An Update

I can't believe we're heading into Memorial weekend already!  Special anniversary wishes to my parents, who are celebrating 40 years this week!  And to Mark and Megan celebrating 6 years this week!

We're doing really well here in Colorado.  My meeting in Fort Collins was a success and is now behind me (insert cartwheels and back flips here).  The meeting was held at CSU, which was great.  We went on a very cool tour of the Vet Med school (a place my youngest sister should definitely check out if she ever moves back West...hint, hint) and had several interesting sessions on our agenda.  The board approved salary increases for the first time in four years, contingent upon several things happening in the budget.  I'm hopeful we'll get there later this summer or early fall.  I'm definitely a tired girl after a couple of 14-hour days but am now looking forward to summer and taking on our housing adventure.

The boys are doing great.  They are hugely into independent play right now and politely excuse Justin and I from the room, claiming the "need space".  They're always playing together, which of course means that conflict often arises.  Justin and I are trying to give them time to learn how to sort things out by themselves without automatically intervening (unless things get physical, of course).  We've been reading The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe with them in the evenings.

We decided to take the boys out of preschool for the summer.  Since Justin isn't working and we're trying to buy a house, it was the best decision.  I definitely shed a few tears during the decision making process, but I think the boys are going to have a great summer with Justin.  The school is holding a spot for Morgan in the fall.  Jacoby will be finished with his preschool career next Thursday, after a field trip to the zoo with his class.  He has a graduation ceremony next Saturday.  It's safe to assume I'll be shedding tears then as well.

Tomorrow we look at more houses with the realtor.  I think we've narrowed down a lot of our priorities in finding a house, the location, etc.  We've got some good choices on our list, and I sincerely hope we can make an offer on a property soon.  It's nice to have choices, but also makes it a bit overwhelming.  We've been learning a lot about new construction, old construction, fracking, drilling, land fills, school districts, finding out who lives in the neighborhoods (the good guys and bad guys), floor plans, square footage, etc.  The real estate market is crazy down here, and I feel like we've just stepped onto a very fast-moving merry-go-round.  But in the end, it's going to be really good for us.

I'm running the 10k BolderBoulder on Monday with a group of colleagues from work (including my boss).  It's going to be tons of fun and I can't wait (just hoping my knee holds out...it's been complaining the past few weeks).  We're going to a birthday party on Saturday, and the boys are very excited about getting cupcakes for the occasion.  Jacoby had a dexa bone scan today down at Children's.  He's quite proud of the picture they sent home of his skeleton.  We'll be doing this annually, since he's on steroids for EoE.  He has an eye exam on Friday at the recommendation of our GI doc (also because of the steroids) and our pediatrician because of some things she was seeing at his last well-check.  We'll definitely have a mini-Justin running around here if the child needs spectacles!

That's about all from our neck of the woods.  Hope you all have a great holiday weekend!

Here are some Mother's Day pics...love these boys!

Busy Times!

The Barber's are busy!!  My brain is thinking only in bullets these days, so please excuse another list of highlights:

**Jacoby had a great follow-up appointment with our team at Children's Hospital.  They're so impressed with how well he's doing.  They've dropped the dosage on one of his medications, and we're going to have him retested for chicken, turkey, and fish--his levels have dropped and we may get to add these back into our diet.  I've literally dreamed of chickens this past week!

**Morgan is doing a baseball unit in his class, so he's often heard singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and really enjoys playing tee-ball with his friends.  We sponsored the making of cracker jacks last week (i.e., we brought all of the ingredients and the popcorn maker for the class) and they had a great time.

**We enjoyed a day up at Rocky Mountain National Park last weekend.  We visited the site of a huge flood and learned all about the alluvial fan (your geography term for the day).  It was nice to get up to the mountains.

**I held my first garage sale and it totally exceeded my expectations!  I sold most of our baby/little kid stuff and met a lot of nice people. I've since been going through the house systematically cleaning and sorting.  The thrift store picks up a huge load this week. 

**Jacoby and I went to "Pirate Captain and the Band of Misfits" for some Mommy-Boy time.  It was a great show and nice to hang out with my favorite 5-year old.

**Justin and I went and looked at houses with a realtor today.  It was exciting, educational, and exhausting.  We're still deep in thought and conversation about next steps with our housing.  And we basically change our minds each day.  (:

**My board meeting is two weeks from today, so I'm super busy at work.  I'll be so glad when it's wrapped up so I can dedicate more time and thought to the above mentioned housing issue.

