Mountains of fun

We had the most fantastically fun day yesterday. We went to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park for the day. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! It was around 70 degrees in the day and not a cloud in the sky, and the aspens were in full color. We went for the elk bugling, more on that in a bit. We spent some time in the cute town of Estes Park, which has this pretty river running through it. Connor saw some fish in the river, and having caught the fishing bug when he and Brian went camping, he tried to catch a fish with a leaf. Needless to say, he was unsuccessful. We went in several stores, including an old-fashioned candy store. Oh my goodness, it brought new meaning to the saying, "like a kid in a candy store!"

Isabel wishing she was a bit taller...

Connor contemplating this most important decision... (you know you're in the mountains when there's a crazy elk wearing sunglasses mounted on the wall!)
We then headed into Rocky Mountain National Park. This time of year is when the elk bugle and mate. And TONS of people go to watch. This might sound strange to those of you not from here or who haven't heard of this, but it is very cool. In the evening, herds of elk come down from the mountains and fill the meadows. The males make this crazy sound and try to interest the females. Fortunately, we never saw any x-rated action :) You have to stay on the roads during this time, so we had a picnic on the side of the road.

This was our view:
Here's a large male. He was hot on the trail of a bunch of females. When Connor asked why he was making that sound, I told him he was just trying to meet a nice girlfriend.

It got quite chilly once the sun went behind the mountains, so we went back into town and warmed up with some hot chocolate - my kids love love love hot chocolate!


We changed the kiddos into their PJs and headed home at night. They all fell asleep, and Brian and I enjoyed a relaxing drive home. Perfect ending to a perfect day!

Broken for You and the perfect evening

This is my latest read. We discussed it at book club on Friday. I really enjoyed it. It was my pick, and I expected it to be a somewhat cozy read. It definitely had a lot more substance than I expected (including a Holocaust storyline). It's basically the story of this 70-something woman who has been a recluse in her Seattle mansion for years. She's kept a big secret, and having been diagnosed with a brain tumor, decides it's time to make the past right and start living again before she dies. She takes in a boarder, a 30-something woman with a terribly sad past who is searching for the boyfriend who just left her.

My favorite things bout the book: an incredibly entertaining and well-developed cast of interesting characters. Love the scene when an elderly woman is scrapbooking with her 59-year-old male friend.

My least favorite thing: some bad language

I liked this book even though: the story was wrapped up into a nice bow at the end. Some of us found the coincidences in the book a bit of a stretch. I didn't mind them.

Overall, a strong story with some great characters. Makes a touching case for the strength and joy of families, including surrogate families.



On another note, tonight was one of those perfectly amazing fall evenings. The air was so cool and crisp. The sky was clear and the leaves are starting to change. I bundled the kids (well, hats and sweatshirts at least) and took them on a walk to the park. As we were walking home a HUGE full moon starting coming up. I could just do a fall dance of joy. My head is swimming with Halloween projects, costume plans, pumpkin patches and pumpkin bars.

Pounding the pavement

I went running today. Decided it's time to work off the Lucas weight. Well, actually, I was down to my pre-pregnancy weight when he was 6 weeks old, but that included a little extra left over from Isabel. Seriously, losing weight after Connor was SO easy. I started running when he was 4 months old. I ran for a month, and was a SMALLER size than when I got pregnant. I didn't get what was so difficult about it! And then Isabel came along. I don't know if it was just the baby #2 thing, or the fact that when I had her I had reached a certain milestone and my age began with a "3" instead of a "2." Either way...

It's just amazing what an appendectomy and 3 basketball-shaped pregnancies ending in 3 C-sections have done to my stomach! It's like the time Brian accidentally wore a pair of my socks. They were permanently stretched out and would not return to their normal size for anything. Some socks might have returned to their normal shape, but not that pair. I must not have very elastic skin. My doctor told me I'd be a "perfect candidate" for a tummy tuck. If there's one thing I want to be a perfect candidate for, that is NOT it!

And so this all leads me to start running. I am so not a great runner, but it's the best way I've found to drop a few. And there really is such thing as a runner's high! It's like therapy for me. But I'm lucky to get in a couple of miles these days. I can't believe I ran a marathon 7 years ago!

Forgive my whinings. I adore my children. It's just going to take some effort to learn to love my post-babies body.

