Quiet, Peaceful Bliss!

The boys are at Vacation Bible School this week. That means that I have 3 1/2 hours to myself every day - at home with no one else here. This is my idea of perfect relaxation. I spent some of the time yesterday cleaning out the playroom closet and the desk in our kitchen. I have other plans of cleaning this week, but today - I'm going to drink my coffee and read, and then go for a bike ride. Above is a picture of my cats thoroughly enjoying the rare peace quiet.

The boys had another soccer game on Saturday. The game was alot hotter than last week (it was later in the morning) and I think they were worn out by the 2 laps around the field during practice. They are showing no early promise of soccer greatness - but they are 3 and they seem to be having fun. Their favorite part about the game are the snacks afterwards.


On Saturday night, we took the boys to an outdoor concert with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. The boys loved the 4th of July concert so much that I thought they would enjoy this. Unfortunately, the weather was cold when we got there and turned into a major thunderstorm about half way through. Everyone ran to their cars with lawn chairs and blankets in tow. I carried Ryan, wrapped up in a blanket and Greg walked with Luke under an umbrella. We were all soaked and we almost lost Ryan's bear in the process (he took a dive into the gutter and starting swimming down the hill). There is another concert in Littleton in a couple of weeks, so we may try it again with hopefully much better weather.

Luke kept Ernie safe and warm during the concert. And below, Ryan liked playing with the bubble machine that was set up for the kids.


Below are pictures that the boys took with their own disposable cameras when everyone was here. I don't want to bother figuring out how to scan them into the computer, so I took pictures of them with my camera. They had alot of fun taking pictures of random stuff. At the zoo, Luke liked to tell the ducks or monkeys to smile and then he'd tilt the camera up and take a picture of the sky.

Ryan's picture of Conny's attempt to take a picture with her kids.

Ryan 's picture of Luke learning how to use his camera on top of Pikes Peak.

Ryan's picture of Conny at the lake.

Luke's picture of me taking a picture of him on top of Pike's Peak.

Luke's picture of Ryan at the pool.

Luke's picture of Ryan in timeout.

This is my favorite, but I'm not sure who took it - we got one last camera and the boys took turns taking pictures, so it could be either of them.

Have a great week - I know I'm going to :)

The Rest of the Visit

Conny and her kids, as well as Kent, Tara and Fyo left on Monday. We had a wonderful visit with cousins, but it has been nice to get back to our normal routine. Unfortunately, things aren't completely back to normal because Ryan has been sick since Monday. The boys rarely get sick more than a little cold, but Ryan has had a fever all week and has felt all around awful. I took him the doctor yesterday and he either has adenoid virus or mono (did you know a 3 year old can get mono?). The doctor thinks it is the former because he has seen alot of it this week and hopefully Ryan will be feeling better this weekend.

Kent and Tara arrived on Friday and we all had a relaxing evening eating in the backyard and letting the kids run in the sprinklers. The boys had their first soccer game on Saturday which was about the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. Everyone came to watch and witnessed Luke scoring a goal on his own team (he was so proud of himself). We all went to the pool that afternoon and had a picnic at the park that evening. It was really nice to hang out together outside of a family function. There are more pictures of all of us together, but my camera battery died and I used Conny's camera - and now I can't find them on the computer. Anyways, to end our fun filled action packed week, we went to the zoo on Sunday.

Below are pictures from the week:















Boys!



Below 3 videos: the first is of Luke singing Little Einstein; the second is from their soccer game, including Luke scoring a goal in the wrong goal; and lastly, the kids playing in the sprinkler.






Lastly, 2 pictures from this week.

Luke has been asking why the sun goes down for the last week, so Greg explained it to him last night using an inflatable globe and a tennis ball as the sun.

Luke figured out how to use my laptop on his own today. He can use the finger pad mouse better than most people. His new favorite activity is to play PBSkids.org games on the computer.

Have a good rest of your week, we'll be spending ours at home with a sick child.

Day at the Lake and a Hike in the Foothills

All 4 kids are still having a great time and getting along for the most part. On Tuesday, we spent part of the day at Bow Mar Lake where the kids swam and we had a picnic. The water felt great and the kids had a blast swimming in the lake and playing on the beach. That evening we rode the light rail downtown and had dinner. For desert, we got all 4 kids their own build-your-own-sundae. It was a mess, but they loved it. Yesterday, we went for a late morning hike at Mt. Falcon. It was a total of 3 1/2 miles and they all did great and walked the whole way themselves (except for the short stint Ryan and Luke each got to ride on my shoulders). After what was supposed to be naptime, we went to a toy store and then Whole Foods. Today, we've stayed close to home and went to the pool. Conny and her kids are still there now, while mine are fast asleep for a nap. Greg comes home tonight and Kent, Tara and Fyo will be here tomorrow.

Lunch time at the lake.

Luke and Olivia on the slide. Luke really wanted to go, but after one time, he was done. Olivia went several times.

Ryan spent most of his time in the lake pushing trucks around under the water.



On the train.

Luke and his reflection.

Dinner - it was so nice and all of the kids behaved wonderfully. It beat the heck out of last year's trip to the Melting Pot.

Olivia and her sundae mess.

On top of Mt. Falcon.

They all really wanted to climb up the rocks.

Conny and her kids - way ahead of me and mine (Luke walked slowly and Ryan was easily distracted).





Tired boys, but they were real troopers.


Lastly, a video of the kids eating their sundaes.

Good Times with Cousins

Conny, Jacob and Olivia arrived on Saturday and we have all had a great time together. On Saturday, we went to the Irish Festival because it was a mile away and something different to do. On Sunday, we drove to the top of Pikes Peak and everyone got to play in the snow. We had intended to also go to the zoo, but it was raining by the time we were off the mountain. Luke was devastated that we couldn't go (we had been talking about feeding the giraffes), so we promised we'd go back next weekend. Today, Conny and I took the kids to the Children's Museum. We spent almost 4 hours playing before we came home to a short nap and then ran through the sprinklers. Upcoming activities include a day at the lake, camping in the backyard, mini birthday party for the boys, and a visit from Uncle Kent, Aunt Tara and Baby Fyo.

After an afternoon of fun at the Irish Festival - we were too tired to walk back to our car so we rode the bus.

Family picture on top of a mountain.

Olivia brought a camera for herself and Luke was very interested in it, so Greg got each of the boys a camera of their own. They've had a good time taking pictures of random things, it'll be interesting to see what comes out when they're developed.

Conny and Greg on top of Pikes Peak.

Conny throwing a snowball.

Ryan throwing a snowball.

Painting at the Children's Museum.

Luke painting his name.

Jacob and Olivia on the firetruck.

Fireman Luke.

Luke in a big tire.

Dancing with Aunt Conny.

Ryan performed a puppet show for random strangers.

Three videos:

Olivia jumping on the bungee trampoline


Playing in the construction room at the Children's Museum, I think Ryan could have stayed there for hours.

A sample of the noise volume in our house. It is like this most of the time, but they are having a blast.

Lastly, two pictures of the kids from this year and last year.