5-29-09 to 5-30-09 Friday & Saturday

Friday: Mom and Grandma Doris came yesterday and stayed with us last night. Mom took the boys to the movie UP today and they ALL enjoyed it. Grandma and I stayed at the house to sew. We made outdoor pillows for my front porch, and started those curtains for the green toy room. Steve, Kenli, and Trinity Boeselager came for the weekend and the girls liked to played the piano.

Saturday: Corey, Steve, Josh, and Jared woke up early and went fishing. Grandma, Kenli, Jaydon, and Trinity all enjoyed pancakes for breakfast. We had a fun day of playing in the sandbox, coloring on the patio with chalk, and playing in the water. Grandma and I worked on curtains again when the boys got home from fishing. At 5pm, they went to DIA to pick up Jera. We had a fire in our patio fireplace and most of the neighbors came over! Busy day...but lots of fun!

Grandma Doris bought the boys hoola hoops, so of course they had to have a competition. They can both keep it going longer than their dad!!

5-25-09 to 5-28-09 Monday to Thursday

Monday: Memorial Day: The Gallagher's joined us for a campfire and roasted smores. The live across the street and have twin boys, 3 years old. It was nice to have guests at our campsite, but the mud was still bad and everyone got pretty dirty. Oh well, I guess a smore tastes the same either way!

Tuesday: Jaydon got ahold of the camera in the boat and shot a few pictures of himself. Nice self portrait, right?

Wednesday: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!! My neighbor and I car pool during school, and today was their morning to pick-up. So this is what is looks like when my boys head to school, bright and early at 7:15.

Thursday: 1st day of summer break. We broke out the responsibility chart and got busy this morning. Each kid got their jobs done, so I let them get the pool out and play in the water. Next week we start their summer reading program along with some math, science and other fun! They will be so excited...maybe!

5-21-09 to 5-24-09 Thursday to Sunday

Thursday: The toy room has a new color...Organic Garden. The material over the back of the couch will be curtains as soon as I get time to sew them.

Friday: Does this kid ever get enough fishing done?

Saturday: Josh gets the fishing bug and reels in one of his own. Yeah Josh!!! This weather was so crazy this weekend. Nice in the morning for fishing, but rainy and lighting in the afternoon and evening. Everything was a mess, the campground was muddy, so the camper and boat also got muddy. We spent a lot of time playing games and eating in the camper. It was still a great holiday weekend.

Sunday: May 24 is Roger's birthday, so we called him from the boat and all wished him a happy day. I took this picture while Josh was on the phone with him and then Josh landed a big bass. "This one's for you, Grandpa!"

5-17-09 to 5-20-09 Sunday to Wednesday

Sunday: This camping and fishing is hard work. Jaydon crashed on the floor under Corey's seat and Josh fell asleep next to me while I was reading. The sound of the water hitting the side of the boat, the warm sun, and peaceful time (kids not fighting) make for prime napping time!!!

Monday: Josh made me this cute coffee cup with a lid in art this year. He said he even baked it in the kiln, so I could actually drink my coffee from it! How SWEET!!!!

Tuesday: My flower bed has exploded and I'm needing to divide plants and move things around. I just can't believe it's this full already and it's only May!!!

Wednesday: Jaydon had a play day with his little buddy from preschool, Mason. They played on the "Slippy Slide" all afternoon.

5-13-09 to 5-16-09 Wednesday to Saturday

Wednesday: Syl and I have been digging out shrubs and roots along my fence in the backyard. Wow, what a workout! Jared likes to swing the pick ax and help. It's nice to have the overgrown things gone.

Thursday: Got spring fever and headed to the nursery for plants. I'm lovin this "Dwarf Jewel Mix" in my urn pot. I've been playing in the dirt all week!!

Friday: Today was the boys field day at school. They both did well and had a great time and then we headed to the lake to camp and fish. I just love this picture of Jared, patiently waiting for something to bite...legs crossed, hands folded...watching....waiting.

Saturday: Kami, Cade and Cassie came up in the afternoon to eat supper and roast marshmellows for smores. The kids had a great time riding bikes and exploring the lake. We rode to the Eagle's nesting area to check out the birds, but really needed binocs to see anything good.

I'm here...really

Wow, can't believe how fast time flies. I've been taking pictures and journaling them in my head, ready for the little extra time I need to get them on the blog. Extra time???? My kids all finish school tomorrow. Summer break is here and I'm not ready for it yet! Ready for the weather...YES, but not ready to entertain children. I have a plan, and I will be using it starting Thursday. I'll let you know if it goes well! Wish me luck!

Jaydon's vocabulary

Bet you've never heard an ambulance called a "hospital truck" before...

Egg Update

So, the egg was NOT hard-boiled. He wanted to cook an egg for himself, put one in the microwave, pushed 1 (1 minute starts automatically), and then he said, "It went POP!" When I came in, the door was open on the microwave, 2 seconds were left on the cook time, and he had a wet rag on the counter. He TRIED to clean it up, but then decided he broke the microwave and we would need a new one. Like I said, 4-year-old logic!

5-11-09 Monday 5-12-09 Tuesday

Tuesday: Ever wonder what happens when you microwave a hard-boiled egg?? I can tell you...it explodes!!! One must wonder why, why would you want to cook a hard-boiled egg even more?? The answer to the motivation behind such a scheme lies in the mind of my 4-year-old. We may never know or understand the logic here.

