Camille's Colorado trip...

Somehow, this picture of Zach in my hat (to cover his bed head that morning...love you, Bro) was the only picture to document Camille's most recent visit home. The fun was that it just happened to coincide with Gavin's birthday, so Uncle Zachie was able to stop by the fire station, too. When Zach returned to Texas, Auntie Lorna was still around for a few more days, and it was so much fun for me and Gage to meet up with her and Camille at the mall one day when Gavin was in preschool. I couldn't believe how quickly and easily Camille fell asleep in her Moby wrap. I can see the appeal with those things, though I never used them much with either of my boys. Once they were heavier than tiny infants, I guess it felt like too much on my back.

Gavin turns four- Part 2 of 2

This was more than your average fire-themed birthday party: It was totally educational! Here the kids were practicing stop, drop and roll.

This half-smirk is a new smile for Gavin, and he's been trying it out in pictures lately. It cracks me up!

Chuck (our firefighter friend) let the kids take turns sitting in the driver's seat and putting on the real firefighting gear. What more could a four-year-old boy want for his birthday?!

How precious is this?! Papa Jim and Gage have a special bond. Gage calls him "Boppa."

Not sure if you can see the very manly cake that my son requested: chocolate with pink frosting and a #4 candle! My addition was the huge blue writing on the cake, the kind you do with frosting in a baggie. I cut the corner a bit too big (oops!), and I could see half-way through the job that I wasn't going to have sufficient frosting to write "Happy Birthday, Gavin!" so it quickly became "Happy #4 (candle) Day, Gavin!"

Gavin turns four - Part 1 of 2

Our littlest firefighter was equally as excited to celebrate Gavin's fourth birthday at the fire station this year.

Is that sweet or what: Gavin on the front of the fire truck holding up four fingers? He had a great time celebrating his birthday at our friend's station, and I think the bar's been set pretty high for future birthday parties now.

I like this family picture with the addition of a few of Gavin's friends in the shot, too.

Here are most of the kids (and Mommy) who were at Gavin's party this year. They all had a great time, and Brent and I were so impressed by the whole deal. Our friend, Chuck, and the other firefighters on his shift did a fantastic job of engaging the kids and making their presentation fun and educational.

Extreme Altitude...

We went to a fun gymnastics place for an early birthday celebration with "Auntie Kathie" (aka Kathy Raybin) the other day, and it was fun to see how much both of the boys enjoyed it.

Gavin is really good at swinging on the rope. There's a wall-length trampoline there that they both liked and a pit of foam blocks for them to jump in. Then there are your typical mats and bars of all heights, and the newest addition were the fun inflatables. A fun place, to be sure, but very pricey if you ask me. (This was our second free visit, by the way, because each kid gets one free visit, and then I had a coupon for Gavin this time, as well. Love when that happens!)

Apple Tree...

These were the mandatory first-day-of-school pictures taken in the school parking lot. Gavin was so excited to get inside that he probably wasn't as stoked about the pictures as we were. Memories, my boy, memories.

Gavin had just seen one of his classmates standing in front of the sign, so that added some legitimacy to the deal for him.

Brent went into work late that morning so that he could join us for this monumental day: our first child's first day of school! Crazy!!!

Gavin's teacher, Mrs. Tonelli, is wonderful! She is so patient, kind and encouraging of each student. (I saw this firsthand the other day when I went in to volunteer.) She has her hands full with seven boys and five girls, but she seems to manage them all quite well. God prepared her well for the classroom by giving her three boys of her own, and that makes me feel like our boy is in extra good hands.

Everything must be green for our boy these days, so it's no surprise that Gavin chose a green journal on his first day of class. He's eager to learn, and we're so thankful for that. He comes home singing songs and prayers and telling us what he's learned, who he's played with and who was having a hard day at school. (I should say that these things come out over the proceeding hours and sometimes days depending on when he feels like sharing, which does not necessarily coincide with the time when we're asking him about his time at school. Funny how that works.)

School time!

At the end of August Gavin started preschool! He goes from 8:45-11:15 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Look how official he looks with his new backpack and his nice school clothes.

How did this happen?! How do we have a little boy who is old enough to be in school now? And look at the other one, too!

