Card Sharks

Steve and I have always enjoyed a good game.  Although we've progressed from our college days of King's Cup to more adult nerdy games, like Catan, we embrace our competitiveness and are always looking to win.  Our love of games has been passed on to the girls, but mainly to Chandler and now Ady.  Brooklynn is less competitive and will play the games, but the other two are obsessed!  We started with Go Fish and other kiddy board games but now these two are masters at Crazy 8's, SkipBo, and even King's Corner.

I absolutely love watching kids develop their strategies for games.  It's amazing to watch the wheels turn as they figure out how to play and win.  I truly believe playing games is one of the best activities for kids!

Chandler was home sick with strep throat, but instead of watching TV she chose Crazy 8's.

I had to get a video of our Bubba dealing a hand.  She's so good at it and it helps her work on counting and her 1:1 correspondence.  Bonus!

Our Successful Garden!

I had been getting a little frustrating with our gardening attempts, because it seems every year is a little worse than the one before.  But I've also learned there are just too many variables to really figure it out.  For example, we've been putting tomatoes in the same spot year after year.  Some years we've had quite the bounty while others we've had nada.  

So this year we tried our usual - no-fail zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, various lettuces, and butternut squash.  Our newbies this year were cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, and a separate kale garden.  With our wet spring the garden was looking pretty dismal, because we just didn't have the sun or heat they needed.  Then came July and the heat, and everything flourished!  Our tomatoes went bonkers.  I was making salsa almost daily and even got a few batches of homemade spaghetti sauce.  Our cucumbers took off as well, so I knew I had to learn how to can and pickle some batches so they'd be eaten.  Success!  I forgot how much I just love to park myself in the kitchen all afternoon and cook.

So now that it's the beginning of November we finally had to take it all down, but until now we've still been getting juicy, ripe tomatoes.  Here's one of the plants almost falling over from all the tomatoes!

 Our 1 cantaloupe we harvested.  A lot of work for only 1, so we had to savor it, but it tasted amazing!

 Our "kale box", which was handy for all our smoothies and kale salads.  I was able to freeze the remaining plants for future smoothies!

Our Star Students

It was a nice warm day in the beginning of October and I had just picked Chandler up from school.  She threw me her backpack (like always) and ran onto the playground to get in a few games of tag with the boys.  As I was rummaging through her backpack I found a certificate for "Student of the Month".  At first I had to take a double check, making sure they gave it to the right kid.  I knew academically she had been exceeding all expectations, but when I found out she won the award for "Respect", I was even more proud!  I asked her about it, and of course, she brushed it off, but I demanded we go celebrate together and grab a donut, of course, before Brooklynn got home, because I didn't want her to be upset.

When I went to pick up Brooklynn the same day, she pulls out an award.  She won too!  Wow!  Really?  I guess I didn't consider this as a possibility that we'd have 2 students of the months on the first month of school.  So we insisted we have another celebration, so froyo it was for everyone!

I'm so amazed at what these two girls have accomplished in school.  They've grown into independent little people with some amazing qualities.  They're both extremely respectful to the teachers and their peers, but they also have the determination to work hard and be successful.  Kindergarten has been such an easy transition for Chandler, that our only problem is ensuring she is challenged everyday.  Brooklynn has worked incredibly hard to become one of the best readers in her class, while being a friend to every person in her class.  They all love her to death!  

There's always an uneasiness that comes with parenting and constantly questioning whether you're doing it right.  Then you have moments like these that ensure you're doing something right!  We'll take them when we can get them.

Soccer Stud

We debated whether to sign Chandler up for a competitive soccer league as opposed to the YMCA this season, since she seemed ready for a higher level, and we were nervous she would be too reserved playing with the boys.  At this age, Brooklynn played on a team where she was the only girl and the boys were super athletic, so it made her feel uncomfortable and unprepared.  Luckily Chandler's team was half boys and half girls, and she had no problem showing the boys up.

She was super aggressive, not afraid to run with her elbows out and steal the ball from anyone.  A few games she completely dominated the field, scoring the most goals.  This girl is so fast and determined.  We can't wait to see what the future holds with her and athletics, but we'll surely be fighting over which sport to get her into.  I see a future shortstop, while Steve envisions a future mid-fielder.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.  For now we'll keep her in soccer and move into a more competitive league to see how she does.  Compromise -softball in the summer and soccer in the fall.

One of four goals in her last game

 How we keep Ady entertained during the game

 Cheese and her BFF Taylor

 Coach's MVP

Family Sundays

Since our lives have been chaotic lately with dance classes, swimming lessons, and soccer we decided to make our Sundays family time.  It's been nice to put all the housecleaning, errands, and chores on the back burner for a few hours each week for some quality family fun time.  Of course we still sneak in the Broncos game when it fits.  We do have football priorities as well!  

