The Steamboat Mega-Post

While driving up to Frisco for our overnight stay during spring break, I saw the turnoff for Steamboat Springs, CO soon after we came out of the Eisenhower Tunnel. Steamboat is a little resort town in the northern Colorado Rockies. My parents have one of their timeshare condos for the timeshare group they belong to up there that I've never been to, so I called my Mom, and, mostly joking, said, "Hey, we just passed the Steamboat turnoff, we should go there when you guys come out for Memorial Day weekend." Twenty minutes later she called me back, "OK! I made reservations for Steamboat Springs for Memorial Day weekend!" I laughed, that's so my Mom! But I am glad she made the reservations, because this past weekend was fabulous!

The three littlest boys and I picked my parents up on Friday morning from Denver and drove up into the mountains, stopping for lunch in Idaho Springs...there are sure a lot of "Springs" in Colorado! Adam, Zach and Ben would be driving up after school because it was Zach's end of year party that day and we didn't want him to miss it. There is a DELICIOUS pizza place in Idaho Springs, introduced to us on that Frisco trip by our friends the Pucketts, called Beau Jo's that I was excited to eat at again and share with my parents who love a good pizza as much as I do!

Not only did we get to spend the weekend with my wonderful parents, we also got to meet up with our friends Pat and Dave Brown, who flew up in their plane to be with us all. It was so much fun, and went much too quickly! But we did a lot and enjoyed the time we had together to the fullest!

On Saturday we went into the downtown area of Steamboat Springs and did some shopping! It's a cute little resort town, clinging to its mining/frontier town history in its presentation and decor. The spring blooms were bursting and beautiful (mountains...Colorado...yes, "spring blooms" in almost-June). The boys did really well shopping for nearly three hours, considering the fact that we were in and out of store after store. Josh beat the bright sun wearing his blue goggles all through town. Wha? We all found something, or a few somethings, we loved enough to buy, even the boys. Adam got a nice new winter jacket for Father's Day--much needed since his old one that we lovingly call "Yellow Coat" is 15-years-old and used to be mine! Zach picked out an ocarina (like in the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time game!), Ben got a Native American flute and Josh got a dream catcher...can you guess where they did their shopping?! The Indian Art store! My daddy loves to spoil his girls when he can, and so does my mom, so I went back to the condo with a few new things too!
We also went for a hike to Fish Creek Falls. It was lovely! We couldn't have asked for better weather. The forecast had said the weather was supposed to be more unsettled, but the entire weekend turned out to be perfect. The falls could be approached from two different directions, above and below. We first walked out to the upper viewing area then went back and walked down to the bottom. They were really full from all the spring melt, and perfectly beautiful. Luke was a little worried about the loud falls and sheer drop-offs, but felt safe in mom and dad's arms, and even opted for a little hiking himself instead of a ride in the backpack. In the shade there were spots of snow on the trail that still hadn't melted, so of course snowball fights commenced. We had to keep a close eye on Josh, who at one point decided to play "balance beam" with the protective rock wall...with a 30-foot drop on the other side! YIPES! My mom and I both had little panic attacks, scarring him off the wall onto sure ground instantly. After that, he had to abandon his attempts of derring-do in favor of chucking large rocks into the frothy river. All along our hike, Nana led her grand-boys in discovery and imagination, as they analyzed the rocks, finding faces and patterns, and surveyed the minutia around us that the typical hiker passes by without a second glance.

