A date with Logan

Like I posted about before, my parents have been having each of the boys over this summer to spend a little one-on-one time with them.  I think it's so neat that they desire to take the time to get to know them individually, since they are very different once you get them one-on-one, as opposed to them being all together. 

Logan's "date" was in July.  He hiked up Green Mountain with my dad, did several mountain bike rides, went to a parade in Golden, went to Chick-fil-A for lunch, and played lots of games together.  Logan especially, because of his closeness in age to Brayden, enjoys the times when he is on his own doing something special for just him.  I think he has lived most of his life just being lumped together with Brayden and so doing something out from under Brayden's shadow is really meaningful to him.  I am so grateful to my parents for giving the boys this opportunity this summer!

 

Goodbye July

(i.e. what happened to summer and what is happening to this whole year?)

I'm sorry, it happened again.  This summer got away from me and I took another unintended blogging break.  I always have such good intentions at the beginning of summer and I always think I will be able to get more done, not less, but it never seems to work out that way.  Chris said that he thinks it's because for everyone else (him and the kids) it is a break, but for me it is more work because I still have all my normal stuff (meal prep, cleaning, etc), but then I also have them around all the time to do things with and for.  It is not all bad, I love having them home for the two months of summer, but for this girl who likes routine, it can seem really crazy and hectic sometimes!  So, sometimes everything doesn't get done, and for me this summer that was blogging (and cleaning and cooking and outings with the kids - I was generally just a boring bum). For the 2-3 of you who check my blog regularly, I'm sorry, I plan for things to get back to normal here soon.

So July......

• Brayden went to camp for a week.  It was his first time away for more than 1 night and it was hard on me.  I missed him and I think he missed us quite a bit too.  But he had a blast and those kind of experiences are good for him.  I know this is only the start of me having to let go little by little as he grows into an independent adult. *sniff*
• Logan and Preston spent 1 hour in the pool every weekday for 4 weeks.  They both improved a ton on their swimming.  Brayden spent 1 hour in the pool every weekday for 2 weeks (he missed the first session because he was at camp part of that time).  I worked on my tan, watched Ashten swim in the kiddie pool (or as she called it, the Hello Kitty pool), drank iced coffee, whittled down on my stack of magazines and just tried to relax.  Good times!

• We remodeled our basement (more on that in another post, because it deserves its whole own post!)  And when I saw "we", I mean Chris.  His brother helped for a couple of weeks and he had a contractor that helped as well, but Chris did 7 full weeks of work to take our basement from this.....

Before

to this......

After (looking same direction)

Awesome, no?  It's like night and day!  It's finally a place to relax instead of such an eyesore.

Most years I am totally ready for school to start, but this year #notsomuch!  I finally got motivated enough to do school supply shopping last Saturday.  So I think we are technically ready for school, physically, just not mentally.  Chris went back to work today, but the boys are home this whole week and they start school next Monday.  I miss them when they are gone, but the routine is nice after a summer of spontaneity.  Bring it on, August, what's left of you at least!

The 4th

This was the first year we went and watched fireworks all of us as a family.  We decided to go to the show up in Arvada and it was a great show!  We ended up sitting at a park that was right across the street from where they were launching the fireworks, so it was a perfect spot.  We got there early to get a parking spot and then just set up our blankets and chairs and hung out for the next few hours waiting for it to start.  It was a really fun family evening.  The kids were so tired, but they did great.  Preston actually laid down and fell asleep halfway through the show - I don't know how in the world he did that with all the noise.

 

#3 on 2 wheels

After much blood, sweat and tears, Preston learned how to ride his bike without training wheels last week!  Woo-hoo!!!  It took quite a few tries, most of which ended in tears, before he finally decided he could do it and put his mind to it. 

Preston is kind of an anomaly to me, he is very aggressive when he is comfortable in a situation, but he is very cautious and quiet if he is unsure.  He is cautiously aggressive.  Or aggressively cautious.  Sometimes I have to remind myself he is only 6 and he's still figuring stuff out too.

