summer (so far)

*well, it's been a scorcher, i tell ya!

*we taught carlyle and luella to sing into our big box fan...they love how it alters their voices

*carlyle has been penning a lot of songs about "God and the Jesus".  so far, my two favorite lines are "God and the Jesus are good friends" and "Jesus lives in a town"

*luella changes outfits approximately four times a day.

*we have been eating many a klondike bar

*we revel in the arrival of a storm and play in the puddles after it passes, sending green leaves down the gutter rivers

*caitlyn brought her sweet family up (joseph...or, rather, joefish...and baby tillie) for a very wonderful and uplifting visit

*we have stayed indoors much more than expected because of the smoke from the high park fire.  the kiddos and i are collecting items to donate to the families that lost their homes.

*luella has started proclaiming things in the hopes that if she says them, they will become true.  for example, "mommy, for breakfast tomorrow, we are going to get in the car and go get bagels".  and don't you know, the very next morning, we got some bagels.

*i have been finding many awesome things on the circuit - a mid century starburst clock, a jacket covered in old state patches, some very lovely and refined vases, and a child-sized patagonia mesh hat which matches one of t.j.'s longstanding favorites

*we took a lil trip down to colorado springs (before their big and horrifying wildfire), saw some old friends, stayed at a hotel, went to the garden of the gods

*luella and carlyle have both started to use the expression "totes magotes"

*t.j.'s cousin, bonnie, and her charming boyfriend, nils, came out.  they are a really fun couple.

*we go to the splash park in old town quite a bit.  i love that we can ride our bikes to that place.  i have been so thankful that we live here.  remember life this time last year?  we were nomads, people!

*t.j. had his guys' weekend in colorado this year.  isaac and kevin came up and stayed with us for an extra night.  the four of us went on the new belgium tour.  wow...really enjoyable.

*once upon a time i taught kindergarten to some very bright boys, they are now teenagers...and their family (kirkpatricks) stopped through on their colorado adventure.  pretty fun to see these big kids play with my smaller ones.

*some more fun friends, todd, holli, marin, and owen stopped by on their way back to florida.

*carlyle plays with his hot wheels cars everyday.  he has about 50 of them now.

*luella's balance bike was stolen and then two weeks later, we found it down at edora park!

*we had a fence built.  i love the containment of our children.

*we are currently on a painting binge.  it has been long overdue.  fresh paint on the walls really does make the nicest difference.

*t.j. was a trooper for enduring summer school.  and now, he is one happy worker out in his writing shed.

*a few times a week, we have family band practice time.  it basically consists of the kids taking turns pounding on the drums.  but, we have a good time.


that's all for now, i suppose, happy summering.