Gage was so confused that first day (really the whole first week) about where Gavin was going and why he wasn't going with him. One day when Brent got home from dropping Gavin off at school, Gage marched out to the car and insisted that Daddy show him inside the car where Gavin usually sits. Why wasn't he in his car seat? Where had he gone?

Yard fun...

This makes me laugh. I just barely got out this new baby pool (at the end of the summer), and I sort of thought that it might be too small to do anything with. But the boys didn't seem to mind the tininess of it one bit. Give them water and the outdoors, and they're happy.

Here's a picture of Brent going over the deck a second time. He spent the entire summer sanding our deck to remedy the splinter dilemma and give the boys a safe place to play. We need to take a picture of the finished product now (post sanding and staining), because it's finally all done and it looks awesome!

Are you getting a sense for how small this pool is? To see them enjoying it at all made me wish that I would have pulled it out much earlier in the summer.

I'm trying to remember what Gavin was pointing to in this picture. I think it was a spider. These boys love their spiders and insects. Maybe I've gotten braver just by watching them.

Boulder Half Marathon post-race relaxation...

I was so glad that all of my boys were there to support me. I like this picture of Brent and me.

The kids were all having so much fun digging in the sand and getting dirty--what kids do best!

Boulder Half Marathon...

That's me: in the purple shirt and black running skirt. I made it! And I never had to stop and walk!!! (That was my secret goal that I was a little nervous to say out loud to most people, because I just had NO idea if I could really do it....a race double the length of the longest I had ever done prior.) When Brent was taking this picture, I was spotting him and my babies for the first time during the race, and I was so happy to see them (and to be nearly done with my race!) that I started crying. Gavin was so cute cheering me on at the end. One night before the race he asked me, "Mama, are you gonna win?" When I told him "no" and explained that I was actually a rather slow runner, he acted so surprised. That didn't match the storybook tales of success that he was used to. The next night he was processing what I had told him the night before, "You're a slow runner, right Mom?" I guess there's victory for us all in true humility. That's what Jesus said.

I really was/am so proud of myself. It felt like a big accomplishment to cross the finish line after running 13 miles without stopping. I still remember the point during the race when it occurred to me, "I think that I can do this!" It's so true that much of an event like this is mental.

Andrea and I started together, but she left me in the dust after the first mile. We were both proud of our accomplishments, though, and genuinely proud of each other, and that felt good. It was a beautiful day to run outside, enjoy the scenery and enjoy the time to myself. I'm so glad that I did it! I give thanks to God that He gave me the arms and legs to be able to do it. (This is starting to sound like an acceptance speech given right after I put on that medallion I'm wearing up there, isn't it?)

Boulder Half Marathon pre-race festivities...

While Mommy was running and running (and thoroughly enjoying the beautiful weather and the time to herself, might I add), the boys were building sand castles on the shore of the Boulder Reservoir.

I'm sure they had a blast, and I was so proud of Brent for getting everyone there early. (Of course, he's the punctual boy scout, so this was nothing big for him, but I'm still impressed and appreciative.) It sounds like they had plenty of time to build and find their way to the finish line before I arrived. I was SO happy to see all of them that I cried "happy tears" when I rounded the bend and headed for the finish line.

Brothers...

These guys are quite a pair these days. They love to chase each other around the house, and they are not a quiet team. Brent thinks we have the loudest duo around, but I've heard louder.

When they're not stealing things from one another (including attention from Mommy or Daddy), then they're generally enjoying each others' company. Little Mr. Gage has missed his big brother dearly since he started preschool.

I'm a "Panda" now!

Gavin is in the Panda class at Boulder Indoor Soccer now. I love to watch him stretch. He has Coach Tracy this time, and some kids affectionately call her "Coach Girl."

They're playing catch-the-tails in this picture, and I'm sure that my husband is just astonished (but not really) that I have no better name for that game. Gavin is good at running around and catching his teammates' tails, but some of them don't seem to appreciate that he does it. He's been so cute trying to process that lately, "But that's just part of the game."

I usually spend most of Gavin's soccer practices just chasing this little athlete around. We'll think about starting him pretty soon. He seemed to enjoy the trial class we did over the summer.

