So, like I mentioned last time, we are leaving on vacation this Friday. I thought I'd go ahead and let you know our plans - obviously I don't know if/when I'll be able to give an update here until we get back, but we'll see....
Friday, 6/24: Leave home after I get off work at 1pm, drive to Denver - stay at Gran/Codfish's house
Saturday, 6/25: Drive to Casper for family reunion, staying with Dave/Darla
Sunday, 6/26: Don't really know how this day will play out, as we obviously want to spend as much time as possible with relatives still in town, but the plan is to at minimum arrive in Cody by supper/dark that night; we are camping there
Monday, 6/27: A full day in Cody, we plan to maybe see the museums or some "cowboy stuff" there, plus hit the rodeo that night, still camping
Tuesday 6/28: Drive into Yellowstone, spend the day in the park, exploring (as much as a family with a pg mom and an almost-2-yr-old can!) the upper/northeast side of things, staying in hotel in Gardiner
Wednesday, 6/29: Exploring west/southern part of Yellowstone, staying in hotel in West Yellowstone
Thursday, 6/30: Drive down to Grand Teton NP, exploring there (as much as bears will let us!), camping there
Friday, 7/1: Drive back to Casper, staying night with Dave/Darla
Saturday, 7/2: Drive back to Denver, time to play and stay with Gran/Codfish - I think Azx3 is going to the golf course this day with Codfish, maybe some shopping?!?
Sunday, 7/3: More time in Denver, maybe the zoo and children's museum?, drive by the new Mile High?, not much officially planned, just playing it by ear
Monday, 7/4: Happy 4th of July! I'm sure there will be all kinds of festivities today, topped off (a BIG thanks to Gran and Codfish for this one!!!!) by the Rockies game that night with fireworks afterwards!!
Tuesday, 7/5: Drive home, happy and weary
Should be a full and fun trip! The great thing is, the only times/deadlines we have to meet are the check-in times at hotels and the Rockies game. Nothing else (except where we're staying) is set in stone - so we can really go with the flow, or naptimes, as the case may be. We are all so excited!!
Monday, June 20, 2005
Happy Father's Day!
Whew! Yesterday was busy, but fun. We let Daddy sleep in for the morning (or at least until the absolute last minute before we were really late for church!), went to SS, then took him out to eat before he had to go to work. Yes, (sigh) he had to work on Father's Day, but it's the trade off for being able to go on vacation. He didn't have to go in til noon though, so we took him to eat at Rockfish, which was good - yum! shrimp!!! - and he enjoyed it. Then we went home to do such constructive things as naptime, painting Azx4's toenails, and baking cookies. Then it was off to Daddy's store to check out some clothes for me, then to GrandMommy's for a minute, and then back home.
We are very blessed to have some wonderful friends from church that I met with last night to look at/borrow their camping stuff. We leave on vacation this Friday!!! and it can't come soon enough. Take that back - yes it can, cause I haven't even finished laundry yet, much less started packing. AAaaaaccckkkKK!! Anyways, they have let us borrow their tent, as well as the myriad of camping things one needs: lanterns, rope, all kinds of cooking-outdoors-type-stuff, just really this huge box that we were able to borrow and use whatever we need. I just hope we can find somethign really special for them as a thank-you gift up in Yellowstone or Grand Tetons - they have gone out of their way to help us have a great time on vacation.
We are very blessed to have some wonderful friends from church that I met with last night to look at/borrow their camping stuff. We leave on vacation this Friday!!! and it can't come soon enough. Take that back - yes it can, cause I haven't even finished laundry yet, much less started packing. AAaaaaccckkkKK!! Anyways, they have let us borrow their tent, as well as the myriad of camping things one needs: lanterns, rope, all kinds of cooking-outdoors-type-stuff, just really this huge box that we were able to borrow and use whatever we need. I just hope we can find somethign really special for them as a thank-you gift up in Yellowstone or Grand Tetons - they have gone out of their way to help us have a great time on vacation.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Baby Doctor Appt today!
