Our family just returned from a week long vacation in Colorado where we visited my brother and his family. There are so many pictures (like 400) so I have tried to break it down for you all. We wanted to save all of the outdoorsy and true Colorado-ish things for when my brother could be with us so we spent the first day of our trip at the Denver Children's Museum. While it wasn't the biggest museum we have been to it was completely packed with fun and lots of hands on exhibits for the kids. Lily and Kylie's favorite, hands down, was a hands on grocery store. They shopped and checked out and then went over to a HUGE play kitchen to cook some goodies. Lily Kate would have stayed there for the rest of her life....seriously! Cole's favorite was a bubble exhibit. You got to make huge bubbles, catch bubbles falling from the sky, stand in the middle of a bubble, and so on. It was so fun and so messy! We spent hours there just playing and learning ... all of us could participate and all of us felt like kids again! It was a wonderful way to begin our trip and I hope, hope, hope we have something like that near us soon.
Tomorrow finishes out our week of swimming lessons for this summer (Cole's second year) and we could not be happier with all that he has learned. He is taking private lessons this year which has turned out to be amazing. He gets one on one time to learn and practice and have fun. Cole's teacher this year, John, was a lot more strict than I expected. He asked me to sit away from the pool so Cole would focus on him and not me...he makes Cole do as he as says and makes him repeat things until he gets it right. But you know what....Cole loves him and loves his lessons! Cole loves to put his face under water so that was never an issue and helped him be able to do more this week. The first day they focused on what to do if he fell in the pool. John taught him how to find the edge of the pool and "alligator walk" using his hands until he found an area where he could climb out. What a relief and something we will practice all summer. They go over that once a day but since that first day it has been all swimming. Swimming underwater, dolphin kicks, frog kicks, using your arms and legs to swim...blowing bubbles, jumping in the pool and floating. Wow-my boy has learned a great deal. I love the smile on his face through class and when he is done he "walks quickly" (no running around the pool you know) to tell me every single thing he did. The coolest part for me is to be able to see from Monday-Friday how much he has learned and how much his confidence has soared. I cannot wait to see him show off his swimming skills over the rest of the summer.
We headed to Tulsa this past week for a wonderful family fun day with the Rosencranz family. We had not been to the zoo in Tulsa in a very long time and they had never been. The weather was perfect - 75 and breezy all day! The kids had an absolute blast. Lily Kate wanted to be a big kid right from the start and since it was a week day and not crowded at all we let her loose. Sweet Lily...she did her very best to keep up with Cole and Nadia. She looked at everything they did, she snacked when they did, she pooped out when they did. She was a real trooper the entire day. I think her very favorite thing at the zoo was the carousel. That was her first ride of any kind and she laughed and laughed the entire time she rode! We spent the morning walking around and seeing the animals. We were there at a good time because, even if they were resting, the animals were out where we could see them. After lunch we let the kiddos run loose in the big playground and then took a short train ride tour around the zoo. I have honestly never been more happy to sit down in all of my life! Time got away from us and before we knew it, it was 3 pm! Not one of the kids had complained about being tired or melted down but we still decided it was best to head home. I think our kids were passed out asleep before we even left the parking lot. Sweet babies...they just had an absolute blast. And so did we...there is something wonderful and magical watching your kids explore things right before your eyes.
We had a very relaxing and fun Memorial Day spent with friends. The Burrow family invited us and the Vo's over for some afternoon play and a cookout. The food was fabulous but the company was even better. It amazes me (as I look at the picture with all of the kids in the beach chairs) how truly blessed we all are. Not just for wonderful and healthy kiddos but for our friendships with each other. We all met when Haley was pregnant with Katie and she is 6 1/2 now. Our three families have shared in many things together and we just love them all. The afternoon was so fun and laid back and, simply, perfect. We let the big kids play while the babies and adults ate dinner. That was the very best idea we have ever come up with and we were kicking ourselves for not thinking of it months ago. The day was also neat in that Cole and I were able to talk a lot about Memorial Day and what it means. We talked about my dad and Rhonald's grandpa serving our country in the Navy and why that was so special. Cole and I recently sent a care package to one of my childhood friend's brothers who is serving in Afghanistan so we talked about Ryan and the sacrifice he was making for us right now. I know he did not understand all of it but he did realize it was an important day to be thankful and that there are real life superheros all around us everyday.
Ahhh...summer is here and with it comes lots of play dates with friends and fun in the sun! We combined the two last week for a play date with Ben T. and Claire at the Splash Park...one of our all time favorite places. This was Lily Kate's first time to actually play at the park and she totally loved it. Thankfully Claire loves to mother Lily and take care of her so she was happy to show her around. There are so many pictures of the girls because they stayed close. The boys took off running from the second we arrived and barely came back to us to go home. It is truly a wonderful place....safe and fun and cool all at once. Kellie and I were able to catch up a little bit and shared some laughs as we watched our kiddos. This afternoon made me so thankful, once again, for wonderful friends to share our days with. Here's to many more wonderful summer days this year!
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