Dance fever

Last month, Reina had her dance recital.  She danced in pointe, ballet, hip hop and hoop.  Both pointe and hoop were new classes for her this year.  I didn't get a picture of her hip hop performance and I could kick myself because it was super fun.  

Reina had her own fan club at the recital. 

Look at my girl on pointe!  This is so much harder than it looks.  She's been working on this since September and has made awesome progress.  

Ballet time.  This was her favorite costume.  

Hoop!  I was blown away by this dance.  Reina made it all look so effortless. 

 Reina isn't sure what dance classes she'll sign up for in the fall.  She talks about wanting more time to do clubs and activities at school, but she also loves dance.  We'll see what she decides.  Reina we just love watching you have fun.  

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a nice holiday weekend.  The kids had Friday off so I took the day off and Glenn took part of the day.  We attended a few graduation parties for friends' kids and I started a little bit of our garden.  Reina caught Will's cold so she was in bed most of the day but tested negative for Covid. Phew.  Saturday was gorgeous so we gardened and worked on cousin E's birthday cake.  I bought this fancy pan that can make all of the letters and numbers and I was itching to try it out.   

The first E didn't turn out as planned but the second version (of which I don't have a picture!) was yummy and more solid than this version.  

Sunday was a little cooler and brought much needed thunderstorms.  Luckily, we got to attend E's 6th birthday party at the roller rink.  I'm happy to announce that all of the adults emerged from the skating rink unscathed.  Considering Aunt V and I served cake and treats while on skates the entire time, that's a huge achievement.  

Along with a giant E cake, he also wanted a baseball one.  I was going to make the stripes with frosting but Kindergarten Cousin insisted on red sprinkles.  He and his sister laboriously picked through the jar of sprinkles to find enough red to make the baseball - the blue and white were used on the E cake, naturally. 

Monday was also cool and overcast.  Will and I took E to Murdoch's for his second annual 'pick out your birthday present' trip.  After much dithering, he chose a toy ATV/Camper combo, a small truck and trailer and a wooden knife (that was Will's idea).  The toy section at Murdoch's is getting smaller so if this continues to be an annual tradition, we are going to have to start buying tools and livestock equipment.  Stay tuned.  

Traditions!

 A few nights ago, we all braved some chilly weather and took a trolley ride around town to look at Christmas lights.  It's a tradition we've had for the last few years, 2020 excepted.  The younger cousins picked a spot between the two older cousins naturally.  We saw some crazy light displays which is always just a little more fun watching it through the eyes of the 5 and 8 year olds.  The Christmas spirit is in full force!  

Oops I missed Thanksgiving

I was so full of turkey and pie last night that I couldn't summon the strength to blog.  So much for my one post a day streak.  We had a really nice day.  Vicky hosted a bunch of us at her house.  I brought pies, green bean casserole, rolls (store-bought, naturally) and salad. I also tried out a new mushroom casserole that was yummy but probably too rich.  Other folks brought turkey, pork roast, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, more pie, and Matt made brisket and ribs.  It was all delicious.  My sister is a great hostess and I'm not just saying that because she'll probably read this later.  The little(r) kids had a great time playing and even got Will and Reina to play along.  Through the floor vent, I could hear Will yelling "don't shoot me, help me Reina!" 

The only picture I took - boy cousins watching football. 

   

Kids at Water World and pet pics

It's been a super weird week but I'm saving that story for another post.  In the meantime, a few weeks ago we took the little monsters, the big monsters, the grandparents, and some friends to Water World for our Official Last Fun Event of the summer.  Well not the Last Fun Event, but maybe the last fun event in Denver?  Anyway, we piled everyone into the car and headed south.  The little monster cousins hadn't been to WW before and none of us had been there since the summer of 2019 because of Covid so we had a great time!  

E talking to his juice box - or talking to me to say 'stop taking my picture'

Where did this grown up girl come from?  

E is not a huge fan of the water and the fact that he walked in up to his knees was very big news. 

Reina and the lazy river 

I didn't get any pictures of Will, or at least any pictures that I'm allowed to post but he was there too and he did a great job with his younger cousins.  He sat in the little wave pool with them and even convinced E to go on a giant inner tube on the "Journey to the Center of the Earth" complete with dinosaurs and lava.  E announced to everyone after the ride that Aunt Lucy had ruined his life by encouraging him to go.  Oh well, I had a nice run as Cool Aunt Lucy but all good things come to an end. 

