Memorializing the Weekend

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Getting out of town and vacationing somewhere far, far away just wasn't in the cards for us this time, so a "staycation" it was. Unfortunately our spring weather continued to be schizophrenic all weekend long (from sunny, to thunderstorms, to torrential downpour, back to sunny, and around and around it went), which made having any kind of solid plans next to impossible! 

Saturday afternoon we finally caught a break in the weather, with a little window of sunny-ness to play in, so we made a break for it and headed to the closest hills we could find! I'd always wanted to hike to the top of Castle Rock, so we started there.

It actually had a beautiful little trail-- really well maintained, and pretty easy to hike despite the elevation gain. Definitely not the "Y" trail in Provo, ha ha-- which is a complete nightmare. Zach again brought his remote controlled truck and the kids were so happy to be livin' free and easy outside!

The trail is studded with cool rock formations and 360 degree panoramic views of Castle Rock. And because of the yucky weather forecast, we had it all to ourselves!

I love this selfie. You can't even see the amazing backdrop which was the thought behind taking this picture, but I just love the fact that I got 6 people squeezed into this little selfie, and darn it, this is my crew and we have fun together.

We worked our way back down pretty quickly, and headed for the little playground that's associated with this park. So happy the thunderclouds just kept rolling on by and we were able to get in this fun little hike! Jon and I are constantly amazed by how FAST the clouds move here in Colorado!

I wanted to try somewhere kinda new for dinner, so we took everyone to the Castle Cafe in downtown Castle Rock. I'd been there last summer when Kylene took me for my birthday, but nobody else had been, and it's really a fun ambiance. It's an old hotel that was built in the 1880's, and since redone into a restaurant, but it's very Western-y and has a fun cowboy feel. And look at this chili rellenos!  That stuff has my heart! 

Zach was totally digging his burger, and the girls were happy with their chicken tenders, and I have to say, hiking sure builds up your appetite.

They are famous for their pan fried chicken, so that's what I tried, and it was definitely reminiscent of the good ol' down home Southern cooking we got in NC. I have to say though, the dinner rolls they brought before the food were my favorite part of the whole meal! We'll definitely be back.

The pies de resistance of our Saturday staycation was definitely trying out our new fire pit in the backyard. The sod has finally adhered enough to the ground that we can have a million little footsteps all over it, and the backyard is totally starting to come together. We love it! No more dirt pit!

I bought a TON of different candy bars, so we roasted up the mallows, smashed the s'mores, and the kids were in heaven. This is always by far our favorite kickstart to summer! Sunday we had Jeremy and Kylene and cousins over for a barbecue dinner, and we got to play a fun card game called Cover Your A$$ets with them.

Monday morning I taught a special BP at the gym, and as soon as I finished we headed straight to the HOA pool party to beat the thunderclouds looming off in the distance. This little thing HATED the water-- but I'm hoping that was only because it was still so cold (brrrr!) and she will warm up to it as the summer unfolds, as I plan to spend LOTS of lazy afternoons here in the next few weeks. We were invited that evening to a fun Memorial Day barbecue with some families in our ward, and after all that swimming and running around outside the kids were totally tuckered out from our holiday weekend. Now they just have to take on 3 more days of school, and we are home free!

More of May, Preschool Graduation, + a Weekend Hike!

Everything seems to come to such a quick close in May. All the school and extracurricular activities, and then school itself, and in just 3 more days we'll officially be on summer break for 2 months.

Next year cousin Isaac will attend a different PreK class than Leah, so we will miss him being dropped off early on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. It was so fun having him help himself to a second breakfast, ride around with us for school drop-off, and watch the funny shenanigans these little cousins would get themselves into!  

Lucy had her final FVE choir concert, and she just loved it. She is always singing to herself wherever she goes, and choir was so much fun for her-- even if it meant lots of early mornings for me (it started at 7:15 a.m.). I loved watching her perform and get a kick out of having an audience.

A few weeks ago the kids had the opportunity to go plant flowers at the Denver temple with their Primary classes. The temple grounds crew provided everything for them, and my kids are pro-gardeners now with everything we've planted at home. Despite the windy, chilly weather they had such a good time doing some service for the temple!

Zach totally took his job seriously. He is becoming such a little "mans," it makes me sentimental at times. He really tries so hard to be a good kid-- and he was just pumping those flowers out as fast as he could!

Lucy of course was a huge help too, and planted half a bed herself. We will definitely have to go back sometime this summer and show them how much their beautiful flowers have grown, and what a great job they did beautifying the temple grounds for people!

After they planted flowers in the upper beds, they needed us to pull out all of the bulbs in the lower gardens, with the tulips that had already blown. The cub scouts seriously enjoyed the demolition part of this, and it was a little harder to keep them reverent, ha ha. Jon was also at the temple that night for baptisms with the youth, so he met us for dinner right there in Littleton. Perfect timing!

The next day, despite it being May 18th it started snowing and blowing, and Miss Leah had her preschool graduation that morning. Wohoo!! Jon was working, so it was just me and Elizabeth to celebrate her accomplishment, but it was so fun to see all those little 4 year olds get to move onwards and upwards.

Her class of friends: Ashton, Isaac, Marshall, Evie, Leah, Tyler (back row)

Colter, Jackson, Emma, Brynn (front row)

That's one happy camper!

