A Little Heart to Heart

Pardon the cheese you're about the read, but my little man tends to melt my heart.  At moments mind you.   The car seems to be the hot spot for darling commentaries.  I pulled the car over last week and jotted down this conversation on the back of my grocery list in fear that I would forget it.

"Buddy, what are you going to miss most about Kindergarten?" 

"Definitely Principal Ryan.  She doesn't have my "l."  And I'll miss my teachers.  They're so special to me.  But you know who I WON'T miss Mom?  God.  Because he is always with me."

"You're right buddy (heart clench).  I'm glad you know that."

"So, God and Jesus help each other to forgive me right Mom?  They both have forgiveness in their hearts when I make bad choices?  I didn't make any bad choices today Mom."

"Absolutely buddy.  They also give us grace, which means when we make bad choices, they still love us and forgive us.  They love us for who we are, no matter what."

"Well, I give blue puppy a lot of grace."  (He's had blue puppy since he was 4 months old).  Mom, will I be able to do somersaults in heaven?  I would like to be 6 when I go to heaven so I can still run and jump and be a fun kid."

"Sounds like a good plan bud.  I think I would like to be 34 so I can still be your Mom."

"Ok.  Mom, why can't I see Jesus but he can see me?  Will I be able to actually see Jesus in heaven?  Will I be able to touch him?  I can't see my angel either but his name is Gabriel and he's the biggest angel in heaven.  He's as tall as from Texas to that state above Massachusetts."  

This conversation kept going on, but this is all I had time to write down.  My little Dude sure does love him some Jesus.  For that, we're so grateful.

Start Spreading the News

That title will make sense when you watch the video.  No earth shattering news friends. Dude's movin' on to 1st grade!  No more half days for little blondie.  We have so enjoyed and appreciated our time at Dude's new school.  His teachers were amazing blessings to our family and to our little man.  The principal was incredibly welcoming and considerate and resourceful.  We're so grateful that God lead our path there.  Tim and I both witnessed his Kindergarten graduation, which was darling to say the least.  See for yourself.

 It was bittersweet to start summer, knowing these two treasures will no longer hold Dude's hand every day.  

Dude's little face was hidden for a majority of the singing portion of the video, but I think you'll get a charge out of the priceless singing from his classmates.  He's in the back right corner of the group.  My favorite part of the video?  My dear friend Julie's tear filled eyes at the end of the 1st Grade Song.  

 You can't see his jacked up face in this shot!  At least there's one.  

If we made it through this past year with smiles and hugs, we can only imagine next year is going to be even better.  We're really proud of our Dude for transitioning mid year with tons of gleams in his eyes.  Happy Kindergarten graduation Ryguy.

Catchin' Up

My ability to blog regularly has been squashed by a number of schedule related obstacles in our life lately, so here's a catch up in photos for all you lovelies.  You ready for this?

 There's been a whole lotta Lego building round here lately.  Dude was gifted with a number of new sets for his birthday and is rather enamoured with mastering the art of reading directions and creating masterpieces.  He has no desire to keep them assembled when he's done.  It's all about the challenge.  

 The Kindergarten class mascot, George came over for a sleep over one weekday.  We all know and love George, so you can image the excitement at our house that night.  Dude made a special space on his floor for the monkey to rest his banana loving head.  

 Oh the many ways I love this girl.  She stayed like that for an hour.  

 Tim was pleased when I came home from a consignment sale with this beauty.

 Among Dude's interests and budding talents is drawing.  This is his rendition of the Pillsbury Dough Boy.  He has me beat in the art category.  By a mile.  

 Tim and I have been "over-focused" on projects, both indoor and outdoor the past couple months.  We always feel guilty defying the kids of our attention for stuff like this, but we should be done for a while.  We spent one weekend re-mulching the back and front.  Totally worth it much needed.  We like to add new plants each year, slowly but surely.  And we also went on a random Home Depot splurge and purchased a pergola to set up on the patio for more shade.  Losing that massive tree last year killed our shade vibe.  

 And there's this one.  See for yourself.  She's our dainty princess.

 Here's the indoor project I mentioned.  Before, this room was under-used and rather "blah."  The black 80's couch, the random fireplace on the useless blank wall, the 90's TV that was never viewed....bring in Mr. Brad Lanser and bam!  Beautiful space.  We'll slowly get rid of the 80's couch and replace it with new furniture.  The TV was given to the front sidewalk, which swallowed it whole after a "free" sign was taped to it.  Anne and Kevin graciously came over to help us paint, which was much needed as Kevin will tell you.  I'm the queen of drips and Tim has zero tolerance for the task.  Zero.  The walls are now gray and the backdrop of the bookcase is deep gray.  We love.  

 Through our construction process I discovered "Lamps Plus," my new favorite shopping destination.  Oh the beauty.  Lowes and Home Depot don't hold a candle to this place when it comes to lighting.  The lights we chose are my favorite item in the room.  Well, that and the molding above the fireplace.  And the dark gray backing.  I will note, the tile will need to be replaced, much to my husband's chagrin.  

And there's this guy.  He and I got 5 days together when Tim and took Squirt to Chicago last week.  He HAD to stay at the Ritz for 5 days for business meetings and fancy dinners, so my parents took Squirt.  I had my first choir concert for a Denver based choir I've been dedicating a whole lotta time to, so I didn't want to have to deal with four little feet.  Two was just enough.  Especially after Dude plunged off his bike and created what you see below.  Complete road rash. From head to toe unfortunately.  And boy did I hear about it for the first 2 days.  Poor kid couldn't even eat he bit his lip so hard.  It wasn't pretty.  But I'm glad to report that he looks like an average 6 year old again and I no longer get evil looks from strangers.  As if I rubbed his face into the pavement.  Because I was mad.  

Prior to the bicycle incident Dude and I were blessed with a few days full of fun.  We went to a live animal show at the Nature and Science Museum, followed by an absolutely amazing 3D Butterfly iMAX show.  We rented a couple movies, spoiled ourselves at the candy store, ate popcorn, drank chocolate milk, went flower shopping and just hung out together.  We don't get to do that very often when there's a 2 year old Diva in our tracks at all times.  

 That's a sloth.  It was awesome.  And sloth-like.

Squirt had the time of her life at Nana and Papa's for 5 days.  In fact, she's still recovering from the fact that she's not the center of the universe any more.  It's been a shock to her sweet system.  One of the most amazing aspects to Tim's trip was our new precious niece being born, just 2 block from his hotel.  Kira and Ross and our nephews, D and Hudson welcomed baby June Harper into their world.  Tim was the first one to go see her.  How cool is THAT? She's unbelievably beautiful and I can't wait to hold her and get a face to face introduction. 

My awesome nephews made this sign to protect their baby sis.  How sweet is that?  

Mama Day

Mother's Day is a favorite of mine.  Namely because my rockin hubby makes sure I feel appreciated and relaxed.  I basically tell him what I want to do all day and he happily obliges.  We kicked the day off with locks and bagels in bed.  Breakfast in bed sound super romantic  It's really not.  You have nasty breath, need to pee and spend most of the time avoiding spilling capers and blueberries in the sheets.  But it was a lovely gesture none the less and tasted delish.  Dude slept in until 9:00am, so that was a rather unusual blessing.

That morning we packed up the Pilot and headed to Waterton Canyon for a fam hike.  Its been closed for the past couple summers and is a favorite spot of ours.  Why?  It's flat.  Period.  The children do far less complaining that their legs are going to fall off when the terrain is predictable.  Dude brought his bike and we lugged along the massive bike stroller for Squirt.  Totally worth it.  Dude had the time of his life riding free through the beautiful canyon.  It was a gorgeous day and a fantastic outing.  

That afternoon I joined my girly pal, Rachel, for nail time.  Lovely, alone time with our nails.  I typically request this event on Mom's Day.  That night we strolled through the mouthwatering aisles of Tony's Meats and spoiled ourselves (the parents) with delectable steak and fish.  Said items were cooked post child bedtime after they were spoiled with chicken noodle soup from a can.  And cottage cheese mind you.

Last year I posted about all the moms in our world.  There are a lot.  And we adore each of them for different reasons and are proud that they're in still present in ours and our kids lives.  Happy belated Mom's day to our moms, our kids' birth moms, our grandmas and all the fabulous mom friends we're blessed to know.  And love and prayers for all our dear ones who want nothing more than become a mom or miss their mom or never had a mom.  Mother's Day is a bag of worms for a whole lotta women.  I used to be one of them, so my heart goes out to all of you.    

Who Take Their Kids to Vegas?

Who takes their kids to Vegas?  We do.  Especially when there's fam in town.  Well, that's the only reason we took the monkeys with really.  The trip started off on a high note for our little man.  Dude crafted artwork to resemble the Southwest logo and thoroughly impressed the flight crew.  They complimented him over the loudspeaker and invited him to hang out in the cock pit after we de-boarded.  Our little social bee.    

 

After a night (and an awesome dinner) at Grandpa and Di's house,  Grandpa joined us for a road trip to Death Valley.  Where is Death Valley?  It's in the middle of nowhere.  By nowhere I mean NO-WHERE.  No trees, no animals, no water, no buildings, no pee stops.  Just cactus   If you broke down for more than 4 hours with no assistance or water you just might die.  That being so dramatically said, we had a lovely 24 hours with Grandpa at our ranch hotel.  The kids swam (it was baking hot - the hottest place in the world according to Google), we ate, the kids wrestled with Grandpa, we star gazed (unbelievable star visibility) and explored the property.  

There was a small group of ranch employees holding a church service Sunday morning.  The kids joined right in.  They can't resist music of any kind. 

 

 Back in Vegas.  Grandpa's car was a highlight.  Just to play in.  Dude got plenty of cool guy time drivin' around town with his G-pa, top down of course. 

 We spent 2 nights on the strip at a family friendly hotel, which we were super impressed with.  Huge condo with a balcony.  Our nakey girl is checking out the other "nakey" girls in the pool below.  

One afternoon we took the kiddos to a dolphin/lion adventure at The Mirage.  An employee saw us wandering around aimlessly and gave us her discount on getting in to see these awesome creatures up close and personal.  We paid $19 instead of the $75 we would have paid without her.  Ummm, THANK YOU nice lady.  A majority of the rest of our time on the strip was spent at the pool/s.  The inappropriateness was mild as we stayed during the week and called it quits by 7pm, so it was all good.  We underestimated just how much walking is necessary if you're going to tour the strip, so we kept that to a minimum.  Dude & Squirt's endurance aren't up to Vegas standards.  
  

 The kids were filled with GLEEEEEE.  

 These tigers/lions are Sigfreed and Roy's babies.  

 We didn't get as many memorable pics as we would have liked but we had a great time on our Vegas vaca. The kids adore spending QT with Grandpa V and we love watching them bond.  Thanks to Dad and Di for hanging with us and treating us to great food!  We're glad no blizzards got in the way this go round.