The Outlaws Come to Town

It was our pleause to host Kevin, Cathy and Matt Mullowney - Colorado Kerschen Style!  Their last visit to Colorado was 2 years ago, right after Jak was born.  We were so lucky to be the 1st stop on their month long road trip to Colorado, Chicago, Michigan and back through Colorado.   Both kids loved having the extra visitors - especially Lillian.  She just loves hamming it up for company and anyone who tickles her is A-OKAY in her book.  And Kevin has really good tickling skills.  For some reason, she never called Kevin by his name, she referred to him as her "best friend" all weekend.  "I'm saving that seat for my best friend", or "Why can't I ride in the car with my best friend?". 

 We loved showing off Red Rocks Amphitheater to the biggest music lovers we know.  Kevin and Cathy are following the concert schedule and planning another trip out based on that!

 Lillian was taking in the sights with her best friend in this photo. 

 Lillian and Jak enjoying the view - and doing Jak's favorite activity...climbing!

 We emptied all of our change into this dinosaur bank.  Not sure what we donated to but all 5 adults contributed all the coins we could dig out of our pockets!

 Lillian and Jak practiced walking like dinosaurs at the Red Rocks Museum.

 It was a great day, followed by a delicious lunch in Golden.

The Mullowney's sure are fun to be with!  We can't wait to see them again...

Prepare to be Wowed...

Our son has 20 - maybe 20 - recognizable words.  And those 20 words are only recognizable to his parents probably!  But this week - Jak blew my mind 3 times. 

1.  He jumped off the platform at the fire truck playground and grabbed for the monkey bars.  Thankfully he performed this stunt right in front of me so I was able to help him down.  He continued to climb ladders and take risks throughout the 30 minutes we were at the playground - I was really kicking myself for bringing them there alone!  I really could have used another adult to keep an eye on my two "monkeys". 

2.  Jak put this wooden puzzle together by himself in no time.  Then he grunted repeatedly to get my attention, pointed to it, dumped it out and did it again right in front of me.  My jaw dropped - I didn't know he had such cognition and fine motor skills!

3.  And finally, when Jak woke up from his nap today, I was putting laundry away in his room.  He saw the pile of big boy underpants in his cabinet and insisted I put them on him.  I brought him downstairs, put him on the potty and 5 minutes later he peed.  We made a BIG ol' deal about it, flushed it in the potty and whooped and hollered.  An hour and a half later, I put him on the potty again.  He sat for about 15 minutes this time - determined to make something happen.  Again - we whooped and hollered and made a big deal about it when he went.  Only this time, Lillian got wise to the situation and insisted they both get M&M's to celebrate his success. 

 

Language may be the last skill to present itself in this boys young life - but there's no denying Jak's one smart cookie!



My New Assistant...

I took Lillian to work with me today. It isn't her first time helping out, I've taken both kids with me on a couple of Saturdays when I'm "MOD".  But usually, Mike picks them up after a couple of hours.  Today, Lillian spent the whole day with me.  She was helpful - sort of - but mostly she was just a cute little reminder of days gone by for my residents.  Lillian says she likes coming to momma's work to help with the old people.  As a treat, we visited the fountain in the Lowry Towne Center at lunch. 

 And...this is Lillian's first attempt at tracing her letters...

Big thanks to Aunt Kim for the awesome birthday gift! 

Tiny Town

Aunt Casey was away on a business trip but Keira and Uncle Robert met us in Tiny Town this morning.  We rode the train, picnicked and played on the playground before the rain showers foiled our plans again!  We were all set to make it a long day in the mountains...oh well!

A Perfect Fourth

Every once in a while, a day goes so perfect you just can't help but thank God a little more for having such a wonderful family.  We feel blessed everyday - even the "no-matter-what-I-do-they-won't-stop-whining" days.  But this Fourth of July will stand out as a perfect family day in my mind forever.  I took the kids to the pool at 9 AM and packed to stay as long as humanly possible. Mike stayed behind to get a few home projects taken care of.  Daddy joined us around 11, we swam, picnicked and swam some more!  Before noon, the neighborhood festivities began to pick up.  The DJ started playing, the neighborhood baked goods were laid out and the bike parade started assembling.  They had free sunglass giveaways, popsicles, an antique car, a fire truck and an ambulance on display.  It was hot - 4th of July hot!  The pool was so refreshing. 
Around 1 - the clouds rolled in.  The sky opened up and it poured.  We gathered our things, piled in the wagon and ran home (as fast as you can run with all we had in tow).  The kids slept for over 3 hours that afternoon.  We let them sleep late in hopes they'd be able to stay awake for the fireworks.  It rained the whole time they slept...so naturally we slept too!  When they awoke, we walked across the street to our neighbors for a BBQ.  The Abotes rented a bouncy house, grilled up some good food and had 1/2 the neighborhood over for dinner. 
When the party dispersed, the Kerschens and the Abotes took a wagon ride back to the pool to lock up for the night (the guards went home early).  We watched fireworks in the distance across "The Pond" and enjoyed a bonfire one of our other neighbors had set up.  Like I said, it was a perfect fourth.