Welcome to our World

It all started with a rumor.  K and my favorite ride at Disneyland was the Tower of Terror so when they changed it to the Guardians ride in CA, we were a bit nervous.  So, we planned a trip for just the two of us to go to Disney World because it was rumored the Florida Tower of Terror would be changed in late 2018.  We had everything all set in April, before we went and rode Guardians in CA while there with family.  We loved the Guardians ride but were still really looking forward to visiting Disney World during Halloween season (and when K was scheduled to have a 4 day weekend while D and M had no extra days off). Day One Why I thought waking up at 3am to catch our flight would be okay, I don’t know. Luckily we made it through a long security line just in time to line up in our boarding place. (K and I much prefer the Orlando airport to Denver.). The flight was great — we watched “Hocus Pocus” after talking to the neat grad student next to us that trains wi...

September: feels like summer at the beginning and fall at the end -- at least it did this year.  School year activities began after a little while of being back in school.  K had volleyball, gymnastics and Activity Days along with monthly orthodontist appointments.  (Gymnastics didn't last long and also ended for her in September.) D has flag football and Cub Scouts (and selling popcorn this month) and his cello lessons.  M has Girl Scouts and Activity Days (and her mom is in charge of both so it's a good thing she like me!) and viola lessons with a neighbor now.  N is still getting used to going to school 5 times a week but is looking forward to when her Daisy Girl Scout troop starts up in October.  She played around with the idea of joining a soccer team but opted not to in the end.  And no, I am not going to be the new Daisy leader.  But we did combine our Brownies with the other local school troop and it is going great!  We earned the Ma...

Hubby and I chose to go camping over Labor Day Weekend after canceling our Mount Rushmore 4th of July camping trip. We stayed at the Royal Gorge KOA and loved it. From the ‘80s playground to staff led activities to extra fun like a giant slide and go karts, we felt no need to leave the campground after our trip to Royal Gorge Bridge and Park. We spent about 4 hours there on Saturday (after arriving around bed time Friday night) riding the gondola, carrousel, mining for gems and the chilling making wax hand souvenirs. We had bbq for lunch, watched a raptor show, and the kids got shaved ice before we walked back across the bridge. The pool back at the campground was soooo cold but that didn’t stop the fun. Crafts, a hay ride and Big Foot Hunt and KOA provided s’mores rounded out the day. More park time, a KOA pancake breakfast, a slide 5 stories tall (enough to give my right foot trouble), go karts, bracelet making, the pool (warmer that day), ice cream treat...

When I was asked when the children started school, I would reply, "August 15th, 17th & 29th."  Once again this year I will be dealing with 3 different schedules between the public school, the Waldorf school, and N's half day schedule.  I suppose I'm just a glutton for punishment because it would be a whole lot cheaper to put N in full day kindergarten and have no Waldorf school to deal with.  But what is right is right and we try to do what is best for each of our children, whether it is convenient or not.  So far K and N are loving their first weeks of school.  They both have really good friends in their classes and have magnificent teachers and are just plain happy.  N is counting down the days, however, until she can have me all to herself in the afternoons while her 3 older siblings are in school. Here is a picture of N watching D mow the lawn.  He didn't really want to do it but decided for the $15 and begging I did he finally would.  ...

The countdown to school begins for us when the calendar says August.  One of the things we decided to get done before 5th grade began was getting K into a different orthodontist.  This led to K having two baby teeth pulled by our wonderful friend Dr. T. and getting braces on the next week.  K was a trooper!  She had asked M lots of questions about getting teeth pulled and felt confident she knew what she was getting into.  Dr. T did a great job explaining things and keeping the atmosphere a calm one.  I was impressed with both his professionalism and K's bravery.  5 stars all around! In between getting teeth pulled and braces we hosted Activity Days Day Camp at our house from 9am-3pm one day and took the girls to Sister W's lake the next day.  The weather didn't cooperate -- gave us heat when we were cooking over a fire and cold when swimming -- but I think the girls had a great time.  They are such a wonderful group of girls.  Sis...