Trucks & tractors & bikes, oh my...

There's this event in Broomfield every year--and I can't think of the name of it right now--during which kids are invited to touch and often sit in big trucks, tractors, fire trucks, etc. Come to think of it, this event may have been the impetus for what is now Gage's daily attempt to drive our car every time we need to be loading up to go somewhere. It was cute about the first three times, and now I'm leaving the car locked until the very minute I'm ready to load everyone up. Oh, the tricks we learn as parents, right?


There's Gavin on the side of the tractor. Driving it wasn't enough; he had to straddle it, too!

Here he is shifting gears in the big front loader. Don't you love that he leaves his bike helmet on for these things?

I love seeing Brent carrying the kids like this. I'm sure that it's temporarily tough on the shoulders, Honey, but keep it up because it's precious, and I'm sure that the boys will have wonderful memories of seeing the world from your sturdy shoulders.

This was our first family bike ride! I got to ride my mountain bike (can't really remember the last time I was on a bike, by the way), Gavin rode his bike and Brent pulled Gage in the bike carrier. I hope to do lots more of this! Brent has recently taken both boys on some nice rides in the carrier, but Gavin's getting sort of big for it. He's almost ready, in fact, to graduate to Uncle Mike's old bike with 10 inch wheels! And it even has a kick stand, which Mommy thinks is especially cool.

Summer fun with Grammie & Papa...

The kids were having a hay day with Papa the other day. It's amazing to see how much fun kids can have with a few inches of water in a plastic pool, not to mention with a grandparent who will put on his swimming trunks and invite the grandkids to dump water all over him. Thank goodness it was a hot day!

We got that beautiful watering can for Mom last year for her 60th birthday. Both boys really love to help water the flowers. Good thing Grammie has lots to water, because Mommy only has one hanging plant to speak of (fittingly, given to her by her mother) that's too high for the kids to water by themselves.

There he is again: our tree-hugger, tree-climbing, quickly-approaching-four-year-old boy.

Here's Grammie with her sweet Gagie. It drives her crazy that he already has a name for Papa ("Bapa") and none for her yet. Be patient, Mom, I'm sure it's coming. He's using new words almost every day now. Some new ones that come to mind: beeg (big), moon, and baht (bite).

The boys love to fill this chiminea with twigs, rocks or anything else that will fit inside. Mom and Jim have a lovely back yard that's especially pretty in the summertime.

The zoo has water now!

With a little less shadow on his face, wouldn't this be the best little portrait of Gage at 19 months? What a cutie!

Here are Gavin and his good buddy, Kyla, at the new water park at the zoo. With its little wading stream and rocks (good for our climber), this is enough fun in and of itself...and, oh yeah, what about the giraffes, tigers and sea lions around the corner?

The only problem with this particular day was that I had forgotten a diaper of any kind for Gage when his shorts were soaked and his diaper saturated. Thankfully, a kind nanny-type came prepared with a pull-up in her purse, so Gage went home in a rather large diaper...but it was dry, and that's all that mattered. Can you see that they ready to go? Can anyone else relate: All morning long they're ready to go, go, go...until they're not. And then the trip to the car can not happen fast enough. Thankfully, a fun-filled day at the zoo is usually the perfect recipe for a quiet car and two sleeping children by the time I arrive home. And the blessing, lately, is that both kids have been pretty easy to transfer to their beds. I'll take it every time!

"Buck, Mama..."

Both boys have been in a bug stage lately. They are fascinated by them and like to get belly-to-the-ground to get a good look. You might be wondering why they're doing that in our house, however?

Unfortunately, Gage is pointing to the ants that the boys found in our house recently. Brent has sealed off their entrances now, so the boys can resume their bug hunts outside.

Parks and play...

There's no stopping our tree-climbing boy, really. Strangers always look at us when Gavin is climbing in trees or at parks, like they're making sure that we see what he's doing. But, for the most part, it feels like it would be too much work to try to stop him from doing what he's so naturally inclined to do. This gets us in trouble, of course, when we're in places where things are not meant to be climbed (displays at the grocery store, the outside of play structures, etc.) so it's tough to know how to best train our little monkey.