A lot of eating was done over the weekend! I love vacation food/eating. So it's a good thing I don't do too much vacationing. I expected to come home with a few extra pounds! Fortunately, after getting lost on my run Saturday morning, I burned a few extra calories so I could pack a bit more in for the weekend! :) We ate out at a fancy grill, a tasty mexican restaurant, a diner, and a gourmet carry-out place (twice). The boys impressed us all by putting on their almost-best manners. And the one boy, Tommy, who got a bit antsy at the restaurants ("Um, you're all eating! Why can't I?!"), had a surplus of grandmas to help keep him entertained. Luke did a great job working on his therapy bubble blowing at our dinner out at the fancy grill. Luckily for us we were in the "early bird" crowd and didn't get a second glance!
Our condo was right near a beautiful river-side trail that I got to run every morning. The river was full and spilling over its banks, so the trail had some detours (which is why I got lost). I wish I had somewhere so stunning to run every day!
We also had some time to just hang out. Not too much though! Luke and Tommy were definitely a bit nap-deprived over the weekend, and it was obvious by Monday night when we got home. The boys played down on the tennis courts with some balls they found and caught a bit of an adult soccer game taking place on the field next to our condos, Tommy did his best to be as cute as possible, which really isn't too hard for him. And Ben, clever and imaginative as he is, even carved a soap boat out a soap bar that had jumped off the maid-service cart right by our room.
I think the biggest hit of the weekend for the boys was the pool at the condos. Adam and my dad indulged the boys' ceaseless swimming desires, even though it was a little chilly for the rest of us. If there hadn't been wind.... But boys are impervious to cold I guess, and dads and papas are super heroes, so there was a lot of swimming. I put on my suit one day, but then just watched the fun from the hot tub!!! I am such a wuss! I wasn't the only one who enjoyed the hot tub though, the boys spent plenty of time in it too warming up between swims. Luke fell asleep after swimming on two different occasions. He was cold and tired from a long day, and I guess the warm towels and Nana's lap were just too cozy!
On Monday it was time for us all to go home, except for the Browns who blew a tire when they landed and had to stay until Tuesday to have it fixed (lucky duckies!). I left with Tommy and Luke to drive my parents to the airport. Of course we hit Beau Jo's for lunch on the way back through Idaho Springs! Adam took the boys to one of the hot springs up in the mountains by Steamboat before leaving town. He said, "How can we go to Steamboat Springs and never go to a spring?!" So they did. The hot springs is kept to a bearable temperature by allowing some of the nearby river water to flow into the spring pool. It was very cool. The boys had a great time visiting! I'm glad Adam took them. I'd love to go myself if we get back there sometime. It was packed with people, many just wanting to soak in the hot water, and I am sure there were a few who were glad to see our jumping, splashing, diving, boisterous little boys go after about an hour-and-a-half of play!
Like I said, it was a fabulous weekend. I loved Steamboat Springs; I'd live there if the job opportunities were more vast than "chair lift operator" or "waiter." Best of all was spending it with my parents and the Browns, who we love so much. It went by so quickly, too quickly! But we know we will be seeing them again soon! Thanks for a great weekend all!

