Sunday, August 17, 2014

I'M BACK!!!!



We are coming up to the one year mark that I have not updated the blog.  I did NOT intend to get this far behind!!!  Recently I was working on a scrapbook (via shutterfly, I haven’t had time to do any real scrapbooking in ages – so the shutterfly books will have to do until I have more kids in school!) But while I was putting it together (from 2011) I used the blog a lot to go back and remember how things happened, how we felt, etc. And I know I’m going to miss it during the times I didn’t blog. That is the reason I am doing the blog. To remember the times we share together as a family, and to share those times with those of you who read it from far away.  My goal is (now that I will have 2 in school – yep, Jayce is starting preschool this year!) that I will be able to get back to posting regularly. I am shooting for bi-weekly, or at least once a month. We just don’t do as much during the school year to post weekly.  But for now I’ll start with some updates on everyone, and some posts on the fabulous summer we had this year!!!  (so make sure you get to reading posts all the way to September last year, I don’t know how many posts it will take to get this fabulous fun-filled summer in!!

We’ll start with Riley, he is now 7 and just started Second Grade!!  I know, I can’t believe it either!! He is so smart though, and we are hoping this year will challenge him a little more in the Mathematics department! He is almost as tall as I am, coming up to about my chin now, and growing more everyday. I’m dreading the day he is taller than me, and unfortunately, looking at his cousins, that day could be very soon!! He only has one more year in a booster seat in the car, and we are looking forward to the day we can eliminate one! We’ve spent the summer going lots of places with LOTS of friends and having to squeeze three carseats in a row in the van means those in the boosters get their fingers squished trying to buckle seat belts. We even went camping last weekend and ended up driving a lot of places in Daddy’s car, which is even more tight. But he survived!  What else can I say about Riley…he has become a Great Big Brother!!! He has grown up so much in the last year, and that has brought a wonderful level of maturity. Especially when it comes to Amara. Last year he started being responsible for making his own lunch. He always did a great job and completely stepped up to the responsibility (which this not-a-morning-person mom loves!!) Well this summer he would get Amara out of her crib when she woke up. It was good, except in true Riley fashion he would do it quietly to not wake me up. And then the 3 of them would go downstairs and play quietly or watch tv eating cereal (dished out again by Riley). It was wonderful, and allowed me to sleep!! But soon Amara was getting rashes from not being changed when she first got up, and soaking through pajamas, etc.  First I made the rule that Riley couldn’t get her out of bed. That worked for about a week, until I found them all in the crib with her one morning! Pretty sure it wasn’t made to handle that kind of weight, so I quickly changed that. So now in the mornings, he gets Amara up, changes her diaper, and takes his brother and sister downstairs to eat some dry cereal and play or watch tv.  It is fabulous, and really takes a load of me. Allowing me to wake up slower and be less of the mean grouchy mom I usually am in the mornings. I’m hoping this will continue until each of them are old enough to take care of themselves like this!
Jayce has also grown up a TON!!!  Which if you know Jayce is a HUGE improvement! He is talking more, and whining somewhat less.  Lol we still have the fits every once in a while, but usually I can talk him down out of it after a few minutes. He understands, and only occasionally will we have a complete melt down where I have to lock him in his room for a couple hours to calm down. He still has his “rags”, but before his third birthday we warned him, again and again and again, that 3 year olds don’t take their rags places, they keep them in their beds. We told him if he wanted it he could come up to his bed anytime and lay with them, but that they had to stay in his bed. And he’s done excellent with that!! Every once in a while he would sneak one downstairs and hide under a pillow on the couch. But after losing a few that way we told him that was why they had to stay in bed – so they don’t get lost. And he knows that if he loses one, he doesn’t get a new one (since at one time we had about 20 of those things!). So he either leaves it put or goes without. And he’s done pretty good with going without.  