Ice Cream Days

Maybe ice cream and popsicles taste better because it is summer. Or maybe we just eat too much ice cream and popsicles because they taste good. Whatever the reason, these are the ice cream days. Whether it is popsicles on the porch with friends, ice cream cups for dessert after dinner or sharing a cone with your brother at the zoo, this family loves our ice cream treats. :)

Prayers

Jaylynn wasn’t the only thing we had to say goodbye to this past week.  Our family also said goodbye to Danielle our babysitter for 3 years as she went off to college.  I have been dreading her departure for months, but now that she is gone the gravity of the situation is crystal clear.  I was so lucky to have had her watch the boys.  Danielle would take the kids to the park every week.  She loved to make cookies and other treats for the boys.  She would read to baby Cole and bring the boys presents almost every month.  She loved the boys and I always knew they were taken care of when she was in our home.  She was dependable and responsible and now she is gone (ahhhhh!) 

How can I see clients?  How can I do my prison job?  With Cody gone, how can I do anything without the help?  In the past I have put up a sign at the neighborhood park looking for babysitters and received calls within hours.  My sign has been up for days and not one phone call.  I need help and don’t know what I will do after next week without help.  If you are praying people, please pray for someone who is dependable, responsible and will love my boys to find my sign and find our home.    

Jaylynn

I need to take a moment to remember my sweet sweet Jaylynn who was laid to rest last week.  Jaylynn was the first dog I ever owned.  I picked her up as a puppy outside of Walmart after I got off work during my 4^th year of undergrad.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into!  Jaylynn loved to kiss and licked obsessively right up until she died.  One of the last things she did was grace me with one of her stinky kisses. 

As a puppy she never really walked, rather she bounced.  She always reminded me of Tigger from Whiney the Pooh and I always believed her to be a little retarded.  Jaylynn loved to bark at other dogs, although she was a huge scardy cat.  My favorite story was walking with her in the pasture when we came across some cows unexpectedly.  Jaylynn hunkered down, began to growl, looked at me and took off running for the house (chicken).  So much for a protector!  She loved to chase rabbits and roll in anything dead or stinky.  In fact I often found her “presents” on my porch step after an evening of play.  I will never forget, one day I found a deer head discarded by hunters found by my dogs on my porch (Can anyone say Godfather scare?).  Jaylynn loved to lay in the sun on a warm day or under the stars on a beautiful night. 

I believe her favorite times in life were when we lived in the country in Stillwater.  We would walk the 3 mile trail in the field next to our trailer every morning snow, rain or shine.  In the summer we would swim in the pond.  She was a pot licker and never turned down a treat.  Even on her last day, despite the fact that she couldn’t stand up and was in pain, she still ate an entire package of hot dogs.  She was a gentle dog and put everyone else’s needs first.   Even though she loved her food, if a cat came up to her bowl and wanted to steal a kibble, she would stand aside while they picked out their piece.  Instead of nudging a companion pet off her blanket, she would lay on the floor with only her nose on her pillow if another animal was already resting in her spot.  More than once I found her curled up in the too small cat bed because a kitty was laying on her bed.   

Jaylynn lived with me in town, in the country, in the city and in the suburbs.  Jaylynn lived with me through 2 marriages, 1 divorce, the birth of my 2 children, 5 moves and 5 other pets.  I have spent so much of my life taking care of her I feel very empty not thinking of her needs anymore.  Jaylynn lived 14 years and I will miss her for at least another 14 more.        

Denver Aquarium

Last weekend we took a family trip to the Denver Aquarium in order to check out Case’s newest obsession…sharks.  Case has a shark book and can identify at least 20-30 different sharks.  I was impressed with everything the aquarium had to offer.  The displays were all kid friendly, perfect height for toddler viewing and full of fish from all over the world. 

The otters gave a tremendous show up close and personal for the boys to see. 

Sting rays, giant fish and sea snakes!  The tanks were packed with sea life to check out.

The sting rays were in all of the large tanks and amazing to watch glide through the water.  Both of the boys were awestruck. 

Cole even managed to find a little aquarium romance while waiting for the tiger show.  We looked down and there he was holding hands with some little kitten in a stroller sitting next to us! The sight was so cute, of course, I had to take a picture.  Notice how he is looking for the tigers and she is looking at him?  I think both my boys have some girl magnet in em. 

