HE IS ONE!

Andrew is now 1! This year has gone by so fast. I was sitting here talking to Lynda about Andrew's birth and then as the time was approaching of his actual delivery, Andrew was passed out in my arms. Not only did we have a busy day, but it went pretty late.

We have had a few celebrations for Andrew's birthday. The first celebration was last Monday, September 25th. We enjoyed a cookie cake and gifts with Mimi, Grampie, Aunt Traci, Uncle Les, Aunt Kristen, Morgan, Jack, Marve and Sandie (family friends). Andrew loved the icing on the cookie cake and screamed when I finally told him that was enough.

Joshua helped blow the candle out!

He could not get enough of the icing!

The next celebration was today, on his birthday. We hiked down into Breckenridge, ate lunch at Buba Gumps, played on the playground, enjoyed the art festival, then came home to nap, and went back out to have dinner at Kenosha Steakhouse and dessert at Coldstone. Mimi and Grampie were a part of the celebration again. We will have another celebration to include my family, since our plans changed on Wednesday that we would still be in CO this weekend. What a lucky guy to have so many parties.

"This sand feels weird."

"Oh my goodness! Why has mom been hiding this from me?"
Happy Birthday Andrew! We love you and are blessed to have you in our lives.

ANIMALS

Colorado has a tremendous amount of wildlife...hawks, squirrels, chipmunks, black bears, moose, deer, beavers, brooke trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, elk, the list can go on. A couple of years ago Jeff and I saw a black bear at the bottom of peak 10. We were driving down from Jeff's parent's house and I said, "That dog looks weird." Jeff said, "That is not a dog, that's a bear!" It was running down the road into the parking lot of some condos. The bear was trying to get to the dumpster. At that point we also saw this kid on his skateboard. The kid jumped off his skateboard and started walking fast in the opposite direction of the bear. Jeff and I tried to follow the bear...thinking the bear would run from us, away from the kid on his skateboard. Crazy! We just thought it was a random experience. However, today we were told that black bears have been seen the past two weeks up by the houses on peak 10, which is where Jeff's parent's house is. I went down stairs to get Andrew's pajamas and on the way back up saw a bear behind the house. I ran to get my camera while Dave, Lynda, and Joshua went out onto the back patio to see what the bear was doing. The bear was digging in the trash can that the neighbor left out...a BIG no no to leave your trash can out! A bit more frightening now that a bear has actually been seen less than a house away. Joshua and Andrew will NOT be going out on their own.

The bear is in front of the trash can...he is the size of the trash can.

The bear went up to the neighbors house...noone was home!

On a lighter animal note. The chipmunks are so friendly here. They come right up to you...Joshua nearly fell off the rock he was eating his lunch on as a chipmunck jumped right up next to him.

One of the chipmunks trying to get into the fishing vest...they also climbed into Andrews backpack that we carry him in, climbed into Dave's backpack that the food was in, and just all around us.

ST. MARY'S GLACIER

Jeff, Joshua, Andrew, Dave, Lynda, and myself went on a hike to St. Mary's Glacier. It was a short, but steep hike up a heavily rocky climb. The drive to the hike was long, but the scenary was just beautiful hiking up and at the top. We had lunch with some chipmunks, fished (the boys) and caught nothing, walked around parts of the lake, and then went home.
Quote from Joshua, "All this casting and fishing and pooping gives me a great idea...lunch!"
Story behind the quote: We went on a hike down to the creek to throw rocks in a few days before the glacier hike. On the way back Joshua had to go poop. I told him that I had some wipes and he could go in the woods. He did not want to. On the way back up he was singing, "I can hold it! I can hold it! I can hold it!" under his breath. About two minutes into singing he could not hold it any longer. So, he and I hiked off the trail and he went poop...Ugh! It was not easy. With all this in mind I made sure he went before we left for the glacier hike and asked if he needed to go once we got there (a port-a-potty was near by). He said he did not have to go. So, after casting his pole for a while and fishing for a while he had to go poop. Oh boy! I had to take him to find another spot to go poop. I took my wipes and off we went. This time was easier. I found a rock he could sit back over and the whole process was better. We got back to the fishing spot, he made his comment, and then ate his lunch. Boys!
Back to the hike...recommend it, but be sure to bring $5 for parking.

Joshua casting his pole...Grampie got him the pole and he was practicing all last week casting.