As Azx3 likes to say....we had a regular check-up today. Everything was great - I've only gained 6 lbs (and I'm in my 2nd trimester with my 3rd), and my blood pressure was low like normal. Heartbeat was 162 (at last visit it was 174), and no real concerns right now. The "big" ultrasound is scheduled for Thursday, July 7, at 8:40 in the morning. I'm wavering on whether or not to find out the sex then - Hubby is kinda indecisive too. Part of me is wanting to plan everything, so I "need" to know. Another part of me thinks that this one we won't have to plan as much for anyways, so why not let one of the last big secrets of life just stay a secret?
I can hear the groans of family now.... ;) Don't worry - we're not going to tell you the name either way, so you can quit holding your breath on that one! Besides, we still have about 3 weeks to decide. Or I guess what we could do is just find out and not tell anyone - let you all guess. Or maybe have the technician find "that area" and let us guess - but not tell us officially. Don't really know what we'll do - but you'll know what we decide. :D
I can hear the groans of family now.... ;) Don't worry - we're not going to tell you the name either way, so you can quit holding your breath on that one! Besides, we still have about 3 weeks to decide. Or I guess what we could do is just find out and not tell anyone - let you all guess. Or maybe have the technician find "that area" and let us guess - but not tell us officially. Don't really know what we'll do - but you'll know what we decide. :D
Summer Camp
Azx3 started what we're calling "summer camp" today. He loves it!! It's actually just a pdo program that is on the mornings I work. It's at a Lutheran church here in town, and it was such an answer to prayer. (How else do you explain it being on Wed/Fri during the summer?!?) Anyways, he has 7 in his class, and his teacher is a mom I know from where I work. On the way home, he only mentioned how much he loved it three times - without any questions!! He also informed me that their story was about Jesus and His friends, where they were on a lake, and Jesus took a nap, and the friends got scared, cause a storm started, and Jesus woke up and said,"Water be still!" and it minded Him. Cause He's God. ;)
On another note, he also had what is officially his last speech appt this morning. He passed with flying colors, with only 1 area being a tad bit below age-appropriateness. (The others were all waaaaaay above age-level, I'm proud to brag!) Our speech therapist is a precious lady, with 3 kids of her own, and has been so helpful and kind working with us. While I won't miss trying to keep Abbigail in line during the appointments, I will miss getting to visit with Ms. J.
On another note, he also had what is officially his last speech appt this morning. He passed with flying colors, with only 1 area being a tad bit below age-appropriateness. (The others were all waaaaaay above age-level, I'm proud to brag!) Our speech therapist is a precious lady, with 3 kids of her own, and has been so helpful and kind working with us. While I won't miss trying to keep Abbigail in line during the appointments, I will miss getting to visit with Ms. J.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Lil Miss Thang
She is such a hoot right now! I mean, really, it's hard to have a complete miserable day with her around - not that we don't have our moments at home (No more grabbing!!!), but it's hard to have a complete wash of a day. She will stop to be sooooo serious and sit next to you on the couch. It's one of those Mom moments I love - you know, where you drop everything to sit next to your toddler and have a "serious" conversation. Yesterday's was a complete review of all her favorite animals we saw at the zoo - in the order we saw them. She would mention one ("Shah-aff?" - giraffe) and I would nod yes, and if I didn't respond quick enough, she would say,"Yoooo seed it?" And then, when we had finished her list, it was like a switch turned, she was no longer serious, gave me a huge grin, and hopped off to go do whatever it is she thought she needed to do. :D
Today was precious - and a HUGE encouragement to me. She is really into stuffed animals right now. So she preceded to carry one around today - picking up a new one about every 30 mins or so - and love it to death. (Really, if this had been real animals, she would have squished them into the Happy Hunting Grounds!) She would hug/squish it for a few seconds, then kiss it (open-mouthed of course!), and then make this "awwwwwwwwwwwww" sound. Then it was time to parade the animal to Mama so she could share the love as well. It was pretty cute - then, as she would take the animal back to her room to find another, she would say,"I wub yooooo" over and over to it. I just loved watching it - literally it went on all day long, as she just incorporated it into whatever she was doing. It suddenly occurred to me that this was a huge compliment to hubby and I on our parenting - children will only do what they have seen modeled before them. ;)
