Birthday Parties

 

As always, Shannon throws a mean party! Case recently turned 6 and Siahna turned 3, so Shannon planned a weekend full of birthday parties and fun. Sadly, I forgot to take my camera to Case's party, which was at a jungle gym, but I remembered to bring it to Siahna's party, which was full of rainbows and color.

 Happy birthday Case and Siahna. 

Adventures Of The Week

Josh and I went to Dave and Buster's with Josh's best friend, Marcus, and Marcus' kid, Leila (she's 9). We all had lunch together and then went to play in the arcade.

Anyone who says Dave and Buster's is just for kids is wrong! Josh and I had a blast, we collected as many tickets as we could, we played a whole bunch of games, and in the end, we saved our tickets for another day (and yes, we'll be going back soon. We're saving our tickets for an X-Box; only 17,000 more tickets to go).

We then took an impromptu trip to Black Hawk (the casinos). We played, we gambled, we lost.... $100 later in the hole, and we decided to call it quits.

On the up side, we each got a free buffet. Now let me tell you, I typically don't find buffet food to be any good. The older I get, the less excited I am about buffets. However, Oh. My. Goodness. This buffet was amazing. Amazing food. Every single thing we tried was delicious, and we kept going back for more and more and more (I kept saying we had to get our money worth, even though it was free (but technically and cost us $100)).

Anyway, we ate and ate and ate. They had All You Can Eat Crab-legs, and I took advantage of that. They were delish. And then the best part, dessert of course. I ventured up slowly to take in all the sweets. My eyes landed on an ice cream machine, so I headed straight there (you know how I love my ice cream). Lo and behold, they had soft-serve mint chocolate chip ice cream!!!!!

HEAVEN!

They also had Butterfingers topping. I got a huge bowl of mint ice cream, sprinkled Butterfingers on top, and I was sold. No other desserts needed.

And then I went back for seconds on mint ice cream because this is the only place I have ever found soft-serve mint. Some more Butterfingers on top, and I was in a coma.

Please don't tell anyone this, but then I went back for thirds! (Shhhh). But, I was so full and so miserable that I couldn't eat it, so....I took it back to our hotel room and held it for a while just staring. When it started to melt, I had to eat it (I wasn't about to throw this heaven away). And then I couldn't move for about two hours. (Josh had already been in a food coma while I stared at my ice cream. He told me not to eat it, but I didn't listen. I should have listened).

After all our food, we both wanted to throw up, but we laid on the bed and watched the Rockies game instead. After two hours of no movement, Josh finally made me get up and we went back to the casino for a while to lose more money.

After our trip to the casino, we then went to a Rockies game back in Denver the next day. We made a day of it by hopping on the lightrail and riding the train into Denver. We spent four hours at the game (it was HOT) and had nachos and soda (you can't go to a Rockies game without getting nachos, my favorite).

So the entire point of this blog, if you haven't caught on, is FOOD. We love food. We ate a lot of food last week. We ate so much food that we could barely move. Food is good.

And to help myself feel better about all the food, and so that you won't judge us quite as harshly, I will also let you know that in the past month, Josh and I have ridden 300 miles on our bikes, so I feel justified in all the food.

LAX 2013

The LAX season ended (a couple of months ago), and I'm just now getting around to telling you all about it. My girls went 11-1 this season, and we barely count the one loss because we lost to a JV team. So really, we went 11-0 (just go with it). As always, I was so proud of my girls this year!

It was a very weird season. We had to practice inside more than we got to practice outside because of the snow, and almost every single one of our games was postponed. We had 8 games crammed into two weeks as we ended the season in the month of April. My girls were tired!

But we finished a great season, and our very last game of the year was in a thunderstorm and downpour. We actually had to end the game after only 8 minutes of playing, and the pictures below prove we were soaked!

 
Josh attended the LAX banquet with me, which is always fun for him to see everyone dressed up (he comes to a lot of games, so he gets to know the girls in their uniform). The girls gave me a $100 Visa Gift Card, so I am keeping my eye open for the perfect thing to buy with it.

What My Father Taught Me

Here are a few things my father taught me....

To check the oil in my car:
I most certainly can't change my oil, but I at least have enough skills to check my oil to see if I have enough. This has come in handy recently since my car is leaking oil, and I can also refill my oil easily enough. 