You: Luke

You are so full of spirit, my Luke. Your feelings are so tender, but you are also tender-hearted. You are the first to give Tommy his binky when he's sad, and when someone is crying you wonder why. The other day you told me, "I cry a lot, Mommy." I said, "Yes, you do, but it's because you feel extra big!" Happy or sad, it's always a big feeling. I love how you say "thank you!" with such verve! And you love to laugh, especially at your silly brothers. You are careful with your affection and slow to warm up, but once you do there is a charm and an irresistibility to you that makes people fall head over heels for you. You touch other's hearts in a way that is truly special. I only get "I love you, Mommy!" on occasion, but that makes it all the more special. And I know how much you love me without you saying the words because of how you know you can be YOU when you are with me.You are the source of some of my greatest parenting "huh?!"-s. But also some of my greatest "ah ha!"-s. You are very bright. I know you are going to love school in the fall. You are so fascinated by the little things that so many other people can overlook. For example, the other night I found you sleeping, cuddled up with a ceramic worm used for testing water levels in dirt, a wooden elephant, and a spikey green ball. Not the things most people would choose to cuddle with while slipping off to sleep, but for you, they are treasures. At least you were on the bed, because you also love to sleep on the floor.You crack me up when you try to be like your big brothers and imitate their mannerisms. You were singing Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It!" while playing on the stairs yesterday because Zach has been singing it a lot recently after hearing it played before a soccer match. It cracked me up hearing your little boy voice saying the words. There is this little sound you do for all the little things you play with when they are supposed to be moving around but not actually talking, it sounds like "Na na na," in this high pitched motherese-type voice. So funny! Just a couple of days ago, when Dad said, "Luke! You were supposed to clean this up!" about a mess you made during quiet time you said, in the most sincere, practical voice, "But I was playing tic-tac-toe," as if that is a perfectly good reason to not clean up. It made me laugh so hard. And the other night when you were supposed to be going to bed you came out, devastated, crying your little heart out. I thought you had fallen out of bed and gotten hurt, but then you exclaimed in a loud sob, "You forgot all the parts of Puff!" I guess the shortened version of your favorite lullaby, Puff the Magic Dragon, for that night's already late bedtime was not sung to your standards. It also made me laugh. I spend a lot of time laughing when I am with you. Tonight at bedtime you finally started singing "Scripture Power" with everyone as we do every night before reading scriptures, and you even carried on singing it alone when we all stopped. You also are starting to say prayers on your own, it is so sweet and tender it makes me get a little misty.You are growing up and coming into your own. You are so unique, sweet and dear to us Luke. Have a very, wonderful third birthday! It's going to be a magical, amazing year of life!

Stepping Out

Thursday was a big day for my older boys. Heck! It was a big one for me! Thursday was the first time I allowed the boys to ride their bikes to meet some friends at a park about .4 miles from our house.

Starting Monday afternoon, Ben had been coming home from school asking to meet up with his buddy, Dragan, who lives close to a park that is behind the nearby middle school. Unfortunately, the time the boys get home from school is just about the time Tommy goes down for a nap or has already done so, and I couldn't take him any of the days this week. After no, no, no, and no, Thursday he finally said, "Well, can Zach and I go together?" Uhhhhhhh....

The question brought me back to a conversation I had with my mom when Zach was about three. I asked her how in the world as a parent do you ever get to a point where you are ready to let your child out of your sight? How do you trust them, and the world around them, enough to let them leave your vulture-like mother hovering? I was so protective of my little Zach and baby Ben (and still am!), and I couldn't imagine them doing the things I did as a school-age kid.

When I was in middle-to-late elementary school, I would freely roam the greenbelt by my house with a couple of my friends. We're not talking a little stand of trees, we're talking big, thick forest. My friends Delci, Chelsea, Carrie and I could be gone for hours playing in the creek off the trail or exploring the hills. About the same age I started walking to the bottom of the huge hill I lived on to play at the park that was at the bottom of it. As I got a bit older I would meet up with friends at a different park a mile down the road to play. And in the summer after fifth grade, my sister and I rode our bikes all the way down Somerset Hill to the Factoria theater to see Batman, the one with Michael Keaton. That's at least five miles from our house.

Remembering my freedom, and knowing my boys as I do, instead of just saying "no," I took a pause when Ben asked if he and Zach could go together. Luckily for Ben, I had just read an article about allowing your children more responsibility and freedom. So I considered it. Then I called Adam and considered it with him. Oddly, we both felt we were comfortable with it. Huh? Really? I was actually pretty surprised at how OK with it Adam was, and I was even more surprised to find that I was too. I knew that the streets to the park are all open and sidewalked. The one time they'd have to cross the street there is a light. They are cautious kids, not reckless. We live in a safe neighborhood. This was big time.

I had plenty of reservations. I was nervous. I was cautious. I was a little emotional; this was a major step in their lives and in mine! But I wasn't worried about the boys. I felt confident in them. So I said, "OK, Ben. If Zach's up for it, you two can go together." And, of course, any chance to show off his freedom, Zach's in.

