. Thanks, Terra. Here's our first:

Cailey - Spring 2004

It's a Big Boy Bed!

2008-11-09T14:07:00.001-07:00

Ben got a new bed yesterday! Well, it's new to him ~ Matt and Zach handed down their race car bed to Ben. Ben's crib converted to a toddler bed ~ using the crib mattress ~ but he has outgrown that bed (actually, a while ago) and is ready for the twin size big boy bed. He is very excited about the race car bed and he had no problem letting his crib go. He loved his crib/toddler bed so much and I was a little worried that he wouldn't sleep well in a new bed. But, he slept in the new bed all night and is now down for a nap in it ~ no problems at all!! YEAH BEN! I went today to buy a new duvet and found a great duvet at Pottery Barn Kids on SALE! Love those sales. I will put the new duvet on the bed tonight after he gets up from his nap. Thanks, Hol for the bed ~ Ben loves it so much!

It all started with a good idea.

2008-11-07T23:09:00.003-07:00

Okay, sometimes I get an idea in my head that I think is so great, so genius, so beyond the realm of good ideas that it is surely going to win me that coveted Super Mom award. I imagine it will be so much fun and so easy that I get gitty with anticipation to share it with my well-behaved, calm, low-maintenance kids. I imagine my children crowding around, their smiles, their hugs, and their kind words as they enjoy and bask in the glow of what I have designed (okay, bought) for them with all my love for them in mind. But then reality slaps me in the face, always too late, and I realize how very, very bad the idea really was.

Cookie decorating may top the list of really bad ideas to do with young kids ~ especially when black frosting is involved. Yes, I concede it was bad from the start. Yes, I admit I didn't think it all the way through. Yes, I confess it was not my shining moment for brilliant ideas.

So, I bought, from the grocery store, a Halloween kit for decorating cookies. The cookies (shaped like pumpkins, bats, and ghosts) were already cooked and the kit came with orange, white, and black frosting. How much easier could that get, I ask you! I planned to bring the kit to the Berg's house on Halloween so that all the kids could partake in my purchase of a great Halloween craft. But, I forgot the kit at home on Halloween ~ Holly, you can thank me with a Starbucks gift card ~ and I didn't remember until Thursday night. Since the cookies were already baked, I had to use it now or never. Ben was at school on Friday, so I let Cailey decorate three cookies ~ at least I was thinking a little ~ and saved three more for Zachary to decorate when he came over.

Here's where the plan went very, very wrong. I picked Ben up from school on my way home with Zach and Cailey. We left the cookie stuff out knowing Zach was going to decorate his when we got home. But as soon as Ben saw the cookie stuff ~ well, it was all down hill from there. I learned quickly that Ben and black frosting DO NOT MIX! Ben had black frosting all over and the more he tried to lick it, the more it spread all over the place. Ben wanted to decorate a cookie (duh) but couldn't squeeze the bag so he decided to lick the end of the frosting bag instead, Cailey was yelling (and then crying) because Ben kept touching/messing up the cookies she decorated, Ben wouldn't stop touching the cookies that Cailey decorated because he was "helping", Zach was getting black frosting all over his clothes (does it come out in the wash?), Ben spilled the sprinkles all over the floor and a cookies (yes, frosting side down), Cailey wanted to use some different "tools" to create her masterpiece, Ben wanted to eat a cookie NOW, Cailey stomped up to her room because Ben decorated the pumpkin that she wanted to decorate... and I was so worried about keeping the black frosting contained (and getting those pictures to commemorate the happy time) that I got all stressed out and neurotic and this scene unfolding in front of me was definitely not what I had envisioned for this particular craft!

And the worst part: after the kids decorated the cookies, the cookies had so much frosting on them that one cookie was more than any of them could handle and now the remaining cookies are sitting on the counter ...calling my name... begging me, I tell you, to devour them... one by one...each yummy pumpkin, each yummy ghost, each yummy bat is disappearing into my belly. Damn those Halloween cookies, damn those good ideas!

Our vote has been cast.

