7.18.11-7.24.11: a quiet house, Shawn Birthday, a CHAMPion of a pedicure!

My brother-in-law, Shawn turned 32 on Wednesday. We brought the best part of the birthday over to their house to celebrate that night, DQ Reese's PB cup Blizzard cake, yum yum, it was a hit! This weekend Chad, Shawn and the kids are in Wray. My in-law's are adding on an addition to their house and the boys have offered their help once again. I thought maybe the kids would want to tag along with them this weekend since they don't get to see them much and I could maybe catch a break. I'm so far behind on this blog, pictures in general, house stuff, etc. Chad agreed that he would take them down. The idea sounded fabulous until they headed out Friday and then I think I second guessed my brilliant idea. Man, it is terribly quiet in this house this weekend, almost scary quiet. This is the 1st time that they have all been away and I'm home alone. I will really think twice about that next time around! It has been really nice to have a break, every mom needs one every now and then. I've got stuff accomplished that would take me months to get done if they were all here, its constant inturruption around here! I was feeling a little down on Friday night when they left, so Alissa called and wanted me to meet up with her to get a pedicure. How can you say no to that? ;-) It gets better. She gets to the salon and texts me that she is parked next to Champ Bailey and to hurry. So I hurry as fast as I possibly can. I get there and there's an open spot on the right side of his Bentley. I didn't think she meant he would be in the nail salon, but i guessed wrong! We got into our chairs and I ended up being 3 seats away from him! Just simply crazy! Chad can now stop making fun of men who get pedicures! I guess that's what the players do when there's spare time with a lockout and you have money to burn..;-) He was with his wife/girlfriend, not really sure her title. They had their adorable little boy in there, he was so, so good. At first i didn't realize he was with them it was so quiet, until Alissa pointed out the stroller. Very impressed being it was probably between 15-18 months old. He has quite the ugly beard going on, hoping its a bet/dare with this lockout and maybe when the lockout is over, he'll return to his handsome self! So that was a fun adventure to the nail salon, it is a neat nail salon! After pedicures, we went to Panera for some dinner and then off to the movie, "Friends with Benefits", it was super cute! Definetly good therapy to end the week and this sad mama/wife. I'm sure the kids are having fun. Chad has kept me updated throughout the day via text saying it was 101 degrees most of the day, with about 80% humidity, so it was miserable working outside. I'm sure he'll be very ready to return to his nice air conditioned office job come Monday!