They performed a few songs for us, and then Miss Ashley handed out their certificates and said something nice about each student. She said Leah was the ultimate helper. Whenever they needed someone to do a job, or help pick up, or volunteer for something-- Leah was the first to want to help. Way to go, Leah!

Leah with cute Miss Ashley. She sure loved preschool this year, and I sure loved only having one child for 2 1/2 hours twice a week!

The theme was "Oh the Places You'll Go" from Dr. Seuss, and the food was all themes or characters from Dr. Seuss books. Super cute!

Mom with her very cute preschool grad! Here's to the future Class of 2031!

And future Class of 2034! Lizzie just HAD to sit in the "big kids" chairs before we left.

We celebrated by getting lunch at Chick fil A, and then driving home in a total blizzard. These are our "HOORAY" faces!

Here's my lush little garden trying to survive the cold and snow. It got down to 26 degrees that night, so we covered everything with bowls or buckets, and then put blankets on top of that. I think they came through okay.... but time will tell.

Things just kept coming to an end, including Lucy and Zach's piano lessons with Miss Heather, at an end of the year recital on Saturday. I can't honestly say either one liked them-- in fact, they both pretty much hated them, but at least nobody quit and Zach for his first year is quite good! Phew! Lucy played her festival pieces (both memorized) and did great. She really has a knack for music, so I'm hoping this one yucky year won't change her mind about going forward with a new teacher next fall....

Little Zach-O played his heart out and was SO nervous beforehand! I honestly have no idea what song he played for the first one, because it certainly wasn't the sheet music (ha ha), but his teacher insisted it be memorized so he took the plunge and just and sat played whatever came to mind. Atta boy, Zach!

We hurried home to change clothes and eat lunch, and headed out to enjoy the schizophrenic weather. It decided to be spring again! Yay! Long gone was the snow of the day before.  

We checked out the Red Rocks Trading Post loop trail, which was just perfect for our family, and SO beautiful! Tons of scenic views of Denver and the Rockies, and blue skies galore.

Zach brought his remote controlled truck and had a blast running it along all the trails.

Super hiker girls and Lizzie loving it from her backpack! Such cool rock formations everywhere, it reminded me of Southern Utah.

Me and my little Buckaroo, with Denver off in the distance. It was a much needed break from city living and a super BUSY month of activities and goodbyes, and so good to see Mr. Sunshine back from his little 2-day hiatus. It just whetted our appetite for more hikes, and more sunshine once school is out and it is officially summer!

Mother's Day 2017

Mother's Day weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the entire year. I love that it's springtime, Jon has the day off, and I get to pick whatever it is I want to do. Friday night was the Fathers and Sons campout (who's bright idea was that?? Am I right??), so I had a little girl party with Lucy, Leah, and Lizzie, and then patiently waited for the boys to get back in town Saturday morning.

Saturday was such a gorgeous day-- blue skies and up to 80 degrees, so we decided to get some of our many, many yard projects done. Jon rented a rototiller and we tilled the no-man's land of the back corner in order to prepare it to lay some sod. We also got the in-ground fire pit placed, and Jon helped me put dirt into all of our garden beds. Phew! I need some decent "Before and After" pictures because it looks GREAT!

The kids helped by making a little fairy garden in the copse of aspens out back. Lizzie loved it!

Some of the decorations surrounding the little fairy house. Lucy and Zach even got some clay and made tiny dishes and fairy-sized food.

Here's one of the completed beds with my herbs. We have six beds total now, so I'm really hoping this huge investment of time and money is worth it, and our awesome garden last year wasn't just a beginner's-luck fluke! I spent the rest of the afternoon making 65+ Mother's Day treats/handouts for Relief Society the next day, so needless to say, it was a nonstop kinda day.

That night I picked Casa Mariachi for dinner. It's a family favorite, and I've even got Jon hooked on the chili rellenos now.

The next morning I woke up to a lovely breakfast of french toast and hot chocolate, with flowers and homemade cards on the side.  

Mother's Day 2017

After dinner we went on a beautiful evening walk on the nature trail just down from our house. There were tons of deer, the birds were singing, and the memories of snow were far, far in the distance as spring really truly felt like it had arrived. (Fast forward 4 days when it then snowed another 4 inches and froze two nights in a row, ha ha)

How gorgeous is Colorado? And to think, this is just 5 minutes from our house.

I got to end my special Mother's Day with a piece of razzleberry pie (tradition) and an amazing sunset, all while relaxing in my brand new lounge chair in the back yard. I'm really thankful to be a mom. I don't always feel so thankful-- especially on the hard days when there are kids fighting and crying, or babies barfing in the middle of the night, or it's day 2 with no shower and Jon' s working a 13 hour day and I get to put all 4 kids to bed by myself for the third night in a row...  But I think the older I get, and the further into this motherhood thing I go, I really see the importance of having a mom who stays at home, and who's sole focus is to protect and nurture her children. There are SO many broken homes, and at the root of that there is always a mom (who for whatever reason) is unable to stay at home, or just didn't want to. It's like that quote by Neil L. Anderson, "Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God have you time FOR." I'm thankful I can be here, and I get to do this job.