2008-11-04T18:39:00.006-07:00

Busy day. The kids had a dentist appointment this morning AND it's election day! After the dentist appointment, I dropped Ben off at school and then Cailey and I headed over to vote! Cailey was excited to be part of the process and she ended up being the only kid in her class to go to an actual voting location ~ I thought that was a little weird...I thought more parents would want to show their kids how it all works...oh, well. Cailey is excited about the election and has her own ideas about who she wants to win and why ~ apparently, we are raising a Democrat. Scott and I have pretty different political views ~ I'll let you guess which one is mostly Democrat and which one is mostly Republican :o) So, she is not being swayed in any one direction.

Thank you to Brianna Heldt for posting about the free Starbucks and Krispy Kreme available to voters!. Like any true addict, the second (literally) that I read that, I loaded the kids in the car and raced (yes, I raced!) to the nearest Starbucks and Krispy Kreme ~ proudly showing off my "I Voted" sticker! Sure enough, I quickly had a free Starbucks and Krispy Kreme doughnut in my grubby little mits! Yeah! Here are some pictures of our free doughnuts and coffee ~ notice the handmade "We Voted" stickers on Cailey and Ben and our free Starbucks. Scott voted, too, but he wasn't home yet when we took the pictures.

Now, we are popping the cork on the champagne and watching the results come in!

Trick-or-Treat

2008-11-01T09:24:00.010-06:00

We had some treats and we even had some tricks. Ben L-O-V-E-D trick-or-treating...candy plopping into his bucket with only a "trick-or-treat" being uttered, running down the side walks, cool weather, meeting new people...it was all he could ask for. We really had a nice time and, for the first time ever, we could wait at the bottom of each driveway ~ no walking up to the door with them, or carrying tired little goblins :o) They are getting so big! Love it! Cailey (pirate) and Zach (The Joker) were having tons of fun and Matt (Indiana Jones) was tolerating the little kids (he's such a sweet boy).

Hands down ~ the best part of the evening was at a house around the corner where they had a real man sitting very, very still in a chair at the end of the front walk. He was dressed as a scare crow with a bowl of candy in his lap ~ the kids couldn't tell if he was real. We weren't really sure, either. All the kids walked passed him and got their candy from the front door. On the way back Zach walked slowly by him, watching the 'man' all the while. Zach's desire for the candy in the bowl was more than his fear that the man was real and could scare him, so he slowly reached over and grabbed a couple of pieces ~ but there was no reaction from the 'man'. Ben, deciding the man was indeed just a prop, walked up and reached into the bowl (Cailey and Matt were standing behind him) ....suddenly the man lurched forward causing Ben to jump at least a good foot back and shaking all over!! Scott starts yelling, "YEAH, YEAH THAT WAS AWESOME!!!" I was laughing...and didn't get a picture of the best part (dang!) Holly and Steve were laughing and even several other adults standing near. Why, you ask, would we think that scaring our three year old was the funniest thing ever ~ well, because we are a little wicked and it was really, really funny...come on, you can see the scene in your head right now and you are smiling! We totally thought the guy was going to scare Zach (thus, the photo), or at least one of the older kids...but no, this evil man chose the youngest, most innocent one of the bunch to scare ~ and it was awesome...that is a funny, funny man...it was so wrong, yet it was so right! HA HA HA HA HA :o) Not to worry ~ Ben was fine...no permanent damage (but, there is always next year). Scott went up the driveway immediately and took his hand. Ben said, "That was weally, weally scary, Dad! I don't like that house!" But, he was already running to the next house. We had a good time and the kids are already asking for candy this morning...and we are giving it to them. Halloween is great! Enjoy the short slide show.

Happy Halloween - Part 2

2008-10-31T11:07:00.007-06:00

Happy Halloween!