7.11.11-7.1711: NCAA '12, more dentist, community picnic, heat scare

For the last probably 6 months, i'm reminded quite often of the countdown until Chad's favorite PS3 makes it debut. This is the week it came out. He got super lucky this year and was able to get it earlier. He always takes that Tuesday off it comes out and plays it all day....well he has good intentions at least! Its hard with kids now and the fact that i'm WORKING upstairs and have other plans for his day off! He was sweet enough to switch me dentist appointments the day he had off. It just made it easy all around! Since he got the game over the weekend, he was able to get his 'fix' he usually gets on that Tuesday! So i've got one happy husband! On Saturday, we attended our annual community picnic. They always throw such an awesome event, we try not to miss it! Free bbq, lots ofinflatable jumpers, petting zoo, kids train rides, face painting, fun balloon characters, tatoos, cotton candy, snow cones, pizza for the kids, game booths, etc..our kids LOVE it! We always walk down ther, its next to our community elementary school. Very hot day, we were prepared for that..at least we thought we were. What unfolded in the next hour was something I never want to experience again. We let the kids do a few of the inflatable bouncers. It was getting hot and Chad and I had not ate breakfast, so we were hungry and in need of shade, if that's what you call it in 100 heat. We were all eating under a big tent. Bray kept telling us his tummy hurt, he was bright red as he usually gets, we have to be on him about cooling down and drinking a lot, red heads must be much more prone to the heat. Bray was starting to fall asleep on us, which was a signal to both of us that something might be wrong. Since we had walked, Chad ran as fast as he could back to our house to get our vehicle. In the time he was gone, he didn't get any better. A guy, whom I didn't know, but must of been in the medical field, told me we needed to get him laid down and cooled off with cold water and that i needed to call 911. WHAT?!?!? Was this a bad dream?? I was just not wanting to believe he was getting this bad. I was so scared, my phone was nearly dead, so i tried and was able to get through. I have to tell you, I have no idea how i held up through the call, i was so scared for him and the situation we were in, but there are certainly angels out there, the guy who was assisting me on the phone was so helpful and patience and reassuring that an ambulance was on its way. The ambulance arrived in no time at all, and right after them, Chad arrived with the car. I was a bit more relieved to have them there, but still felt in a bad dream. We had moved him under the drink tent and cooling him down as much as possible. They then took him into the ambulance with Chad to check all his vitals. In the meantime, I had one of my daycare girls with us and brynley. I was trying to find one of our neighbor friends to take the girls so I could be in there with him too and luckily we did. When i got into the ambulance, I remember looking at Bray and had never seen him so pale in his life. I was scared, but the situation was much more calming, everything was checking out fine. The paramedics phoned the ER doctor and suggested since he nearly passed out that we should take him to the ER to get checked out. We opted to drive him there. We were worried about having to wait for a logn while, but got right in! We are so very lucky to have Children's Hospital ER dept. at Parker Adventist, it is wonderful! The doctor gave him a few gatorades to get him hydrated, made sure he went potty and we were checked out. Needless to say, we spent the rest of our day in our cool basement watching movies, we were all exhausted. We are so very thankful to all the wonderful neighbors at our picnic that assisted with Bray, the amazing paramedics who were caring, professional and very knowledgeable. We are thankful that Bray is healthy again.

7.4.11-7.10.11: Independence Day, Grandpa Bert, Elitches, Jeff turns 40

Well our holiday weekend started off not so great. We got news on the Saturday before the 4th that Chad's grandpa had passed away. We knew that eventually this would be happening, he had had a stroke not long ago and just seemed to get the best of him. We were blessed to be able to take a day and go down to see him before he passed away. Its been a rough year for Chad, he's lost 2 grandpa's and a cousin, so I'm hoping this is it for a long while. Its been rough on him, always hard to lose someone so close and have so many fond memories with. But, it is also comforting to know he's not suffering anymore and in heaven. I had hoped we could make it down to Wray for the 4th of July, but since we are going down at the end of the month for Wray Daze, we opted to stay put, not cheap to travel these days, gas is just insane. We celebrated the 4th at our neighbor's house, the Martinez's for a bbq. It was super, super hot but ended up being a beautiful, relaxing day! Towards dusk we headed over to meet Shawn and Alissa up on a hill near they house that they recently discovered to watch fireworks! It was a beautiful spot and an even more beautiful evening of fireworks, even Rozzum enjoyed them! Saturday was a busy, busy day for us. Alissa's company was having a big bbq/get together at Elitches and she was able to extend the invitation to us, how could we not pass on that?? Poor Chad had already offered to help a co-worker with his new home, so the kids and I, Aunt Brit and Shawn & Alissa had a blast at Elitchs, it was kids 1st time there, they had so much fun, next time we'll take Daddy! I think I've came to the conclusion that its much more fun to watch my kids partake in the rides than myself, after I puked over and over a few years back when Chad & I went there for our anniversary. My wild amusement days are over, but that's ok! That evening the kids stayed with their Aunt Brit and Chad and I went to Jeff Dankenbring's surprise 40th birthday bbq at their home. All in all, a fun day and week!

6.27.11-7.3.11: Charlie, Brooklynn turns 2, heat relief

Its been a more mellow week thank goodness! I know this will not last, as the kids get older and start getting more involved in activities, we'll be wishing to go back to these years, so I'm enjoying the calmness while i can! We welcomed a new addition to our neighborhood block this past Friday. Our neighbor friends, the Tawaters, welcomed baby Charlie Hall on Friday afternoon! So happy for them! Teresa and I left our kiddos with Trav, as Chad was out of town for reunion weekend, and went to go visit Kari, Greg and baby. Always so amazed at new life..what a gift from above!! Happy Birthday to one of my daycare kids, Brooklynn, who turned 2 on the 29th, she's such a cutie and growing up so fast, what happened to the 8 week old I started with not too long ago?? It has been a hot, hot summer. We are trying to find as much relief as possible, the kids favorite thing seems to be our slip n' slide so far!!

