Update

Hello all,

It would be easy to say that there hasn't been much going on and that is why I haven't been updating my blog but that would not be the truth. We have all been really busy and by the time my kids are in bed I am ready to collapse.

Sam is wrapping up karate and will be starting swim team practices next week.

Alice is getting ready for a ballet recital in a couple weeks and all that goes along with that...costumes, hair, pictures.....

Paige is also getting ready for her ballet recital...see above.

Mason received his sixth set of casts on Monday. Yes, six times that we have made the trek to Greeley. His feet are doing well, the right better than the left. Next Friday, he will have a tentotomy on both Achilles tendons and then will be put in casts for three weeks. Because his left foot is taking a bit longer to turn than the right, we may still have more casting after the tentotomy. It is just a wait and see.

School will be done for all the kids on May 22nd. Until then, life will be a whirlwind full of track days, teas, field trips, conferences, carnivals, recitals, swim practices.....Wow!

Here are some pictures that my dad took during Mason's casting this past Monday. I have sort of figured out how to avoid a complete meltdown with a combination of Rescue Remedy and suckers. He still gets upset but not to the same magnitude.

Wednesday, after school we took advantage of the beautiful weather and hid all the Easter eggs that we had stuffed and never used. Our neighborhood Easter egg hunt had been postponed twice and we finally got the kids together to find eggs. Never to late to hunt for eggs :)

Here is Paige putting on knee pads. I love her thinking! Easter egg hunts can get dangerous :)
Those casts don't slow down Mason. He has burned out the knees in two pairs of pants crawling on the tile and cement. If something is in his way, he goes over it!
Enjoy the day. I am enjoying the quiet of a sleeping toddler. For a second at least.

Jennifer

Happy Kids

Remember this..... (warning: this image could scare young children and desperate mothers)

After today, our kids are happily doing this.....

Mason is even joining in! He loves his swing!

If you haven't read my blog in the past, you might not know that our swing set blew over in a December hurricane force wind. We drove home from Michigan to find it half in the ravine and split into too many pieces to count. After much deliberation, we decided to prop it back up and fix it, and stake it down :)

Dear future homeowners....we hope you like the swing set because it is never leaving this backyard again. You might try setting it on fire to get rid of it....Sincerely, the totally frustrated parents of four small children.

Sorry, I digress.

Oh, and no, we are not moving.

The weather turned beautiful today after our 3 day snow storm and it was awesome! The kids played on the swing set, we went for a hike, Scott washed the dog.....

Off to Greeley tomorrow! Let's hope Rescue Remedy and the bad of suckers help Mason relax during casting. If it doesn't, I might have to take some. Rescue Remedy that is....or stronger.

Have a great week!

Jennifer

Snow Day!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, another April storm. It happens every year. Spring is a weather phenomenon around here. Today we are forecasted to get 6-12 inches and by Monday it will be 70 degrees. Anyway, it is beautiful and we really need the moisture so let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Yesterday, Paige had a field trip to Bear Creek Nature Center. They weather was really nice and we enjoyed the puppet show and short hike. We even saw a fox run by the window while we were checking out the bee exhibit. Too cool. We LOVE to see the wildlife around here, that is one of the reasons we love Colorado so much.

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It is always good to rehydrate

Have a great day. Stay in. Keep warm. Drink hot cocoa. Break a rule and get out the play dough INSIDE!

Please say a prayer for our family. My mom lost her sister and sister-in-law both this week. My parents have flown to Michigan for a couple days for the funerals. Please pray for safe travels and healing hearts for them.

Jennifer

So much to blog, so little time.....

Where to begin...Maybe I should go backwards. That will be confusing.

We have had a great week, packed full and I would love to give you all the play by play but Sam and Alice will be home in 17 minutes and Paige is requesting my help drawing a parrot and Mason is being entertained (at the moment) by a baby Einstein video but could want attention at any moment. We walked in the door half an hour ago from Greeley where Mason got his 5th set of casts. Things are coming along well and the doctor is definitely seeing progress. I took a couple pics of his feet for Scott to see. He doesn't have the pleasure of driving to Greeley every Monday and was really interested in how Mason's feet looked. I think they look great, cute enough to kiss :) Now you all get to see them too!

