Small Town U.S.A.

I feel like I can finally get caught up with the last few days. On Friday, we drove to Walden. Saturday morning everyone helped load my grandparents belongings. Then my parents, grandparents, uncle and my oldest son Conner left for the long drive to North Dakota. My cousins and aunt left to go back to Denver shortly after. That left me, Scott and our other 4 kids to run the motel.

The weekend went well. The motel was full Saturday night so we had a ton of laundry to do Sunday. My mom does have one lady who comes in to help clean rooms. They usually do them together. So Scott and I worked with her to get all but 3 done. We left those to finish Monday since that's usually a much slower day. Chase and Brenna were great helpers, making beds and taking turns watching Aiden and Zane.

We found a special visitor hiding on the top floor behind a gutter. Can you tell what it is?

It's a little bat. If you look closely, you might be able to see his little ears sticking up in this next picture:

On Monday after all the work was done, we took a walk "downtown".

There is only one main street in Walden. No traffic lights, no speed bumps. It's really like a little, old-fashioned town set down in a valley surrounded by mountains. It's one hour from the several large cities, and 3 hours from Denver. Tourists come in the winter to snowmobile or ice-fish, during the fall for hunting season and in the summer to fish or visit the sand dunes just outside of town.

Walden is also considered the "Moose-viewing capital of Colorado". These are a couple we saw on the drive up last year.

Here are a few shots of buildings along Main Street:

This is their motel.

We stopped for ice cream at the shop my mom's friend runs:





My parents and Conner made it back on Monday at 4pm. It was a LONG drive for them and a very quick turnaround time. But Scott needed to be at work Tuesday, so we had to leave. Poor Conner had maybe a half hour after their return, and then had to climb into our vehicle for another 3 hour drive.

This time, Chase gets to stay alone with his grandparents. Each child stays up there for about 2 weeks each summer. That gives them time alone with granny and grandpa.

We will miss you, Chase, but I know you'll have a great time!

Adventures in Eating

Zane has now ventured into the world of food. He has had rice cereal and oatmeal for the last couple weeks. Today he tried sweet potatoes. He finally started eating the cereal well after a few tries, but doesn't seem too sure yet about the potatoes. LOL (And we won't count the lemon *wink*)

Grandma & Grandpa

In light of my grandparents' move, I felt like sharing a few photos taken during the 2 years they lived here.

My grandpa is very talented. Over the years, he's made many things. As a child, I was thrilled to have my very own doll highchair and crib, and table and chairs. As I grew, he made me a desk, bookshelves, a stool and a bedside table. It meant the world to me that while he was living here, he made my older boys shelves, a stool for Aiden and Brenna and this dollhouse for Brenna's 7th birthday. She adores it!

My grandma with the blanket I made her for Christmas. She loves purple.

It has long been a tradition in my grandpa's family to make homemade summer sausage. This last November, my aunt, uncle and cousins joined us in continuing the tradition. My grandpa is the one we counted on to guide us through the process. Here he is seasoning the meet with garlic.

4 generations: my grandma, my mom, me and Brenna

Grandma with Zane

Goodbyes are hard

My grandparents left for North Dakota today (Saturday). We are all sad, but pray it is for the best. As I was growing up, they always lived within 10 minutes of us. We visited them at least once a week and I would spend a week or two with them every summer.

I have fond memories of playing card games with my grandma. I knew she would always be up for a game of Slapjack or War. She has a huge heart for children and ran a daycare for many years.

My grandpa was an iron worker, and worked hard all his life. In more recent years, he has been an AA sponsor and has really helped people turn their lives around.

They are two people who are very special to me. I pictured that when I had children, my grandma would watch them like she had so many other children over the years. And I would never worry about them under her loving care. But 3 weeks after I had my first child, they moved. They were originally from North Dakota and decided to move back there. They both come from very large families and they were weary of going back for funerals and wanted to be able to spend some quality time with their remaining brothers and sisters.

It was hard when they left. I missed stopping by, and I mourned them not being able to see my child -- their first great-granchild -- grow up. But we called and wrote and I mailed plenty of pictures.

They came to visit about once a year, and we were able to go visit them a few times. It was a new normal, and we got used to it.

But then a few years ago, my grandma had several strokes. She was near death more than once. And she's never fully recovered. Physically, she gets around although slowly. It's mentally that she suffered the biggest blow. Her memory is spotty. Sometimes she will remember who I am, other times not.

Two years ago, they moved to Colorado to be near my mom. She was able to help my grandpa with my grandma's care. That was a blessing, but in the end, it was not ideal. My parents live in a small mountain town. The air is very thin, which caused my grandma to need oxygen. They are also one hour from the closest hospital, and she's had to be airlifted out once, and taken by ambulance more than once.

So this summer, my grandpa made the decision to return to North Dakota. They still have some family there and can be closer to medical care. And, though it's a sad thought, my grandma has always wanted to be buried there next to her daughter. So he decided they needed to go back.

This weekend, we went up to run my parents' motel so they could drive my grandparents and their belongings back "home". My aunt, three of my cousins, and their families also went up to help pack up and load the trailer. It was nice to all be together, but sad knowing they will be so far away. And with their health issues, we never know which goodbye will be the last.

With 11 of their 15 great-grandchildren

However, I feel blessed to have had the last two years. My family has been able to go visit them many times. Whether my grandma has always remembered who we all are or not, she always enjoyed having the kids around her. She gave us a kiss before getting into her car, and spent the most time with Zane. She kept saying, "I just love this little baby." I'm so happy her love for kids has not left her.

