A costly fall

One of the days we were in Colorado, we took a drive on the highest road in the US to the top of Mount Evans. It's over 14,000 feet in elevation and the drive was breathtaking. There also were points where Rick and I white-knuckled it - as there were no guardrails and the drops off the side were enough to make your heart stop. The security guard at the bottom of the mountain said it was paved all the way up, except where the road was crumbling away. We laughed thinking he was joking. He wasn't. They literally had orange cones up where the road was giving way.

Here is a picture of the road.

While there we saw a herd of elk in the valley (about 100 or so). Remember the part in Jurassic park where the dinosaurs flocked from one side to the other as they were running? That's what they did - it was spectacular!

We also saw a family of mountain goats and several deer right outside our car window. There is nothing like seeing animals in their natural habitat.

So, back to the fall. We stopped at a natural area half way up the mountain to walk around and talk to the guard who was there to answer any questions. As we were walking around, I stepped on a rock that gave way under my feet and landed on our 7 year old camera. That poor little camera didn't have a chance to survive all the weight I've put on this summer. It's toast. And so is my wrist from trying to break the fall, and so is my rear end with the ugliest bruise I've ever seen in my life. My sweet husband, knowing I cannot survive a week without a camera to capture our lovely family moments - bought us a new one as soon as we got back home. Here is a picture of it.

Gotta love a husband who has his priorities in order! It wasn't cheap, but thankfully our last one lasted us 7 years, so hopefully this one will last at least that long. It is great and I already love it. The great thing is, even though the camera was a total loss, the pictures were saved on the memory chip - and thankfully that DID survive my huge rear-end "crushing it" as my 4 year old described it. Yikes!

Colorado, Part 2

We spent the night in Denver and then headed out the next day for Breckenridge. What a beautiful city. There truly are not words to describe the wonder of the mountains.

This picture was taken outside the entrance of our hotel - and truly, I did not mean to color coordinate with the plant!

The gondola was shut down in Breckenridge, so Rick asked one of the locals if there was another way to get to the top of the mountain - of course there was! It just so happened to be a rocky dirt road that we bounced along for about 30 minutes to reach the top of Peak 8. The cheap rental car did well! Once there we found snow to play in (yes, real snow), and saw deer - a little too close for my comfort. Once we saw the deer, and a stream nearby, I began to have visions of us being on the news as one of those stupid families who venture off the path and are eaten by bears or mountain lions, so we headed back to the path! My husband as happy as can be - playing in the snow in July! His dream come true!

The pictures just don't do the real thing justice!

Rocky Mountain High!

We just got back from a wonderful vacation in Colorado. I have much to say about this vacation, but here are a few pictures to start off with. Part 1: Denver We started our vacation in Denver, shopping and seeing a Colorado Rockie's baseball game (they played my home team the Pittsburgh Pirates so I was especially excited to see this game!). Rick took this amazing picture at Coors Field in Denver.

The Rockies won the game and the boys had a great time!

Our baby turns 4

Yesterday was our youngest's 4th birthday. I can't believe he is 4. Where did that time go? It's been a great week so far - and busy. I've had to work, so the boys spent Sunday night and Monday night at Grandpa and Grandma's. They had such a great time, we are so thankful they live close by and have such a great relationship with them. For his 4th birthday, our son got a lot of Lightening McQueen stuff - cars, race track, hat, legos. Years after this movie came out - it's still his favorite. The cake came from Harris Teeter and he picked it out. It's pretty elaborate, to say the least. Here's the box it came in:

I'm not sure how they made it - but it was good - and I was thankful I didn't have to do it! As Rick prayed over him at dinner, he thanked God for our little boy's life. He thanked Him for J's personality, his love of life, and the life he brings to or family. He is so much fun to be around and we are so thankful he's our son. Happy Birthday Buddy!

A great day with friends

I had the best day today with two of my good friends Christy and Dawn. We ate and shopped and tried to keep our kids from hurting themselves they were having such a good time together. I also got to enjoy my friends baby girls who are 10 and 6-1/2 months old. Being around them makes me think I could have another one - they make mothering look that easy. (I'm not having another one.....I'm just saying). We let the kids play at Joseph Beth - one of my favorite bookstores - and then got ice cream after lunch. Christy's oldest two were at her mother-in-law's and she was missing them. I, being the great friend that I am, offered to give her my children any day she wanted - you know, just to help with the loneliness. She must not be that sad because she didn't take me up on it! :) My boys loved having a pretty girl (Ava) to entertain - and she laughed at them most of the day. Except when they got a little too rough and she ended up upside down off the bench in the food court. Other than that, it was a great day. Now we're settling in - already in our pj's and watching the rain come down. Have I mentioned lately how much I love summer. I really do.

A good pajama day

It's cloudy and overcast with a chance of rain. We can't play outside or swim in the pool due to the "injury" (read previous posts to see why), so we are having a pj day. I actually managed to take the youngest's band-aids off and give him a bath without throwing up or crying. It's been a good day. He is whiny and in some pain due to the bandages coming off, bathing and then airing it out. I managed to put the bandages back on after a few hours. I will never be nurse, but I am making some progress! We rewarded ourselves by going to the drive thru at Chick-fil-A. Don't comment on how I'm not supposed to do this - it's been one of those weeks so I am cutting myself some slack! So today we're hanging out watching movies and trying to keep the activity to a minimum. God how I love summer!

A change will do you good...

For the 3 of you that read this blog, you may have noticed a change. I got a little tired of the green, and since I no longer am in a "green room" after moving, I thought I would change things up a bit. Would love to know what you think - too blue? Hard to read? Like it better? Let me know!

