Capturing Moments

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs

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

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.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Friday night Nutcracker

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.

Friday, December 5, 2008

A Taste of Jazz

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.