Today was precious - and a HUGE encouragement to me. She is really into stuffed animals right now. So she preceded to carry one around today - picking up a new one about every 30 mins or so - and love it to death. (Really, if this had been real animals, she would have squished them into the Happy Hunting Grounds!) She would hug/squish it for a few seconds, then kiss it (open-mouthed of course!), and then make this "awwwwwwwwwwwww" sound. Then it was time to parade the animal to Mama so she could share the love as well. It was pretty cute - then, as she would take the animal back to her room to find another, she would say,"I wub yooooo" over and over to it. I just loved watching it - literally it went on all day long, as she just incorporated it into whatever she was doing. It suddenly occurred to me that this was a huge compliment to hubby and I on our parenting - children will only do what they have seen modeled before them. ;)
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
VBS and Gardening
For those who are interested, VBS has started at our church. This is Azx3's second year to go, and he loves it! I am really praying for him this week (it's Sunday-Thursday night from 6-8:30), as I was his age when I accepted Christ in VBS. ***hint, hint to those of you prayer warriors....**** :D
By the way, have I mentioned I've taken up container gardening? Yep, I have. Partly due to my friend Jen's incredible tomatoes, partly due to that spring feeling of new beginnings, growing things, etc. Actually, it really kinda started with Azx3 bringing home a little thing from Mission Friends where they had planted sunflower seeds. So I went to go get a pot for that, and came home with 3 pots, planting soil, and tomato seeds. I am loving it! I'll get to the reason why I'm only using pots and not just putting things in the ground in a minute, but it is too much fun! And addicting - I love going out in the morning and seeing what has grown/changed. Now I'm up to 2 tomato seedlings, Azx3's monster sunflower plants (but no buds yet), 2 cucumber plants, 2 watermelon seedlings, 1 cucumber squash seedling, and some pumpkin seeds that haven't done anything yet - but I just planted them yesterday.
The main reason I am doing them in pots has been our crazy weather lately. In the last two-three weeks, we have had major rain (like over an inch each time), major hail (have you ever seen/even heard of baseball-sized hail?), and even some tornadoes for a grand total of almost every other night with a storm. Now I realize the porch won't save them from a tornado, but I know keeping them out of the hail has saved them already. We've been very fortunate to not have had any damage here at my house, but many people in the city have had multiple nights of major hail damage to their roofs, cars, and many of the local farmers are having to start over crop-wise this late in the season. I'll see if I can find a few pictures to post - you gotta see this stuff to believe it!
By the way, have I mentioned I've taken up container gardening? Yep, I have. Partly due to my friend Jen's incredible tomatoes, partly due to that spring feeling of new beginnings, growing things, etc. Actually, it really kinda started with Azx3 bringing home a little thing from Mission Friends where they had planted sunflower seeds. So I went to go get a pot for that, and came home with 3 pots, planting soil, and tomato seeds. I am loving it! I'll get to the reason why I'm only using pots and not just putting things in the ground in a minute, but it is too much fun! And addicting - I love going out in the morning and seeing what has grown/changed. Now I'm up to 2 tomato seedlings, Azx3's monster sunflower plants (but no buds yet), 2 cucumber plants, 2 watermelon seedlings, 1 cucumber squash seedling, and some pumpkin seeds that haven't done anything yet - but I just planted them yesterday.
The main reason I am doing them in pots has been our crazy weather lately. In the last two-three weeks, we have had major rain (like over an inch each time), major hail (have you ever seen/even heard of baseball-sized hail?), and even some tornadoes for a grand total of almost every other night with a storm. Now I realize the porch won't save them from a tornado, but I know keeping them out of the hail has saved them already. We've been very fortunate to not have had any damage here at my house, but many people in the city have had multiple nights of major hail damage to their roofs, cars, and many of the local farmers are having to start over crop-wise this late in the season. I'll see if I can find a few pictures to post - you gotta see this stuff to believe it!