The Instructions:
Don't talk to any strangers.
Do not get into anyone's car, even if it's someone you know.
Stay at the park. You may not go anywhere else.
If you screw this up, this won't happen again for at least a year.
I am allowing you to do this because I trust you, don't break my trust.
You may not go to Dragan's. Just the park.
Stay together. You may not leave each other's sides.
You must cross with the light. Stop and wait.
You know right from wrong. If your friends are making wrong choices you need to come home.
I trust you. Show me you deserve that trust.
Call me for any reason, and answer if I call.
STAY AT THE PARK.

I gave Zach my cell phone and watched them hop on their bikes and ride away. My babies. Deep breaths. A little misty eyed. You can do this, Mom. Zach called me at every corner and when they arrived at the park; and I called him three times in the first fifteen minutes of their visit. Adam drove by the park and said "hello" on his way home from work. Then I called once more and let it be.

They had a great time. And they came home safe and sound just when they were supposed to. It's not something that's going to happen every day, but I think it showed them the confidence and trust I have in them. It allowed them independence and growth. And it did the same for me. I grew in my trust, in my confidence, in my motherhood. I don't think they will ever have the freedom I had in my elementary years, but this was OK. I took a big step, just like they did. Phew!

I guess the answer to the question I asked my mom six years ago is "When it's time, you will know." And I did.

If I Could

I wish I could spend a day in your body, Luke.

When the therapist called today after your group session recommending deeper sensory therapy for you I would like to say I wasn't surprised. But I was. I was stunned. I guess I just didn't know. And that feels a little scary to me. How could I not have been more aware?

I didn't know that when you get uncomfortable or scared, when something is new or that your fight or flight instinct kicks into high gear and that you can't get it to settle. That you feel fear and pain in a deeper way and in unexpected and unusual ways that I would have never guessed. Fear and pain. That's what she said. Are you always afraid? Do you live in constant pain? It makes my heart hurt just thinking of it. I didn't realize that too hot or too cold for you is far beyond what it would be for me. When I kissed your bumps, scrapes and bruises and sent you off to play, and you cried and cried, I thought that it was just because you weren't done getting attention, like most kids are, but really you probably hurt more deeply than I thought a little boy bump would. It was so easy to brush your reactions off as just your dramatic personality. But I was wrong.

When I was talking with Janine, your therapist, I felt like I was like finding the missing pieces in a puzzle. It made so much sense all of a sudden. YOU made so much more sense all of a sudden. The things that were frustrating or incomprehensible about you have become so clear in one ten minute phone conversation. There have been many times I didn't know how to help you when you've been in distress. But now that I know the deeper "why" behind so much of what you do, I feel a lot clearer. Like I understand you a lot better now and can learn how to help you through things.

And then the questions. You've always been so sensitive. How did we not see this? Why did we not look more deeply into why you were sensitive? Why things bothered you so much? Why, at almost 3 you didn't try to dress or undress yourself? Why you've never been a big climber or had much mischievousness? It may sound funny, but I'd love to see you get into a little trouble. I'd love to find you doing something a little naughty. But things like that terrify you, don't they? Was something missed? Could we have prevented this somehow or done something differently to make it less?

I'm sorry baby. I'm sorry I didn't know. We will help you learn to cope with the discomfort. We will help you to absorb the stimulus and deal with it. We will do all we can. I am so glad we know now. Knowing this gives us a place to start, a place to launch our aid from. I am excited to learn how I can be better for you. How I can aid you. I am glad we have a way to help; I am glad we have therapists who pay attention, who know, who care. I can't spend a day in your body, but I can guide you through this pain and fear that I didn't even know were there. I can walk beside you. I can help you to heal and feel comfortable in your skin. I can help you face this world without fear and pain.

From Our House

One of my favorite things every year is the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony. Not because I ever know any graduates, but because the Air Force Thunderbirds always do an airshow at the commencement. For two days before the event they practice, and then comes the "real" show. And we happen to live just 10 minutes down the freeway from the AFA, so for three days we get a little airshow too. We can't see them when they fly low, and once they pass our house they are gone from view, but we still see some amazing acrobatics and feats of intricate skill and hear a lot of good, loud rumbling.

