While we were away...

As you'll soon see, the kids didn't have any fun while we were away and barely survived until we returned. (: Actually, I don't think they missed us at all and had a fabulous time with their cousins. Every time we called to check-in, they were in a different part of Denver! Their itinerary included Touch-A-Truck, the Aquarium, the Zoo, the Denver's Children Museum, and the local children's museum, plus plenty of time outside playing. From what we were told, everyone did fine while we were away. We're very grateful to Grandmanette, Grandpa Michael, Aunt Jill, Uncle Mark, and Des & Jax for coming down to Colorado to hang out with Jacoby and Morgan!

Morgan driving a car at the museum

Jacoby enjoying a ride on the pulley chairs

Having a snack...the most important meal of the day, of course

Jumping in the bounce house at the Aquarium

Looking at the Aquarium

Riding in style

The four boys

How Grandmanette found Morgan during a nap...no pants, boots on

Playing in the sand

Spraying the hose with the fireman at Touch-A-Truck

Des & Jacoby playing on the slip 'n slide

Morgan and Jax playing in the sand

The Post That Never Got Posted

I had this post nearly finished before our trip, and then forgot to post it...

We had a quiet Memorial Weekend. I took Friday off to get a few things done for our trip. We went to a birthday party and played outside a lot. Justin put in loads of study time while the boys and I kept ourselves busy.

We want to wish Grandma Pam and Grandpa Bill and Aunt Megan and Uncle Mark very happy anniversaries (39 years and 5 years)!

The brothers being playful and silly

Morgan got his "fireman" coat on by himself...almost

Jacoby's pet worm

Playing in the water...they can't get enough of this!

Our growing garden...despite being raided by a nocturnal critter

Jacoby making all of us laugh really hard

The boys were doing a helicopter rescue with puppy

In his helicopter

Painting together

Busy Times...

We've had a really busy week and weekend! Yesterday was filled with chores, errands, a quick run by the pediatrician's office to check on a possible ear infection for Morgan (negative on that), and a night out for Mommy & Daddy. I for one was particularly glad the world didn't end yesterday for many reasons, one of which was that we had Morgan's preschool teacher watch the boys so Justin and I could go see U2 in concert at Invesco field. It was awesome! This is the second time we've seen them and they put on the best show. The Fray (from Denver) opened and then U2 played for over an hour plus 3 encores. We were with 70,000+ fans and it was a beautiful evening (thankfully our torrential rains stopped just in time). It was great, and U2 always adds a humanitarian aspect to their concerts so last night they featured their work with Amnesty International in Burma and had a message from the Burmese democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi play before the first encore.

I was in San Francisco earlier in the week for our spring board meeting. We had 75 participants, which is the largest of our meetings that I know of. I think it was partly our agenda (focusing on the for-profit sector of higher education and regulation issues) and partly the location of the meeting. Holding it in a big city brought a whole host of challenges and a few logistical hiccups, but I think they were most apparent to me and less so for our guests (hopefully, we'll see what the evaluations say!). It was by far the best hotel and hotel staff I have ever worked with. I wanted to take each of them home with me and have them travel to all of my meetings! (: The staff were extremely attentive, professional, and so friendly. My favorite Hispanic wait server continually called me "Madame" in a fabulous accent, brought me lattes, opened my yogurt, pulled my chair out for me...he was wonderful and I was so grateful to work with these lovely people for a few days.

The boys managed just fine without me. They were busy at school and stuck inside most of this week because of non-stop rain. Jacoby had another great OT session and is already starting to show signs of greater strength in his hands. We had a physical therapy evaluation on Thursday. Our home activities for this are going to focus on building strength, muscle tone (which he lacks greatly on most of his lanky body), and balance (he can only stand on 1 foot for 1 - 3 secs). We're going back this week for him to be fitted with special orthodic inserts for his feet to hopefully straigten out the inward twist his feet have. Jacoby really enjoys visiting the therapy center because of their cool rooms and activities. I'm proud of how well he's been doing for them.

Today we met up with our friends for a picnic, playtime at the park, and rock throwing at Waneka Lake. It was good to see them and spend some time outside. I'm hoping to get the rest of my garden planted this week and also tackle the jungle of weeds that have cropped up thanks to our very wet, soggy weather. Justin is deep into study mode for his 3rd exam on June 1. We don't see much of him and are looking forward to trekking through the next week and half so we can get him all finished up with this part of his PhD. I can't believe our anniversary trip is in two weeks--yay, can't wait!

Have a great week everyone!

Momo reading books on the bench

A. and Morgan throwing rocks

M. and Jacoby playing

A few pics of the concert I took with my phone

I thought these two videos from the concert would be fun to share. The first is the opening and the second is just a favorite (not from my phone):

Just a quick note to say hello. We've had a great week. It's been very rainy and chilly, but the boys have kept busy with indoor activities and their imaginations. Jacoby had a great OT session this week. It involved using a trapeze bar and swinging himself into a barrel. He was thrilled when he mastered this activity and then proceeded to do it over and over and over and over again. He's developing a really good relationship with his therapist, so he's very cooperative and focused when she's working with him. They're focusing his therapy on overall body strength and awareness, along with some development in his hand coordination. Jacoby has a PT evaluation on Thursday next week to check out his pigeon-toes and balance issues. We met with his new preschool teacher this week who we really like and feel is doing a great job with the class. I can already tell that Jacoby is developing a good relationship with her.

I leave for San Francisco this afternoon. I'm looking forward to getting the meeting underway--I think it's going to go well and I always enjoy seeing our board members.

We hope you all have a good weekend!

Playing with beads

Working on some hand coordination activities

What happens when Morgan is turned loose with the hose...

Our very own T-Rex

He has a very fierce growl!

What I Love...

…About Being a Mom

1. Being Mommy and being called Mommy

2. Hearing the laughter and giggles of my boys

3. Reading about dinosaurs with Jacoby

4. Having Morgan as my shadow, "helping" me with everything

5. Hearing people praise my kids

6. Watching my boys blow on their pretend cups while saying they’re drinking coffee (at least it’s not wine or margaritas!)

7. Hearing “Mommy, I need you!” and “No, I want Mommy do it.” and “Mommy, why aren’t you sitting on the couch beside me right now?!”

8. Celebrating birthdays, Christmas, or any other special occasion that sparks their excitement, imagination, and joy

9. Watching Jacoby and Morgan succeed in a task that has been difficult or challenging

10. Seeing the growing relationships they have with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins…there are so many people who love them!

11. Receiving any kind of artwork created by my boys…and proud descriptions of what they’ve done like “Look, Mommy! I drew you a T-Rex!”

12. Getting spontaneous hugs and “I love you”s

13. Holding hands when we walk together

14. Watching Morgan and Jacoby play together and love each other

15. Spending time together as a family…these are my very favorite people!


Here are some pictures of our Mother's Day outing to Golden Gate Canyon State Park today: