Kindergarten, one week and counting!!

So we are on the final countdown for school to start. It is one week from today that our tiny little baby daughter is going to her first day of school. I am not sure how that is possible since it was just yesterday she was born. It goes without saying that will be a hard day for at least her mother.

And on a positive note we have a babysitter for Thursday night. We get to go out with a couple that James is friends with. I am excited to the point of hysteria. We have never hired a babysitter but we are planning for a wild night.

Hair Bows

Here are the latest hair bows that I made. Just thought I would share.

T-ball final game.

Today was Cyan's final T-ball Game. She didn't like the way her tennis shoes were feeling at home when she put them on so I said she could wait to wear them when she got to the field. Well that didn't happen because the shoes were forgetten at home. She played the game in flip-flops and Grandma Kitty loved how sensible the shoes were (he he). Cyan had 3 hits that were coach pitch not from the tee. She also got 3 grounders and threw them to first (they don't have outs at this level). I forgot my camera but here are some pics of another game.

After the game Cyan got to go shopping with Grandma Kitty for a school outfit. She was really excited for this big girl shopping trip. Thanks Kitty.

Swimming lessons

Here are some pics of the kids last swimming lesson. The took swimming lessons for all of June and July. As can be expected Cyan really did well. She loved every lesson and by the end was really swimming well by herself. She is ready to move to he next level. Olivia on the other hand loved the teacher and lesson for June but when the teacher changed for July's lesson so did her attitude. Not sure what the deal was but I think it was just Olivia wanting to make an issue where there previously wasn't. So there were a number of lessons she wouldn't get in the pool just to spite me. The teachers did say that for her age she is doing a good job (all the other kids were 5).

So now that swimming is done and the last T-ball game is over on Saturday it means our summer is winding down. Cyan's school will start in a week and a half. Olivia is going to go somewhere for preschool as well we just are not sure where yet because I may go back to work full time in the near future.

Johnson Family Camping Trip

We went on a Johnson Family (yes almost the whole extended family) trip. We met at Chatfield Reservoir on Friday and stayed until Sunday. The highlight of the trip was the swim beach. Cyan swimming lessons have really helped this summer. With the help of her life jacket, she swam and swam, even out to the buoy 2 times. Olivia enjoyed the hot tubs (some puddles of water in the sand before the beach). The kids had a blast being with the cousins playing and riding bikes. There were only 2 problems - my air mattress kept going flat the first night and it was blazing hot in the day.

Here are some pics:

The kids playing by Grandpa's trailer.

Getting ready for smores.

Cyan, Olivia, and Hannah played so well together the whole time.

Cyan on her bike.

Typical, Olivia would not let me take her picture.

Yea for LCF!

James had a ERT Challenge yesterday. It is a competition where ERT teams from DOC and at least one PD compete in some contests. James' event was an obstacle course and his team finished 4th out of 31 teams. The obstacle course consisted of a couple of large walls (over 6 ft tall) to scale, a tunnel, climbing over and under things, then picking up a dummy and runnning back to the start. I know there were other things that he did and finished well in all. So congratulations to James.

Backyard Camping

We did our backyard campout on Friday night. It just happened to be the evening a cold front was moving through. There was really no other choice than go for it considering our schedules it could be another 2 weeks before we could get to it again. Because of the car shopping we didn't get home till late. We got up the tents and got them ready for us to sleep. We quick grilled dinner and roasted a couple marshmallows. The wind got too crazy and we had to put out the fire so we all went to bed. The wind was really blowing the tents around. Olivia threw in the towel at 11:00, so she and I went in and slept on the couch. James made it until 5:30 when he got too cold and had to come in. It was our little Cyan who made it all night. We had to wake her at 8:15 to go to T-ball. So I hope we are prepared for the big campout next weekend. Here are the pics:

New Car

After what seems like an eternity we have finally purchased a new car. It was almost a second part time job. So James decided that he wanted an Xterra. Thursday and Friday we spent a huge chunk of time at dealerships. Friday we found this one and made the purchase that evening. Here it is:

What's Up?

So here is a funny thing that Cyan said to me. She said that she wants to go to one of those massage places where they wrap your hair in a towel and put pickles on your eyes. Where did this little Diva come from, certainly not from me.

Today we are continuing the car shopping. We have set our sights on a 07 Nissan Xterra and have the whole club meeting there today. The supreme sales guru, my Father-In-Law is going with us even. Wish us luck.

Tonight we are planning a backyard campout with the kids. James will not be able to attend the family camping trip so we are going to do a faux trip today and maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow there is also a American Gladiator/My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad event at the Y. It is free and you don't have to be a member to participate, so join us. Those are Cy's fav shows and she is dying to show that her Dad is in fact the BEST.

The Leonards are coming!

My good friend Vanessa, who lives in the DC area, came into town for a visit with her family. She stopped by today for a little. It was great to get to see her and catch up. We just cannot wait to hear the big announcement of when they are moving back to the Springs. Here are pics of the kids:

Roscoe

So here are some pics of our dog.
We have to say that he is the best little dog.

Olivia is odd!

Olivia is obsessed with the color blue. She wants blue clothes, blue food, blue drinks. She insists that James buy a blue truck. She makes her swimming teacher get her a blue noodle. Here is her latest purchase - blue shoes. This is also how she insisted on posing for pictures the whole day. She is smiling but will not look up at you. Also have to say the socks are great.

Fourth, Plus

For the 4th the kids and I went to Wall-E (don't waste your money) and then went to see the fireworks. Cyan and I loved the fireworks. Olivia didn't like all the noise and was asleep by the 20th boom. Which is understandable considering that they seemed to start particularly late.

This morning we took the kids to Home Depot's kid clinic. They made birdhouses. It was very cute and fun. I am sure we will do that again. Here is a picture of the kids with their masterpieces.

Since I had to upload photos I will include release of the butterflies that we had last month.

New Car!!

So now that our company has left we need to begin the search for a new car. Let me show you what James' wants - We will just have to wait and see. http://www.toyota.com/tacoma/index.htm

Visit from Angie

My friend from high school, Angie, visited this week. She left this morning and are we every tired. I bet it will take a week for the kids to get back to normal.

So what did we do for the whole week? We rode bikes and went to America the Beautiful Park, we had a BBQ at our house with James' friends, we went to the zoo, went to Donkey Derby Days in Cripple Creek, visited Garden of the Gods, went geocaching, visited Manitou, Old Colorado City plus went shopping.

If it sounds like a lot that is because it was. To think we didn't even make it to some of the other local tourist places like the Air Force Academy, Olympic Training Center, ect. I guess there is always next time. I just hope she had a good time.

Here are some pics from her visit:

Starting a blog

So somehow I was convinced to start a blog. A number of my friends have blogs and I found it is an easy way to keep up with their lives even though we do not live close. So this is for all our friends and families that live far away or for when we run short on time and don't keep up like we should.