There are still some things that make me queasy

We had a lovely 4th of July weekend, visiting with family and watching the fireworks at Knights Stadium. My husband's aunt was in town from NY and it was great to spend time with her - she's a lot of fun. Saturday afternoon I went shopping with one of my closest friends and, upon leaving the mall, my cell phone rings. The first thing my husband says to me is "do you know where the Neosporin is"? Not exactly what you want to be asked when you are away from your children. While I was gone, my husband took the boys to the work out room in our apartment complex. Within 3 minutes of being there, our youngest got his hand stuck in the treadmill. It was ugly, and what made it worse in my mind was that my friend Sandy had just finished telling me about someone at work who had cut his hand on a cheese slicer (she's a chef) and had to have skin grafted back on. Not kidding. I had visions of that already in my head so needless to say I was a little frazzled going to home, worried about what I may find. So I said goodbye to my friend who reassured me that my husband was smart and would know what to do until I got there. I knew this, but it helped to hear it. I got home and the little one was on the couch with band-aids wrapped around his fingers. My husband showed me the burns and it felt like every nerve in my body came alive. I thought I was going to be sick. We debated what to do, and finally decided to take him to his doctor on Monday. By Sunday though, I had decided I didn't want to do this alone on Monday - considering every time I looked at his little bandaged fingers I wanted to heave. So we took him to the Urgent Care near Ballantyne Sunday afternoon. If you or anyone in your family is ill, you need to go there. They were the nicest people I have been around in a long time, and they took wonderful care of my little boy - and me too. Our youngest got a sweet little bear to hold and he even got to take it home. In the end, there was no break (yes, we got a copy of my child's first x-ray for the scrapbook!) and he will be fine. Just lot of bandages and staying out of the pool this week. I am thankful that he is ok, but also even more aware how quickly a child can get hurt - or worse. I am thankful for the doctors and nurses at the CMC Urgent Care - Ballantyne who took great care of him. I am also thankful that, though he will run from a child throwing up, my husband has a stronger stomach for cuts and bruises on our boys. He's a good man. Hopefully by next week the little one's fingers will be better, and my stomach will be calm again as well. Be thankful for boring days!

WALL-E = YUCK-E

I went to great efforts today to take my boys and my 2 nephews to see Wall-E, the movie. I wasn't sure about the previews, but the boys wanted to go so I took out a second mortgage to take all of them and buy them the kids meal at the theater. What a total waste of money. The movie was so boring I took the kids to the bathroom no less than 5 times during the movie - with the first trip beginning 15 seconds after the movie started. Could they go during the 15 minutes of previews....heck no. And I wasn't the only parent taking their kids to the bathroom - which is a clear indication of how boring it was to other kids too. But when I asked the boys if they liked it - they all said they loved it and couldn't wait for the dvd to come out. (This also coming from my oldest nephew who asked me at least 3 times during the movie when he could leave). Go figure. The movie itself must have been written by an environmentalist.....and a boring one at that. The adults certainly picked up on the whole futuristic "what will happen if we continue to trash our planet" and I get it. But boy, what a total waste of money - to make it, and to watch it. Pure torture. Taking 4 kids under the age of 8 to the movies deserves some kind of award....or psychiatric evaluation. But did I stop there? No-sir-ee! I proceeded to take them to Chic-fil-A after that and then to get ice cream. Does this make me a loving parent/aunt - or an idiot? I'm not sure - all I know for now is that it makes me tired. I'm off to take my nephews to my brother so they can nap, and then I'm laying down with my boys as well. Too bad I won't have any sweet dreams about a cute movie I spent $40 on (not including concessions). It will be a while before I get the bad taste of that out of my mouth. In the end though I loved seeing all the boys together. To see their little bodies in those oversized movie chairs all in a row, popcorn trays on their laps, was worth the price of admission. They fight like brothers and they love like brothers. I am again, very thankful the Lord has blessed us with all these great children.

It's a Girl!!!!

Bite your tongue those of you who thought it was me! After 5 boys in our family, my sister in law is finally delivering us a girl! We are so excited. They told us today over lunch - actually my nephew said "I'm going to have a sister!" and we all screamed. It's going to be weird having a girl in the family, but totally wonderful. She'll be here in time for Christmas. Two of my nephews are spending the night tonight, and it's so much fun to watch them and our boys together. I am thankful we all live so close that our children will grow up together.

My Trader Joe's post

Trader Joe's is one of my favorite places to shop. I love the food and feel good about feeding it to my family. I haven't explored everything there, but here are a few of my favorites: Mushroom Turnovers - you can find these in the frozen food section and they are yummy! I make these from scratch at home (dough and all) and these taste as good as the one's I make - with a lot less effort! Chocolate Chip Cookies in the bread aisle. Need I say more? Shrimp Stir Fry - also in frozen foods. You cook the shrimp for 3 minutes in a skillet, add the stir fry veggies for a few more and voila! Dinner is served. Add this with: Egg Rolls and Vegetable Fried Rice - this stuff is better than any Chinese take out place - and it's better for you. Guacamole starter kit - My friend Sandy told me about this one. It's where you find the tomatoes - it comes with all you need to make your own guacamole - and cheap too! Frozen Fish and Fish sticks - These fish are so good I even eat them! Chicken Tempura - I seriously am thinking about substituting the chicken nuggets my kids eat with these. They are so good and the sauce is separate so you can use as much or little as you want. Charles Shaw Chardonnay - $2.99 - good stuff