It all started on a warm Sunday morning at City Park in Denver.  I bought a Groupon for a family bike rental, because we had never done it, and it seemed like a lot of work fun.  We rode around the lake a couple times and enjoyed some warm weather and beautiful views of the mountains and the city.  The girls were troopers and attempted to pull their weight, although Steve and I broke a made sweat.  We'll definitely be doing this again!

City Park pond with the skyline in the background

Finished!

Picnic afterwards

The next weekend Steve was out of town on a boys' golfing trip, but I didn't want to ruin the tradition, so I packed up the girls and we headed to Nederland to check out some fall colors.  It's always one of my favorite parts of fall, and the trip seems to fall to the wayside most years.  The girls agreed to a hike with me, but it was hot, and they were a little confused as to why we'd be hiking without camping.  Thanks for

Such a gorgeous hike!

The top of our hike.  It wasn't far, but at least we got some good views of the colors!

The following weekend Steve and I went to California for a wedding (more to come later), and we were insistent on getting back in time on Sunday for the girls' school triathlon.  We made it in time, even though we had to wake up at 4 a.m. to hop on the plane.

Both girls participated, but it was tricky dividing Steve and I up with them and Ady.  Steve swam with Chandler, and then I took over, riding bikes with her and attempting to finish the run while holding Ady.  As soon as Chandler crossed the finish line she was plowed over by a 5th grader.  Ouch!

Brooklynn did a great job.  Since she's in 2nd grade now, she had more to do, longer swim, longer bike ride, and 2 laps around the school grounds.  She did awesome and really pushed herself!

 Brooklynn on her bike

 Pushing it until the very end!

 Our champs!

We had been waiting to ride the Georgetown train, which is honestly, an expensive tourist trap on a steam engine with a gouging price.  But we sucked it up, because they had a pumpkin festival at the stopping point, that we knew the girls would enjoy.  It ended being a fun time, beautiful weather, and the fall colors were still around!

Getting ready to go!

 On our way up

 The pumpkin festival had face painting, a jumpy house, games, and even a haunted house.  The big girls were freaked out by the haunted house, so we took Ady, who actually enjoyed it twice.

 The steam engine coming around the bend

I'm so thankful we've had these Sundays to hang out and enjoy each other.  Hopefully we can keep this going and just make it a priority in our crazy, chaotic lives!

Back to Work.....Sort of

I always said I would look at returning to work once Ady was in preschool, but when that day came I sure wasn't ready to go back to work full-time.  And I'm not sure when I will be.  I absolutely love being so involved in the girls' school and volunteering in the classes.  I know the time will come when I'll be ready to go back, but now is not that time.

I remember when one of Brooklynn's preschool friends' mom had 3 girls - 2 in elementary school and 1 in preschool.  I would enviously watch her take off for a morning jog after the preschool drop-off knowing she had those 2 1/2 hours to herself!  I felt so far from that reality, having 1 in preschool, a toddler, and another in the oven.  In the blink of an eye that's me now!  So I've been using my 1 hour and 40 minutes twice a week to get in a decent workout.  Woohoo!

I did decide to ease into the work world by substitute teaching in Adams 12 and get my name out there, in case I decide I want to go back anytime soon.  My goal is to work twice a month and get a feel of the schools around us, meet some of the teachers and administrators, and just get back to doing what I love - teaching! 

So far.....two jobs down and I really like it.  I can't complain about a job where I pick when and where I work.  I don't have to do anything I don't want to (except listen to rowdy middle schoolers on a Friday afternoon).  I think it's also a good way to transition for the girls, because they love having mom home, and the thought of me working scares them to death! 

So we'll see where this path takes me - maybe into a part- or full-time job down the road or maybe a completely different career path altogether.  For now I just want to find a healthy balance of it all!

I guess since I make the girls do it I had to as well!

Tis Football Season!

It's that time of year again where are weekends are dedicated to football - college Saturdays and Broncos Sundays.  We took the girls up to the Fort for the season opener against Savannah State.  It was a beatdown, but the girls had fun and were happy to see a win. 

Making signs before the game

 Here we go Rams!

 We had to miss the Minnesota game since Chandler had a soccer game, but it was a close one and the Rams tried to grind it out but came up short in overtime.

So we were expecting an easy win against our rival CU for the big showdown, since they have been a pathetic team and lost to Hawaii in their first game.  We had our usual crowd there to tailgate and cheer the Rammies on.  Unfortunately we didn't break out our cameras to get any good shots.  Turns out we weren't as good as we expected and lost, yet again, in overtime.  Still a great time seeing the Ram Fam!