Snowdown, Super Bowl, Sickness? Stupendous!

Life is moving right along.  I was reminded on Monday of my need to focus on what task at a time and not try to do everything at once.  Some days are easier than others.

Last weekend we went to the Snowdown parade in Durango.  We haven't been in quite a long time.  The thought of taking 3 small kids downtown where there could be 10,000 people lining mainstreet made us cringe.  Thankfully the kids are much more able to handle the walking and the cold.  Especially if there's candy involved.  And there was plenty of that.  And the fact that they could cheer on their friends who were in the parade.  It turned out to be a rainy night but it wasn't miserably cold AND the parade was actually enjoyable...except for the streakers in a thong.  Some peoples kids!

Mark tried to go ballooning on Saturday but the weather wasn't cooperating so he got to go to breakfast instead.

Sunday we went to a Superbowl party and the cable wasn't working at the clubhouse.  So for the first half of the game we ate lots of food and had time to chat with friends.  It was actually really nice.  Eventually we went back to the host's house and watched the most exciting part of the game.  It turned out to be a great night with friends.

Here's Kate enjoying the recent sunshine we've had.

Monday morning Kate woke up feeling awful.  Headache, body aches, runny nose, coughing, fever... No good.  What was planned as a peaceful Monday turned into lots of running around.  I did school with the boys, made a dr appt for Kate, finished making a meal to take to a family at church, had a coaching call for the writing program I'm doing, had the internet go out for 2 hours and made calls to our provider, took Kate to the dr, switched out the modem, picked up a prescription (Kate has Influenza B - a milder, but still miserable, form of the flu), did a little shopping for meds and a working thermometer, delivered a meal, came home and crashed!  All with a wonderful headache.  I'm not complaining just stating the facts.  It was a crazy day.  Not a terrible day though.  A good reminder to take the time I do have and accomplish things one at a time.  That way when the margins of life get sucked away, I have some breathing room.

Kate has spent the last couple days holed up in her room.  Poor thing has gone through a couple boxes of tissue.  She has quite a mountain of them!

(Don't worry.  Right after I took this picture we cleaned them all up in a big trash bag. I didn't know how bad it had gotten!) 

I think she kind of likes the alone time and the ability to pick what she wants to watch on TV.  She has one in her room so she's all set.  But she doesn't like being away from friends so that's been hard.  She also really hates the Tamiflu we've had to give her.  We keep encouraging her that the few seconds of a nasty taste are worth feeling better sooner.  She's been a trooper in getting it down but not without some tears.  No one likes to feel yucky but when you're especially sensitive to how you feel...it can be unbearable.  For her and the rest of us.  I had prayed when the rest of us were sick that she would stay well.  And she did.  I think God knew that if she got sick when we all were we'd have a lower amount of compassion.  With it just being her I can focus more on helping her.  It's still challenging but not nearly what I had feared earlier.  She's been working really hard on staying away and taking her meds.  She knows it'll help in the end.  She's come such a long way!!

Today we've been dealing with our dog, Mishka.  Two weeks ago we noticed his ear swelling.  Took him to the vet and we discovered he has food allergies which caused lots of itching which caused him to scratch so hard he broke a blood vessel in his ear - hence the swelling.  He had a little minor surgery to drain the blood then got to wear the cone of shame for a week.  I was hoping after the first day or two he'd realize just how big his new head was.  Nope.  He was constantly running into people, walls and doors.  We were all super excited when he got it off.  We became super diligent in watching what he ate.  The food we had been feeding him was on the allowable list but we have to monitor the people food he licks off the floor or dishes when we're loading the dishwasher.  We've been so good about watching him but he hasn't really seemed a whole lot better.

This morning Mark took him back in and it turns out he's still having an allergy attack.  Now he's on an even more strict diet but thankfully no cone of shame!

Mark and I have planned a weekend away with the kids coming up in a couple weeks.  A fun way to celebrate Kate and Kale's birthdays.  We're going to Albuquerque and staying at a hotel that has an indoor water park.  We're all looking forward to a change of scenery and the kids are super excited to swim!  We've haven't gotten away as a family and just played since this summer and we could all use some play time.  Things don't slow down a whole lot for us just because it's winter so we need to carve it out for us.  Hopefully we're learning!  I had a woman tell me the other day that we have just 18 summers with our kids.  Wow.  Talk about perspective!  It goes fast and I really don't want to miss it.