To bake:
My mother taught me to cook, but it was my father who taught me the joys of baking (very different than cooking). Most people lay claim to one or the other. My sister-in-law is a great cook, but she'll be the first to admit that baking is not her forte. Until recently, my sister leaned more toward cooking (she recently is giving me a run for my money in the baking realm). I, however, love to both cook and bake. But if I had to choose, I'd choose to bake first, cook second. I usually start dessert first before even deciding what to make for dinner.

Anywho, my father and I would often head into the kitchen and he'd teach me how bake. My mother did NOT help in the process, nor did she care to help. She was a cook, not a baker. Some of my favorite things my dad taught me to make are:
Sugar Cookies
Peanut Brittle
Brownies with nuts and marshmallows
Chocolate Chip Cookies

And I wonder who I got my sweet tooth from?

To smile:
Okay, okay, I know my dad didn't teach me to smile, but I do take pride in the fact that my dad and I have the exact same smile. And the exact same eyes. And the exact same expression when we smile/laugh. There is no doubting that I am my father's daughter if you see us laugh together.

To be carefree and easy-going:
My father is the perfect example of an easy-going, carefree attitude. Shall we go to the store? SURE! Let's go get some ice cream. OKAY. Want to go on a hike? LET'S DO IT. Other than the hiking bit, I am very much like my father. I'll do whatever, whenever. Name the date, time, and place and I'll be there. Want to have some fun? SURE, let's go!

Among many other things, my dad taught me to smile, to have fun, to enjoy life.
He taught me to never complain.
He taught me to be generous.
He taught me to be available.

And I love him dearly for everything. Happy Father's Day, dad. I love you.

Garage Sale

Josh and I hit the mother-load of garage sales today and spent about three hours driving around one neighborhood! And boy did we hit gold! I can either take or leave garage sales (Josh is the one who loves them), but I actually enjoyed today because we got a ton of great stuff for about $10 total.

I also made a new friend. A fellow shopper started a conversation with Josh about teaching, and Josh volunteered that I was also a teacher. The lady zoned in on me as Josh quickly made his escape, and I spent the next 15 minutes talking to this lady while Josh walked to several more garage sales. I got an impromptu hug from her (she thanks me for being a teacher), I saw pictures of her artwork, I heard about an art gala she's trying to start, she invited me to her home, she tried selling me books, I heard about her three back surgeries, saw her scars from her recent face lift, and heard how she spends her days (she can't leave the house until 10:30 every morning because she has to take it slow and sit in the hot-tub to loosen her back). She said, "You're talking to someone who is going to be rich and famous in the near future." (She's working on selling her art).

After I made my escape, we landed upon the house of an older couple. I immediately fell in love with this:

I am in LOVE with my new ottoman, and it was only $2! The moment I saw it, I knew I had to have it, and I was expecting the price to be around $5. I was happy when I saw a $2 price tag and quickly bought it. The poor old lady (probably around 80), as she handed me change, said, "I hate being old. I am just so tired." I comforted her the best I could and said my goodbyes.

We also ended up with:

Four propane bottles
A nearly brand-new chainsaw (for only $2)
A whole box of candles (for Josh's apartment-all for free)
A Model-T Ford car battery
PartyLite candles
A bunch of picture frames (for my arts and crafts)
Paint brushes (for my arts and crafts)
Lotion
A frying pan for camping

Perhaps I'm learning to like garage sales a little bit more after this ottoman!

Because You Care

I'm enjoying week two of my summer vacation, and I already don't know what day it is. The days seem to blend together, and I have a hard time keeping track of Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday.

According to my calendar, though, today is Wednesday, June 12. That much I know to be true.

To backtrack, though, here's a recap of the last two weeks (because I know you care so much!).

Wednesday, May 22
My mom was in town visiting, so she came to my classroom for two hours. The kids enjoyed meeting my mother and asking questions. My mom left wondering how I do it every day.

Thursday, May 23
Graduation at Red Rocks. This is one of my favorite days of the year, and I usually am brought to tears by a few names that are read. Since I work with high risk kids (high risk for dropout), I am so, so proud when my kiddos finally graduate. Two specific kids came and found me, hugged me, thanked me, and said they wouldn't have graduated without my help. I attended a graduation party that evening for my Teacher Assistant, Brittany. 