These are pictures that I took at the park outside of the Children's Museum. I love these rocks that make perfect little shady seats.

What sweeties! Here's an interesting observation I've made recently: Gavin and Gage play better together when they're outside and when I'm not right next to them. I guess there are less toys to fight over at play grounds, and for the most part they stick together when they are surrounded by other kids that they may or may not know very well. I just observed the way that Gavin helped Gage down the slide and bent over to ask him if he was OK when he tripped the other day...and they didn't know that I was watching.

Snack time...

The boys rarely sit on the same side of the table, so this is an unusual and cute little picture.

What kind of face is Gavin making here, exactly?

A summer day at Grampa T's place...

We recently made our annual trek up to my dad's house just outside of Loveland. We always have to find a great day with no chance of showers so that we can avoid having to spend much time inside, since Dad's place is the opposite of child-proof.

Here's Sandra with Gage, pointing to the birds that they were feeding. Dad and Sandra feed lots of wildlife up at their beautiful place by the stream, including bears. (I know that sounds crazy, but I think that they're pretty safe about it. Right, guys?)

Gavin and Gage were happy as clams collecting pine cones in Dad's back yard.

They live right across from Sylvandale Guest Ranch, and there are a bunch of beautiful horses there that we like to visit when we go to Dad's place. It was SO hot that day, and it took every bit of Dad's self-control to walk over to the ranch and help the kids feed the horses without just losing it because he was so out-of-control hot. The boys loved feeding the horses, of course, and I think that it was after that visit to the ranch when the more improved/accurate horse sounds emerged around our house and during car trips.

Clean up...aisle 6...

It cracks me up that both of our boys have loved using the vacuum from a very young age. Gage is entering the extremely independent stage these days, so I hear a lot of, "No, no, me, me, mine, mine..." And he'll take the vacuum out of my hands and insist on operating it himself. It's been challenging to impress upon him that there's an optimal angle with which to handle the vacuum (during which anything gets picked up from the ground), but just the other day when I was encouraging him to lift it higher...he did it (!) and then flashed one of his killer smiles when he knew that I'd be pleased with his efforts.

Yogurtsicles, anyone?

If memory serves me correctly, this was the day that our air conditioning was getting fixed. It had been SO hot for the whole week, and we were elated that we would finally be getting cool air in our house once again after getting our old unit replaced. Since we had to stick around the house that day we invited our friends over, Natalie & Noah, to endure the heat with us..and to enjoy some homemade yogurt popsicles. Isn't this a cute picture?

Chillin'...

I live with three shirtless boys around my house during the hot summer months.

Daddy's chillin' with his boys on the couch. Notice Gavin's favorite position: just to one side of the crack in the couch, wedged between the back pillows just right and totally slouched down. He gets a little irritated if anyone threatens that arrangement, which just cracks me up.

Lafayette fountains...

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: I love the person who came up with public fountains for kids in the summertime. My boys love them!

Gone is Gage's initial hesitancy with the fountains. He's having as much fun as Gavin these days watching the sand/water toys fly up with the force of the fountains. And do you notice his adorable orange Crocs? Those were Gavin's first Crocs, and I'm still in shock that they fit being that he's a 5.5 and the shoes are a 4/5. I love 'em though, so I won't complain. And I love the little Croc tan he has too--little brown dots on the top of his feet.

So precious! I love seeing Gage's ribs in this picture.

I just love seeing my boys' utter excitement in the face of the fountains. I'll be sad when they close for the summer.

A birthday party at the pool...

Gavin's little buddy, Nathan, invited him to his birthday party at the swimming pool, and that was a lot of fun. I was glad that Brent and I could both be there, because at this stage it's not easy taking both of the boys swimming by myself.

We only recently remembered the water wings, and by the end of this party Gage was starting to get the hang of them and really appreciate having them. He's learning to trust them, and I'm learning what they can and can not do for my son in the water.

Daddy and Gage were having some snacks on the pool chairs.

Gage picked up on how to drink the Capri Suns quite quickly, as you can see. His number one choice for a beverage these days is "chooce" (said kinda like a choo choo train), and he'd be one happy camper if we indulged him at every meal. He still doesn't drink much milk, but he's always been a really good water drinker. And I'm sure that he gets enough calcium from all of the "yogoo" and "cheece" that he eats daily.