I’m debating whether to just take them away completely. It doesn’t seem to be hurting anyone as long as they stay in bed. So what’s the big deal!  We’ll see how I feel about it when he’s 10 though.  Lol  After dealing with all the talking/tantrum issues with him the last few years, we decided preschool would be a good fit for him. He is a very social boy and loves to play with other kids (unlike Riley who could always be happy playing by himself) and with Riley in full day school now, he really struggles.  Riley also picked up school things really fast, super smart. Jayce on the other hand, doesn’t really have the desire. I’m not saying he isn’t smart!!! He already knows his numbers to 12 and a few letters. But he just doesn’t have the desire to learn. So I’m hoping a more structured learning environment will help him learn on a school year schedule rather than his own.  He starts after labor day, and will going to FaithSteps. A faith-based pre-school in Windsor out of one of the churches there. My neighbor Lacey’s boys have gone there in the past, and I think it will be a good fit for everyone!
Amara is my perfect mix! Riley is my independent, laid back, cautiously curious one. Jayce is my social butterfly with an appetite for the adventurous, loud, and high strung sometimes.  And Amara is right smack in the middle of the two.  She is laid back and quite just like Riley, but if she doesn’t like something, or she wants something she will let you know, just like Jayce! She’s a blanket baby like Jayce, carrying around her fleece blankets so much that I finally made some small lovey sized ones that won’t get dragged through the dirt as much. But she also loves the pacifier, like Riley did. Once we FINALLY got her to transition to a bottle, she wanted it all the time. And even at meals after she had turned one she would take her sippy cup and lean her head back and drink her dinner instead of eating.  So we thought the paci might be the lesser of two evils, since there’s no milk in it to sit on her teeth 24/7. And we were right! She took right to the paci.  But now she’s attached to that!  So breaking her of that may take some more work than it did with Riley, or the rags with Jayce. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. It’s so funny to see how much she loves being a girly-girl! She loves headbands and tiaras, and bows and hairclips.  And she will bring them to you to put on for her (and then take them out so you will do it again!) She loves walking around with purses, and trying on everyone’s shoes! She loves to look in the mirror after I fix her hair and smile at herself! But she is also a girl who has two older brothers and very outdoorsy parents! She loves digging in the dirt, and catching bugs and frogs with her brothers. She plays with cars and trucks possibly more than her babydolls. (but that could be they are just more accessible because they are always left out from the boys!) She also definitely has their appetite. One thing that scared me about the thought of a third boy when I was pregnant with her was how we were going to feed them. Well, that fear is now back, because she eats like they do! She is independent like Riley, but also strong-willed like Jayce, and is not afraid to tell you when you are doing something she doesn’t like! ( like helping her push up her popsicle!) She is growing up way to fast. She hasn’t started talking much. But I’m sure the paci isn’t helping with that much. I’m not too worried about her. Jayce and Riley were both late talkers, and she has 2 siblings to talk for her, and wait on her hand and foot.  Lol (she is totally the princess!) So we just keep working with her, and it will come! 
