Cousin Fun

Not only was August 20th the first day of school, but it was also the day that my brother, Joseph, and his family arrived for a short visit.  It had be over three years since we had last seen them, so it was fun to have them come out and catch up a bit.

Their plane arrived in the late afternoon on the 20th, so Kai and I drove up to Denver Airport together right after school to pick them up.  By the time we arrived home it was nearly bedtime for our boys, and way past bed time for them.  We grabbed some Chinese food on the way back to the house and enjoyed a yummy dinner before putting every down to bed.

On Thursday the 21st, both of my boys had school.  So, that morning while Bree napped my brother, his oldest son, and I went to the grocery store.  His son likes to push the cart and was a great little assistant for us as we shopped.

That afternoon after Finn got home from school (but not Kai) we went over to Fox Run park where we feed the fish (and chipmunks!) some bread and made a quick stop at the playground before heading home for some much needed naps for the little ones.

feeding the fish

On Friday the 22nd, our school district did something new--Assessment Day.  Kai had a two-hour window of time in which he was at school doing a series of three different assessments and then we were to pick him up.  It worked out well that he just had two hours that day, as it gave him more time with his cousins.  After picking him at noon from school, we squeezed all 8 of us into our van and headed down to Fargo's.  Kai at first threw a fit about the whole thing, but eventually decided he liked the place after we arrived.  You'd think after 7 years I would know how to introduce a new idea to him, but I still forget at times.  He doesn't handle change or surprise well a lot of the times and the thought of getting pizza anywhere but Papa John's was unfathomable to him.  He got over it and enjoyed it.  And so did the rest of us.

The only picture I have from Fargos.  Bree really liked the high chari they had there.

Playing on the deck later that night

Finally on Saturday the 23rd, we headed up to the North Pole.  It has been a few years since we've been and we were looking forward to going back.  My boys were much more interested in the bigger rides this time, despite me and Reid having much weaker stomachs in our old age.  Finn, the adventure lover, enjoyed every single ride he went on.  Kai, on the other hand, was pretty funny.  The Tilt-A-Whirl was not his friend and then on his last ride he was giving himself a pep-talk all the way through.  He definitely made me laugh.

Because my brother's kids are younger, they weren't as adventurous as our boys.  It took some persuasion from the oldest cousin that the rides were fun.  Kai was a great help in that respect and I was proud of him for being so encouraging and concerned about Zachary and if he was having fun.

Bree was ok on just a few of the rides.  She really would have preferred to sit in my lap, but that was a no-no.

Kai helped Zachary to go on the Granny Bugs

Reid and Bree tried the Granny Bugs but she was not having it.  I think she would have been fine if she could have sat on his lap.  Oh well, next time!

Kai got to take a ride on the cars with Uncle Joseph

She's driving!

As soon as we were done at the North Pole, we went straight to the Colorado Springs airport where they were hoping to catch an evening flight on standby.  It was a quick visit but we were glad they came and we were happy to have them.  I'm grateful for any chance that my kids get to spend with family!

All of the cousins on the Hickman side

Back to School 2014

We got back from our mini-vacation just 9 days before school started.  It gave us time to do some shopping, get settled back in at home, have a couple of play dates with friends, and a doctor's appointment.  It was hard to believe that the summer was rapidly coming to an end.  Kai said several times that he wished we could start the summer over.  We had a good summer.  There was no big trip like many families had, but we had lots of fun activities and made lots of good memories as a family.  I thought about making a list of all of the new places we went and I realized that I couldn't remember them all.  Thankfully, they are all here in the blog, though.

I took a series of pictures like this the Sunday before school started.  This is the boys playing together on a quiet afternoon.  I really got spoiled this summer as I didn't have to entertain them at all.  They don't even need toys to entertain themselves.  This game they are playing was the most popluar game of the summer--spiders.  They have multiple "pet spiders" and all kinds of stories and adventures for them.  Heck, they even "gave" me a pet spider.  I named him "Quiety" because this game gets crazy loud and can be played anywhere.  I'll be honest, I don't miss this game!  I miss them playing together, but not this game!

On Tuesday August 19th was the elementary school open house in which all of the kids descend upon the school in a measly hour and half time slot.  They have to pay all of their fees, get bus/parking passes as needed, drop off their school supplies and meet their teachers.  All with 700 students and their families flooding the school.  Needless to say, it's chaos.  That morning I also had a meeting with Finn's Pre-K teacher and the school nurse to go over his needs and begin the process of getting a health plan established for him.  Thankfully I had a babysitter that the boys loved so they were able to stay home while I did that.  Then after returning the babysitter to his house we headed to the school.  My strategy the past two years has been to show up at for the last half of the open house.  That way I hope to snag a closer parking spot from the families that are done and are already leaving.  Last year it paid off well.  This year I got nervous because we had to go to two classrooms, so we showed a bit earlier and I ended up finding a decent spot but I had to parrallel park to get it.  That was nerve racking in the van but I was grateful for the back up camera on that.  Kai told me that practice makes perfect and now if there is a spot for parrallel parking he tries to goad me into it.  It's kind of funny!  Anyway, we got through open house day and the boys were both ready and excited for school.  This was my first year without really holding in the tears, and I think it was mostly because I was nervous and worried about Finn.  It didn't really give me time to be sad.  I'm not one of those moms who misses her kids while they are at school, but I do think about them and wonder how the are doing and I do miss knowing what is going on in their lives.  It's hard to give up a part of their day to the unknown.  That being said, both boys are doing great in school and so far I have heard nothing but good reports.