I'd like to say my enjoyment comes from seeing my boys, who love the jets, get excited, but really, it's me. I'd be sitting out watching them even if I was all alone. I don't know what it is about big, loud, fast jets, but they get my heart thumping and my excitement running high, and a little tear of USA pride in my eye. Here's some of the shots I got from yesterday's practice taken from our backyard:
This isn't a great photo, but I love how it shows just how close to our house the jets get on some of their fly-bys. The blurry, dark shape on the left is the upper corner of our house and the front end of the plane is just disappearing past it.

Scenes From A Soccer Season

As most of you know, our spring is filled with soccer: soccer games, soccer practices, soccer talk, soccer scheduling, soccer coaching, soccer madness! With three boys in soccer and Adam coaching two of the teams (he co-coaches Ben's and solo coaches Josh's), it's pretty rare for us to have a day between late-March and late-May that doesn't include a sphere covered in a pattern of hexagons and pentagons being struck by a foot that is encased in a spiked shoe. The boys absolutely love it. They are counting down the days until the World Cup and hope to catch every single game. Yeah, right. Yes, I have come to accept the fact that I am a full-on soccer mom, even if it is crazily exhausting; and yes, I know that this is just the beginning of my soccer life.

So this season's photos begins with the fans. The boys play rain (as long as there's no lightning) or shine, wind (as long as it's not too freezing) or sun, snow (as long as it's not sticking) or heat. This is spring soccer in Colorado. The schedule might be crazy, but the weather is crazier. So I don't get to all the games. The little guys can't be out in the bad weather, and sometimes naps or general crabbiness keeps us home. But when I get to go I just love standing on the sidelines cheering for my boys. I can see the joy on the boys' faces as they play with their teammates, win or lose. A day out by the field, being the #1 fan of any kid named Conlin, is a good day for me. Josh had a fun season with Dad as coach once again. His team is so cute. They are at an age where they still play more like a rugby scrum than soccer (the team collectively chases the ball up and down the field in an huddled mass, passing is an afterthought), but they just have such joy in the game. It is truly pure bliss for them. The excitement when they or a teammate scores a goal is equal to what I am sure Brandi Chastain felt scoring the winning penalty kick in the 1999 Womens' World Cup final game. Josh is a great player, he scores a lot. This is mostly thanks to years of watching his big brothers play, so he understands the game a bit better than the typical 5-year-old. But I think his favorite part is just being able to talk soccer with the big boys. Zach practiced three times a week, Ben twice, and Josh only once. He was so disappointed on the days his brothers had practice but he did not.
Ben's team had a great season. They came out with wins and losses, but after a few seasons together they are really starting to become more cohesive. Some of the kids who have usually been more timid really stepped out of their shell this season. It's been fun to watch them develop and grow. Ben showed an aptitude for goal keeping this season, he's pretty fearless. But his favorite position is forward, because he likes scoring goals. When he's supposed to be on defense he will keep running up-field with the ball. When he's told he needs to stay back as a defender, he just says, "But I want to be a forward!" One of my favorite things about Ben's soccer playing is his face when he plays. He sticks his tongue out in concentration, a la Michael Jordan. It's pretty cute. A noteworthy accomplishment this season: His team won our soccer club, Pride's, spring tournament, the Prodigy Cup.
Zach played his first competitive season, no longer in the developmental league, this spring. Because the boys are still young and competitive tryouts don't officially begin until middle school age for the clubs in Colorado, Zach's team entered a special grouping called a Cross-Squad. Teams from four of the soccer clubs in the Colorado Springs/Denver area each contributed two teams for a total of 8 teams that each played one game against each other this season. This meant half of our games took us up to Denver.