It's a beautiful, beautiful day in Colorado ~ mid 70s, sun is shining, and bright blue skies!!! This is supposed to be the warmest Halloween in Colorado in 60-something years!!! Our little pirate and our little astronaut will be able to trick-or-treat tonight without snow suits, hats, and gloves to cover up those expensive, I mean, cute costumes...and I won't freeze my ass off following them up and down the street. Okay, that's a lie...I never go with them when it's cold... I make Scott do it...so, really he won't freeze his ass off this year and I might just be able to go along for fun :o)...it's a wonderful thing!
Both kids woke up before the sun was up and were ready for school with time to spare...that's an unusual event in our house! Unfortunately, I made the decision to let Ben have a sucker after breakfast ~ because it is Halloween, after all! Heeellloooo!! He rewarded me for my generosity by puking down the front of him on the way to his school. I admit...smooth move on my part, huh. Crap! Lesson learned! :o) It was definitely a too-much-sugar combined with driving in the car, combined with all the excitement of Halloween ~ after he 'spit-up', he was running around and playing...so I know he feels fine. We are headed to the Bergs house later this evening to trick-or-treat and I think Ben is going to find most of his candy mysteriously disappear when we get home ~ clearly, he can't handle that much sugar :o)

Something we learned about both of our children this year ~ they take after me and HATE all things scary. Like me, they can't handle it! Cailey: The kids at school told Cailey about the Bloody Mary myth ~ turn around 13 time saying 'Bloody Mary' and then look in a mirror...Bloody Mary is supposed to appear in the mirror and either scratch your eyes, pull you through the mirror, or slit your throat. It's a story even I heard (and tried) when I was little ~ which I told Cailey...but she was still so freaked out that she wouldn't go to sleep. I tried covering the mirror in her room ~ she wouldn't accept the idea that, even if it were true, she had to turn around 13 times first and if she didn't do that then Bloody Mary wouldn't appear...geeessshhhh! But, she was still scared and ended up in our room shortly after we all went to bed. Ben: Ben is completely scared of all scary and spooky sounds! It's actually sort of funny and I must admit I get a kick out of his reaction when we put the Spooky Halloween Sounds CD on...which we put on more now that we know how much it scares him :o) Oh, come on...you know you would think it was funny, too.

Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Happy Halloween - Part 1

2008-10-30T12:30:00.003-06:00

Ben had a small Halloween 'parade' through his school today. They also had a party with lots of treats. Not sure why they had it today because they are doing one tomorrow, too. Maybe it's to accommodate the part-time students. Oh, well. Ben will have two big Halloween days. Unfortunately, he's not as excited about wearing his costume as I thought he would be ~ that figures. I think he will get more excited tomorrow when he sees Cailey, Matt, and Zach dressed up. Cailey will have a big day with school-wide parade and classroom party. Then, we are going trick-or-treating with the Bergs and Ben and Cailey are already excited about that. Cailey will be dressed as a pirate, Ben is an astronaut/'rocket ship driver'. I am going to be a witch...okay, let the one-liners begin. I don't know if Scott is going to dress up? Hmmm...I guess I should find out. :o) Just a couple of pictures from today's parade.

Re-dedication

2008-10-27T23:48:00.003-06:00

Cailey's Brownie re-dedication ceremony was tonight ~ they were re-dedicated as Brownies for another year! Yeah, Cailey. They also helped bridge the Daisy troop into Brownies. So cute.

After the ceremony, Cailey and I had to rush home and gather up the yummy spaghetti dinner I made for Lisa and her family. I am part of a baby sitting co-op and one of the extra things we do is make a meal for the new moms in our group. Happily, this group is fertile and a new baby has arrived about every month recently. Unhappily, this means I have to fit in extra dinners and delivery to my already super busy schedule. I like doing the meals, though. I can only imagine how nice it would have been to have 20 or so meals delivered after the birth of my children...yes, I can only imagine since I am not having any more babies and I don't get to take advantage of this particular perk ~ that sucks...that really sucks :o) Then, we had to pick up Ben from school, drive to Castle Rock, hold the new baby (of course), and then come home and get our own dinner prepared and served. Ugh...it was a late night. I am tired, tired, tired.

Happy Birthday, Ed!

2008-10-21T10:24:00.012-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ED! HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY!! WE LOVE YOU!

Ready To Run

2008-10-18T07:28:00.001-06:00

Cailey had a Fun Run at school yesterday. Thankfully, it was a warm and beautiful October day for a run! She completed seven laps in the 30-40 minutes they were alloted ~ her goal was eight...but she still seems very happy with her seven. She did a little running, a little walking, a little walking/running backwards, a little skipping and twirling (it is Cailey, after all!), and a lot of smiling. Cailey was very tired after the run and felt a little sick to her stomach ~ I think it's because they didn't give them enough water during their run...but that's my opinion.

