No new pics...I'm slackin on the laptop. Baylie and I are watching Dancing with the Stars while the boys are at the Rockies game, hopefully watching them progress to the playoffs. I wanted to share a few things that we have been up to.....
Jeff is getting more used to his 8-5 schedule, I think. He was definitely getting tired of all the driving at home, and I think finding himself with more breaks in the day. He calls me to chat daily and that is new. Jeff hasn't generally been a "call to chat" person. He says that all the people at the plant are friendly. I'm sure they are glad to be rid of Frank! Kidding! Last weekend, one of Q's suppliers invited he and I (Jeff, not Frank) to watch the Broncos game from their suite! It was very nice with a great view, and plenty of food and drink. Walking through the parking lot was amazing too. I have never seen tailgating of that caliber. Not that I have seen a lot of tailgating activity in my lifetime, but Jeff was pretty amazed as well. Bronco-themed trailers, cars, motorhomes, etc. with decorations, games, food, etc.
Brady's hair hasn't been cut since summer and it was bad then :( We keep saying we'll get it done THIS weekend, but then it is Sunday and well, time has gotten away from us. He LOVES it though, and I am hoping we can meet in the middle for it to look decent. He finished intramural basketball and I took at least three pics of him playing with his hair - bad habit - can't imagine where he picked that up! I will post them as soon as I get them off my phone. He is doing his best to not keep up on his homework, but Jeff and I are doing our best nagging. Okay, I'm the nag. There is a website you can monitor and of course I am on it daily, which thrills Brady to his toes. But, he still has the mentality that if he ignores something hard enough, it will disappear...I was hoping this would begin to improve as he is nearing 13 but unfortunately this is apparently when it worsens... GRRR. He has recently started intramural flag football and is having a blast. So of course, I use this as leverage. He has only had to miss one practice for homework. He is making a stool in woodworking and we are excited to see that! Also, they did a fun run in PE to Subway and are gearing up to start dissecting things in Science.
Baylie received her recorder on Friday! They wont start playing it in music until this week, but we got to hear her play all weekend :P The very best was at 7 AM Saturday morning. I taught her the one song I know, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and she almost has it down. She also likes to clean her recorder! She had a play date last week to her friend, Olivia Yang's house. She and Olivia are about the same size and have lots of fun. She also plays with Taylor Boley at recess, who will come over tomorrow after school. Baylie is getting taller and keeping very active, which is great, except for in terms of her weight. I got some protein-powder to make shakes they prescribe at Children's and she actually likes them, so keep your fingers crossed. Today, I could see her out at PE playing flag tag and the poor thing was struggling to keep her sweatpants up :( Also today, she rode her scooter the entire 100 yards to school...!!! Lots of other kids do it and she was dying to, so she went for it.
I am volunteering in the 3rd grade two days a week and getting to know the kids. It is nice to be right across the street but somehow I still manage to be late most of the time. Hmmmmmm. My neighbors and I will start golf lessons this Wednesday for the month of October. I am stressing to find the right attire (and not my lack of golfing skills) but will wing it this week and see what the trend is so I am ready for next week. :) Bunco starts this Friday and there are 16 of us, so that should be fun. I don't want to have it here until I feel like the house is put together a little more, which could be a while. The living room by the front door is completely empty and there is no current plan in motion to buy anything for it, so I am glad there are 15 other homes as options in the meantime. Last Friday, we took the kids to the Denver Science Museum for the Titanic exhibit. They loved it. You received a boarding pass at the beginning with the name of a real passenger and what class they were in, their history, etc. At the end, there was a list of all the survivors and non-survivors and you found "your" name. Other than that, Jeff and I have attended a few BBQs (with kids), an annual neighborhood fiesta party complete with a tequila-shot ice luge contraption, and a karaoke party (Baylie called us to report she couldn't sleep before it was our turn - saved by the bell). We are also going to the gym together most mornings, though I am in charge of setting the alarm for 530, getting out of bed to walk across our bedroom to turn off the alarm (or most often hit snooze), and poking him wake him and ask if he is going or not. I would say we generally make it three weekdays and every other Saturday. It is great "couple time" for us - we don't speak on the way there because we are still half asleep and pre-coffee, then go our separate ways inside. Afterward, we stop at Starbucks so I can get caffeine and then I chat his ear off the rest of the way home :)
Oh and how could I forget, we bought our plane tickets home for the holidays! December 23rd through January 2nd - everyone clear your calendars :) And last but not least, if anyone was wondering, Lucas is doing well. I took him to the vet today who said he is in great shape for 15 and has some years left in him - sorry JW :)
On Labor Day, we went to The Taste of Colorado, in Denver, and had lots of good food and drink! It was very hot that day, about 98. Some locals warned us about the people that may be there but we weren't too scared, as we had seen the Skagit County and Monroe Fairs!! :) It was very fun, with good music and neat booths. There was a good view of the capitol building and we saw the new Denver Library. Also that weekend, we went to the Weird Al Yankovic concert, which Jeff and I weren't exactly excited for, but it was actually entertaining. They were predicting thunderstorms so we came prepared, but the weather was great. I think, though, we may have been the only fans in the audience who didn't know all the words to his songs! Who would have thought he had such a following.
We have also seen a fox in the front yard, I saw a prairie dog get run over on Sheridan (our Burlington Blvd), and there are horses in the field just past the school that we can see from our front yard. It should be interesting to see what pops into the neighborhood next!