Cam is still working at MCC. He is still doing the same thing, but always with new challenges. And he’s still running! He’s taking a bit of a break right now. After going back to Indy to run the Mini with his Dad and brother, he took a break and never really could get back into the running groove. First he thought it was his shoes, so he went and bought some new shoes. (and when that didn’t help, he went and bought MORE new shoes). But he still was off somehow and couldn’t quite figure out why he wasn’t running like he had just a few months before. He hadn’t changed anything. So he started going down the list of different things it could be, eating habits, allergy medication, etc. but nothing helped. He was complaining of pains in his legs, back, neck and shoulders, he was hot all the time, itchy, and was even having issues with his bloodshot and red eyes. After a running across Rocky Mountain National Park (a run that would have been only a slight challenge for him in his peak) he got back to the trailhead 2 hours after his intended time, almost green from dehydration, saying he had to start rationing water around the 9 mile mark of this 16 mile run. Something wasn’t right. It took some convincing, but he finally went to the doctor. And after some blood work and a thyroid scan he learned it was Hyperactive Thyroidism, caused by Thyroiditis.  Don’t ask for the details, I couldn’t explain them to you. Just know that it covered almost every single one of his symptoms (and even some he didn’t know could be associated) and it clears up on its own in a few months. So the doc recently gave him some meds to keep his heart rate down (it’s been crazy high, the reason for the fatigue and dehydration when he runs) and he says since it’s been a few months already he is already starting to feel more strength in his legs (which was the first thing to go downhill. He’s not out of the woods yet, but it’s good to know it is a temporary thing, and not a lifelong condition.  He has signed up for a race from Telluride to Ouray over Imogene Pass in a few weeks, but we are still considering if running it will be the best thing.  It will probably be a last minute decision based on how this medication affects him, and how much training he will be able to get in the next 3 weeks. At the very least though we will head down there for a camping trip with the kids!
I’m doing great! I had a great summer this year being active with the kids!  We did a ton of stuff, most of it outdoors, and it was the best summer I’ve had since rangering. I realized this summer just how much I missed the outdoors the last few years while first Jayce, then Amara were so young. Riley is at the age now where I have to plan things for him to keep him busy, so we scheduled a lot of things! We were always going somewhere, or coming back from something. But I had a blast. It was a lot of work, and I was glad when school started up again (just this last week) but I was so happy to have that time with him, with all 3 of them! My business is going pretty good! Part of the reason I was unable to keep up with the blog last fall was because I took on a bit more than I could chew with orders for Christmas time. I was crocheting nearly non-stop for stuff from September-December.  So much that I am developing carpal tunnel in both wrists.  After that things slowed down a bit, which was good. But then in March one of the items I sell on etsy was showcased somewhere (not quite sure where) and I got 12 orders for that one item within a matter of a few hours! It was madness!  I finally finished all those the beginning of the summer, and took a little bit of a break. I still crocheted here and there. Coming up with some new things to add to the store, filling the few orders that came in via friends or through Etsy.  But it was relaxed. And I liked it. I just had my first “Fall” show this weekend, so busy season has started up again.  I’m definitely going to monitor my orders a little closer this year though, and try not to over do it again. I have a better idea now of what I can and can’t do!  ;) I’m still doing MOPS. And actually re-joined the steering team again this year. My friend Trista took over the position of coordinator this year, and I told her I would be happy to help her out as a “back-up” person if something comes up like sicknesses, or trips or anything of that nature. I have a pretty laid back position, which is what I wanted. I’m handling all the mom’s night out events we do, which I love!! It’s so fun to plan these times for moms to get away. And the best part, if I’m organizing it, it’s kinda a given that I should be there! So I don’t have any reason not to!!!  Score! 
As you can probably tell just by this post alone, we have had one crazy summer! But don’t take it from me!  See for yourselves! There’s lots of pictures to share, so I’ll probably just do a couple of posts about our summer, maybe one for each month. Enjoy! And I hope you all had a wonderful summer too!