She will be home all next week for Fall Break and I am sure she will be bbbooorrreedd. Maybe I will find something that we can do in the afternoon.

Careful...

2008-10-17T21:11:00.004-06:00

Short story: Scott was driving with Cailey and Ben. They got caught in a traffic jam because of a car accident. The police were directing traffic but, apparently, not very well. While driving past, Scott yelled out the window, "Get your head out of your ass!" Ben decided to put his two cents in and yelled, "Yeah! Get your head out of your glass!" HA HA HA HA...careful what you say, Daddy! Scott said he was expecting Ben to say 'ass', but thankfully Ben thought it was 'glass'!

I won! I won! I won!

2008-10-14T15:27:00.008-06:00

I finally ventured into the world of eBay. I really wasn't resistant to it, I just haven't found anything on eBay that I really, really wanted that would give me reason to sign up and go through the 'hassle'...until now.

Ben wants to be an astronaut or, more specifically, a 'rocket ship driver', for Halloween. So, I have been searching online for a costume. I have gone to Target, Walmart, Toys R Us, Party City, and a Halloween store in search of a costume for Ben. I have tried to convince him to try a Buzz Lightyear costume ~ that's a sort of astronaut, right? No, apparently not. I have tried to convince him to try Spiderman, Batman, a pirate...anything. But, no. He is sure he wants to be an astronaut. He's such a good boy and I really don't buy him much...he isn't into toys that much and I have so many hand-me-down clothes for him that I rarely buy him new clothes. It was killing me that I couldn't come through for him on this one request. I could only find the astronaut orange flight suit in an almost-too-small-size at the Halloween store ($30.00 and it does not include a helmet). Still, I tried it on Ben and he said, "That's not an astronaut!" ~ he didn't understand the whole 'flight suit' thing...he wants the helmet and 'space suit'!!! So, I caved and ventured onto eBay yesterday. I found this costume:

Ben thought this was the best costume EVER! Unfortunately, I couldn't just click a button and buy it ~ it had 5 hours left in the bidding. So I called Juli ~ the eBay buying expert, in my opinion ~ and she gave me tips on bidding for items and getting set up in eBay and PayPal. I made my first bid with 30 minutes left in the bidding and then waited...biting my nails and counting down the seconds until the bidding ended ~ hoping some loser didn't swoop in at the last minute and outbid me before I could make a counter bid! At 9:45 last night, I became the proud owner of the little rocket ship costume and I could finally say..."I WON!!!" Funny how paying for an item, a used item at that, can make you feel like you won the lottery and smile and cheer while you actually hand over your money. This is how they should do taxes...you should have to outbid someone else on the amount you are willing to pay...then when you 'win' you will gladly hand your money over. Okay, clearly there are some holes in that idea...but it could be worked out. This 'bidding' stuff puts a whole new perspective on paying for stuff :o) As a bonus, I didn't pay as much as I thought I would for this item so I bought another eBay item...the astronaut helmet!!! The one that comes with the rocket ship is more than a little dorky ~ you have to admit, this one is much better and worth the extra money :o)

I feel like the best mommy in the world right now! I can't wait until they arrive and Ben can put them on!

Careful what you say.

2008-10-12T15:25:00.001-06:00

Ben has a good memory. But, it's just something I figured out recently. He now remembers things when I say, "Maybe later." or "Tomorrow we'll go swimming." Until recently, he would forget and I would get out of doing whatever he was asking about. Yeah...those days are gone. I told Ben yesterday about the Bugs! movie at the Wildlife Experience. Actually, I was talking to Scott about how much Ben would enjoy this show, since he is obsessed with all bugs, and Ben overheard us talking ~ so I told him, "Maybe we'll go see that tomorrow." Yes, you guess it. First thing this morning, Ben runs into our room, hops on the bed, and says, "Yeah, yeah, it's morning time! We get to see Bugs! movie today!" Oh, shoot! How did he remember that? Darn! So, Scott and I talked about it and we decided it would be a good morning activity. We headed to Wildlife Experience to catch the 10a showing of Bugs! on the IMAX screen. It's actually a great show and I would recommend this to anyone with little ones...Ben is three and sat through the whole 45 minute movie. It's not scary or icky and it's really informative. I doubt Ben cared about the informative part, but he did seem to enjoy all the creepy crawly bugs.

