Gage's first day at Apple Tree...

I think that these were the pictures I took during the play date at school, Gage's first official "day" at Apple Tree.  He was so excited to have his own backpack on, to have his own teacher and his own classroom to visit and play in.  I think that there are eight kids in his class.  His teacher is Mrs. Z, and he seems to having a great time so far.  He goes on Friday mornings only, and that's a nice break for me and a great introduction to school for him.  

Pro Bike Tour

I (Brent) am obviously a huge bike racing fan, and it's been great to see both boys get excited about riding their bikes so much.  Each summer we all get to watch the big bike races on TV like the Tour de France, and they also get to see me race most weekends.  Rarely, though, do we get to watch one of the big races with real pros up close.  The Tour of Colorado (actually the Pro Team Challenge...because the guy who owns the name Tour of Colorado won't give it up for some strange reason) started last year, and almost all the biggest names in the world of cycling came to race.  This year was no different, and one of the stages came through Boulder and finished up Flagstaff.  It's awesome to see the pros ride the same roads I train on all year.  So, I decided to take Gavin up to Flagstaff for the experience.  We were joined by 25,000 of our closest and rowdiest bike racing friends up there.  We had to hike in about an hour early and scope out a spot.  We found a nice bit of real estate right in front of the Flagstaff House.  Here is Gavin, above, getting ready as people walk up the road like salmon swimming up a stream. 

Finally, after an hour or so of waiting, the race was finally here.  In the above picture is Rory Sutherland who ended up winning the stage with a huge solo attack from just down the mountainside.  He is an Aussie but lives in Boulder most of the year to train.  I had a ton of great other pictures (in theory) of the chase group which included TJ Van Garderenn, Levi Leipheimer, Jens Voigt, Taylor Phinney and tons of other big names...but after reviewing the shots you can only really see pieces of arms and legs with several guys flanking the riders on all sides as they passed us.  Overall, it was a long wait and a hot day, but I am glad I got to take Gavin to go experience the madness with me.

Appletree summer celebration...

Seeing these pictures now I really can't remember exactly what this event was all about, but I think it was just a summer celebration at the boys' school.  There was free food (I never turn that down!), face painting, a jumpy slide and some other games for the kids.  We had fun.  Gage got to meet his teacher that evening, and that was a particularly sweet moment.  The boys had a lot of fun playing together, which we love to see, and I think we officially met Gavin's new teacher that night, too.  The event wasn't super well-attended, which was actually kind of nice because it wasn't such a mad house like those things can sometimes be. 

 

Lemonade, anyone?

We had a garage sale with a friend this summer and made about $300!  Brent was thrilled to get rid of so much stuff, I was thrilled that he was thrilled and Gavin was thrilled to be selling lemonade for a quarter a cup.  And donuts, too.  He was quite the little businessman, and he did great taking his job seriously.  We had a tip jar that benefited the library at the Musana Children's Home in Africa (a children's ministry project at the church), and everything was going along swimmingly until Gavin stood up and the whole lemonade stand tipped over, breaking the glass dispenser and tip jar and a little of Gavin's heart, though not his spirit.  He was actually pretty good about it, and the unfortunate accident made for a good stopping place since Brent was ready to ride bikes with the boys and move on from the sale.  I have to laugh because, much to Brent's chagrin, I've passed down my love of garage sales to both of my boys.  It's hard for any of us to pass one up when we see the signs.  Isn't that funny?  I just found a pair of nice jeans for myself the other day for $2.  You just can't do that at the mall. 

Zoo fun...

We always have fun at the zoo.  That's a worthy year-round investment in Colorado, in my opinion, so we've been zoo members for almost as long as I've been a mother.  This crazy bird (see above) was having an unusually crazy day when this picture was taken, and it started pecking at the boys like mad through the glass.  And if you're a boy (or maybe just mine?), that only makes you want to keep putting your hand on the glass!

How do we all like the stranger's hand kindly and protectively holding up Gage so that I can get both boys in the picture with the penguins because they insisted on sitting behind the bars.

See all three monkeys?

I love this picture!  Yippy ky ay yay!  (That might be inventive spelling.  The whole thing's in bold yellow.)

My oh my, Lucky Pie...

Brent's parents graciously gave us a gift certificate to Lucky Pie (neat pizza place in downtown Louisville if you're looking for a fun place to dine) for our anniversary this year, and they thought that it would be a fun place to take the family.  And they were right!  It's located right next to a fun ice cream place, Sweet Cow, so it's really one stop shopping that's fun and tasty for all.  And I was really impressed with the kids' restaurant behavior.  It's nice to see that improving.  Can you see how much Gage enjoys his chocolate ice cream?  Brent asked aloud tonight if, perhaps, Gage inherited Mommy's messiness?  I can't imagine!