Jeff and Joshua fishing.

The boys looking at the glacier.

Hiking back down since Joshua wanted in the backpack.

HAPPY 40TH!

Most of you know that Jeff, the boys, and I are in Breckenridge, CO right now. We drove up to CO for two reasons. The first, to celebrate Jeff's parents 40th wedding anniversary. The second, to have our first family vacation since Christmas...we were in CO then too.
The actual anniversary day was August 10th. However, we could not all make it to CO until the end of August. Dave always said that he wanted to take all of us to CA to celebrate their 40th. Since that was not going to work with three little babies we all decided to go to CO. The plan was to just go to dinner for their 40th. What they did not know is that we actually planned a SURPRISE party that a number of their family and friends attended.
Kristen, Les, Jeff, and I worked very hard for the past 9 months to make this surprise work. Guess what? We pulled it off! They were completely surprised and had a wonderful day. I say day because surprises started Saturday morning and did not end until the party ended that night. Joshua delivered the invitation to Grampie and Mimi Saturday morning. They began asking questions then...Joshua did not release any information he knew! Then Lynda's sister, Pam from CA, surprised them...it was the best! Pam had to leave early Sunday, so we wanted her to get as much visiting time in as possible.
People came from all over, CA, FL, KS, TX, and CO. Dave never stopped asking questions about who all was going to be there? He pretty much guessed everyone, but that did not make the surprise of seeing everyone less enjoyable.
We catered chicken and beef fajitas, black beans, and rice. We had so much food! Everyone enjoyed the food, but we received even more compliments about the cake, see picture below. Everything was very tastey!
We found their wedding album and had two pictures framed, one of them after their ceremony and the other of them next to their wedding cake. Then we had pictures copied of them when they were younger spread throughout. Jeff, Traci, and I were very sneaky with all of this...thank goodness they have been out of town a lot this year!
We are very pleased at how everything turned out. Not sure if I want to do this again anytime soon...I planned 2 surprise parties this year and it was very exhausting. However, you get this high knowing how much the recipients of the party appreciate the hard work.


Kristen had a replica of their wedding cake made (smaller scale)...did you know they do not put swans on wedding cakes anymore? We had these made out of icing. The floral centerpiece was made by a friend.

First taste of the cake...HAPPY TIMES!

Dave and Lynda, thank you for giving us such a perfect example of marriage. We look forward to seeing many more years of your marriage and growing in our own. We love you!

TAKE A WALK

Andrew and I went for a walk on Monday, to the post office. The post office is 1.8 miles from our home. According to Google Maps it takes 37 minutes to walk. However, it only took Andrew and I 29 minutes to walk, in the rain and with stopping at crosswalks. All together, we were gone for an hour and five minutes (had to buy stamps). I killed two birds with one stone here...exercise (walking is one of the most efficient ways to metabolize body fat) and ran an errand. Not only that, we also saved on carbon emissions that would have been released by using my car (the post office is 2.7 miles away if we had taken a car) and saved on fuel, although small.
Go green and walk! Not only is walking good for you and the environment. It is a good form of exercise for your children to start with.

BAB WITH MARY

My friend Mary wanted to be the first to take Joshua to Build-A-Bear. Well, we both had busy summers and Joshua ended up getting invited to a Build-A-Bear birthday party before we had a chance to get together...Mary did get to take him his second time.
Joshua was pretty shy, indecisive, and is now sleeping with his gift from Mary. Thanks Mary for a great time and your generous gift!
The story is in the pictures below...

The Panda Bear won out right away, until...

He saw the Pink Bear with white hearts. Funny if you know Joshua...he loves anything pink, all accessories, bags, and high heel shoes.

Mary did her best to talk him out of the Pink Bear..."What about a Crocodile, a Puppy...

a Bear...", until he decided on...

The Monkey.

He "bathed" the monkey, which he loves this step.


Then he got to pick an outfit, Dallas Star (hockey). Perfect! "Wait, what about a golfer? I think I want a golfer."

So Mary takes off the hockey outfit and puts on the golfer outfit. "Wait, what about a basketball player? I want a basketball player."

So Mary takes off the golf outfit and puts on the basketball outfit. "No, I think I want the hockey player. No, the basketball player. No, the golfer. No what about something else?" Mary was wise and said he had those three options only...he finally decided on the....

