Second Day With Big Sis

Yesterday was a busy day! In the morning we took Beth to see Castlewood Canyon State Park. And we all have the mosquito bites to prove it! We stayed on the paved rim path and finished off our walk with playing at the park.

After our little trip we went home for lunch and then Beth, Becky and Max rested while I took the girls to see the Bubble Lady at the library.

What kid wouldn't love a show about blowing bubbles?

The audience was rapt the entire time and then they got to take matters into their own hands!

Once we were home the grownups went out for some fun!

It was a Thai food restaurant for dinner and then a mother/daughter night of painting and wine.

We were a little bit nervous about starting out with a blank canvas and being able to create something that didn't look like a kindergartner finger-painted it.

But we were pretty happy with the results even though the final product doesn't go with the decor in any of our houses. It was fun!

First Day With Big Sis

On Beth's first full day here we took the kids to Belleview Park. Unfortunately, I didn't know that the train and petting zoo were closed on Mondays! But the kids had a good time in the creek with their big sister/aunt.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing!

Another Busy Weekend

We were supposed to go camping this weekend. It was the second time we were supposed to go. But...several of us hadn't been feeling well, and Dan had a retirement party to go to on the East Coast Friday afternoon, and Becky and Arek really needed to work on the house and...we canceled again! We have one more camping trip planned in August. Hopefully, we'll make it!

I expected a quiet Friday evening to replace the trip. And then I heard Mia shouting in the front yard. I walked out and there are people and kids everywhere! It took me awhile to figure out what was going on. It was our neighborhood block party! I hadn't put it on the calendar since were supposed to be camping that night. And I so wanted to stay in my cozy house. But...now the neighbors all knew we were home! I didn't want to be the neighborhood snob who stays home and doesn't talk to anybody. So we went out for a little while. I chatted and the girls played a few games. Here they are on teams trying to unwrap and put on a frozen t-shirt first.

The next morning we went to the ULA intern rocket launch. It is always hotter in Pueblo than here and at 97 degrees, it was hot!

This year they got to build and launch their own rockets as well as watch the big rockets launch.

Once home, we celebrated St. Anna Wang's feast day! She was a 14 year old Chinese martyr. To celebrate we had Chinese food, of course. And Anna was just beaming when the special plate was put in front of her.

For a great finish to our weekend, Beth just arrived to spend a few days with us!

Fun Days

After we got back from Boulder we did a few fun things with Dar and Sean. On Friday we went out to dinner for their anniversary. I can't believe they have already been married for nine years! Such a great couple!

On Saturday we had a barbecue at our house with Bill's family.

We have a pretty relaxed family as you can tell.

On Sunday we went to Red Rocks.

Mia was fascinated with the model and wanted her picture taken by it.

We had a light lunch at the restaurant.

After lunch we left Red Rocks and headed up to Nederland, home of The Carousel of Happiness. I read about this merry-go-round in Southwest magazine on one of my many flights to California. This man started dreaming about building a carousel while he was a soldier in Vietnam. It was the only thing that got him through the war mentally. When he came home he started hand carving all the animals. After he was done with that he moved an old carousel across the country and put everything together. It opened in 2010.

From Nederland we traveled to Denver for All You Can Eat Sushi night. From there Bill and Dawn took Dar and Sean to the airport. It was a fun but exhausting day!

Boulder

Earlier this week Dar and Sean arrived for their annual Colorado vacation. We have a great little system going! We pay for their trip out here and they spend a few days watching the kids for us. We always do it around our anniversary so we can spend some time as a couple. After that, we all have a blast together for a few days! It's a win win for everyone.

This year Dan and I went to Boulder. We were quite drained from the couple of weeks before and spent most of our time reading and sleeping. But we did manage to do a self-guided historic home tour the first day and a hike on the second. We also enjoyed two fabulous dinners.

The sidewalks along the historic districts of Boulder all made of local stone.

There were so many stately homes from the turn of the century. Here are just a few of the pictures.

We ate at a little Italian restaurant on Pearl Street the first night. Pearl Street comes alive every night with street perfumers.

And on Wednesdays in the summer there is always a band. The band played right outside the restaurant we dined in. We were so glad we didn't choose the patio as a rain deluge came and they all got soaked, despite the cover. The band only got to play for fifteen minutes before their equipment short circuited!

Does my handsome husband not seem to age at all???

On the second day we went hiking at Chautauqua Park. The Chautaugua Movement was big in Boulder around the turn of the century. All that's left now is a park with hiking, a restaurant, playgrounds and a visitors center.

We started our hike with an amazing view of the Flatirons.

After the hike, and more sleeping and reading, we had dinner at a place that specializes in local cuisine. It was delicious!

The next morning we headed back home. The girls had a great time while we were gone. What a wonderful sister and brother-in-law I have!

Celebrations

Despite the sadness of the last few weeks there were a few things worth celebrating. Where Joey and Brittany live there is a Third of July celebration. We took the kids to have fun, eat and watch fireworks!

On the seventh of July, 7-7-14, we witnessed Dawn and Bill's wedding! They got married at the courthouse on the day of lucky sevens.

Afterward we went out for ice cream. They plan on having a little reception in September.

Feast of Saint Amelia

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Amelia. We have been trying to celebrate our Saint's Days, birthdays, Baptism Days and Adoption Days. The celebrations are pretty simple, except for birthdays. The special person gets to eat on the special person plate for all three meals and we have dessert. Normally, we don't eat dessert.

Since Mia's full name is Amelia Grace we celebrated her today! For dessert we went out to the fire pit and made s'mores!

Did you know King Charlemagne was in love with Saint Amelia? But she wanted only to serve God. Happy feast day!

The Pre-Ception

A couple of weeks ago we attended Joey and Brittany's Pre-Ception. They are getting married in August in Jamaica and 24 people are attending, including us! But they wanted to celebrate this important occasion with all of their immediate families and very close friends. So they had a pre-ception! It was held at Malibu Cafe and if you have never been there, you've got to go. It is such a fun place. There is a small lake with paddle boats, a huge lawn with lots of games and a delicious brunch.

Dan gave a toast to the happy couple.

Just a few more weeks for this family to be...

...cemented on paper!