Got to Love Colorado!

 Here we are at the Alluvial Fan in RMNP.  It was a beautiful day.  The temp. was only 70 degrees!  Colorado is such a beautiful place to visit!  Their saying is, "If God doesn't live in Colorado, I bet that's where he spends most of his time!"

Heat Wave

The past week has been SO incredibly hot! Can't wait to get to Colorado this year! The temps here have been in the 100's all week long. We have been hanging out indoors for most of the week, but have ventured out to the pool and spray park a couple times too. Ice-cream, frozen yogurt, and a new fan have also helped us this week. I'm truly thinking of buying a block of ice and just sitting on it to stay cool! Don't get me wrong though, I love the summer. I love all the seasons! I swear it would be so boring to live in a place where they don't have all four seasons.

Robbie will be 8 very soon! Instead of a big party this year, he decided he wanted us all to go to Worlds of Fun. The problem is, it is just to freaking hot to go right now. I think this event will have to wait a couple weeks until we get a little heat relief! He did get his new Zig-Tech shoes that he wanted a little early. Can't believe my oldest is almost 8!!! Time flies when you're having fun!

Robbie's self-portrait!

Happy Fourth!

It is Fourth of July weekend and the heat has settled in to KC right on schedule! So far, summer has just been flying by. We have entertained ourselves with trips to the zoo, library, the Y, and lets not forget baseball! Robbie's baseball team won the league championship last night! It was pretty cool watching this team grow over the season and become a great little team in the end. I was so proud of Robbie again this year! He looks like Brett out there, only in a smaller package. Baseball will definitely be HIS sport too!

We started out the summer a little bit rough. Stevie had his tonsils taken out on June 13. It took him a good 2 weeks to really feel back to his true self. The saddest part of the surgery was that it took away his gruff little old man voice and replaced it with a high pitched nasal sounding voice. We miss our little old man! He does already seem to be sleeping better, and he doesn't make the hacking noise every morning when he wakes up.

Annie is taking dance lessons for the first time this summer. She is taking tap and ballet, and absolutely LOVES it! She is such a girl! I think she is just like my mom. She loves to shop, try on new clothes, bake stuff, play with makeup, and bug her brothers! Mom and Annie have a great relationship! Mom just "gets" her! I am sad that she will already be going to preschool this fall. It seems like she is just growing up too fast.

Non is starting to go down hill. Her short term memory has really deteriorated in the past few months especially. She is like a different person - very stubborn, and at times very difficult to deal with. She refuses to do the two things that will sustain her (eat and drink water!) Making her do these things is like pulling teeth! I'm just not sure how much longer we will be able to take care of her.

So, I must go make a grocery list and a menu since we will be hosting the 4th this year! Brett finally (a year later) put his smoker together and will be preparing some kind of smoked meat for us this year! Can't wait!

Baseball Has Begun!

Robbie is back at it again! He played his first game yesterday and won with a score of 32-8! Yeah Panthers! It is so much fun, as his mom, to see his skills already developing at such a young age. I know all of these baseball skills come from his father! When I watch Robbie play, it reminds me so much of Brett playing in high school! Just the way he stands out there on the field waiting for a ball, he LOOKS like Brett out there! Yesterday Robbie hit a single, double, triple, and a home run! I was one pretty proud mama!

Things I've Laughed at this Week

Take your child to work day was this past Thursday. Brett took both the boys with him to work. I guess he told them if he sold anything that day, he would give them a "cash bonus!" Stevie took this very seriously! At the first appointment, he told the guy that he would get a cash bonus if Dad sold anything today. The guy was excited for Stevie and said, "Cool, you mean you will get a cut, huh." To which Stevie replied, "No I'll get money! I have already got a cut on my finger!"

This morning Brett and I were laying in bed slowly waking up when in came Robbie and Stevie just wanting to cuddle. Such a sweet little moment! Then they decided they wanted to pretend like our bed was a space shuttle and we were all headed out into space. Stevie told Robbie that to put the force field around the ship you have to say the word.... "Potato!" Robbie interrupted. No, Stevie said bothered you have to say "ON!" Then Robbie teasingly repeated the words, "Off, On, Off, On, Off, On" Stevie without skipping a beat said, "Great, ROB! Now you broke the force field!"

The good thing about having kids, is that they always keep you laughing!

St. Patty's Day Already?!?!?

Wow another year has gone and another one is here. We had a wonderful holiday season, but it just seemed to go so fast. Now we're almost into spring! Maybe. With all the snow days we've had this year, I wouldn't want to jinx ourselves.

St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow and will be celebrated, as always, with a trip to the Pizza Shoppe for pizza and green beer. Isn't that what all Irish families eat on this day? We took the kids to the Snake Saturday Parade last weekend and they all seemed to enjoy it. The weather was nice, and we had great seats at the start of the parade route. The only problem was we didn't think it was EVER going to end. It was by far the longest snake parade we have ever attended! The day was topped off with a yummy (kids eat free!) dinner at Steak and Shake! The kids ate like we had never fed them before. I think Robbie is going through a growth spurt right now after seeing all the food that he ingested. Stevie was on a hot dog and fries high! Anytime he eats without complaining about it, I'm thrilled! Annie downed a "bannilla" milk shake faster than you can blink! She LOVED it! We even got Non to eat that night ~ and that is very hard to do sometimes. We have learned that the right amount of onions on a burger = a happy old lady!

Now I'm off to sleep. The time change this weekend has really messed with us all! It didn't seem this hard last spring....but oh well.

The 4th Anneversary of my 28th Birthday

If anyone asks me how old I am, I literally have to stop and think about it. Today I am another year older. What does that mean? Well, I don't feel any different. I know my memory is not what it used to be, but I attribute that to placental drainage not age. I did buy myself some eye-lifting cream and am working out more than I ever have in my life. I figure now is the time to start focusing on looking and feeling healthy. I don't want to be one of those women who look like they are 60 when they turn 40! My parents both turned 60 this year, and they neither one look a day over 50. Hopefully these good genes will help me to age gracefully!

I have realized over the years that birthdays are just not as fun as they used to be when you were little. The gifts are sure not as fun. Today my husband gave me a new set of phones. Something we needed for the house. This reminded me of past birthday gifts he has given me, such as the big TV or the surround sound system. You know stuff "I" really wanted. All these are better than the first birthday gift he gave me, a chia-pet. Nothing can top that one!

So as I reflect on the last 28 years of my life, I do realize just how blessed I am. I have a wonderful husband (despite his b-day gifts!), a beautiful, healthy family, and friends that I couldn't do without! I pray that the next 28 years are just as fantastic as the first!