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Down to H-Town
So we went this weekend down to H-town to help my parents move the rest of my sister's stuff. It was mostly fun - when you're moving, whether your stuff or someone else's, it's just not all fun. Sorry, but it's not. My mom rode with the kids and I in the car, while my dad stood on the accelerator in the moving truck to lead the way. :p Then we all rode together on the way home, which was some good family time. It was so nice to see my sister and "the Grand Aunt" while we were down there. I don't know who missed whom the most: my sister or my kids. Plus it was just too long since we'd seen TGA period.
The kids really did a good job behaving in spite of all the moving stuff going on. I'm afraid I might not have been the most patient or understanding (particularly when I felt hot and irritable!!) but again, for the most part it was fun. I la-la-loved Central Market! Let me just say that if we ever move there, I could definitely blow the whole budget there, not just the grocery part. We just don't have anything even close here. Plus, I loved the little shopping area where we ate breakfast at Le Peep's. (I think it would win for my all-time fav breakfast place!)
One thing we did do that really helped the kids was escape to the zoo. (I say escape as it was in the middle of unloading the moving truck in two different places - an almost 2-yr-old, a 5-yr-old, and a pg lady ain't much good for that.) Azx3 was fabulous about understanding that we could stay until GrandMommy called, and never fussed a whit. We were there for a couple of hours and saw pretty much everything we wanted to. It's been interesting, as this is the first thing Azx4 seems to really "remember" and recall. In detail - she's remembered previous outings to say, Grammy's house, or Chuck-e-Cheese's, but never anything we did or saw there. Now, if you ask her what we saw at the zoo, she'll list her top 3 (and in the order we saw them too!): the giraffe (grr-aff), elephant (eh-fant), and the owl (owwww-lll, hoo-hoo!).
For inquiring minds that want to know, our summer is getting busy: we leave on the 24th for almost a full 2-week vacation, I want us to get back to H-town before the end of summer, we're going to Abilene the 2nd weekend of July, and we are going to Grammy and Papa's maybe the first weekend in August before school starts. I guess better to get our traveling in now, before Azx3 can't go because of school (is he really old enough to say that yet?!?!?) and I get too big and far along to travel. Phew!
The kids really did a good job behaving in spite of all the moving stuff going on. I'm afraid I might not have been the most patient or understanding (particularly when I felt hot and irritable!!) but again, for the most part it was fun. I la-la-loved Central Market! Let me just say that if we ever move there, I could definitely blow the whole budget there, not just the grocery part. We just don't have anything even close here. Plus, I loved the little shopping area where we ate breakfast at Le Peep's. (I think it would win for my all-time fav breakfast place!)
One thing we did do that really helped the kids was escape to the zoo. (I say escape as it was in the middle of unloading the moving truck in two different places - an almost 2-yr-old, a 5-yr-old, and a pg lady ain't much good for that.) Azx3 was fabulous about understanding that we could stay until GrandMommy called, and never fussed a whit. We were there for a couple of hours and saw pretty much everything we wanted to. It's been interesting, as this is the first thing Azx4 seems to really "remember" and recall. In detail - she's remembered previous outings to say, Grammy's house, or Chuck-e-Cheese's, but never anything we did or saw there. Now, if you ask her what we saw at the zoo, she'll list her top 3 (and in the order we saw them too!): the giraffe (grr-aff), elephant (eh-fant), and the owl (owwww-lll, hoo-hoo!).
For inquiring minds that want to know, our summer is getting busy: we leave on the 24th for almost a full 2-week vacation, I want us to get back to H-town before the end of summer, we're going to Abilene the 2nd weekend of July, and we are going to Grammy and Papa's maybe the first weekend in August before school starts. I guess better to get our traveling in now, before Azx3 can't go because of school (is he really old enough to say that yet?!?!?) and I get too big and far along to travel. Phew!
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