Texans Spotted in Colorado

We all said sad goodbyes to our Texas family yesterday.  Mimi, Pops, Nana and Ray arrived last Thursday and we packed our days full of activities, food, laughter and even some relaxation.  What a wonderful blessing to have family on both sides that we love, enjoy being around, and have fun with.  This visit was no exception.  Thank you for making the trip y'all! :)



Fondue Night.
 

HG likes to eat in style.

 

While our guests were here Blaine had his first and second days of pre-school.  He thought a serious face would be good for his picture.  And his backpack was of utmost importance, so I was told a picture was necessary.

 

 

Drop off time was not pretty.  Poor darling did not want to go to school. At. All.  Well, he did until we arrived at his door and then he lost it.  While Friday and Monday were pretty hard, Tuesday was the opposite.  In fact, he walked in to his classroom with a smile on his face and had a wonderful day.  He was elated when I picked him up because he did some artwork that he was proud of, wrote (or as he says, "root") his own name, and he went into his class without kicking and screaming!  Yay, Mister :)  He even let me record a video of him singing a song he learned at school.  Then he watched it a dozen times.  I guess he likes his own voice.



HG had her fair share of excitement too.  She played and played and played some more assuring that everyone had her full attention when she wanted it.  In between playing she managed to throw herself on the ground several times in protest.  Girlfriend has a stubborn and angry side which she is not afraid to show, even in public.

 

HAPPY!

On Sunday we all went out for a yummy breakfast and then Pops, David, and the kids and I went up to Nederland,CO to hike.  What was supposed to be a "beginner" trail turned out to be an "intermediate" trail but everyone made it, including Blaine who hiked nearly all 4 miles by himself.  The final stretch was done on D's shoulders... sleeping :)

 

 

Hessie Trailhead

Crossing the river

Taking a break at the waterfall

Lost Lake - our destination

I had to jump around to make her smile.

Thing 2 sleeping as well...

Finished!

 

We've spent the last two days adjusting back to "normal" life and now we get to have fun with my dad, aka: Papa, who arrives this evening.  He asked me if he was going to get to rest while he was here...  I asked if he remembered the active 2 year old and 4 year old he was coming to visit! :)

Oh.

Oh, Fun!

We took D. to the Denver Children's Museum this weekend - it was his first time and our 4th time.  We had a great time together and I personally enjoyed it much more than the other times because I wasn't chasing Thing 1 and Thing 2 all over the place by myself.

Thing 2 checking out her dance outfit at the museum.

Thing 1 taking Fido's temperature - rectally of course!

Oh, Hard.

Sunday was another beautiful day so we headed out to Boulder for a little family fun.  Minus the whining, crying, whimpering, complaining, and drama from Thing 1 and Thing 2, it was awesome!  I had to carry Hannah because David's ankle is still healing from an injury but it turns out he had to carry Blaine anyway after said complaining.

Oh, Cool!

Hannah has had the time of her life at school this week.  She literally ran to her classroom on Monday morning and found something to work with immedietely.  She thinks her personal cubby, hook, and tiny toilet are the best things ever.  She insisted on wearing her "cake dress" (Nana got her a dress with cupcakes on it) and "Siri's shoes" and even ate breakfast standing up next to her clothes which were hanging on the breakfast bar.  I wish I had a picture but we were in a huge hurry so the only picture I got of her on her first day was this.

This is HG eating a real apple on the way home.  Girlfriend doesn't eat fruit but apparently they had apples for a snack on her first day and she caved due to peer pressure.  She then got an apple for the ride home and munched it up.  So proud of her!

Oh, Good... we hope.

Blaine and I had an appointment with the school district on Monday.  We went to see if he would qualify for their free preschool and he did.  They did a hearing and vision test then went over paperwork I filled out and asked a bunch of questions.  He qualified for several reasons but since we were so late in the process of applying, the availability of a classroom was not looking good.  The good news is they found us a school, the bad news is where it is located.  The school is very far from our home and it is not in the best area. 

There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about my time as a teacher - a special education teacher none the less - and I am not sure if that is good or bad.  My time in Teach For America, in inner city Houston, was eye opening and I saw first hand what happened in public schools behind closed doors.  I was also able to work on the other side of the spectrum too (thank God!) - at KIPP - where teachers go above and beyond to meet the needs of their students - all students.  I'm not saying that Blaine is destined for failure because of where he's been placed, I'm just saying that I enter these waters with first hand knowledge of what could be.  I asked a lot of questions and found that he's going to be with nine other children that are dealing with the same challenges (I'm not a fan of this) and there will (allegedly) be five teachers in the room, so a 2 to 1 ratio, which is really good.  He will attend this preschool as a top priority 12 hours a week, the STAR center therapy will be a second priority, and his therapy with Ms. Ali will be third.  We have one year to prepare our Mister for Kindergarten and though I know that there is a lot we can do to help him, God ultimately has a plan for him and we are going to pray that this all works out wonderfully.  Ms. Ali believes that once he gets over a few academic hurdles that he will need to be challenged at a higher level.  Once testing is done we'll know where he is intellecutally but both his developmental pediatrician and Ms. Ali believe that he is not functioning where he is capable.  D and I know this but it's good to hear from the professionals that if we help him remove some of the blocks he is experiencing then he will blossom.

Oh, No.

Gymnastics camp didn't work out for Mister, but that's ok - we'll find something that's just right for him.  We believe he is the next Michael Phelps so individual swim lessons are next :)  He told us he's "ready to learn the strokes!"  Well then, here we go.

Mister really likes baseball too.  (At the same time dealing with big sports questions like, "Why is football called football when you don't use your feet.  Daddy, soccer should be called football..."

Oh, MORE fun (on a weeknight!)

Tonight was the National Night Out and the Broomfield police department put on a pretty neat set of demonstrations and had about two dozen information tables about safety and our community.  The kids loved it.

Mister on a Big Digger... well, that's what we call it.

The FD is about to use the Jaws of Life on this car.

Awww, Mister.

Helicopter landing.

Firewoman HG getting ready to mow the grass.

I think my kids were meant to be farmers.

Oh, I'm tired.