Roller Derby, Water Balls and Returning Son

This was a busy, busy week. School is continuing to roll along: we began our first Five in a Row book of the year -- "The Bee Tree" by Patricia Polacco. We will probably spend 2 weeks on this one. The week was also filled with Scott's bible study, my bible study, AWANA, Cub Scouts, youth group, Options and FACE. 


This was the last meeting for my summer book club -- we read Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by Dorothy Wickenden.     Quite a title, huh?  I had high hopes for this book as it's set in Colorado in the early 1900's. And the references to people and places here in Colorado was very interesting, and I did learn new things about our state's history. But the story itself was more like a textbook and I had to push myself to finish it. I just joined another bible study that goes through the school year, so I'm reading the first book for that right now.

I got a great deal on some fall flowers at Safeway. I've been wanting a mum plant for awhile -- seeing this in the window just makes me happy.

Conner came home for the weekend! He has been up at CSU for a month now, and this is the first weekend he's been able to get home. We bought  a nice sleeper sofa for him, since his room has been claimed. :)

We didn't tell the younger boys he was coming, so they were very surprised to see him walk in the door! Liam climbed on his lap and wouldn't move until bedtime. :) I commented that Conner should feel good, knowing Liam hasn't forgotten him. He replied that he actually felt bad, since he'd be leaving again for at least another month. I love the different bonds that form between the kids.

Oldest and youngest

We have always tried to get out on "dates" with our children individually. I had gotten some good Groupons over the summer and a couple were close to expiring, so we set out to use them. On Saturday night, Scott and Brenna went to see the "Roller Dolls" -- a nearby roller derby.  

While there, they ran into Scott's brother and our nieces.

On Sunday, Conner and Chase bowled in a tournament. Then Scott took Aiden on his "date", to a place called Miner's Maze. The Groupon I had was for unlimited trips through the maze, plus 3 other activities. Aiden has long wanted to try those balls you walk in on the water, so he was thrilled they had that there.

Needless to say, Scott was pretty tired by the end of the weekend. He's a great Daddy!

Summer - Week 13

August 20 - August 26

I'm still calling this a summer post, although some of our fall activities started up this week. So it was kind of a half and half week.

Aiden had his first Cub Scouts meeting of the year, which was really just a kick-off for popcorn sales. They don't charge dues in his troop, so they make a big push at popcorn time to cover the troop's expenses for the year. Fundraising is NOT my favorite thing to do.

Options orientation was also this week. We are going a different direction with Chase this year -- he will be attending a private homeschool program called FACE. We've been involved there for years, but he hasn't taken classes there for the last 3 years. He is extremely interested in culinary arts and they have a program there through Warren Tech. that he can take his Junior year, so we made the switch now.

And with Conner having graduated, that left Brenna and Aiden in Options this year.BUT...we also have a new Kindergartner. Zane is beyond thrilled and has counted down the days all summer until he could attend.

Declan was NOT thrilled to have Zane going off without him. They've been doing pretty much everything together for almost 4 years now. But we tried to convince him it will be fun to be the big brother at home to Liam.

Aiden is beginning 4th grade

Brenna is in 8th grade this year

We did get to go out and enjoy the summer heat one day, at a park with friends.

This is the ONE smile I got; he does not care for the swing and wanted out immediately after I snapped the picture

I got to get out and have some me-time this week. I had my Bible Study one morning, Book Club one evening and scrapbooking another evening. In my book club, we just discussed "The Zookeeper's Wife" by Diane Ackerman. This was not one of my favorite reads and I had to force myself to finish it. Coming on the heels of "Unbroken", I wasn't really in the mood for another book about World War II. And this one wasn't nearly as well-written and engaging. It was interesting to get another perspective from the war. This book was set

in Poland, from the viewpoint of the wife of a zookeeper. They hit many, many Jews during the war. I learned a lot, but still did not enjoy the writing style.

Next we are moving on to a book set here in Colorado, in the early 1900s, so I'm excited about that.

This was Conner's 1st official week of classes at CSU. He had been waitlisted for one class, so he had to do a little switching around of his schedule. That resulted in scrambling to find another textbook, after he'd already ordered and picked up the books for his other classes. But he figured it out and got it taken care of. Just the first of many things he'll need to start doing on his own. Makes me so proud of him, but also a little sad. I can now understand why some mom feel a bit lost when their last child leaves the house. I still have plenty of people to take care of here at home, but it's a strange feeling to let one go and just sit back and wait until you're called on. I think, with homeschooling, I've gotten so used to being involved

in pretty much every aspect of my kids' lives and in helping them make decisions, that it'll take me awhile to get used to this new normal. Don't get me wrong -- it's all good. It's natural and wonderful for him to go and be on his own and learn and grow. But my momma's heart is still a bit sad at the ending of this stage of life.