Summer 2014 August

And hear we are almost to the end of summer!  So many things we have already done!  I'm so proud of us, this year we accomplished 45 of the 50 things on our bucket list!  And the things we didn't get to were just little ones, like having a sidewalk chalk art contest, and making dog treats for the mutts. So  I feel like we did all the big important things. but most of all we stayed busy and we all had fun!  I don't know how many times we hiked to Horsetooth Falls, but it was a lot!  3-4 times.  Which is way better than the 1-2 times a year that we've been averaging of late. I don't remember how many times we went swimming either! Our friends are so generous! With all the swimming we did, we only had to pay once at Chimney Park pool.  Yay! 

After Grandma and Grandpa left, Daddy had an extra day off work, so we decided to spend some time with him. We headed up the Poudre Canyon to do a little fishing. Riley has really gotten excited about fishing this year, and even caught a fish in the pond near the front of our addition. So we thought we'd let him try some river fishing.  It's not as easy, and not as fun, but I think they still enjoyed it. We even stopped at walmart to pick up an extra rod for Jayce.

While we were up there we thought we would stop by my family's cabin. My aunt and uncle were visiting there and I missed getting the chance to meet up with them earlier in the week. Just our luck (but not theirs) the water was our at the cabin, so they were home, waiting on the plumber!  We had a nice visit.  Talked to my uncle PJ more than I think I have in my entire life....combined!!!  ;)  The kids had fun running around and digging in the dirt. Of course. So thanks for your crappy luck Aunt Elaine and Uncle PJ!!  ;) 

Later that week we took a trip to the zoo with our friend Jan. It was a perfect day. It started out busy, but the clouds rolled in just after lunch, and scared everyone off. We hid out in the apes and monkeys area until the rain stopped and I'm so glad we did!  The gorillas were going crazy!!  One kept pounding on the walls while we were there, the orangutans were out and about, and all the other animals were really active too!  We saw animals out that I had never seen there before because they were always hiding.  And the TIGERS!!!  We got to see a cat fight!  So cool!!!  The only bummer was Jan was really wanting to take the littles for a ride on the carousel and train. but they had shut them down because of the lightning. 

That weekend we did one last Summer hoorah.  When Cam was running in Rocky Mountain National Park a few weeks earlier the kids and I spent a great deal of time on the west side of the park, which we don't usually do. And I fell in love with it!  There aren't as many hikes, or peaks, but there is definitely more wildlife and more wildflowers. And the best part - LESS PEOPLE!!! It was so much less traveled it was a great alternative on a Summer weekend.  So after driving by it a few times I decided I wanted to camp at the campground on the west side of the park. Timber Creek Campground. It is first come first served, so we didn't need a reservation, and that meant we might be able to get a spot if we get there early enough.  So that's what we did! We packed everything up Thursday night, and the kids and I headed out Friday morning.  We got to the campground around noon, and found quite a few spots to choose from still. So we ate lunch, set up camp and went hiking!!  We headed back up to the top of Trail ridge to visit with Justine again, and hike the Alpine Trail.  It was SO WINDY!!!  But all the kids were troopers, and made it the whole way!  I was so proud of them!  We headed back down for some dinner (hot dogs cooked over an open flame! - which the boys LOVED doing!!) and waited around for Daddy to meet up with us from work.  I was really proud of myself, setting up camp, hiking and making a fire and cooking with three little kids all by myself!  It was a great accomplishment for me, showing me I still have it!  ;) 

Everyone slept great that night. I was a little chilly being on the end, but the kids slept like a dream, even Amara did great in her new sleeping bag!  We headed out early that morning to meet up with Trista, Jamie and Kinsey, who just happened to be camping jsut a few miles from us in Grand Lake! We hiked to Adams Falls with them, a fun easy little hike to a beautiful waterfall and pools. 

Then they took us to their campground/RV resort, because they had a regular little petting zoo there! It ws so adorable! Amara was a little cautious at first, but she warmed up to the animals eventually (until a chicken pecked her finger!  lol 

Then it was on to lunch and more hikes!  We hiked Coyote Valley Trail, and did some more fishing along the Colorado River this time (still didn't catch anything), and Lake Irene looking for fish too. but all we found there were wildflowers, and lots of them!
then back to camp for Dinner!!!  Cam made homemade quesadillas over  the fire and they were delish!  After dinner and some roasted marshmallow dessert, we went out moose hunting. We had seen one moose already, (the west side is the perfect place for them) but we wanted to see more, and dusk is the time to do it. We drove for about 45 minutes, and saw 3 more moose!!  And more elk thank we could count!  It was amazing and the boys loved it!  (Amara was already asleep!) 

Sunday we packed up camp and drove back to Estes. I did a little scouting for a photo scavenger hunt for later on this fall with my MOPS steering team, and then we drove home. It was the most wonderful way to end summer!  We had so much fun, and I can't wait to go camping with my little crew again!  They were so awesome at it, and had so much fun. I loved being unplugged for the weekend! 

August 14th Riley became a 2nd Grader!  His teacher is Mrs. Dimon (pronounced like diamond without the ending d) and she is really sweet. I met with her on Friday after school, and I think she's going to be a good match for Riley. I'm really excited to see how this school year unfolds, and how much he grows. Jayce too. He starts on the Tuesday after labor day, so soon I will have 2 kids in school. Jayce will only be half day 2 days a week, but still. I may not know what to do with myself!  (ok, I'm laughing at that statement too!!  The problem will be knowing where to start, and what can I accomplish in the 2 1/2 hours of only having one child!)  lol.  Hope everyone had as much of an awesome summer as we did!