Hockey Player.
Now Joshua has a bear, Diego (he named), baseball player and a monkey, Diego (he named again), hockey player.

LOVE IT!

I am asked all the time, "Do you love being at home? Do you love being a mom?". I don't always answer enthusiastically...it depends on the day some times if I am really being honest. However, I do LOVE IT! I LOVE being a mom. I feel blessed to be able to stay at home with them. In fact, I am already so sad that Joshua is going to leave me to go to school in September. I am proud of and happy for him, but he is old enough to talk to me, play games with me, help me with various chores and enjoys it, and he is my first baby...I will miss him for those 10 hours a week he is gone.
Andrew is the one that brought this entry about today. He looks at me as if I can do no wrong. He wants me around and is pure in his eyes about his love for me. I was getting him out of the bath tonight, he was trying to climb out (his new hobby, climbing) and was saying what sounded like "Out!", when I scooped him up and he just leaned into me and gave me a kiss. I mean seriously. Who cannot love those moments. I LOVE IT!
Thank you God for providing me this opportunity. I pray that I will not fail to teach the boys your love for us. Let my eyes show my love for you as my boys show their love for me.

WORK & PLAY

Here are a few pics from Jeff's trip. He has been gone since July 28th and is set to return August 12th. He went to the Philippines for work and has been extremely busy...not much sleep busy. This weekend he had the opportunity to take a break from working 24/7 and took a trip to Hong Kong (I hope he gets to see some Olympic fun while there). This is what he says in his e-mail. Note: there is a 13 hour difference, so he sent the e-mail at 3:30 am our time.

"Thought you might want to see some pictures from my golf outing in Manila and my trip thus far in Hong Kong. It’s 4:30pm on Sunday afternoon in Hong Kong right now and we just finished walking around the entire city. We played golf early Saturday morning at Manila Southwoods Country Club and then flew to Hong Kong on Saturday afternoon. I actually had to take another flight to Hong Kong, but that’s a long story.

Hong Kong has been absolutely spectacular. We took a tram up to the top of Victoria Peak. Once on top you can see all of Hong Kong. We are going to take a cruise light show cruise tonight, so we should get some good pictures from that."

He was just in awe over the golf course...he commented we should move there just for the golf course! After golf he was set to leave for Hong Kong at 2:30. The airlines did not have a reservation for him, even though he had a confirmation number and print out prooving he did have one. So, he had to buy another ticket and finally left at 6:30. It looks/sounds like the frustration was well worth the problems at the airport. I look forward to seeing more pics and talking to him about it.

View from club house...Joshua asked if he hit the ball in the pond, "Not this one!" he said.

View from Victoria Peak

IT'S GONE!

I did it! My hair is gone. I donated all my hair to Locks of Love. I had a similar haircut before I turned 30 and now I am back to it. I liked it then, but did not keep up with it due to someone making a comment about how much older I looked. So, I got partial highlights this time to enhance the cut and hopefully I will not look so much older...you cannot see them very well, but that was intentional. FYI, Joshua took the picture with Andrew...I had to include it.

AUGUST CHALLENGE

August is a busy month. People are getting doctors appointments in. School supplies are filling up the house. New school clothes are filling the drawers, along with old ones that have not been put away. People are wrapping up last minute summer plans. It is just busy! It has been even harder for us since Jeff has spent the first half of August out of the country. I don't get to go on my nightly runs since no one is at the house to watch the kids. So, when you find yourself in a crunch with time and surrounded by kids 24/7 then why not just try playing Follow the Leader with your kids. Play time with the kids burns calories and you get great quality time with them
Joshua is old enough that he understands Follow the Leader. We take turns following each other. We will run, jump, walk backwards, lobster crawl, bear crawl, somersault, etc...it is really hard at times. Joshua can run around forever.
Side note: you can do some weights by lifting the kids like a chest press or playing airplane. Joshua is heavier than Andrew, so I cannot do too many reps with Joshua.
Spend a few days a week playing Follow the Leader. Be sure to really get involved and the calories will burn quickly. Enjoy!