Lesson for today: Ben has a really good memory. I must be careful about what I say now and mean it if I say it's going to happen tomorrow! :o)

Wildlife Experience

2008-10-11T11:16:00.004-06:00

Cailey's Girl Scout troop got to spend the night at the Wildlife Experience Museum last night. It was a fun night that started with a pizza dinner and cookies. Then, the girls learned about animal habitats and did a couple of activities/crafts about animal habitats. They also got to see a live salamander ~ named Sal. The girls then got to see a live tarantula, a snake named Opal, and a hedgehog (so cute!). The girls watched a video about bats ~ interesting animal. They did a scavenger hunt through the Colorado Walk exhibit and then got to run free through the Grossology exhibit and the Robot Zoo exhibit. Cailey's favorite part was the Grossology exhibit ~ she learned about poop, vomit, slime, smells. It was...gross. :o) The girls didn't get to sleep until 10:30! But, Cailey and I had the prime sleeping spot in a little corner of the Discovery Den in a hut that was used to watch videos ~ it was the perfect spot. We awoke this morning at 7:30a to museum lights being suddenly flipped on. Not so perfect. After gathering all our gear, we headed to breakfast and then watched an IMAX movie ~ Sea Monsters. That was very interesting. After the movie, the girls got to touch another snake ~ a boa named, Snake. We left for home and now I am in need of a nap. Enjoy the slideshow of Cailey at the Wildlife Experience.

But, I'm not sleepy!

2008-10-10T14:15:00.003-06:00

Today Ben is home sick from pre-school. Scott came home for lunch to take Ben to a doctor's appointment ~ it's just a virus, of course. Scott put Ben down for a nap because I had a conference call that I had to be on. Scott left and one hour later I completed my conference call and went upstairs to check on Ben. I heard him coughing throughout my conference call, but I assumed he was sleeping through it. Um...no. As I walk up the stairs I see the hall closet door open and my little guy huddled in the corner, blankets unfolded, and band-aids all over. He sees me and immediately says, "Hi, Mommy. I not sleepy today." Benjamin!!! Yes, I went to get my camera and yes, it's a little funny. But, he's back in bed ~ I need that two hours of him sleeping more than he needs it (HA) :o)

O-H-I-O

2008-10-07T16:11:00.012-06:00

I am back from my trip to Ohio! I went back to see Carrie and Brandon's new baby, Mason. I also went back for my 15 year high school reunion ~ yes, 15 years! Whew, that makes me feel a little bit old. I didn't bring my camera ~ on purpose ~ because I didn't want to lug it there and back and be worried about keeping track of it. So, the little video of pictures is a compilation of pictures that others took and sent to me...I am still hoping for some more. I will update the video when/if I get any more pictures.

Carrie and Brandon were gracious enough to let me tag along to their friends' house, Kristin and Rich, on Friday night. We had a wonderful dinner of Brats, sauerkraut, onions, German potato salad, and lots and lots of wine/champagne...and a late night...ouch. I got to meet their little boy, Grady, too. So cute!

Saturday we left for 'home' ~ the reunion was Saturday night. The reunion was fun and it was weird to see how much people have changed...or not changed (as the case was with some). I wonder if I look that different? Generally, everyone looked fantastic! We stayed out way too late (again...4am) enjoying a bon-fire at Angie's house!! I didn't have a husband or kids with me ~ I was going to live it up! Carrie's mom made yummy waffles and peaches, bacon, grits, and eggs for breakfast the next morning. Well, actually, it turned out to be brunch by the time we all got our butts out of bed :o) Then we had to start our drive back to Cleveland. The 3 1/2 hour drive ended up taking us 5 hours!! It was not a good drive. There was traffic for no explainable reason and Mason did not enjoy the car ~ he was tired, stressed out, and generally pissed that he was in the car seat. That didn't bother me so much ~ after two kids that mostly hated the car...this was a walk in the park. But the kicker: we nearly hit a deer on the highway. The semi-truck in the lane next to us hit the deer and the deer flew into our lane. Only Brandon's quick reflexes and a little guardian angel kept us from hitting the deer, too. It was a little scary ~ the closest I've ever been to being in an accident like that. Once we made it home, we all went immediately to bed ~ no joke ~ all our nerves were fried.

