Independence Day 2010

We were able to travel to the San Luis Valley to celebrate Independence Day with Andrea's family. It was especially fun because in addition to the relatives who live in the area, we were joined by our nieces Tatiana and Savannah from St. Louis, and Andrea's cousin, Mariah, and her husband and children.

...which made for a LOT of kids.

The traditional festivities include a meal together, followed by a bingo game (played at a frantic pace and always ending up in a mad dash for prizes) and a piñata.

Playing with Grandad

Oh, yeah, piñata, you're going down

We celebrated on Friday, and the actual fourth of July was the following Sunday, the day we headed back to Greeley. We decided to make every effort to arrive in time to see the professional firework show at the local country club, for which we have front row seats in our front yard. We had never actually watched the show, since we were always out of town celebrating with Andrea's parents, so we were excited to actually be able to catch it. Unfortunately, the show was rained out, along with the other shows in the area.

The country club opted to cancel their show, but the fireworks show in Loveland was postponed until the following day, so we decided to drive over Monday night, brave the parking, and watch the show. With a bit of online planning, we were able to find a parking spot a few blocks from a park across the lake from the show. It worth the wait, and the kids had a lot of fun.

Have a great fifth of July, everyone!

LUCKIEST DAD EVER

A Visit from Annie & Ren

In mid-June of last year Andrea's brother Ren and his wife Annie came to visit us, and we decided to spend the day in Denver with them. The fun times began at the Natural History Museum, where the kids got to visit one of their favorite exhibits, Space Odyssey.

Four loud monsters

Space suits are one-size-fits-all

"What are you complaining about, Jayden? They're so roomy!"

After the museum, we decided to find a bowling alley, and after a comedy of errors involving one-way streets and GPS units, we finally found one and had a great game.

Ren and Annie, sizing up the competition

And then we all decided to head across the street to Gunther Toody's for dinner. We had a lot of fun, and miss Ren and Annie, who have since moved to Utah so Ren can attend graduate school. We hope to see them again soon!

Food, family and crayons

Swim Time

Summer 2010 brought another wonderful tradition in our family: swimming. The kids love anything that requires them to put on their swimming trunks, whether it is in our front yard or at the local pool.

"Cowabunga!"

Loving it

Sofie was able to join her brothers in swimming lessons; we enrolled her in a class where she and I were able to start her on the basics of being in the water. Needless to say, she had a blast!

Splashin' with Dad

Back to the Farm

As we had done the previous year, we decided in the summer of 2010 to take advantage of our church's program which allows each family a garden plot on the church farm. Watering and insect control is provided; we need only to plant, weed, and harvest.

The previous year, our schedule prevented us from weeding for the first week or two of the season, and we spend the rest of the summer fighting a losing battle against the weeds. This time, however, we were able to weed early on, and the difference was night and day: we could barely keep up with the harvest.

And, as before, we were happy to have eight little hands to help!

Green shirt and green thumb

Now, we wait...

Looking for peas

Summertime!

As the temperature raises and the lessons end, it's that time again: time for shorts, time for picnics, time for fun!

Jayden and Noah both rang in the summer months with their classmates with something they look forward to for weeks: Field Day!

STOMP STOMP STOMP

Parachute + 25 kindergarteners = joy

Other end-of-year celebrations included musical programs and a picnic at the park.

Nothing cooler than chillin' with your friends and eating string cheese

Noah's class performance

We were also able to do a little beginning-of-summer celebration as a family by going to one of the kids' favorite places: Jumpin', a playground constructed entirely of inflatable bounce-houses and slides.

"Now this is how a PWINCESS jumps!"

"What's next, Mom and Dad?"

Super Noah

While in Kindergarten, Noah enrolled in a weekly after-school class at Chappelow that involved creating a superhero costume. The class culminated in a party with these masked wonders.

Noah (r) and his friend Ethan (l)

Even superheroes need to eat