Is this cute or what? Gavin looks so official now with all of his soccer gear.

I can't get over how big he looks!!! You probably can't tell from this picture, but Gavin always ends his practices in a pool of sweat. I think he gets a good work-out there. He's really good at soccer and really seems to enjoy it, so I'm glad that we've pursued that sport with him.

Afternoon at "Grandpa and Grandma Mike's"...

Brent's mom recently took a full-time job at a new quilt store in Berthoud, and with everyone's busyness, we hadn't seen much of "Grandma and Grandpa Mike" lately, so Brent had a great idea to visit Bob, his step-dad, the other afternoon.

The kids both love Shelby, but Gage is especially fond of her these days. He loves to throw balls for her to fetch, but poor dog doesn't get much exercise retrieving Gage's tosses.

I wish I could have caught the moment when Gage kissed the kitty. What is it with kids and animals?! Even to a non-pet person, it's pretty adorable to watch. I can't remember, exactly, but Gage might have been trying to read to the cat here.

Daddy's do...

This hairdo was Daddy's idea after a bath one day. It appears that Gage would be adorable no matter what! His new vocabulary is amazing lately. He's just entered the parrot phase, it seems, as evidenced by his constant "apple me," which is his rendition of Gavin's new school (we have a child in preschool!): Apple Tree. And then when Gavin was telling us about his project (entitled "All About Me"), Gage repeated: "Ahhbout...ME!" It's been fun--and so different--to have time with Gage one-on-one while Gavin's at school. It's really caused me to question who he is apart from his older brother.

Peek-a-boo...

How cute is this?! Gage and Haley haven't seen nearly as much of each other as their older siblings did when they were this age. It's so fun for me and Andrea that both of our kids are within two weeks of one another, but we often lament the distance between us. 45 minutes doesn't seem like a huge chasm at face value, but it's enough of a commitment to make it not-so-convenient for us to see each other as often as we would like; and, hence, our littlest ones don't know one another as well as we'd like them to. It was a fun day to see Haley and Gage playing peek-a-boo together.

Man, I tried so many times to get both of my little rats in this picture together. We all went to this fun water park near our house, and there's a log there with lots of little, ideal-seeming holes in it, just perfect for picture-taking...but this was as good as it got.

And then there's Gavin: That child of ours thinks that the world and everything in it is climbable. I've been trying to teach him lately that not everything should, in fact, be climbed, but it doesn't stop him from trying. People often comment at the parks and playgrounds that he really is quite nimble for a kid his age. (They may not use that word, per se, but I think that's what they're saying :) ) It doesn't terrify me to watch him defy gravity the way it used to, but I'm very aware (maybe too much so) about how nervous it makes everyone else. And of course I don't want to see him get hurt, so it's a tough balance to raise our daring four-year-old to be both adventurous and cautious at the same time.

Good friends...and half marathon?

So we've been trying to get Andrea over here for one of Kathy's visits for about a year now, I'm sure. And it finally happened! And on the same day as Kathy got to meet both of Andrea's children, I was offered Kathy's spot in the Boulder Half Marathon!!! She had signed up for it for the second year in a row but was unable to run it, and meanwhile Andrea had asked me no less than ten times to please, please run a half marathon with her. You know me: The generous gift of the free race entry--a costly little deal, might I add--was enough to get me thinking about it. And, just like that, I committed!

I got way too far from home on my first long run after this big decision, but my body showed me that day that I really could run for longer than the Bolder Boulder, which I'm sure is the longest I had previously run to date. And then for about the next three or four weeks I just tried to run as much and as long as I could, and thanks to my husband and some dear friends who watched the boys, I made it happen! I loved the long, beautiful, peaceful runs by myself, and I enjoyed a few other runs with a friend toward the end of my training, too. I'll leave you hanging now, so you'll have to check the blog soon to read more about the actual race on Labor Day.

Family bike trip...

Wow, doesn't Gavin looked thrilled?! The truth is, as you can probably see, that he's pretty cramped in the bike trailer these days. The boy would rather be on his own two wheels, but Daddy can go a lot further and faster with both of his little scrats in the trailer. I'd love to be a fly on the wall of the trailer to hear just one "conversation" between the boys.