Good friends are a true blessing

On Monday evening, our friends Jeff and Judi and their baby, Owen, came to visit us and bring Brian some cheer. Brian and Jeff met as freshmen in college, and have been good friends ever since (14 years). In addition to bringing some cheer, they showed up with something else: a car. They decided they didn't need their 2nd vehicle for a while, and wanted Brian to use it until we replace the Saturn. That was so incredibly generous and thoughtful of them. Where would we be without good friends?

(As for the Brian/car situation, Brian is slowly feeling better. He has learned those bruised ribs of his just might take some time before they don't hurt. Poor guy. But again, it could have been SO much worse. Insurance is working on the claim, we're waiting to see what they say.)

Back to friends. A bunch of our friends/family members had babies around the time Lucas was born. So Lucas has been getting to know some of his future friends. Here's Lucas and the previously mentioned Owen, who are just over 3 weeks apart:


And here's Lucas with Leah, my friend Kristie's baby girl. Kristie and I were due just a few days apart, but she ended up having Leah 3 months early. Fortunately Leah is doing fantastic.

A picture really is worth a thousand words (and emotions)

This morning we went to where the car was towed to collect Brian's personal things and see the car. This is what used to be the front of the car - I think it's half of what it was (or less). Seeing the car has really hit home for me and made me feel really emotional, because I keep staring at it and thinking, "my husband was in this disastrous mess!" I seriously cannot believe he walked away with as few injuries as he did. I know he was watched over.

His nose is pretty sore, and his ribs on one side are bothering him. And he has a nasty bruise on his hip. But he has no whiplash, which is amazing. He has been pretty tired out, which I'm sure is a result of all the stress and trauma. He's taking a few days off, just doing a bit of work from home. I am going to be a total basket case when he starts commuting again. Here's the car from the front. The green car behind it to the right is the car he hit.

And here's the inside and the deflated air bags:

Thanks to everyone for your kind words and phone calls. We appreciate everyone's love and support! And on one final note, his court date for the careless driving ticket is October 29: our birthday.

Crash course

Brian was in a bad car accident last night. He was driving home from work late at night, and hit a car that was stalled in the right lane of I-70. He was going 70 mph. He says he didn't see the car until it was too late, and slammed into it at full speed. Turns out, the girl in the other car had just been in a hit and run - another car had crashed into her and sped off. So this girl couldn't get her car onto the shoulder, and it was sitting in the right lane. She had just gotten out the car and was on the shoulder calling police when along came Brian.

Brian was able to walk out of his car (but was dripping blood). As they waited for paramedics, in typical nice-guy Brian fashion, he spent the wait consoling this girl, who was really upset. She kept apologizing for her car being in the way. Brian said it wasn't her fault.

Anyways ... they brought Brian to the ER in an ambulance. He was there for a number of hours. They were concerned about internal injuries, and did a CAT scan, X-rays and an ultrasound. Turns out he ended up with a broken nose and a bunch of cuts and bruises. He's pretty sore, but according to paramedics and the ER doc, he's extremely lucky. They said the seatbelt and airbags did their job and totally saved his life. When the paramedics arrived on the scene (there was a firetruck, ambulance and multiple police cars), they couldn't believe both drivers were sober and not seriously injured.

Our car didn't fare so well. It was the Saturn I bought when I graduated from college 10 years ago. It was 2 years old then. It moved me out to CO from MN. I commuted to all of my jobs in it. Then I handed it over to Brian when we had kids for his commuting vehicle. It's been paid off for 5 years, and has been a GEM of a car. Has seriously not needed anything other than oil, tires and gas. Yesterday, the day of the accident, the car hit 200,000 miles. We were talking about how we hoped we'd get a bit more out of it and were planning to drive it until it died. Guess it got killed instead.

Anyways, we are all giving Brian a little extra love today. Connor has had about a gazillion questions. We finally had to use his little cars to re-create the accident so he could understand it. And I'm sure it was a bit traumatic for the kids to have to wake up this morning and go pick up a blood-splattered daddy at the hospital. We are thanking our lucky stars and saying our prayers of gratitude that this ended as well as it did, and trying not to focus on the insurance/new car drama that surely lies ahead. Oh, and for the record, Brian got ticketed for careless driving. Hoping for a better day tomorrow!

A huge "Thanks" to Mom Howell for coming over today and helping us get through the drama.