**Teacher Appreciation is this week so the boys and I treated the Pre-K teachers to morning coffee today.  I think the hustle and bustle of a busy Starbucks in the morning was an eye-opener to the boys.  (:

**Quote of the week after Earth Day activities at school:  "I love the Earf because the Earf is my home and I come from the Earf".  ~Morgan Ethan, 3 yrs

Blowing bubbles in the backyard

Two boys on a boulder

Scurrying down the trail

Part of the alluvial fan

Jacoby & Mommy

Morgan & Daddy

A Week of Ups and Downs

Last week was a bit of a rollercoaster for us. Here are a few highlights:

~I dropped Jacoby off at preschool on Tuesday and noticed that the class had done a project with sunflower seeds, a very dangerous food for Jacoby. I'll describe the whole incident more fully on my other blog but, suffice it to say, I haven't felt that kind of fear in a very long time and lost several nights of sleep thinking about all of the things that could have happened.

~Jacoby is starting to read--it's so cool.

~Morgan is three, and it's definitely not the age for me. He and I had more than one battle this week. Yesterday, he told me that we were mad at each other, which was true. I'm constantly having to re-think my strategy with him, or else he's going to spend the rest of the year in his room. Right now he's sitting on the potty singing "Oh, Susanna" at the top of his lungs...I think I'll keep him (but how many more months before he's four?).

~Our house is going to be sold sometime in the next few months. We knew this was coming but were hoping the owner would hold off another year so Justin could get done with school and we could figure out life post-PhD a bit before a move. I'm really going to miss this place.

~We have a couple of plans in mind for the upcoming move, both of which I'm really comfortable with. We'll have more details this week, I think.

~In light of the upcoming move, I'm moving my garage sale up to next weekend. All the stuff is priced and ready to go, and I'm looking forward to getting rid of it!

~I went to happy hour with moms from Morgan's preschool class on Friday. It was a great way to end a crazy week, and I really love soaking up time with other working moms who are busy like me.

~In thinking about some of the events from this past week, I've sort of realized that the definition of "crisis" has changed drastically for us since 2010 when all of the medical challenges arrived on our doorstep. Us having to move is a mere inconvenience, not a crisis. Home will always be where the 4 of us are together, the address doesn't really matter that much.

We hope the week ahead is uneventful for all of you!

Easter and Springtime Fun

We had a lovely Easter. The boys enjoyed a special service at church and an egg hunt at home. Then we changed into play clothes and headed outside to work on our garden and plant seeds. It was a lovely day.

Life is very normal and routine these days, which I love. Jacoby has soccer two afternoons a week and has been doing a great job. He's very methodical with the soccer ball and is developing some great skills. It's fun to see him out on the field with the rest of the kids. Morgan enjoys riding his bike during soccer practice.

We've put our skis away for the season and are hopeful for more snow next year. Jacoby skis on his own now and was doing a great job snowplowing and learning how to stop. He came a long ways this winter and really enjoyed it. Morgan got the hang of balancing on his skis, so we're excited to see what he'll be able to do next year when he's a little bigger.

I went to Salt Lake City last week for a site visit for our fall board meeting. It was a good, fast trip and much of my time was spent on the University of Utah's beautiful campus. I ventured downtown for dinner to see the new outdoor mall, which was lovely. I was glad to get back home and we spent this last weekend hanging out, playing, and catching up. Justin is busy with his class, looking for jobs, and waiting patiently for feedback on his dissertation proposal.

We hope you all are well!

Morgan the sheepy

Jacoby checking out his Easter basket

Mixing compost into the garden

These boys love dirt!

Planting seeds

Easter dinner

Happiness Is...

Happiness Is...

~Spending a week in Montana with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins; enjoying beautiful spring weather, scrapbooking, lunch with a childhood friend, movie with Sister, and finding a screaming deal on a brand new pair of ski boots!

~Jacoby graduating from Occupational and Physical Therapy

~Beautiful springtime in Boulder, longer days, the return of backyard toys, and hours spent outside

~Watching Jacoby play soccer with other kiddos and knowing he's healthy, feeling well, and keeping up with everyone else

~Justin's finished dissertation proposal

~Knowing the Graham family is reunited and beginning their new journey in Georgia

~Watching our boys walk in a parade through the sanctuary at church on Palm Sunday

~Spending time each night this week reading about the events leading up to Easter and learning about Jesus and the love he showed during his short time on earth

~One more trip to the mountains for spring skiing...and the inaugural run of the before mentioned ski boots.

~A long run this morning as the sun was rising and shining on the mountains

~No new allergy issues for Morgan

~Finding out that my eyeballs are ok

Reading with Aunt Megan

Reading with Grandmanette & Cousins

Driving the pedal cars

Doing a puzzle with Grandma Pam

Enjoying the backyard

Jacoby's soccer team

Working on Mommy's skis