There's a bunch of turf-like "grass" out in front of the two restaurants that used to occupy the old post office in Louisville.  What a fun and unexpected re-make.  I really like that area.  Fun times, Babe.  We should do it again soon.  

Zoo times with friends...

Have you checked out the water feature at the zoo?  If it's summer (or even just hot) and we're going to the zoo, it's hard to keep my boys out of that place.  Tanya and I joke that we come to the zoo just to talk and let the kids play happily in the little river...and whatever animals we see along the way are a bonus!

I love meeting up with Tanya and her boys, Jed and Peter, at the zoo or REI downtown.  We do the usual chasing after kids, lathering on sunscreen, repeating our directions too many times and just trying to finish one or two conversations.  And if we happen to do that--even just one conversation--we try to consider ourselves fortunate.  The problem is that neither of us are very good at that (settling for the bare minimum and giving and getting the shortest version of every story) so parenthood and staying connected, in general, has been an adjustment for us.  Here's to all of our efforts past, present and future, my friend.  May we keep trying and living as friends and mothers and daughters of the One who made us to be in relationship.  

Wouldn't you know that all four of the boys really enjoy hiding in this rabbit hutch looking place?  That description is a step up from what it really is--the empty area under the outdoor changing table around the corner from the water place.  Forget the animals behind the cages...let's just put them in a cage and call it a day!  And they made it easier on us when they did it themselves.  Let the conversations begin!!  Just kidding...mostly. 

Picking cherries...

My friend, Megan, inquired about the sour cherries on our tree this year, and I told her that she and the kids could come over to pick as many as heart desired. Natalie, Megan's daughter, seemed to take the most interest in it. The boys were entertained by it for as long as their little attention spans allowed--a few minutes. And then Gavin was up climbing the tree in our back yard, showing off his skills to his little buddies I'm sure.

It was fun to watch the kids pick the cherries and put them in the bowl. Megan made a pie out of them, but she said it didn't turn out that great, which was my recollection from years past. So maybe they really are best suited for the birds!

Gage Nicholas...

We have a picture of Gavin in the same trees in our front yard when he was a bit younger than Gage is now, and it was fun to capture a pose of Gage here, too. What a cutie! He loves being outside. He'd live out there if he could.

Happy 10 years!

These are the lovely flowers that Brent got me for our TEN YEAR anniversary on June 22. We got to go to Steamboat Springs for a weekend later in the summer to celebrate, and that was a fun, refreshing time away with good exercise, good food, a great hotel room and good laughter.

Sand + water=mud...

We got this fun sand and water table early this summer, but anyone who's had one knows what it really is: a mud table. It actually looks remarkably good in this photo, but its normal state is pretty gross. Because everyone knows that it's more fun to make mud there or simply fill it with mud from the yard or even rocks from anywhere you can find them.

The upside of this table, I have to say though, is that it really does keep the boys entertained. Not always in the ways I would choose--and certainly hardly ever in the state of cleanliness that I would choose--but it does keep them busy and smiling...usually...unless Gavin gets his hands on the hose and douses his brother when Gage is least expecting or desiring it.

Georgetown half marathon...

I was supposed to be in this picture, too, but I had an ankle injury that, unfortunately, kept me from running the Georgetown "Slacker" half marathon that I had been training for with these good friends, Kari and Diane. But my injury did not prevent me from joining them overnight in Georgetown and cheering them on the next morning. I forget--or possibly never really knew--how quaint and beautiful Georgetown was, and I really enjoyed the little get-away. Sadly, I've been unable to run or do other exercise I enjoy at the rec center (step aerobics and Zumba) this summer, but I've been able to do PT on my ankle and I think it's getting stronger and hopefully more stable. It's been a good thing to show me how much I really enjoy being active, and it's made me miss it for sure.

Tux fittings...

Just judging from Gavin's jig/karate moves in the tux jacket, you can imagine why it was imperative that both Brent and I were at the tux fittings at Men's Wearhouse. Gavin and Gage were asked to be the ring bearers in my cousin, Brittany's, wedding in Kansas this summer.

Gage usually does OK until he's enticed to join in on Gavin's shenanigans. But here he's just hangin' out being his cute self. Oh yeah, then he turned that foot stool into a slide, at which point Brent pretty much escorted us all to the car and took care of the rest of the tux details by himself.

Gage's first trip to the dentist...

Gage was an all star performer at Dr. Sewell's for his first ever trip to the dentist. The perspective of this picture cracks me up...makes it look like we have Frankenfoot for a son!

How cute is he? Just, honestly, tell me... Does it get much cuter than this?! I guess the only thing he outright rejected was the polish, which apparently is typical for kids his age. They said his teeth look good, and we were glad to hear that. I'd say, all in all, he had a successful first trip to the dentist.

