Claire's Field Trip

Claire was so excited that she had a field trip scheduled this week while Drew is gone. I have not been able to go on any of her field trips this year because younger siblings are "discouraged from attending."

We went to the Denver Mint and the Colorado State Capital. It is always fun to watch Claire and her friends. We had a picnic on the lawn of the capital, and I got to watch the little "groups" form within her class. It is so true to how it was when we were young. The athletic guys congregate to play/talk sports, there was a "cool" girls group, the athletic girls group, etc. It proved that our grouping tendencies are innate and timeless.

The Denver Mint was quite interesting. I have never been to the Mint, so I found it intriguing. Claire and her friends were a little bored by it. We then went to the Capital. One parent had to stay outside to watch the bags. Nobody would volunteer, so I ended up sitting on the steps of the capital for one and one-half hours watching pack-backs and visiting with homeless people. VERY INTERESTING!! It wasn't that bad, but had I known I would have brought a book or something to do. Oh well...

It was a fun day and Claire thanked me for coming. Hopefully, I can join her again.

Arkansas Bound!

Today, Drew left for a two-week visit to Arkansas. He flew home with Justin's family so he could spend some time with his grandparents. He was so excited!! Last night, he insisted that we pack his bags. He began his packing process by placing four Webkinz, a Luke Skywalker action figure, and his Nintendo DS in a bag. He thought that was about all that he needed for his trip. I guess he is right! Silly me, thinking underwear and socks might be useful.

Nonna reported that when Drew was going through security, the guy asked him his name. He said without hesitation, "D-R-E-W." He was a man on a mission...a mission to Arkansas. He was not going to let this guy slow him by getting his name wrong.

I know Drew is going to have a great time, but it was really difficult to return home to an empty house. I am going to miss my little buddy.

Copper Mountain...final weekend!!

Justin's brother, sister-in-law, and mom came to visit this weekend. Nonna babysat the kids while the other adults went skiing. It was so much fun, yet VERY exhausting. We skied extremely hard and may have "overdone it" due to our excitement, or it could have been the result of a little brotherly competition. :) It definitely made us realize that skiing with adults is a whole different experience than skiing with three kids. We were very tired by the end of the day.

The second day of skiing was a beautiful, clear day...much better than the first day which was cold and snowy. It was perfect!!

We really did have a great time, but I have to say HOORAY! Ski season is over!! I like to ski, but I am ready for Spring. In addition, the end of ski season means we are one step closer to coming home!!

Destination Imagination

Last week, Claire participated in a program called Destination Imagination. Her team has been practicing once a week on a play that was written by the girls on her team. The rules were strict about NO adult participation. The adults were only allowed to supervise. Needless to say, the play had quite an interesting (and somewhat difficult to follow) plot. Claire was Angry Bob in the play, and I must say, she plays the emotion of anger quite well.

Their team did not advance to the next level in the competition, but they definitely had a great time. We celebrated the end of the program with a pizza party, and one of the parents took all of the girls to their house in the mountains.

The bottom two pictures above are from the night before the performances. Everyone came to our house for dinner, and the girls made props for the play. It was a lot of fun! As you can tell, it was a full weekend of Destination Imagination.

OH, SO VERY EXCITING!!

Today the movers came to give us an estimate for our moving expenses. I honestly felt butterflies of excitement the whole time he was here. Finally, at one point I realized I was following the guy with the most giddy grin on my face. I had to regain composure to make sure he didn't think I was crazy. Seriously, isn't this exciting!?! It really feels like we may come home. I have often compared this experience to being on a vacation, and you just can't get home. Well guess what...I think we have found the map!! The "adventure" may finally come to an end!!!!



Estimated moving date...June 6th. YEAH!!!!!!:) Estimated moving cost...UGH!! TOO MUCH TO MENTION. Cost of us finally getting to be near our family and friends...priceless.

OH, SO VERY EXCITING!!!

NOT QUITE READY TO LAUGH...

You know those moments as a parent that will be funny someday, but right now, you are just not quite ready to laugh? Well...here is a picture of my most recent moment where this occurred.

Thursday night, Claire and her DI team came to our house to finalize their project. Drew had a friend Aidan at our house to play with him. (really to keep Drew occupied so the girls could work). Drew, Aidan, and Braden played upstairs. I frequently (obviously, not frequently enough) checked on them, and they appeared to be playing nicely and to be having a great time.

At one point, I heard a lot of laughing upstairs, so I decided to go "check it out." I opened the door to Drew's room (in what now seems to have been slow motion), the picture above is what I saw...a sea of tiny, Styrofoam pieces strewn everywhere. Drew ripped open a HUGE stuffed animal and shook the contents all over the floor. He then proceeded to drive tractors through the Styrofoam mess leaving trails. He was having a wonderful time. At the moment I opened the door, I could only begin to laugh. Now, those of you that know me, are aware of the fact that I often laugh at inopportune times, i.e. saying my wedding vows, when people are telling very serious things, etc. Honestly, I think it is an immune response or something. I have never been good at seriousness. Anyway, I now know that the laughter as I opened the door wasn't humor, it was merely disbelief, or some kind of maternal protective mechanism preventing me from harming Drew.

The laughter really started to fade as we began cleaning the mess. The Styrofoam had a lot of static electricity so it was very difficult to clean. Our vacuum cleaner and broom could only do so much, and we are still finding Styrofoam all over the house. (and probably will for months to come, ugh!!!)

Leave it to Drew Henry. Honestly, there is never a dull moment with this kid. I am sure I will look back and laugh at this, but I am not quite ready to laugh now.

P.S. A huge shout-out to Justin for having the patience to clean up the mess. I started the process and became quite frustrated. He stepped in and finished the job. Thanks again!!

We're back!

We spent last week in Arkansas (really only five days, but who was counting?) working on our house. We couldn't believe the changes and progress that have been made. WOW!! It will be so exciting to return home to a "new" house.


We all had a great time breathing the abundant Arkansas air, and seeing our family. The saying "There is no place like home," is so very true!

We were sad when we had to return to Denver. Reality is sometimes a little too real! Justin immediately returned to work and has been "on call" and away from home ever since we returned.

I posted this picture of the house in LR as a personal reminder that we really can't go home right now, since our house is "unlivable." This could quite possibly be the only reason we haven't packed-up and returned to AR. We are all very homesick and ready to be done with this "adventure." Only eight more weeks, but again who is counting?

WE'RE BACK!