It was a little hard for Zach's team to play and not beat every team by 7-to-9 goals. They came out with a 3 wins, 2 ties, and 3 losses record. According to their coach, Mark, that's actually a great record considering that they moved into the competitive league mid-year (most of the other teams had played up in the fall too). Bottom line, Zach was just fine with his team's record for the season. His cheerful, laid-back attitude keeps him from getting frustrated with the losses. He was just excited to get a spiffy new uniform, a "real" uniform, this season with his number on it. He chose #13, his lucky number. As for playing, Zach really enjoys playing goalie, but his coach likes him out on the field because he has a good sense of positioning. We're still trying to encourage him to step up his effort and aggressiveness a bit, he's such a soft-hearted boy, it's just not a natural tendency for him! But we think that the aggressiveness will come as he realizes that's what it takes to play against these tougher teams. His love for soccer continues to grow every season and I think he will do what he needs to to keep playing.

Zach's trying to collect all the stickers for all the teams in his World Cup book that he got as an award from playing in the Prodigy Cup, where his team placed 3rd. But at $1 for 10 stickers he's just hoping to get all the players for Argentina, his favorite team.
Hooray for my favorite players, Zach, Ben and Josh Conlin, and another great season! I am ready for some lazy weekends!

When Four Days Feels Like Four Hundred

Thursday late afternoon Luke started throwing up. He threw up five times in the next four hours, just one throw up shy of the designated "you have now thrown up enough times and qualify for a visit to the ER to be rehydrated" line. A half an hour after the last throw up he came downstairs asking for dinner. He was starving. He didn't want toast or broth or any of those bland BRAT diet items. No way! He wanted what we were having: spaghetti. Luke doesn't yet get the concept that the food could make him feel yucky again. He just knows what he wants. So I gave him a few plain noodles, which he gobbled down, and then asked for more. I thought, "Wow, kids are so resilient!" Ha! Little did I know what was ahead.

Later that night, and now for the three days since that night, Luke has been in agony. He spiked a fever of 103.4 for two days. It finally went down Saturday morning, but he's still hovering around 99.8. He's lethargic and weak. But the worst part is the rolling cramping that is wracking his body. He'll be lying in bed, watching TV (this is about all he can manage to do right now) and then just start to whimper. Then comes the "Ow, ow, OW!" and then a little cry and then back to quietly watching. This is all day long. I feel completely helpless. I don't know what to do to ease his discomfort. Friday afternoon I took him to the doctor. He was diagnosed with a nasty stomach bug. But other than the fever being down and the barfing stopping since our visit to the doc, it just doesn't seem like he's getting better.

He fell asleep yesterday afternoon SITTING ON THE TOILET. And fell asleep twice today watching movies. Really?! He's a three-year-old boy! And while he might not be on the high end of the active spectrum for preschool boys, the falling asleep with ease thing just isn't his usual M.O. It makes me so sad!

It reminds me of the summer Adam was in South Korea and I was pregnant with Josh. Ben got something just like this. Pardon the graphic detail, but the smells Luke is producing are bringing me back to those two weeks in the summer of 2004. I was alone, the boys were so sick, but especially Ben. And I was SO pregnant. Ben's fever was so high, and then he just kept vomiting and having the runs, day after day. I thought he might have gotten giardia somehow! I was completely worried, a total basket case. I had some friends come give him a blessing for healing. The illness finally cleared up, but not before it nearly did me and Ben both in! My mom flew out to Provo shortly after that because she could tell I needed an extra pair of hands and we drove back to Seattle together.

Luke's eating mostly bland foods even though he's begging for "milkshake," that's what he calls his Scandishakes. Thankfully bananas are on the "likes" list, and he's become a toast and applesauce connoisseur. I gave him a little yogurt tonight, hoping the active cultures might help his tummy out a bit, even though it's dairy which could make it worse. It was a bit of a gamble, but honestly, I don't see how it can't get much worse. Oh dear, oh dear! He's back to the doc tomorrow if I don't see a marked improvement in the morning. He just doesn't have the extra chub to lose much weight. It is going to take forever to get it back on too! It makes me tired just thinking about the focus that food will have to become beyond what it already is.