Handlebars and Little Molas

Happy Labor Day to you! We celebrated this fine day by heading to the mountains. After we did about an hour of school this morning, however (yeah I'm totally that homeschool mom...). Mark did a little of his own school while the kids and I did a couple things. Stuff I don't want to get behind on. But not enough to take up our whole day. We were on the road to the mountains by 9:30. Not bad! 

We headed up to Silverton for lunch at Handlebars. I promised Mark that we'd try to make it up there at least once a year. This was our opportunity. 

Handlebars has animals and stuff all over the walls. It's super entertaining for the kids while you're waiting for food. 

Heading out to the car I stopped and snapped this picture. Thought it was a neat, small town alley. 

We got in the truck and went back up to little Molas lake to our hike on the Colorado trail. When the kids found out the trail went all the way to Denver they were worried we were hiking there. 

Had to get one of the two of us. That's rare when we're all out together. 

Isn't he a doll?

Sibling love

Due to the super amounts of rain we've had in the past month or so, there were mushrooms everywhere! And they were big ones! 

One of our rest stops. Log with a view. 

Another rest stop. We decided to push on a bit further despite the rain clouds. We hoped we could beat them. We almost did. 

Funky tree Mark took with his special lens for his iPhone. 

Family photo! And they all smiled! 

Then Jack begged us for a silly picture. 

We went a bit further then stopped again. This time to turn around. It was such a beautiful and gentle sloping hike that Mark and I wished we could've gone further but the clouds and the kids said otherwise. 

And it was good we headed back. Not long after we left the top it started hailing. Tiny little pea sized hail that didn't hurt too much but still a good motivator to move it! 

Cute wet kids getting a quick break on the way down. 

Evidence of a muddy trail. 

When we got back down to the bottom we loaded up. As soon as Mark shut his door to the car the heavens opened up and it poured! It had been sprinkling/hailing on us the way down but it was a downpour as we drive off. Perfect timing!  

It's days like this that make me wonder why we don't go in the mountains more often. We had a blast! 

If I could freeze time, I would

Tonight the kids and I had a fabulous time down at the river. It made me dream of living in town again and walking the river trail, playing on the banks of the Animas, stopping at parks to swing and just enjoying being outside.

We got dinner and took it to a park to eat. After we were done I drug them on a walk with me :) 

We walked the river trail then found a spot to sneak down to the waters edge. 

We laughed and played and splashed and just enjoyed being outside in the beauty of God's creation. 

Being at the river near sunset was stunning. The light shining between the trees and off the water was perfect. 

Hard to capture the perfectness with my phone but I had to try! 

If I could just freeze this moment...

Phone Dump Catch Up (warning...super long!)

 I was scared to actually come over to the computer and start this post.  I was afraid to see how long it had been since my last post.  Once upon a time I was a faithful blogger.  And then....the life that I'd been blogging about got super crazy!! And I've struggled ever since to get back on the wagon.  I don't know why.  I guess reading and napping have taken priority in the afternoons.  

I'll try to share what we've been doing the past few weeks.  

The day we got back from my sister's wedding was the first day of our church's Sports Camp.  It's kind of like VBS.  It was 5 nights from 5-8.  Both Kale and Kate did it this year.  Kale did soccer and Kate did cheerleading.  Here she is doing a cheer for us (she's the 4th little cheerleader from the left).

 

Also during Sports Camp week Kale had his last few baseball games.  I don't have any pictures of his games but I did take one of the other 2 kids playing on a giant pile of wood chips (way more fun than watching big brother).

 

Kale did well in baseball but truth be told, we were all kinda glad to see the season end.  It was fun but it was time-consuming and hot!  He seems to like baseball okay but he doesn't LOVE it.  We'll see what he decides next year.

 This is a picture of m grumpy boys at dinner one night in Bayfield.  Mark wanted in on the action...