First day of school

Kai is in second grade this year and his teacher is Mrs. Pierce.  She has been teaching for 35 years and has taught in many, many different places as her husband was in the military.  Kai loves that she has been all over the world, but he is especially thrilled that she once taught in Quantico, Virginia.  When I visited with her briefly at Back to School night she told me that Kai was gifted and sweet and she enjoyed him.  Honestly, I didn't expect to hear anything less.  He has a good track record.

First day of second grade

I know this isn't a great picture but I included it because of the little girl to the left of Kai.  That is Cora.  She was in his first grade class and is one of his "favorite" people.  I think he has a crush on her.

The short-haired blond on the right walking behind the kids is Mrs. Pierce

Finn is in Pre-K with a new teacher to the school this year.  She has been in the district for 5 years, but I get the feeling this is her first year having a classroom of her own (instead of being an aide).  Her name is Ms. Michelle.  Finn is enjoying school and the more I get to know his teacher the more I'm growing to appreciate her.  She isn't a super fuzzy, warm preschool teacher.  But she does love the kids and she is very good at setting boundaries.  I think she is turning out to be just what Finn needs.  You can tell that she is nervous and not quite sure what to say to parents, but I'm hoping that will improve as the year goes on.

He was so excited!

First day of Pre-K

Preschool starts 20 minutes after the rest of the school, so we waited outside of the building for a bit.

Playing with Mater with a friend from church, Tate

Overall, I'm grateful that my kids have such a wonderful school community and are in a place where they can get a good, quality education.  I'm hoping that we have a fantastic school year and that Finn stays healthy and safe.

A Surprise Weekend Vacation

On Friday August 8th, we surprised the boys with news that we were going on vacation.  We had spent the weekend before planning a trip to Estes Park, the eastern entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.  Because we were booking so last minute I had a hard time finding a place to stay that meet our requirements and was in our price range.  So, we took a gamble and booked ourselves a lodge room at the YMCA.  I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised by what we found.  The grounds at the YMCA were beautiful and well maintained.  And there was so much to do.  Our stay included classes for the kids, mini-golf, and more.  There was a playground, a swimming pool, an art center, and a dining hall.  If you didn't want to leave the conference center (the YMCA) you really didn't have to.  The kids loved our time there.  It was such a fun weekend we are looking forward to doing it again.

We took the long way there and ended up having lunch at a Burger King in Boulder.

Reid told the boys that to get their kids' meal toys they had to put these boxes on their heads.

The statue outside the reception building at the YMCA.

Inside the art center.  You can pick a project, pay for it, and then work on it as you please throughout your time there.

While we were waiting for our room to be ready we played on the playground.

Outside the art building

Saturday we spent most of our day at the YMCA.  The boys took a few classes, we did a mini-hike, played mini-golf, had lunch in the dining hall, and went swimming.  For dinner we decided to go into downtown Estes Park where we found a fun Chicago-type eatery.  We enjoyed walking and looking at all of the shops, putting our feet in the river, and buying some yummy salt water taffy.  It was a full, busy and fun day.

The first class the kids took on Saturday morning was a parachute play time.

Later on Saturday the kids took a class on the basics of hiking.

Mini-golf

Our selfies while hiking (Reid was back at the room with Bree during naptime)

Heading down the hall to go to dinner

At dinner

Downtown Estes Park

In downtown Estes Park

All of our feet in the freezing river water

On Sunday we decided to visit Rocky Mountain National Park.  We stopped at a visitor center first and the boys caught a Junior Ranger presentation.  We got their handbooks to earn their Junior Ranger badges, and we bought them a passport to the National Parks like I had as a kid.  The boys enjoyed finding the stamps in the park and Kai seems to like the idea of collecting them.  Then we decided to drive all the way through to Grand Lake on the west side of the park.  For the first time in my life I got car sick.  Driving through the mountains just about killed me!  The ranger had told us about the Grand Lake Lodge and so we stopped there for a look.  We ended up grabbing lunch at a local burger place that was small but very good.  It was a good find!  By the time we got back it was too late for any hiking so we got back to the lodge and got ready to head into Estes Park again for "dinner" aka Dairy Queen.

Getting his book signed off

Wishing we had remembered to actually bring our jackets that we had packed but left in the room

Grand Lake

On Monday we checked out of the YMCA and decided go back to Rocky Mountain National Park to do some "hiking".  We walked around Bear Lake and then decided to head over to some water falls.  It turned into a bit more of a hike than we had anticipated, but the boys did pretty well with it.  We were quite tired and hungry by the time we were done.  Once we got back to the car we grabbed some snacks to tide us over and then started driving home.  We had planned on stopping to eat but everyone fell asleep in the car so we drove straight on home.  It had been a long weekend, but it was a lot of fun.  Although, one of the best parts of vacation is getting home!

Bear Lake

a dragonfly

our family at Bear Lake

We made it to the falls!

Bree wanted to sit and play in the dirt.  I would put her down hoping she'd walk with us and she'd end up sitting to play in the dirt.