We recently bought Will a new bed to match is taller physique and a new bed meant new bedding which resulted in a weeks-long search for the perfect comforter and sheet set.  One night while perusing TJ Maxx and sending 10 (TEN!!) pictures to Will of navy and white comforters in all shades and patterns, I stumbled across this welcome mat that had to come with me. I left without a comforter too but later that weekend, Glenn and Will went shopping and came back with the manliest of manly bedding in the form of black and dark gray and I'm just happy that he found one that he likes.  

Since I'm back at the office, the pets and I don't get to hang out like we used to.  We still find time to go to the F I E L D (can't say it out loud where they can hear you) on the weekends.  

A happy bunch post run at their favorite place.

I came upstairs on one particularly hot evening last week to find Coco sleeping in our sink.  While it was a nice cool place to nap, it was also convenient for reminding me that she'd like a refreshing drink 
directly from the tap.  

A rare sighting, a tuxedo cat and a tuxedo dog sharing the same bed.  Soxy still doesn't prefer the dogs be in her direct orbit but for some reason she tolerated it yesterday. 

 

The rest of April so far

Baseball practice, baseball scrimmages, volleyball practice, volleyball games, dance lessons, piano, work, talking about the weather and repeat.  That's our April.  In between all of those events, I got my second Covid vaccine last week.  I started to feel pretty tired in the few hours after my shot and when I woke up the next morning, after sleeping through Glenn getting both of the kids up and out of the house, I texted my boss something like "bad headache, super fatigue, no work" and went back to sleep.  Just like most everybody else I've talked to, by the next day I was back on my feet and feeling normal two days after that.  I'm glad I'm all vaccinated up!  I hope we can get the kids their vaccines too.  I'll breathe a sigh of relief when that is done.   

My view post-vaccination.  I had giant hot water bottle dogs to keep my company.  

Easter Sunday didn't quite look like Easters of past years but we had some fun.  Church on zoom still for me (Glenn and Reina braved in-person).  Then we had a spur of the moment Easter egg hunt with the little cousins because I had too many eggs for just a tween and a teen.  It was short-lived but very, very sweet.  

Not sure who had more fun here - the uncle or the nephew

Finally, a random picture of the cat.  She has staked out the chicken coop as her domain to hunt for mice.  The chickens don't seem to mind and so far the body count is just one mouse.  But that won't stop her from keeping watch.  

More snow is expected this week. Not measured in feet like the last storm and as always, we will welcome the moisture.  Springtime in Wyoming. 

Halloween with a bunch of side photos because that's who I am now

Halloween was a few weeks ago and it was a fun one this year.  Sometime in the next few weeks I will edit this post and fix the photos but that time is not tonight.  This was the first year that Will didn't dress up or trick-or-treat.  After I finished sobbing, I accepted the situation.  The kids didn't have school on Nov 1 so he and Glenn went hunting.  It made sense and it was nice to not have two giant bags of candy in the house for weeks but still.  My little skunk-costumed baby is now a don't-need-trick-or-treat tween.  At least Reina shows no sign of being done with Halloween.  Yet.  

The weekend before Halloween, Glenn and I went to a really fun Halloween/birthday party for some friends who know how to throw an awesome shindig.  Costumes were a must so we spent a few weeks brainstorming and decided to go as Bugs Bunny (Glenn) and Elmer Fudd (me).  I think we nailed it.  Glenn was way more into his costume than I anticipated, he even made felt feet.  He also made me wear his hunting boots because they were more authentic.  It was a lot of fun to dress up and hang out with fun grown-ups.  

What's up Doc?

A few days before Halloween, Reina and I took the little cousins to the Halloween carnival at Reina's school.  Reina dashed off with friends so I got to take A & E around to all of the events in the classrooms.  They were both pretty into it and not scared like previous years.  Toddler Cousin wasn't a fan of the inflatable costumes - there was one T-Rex in particular that he did not appreciate.  But it helped me enjoy the holiday through littler kid eyes plus they got to go home to their parents at the end of the night and I didn't have to bathe anyone.  Yah!! 

Reina took this picture while we were driving to the carnival.  Apparently Batman is never off duty, even when he's strapped into his carseat. 

