Golfing in the Rain

I (Brent) am not quite sure what we had been doing earlier in this day, but we had been talking about going miniature golfing for quite a while and even though a nice storm had rolled in and soaked the place we decided to go to Adventure Golf anyway.  I am told adventures are more memorable when everything doesn't quite go as planned.  It was a bit chilly and we got a bit wet, but we all had a pretty good time.  Gavin and Gage even had a pretty good round as they had been practicing earlier in the summer up in Estes Park.  Ultimately, the reigning family champion (that would be Brent) was not beaten by the many enthusiastic challengers.

Cousin Sarah's Birthday

Even though we live fairly close to my (Brent's) sister, we rarely end up getting together outside of birthdays and holidays due to the busy pace of life.  We were able to get together for Sarah's birthday and had a great time playing with bubbles in the back yard at Grandma Mike's house.  I'm not quite sure if more bubbles ended up in the air or on the deck but these four-leaf bubble guns were quite the treat.

Here is a picture of Gage and Sarah coloring together.  They had a great time.  Unfortunately, most of the pictures of the actual cake and candle ceremony was not really captured very well so we missed out on those pictures, but trust me that lots of sugar was consumed by all the children on this day.

VBS X 3!!!

Yep, I was absolutely one of those moms who put the kids in three--count 'em 1, 2, 3--different vacation Bible school programs over the summer.  And I would (sub in will) do it again!  What better thing for kids to be involved in for three weeks of their summer?!  So the first one was at a Presbyterian church in Broomfield and was totally free (!!!!), apart from the CD that I'm SO glad we bought, because we're still singing along to those tunes.  The next one was at the Methodist church where Gavin and Gage go to school--and I volunteered all week for that one and loved it--and the last one was at a Lutheran church around the corner.  And the first and third VBS programs used the same curriculum, which I thought--as a teacher and even just as a mom--was fabulous for my boys because it reinforced the concepts so well.  Gavin and Gage both LOVE to sing and learn the motions to the songs, and they both have an incredible memory for it.  I have so many great VBS memories from my childhood (mostly when my grandma enrolled me in the programs when I was visiting them in Kansas over the summers), and I'm thrilled that now my boys get to participate...three times a summer, at least!!! ;)  Praise God for VBS!!!!  And for all the wonderful staff and volunteers who dedicate countless hours to it.  I have a whole new appreciation for it now as a mother.  

Nathan's karate birthday party...

One of Gavin's best friends, "Nath," had a birthday party at Mile High Karate.  Knowing our lively son, I (Brent) was a bit nervous how his first session would go.  Karate seems to include violence but also self-control and discipline.  They started out by playing a game where they run and then have to "ninja-freeze" in place on command as they race across the studio.  This led to some fairly entertaining times as they stop mid-stride as seen above.

Shortly thereafter, they moved into practicing chopping and kicking the pads that the instructors were holding.  Being able to hit and kick things as hard as possible--and be encouraged while doing so!--has to be about the best thing ever in Gavin's mind.  He did a great job!

Every karate birthday party must obviously conclude with the cutting of the cake with a samurai sword.  Nathan wielded this sword (with a bit of help) and put three solid chops into the cake before we brought out the smaller knife to finish the job.

Here is Gavin and Nathan ready for action and to take on any bad guys they could find.  They sure put the hurt on those pads behind them.

Here is the entire birthday crew after some cake.  Happy Birthday Nath!

Malia visits from Switzerland...

Some friends are so special that they make you smile...in pictures...and even afterwards when you're just looking at them in the pictures.  There are some friends with whom you soak up every possible minute when you're together, creating memories one milkshake and Empire burger at a time.  Malia is one of those dear friends.  One of the things we like to do together when she comes home for the summer (she's currently living in Switzerland with her husband, teaching Spanish at an international school) is head to the mountains...to Breckenridge.  And a must-do when we're there is visiting "Magical Scraps," an adorable little boutique with the most awesome things made (mostly) of beautiful "scraps" of fabric.  This trip especially motivated and inspired my dear Malia to buy her own belt-making supplies upon her return to Switzerland, so I expect to see a sassy-yet-gorgeous fabric belt coming my way sometime in the near future.  Just kidding, Friend...sort of. ;)

Who wants to be in a magic show?

My friend, Sarah, and I took our kids to a local magic show over the summer, and it should surprise no one that Gavin raised his hand when the magician asked for some volunteers from the audience.  The boys had a great time, and I can still see Gage's smile in my mind as he was laughing so hard during parts of the show.  The mannerisms of the magician lived on in our boys and stuck around our house for several weeks after the magic show.  Funny how that happens...
Gavin & Gage, remember this:  "Now THAT'S a magic wand!!!!"

Decisions, decisions...