Saturday, Sunday, Monday, May 25, 26, 27
Three day weekend!!! Josh and I spent the weekend at his parent's house in Hudson, CO, dog-sitting. We also drove into Greeley for a 30 mile bike ride, and we also got to see Collin, Kate, Carson, Kye, and Corinne for a short bit! On Monday, Josh and I went on a 15 mile bike ride and then went boating with my friend Liz and her friend, Chris, who owns a boat.

Tuesday and Wednesday, May 28 and 29
Finals! These days are easy for the teacher, and they are also half days. I was home by noon each day. Since the tests are taken on scantrons, someone else grades my tests within minutes, so I was able to read and finish up grading while my students took their tests. 


Thursday, May 30
Check out day for teachers. I arrived around 10 a.m., got all the signatures I needed, we had a faculty lunch at 11 a.m., and I was checked out by 12:30. School's Out For The Summer!

Friday, May 31

I started the day off with a 20 mile bike ride. I then met my friend, Liz, at A Whale of a Book Sale where used books range from $1-$2. I loaded up on a few goodies to keep me busy for the summer. Several hours later, I met Liz again for a graduation party, and then I headed back to Hudson (Josh's parent's house) where Josh and I dog-sat for another four days (his parents were in FL for eight days). 


Saturday, June 1
Josh and I had a garage sale at his parent's house where we made about $60.

Sunday, June 2
We decided to have the garage sale one more day since we were just sitting there, and we made a whopping $5! 


Monday, June 3
Happy birthday to my sweet niece, Siahna, and one of my best friends, Abby! Josh and I drove to Greeley where we rode 43 miles. I had a small bike wreck this day. And actually, I fell on top of Josh, so he also had a bike wreck that day, thanks to me! We are both fine (so are the bikes), but we ended up with some wicked cool bruises and scrapes! Thankfully, the crash was near the end of our 43 mile ride, so we made it back to our car, quickly showered at his apartment, and then had lunch at Roma's, one of our favorite places in Greeley. That night, we went out to eat at the Pepper Pod in Hudson, which I guess is a pretty famous restaurant. 


Tuesday, June 4
We picked Josh's parents up from the airport, and boy was I ever glad to be done dog-sitting!!!


Wednesday and Thursday, June 5 and 6
Back to work I go! I had two days of training I had to attend (but I got paid extra to go). I am co-teaching next year, so the training was to teach me how to co-teach. I was also able to have lunch with Britt since she is leaving to travel Europe for the next TWO months! We had a fabulous lunch, said goodbye, and promised to keep in touch while she's away. 


Friday, June 7
Josh talked me into going on a hike. We went to Deer Creek Canyon and found a hiking trail there. It was a pretty easy 3-mile loop, and lucky for mankind, I did not see any snakes (although several people stopped us along the way to tell us they had spotted rattlesnakes). I had packed a lunch, so we stopped halfway through our hike to eat and enjoy the scenery.

On our way home, we stopped at Botanical Gardens where Shannon was with Case and Siahna. We played at the playground with them for a short bit and then headed home where I prepared a feast for dinner (since we had burned so many calories hiking, you know).


Saturday and Sunday, June 8 and 9
Josh and I met up with Kari and we rode 24 miles of hills. It was super, super windy, so we cut our ride short a little bit. We were having to work to go downhill, and we almost blew over going uphill (quite literally). It was not a fun ride, but it WAS fun to ride with Kari. Later that afternoon, Josh and I went to Case's birthday party at My Gym. After the party, Shannon and Jeff prepared a feast for us for dinner. We also celebrated my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. Sunday was Siahna's birthday party, so we spent the day at their house. (More details and pictures to come on this fun-filled weekend). 

Summer Time

You know it's summer when....

I stop wearing makeup because it just melts off.

I don't do my hair because it's too hot in the bathroom to run the hair dryer.

I can get ready in under 15 minutes, shower included, because of the above things.

My house is sparkling clean because I have the time to dust and vacuum.

I start to gain weight because I am home to cook, I have no schedule, the summer food is so yummy, and I have nothing else to do but eat.

Most days you can find me at the pool.

You can find my face stuffed in a book.

You'll find me sitting in the dark because all my blinds are shut to keep the heat out.

Or in other words, Shiloh falls apart.

And I wouldn't have it any other way!