Reina's costume was self-designed this year.  She decided to a ghost/zombie tween.  She even had a skeleton cat to carry around.  Her makeup was all her own and I think she nailed the look.  Remember when she was a cute little garden gnome?  Or a sunflower?  Sigh. 

Getting ready for trick-or-treating.  She did wear shoes.  

Spring Break shenanigans

Last week was our Spring Break.  It was a nice break and the weather was even spring-like at times.  Glenn and Will took a few days to go turkey hunting in Kansas for Will's first official hunt but Glenn will write about that on the next blog post. Reina and I stayed here and I worked for a few days while she helped her grandparents with the little cousins.  On Wednesday, the little cousins came over to our house for the day.  I realized that while a lot of my friends were posting pictures of beaches and sunshine and exotic vacations, I was getting to watch Toddler Cousin eat soup and I think I might have had the better end of that deal. 

Who wouldn't want to watch this kiddo feed himself soup?!

While the guys were gone, Reina and I had some fun girl time.  We watched more chic flicks, ate meals that weren't cooked in our home and took the dogs on some walks/bike rides.  It was a fun to hang out with my favorite 10-yr old.  

Sled dogs and a bike riding maniac in front. 

 When Will and Glenn got back, the kids and I packed up for a few days in Denver.  I heard about the City Pass from one of my co-workers and it was such a great deal.  For a big discount, the kids and I had access to the zoo, aquarium, children's museum and the natural history museum and we managed to squeeze in all of those places and shopping and eating into 2 1/2 days.  It was one of those little trips where everyone was in a mostly good mood, the kids got along and we didn't have any hiccups.  It was a really nice way to kick off the last part of the school year.

Reina at the aquarium

Reina sipping on a fancy shark drink at the aquarium restaurant.  

While at the aquarium, we got drenched by some hungry sting-rays.  It might've been the highlight of the week for Reina because I was soaked and ended up with a mouthful of sting-ray infused salt water. 

After the aquarium, we checked out the Children's Museum.  Most of it was designed for kiddos younger than my two but they still had a lot of fun.  Will got bucked off the little kid zipline which was entertaining for the rest of us. 

Look!  They do like each other although that could also be a chokehold. 

My big kid. 

I took 0 pictures at the zoo, probably because I like to look at the animals almost as much/more than the kiddos. We walked all over, saw most of the babies which is always a highlight and had some ice cream.  That night, with the help of the hotel staff and some strangers, we figured out how to take the light rail into downtown Denver so that we could eat dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, which was one of Will's requests for the weekend.  He particularly likes their club sandwiches, who knew?  

Will and a lot of food. 

One of Reina's requests was to see the big blue bear outside of the Convention Center. 

Two kids and a big blue bear bottom 

Another shot of the big kid

On the last morning, we got moving pretty early and made it to the Natural History Museum for a few hours before meeting Pop-Pop and Grandma H for lunch.  The kids spotted a virtual reality space exhibit and insisted on getting in line for that right away.  I was going to opt out but I saw how much fun the people in front of us in line had so I decided to give it a try.  Turns out, I accidentally got on a roller coaster.  We wore virtual reality goggles and then the seats move up and down so that you feel like you are (in our case) in a submarine in a prehistoric ocean.  About 30 seconds into the ride, I felt Reina's little hand snake over and grab mine and I was just as happy to hold her's.  The ride was only 5 minutes long but I'm not sure my stomach has stopped feeling squeamish.  

R & W on the side closest to us.  They opted to stay and try the outer space experience while I sat that one out.  

So it was a nice Spring Break.  We get back into the swing of things tomorrow with a busy week of schoolwork, volleyball, confirmation and Glenn's birthday party.  Whoooo!

More basketball and more family visiting!

Last weekend, we had an amazing visit with the Dunlap aunts and Uncle Doug.  It was such a nice treat.  I had to work a little bit more than I wanted to but we still managed to do some shopping, eat some delicious food courtesy of our new Uncle and just hang out. It was almost like a little mini-vacation in January.  When we weren't shopping or eating, we also watched a certain almost 12-yr old play some basketball.  I don't know how but I managed to not take a single picture all weekend but luckily Aunt Vicky had my back.  

Post-game picture.  A little reluctant but that's basically what amounts to a smile from a pre-teen. 

Will's team is sponsored by CRMC which just happens to be where Aunt Vicky works and where she's getting her treatment.  Go CRMC!