We will miss you, Grandma and Grandpa. But we're already making plans to come visit you soon.

With 4 of their 10 grandchildren(and spouses)

Mountain bound

Today we headed to the mountains again. We dared to drive the curvy route, even with kids who suffer from motion sickness. We bought Sea Bands for 2 of the kids and they seemed to work ( thanks Kristine! ) because nobody got sick. Woohoo!

We stopped partway up the canyon to stretch our legs and take a few pictures. There were plenty of rafters even with the cooler, rainy weather.

Zane wasn't sure about the cool river water

Maybe it's not so bad

My 5 Blessings

me and my hubby

We arrived in Walden around noon and went to lunch with my parents (see previous post about the lemon). We will be running their motel for them this weekend while they help move my grandparents to North Dakota. I'll blog more on that later.

It's much cooler up here than down in the city. And it's so nice to breathe the fresh, clean air. Denver is so congested now that unfortunately the air quality has suffered greatly. We have often discussed moving up here. Someday, maybe.

Traditional first taste of lemon

Busy day

Today I did something I said I'd never do again....I went to the museum on a FREE DAY. =) We had made plans over a month ago to meet friends there today. I don't know, maybe I thought this time it would be less crowded for some reason. It wasn't. We even got there before it opened, and still there was a very long line.

The kids did still manage to enjoy themselves, although it was hard to see a lot of the exhibits with the huge mass of people in front of each one. We didn't stay long, needless to say. I'm thinking it's worth it to just buy a membership.

One very funny thing that happened: they have a man that puts on what looks like a dinosaur skeleton and walks around. I figured Aiden (age 4) wouldn't remember this from before, so when we walked in and saw him, I told the kids to watch. Sure enough -- Aiden was walking a couple feet in front of me and I could tell the second he saw him. He stopped dead in his tracks. I heard him say in a soft, rather frightened voice, "A dinosaur? !Real?" LOL A few moments passed, and then he must have seen the man underneath, and his breath wooshed out with a relieved, "Oh." Hee-hee. He made Brenna go first, but eventually he approached him and let him place the mouth over his head.


We came home for the afternoon and Zane was able to get a good nap in his bed. Poor little guy has mainly had catnaps this week in either the truck or his stroller.

Then we went to an event for VBS. The plan was to have it all outside the church. But the clouds rolled in and it got very windy. Then there was quite the lightning show. So they moved it indoors. It was catered by Outback Steakhouse, but the line was sooooooo long that we actually ended up leaving and picking up Arby's on the way home. Not quite the same, but at least it quieted the tummies.

They did manage to get the inflatable water slide up once it stopped raining. The kids took a quick trip down it before we came home.

Go, Brenna!

Aiden's turn!

Now Chase!

Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway!

UPDATE:

The winner is: KELLEY.

She has been notified by email. Thanks to all who entered!!

Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer has challenged bloggers to host a giveaway this week. Many, many bloggers are giving things away. For a full list, check out her blog and follow the links to the bloggy giveaways!

As for me, I'm giving away a $15 gift card to Family Christian Stores:

To enter, please leave a comment on this post with a way to reach you, either an email address or a link to your blog. Do NOT leave your mailing address in the comment. I will draw a name on Friday, July 27 and contact the winner for their address.

Sitting?!

Zane is just figuring out how to sit. He does well for the most part. BUT -- I am sad to say mere moments after I snapped this picture, he toppled onto his face. =( LOL He is fine, and I didn't even take an after picture before picking him up and soothing him. (Although the thought did cross my mind!)

Summer Reading Challenge

Well, I usually wouldn't need a challenge to get me to read. I love reading, especially at night when the kiddies are in bed and all is quiet. But since discovering the blogging world, I spend my normal book reading time either working on my blog or reading other people's blogs.

So I thought I'd use De'Etta's reading challenge as a way to make myself find time to do both. =) I'll post my progress in the sidebar.

-------------------------------------

Books for fun:

Into the Deep -- Colleen Coble

Something Borrowed -- Emily Giffin

Forever -- Karen Kingsbury

Sunrise -- Karen Kingsbury

Lean Mean Thirteen -- Janet Evanovich

For school:

My Father's World teacher's manual

For the Children's Sake -- Susan Schaefer Macauley

Educating the Wholehearted Child -- Clay & Sally Clarkson

Summer bible study:

Experiencing God

-------------------------------------

I may change/add/delete books as I go along.

VBS

Vacation Bible School 2007 is over. The kids had a great time.

Keeping cool

This is how the kids cool off in this heat:

This is how I cool off:

Chase, Brenna & Aiden have Vacation Bible School all this week. The theme is Splish Splash. They are really enjoying it, especially Aiden. He has learned most of the songs already, with the movements. I bought the CD, so we are listening to it over and over. =)

Baseball is nearly over for this season. In the past, Conner has played on teams that were very good. This year, his team has struggled. I don't know if it's the new coach or not, but they just don't seem to be playing cohesively as a team.

He gets a bit frustrated because he doesn't have much backup when he pitches. But we've been trying to use it as a lesson. In patience, grace, teamwork. He is showing more maturity all the time. I'm so proud of him!!

Little brothers

Zane loves to roll around on the floor right now. We have to be pretty vigilant with making sure there is nothing lying around he can choke on. EVERYTHING goes in the mouth. =) The other day he was rolling and then I caught Aiden "reading" an ABC book to him.

"A is for apple..."

I love you, little brother

Maybe I can read it by myself?

Or maybe not LOL