The grand finale was the shark tank. The Tiger Sand Shark was one of the sharks Case was able to identify from his shark books.  The adventure was lots of fun and I am sure we will be taking other trips to the aquarium in our future. 

Strep

Strep has entered the house again.  I can’t begin to describe the utter hopelessness when facing what seems to be a chronic illness.  Last year between me and the boys we went to the Dr. 50 times for 7 (+) ear infections, bronchitis, a variety of virus, flu, colds, sleepless nights, chronic vomiting, and 15 cases of strep.  None of these illness left willingly.  Here is what our weeks looked like last year.  1) Someone would get hit with an illness 2) dr visit to diagnosis 3) by the end of the week we would need to check someone else’s health out, if they hadn’t contracted it yet, we would def be back the week after with positive illness results.  And the cycle continued that way all year.  Thankfully everyone has been in good health for the past 5 months.  I was truly hopeful that we had gotten through the ‘toughing up immunity’ phase and 2012 would be more healthy this year. 

So that is why when I felt the ‘oh too familiar’ horrible pain in my throat, fever set in, body aches, vomiting, etc.  it wasn’t the illness that brought me down to a low place, but the idea that this year would be like last year.  Isolated in your own home because you are "contagious" to everyone else.  No gym time because we can contaminate others.  Professionally feeling unreliable because I had to cancel client after client after client because I was sick.  Or constantly putting the babysitters at risk of getting sick because if it Case wasn’t sick it was Cole and I had to work sometime last year.  The crying.  The whining.  The cranky attitudes.  The sleepless nights.  My dread was the cycle would continue again.  That pain and fear brought me to tears a couple times today. 

A few positives came out of today.  Since it is the summer I was able to get babysitters for the morning and afternoon and rest while Cody is gone (huge luxury).  And since the family is not fighting multiple illnesses at one time I can truly focus on the solution.  And the solution is these SOB’s are getting yanked out as soon as I am healthy again.  If Case has Strep, he is going under the knife as well.  Last year I was hoping to avoid surgery, referrals, pre/ post op appointments and recovery time.  I kept thinking, ‘This illness  will be the last one.  Don’t go to surgery extremes,’ but now I am ready.  Until I can get these punching bags of disease cut out I have fallen back into the old routine.  Sweat pants and tank top.  Sumo wrestler bun hair because I haven’t showered in days.  Children are lucky if they ever get out of pj’s.  Chinese for dinner.  The house smells like bleach and Lysol.  New tooth brushes for everyone.  Dish washer is constantly running because I don’t want one of the boys to drink out of someone else’s cup accidently.  Laundry machine is working on sheets and towels every day.  And I wait for Cody to get home to help.  Tomorrow I am taking Case and Cole to get tested so if anyone else is sick we can all be on drugs at the same time.   I’m tired.  Goodnight.            

Annual Check Up

Cole went to his belated 18 month dr. visit today.  He weighed 23 lbs and was 31” long.  He is in good health and right on track for his age.  Happy dance!  I was most amazed by what a tough cookie our little boy has become.  Cole had to endure 2 different shots and he didn’t even shed a tear.  The first shot produced a blink and the second shot received an ‘owww.’  That’s it!  He is my big tough boy!  I am just glad he has stayed healthy and happy for the past few months.   

Mr Agreeable

Cole’s new found health has made a huge difference in his attitude.  He has gone from holy home wrecker to Mr Agreeable.  In fact Cole will say yes to just about anything.  Cody and I have been trying to get his agreeableness on video but every time he sees the camera he won’t cooperate. 

Here are some of the questions we have asked him.  Cole, do you like stinky sock soup?  Yea.  Cole, do you like whiskey and cigars?  Yea.  Cole, do you like fast cars and fast women?  Yea.  Cole, have you ever seen a sachsquatch?  Yea.  Do you like riding on unicorns?  Yea.  Ever been alligator hunting?  Yea.  Ever killed one?  Yea.  With your bare hands?  Yea…..The laughter flows freely at our house. 

Renaissance Festival

To say I was impressed with the 36th annual Renaissance festival in Larkspur Colorado would be an understatement. Maybe it was because I was expecting some form of street festival but from the moment we walked up to the entrance I was saying, Wow this is freakin awesome!

We walked through the gate into an entire Renaissance town! This town had over 200 shops with artisans exhibiting things such as: art, glassblowing, pottery, jewelry, wood working, blacksmithing, leather working, dragons, swords, renaissance clothing and other period related pieces.

