End of the Year Picnic

Today Claire's class walked to a park near the school for their end of the year picnic. It was a beautiful day, so the kids were able to enjoy the park. They played soccer, baseball, limbo, lacrosse, and any other sport you can image. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Claire was completely exhausted tonight, and VERY dirty from a hard day of playing.

I have not mentioned Braden's end of the year picnic because it was cancelled. It was scheduled for yesterday, but it was terribly cold and rainy. They were allowed to watch a movie at school, but unfortunately, there was no picnic. :(

Coors Field

Yesterday, Claire's class toured Coors field. It is the home of the Colorado Rockies. It was quite an experience for the kids. They were able to sit in the dug-out, the locker room, and the press box. It really was a lot of fun.

Memorial Day

We were invited to a cook-out at our friends Shay and Eric's cabin. It is in Bailey, CO which is about one hour north of Denver. It is located on the Platte River. The view was absolutely breath-taking. The cabin is nestled in the mountains, so you get to enjoy the view and sounds of the river while being surrounded by the mountains. It was a little piece of paradise.

We followed several families on our journey. We brought new meaning to the Griswald's vacation. It was comical and quite time-consuming to make our trip; however, it was worth every bit of effort it took. We had such a great time!

The kids played softball. The kids said they beat all of the Dads. They were so excited! I didn't witness the game, so I am not sure how hard the Dads were trying, but it definitely made for excitement and bragging among the kids.

Following the softball, the kids wanted to go fishing; however, we didn't have enough gear for everyone. The guys creatively made fishing poles from leftover lumber, string and a washer. The kids then dug for worms and began their quest to catch fish. The wait for a fish was FOREVER!! In fact, everyone had given-up, when a fish attached itself to the hook. It was on Claire's "pole." She was in the yard playing, when Justin spotted her pole floating down the river. It was attached to a fish!!! Everyone was so excited. (Especially the Dads because this meant their invention was a success). I have to admit I was a skeptic on the ability of their homemade poles, but I was proven wrong.

The most humorous part of the fish story is that Eric had been fishing all day without any success. He was completely outfitted with the vest, the pole, the WORKS. Can you imagine his frustration when a fish was caught on a piece of scrap lumber and string? PRICELESS!!!

It was such a fun day!! It really made us realize how lucky we have been to find such a great group of friends/family here in Colorado. :) We really are going to miss everyone. Our Colorado Crew will always hold a special place in our hearts.

SOCK HOP

Friday was the much anticipated Sock-Hop. The girls have been talking about the sock-hop for MONTHS! The discussion has been about who was going to the party with whom, and what outfits they were going to wear. As you can imagine, these were HUGE decisions.

Claire finally decided to go the the sock-hop with Jack England, and that she had absolutely nothing to wear. This meant that she and I had to go to the mall late Thursday night to shop for an outfit. The shopping included an outfit, shoes, AND accessories...who created this fashion maven?!! The shopping was made difficult by the fact that the theme for the party was "FIRE AND ICE." This meant that you had to wear red or blue. Claire was very thoughtful in the theme. Her shirt was red, her bracelets were blue, and her headband and shoes were decorated with clear crystals that looked like ice. WOW!! She is very precise don't you think? The results were perfect. She looked fabulous, and you could tell she loved her outfit.

We had a "pre-party" here at our house. The kids ate pizza and then we all walked to the party. It was such a fun night. The kids were so excited and they danced the night away. (complete with the Macarena)

I have to mention that there was some "drama" between the girls and the boys. Some of the people that were supposed to be there together didn't dance with each other. (Claire included). My understanding is that the girls decided only to dance with each other, and this upset a few of the guys. (BOY...it starts early, huh?)

Braden and Drew also went to the party, but they only stayed for about five minutes, and then they went to the park across the street. The loud music and dancing just wasn't their scene.

It really was a fun night, and we LOVED getting to watch the kids in their element. I also video taped some of their dance moves, and I am planning to use it for black-mail in about eight years.

Snuggle Up and Read Day

Friday was "Snuggle-Up and Read" day at the kids' school. My titles are "Teacher Catch-Up Day," or "Just be quiet and leave me alone Day." Seriously, the kids and teachers are finished with school, and it is crazy that they are still going to school, but OH WELL!!!

The kids were allowed to wear their pajamas and to bring their pillows and blankets to school so they could "snuggle up and read." It sounded like a lot of fun; however, I am not sure how much reading Braden completed. He admitted to me that he had four recesses on Friday. Sounds like a perfect day in First grade! :)

P.S. Please note that Drew participated in the festivities by wearing his pajamas while we walked Claire and Braden to school. He definitely didn't want to be "left out."

Our Monday Morning Walks

Every Monday morning, Drew and I walk to the bakery in our neighborhood to get our bread for the week. It is such a yummy tradition. We are REALLY going to miss the freshly baked bread. It is made with all natural ingredients, and it just melts in your mouth.

This is the statue outside of the bakery. In addition to our tradition of purchasing bread, Drew has instated the tradition of climbing and playing on this statue. Unfortunately, it is not the most stable of structures, but hopefully it will last for a few more weeks, and Drew will not be responsible for its demise.

Field Day

WOW!! Last week was such a busy week, and I have a lot of blogging to "catch-up." It always seems that the last few weeks of school are extremely busy...and boy, has that been true this year.

The kids had field day last week. (It was postponed from the previous week due to the unexpected SNOW storm...yes it is MAY!!) Anyway, Braden had a blast. Drew and I were able to come to watch him in the 50-yard dash. He performed very well, and seemed to have a little competitive spirit toward the guys in his class. He was racing as quickly as he could while constantly watching over his shoulder to see where the competition was. I was worried that he might trip because he kept turning his head, but thankfully, he never fell.

Following the race, the next event was the "Tootsie-Roll Relay". The kids raced to a stack of Tootsie rolls. They placed large gloves on their hands and had to remove the wrapper from the candy. It was quite comical. Fortunately, Braden stayed focused and was able to get it opened pretty quickly, so he didn't delay his team.

Drew and I were also able to attend Claire's field day, but I forgot my camera. She wasn't in the best of spirits because she had received two last place ribbons. She was trying as hard as she could to be a good sport, but you could tell it was really making her angry. Oh well...

As you can tell from the pictures, Drew held his own "Mini-Field Day." He wasn't allowed to run the 50-yard dash, so he ran his own race (against himself), and made sure that I was taking pictures of him. I find this a great parallel to Drew's existence. He is definitely running his own race with his own rules, and he always has an audience. Don't you agree?!! :)