FIRSTS

I am so proud of Joshua! He is such a big boy...it really makes me want to cry! Joshua had his first teeth cleaning AND his first eye appointment. He did not cry. He did exactly what he was asked to do. He did not even need me...see, makes me want to cry!
The dental appointment was actually his second. The first visit was a "Happy Visit". Joshua meets the dental hygenist, sits in the chair, sees the equipment, and watches a video. However, a cleaning is different and I was thinking he might have a hard time. I was wrong! They came and got him while I was getting my teeth cleaned. He went without even looking back at me. The doctor came and told me that he was great during the x-rays and that they took pictures, see below. After my cleaning I sat outside the door waiting for him. I could here him talking about how he brushes his teeth, about the spit sucker he got to hold, and about what type of floss he wanted. I was so very excited for him! He is excited about the tooth brush and tooth paste he got from the dentist. He does not even want to use his spin tooth brush.
The eye appointment was his first. Although, he has gone with me for my eye appointments. Again, he was called back by the doctor and no worries...he went right in. He jumped up on the chair and put his chin on the machine...the doctor was amazed at how well he was doing. The doctor even dialated Joshua's eyes. Such a big step. Again, I was so very excited for him and proud at how big he is getting.
The first day of school is really going to hit me...why is it so easy for them to just go? Maybe that is a sign that we are doing something right by him!!!

NEPHEWS & NEICES

I have been an Aunt for 11 years now. I have 5 nephews and 5 neices. My brother has three children, my sister has five children, and Jeff's sister has two children (well she is a step-mom as well to two children that are not a part of the count above). I have tried to play a bigger role in their lives than just an Aunt they see every so often. The much larger need is for them to know my children, their cousins. I feel family is so important and played a very large role in my growing up. My best friends were my cousins! I may not see them often now, but when we do get together we have great times. We just pickup where we left off...
My brother's children lived in WA at one time and are now in MI. It has been and is very difficult to build the relationship that I want with them. I so wish they could be closer to us, but hope that as they get older and can fly on their own that they can come spend a week or so in the summer with me and my kids.
My sister's children live pretty close. I see them at least once a month, if not more. During the times they are not in school I try to get the kids and do something special with them and my kids. It is very stressful at times...my sister has a lot of kids and then to add my two on that. I know Joshua enjoys being with them and Andrew will someday too, so I will suck it up for a few days here and there.
Jeff's sister kids are new to the world and live in SC, so the times we will get to visit with them will not be once a month. However, they are 4 months old and we have seen them twice already and will see them at the end of the month. The bond will soon grow strong!
If you have nephews or neices please take the time to get to know them and make them a part of your life. Special times, memorable times, times that will shape them are to be had!

GIRLS ONLY!

Every year a few girls from my sorority get together on a party barge, Club Fred, to catch up and have some girl time. I have not made it every year, but always have fun when I can make it, no matter how long it has been since we have seen each other.
It started out as a few pledge classes getting together and now it has expanded to more than a few along with bringing friends that did not even go to college with us. We catch up on loves, babies, work, all kinds of news. We eat, drink, play games, and slide down the slide...so much fun! I look forward to next year and maybe this time I can stay the whole day.
Thanks goes to Mom and Randy for taking care of the boys for me on such a short notice. Jeff, this is a heads up...we are planning the same weekend next year.

We were actually on Club Ethel and not Club Fred.

My good friend Margaret...we were pledge sisters.

MILESTONES MET BY 11 MONTHS

Andrew is beginning to stand on his own now. He seems to stand well when he has something in his hand. However, if he is in the middle of a room and goes to stand from a squatting position he may or may not make it. It is so very exciting!
He is also waving "Bye, Bye", which he started doing while at Red Lobster at some stranger.
I have heard him say, "Dada, Mama, Joshua, Bubba, and More".
I love to see him hit all these milestones, but it does make me very sad that this may be my last baby...it goes by so quickly.

BAPTISM

I finally got a picture of Morgan and Jack Moats' baptism. In case you have not heard the story...the minister just started speaking when Jack started his "business". Kristen rushed him to the bathroom. They were gone for a long time...made it back just in time for the baptism. Jack was in a NEW outfit, not the nice baptism outfit his Mom and Dad specifically picked out for this occasion. I think I would have cried!

Jeff and I prepared Joshua for the baptism by asking him if he will help Morgan and Jack come to know Jesus. He said that he would, but he was nervous about being up there with the minister. He stayed by Grampie and answered all questions appropriately. Later that day he pretended he was the minister and he went around baptizing the kids and then singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".

We are so blessed to be included in this momentus occasion. We see God's blessing in our family..."Thank you heavenly father!"