After a most exciting weekend involving High School Musical 2 and a new neighbor BBQ, I believe we all survived our first full week of school! Mommy and Baylie have figured out the pickup and dropoff spots, the weather has cooled off somewhat so we can break out some of our cute new outfits, and each of the kids was invited to a new friend's house. Brady and his group in science constructed the best aluminum foil boat that held the most pennies and I have only had to run one forgotten item over to him at the school (so far!!). Also, Brady has decided he likes tennis very much and he and Jeff (I have attempted miserably) have gone to the courts at the school several times to play. Baylie had PE twice and is getting used to Mr. PE teacher with the loud voice. Also, she is very excited to start playing the recorder in music! There was an ice cream social on Friday that Baylie and I hit the tail end of (she wanted a real snack first and B was at his friend, Austin's house). Last night (see bad cell phone pic above), we were invited to the Omni Hotel where our neighbor is the manager of, for swimming at two outside pools and hot tub while watching "Night at the Museum". It was tons of fun and I'm sure Jeff is sorry he missed out, as he was back in Washington tying up loose ends with the sale of our house and his former position at work.
Baylie enjoyed her first day in 3rd grade at Aspen Creek! She wrote about her summer, had PE, had a scavenger hunt, had snack, recess, etc. Our neighbor, Anna, who Baylie had met last week is in her class as well as Jayden, a boy we met at the pool. Anna introduced Baylie to lots of friends and "everyone is nice". The only reported disappointment is at lunch, K-5 grades are not offered the same drink and ala carte choices as the middle schoolers - darn!!!
Brady started 7th grade today! His "connect" teacher (homeroom) had called him two days ago to introduce himself and tell Brady what to do and where to go on the first day. Brady is very excited about having a male teacher!! Yesterday, he went to the 7th-8th grade new student orientation and got his schedule. After that, we went to the pool and met some new friends, the Anthony's, who have a boy in Brady's grade (Joey) and a boy in Baylie's grade and class! (Jayden). Joey told B what to do and what to expect at Aspen Creek!! So as of this morning, Brady knew two 7th graders! (We had met Amy our second day after moving in - she was walking our neighbor's dog - B gave her a "hey" and a JW head nod :) This morning he stood at the top of the staircase and watched kids walk/ride over.... then decided he did NOT want me to walk him over. When I took Baylie over for her reading assessment, I passed the cafeteria and saw B in line for milk, I assumed, since he brought lunch. I took Baylie down to her room and met her teacher - Mrs. Konold - who is very, very nice and young. We got her unpacked at her desk and then she had a reading assessment. I took this opportunity to sneak back down and peek into the cafeteria. B was in line with his Vitamin Water!!! And, there was another boy standing beside him, who it turns out after lurking a little longer was waiting for B. They went together to a table of kids and sat down in the middle. I cried tears of relief! Stay tuned for B's report on today...I bet it will be brief!
We left Burlington on Friday the 3rd about 3:30 and the car was quiet for a while; we were tired and a bit sad after saying goodbye. The kids dug into their care packages right away, put together by friends and family (thank you, thank you!!!) Among other cool things, Aunt Lisa packed some neat books for travel with fun facts and games regarding all 50 states. By the time we hit Bellevue, we had found license plates from 18 different states! The first night, we stayed in Ritzville, Washington at the La Quinta. We crashed hard that night; the kids didn't even ask to go to the pool! Saturday morning, we were surprised to wake up and find it was 9:00 AM already! We set off as soon as we all were ready and after breakfast and coffee! Saturday was scheduled to be our longest day of travel. We stopped in Missoula, Montana to stretch our legs and get Lucas some water. Baylie and I found a cool thing at PetSmart called a "Wet Bone" which Lucas was able to drink from in the car. He loved it!! So much in fact, that he peed the bed that night at our hotel in Bozeman, Montana! Oops! (We cut back on the Wet Bone the next day!!!) Saturday night, we ate at Mackenzie River Pizza Company, which was very cool and yummy, with "Montana-ish" memorabilia and decor. Baylie did not like the buffalo skull lights! Sunday, our destination was Yellowstone! We arrived there around noon. Jeff was disappointed that we didn't see any bears while there, but Baylie definitely wasn't!! We saw some buffalo and deer, which Baylie reminded us we see on Peterson Road and at Bay View School in Burlington. Brady was more impressed with Yellowstone, however, and took it all in. We all thought Old Faithful was very amazing and have a short video of it. On that day we made it to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which is where we stayed the night. After Mexican for dinner, we all zonked out pretty quickly. The next morning (Monday), we walked around Jackson a bit. It is a cool place!! We had a good breakfast, bought some T-shirts, and then took off for Rawlins, Wyoming. As for the rest of our trip, which involved driving through Wyoming, there is not much to say.... some beautiful scenery and hmmm...that's about it! Oh ya, how could I forget, there is no cell phone service or Starbucks there!! Day 5 (Tuesday), we woke up in Rawlins and headed toward Savannah, the capitol, which we had planned to tour a bit. After lunch at Sonic Drive-In, we all decided we just wanted to get to our new house, and besides we were out of Wet Bone :). We arrived "home" at about 3:00 that day and went straight to check things out. At that point, we had found all license plates except Rhode Island!!!!!!!