Family Day at Preschool

Today was the first of six "family days" at preschool that are held throughout the year. Basically, the families are invited to the last hour of school to work on a project with the kids. We were all able to go today. It was SO cute! First they did circle time and played a game, "Little mouse, little mouse, are you in the _____ house?" The kids take turns choosing different colored houses, and one of them had a little mouse hiding beneath it. Isabel even got a turn, and oh my goodness, she was ALL over that one. Just marched her little body up to the front of the class to take her turn. Then we worked together to cut out little houses and a mouse and decorated them to bring home. Connor and Isabel played that game forever this evening!

At the end of family day, the kids sang a cute song for the parents. And here is my little admission - I am a seriously emotional mom who is a sucker for these things! Just watching my little boy sitting with all his preschool friends singing this adorable song, and I CANNOT help it - I totally tear up! OK, I'm not like sobbing, but I get a little misty-eyed. Brian always knows when I'm fighting to keep it hidden so I don't look ridiculous. He kindly glosses over it at the time (and then I hear about it later, in good humor of course). :)

Connor is doing great at school. He's already using scissors and cutting much better than last year. And we met his new speech therapist, who's fantastic. She said Connor has way surpassed his goals. Nice work buddy!

3 months, hats and thumb-suckers

Just a few notes from the last couple of days. First, Lucas was 3 months old yesterday. Here's the handsome little guy. He continues to be the sweetest little boy. Sleeps 8 hours straight at night, smiles a lot, loves to interact with the family. Already the newborn memories are fading away...


Yesterday also brought a hint of something that brings much happiness to my soul - FALL! It was in the 50s, and definitely had fall in the air. I am a fall girl through and through. Love everything about it. I took the kids on a big walk, and even put the two little ones in hats (love a kiddo in a cute little hat.)


On a final note, Lucas has discovered his thumb. I now have 2 thumb-sucking boys. The only difference is Connor sucks his left thumb, while Lucas prefers his right. I did not pose this picture, and I didn't notice until now that they are mirror images of each other! In reality, all my kids are suckers, as Isabel is a pacifier addict. It's great when they're little and can self-soothe, but these are hard habits to break!

Picture perfect

I LOVE scrapbook paper. There are so many beautiful papers; I often find patterns I wish I could wear! I wanted to add some color to my walls, and decided to use scrapbook paper. I ended up framing 3 different papers, and then used 5x5 B&W photos in the center offset by a hint of cream cardstock. Love the way it turned out!

Family Fair Fun

Each year, a neighboring stake puts on a Family Fair for the community. It was held yesterday, and we had a fantastic time. In addition to favorites like cotton candy and balloons, there are hamburgers and hot dogs, cookies, watermelon, corn on the cob, popsicles, popcorn, a karaoke sing along, fire trucks, lots of games, and lots of inflatable jumping contraptions and slides. It's basically a kid mecca. And, it's all FREE. Gotta love that!

Connor really loved this big slide.

And, he had a fun time jumping around too. At the end of the day, Brian attempted two balloon rescues, and was successful at one. Isabel's balloon went up, up and away as we were loading everyone in the van, and was gone before we could grab it. Connor's balloon made it home, then floated up into our vaulted ceiling upstairs. Brian developed a contraption that consisted of a broom with a glove on the end, and with some acrobatics managed to retrieve the balloon and stop Connor's tears. Connor then pronounced Brian "a one-man show!" All's well that ends well.

Imagination at work

Pretend play is one of the areas in which Connor has been a bit behind; he really just started doing nice pretend play within the last 6 months. So, when I see him doing some nice pretend play, it really makes me smile. The other day he and his puppies (from left to right: old yellow puppy, new yellow puppy and white puppy) had quite an adventure. He loaded them up in a wagon, and they all drove through the "drive-through." This is a narrow walkway between a chair and a wall. He pulled up to an outlet, and ordered like this: "Yes, I will have a cheeseburger and some chicken nuggets." A pause, and then: "No, that's it." He collected their food, and then they drove to a Rockies game. He lined them all up like they were in Coors Field, and then explained to the puppies how baseball is played: "Someone hits a ball like this (makes a bat-swinging motion), and then everyone yells 'yay!'" So that's baseball in a nutshell to my 4-year-old. It was pretty cute.

And then today at lunch, Isabel was dipping her pretzel stick into her berry yogurt, which was a pretty pink color, and then painting it on her fingernails. Again, she's such a GIRL!