VBS...

Gavin had a great week at VBS at a local church earlier this summer. On Thursday night of that week they had a little program to show the parents what the kids had been learning, and it cracked me up (and totally mystified me) that Gavin stood in the WAY back during the song they shared. I don't blame you if you can't see our child at all, because I don't think I can either.

Here Daddy caught him doing the appropriate hand motions with the song they were singing (go Gavin!), and it does appear that he was, in fact, in the last possible row in his little neon green VBS shirt. (He's the one with his hands by his mouth on the left in the back row.) I helped out with music on Wednesday and Friday and was so pleasantly surprised to see Gavin listening to his teachers and not totally acting out when I was leading music too. (You know how common it is for kids to freak out when Mommy is one of their teachers too, but Gavin really kept his cool about it and continued participating with the other kids when I was in the room.) The whole experience gave me a taste for preschool this Fall: seeing Gavin as a student, having one-on-one time with Gage and having a new and different rhythm/schedule.

Malia's wedding...

This is my dear friend, Malia, with her now husband, James. They are truly one of the most wonderful couples I know. Their wedding on July 10 was beautiful in every way, and I was so glad that we could be a part of it.

One of the many personal touches that Malia and James put on their wedding day was the story-telling portion of the ceremony. (And, by the way, the ceremony was held at none other than the awe-inspiring Flagstaff amphitheater on a perfect Colorado summer morning.) Each of them told a wonderful story significant to their relationship, and Malia was precious up there waxing eloquent and making eye contact with her special guests.

Another one of my dear friends, Leah Rahe, gave the wedding message, and it has been fondly referred to as the Homeleeski. She did a wonderful job of sharing God's truth in a very down-to-earth way that invited James and Malia to see themselves as the beloved. It was a wonderful invitation and challenge for all of us.

My hot little ensemble (admittedly more hot in my head and hopefully in real life...but not quite as much in this picture) cost me all of $3. I found the adorable strapless dress (my first ever...that I can remember) at a garage sale in my neighborhood for $3!!! And then two different friends provided the perfect accessories: chunky, red jewelry and fun, red & black peep-toed heels. Leah and I sang a little song for Malia and James at the reception (held at the Chautauqua Dining Hall), and though I was more nervous than I expected or wanted to be I was truly blessed to give them that gift and honored to be asked to give it.

Here I am with the bride. She was truly radiant that day. The dress was made for her, and I think James was too. They are truly a beautiful couple that make you believe in the purpose and design of marriage. All our best and many blessings to you both, Malia & James.

Lazy mornings...

Is this cute or what?! (Notice Brent's tan lines from biking.)

Honestly, is there anything cuter than your child in just a diaper?! Smiling at you with every one of his primary teeth?! (Apparently we're just waiting on the 2-year molars now, so I get suspicious every time I see the excessive drool or his hands in the back of his mouth...but no signs of 'em yet.)

Backyardigans...

Isn't there something wonderful and refreshing and just altogether right about seeing a child with a hose in his hand in his own back yard?! I'm occasionally aware of how easy it is for us to take our water for granted. What a gift it is!

Yes, Zach, this is our childhood horse from Grams and Gramps. Still has my name on the underside, but the noteworthy change to this wooden stallion has been the loss of his ears over the years. That could be due to general carelessness (when the horse was left outside in the elements to fend for himself), but the kids don't seem to notice or mind the earless stallion.

Gavin just finished a yogurt popsicle moments before this picture was taken (see the remnants all over his shirt), and here he's hammin' it up with the popsicle stick. He usually insists on me taking a picture of him if he knows that I've just taken a picture of his little brother.

Summer fountains...

Man, am I thankful for the person who thought up public fountains for kids to run through in the summertime, especially when it's perpetually 90+ degrees outside! And especially during a week when we had NO air conditioning!!! (We had to get the whole unit replaced at the end of one of the hottest weeks in July, but the good news is that insurance is covering a good portion of it because of some previous hail damage.)

Gavin doesn't shy away from these public fountains, and Gage is right behind him these days (though that's not the giant blond in this picture...he's not growing up that fast).