It's funny to look back on this crazy not-so-white board now.  Back in March, I interviewed for a part-time Spanish position at a local charter school called Prospect Ridge Academy (PRA), and when they finally called back in July (yes, you read that right) we were thrown for a major loop.  I had, by then, dismissed the idea of going back to work, and we had assumed that Gavin would be attending our neighborhood school while Gage stayed at Apple Tree.  PRA had recently hired a secondary principal, Adam, as the school was expanding to a K-8 (and soon a K-12), so Adam picked up the ball that had been dropped back in March and was making calls during the summer to fill the part-time Spanish position.  The way their elective schedule works, they needed someone who could teach at least two of the three elective blocks, and the only thing that made sense was to teach 5th and 6th periods since they'd be back-to-back.  BUT that meant re-configuring EVERYTHING we thought we had figured out for our boys' school scenarios, hence the messy not-so-white board above.

Brent and I sat down for over an hour and discussed every possible scenario with three different school choices for Gavin, including the possibility of having Gavin at PRA with me.  (This especially excited Brent since he had attended their open house and felt like the school could be a great fit for Gavin.)  The first major problem was that, by teaching in the dead center of the day (11-1), I wouldn't be available for pick-up or afternoon drop-off if we chose that route.  And we had only been considering half-day Kindergarten for Gavin up to that point.  And then there was the money.  We'd have to pay more if we put Gavin in full-day Kindergarten and if we had to put Gage in enrichment three days a week when I was working. And we'd have to find a good place for Gage to go on Tuesdays and Thursdays while I worked when he wasn't in school.  Some of the time on the white board consisted of us trying to make sure that I would make it out ahead after the new added expenses, and the proposed salary (based on .3 FTE) was, truthfully, a disappointment.

Honestly, when I look back on this and remember all of the "issues" that there were to consider, I was willing to toss in the towel and just say that it was too hard to make it all work.  There were too many pieces to fit in the puzzle.  BUT Brent seemed determined to make it work somehow, and then God started helping us with all of the scattered pieces of the crazy puzzle.  Our neighbor was willing to watch Gage, and he and Vince (their son who's almost the same age as Gage) have become the best of buds.  Full-day Kindergarten has been a good choice for Gavin, though it wasn't the one I was going to make in the beginning.  We knew that I'd have to go back to work at some point, and though this is earlier than I expected to, it seemed like a good time to get in the door, working minimally (if there is such a thing in education), in a new school with a great reputation...SO now I'm learning to balance working and being a mom.  It's been good/hard/stimulating/unexpected/challenging/fun/busy all at the same time.  There's a lot there...with one picture of a messy white board.

Children's Museum...

Now that Gavin is in school every day, our opportunities to go to fun places like the Children's Museum have become much less frequent.  I've been mourning the loss of this freedom lately as I realize that Kindergarten marks the end of an era.  The one in which I ran the show and made the daily and weekly agenda.  But I know, of course, that it also marks the beginning of an exciting journey for Gavin.  And, thankfully, he LOVES learning, and he'll do that anywhere.  The picture above is of the boys launching their paper rockets from a pressurized deal set up there.  They like that exhibit and the one below a lot.  In this picture the boys are launching balls in something like a giant pinball game.

Waneka Lake...

Is there any doubt that my two boys would pick the dragon boat?  (Other options were a swan, duck, and flamingo.)  We've seen these out at Waneka Lake in Lafayette for several summers, though the lake  hasn't been high enough to have the boats running some summers, and we finally decided to climb aboard one this past summer...on a whim, really, which can be verified by observing my church skirt. :)  I keep wanting to call these paddle boats, but they're really more like pedal boats.  And I was the only one aboard with legs long enough to pedal, so I got a good work-out.  It was funny, actually, to see Gavin trying to help, slouching down in his seat to get his feet on the pedals.  It didn't last very long, but I appreciated his effort.  And the boys took turns steering.  I'm glad we did it!

The Bay...

Unarguably one of the best purchases we made this year was our rec center pass that included a summer pass to The Bay AND up to 1.5 hours of childcare/day at the rec center.  I have friends that "work out" just about every day, because when you have some (good) place to leave your kids--for any length of time--every day, you don't ask questions!  (He looks so small up there, but that's Gavin coming down the slide by himself.)

Here I am with my littlest fishy, Gage.  And the fact that we have any photo documentation of this event at all means that Daddy was with us at the Bay that day, too.  I think I recently read someone else's thoughts about this (so my thought is not original), but wouldn't it be so cool if you always had someone around to take pictures of the things you're doing with the kids that you're too busy doing to take the pictures?!

Sunflower Farm family trip...

I love Sunflower Farm!  And so do the boys, of course.  It's a farm in Prospect (right outside of Longmont) that we'd been telling Daddy about for ages, so finally he came with us to check it out.

What's not to love?  Here's Gage trying to operate a giant tractor in his cute, little orange hoodie.  

And when Daddy joins us we always end up with some classic artistic shots like this rooster one.  Good one, Babe!

The farm has summer camps during the week, so these play houses were left for our kids to explore.  I'm inside with Gavin.

On most days at the farm they have little pony rides for the kids.  How sweet is Gage in the tilted helmet?  You and I may both need to zoom in on this adorable little smirk.