Linger longer with dear friends...

Andrea and I went out to Linger (in the Highlands) to celebrate her birthday. We always have so much fun together, and we always linger longer than we say we intend to. We really enjoy our rare and wonderful time together without our children around, but we also try to get together with the kids to do fun stuff, too. With four kids in tow, however, we've learned to accept the fact that we'll be lucky to get through a single conversation. Having said that, it's fair to say that even after almost five years of this now (both of our boys are turning 5 in September), we are still trying to adjust our expectations.

Whether for good or for bad (ie lots more calories) we've discovered Little Man Ice Cream in the Highlands. Have you been? There's always a crazy line, and now we know why! The flavors are super yummy, and the experience is just fun. The last time we went there we finally got to try their claim to fame: salted oreo. It's worth the money and the wait, and the nice thing is that it doesn't actually cost a fortune!

Sprinkler fun...

This day was so awesome! We were at a park after Bible study one day when these sprinklers came on, and none of us came prepared for our kids to get wet. But isn't this what summer and being a kid are all about?! They all had SO much fun, as you can see.

Gage joined right in with the sprinkler spraying, something he observed the bigger kids doing first I'm sure.

I have to say that they were remarkably dry by the time we were ready to go home. What a fun day; the kids had so much fun, and we moms had so much fun watching them have so much fun.

Kyla's birthday party...

For Kyla's birthday party, Gavin was invited to Build-a-Bear--his first experience there. Gavin was the only male attendee, and I'm guessing that that had something to do with his shy day. The Build-a-Bear employee that was facilitating the party asked the kids to dance--something that's usually right up Gavin's alley--and he got completely and totally unexpectedly embarrassed. I was so surprised! But for the duration of his time in the store, he was super clingy and cuddly (kinda nice, gotta be honest) and not my "normal" gregarious Gavin.

You can kind of detect the beginning of his sweet but confusing, shy little funk in the picture above. We've been talking about embarrassment over the past couple of months (I was surprised that he had brought it up, though I'm sure that it's developmentally appropriate), and looking back, maybe Kyla's party marked the beginning of Gavin's awareness around this subject.

Of course, all bets were off once he'd inhaled a birthday donut. There's my boy!

Biking with Mom...

Gage is even cute from behind, isn't he? I'm so glad that we all like to bike in our family!

I'm just tryin' to hang with all these boys and their wheels!

Tiniest chef...

We used to call Gavin our "Tiny Chef," so that would make Gage our "Tiniest Chef." Both boys really do love to cook, and I think that's great. We try to teach them useful skills and let them help when they can.

Kathy's 70th...

Brent and I were at Kathy Raybin's house in this picture, celebrating her 70th birthday, right alongside a bunch of wonderful people that came to honor her as well. Besides wonderful people, there was also wonderful catered food and wonderful entertainment. Kathy's daughter arranged for the Buffoons (CU a capella group) to come sing in their back yard! And Brent and I had front row seats, so that was a real treat.

One of the wonderful guests in attendance was my dear friend, Leah. She and I recently established that we've been friends for 18 years! How awesome is that?! You just can't say that about many people. Leah and I have lots of wonderful memories over the years, and I'm so thankful for her friendship in my life.

Mama & me...

How did my eyes end up being closed in both of these pictures? Oh well, Gage is adorable, so that's all that matters. You can see in the second shot that he's in training (Mr. Gavin Koel as in house professor) for weird face-making when a camera appears.

The Orchard train ride...

There's a little train that runs up at the Orchard Town Center, and we ride in it a couple of times every summer. We usually sit in the caboose, and I think this particular day was no exception.

These self-portraits are a riot! I've kind of gotten into them lately. Why not?

Gavin's recent goal with pictures is just to make the most ridiculous-looking faces possible. Here are a few for your viewing pleasure...

He is definitely his mother's son. I can only pretend that I don't get where his goofiness comes from. We had fun riding the train that day. I just hope that when it comes time for real family pictures (like in two weeks from now), Gavin knows when to flash his charming smile. :)

Homemade ice cream!

This, in the foreground, is darling little Avenly Fox, my dear friend, Amanda's, daughter. And the guy leaning over the ice is Amanda's husband, Aaron. They were in town earlier this summer, and they graciously invited us over to Amanda's parents' house in Louisville to make somewhat spontaneous homemade ice cream. As you can guess, I was all about it!

We had to eat ours while it was still ice cream soup, but there was absolutely no hesitation or complaints about that. Delicious! I think Gage's tummy appreciated it, too.

The kids had a great time running through the sprinkler, though I'm sure Amanda and her family were a bit taken aback by the never ending energy of my two boys. Welcome to the world of boys, Lee. Finn will be in good company here!

Entertaining themselves...