6.20.11-6.26.11: Dora & Diego storytime, kids dentist, Chad's 15 year reunion weekend

I was super excited on one of the many trips to the library, I noticed a flyer for a Dora & Diego storytime hour! I immediately got us signed up for it, since that is my kiddos favorite characters right now, i knew they'd love it. I figured they would have a few people dressed up as the characters and obviously tell a few stories and such...boy was i wrong! The kids were so hyped up to meet them, as Chad and I had played it up that they 'flew in from Mexico on an airplane today'. Well we got there, there was no sign of the characters, they started storytime, had a do-it-yourself yogurt parfait snack for the kids and a craft to make. While it was fun, i began to wonder if i had opened my mouth and assumed things..yep, sure did. There was no characters dressed up as Dora & Diego, boy did I feel like the worst mom in the world having to explain to 2 very disappointed kids that i misunderstood what this event was all about. They eventually got over it, but i definetly learned my lesson for next time. The kids had a checkup at the dentist this week, they both did awesome, and got a clean bill of dental health thank goodness! I better enjoy it now, i know that will always be the case. Chad and a few of his good friends, Ryan and Omar took off for an long, fun weekend in Wray celebrating their 15 years of high school. Hard to believe. I know they had a great trip, lots of golfing and catching up with classmates they haven't seen in awhile. Not a great turnout, but still nice to see the ones that did come!

6.13.11-6.19.11: Father's Day..remembering Marr..rollerskating for the 1st time

This week I remember my amazing great grandmother, Eva Bowman, aka "Marr", whom would of turned 100 years old on the 13th. I miss her dearly, she was such a remarkable woman, I really wish she would of been able to meet my kids, she would of been so proud of them! On Thursday I took my kids and Jessica to Skate City in Aurora to a "pixie class". It was our 1st time, i ran into a random mom at a park one afternoon that recommend we try it out, I'm glad we did, the kids had a blast! Its every Thursday for an hour and a half. The instructors work so well with the kids, lots of fun kids music, snacks and just plain, affordable fun! The weekend ended with us celebrating Father's Day! This year was so special, because Bray could actually write "Daddy" on his envelope with my help, he is just growing up too fast, so darn cute! We spent the day going swimming (Bray's 1st time down the slide!), on a walk along Cherry Creek trail, dinner at Ted's Montana Grill at Southlands. The kids and I got him a delicious, huge chocolate chip cookie from paradise bakery. It was a great day!

more pics..

6.6.11-6.12.11 Parker Days, kids to Wray, aunt's move

This weekend was the annual Parker Days celebration, always something we really look forward to. Usually this time of year, we send the kids to Wray to spend some time with Aunt Brit, Grandma and Grandpa Twiss and the rest of our extended family there, but since Aunt Brit is up here going to school, we still wanted to keep the tradition alive, so we sent them down for a weekend with Grandma/pa Twiss! I know they had fun, we don't get down as often as we'd like or see them too often! It was a nice break for us to be able to spend time together and get a break! We got together with some friends and some of Chad's sisters in the evenings at Parker Days! Let's just say I had a little too much fun one of those nights..thanks Brit for putting up with me and getting us back to Shawn & Alissa's house somehow! Another big happening this weekend was that two of Chad's sister's that are living here going to beauty school moved into an apartment together! We helped them get all situated, much easier to do without kids for sure. It will be so nice to be surrounded by family. We have one of my brother's a mile and a half one direction, and my sister-in-law's and brother-in-law and Alissa the other direction! I never thought I'd want family living too close, but its nice! We have been blessed to only have to get a sitter once since the kids have been born, thanks to our wonderful family!!