A Visit from the Bachman's

The Bachman family visited this past week. They flew in on Sunday, June 1st in the morning and were at our house by about 11:00am. We gave them a tour of the house and then had lunch. The kids had a fun time playing after being apart for several months. It was obvious they had missed each other. Kelly and I were able to sneak away for a few hours to do some shopping.



During the week, the kids played outside, played X-box, went to the park, stomped in the creek & swung from tree branches like they were Tarzan, swam at the pool and ran through the fountain. Kelly and I were able to go out for dinner Wednesday night while the boys hung out with the kids. We had a great visit.

A visit from the Dolan's

Julie, Carol & Pete came to visit us for Memorial Day weekend. We had such a nice visit. We went to Casa Bonita on Friday night. Julie hadn't been there since she was about 9 or 10. We had a great time! On Saturday, we had a nice breakfast and then took a walk to the park. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed the Colorado sunshine. Intermittently, through the

weekend, Josh would find someone to play catch with him. I had to take a picture of him and Grandpa playing catch. We shopped a bit at Southlands Shopping Center and then had a nice dinner at an Irish pub called McCabe's. On Sunday, we took a trip to the Red Rocks amphitheatre for brunch. Wow... what a beautiful place! We took lots of pictures and enjoyed the views and the wonderful company. We drove further west into the mountains and stopped for ice cream in Idaho Springs. When we got back to Aurora, Aunt Julie and Alex went on their "birthday date". They have been doing that since he was five. They went shopping for a birthday present and then to dinner & a movie at the Movie Tavern. Today, at Pete & Carol's insistence that they help us with a project, we got some artwork hung in the living room. I am so glad they were all around to help because it was definitely more than a 2-person job. Julie had to leave for the airport and Jeff & Pete went to the new Indiana Jones movie. Carol and I took the kids to McDonald's Play Land to burn off some of their energy. We were so glad to have visitors for the weekend.

Joshie's Question of the Day

Josh is very interested in doing Taekwondo. So, we went to a place to check it out. We watched part of a class. As we were sitting there watching the kids do their moves, Josh asked "Mom, do they teach them to shoot fireballs from their hands?" LOL!!!!

Rolling Hills Sock Hop

Alex went to the Rolling Hills Sock Hop on Saturday night. He looked so handsome with his 50's look! There were girls there with poodle skirts and scarves around their necks and the boys mostly had white or black t-shirts on with jeans. Alex didn't dance at all, but he played games, ate pizza with his Mom, goofed around with his friends and generally had a pretty good time. There was a 50's car in the parking lot which I managed to get a picture of with Alex. He humored me with one shot... but it had to be on our way out. He wasn't going to let me take one on the way in!

Mother's Day 2008

Mother's Day was a wonderful day! Josh brought me breakfast in bed at about 6:30am... a little early, but still very sweet! I was showered with gifts and cards - some bought and some made. We went out for breakfast and then to a garden center to pick out a green plant (one I hopefully won't kill!) for our living room. We took some pictures on the porch and then got into our comfy clothes! The kids played all day, I did some house work and Jeff worked in the yard. We went out for dinner at an Irish pub... we can't wait to take Pete, Carol and Julie there when they come to visit Memorial Day weekend!!!

Special time with Aunt Julie

Aunt Julie was flying to Vegas on her birthday to meet up with Uncle Kevin. She somehow managed a 2-hour layover at the Denver International Airport. Hmmmm!!! What a coincidence! The 2-hours was plenty of time for hugs & kisses from the Dolan chitlins.

I got the kids out of school early, so we would be on time. We waited at the baggage claim area anxiously looking for a glimpse of Aunt Julie. Once she came into view, the kids went sprinting towards her. She dropped her suitcase, got down on her knees and braced herself for the impact!!! I don't think she would have cared if they knocked her over and she cracked her head on the floor! The kids each had a rose for her and they smothered her with hugs & kisses. As you can see from the picture, she was smiling so hard she about split her cheeks!!!


We found a place out of the way to sit down and have a nice chat. Since it was Aunt Julie's birthday, we brought cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to her. She was so surprised!!! Aunt Julie opened her present and was ecstatic to find out that she was getting a facial and paraffin hand dip at the spa at the hotel in Las Vegas! I found out later that her wonderful husband added to the relaxation and pampering by booking her for a massage as well. Sounds like the princess got the royal treatment!!!

We were sad when Aunt Julie had to leave to get on her plane, but we were happy to have gotten a chance for hugs & kisses & cupcakes!!!

Some recent pics

Mattea dressed up as Sheriff Woody.
I remember when Josh used to wear
that costume!

Here's the kids in the car with us running errands. Can you feel the love???

Here's the boys on their way to work with Dad. It was Take Your Child to Work Day and he was brave enough to take both of them with him! He proudly showed them off all day and put them to work. I saw pictures of Josh shredding papers and drawing on Dad's white board. Alex was chief photographer and videographer for the day. They attended meetings and were well-behaved all day. Both of them fell asleep on the way home! I guess it's not that easy being in Dad's shoes for a day!!!