It helped that Scott had some work in Ft. Collins on Saturday, so he was able to pick Conner up for a late lunch. I made him send me a picture ;)

Thank goodness for Facebook, so we've been able to keep up a little with Conner's life at CSU. He and some other students from his floor dressed in morphsuits in the school's colors and attended a volleyball game. Looks like they had fun.

Conner is the front green guy with yellow hat

Brenna is getting back into her drawing, which I love. She is so talented and I'm excited that her advanced art class is 2 periods long this year, to give her more time to draw. I've been looking for additional outside classes for her to take, but haven't had any luck yet.

Both Brenna and Chase helped with the church's food drive on Sunday morning.

On Sunday afternoon, we attended a BBQ for some of the church youth leaders. Scott has worked in the 2nd/3rd grade room for 4 or 5 years now. The hosts had an extremely large yard, with a pool and trampoline so the kids had a great time.

Summer 2012 - Week 12

August 13 - August 19

This week we worked on state testing. This year 3 of the kids had to take them: Chase, Brenna and Aiden.

We decided to have a nice family dinner before Conner left, so we ate at Cinzzetti's. Here we are waiting for a Table for 9:

Wednesday was the day!! Official move-in day for Conner at CSU. We arrived about 10:00 and started the process. It was very smooth -- the school has it down to a science. He got checked in and received the keys to his room and mailbox. Then the sorority girls helped carry everything to his room.

His hallway has a space theme. This is his door:

We met his roommate, Daniel, and started unpacking and helping him set up his computer, etc.

We had lunch together -- one of the things I love at CSU is that parents eat free with their student. So I hope to pop up there every once in awhile for a quick visit over lunch or dinner.

Then the students began their afternoon schedule -- they kept them busy getting to know one another and the campus. Scott and I headed back home. I only teared up a few times. That day, anyway.

As part of RAMWelcome week, CSU hosted a picnic and carnival for the incoming students and their families on Thursday evening. I loved the chance to take the kids to campus and show them where their big brother would be living for the next year.

Ram pride!

Aiden on the bungee trampoline. He did some great flips

This picture doesn't do justice to how many people were there.

Final goodbyes were said. I know he's only an hour away but it's still hard to realize one of your babies doesn't live at home anymore!

We are so proud of Conner and know he'll have a great year!

Scott and I really try to make it a priority to have date night at least twice a month. I really like to find new-to-us restaurants for us to try. This week we ate at "Fire on the Mountain" -- a wings place. It was very casual and we sat out on the patio, in perfect weather. The wings were delicious, too.

My best friend since 6th grade was in town for a visit (she lives in Florida now), so I got to spend Saturday with her. Yay! It was her birthday weekend, so her husband surprised her with setting up pedicures for us. It was so nice catching up!

On Sunday, we went to a picnic with some of our favorite people. We had good food, fun and volleyball. This is Chase just hanging out: it cracked me up that you could only see his head sticking up.

Liam kept making this face and thought he was so, so funny.

The other thing we did this week is move the boys' rooms around. Chase is getting his own room -- Conner's old room. Zane moved in with Aiden, so Declan and Liam have more space now. They did a great job decluttering and getting rid of things they don't need anymore. If only their rooms would stay as clean as they are now!

Summer 2012 - Week 9

July 23 - July 29

We are starting to work our way more quickly down our summer list. In June, there always seems to be so much time. By the end of July, not so much.

One of the things we had on the list this year was tie-dye. So I bought some t-shirts on sale at Hobby Lobby and we got busy.

They did a great job, but somehow I only got a picture of one finished product. This is Declan's:

One evening after dinner, we headed to a local park.

Liam is still unafraid of slides

I try to buy Groupons when they offer good ones, and I had one for JumpStreet that was expiring soon. So Scott took Aiden, Zane and Declan on Saturday.

Liam is walking really well now. Looove that little, unbalanced, toddling stage.

Conner worked several days, got in some bowling, and some time with friends.

Chase went to Water World and also spent a whole day at HeavenFest. He loved it and got several signed items from the bands.

The Olympics began so I've been glued to that in the evenings. It's fun to watch the younger kids get excited about it, just like their older siblings did in the past.