Monday I got to spend more time with Carrie and Mason before I boarded the plane for home. I love visiting with Carrie and her whole family! I feel like they are my second family and I always love being there. I really want to bring Cailey and Ben the next time I visit ~ they would LOVE spending time on the 'farm'...lots of sheep and cattle to look at...and spending time with Mason. Mason sure is a cutie and started rolling front-to-back and back-to-front while I was visiting...I felt really lucky to be part of that milestone.

The whole trip was fun and I was really glad to spend time with some old friends! The only drawback is that I get sad that I don't live closer ~ within driving distance ~ so I can spend more time with these wonderful people.

Two more kids, 10 times the exhaustion

2008-09-28T11:30:00.001-06:00

Jackson and Ethan are here. Anna and Geoff are attending a wedding in San Francisco this weekend, so we have the boys until this evening. I am tired, so very tired ~ four kids is a lot of work. But, the boys have been really, really good. I am surprised, not because they are bad (they are not), but because this is the longest they have been left with both parents gone. I had, metaphorically, put my body armor on and prepared for the worst ~ tantrums, fear, screaming...the works. Fortunately, we haven't had any of that. The boys have been going to bed, eating, playing...all without fuss. Friday I added Matt and Zach to the mix ~ I know, glutton for punishment ~ but, the kids all played so nicely and really enjoyed each other. I love having the kids spend time together ~ I love that they are close to their cousins. I do wish they lived here so we could spend more time together.

Thursday:

Run to Starbucks for coffee
Take Anna to the airport
lunch and naps
lots of play time
dinner
walk to the ice cream store ~ we took the wagon for Cailey, Ben, and Jackson. I carried Ethan in the backpack. We only had one person ask us if they were all ours!
bed time

Friday:

Breakfast and play time
drove to pick up Matt and Zach
stopped at Subway for lunch
nap time
lots of playtime
Grandma K came over to play and brought balloons!
dinner and bedtime

Saturday:

Starbucks ~ thank you Grandma K
Yummy homemade banana bread for breakfast - Yeah, Me!!
went to Zachary's baseball game and played at the park
lunch and nap time
went to buy a new fish, the furniture store, the mall (pizza!!!), the Container Store...yes, all four kids went and were FANTASTIC!
bath time and bed time!

Sunday:

Bronco Sunday!!!!
lunch and nap time
pick up Anna and Geoff from the airport
dinner at Red Robin
retirement ~ we will retire two children

Our new Crown-tail Beta named ~ Francisco Danger Adams ~ Danger is his middle name (HA HA HAHAHAH).

Happy Birthday, Lily Bean!!!

2008-09-24T13:01:00.004-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LILY BEAN!!

WE LOVE YOU AND WE MISS YOU!!

2008-09-15T15:35:00.005-06:00

I took Ben to get his three year old well-check today. He's a little over three years old because we had to postpone the well-check until after we got through all the tonsillectomy stuff.

So, here are the stats:

Weight - 41 lbs (97th percentile!)

Height - 39 inches (90th percentile!)

He's a big boy! He doesn't look that big, but if you try to lift him...you just might throw your back out :o) I don't know where his height is coming from ~ must take after his Uncle Richie. Except for Richie, our family isn't known to have tall people. I am not convinced that he will be tall as an adult ~ I think his growth will slow down as he gets older...it just isn't in his DNA to be really tall. Ben is also right on track with all of his development, including his speech!!! He isn't as articulate as Cailey was at this age, but we are finding that our children are as different as they can be...Yin and Yang. :o) I am so excited that Ben's hearing and speech have been cleared up and we can concentrate on moving forward and not having to work on 'catching up' to other children.

Ben's First Swim Lesson

2008-09-10T11:54:00.003-06:00

In the hopes of giving Ben some swimming skills and preventing a near-drowning, we have enrolled him in swim lessons. I have commented before that Ben has zero fear of the water and will jump into the pool anywhere, anytime...and frequently does...without advance notice. When at the pool, I literally have to hold on to him until everyone is ready to get in because he will jump in quicker than you can imagine. We have resorted to putting the life vest on him, but he is outgrowing that and starting to protest the vest. Besides, it's important that he learn to swim in any case. So, he will be going to swim lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of the year!

Last night was the first lesson and he was a little bored because he has to wait his turn with the instructor ~ he didn't understand why he had to sit on the step instead of playing. He kept telling me, "I already know how to swim. I a good swimmer, Mommy." There in lies the problem. He thinks he can swim. But, he did great listening to the teacher and learning how to blow bubbles and float! He's such a big boy, now.

Little random thoughts swimming around in my head...

2008-09-07T18:17:00.007-06:00

I love shopping. I love buying new clothes and I have picked up a new love of all things accessory related ~ jewelry, shoes, handbags, glasses, belts. Scott definitely does not like this new love of accessories.

I finally spent my gift card from Christmas to Pottery Barn. I bought three decorative vases for the dining room table. Now that I have them home, I can't decide if I like them ~ I think I might take them back and get something else I saw at Pottery Barn.

Football season has started so I have lost all access to the television on the weekends until January. I guess I'll go shopping on the weekends...HA HA HA

I am super excited about my upcoming trip to Ohio for our class reunion!! Can I lose 20 pounds in three weeks? No? I'll just eat another piece of cake then :o) ;o)

Can I take two carry-ons on the plane? I have to check that because I do not want to check a bag and risk it getting lost.

I am finally starting to feel better after fighting a serious cold for over a week.

Cailey is going to be a pirate for Halloween ~ we already bought the costume. Ben wants the sword and the eye patch but doesn't care about anything else. Should we all dress up as pirates and be a family of pirates for Halloween this year? Should we have a Halloween Party? What day is Halloween this year?

We have to lube the belt on the treadmill but I have no idea where the lube is ~ I can't use the treadmill until we find the lube...ugh.

Ben had his post-op appointment with the ENT and all is well. He passed his hearing test!!

Christmas is coming.

I hate Mondays and I hate that hating Mondays ruins my Sunday because I am anticipating Monday.

We need to pull the video camera out and get Ben singing on video ~ he sings BINGO, Take Me Out To The Ball Game, ABCs, Speed Racer...

I have been really, really tired lately ~ is it from the cold or do I have some terminal illness? (yes, that's the way thoughts work in my brain).

I could really use a facial.

I need to write out my grocery list.

Cailey and Ben both need new snow suits and/or heavy coats before winter gets here.

Anna and the boys are going to be here in a few weeks!

I must get my Twilight book back from Holly. I want to read all four books again before the movie comes out.

Speaking of Holly, where is my Taste of Home stuff that I bought? :o) :o)

I miss spending time with all of the family.

Happy Birthday, Randy

2008-09-02T10:08:00.002-06:00

Hope you have a good day!!!

Fish, sharks, tigers, oh my

2008-08-29T11:51:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago, while Scott was in Wisconsin, I took all the kids to the Denver Aquarium... Matt and Zach, too ~ I know, I am a masochist. I have been wanting to post the pictures but haven't found the time until now. So, here they are. We spent several hours looking at fish and sharks and other sea creatures. Then we ate dinner at the restaurant inside the Aquarium. The restaurant is surrounded by a huge 'fish tank' and the kids liked watching the diver get in the tank to feed the fish. The tiger was sleeping...so that was a disappointment. The shark was stalking the kids...think Jaws music in the background. The otters were super active and very playful with the kids next to the window ~ we liked watching the otters play for a long time. The jelly fish are always relaxing to me to watch and I wish I could spend more time at that tank. The highlight was getting to feed the sting ray...the kids really enjoyed that part.