Yesterday, Easter!
We woke to this........
A snow storm. It was beautiful and made me want to sing "I am dreaming of a white Christmas ..." Unfortunately it is EASTER. You know, white shoes and sundresses. It actually snowed most of the weekend, starting on Saturday morning as I was having a relaxing run at Garden of the Gods. Okay, so it wasn't relaxing but it was beautiful.

The kids looked adorable in their Easter best and we had a wonderful morning at church. I always leave feeling so renewed and full of life and love for God. It was also very helpful that the girls went into the nursery, Sam colored the entire service and Mason was happy crawling back and forth on the empty row of chairs beside us. I actually heard the sermon. Doesn't happen all that often, let me tell you.
After church, the kids came home and hunted for Easter eggs. They love doing this and even like doing it when the eggs are empty. Sometimes I hide them for Paige and she goes out finding them.

In the afternoon, we went to my brother's house and Stacie made an awesome dinner. Thanks Stacie, it was delicious! The kids had another fun egg hunt that my parents set up for them. The loot included rings, necklaces, toy cars, stickers, candy, etc.

Saturday (are you confused yet, stopped reading?)

Because it was snowing, our neighborhood egg hunt was postponed. Sam had a birthday party in the afternoon. Pretty quiet. Saturday evening we went downtown to one of our favorite restaurants, Il Vicino, and had pizza. It was such an enjoyable evening, the kids were so good. After dinner, we walked down to Acacia Park, played for a few minutes and then hit Josh and John's for ice-cream.

Did I get a little bit of ice-cream on my nose?

Friday

Sam had collection day at school. All the 1st graders brought in a collection that they had and displayed it for the other students and parents. Totally adorable! Here is Sam and his friends with their collections. Sam brought his car collection. I believe he had 87 cars there.

Okay, so the kids are home and I am being summoned for a snack and attention. What do they think I am? A stay at home mom or something?

See ya!

Jennifer

One Month Home

Today marks one month that we have been home with Mason. It is amazing the changes he has made in one month!

This scared little boy.......

has definitely come out of his shell!

and we are completely in love with him!

Have a great day!

Jennifer

Skinny Jeans

Yesterday, while I was getting dressed and pulling on my too tight jeans (a whole different blog post) Alice has this discussion with me.

Alice (in her best valley girl voice): Mom, are those, like, skinny jeans?

Me: Um, no. These are my plain old mom jeans that I have been wearing since (insert year here).

Alice: Oh, for a minute there I thought you had skinny jeans.

Me: Nope.

Alice (after long pause): Can I get some skinny jeans?

Me: Aren't you five?

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Mason had his first haircut today. Okay, this obviously wasn't his first haircut but the first one with us. Scott had to hold him and they both came home covered in hair. He looks pretty adorable. His hair was really just a grown out buzz and had no shape at all. While we were in China, one of the shop owners told us that Mason looked like a Beatle :) Anyway, it is hard to tell from the pictures but he is definitely cleaned up.

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This past weekend was pretty relaxing and we had a nice time hangin' with the kids and getting some stuff done around the house. Saturday morning we went to the Easter Egg Hunt at our church. The weather was horrid so the egg hunt was inside. Sam, Alice and Paige had no trouble finding plenty of loot. Mason wasn't quite sure what was happening but once he figured out the game he was all for plucking eggs off anything within his reach. He was even more excited when he discovered what was inside those brightly colored eggs. Candy! I actually caught him eating a chocolate egg with the wrapper on.

I think that I may have to live with the fact that the more kids you add the less the chances of getting them to all look in the same direction, without buckets on their heads.

Many blessing to you all on this Palm Sunday. Tomorrow we are off to Greeley for the next set of casts. These weeks seem to be flying by. Here's to good weather and no traffic!

Jennifer