The festival also boasted 7 different performing stages with multiple shows on each stage every day.   We watched live jousting and saw dozens of street performers.  The costumes everywhere were amazing.   I felt very out of place in shorts and a tank top and almost wished I had a corset and 20 lbs of skirting in the 100 degree weather.     

There was a special kids section with a petting zoo, children rides, face painting and mid evil hair braiding. We didn’t ride any of the carnival rides but I was amazed that all the rides were man powered, not electrical. This means that the carousal in the kids section was manually powered by two gals walking in circles pushing the ride along.  Wowzars!  Case was able to pet and feed all kinds of animals including the kings horse who we later saw in a parade through town with elephants, jugglers, jesters, the king and queen themselves were carried in a carriage alongside singers and musicians.  

Case, Cole and I even rode an elephant! Can you believe it?! An elephant!  Did I mention that the whole day was freakin awesome?!!!!  

I am glad we brought our appetites to the festival because they had hundreds of amazing things to choose from including: turkey legs, roasted corn, Leonardo DaVinci meatball sandwich, artichokes, a variety of sausage on a stick, funnel cakes and frozen treats.  The boys ate, of course, fresh cut French fries and ice cream. The rest of the adults sampled a variety of things including: Scott egg, steak on a stake, fried mac-n-cheese, gyros, cheddar brot, blackberry cobbler, root beer and lemonade.  We only spent 3 1/2 hours at the festival but we could have easily stayed the whole day or weekend!  I can't wait to go back again. 

4th Fun With The Rockies

Lele and Papie came to Colorado to visit for the 4^th of July weekend.  This has been the most action packed visit yet.  Saturday morning we toured Serenity Springs to view the rescued exotic cats again.  Then we ventured up to Denver to watch a Colorado Rockies baseball game.  Case has been to the stadium before and apparently the experience made and impact on him because even close to a year later he was still talking about the game and fireworks.  Round two for Case, however this was Cole’s first time.  Both of the boys were great considering our tight accommodations.  The boys stayed contained in these 6 seats with only 1 or two bathroom trips for a total of 5 hours!        

Case cheered and clapped in all the appropriate places.  Cole danced by either bopping his head or stomping his feet every time music came on the loud speakers. 

How everyone kept the boys entertained for that long is beyond me.

Matching shirts made mama feel a little more secure trying to keep track of the boys in such a big crowd. Their Capt Cool shirts received lots of comments. :)

We only had one or two mishaps in the stands.   

When the boys were not playing in the chairs or watching the game they did a lot of eating.  Case and Cole noshed on pizza, nachos with queso, popcicles, dippin dots, hot dogs and french fries.   

This pic is for Jason! 

Hot dog and ketchup face.

 The firework show was as it has been before, amazing, with a finale that literally rattled our seats underneath us. 

Yea!  Ooooooo and Ahhhhhhhh!

Cole sat in my lap memorized during the show with not a tear or fear in sight.  Happy 4^th indeed! 

First Batch

We have officially picked our first batch of raspberries!  Case still loves fresh picked berries.  Cole has a different opinion of the berries.  Ironic that his response is often referred to as a raspberry.  Blttthhh!  Oh well, more for Case.    

Quick Vacation

My good friend Jennifer came to visit our beautiful state this past week and everyone was excited about the visit.  First on the agenda of vacation fun was….can anyone guess?.......the zoo! 

Case decided the lettuce designated for the giraffes simply looked too tasty to pass up and munched on a leaf or two. 

Cole and Tripp became fast friends.  They even held hands while walking!  How amazingly cute!

All 4 of the kids were troopers despite the 100 degree heat. No one complained. There were no major meltdowns. The company was great. The animals were fun. The kids even amicably shared an ice cream cone.

We even saw one a new hippo having some fun in the water.  He loved the hose being sprayed into his mouth. 

One unexpected twist was when Blue and Case were allowed to feed the naked mole rats.  Oh joy!

I was so glad to get to spend some quality time with Jennifer and her wonderful children.  I was looking forward to several more days of fun together until this.......Colorado Forest Fire, ruined not only our fun, but the lives of hundreds of others.  Jennifer and her family were evacuated from their hotel later that evening.  The whole ordeal was very intense and once they hit the highway they headed home after 1 day of vacation without looking back.  We didn’t even get one pic together! But I am glad our families were able to spend a few hours together.