Skyler's B-day

Sorry I missed this post for some reason I thought I had already posted it but I guess I neglected to post it. Unfortunately last year we moved to Virginia right before Skyler's 4th Birthday so we didn’t know anyone to celebrate with. Well, we did it again this year and in an effort not to have a lame party for her with only adults, I scavenged and contacted old friends to try and throw something together at the last minute. We ended up having a swimming party; I think she requested a swimming party because she was taking swim lessons at the time. She is pretty fearless in the water now. We ended up having a really good turn out with some wonderful friends. I think everyone had a blast…best of all SKYLER! Happy 5th Birthday girlie; my beautiful princess. They grow up too fast!







The party was on Sunday, but on the acutal day of her birthday which was a couple of days before we went out to dinner. We went to a new place called ITZ family fun center. It had all kinds of games and big screens with cartoons playing ... we had a blast playing games; I think our family is just a big bunch of kids!

New Addition to the Family

Well, my mom has made a new addition to the family. She has been yearning for a companion to keep her company during the lonely times that she is missing her grandkids, and a friend to hang out with and ride with her in the car. After much searching we made a short trip to Denver to visit a breeder that I found online. Introducing Spencer....Spencer is a cockapoo...for those of you who don't know what that is (I didn't until this week) it is a cocker spaniel - toy poodle mix. I guess at full grown he will be about 15 pounds. He is pretty adorable and reminds us all of Benji. He is really soft and is starting to really show some personality. The kids came up with the name and he is named for a character on one of our kids’ favorite TV shows... "iCarly" the star's older crazy brother is named Spencer.

Hiking

It is great to be back in Colorado and what better way to celebrate than to take a beautiful hike. Shawn, the kids and I toke about a 5 mile hike in Palmer Park, which is in the heart of Colorado Springs. We bought the kids camelpacks for the occasion; Kaleb carried his the entire 5 miles!

Swimming in Colorado

Well swimming in Colorado is much different than in Virginia, but we still love to go...The kids really like a place called Wilson Ranch which has slides and water spraying everywhere.

While we were there it rained on us; but we stayed and in true Colorado weather form...it cleared up and the kids swam for hours.

Travel Day 7

Today we are looking forward to reaching our final destination the wonderful state of Colorado. As we crossed the state line it was pretty uneventful. The eastern plains of the state look the same as Kansas or Nebraska. It was not until we reached the edge of Denver that we started to see the majestic peaks of the rocky mountains. Again Sky slept and Kaleb had a movie marathon. For a couple of miles I got to look at Skyler's feet in the side view mirror while I was driving to I had to take a picture...


The last day was only another 9 hours in the car, but the last 2 hours were filled with familiar sites and landscape…awww we are home.

It was nice to see the construction/ expansion work completed I25 in Denver, it only took 10 years. BUT of course it never ends they are continuing the work south of Denver…will it never end??? Maybe I should get a job in transportation construction …man talk about job security…or maybe someday we will not need roads anymore…hee hee.


TANGENT: There are 2 camps of people those who believe that humidity has an impact to the intensity of heat an those who do not. I am firmly in the camp of the latter. After experiencing 80/90 degree heat in Virginia/W Virginia/Kentucky etc and then again in Nebraska/Colorado the absence of humidity makes a world of difference in my book! Thank God I can breath again ...awwwwwwww thin air.

Day 6

We visited one of the coolest zoos on the planet. I have countless memories of visiting the Omaha zoo as a kid and it seems that year after year they are improving, expanding and adding new neat exhibits. They have lots of animals and you can get up right close to them.



I got some really good pictures of some of the cats. All of the ones that were awake were eating their tails...so weird. I wonder what goes through their mind as they see all of these strange faces looking at them all day long?


We all enjoyed the fun filled day and in true Ariane fashion, I lost my cell phone at the zoo. I think that brings the carnage count to somewhere in the double digits…oh well. Don’t worry we have already forked out the dough and replaced my phone…

Later in the afternoon we had the pleasure of meeting my grandma’s new friend and old neighbor Dave.

Day 5

Grandma and Grandpa left early Sunday morning to drive to Colorado; unfortunately grandpa had to go to work on Monday morning. There was a severe thunderstorm warning and golf ball size hail to send them off, but they made it safely home to Colorado in one of our vehicles.

The bad weather postponed our plans to visit the Henry doorly zoo until Monday…so instead we went to this sporting goods store that had an indoor ferris wheel; the place was huge! Kaleb was big enough to ride alone...so fearless!

Day 4

We enjoyed a relaxing Saturday recuperating but as some of you know you can’t stay idle long at my grandma’s house. We went to visit Herb and Lois my great uncle and aunt; and they had a new addition to their family Rambo #2

We all went out to dinner at the outback to celebrate an early father’s day.

Travel Day 3

Destination Omaha, NE Great Grandma Erika’s house. Skyler woke up with pink eye which made the thought of being unemployed w/o health insurance a gift from old Murphy. (i.e. you know Murphy’s law) The drive was not nearly as hot or as long as the previous day…only 9 hours. Skyler slept nearly the entire day…

Grandma’s house was a blessed site. We spent a relaxing Saturday recuperating and visiting the park to allow the kids to expend some much needed energy.


Skyler and great grandma Erika spent some quality time together...she has grown a lot since they last saw each other.

Travel Day 2

Our destination was Mount Vernon, IL. We woke up to horrible news of tornados killing 4 boy scouts and continued storms that were flooding much of the Midwest. With Gods aide none of the severe weather or destruction hindered our travel across country. We spent 11 hours on the road but it was not without challenges. Mid-day the air-conditioning gave out in the Durango; and with all the precipitation it nearly made the humidity unbearable. Kaleb was a real trooper despite the heat…


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We reached our hotel with much celebration at the end of day 2. Again we enjoyed a dip in the pool and I think our first good night sleep in over a week. The kids enjoyed a late night dinner glued to the TV.

Travel Day 1

Wednesday morning was devoted to cleaning the house and loading the last few things into our cars. Thank you Jenn for all your help you were a God send. At 330 there was a popsicle social at our house to say our last goodbyes to near and dear friends…and to burn thru the last of our freezer stuff.The girls made some wonderful signs which illustrates how remarkably loving and creative friends we have…



We then said our tearful goodbyes. Peyton was the first to cry which sent Skyler into a tail-spin. She cried in the car for nearly the first hour of the trip. We made our way to the Richmond Airport to pick up some much needed support. My mom and dad were generous enough to buy one way tickets so that they could help us drive across country.

The first leg of our trip was only another hour and a half drive; we drove to Charlottesville, VA where we stayed the night. Despite the hour the kids enjoyed the pool facilities.

The move home…

First off I would like to apoligize to everyone for taking so long to get back to the blog. As you know things get hectic during a move and I don't do well without structure in my life...very little gets done. So here goes....

My last day of work was Friday, June 6th, it was bittersweet but well overdue. Shawn and I spent the weekend packing the house in preparation for the truck on Monday. As a send off Virginia was nice enough to have record breaking heat that weekend and into the next week while we were loading. There is nothing like loading a truck in 104 degree heat with awful humidity to solidify our decision to move back west. With the help of some wonderful friends we got the truck loaded in less than a day. Shawn suffered from heat exhaustion and got really sick. The house was completely empty by Tuesday night and we enjoyed meals at some of our favorite Virginia eateries…The Breeden and the Pasquinelli diners.