Monday: The hill looks so nice when it's just been mowed!

5-7-09 to 5-10-09 Thursday to Sunday

Thursday: The maiden voyage in the camper!! Jaydon's been counting down the months since we bought it in January. Corey's off tomorrow and the kids don't have school, so we decided to camp 3 nights and make a long weekend of it. We ventured closer to the water with out campsite this time. Jaydon is older and we are not as worried about him running to the water as we were last year.

Friday: We had an awesome view of the lake right out our camper door. Everything worked great. Corey and Jared fished all day and Josh and I rode biked to get Jaydon from preschool. We had a lot of fun on our bikes, but had a few minor set backs. Jaydon and Jared both popped a bike tire...so off to Walmart we went. Thankfully, the lake is 5 minutes from our house and about 10 from Walmart.

Saturday: The lake was so calm and nice and there were very few campers and boaters over the weekend. Jaydon did some fishing with Jared and Daddy today, and Josh and I road bikes to the other side of the lake. There are so many nice trails around the lake, and we explored most of them. We definately put on a few miles and had a fun time.

Sunday: Mother's Day. Church. Picking up camp. Laundry. Cleaning house. Yep...a typical day in the life of a mother! I wouldn't change a thing about it! "Embrace the season of life you are in."

5-4-09 to 5-6-09 Monday to Wednesday

Monday: Picked up my tomato plants today at O'Tooles and even got them in the ground. I know it seems early, but the weather looks great for the next week or so.

Tuesday: The hill has exploded with green grass and alfalfa...I already need to mow it.

Wednesday: Josh had a small celebration at school for achieving his "black belt" in recorder class. The music teacher had them play a couple of songs and then served them cake!

5-3-09 Sunday Jared 1st Communion

Jared celebrated 1st communion today. He was so excited and a little nervous. He looked so handsome in his suit and tie. He remembered all we talked about for receiving and did very well. When we got back to the pew, he said, " That blood tasted really sour!" Then after a few more minutes, he said, "Mom, aren't you supposed to be 21 to drink wine?" I reminded him that it wasn't wine anymore, that it was the blood of Christ, and he said, "Oh...yah." These are all the kids who celebrated at the 10:30 mass. There were many more who celebrated at the other 5 masses.

Jared and Chris Engel (godfather)

4-30-09 to 5-2-09 Thursday to Saturday

Chris (Jared's Godfather) and Kammi Engel came to Denver for Jared's 1st Communion. They live in Lincoln, NE now, so that is a long, boring drive. We drove it just 2 weeks ago. The photo above is of the 6 kids in the garden after church. The photo below is of the 6 kids outside of Casa Bonita.

The kids all enjoyed Casa Bonita...the atmosphere, cliff divers, haunted tunnel, and sopapias. It was a great time! We don't get to see Engel's very often, but the kids just seem to pick up where they left off and always have a good time. We really appreciated them coming such a long way for a short weekend.

4-28-09 to 4-29-09 Tuesday & Wednesday

Jaydon brought home his lima bean plant he started at preschool. He's very excited about watching it grow and maybe waters a little too much.

The Nuggets are in the play-offs! Tonight was game 5 in the series and we are up 3 games to 1. So if they won, they advance. Corey got tickets from a vender and we went with Nic and Tanya, our neighbors. We had a great time and the final score was a blow out, so on to the next round and the Dallas Mavericks. How exciting!!!!

4-27-09 Monday

The house is starting to come together and it feels more like OUR home!

4-24-09 to 4-26-09 Fri to Sun

Sylvia and I bought 3 yards of compost and distributed 24 wheel barrows to her garden and mine. Wow, what a workout! We are almost ready for planting and the kids are getting anxious.

I've been cleaning up flower beds. I leave the dead foliage over the winter to catch the snow and provide nutrients to my plants, so in the spring I have a mess to clean up. Looks like I already need to start thinning some plants and moving things around.

Sunday: Did I mentions I love tulips? Jared received the Right of Peace today at church. Only 1 week to go until 1st Communion!!!!

4-21-09 to 4-23-09 Tues to Thurs

Springtime in Colorado is great. The mountains are beautiful and the weather on the front range is warming. This is Ketner Lake, right across from Jaydon's preschool.

I'm loving my tuplips. So glad I put them in last fall. Gotta love a splash of spring color!

Corey left for his annual fishing tournament with his dad today, so I took the boys fishing at Ketner. Jared tried many different tactics, but didn't get a bite. He was pretty bummed. Josh spent his time at the lake exploring and throwing stick in the water. Jaydon perfected his cast. I tied a rubber weight on his line (no sharp objects allowed) and let him cast like crazy. Amazingly enough, he can cast about 30 feet.

4-19-09 to 4-20-09 Sunday & Monday

We headed for home on Sunday afternoon and stayed in Lincoln, NE with the Engels. Before we left, Nate, Emily, Kylan and Renee came over to Elaine's to visit.

On Monday, April 20, we celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. Josh took this picture of us at Katie's wedding dance. We spent our day together, with our 3 boys, traveling I-80 to get home. We were in the car for 8 hours and everyone was a little tired of traveling. After putting the kids to ged that night, we sat down with our wedding album and relived the day. It was fun looking back and remembering the events of the day. I really can't believe how quickly 13 years goes by.