On the last day before he learned he was crying and begging me to not make him practice riding his bike so I finally said, "okay Preston, once you learn how to ride your bike, you never ever have to ride it again!".  Of course I knew that once he learned to ride it there was no way we were keeping him off of it, but it worked and he was very excited to just learn so he didn't have to do it anymore. 

 

He took off and literally rode for over 3 hours, practicing turning and steering and riding up and down and up and down and up and down the street till he perfected it.  (Of course, the other kids didn't mind the extra bike time either).  

The two older two boys had gotten to take a ride to 7-eleven for a Slurpee once they learned on two wheels, and Preston wanted to do the same, so Chris took him that night.  Way to go Preston, we're proud of you and we knew you could do it.

A date with Brayden

My parents do this cool thing where they invite each of the boys over separately to spend the night and do things that each boy would like.  It's cool that they see them as individuals and take the time to nurture that relationship one-on-one!

Brayden's "date" was in June and he had a great time.  To start off, my dad rode his bike over to our house and then he and Brayden rode back to my parents house.  Then they stayed up playing games and watching a movie.  The next morning, they hiked up Green Mountain, where they saw a rattlesnake!  After that they took another bike ride, then went out to lunch and then rode bikes back to our house.  Brayden was exhausted, but he had a really fun time.

Lucky #13

Today is our 13th anniversary (in 2013, see how we did that!?!?) 

July 7, 2000

July 7, 2013


Our marriage is a teenager now!  Hmmm, don't know if that's a good thing or not?  Here's to the best year yet!!

Celebrating Preston

We celebrated Preston's birthday three times this year!  Once on his actual birthday as a family, once a few days later with his friends and then again the next day with our families.  Phew!  Tiring and fattening, but fun!

On Preston's actual birthday, he chose cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  We ate together as a family and then he opened presents and played a little bit before heading off to VBS for the morning.  We got him a Lego Chima set and some blank notebooks.  He loves paper, so he was very cool with that!  After we got home from that and played for the rest of the afternoon, we went to Wendy's for dinner (his choice) and then bowling.  When we came home from bowling, we sang Happy Birthday and did cake and ice cream.

 

 

 

 

He's a very serious bowler

Logan got his first strike

 

Daddy and the birthday boy - silly guys

 

Mommy and the birthday boy

 

Then that Saturday we had some of his friends over for a pizza party!  Six of his friends came and he had a great time.  We are in the middle of a basement remodel and didn't have time to plan any organized games, but it actually worked out okay because they just ran around and played and were wild all on their own and I am not sure they would have been able to even sit still long enough to listen to instructions for a game.  They were all very well-behaved though and had a great time, so the party was a success in our book!

The next day we had our families over for his grandparent party.  He had fun opening his presents and playing with his new stuff while everyone sat around and talked.

Phew!!  I am cake and ice cream-ed out!  But I am so grateful for the gift of Preston, what a joy he brings to our family.

What a great father

I didn't get a post written up in time for Father's Day, but I didn't want to let the opportunity pass by to brag on Chris a little.  What a great dad he is!  Our kids are blessed by God to have a father who is attentive, involved and most importantly, who loves God and seeks to follow Him and obey Him. 

 

I am blessed to have a partner who loves me, who treats me fairly and lovingly and who supports me through all the ups and downs of parenting. 

Happy Father's Day, Chris.  I hope you know how much we all love and treasure you!  You are a gift from God!

Cousins

In June, we made a trip out to Nebraska to visit with Chris' sister and her family.  They have a boy that is a little younger than Preston, a girl a little older than Ashten and then a younger daughter, but all the kids really play so well together, so everyone has a good time.  It also helps that they have a huge yard with a trampoline and lots and lots of toads!

Ashten and Cadence watching a movie with curlers in

The morning after the curlers!

All the girls and their curly hair

 

All the boys

Silly boys

All 7 cousins