Luke's been really brave. It hurts him so much to go potty, but after a lot of resisting, he does go for it. He just knows he has to, so he does it. I can see the pain in his face and I watch him struggle with knowing he needs to go but being afraid of how it's going to feel. I wish I could take all the hurt from him! I can only imagine how scary this must feel to him, but my sensitive little boy has been as tough as he can be in the face of this mean old germ.

So far no one else is ill. And if we're all going to get this it better be in the next day or two. We've got fun plans in Steamboat Springs for the weekend with my parents and the Browns! I am sorry. I am not missing that. I may be barfing out the window, but we're going! :)

I can't believe it's been only four days since this started. It feels like it's been much longer. Perhaps that's because about four weeks ago a cold swept through the little ones, and then a second cold got us all, and now we've got this going on. So someone has had something for a month now. Illness sweeps through a big family like wildfire. It's time to say goodbye to sick. I'm SICK of sick!

In other weekend news:

I harvested some of our end of season tulips, and they are just beautiful! Fresh flowers make me so happy, and even better that they came from my own garden!Zach and Ben played in a soccer tournament this weekend. Zach's first game was a win, with Zach shutting out the other team as goalie. Ben had one goal in his first game and one in his third. Zach's team ended up placing third in his division and Ben's team placed first! They got little medals and everything. Adam said he had never seen Ben's team play as well as they did this weekend. Both the boys played great and had a wonderful time. It was very exciting for all. Since I was home with sickie and Adam coaches Ben's team we didn't get any photos of Ben actually playing.Josh, Luke and I, stuck at home, enjoyed watching and hearing the Air Force Thunderbirds practicing over our house for the Air Force Academy graduation coming up this week. Just one of the things I love about living here. At one point they flew directly over our house, close down. It was so loud and so RAD!

The basement is all mudded and taped and has had a couple of days to dry. Texture and paint and trim will go up next week, and the work on the bathroom will get started. Sonney thinks it will be about 10 more days of work, after we add a week onto that figure (just to give us some wiggle room so we don't get our hopes up), and we've only got a little over two weeks and we should be done! YAY YAY! We need to hurry up and pick out carpet so we can get that in quickly. Then we've got a lot of painting to do. Anyone want to come for a painting party? :) You know you do!

Adam's making good progress on the window well. We are going to do some terracing, and I think it's going to look nice. I might just like it so much we will have to do it for all the basement windows! Adam's been saying he wants to work out more, but I don't think this is what he had in mind! He's not alone in the digging though; Josh lent Adam a hand today. He climbed in the big ol' hole and shoveled out a good deal of dirt by five-year-old standards. I was impressed.Hopefully, Adam's not too "dug" out by the window well project. Yesterday, during the 60 MPH wind gusts we were having, a portion of our fence blew over at an angle. The posts that were dry rotting were done in by the strong wind. So Adam will be putting in two new fence posts this week too, which will require more digging. And one of our plum trees in the backyard decided it was done with Colorado's crazy freezing/dry/hot weather and didn't come back this year. So we've got to pull it out and put in a new tree, which will require even MORE digging. I am hoping to pick out a nice green tree, since all the trees in our backyard are those purple-leaved plums. They are pretty, but I need me some green!

And finally, we planted new grass seed AGAIN. We attempted to fix our poor lawn last year, and it was still dead and ugly this year, so we are giving it another try. We bought new topsoil a few weeks ago, but with the freezing weather and all the wind, we didn't get to put the seed in until this weekend. And we had to do it after the sun went behind the mountains because for some reason that's when the wind stops blowing.

Busy, busy, busy! Sick, sick, sick. I am excited for next week. Soccer is over, scouts is meeting for the last time for the year. All we've got is piano lessons and seven days of school left. I, for one, am SO ready for summer!