 Father's Day happened.  Apparently the coffee theme stayed strong.  We got Mark a french press coffee maker for his office.  Yummy coffee during his work day!

 Jack gave himself a faux- hawk.  Love his grin!

 Last Monday and Tuesday I spent at the hospital with my good friend Jinny (you may remember her from the wedding I posted about last year).  She delivered this adorable little man Nathanial James.  I was honored to be in the delivery room and help coach her.  It was an amazing experience.  Outside of giving birth it was one of the most difficult things I've done.  But it was incredible to be on the other side of delivery! Now I have a special little connection with this little guy.

 

After watching the delivery I found this on Pinterest and laughed...I can so relate!

On Wednesday, after not a lot of sleep due to the hospital visit, I had the privilege (ahem) of taking my kids to Walmart to buy groceries for our camping trip.  I was sleep-deprived and doing my best to not be the cranky mom and took them to Durango Joe's for coffee and smoothies.  When we got into the store, Jack walked right up to their water bottle display and promptly put a water bottle into his mouth and started sucking on it! (what in the world?!  I thought he was over that stage...)  Needless to say we bought a new water bottle because I couldn't stand the thought of putting it back and having another poor soul buy a water bottle with my kids germs on it. After we walked out of the store a nice older gentleman came over to me and told me that he was impressed with my actions.  He said he knew I didn't have to buy it but was glad I did.  Made me feel nice to have someone thank me.  Not that I needed it but it made the experience better.

 And another card on Pinterest to cap off my day...Oh how I feel like this sometimes....

 Found this huge, ugly thing on my back deck the other day.  Promptly sent a picture of it to my spider fearing husband for fun.

 Thursday we went camping with 2 families from our small group (they were the only ones who could go).

This cutie is Asher, the youngest camper. He did amazing!

 Just off from our awesome campsite.

 Looking down on the "kitchen" and "dining room"

 From the kitchen up to our camper.

 Boys learning how to shoot a BB gun properly.  Gun etiquette  :)  This picture shows what not to do!

 Hiking

 Kate, Kale and Josh pausing for the camera while "hunting" chipmunks.

 Camping was a blast and we definitely want to go again this summer.  It was so nice to be outside in cooler weather and actually away from the smoke.  Kate melted down a couple of times due to lack of sleep but overall they did great.  We brought home buckets of dirt stuck to our bodies and clothes.  Clean up was fun!

Speaking of smoke.  We've had numerous fires burning around us for a while now.  Four fairly big ones within 30 miles of us.  Thankfully they are all much better and on their way to being out.  Lack of rain and really hot temps have made this June quite miserable.  I'm hoping we're getting into the monsoon season now and that that will help.  Smoky skies and ash falling aren't fun for anyone!

This past Sunday was church in the park.  Mark's first one.  He did amazing.  I really am so proud of him (I gotta brag on him in another post).  Here are my tree climbers after the service.

 I laughed when I read this.  I am so that person who asks for a straw for my water at restaurants because I hate it when the ice attacks my face...

 I gave the boys buzz cuts this morning.  I couldn't stand the sweat sticky hair any longer.

 Also,  at my sister's wedding I got gel nails put on.  I've never done that before and I have to say that after 3 weeks they still look alright.  Here's my recent picture.  You can tell they've grown out but compared to what they would look like after 3 days of me painting them they are incredible!  I may just have to treat myself every once in a while to nice nails. 

 Found a recipe for iced coffee with my Keurig.  Tried it this afternoon before I started blogging.  Delicious!  Not sure why I posted this other than it was on my phone.  Aren't you happy you've seen this now?

 As I finish this up I smell rain (Praise the Lord!!).  Boy can we use it!  Helps to cool off my greenhouse house in the afternoons.  It's been 95* in here lately. Mark is on his way to Lake City, CO with some friends of ours to meet some people from a church in Texas.  Make some connections.  Learn some stuff.  Have a mini-retreat.  This was a last minute decision but one we felt he needed to experience.  The kids and I could've gone but it was just too much.  We needed some down time to clean, do school and relax.  At least try to :)

I'll post more later about Mark and I.  Hopefully for those of you who read this to know what's going on in my life this helps catch you up a bit.