Uncle Glenn on snuggle duty.  It''s hard for me to admit but the Baby Cousin likes Uncle "Gen" more than me!!  What?!  

cutie alert!  

On Sunday, Reina and I along with Grandma and the baby cousins went to see "The Kid Who Would Be King."  I'm always up for a King Arthur tale and this one was a lot of fun.  It was a little scary at times and I had to cover Baby Cousin's eyes.  I could tell when it was really scary because he wouldn't bat my hand away.  Preschool cousin spent most of the movie on Grandma's lap.  Reina and I have been dissecting the story all week and now I have to find her a good King Arthur book. 

Now we are back to real life.  We'll have to find something fun to do this Sunday because no one gives a fig for the Super Bowl.  Go Rams?  Will has to make a diorama about China and Reina is busy planning her upcoming birthday/slumber party.  Stay tuned......

Weekend stuff

Another week in December is wrapped up.  Yesterday, Glenn cheerfully pointed out that Christmas is two weeks from Tuesday and yiiiiiikes.  I need to get a move on.  The shopping is getting close to being done but the Christmas card is currently two lines of gibberish in a draft word document, none of the presents are wrapped, none of the packages are even in boxes to be mailed and every morning I race to move the Elf on the Shelf before someone in the house wakes up and looks for her.  So there's a lot going on.  On Saturday, Reina and I met Aunt Vicky and Grandma and the cousins to see the unveiling of a new playground in the mall that Vicky helped fundraise for and we also squeezed in some shopping.    

Aunt Vicky, Reina, Spiderman and an unaware Grandma.  

Unicorn girl doing the floss.  

Another shot of the serious Spiderman. 

Another one of my daily chores every morning is to pick up all of the Christmas ornaments that mysteriously fall off of the tree during the night.   

What (who) could possibly be the cause?  What a conundrum! 

Finally, this picture popped up in my FB feed over the weekend and I was instantly transported back to our first Christmas as parents and these two sitting under the tree.  Be still my heart.  

Spring Break 2018 part 1

Last Saturday, the alarm went off at 3:45 a.m. and we all popped out of bed, kissed the pets, hopped in the car and headed to the Denver airport.  We caught a plane to Cabo, Mexico and our Spring Break adventure began.   We met my parents, sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew and b-i-l's parents and aunt and uncle down there.  It was a big crew and the first time I've vacationed with my parents and Vicky's family besides the occasional camping trip.  And spoiler alert, it was a great trip.  There were so many adventures that this will be post #1 of ... many.  

Our first morning there was Easter Sunday.  The Easter bunny did not bring baskets to the kiddos but Pop-pop brought out his tradition of hiding jelly beans in plain sight and it was a hit with all ages.  Baby Boy Cousin got super interested when he realized that jelly beans were not only edible but FULL OF SUGAR.  

 Our first day was spent at the pool while some us made a grocery run and checked out the lay of the land.  We stayed at a resort right on the end of the peninsula with the Pacific ocean on one side and the Sea of Cortez just down the hill on the other side.  I broke my record for number of steps on my Fitbit but the daily ice cream and awesome food kept the trip from being a weight loss adventure. 

Here are a bunch of pictures of a handsome American fishing in the Pacific.  Warnings are posted up and down this beach about not swimming because of the dangerous current and ocean drops off to a deep shelf just a few yards from shore.  So no swimming but lots and lots of fishing from the shore. 

Glenn fishing as the sun was starting to set.  The big hill behind him is supposedly a hot spot for famous rich people to build houses.  I'd take one.  

Hubba hubba 

I like this picture.  There were some crazy waves that would come crashing in.  It looks pretty mild there but it's slightly deceiving. 

The hotel had a little garden and Will wanted me to take this picture.  We would check ESPN every night to see how the Rockies were doing.  ESPN Deportes would pop up and the website would automatically translate the Spanish into English.  The abbreviation for the Rockies is COL on the scoreboard which ESPN would translate to CABBAGE.  It always made us giggle.  

Oh look, it's the Bronco Baby Mom!  I'm not sure who took this picture.  Either the small blonde or brunette. 

Love this picture of our girl. I think her brother took it.  

A kid captured photo of greenery.  

A kid captured photo of deck chairs and the Pacific.

Reina and I watched the waves.  

Stay tuned for part #2!