Yeah, it's been awhile...

Sorry about my lack of posting lately. I had some laptop issues which have since been resolved (THANKS, KEVIN!!!) and I got really, really, really behind on my POTD (picture-of-the-day) project. Apparently, it's been since May 7th that I have posted. Luckily, I haven't stopped taking pictures, so I just need to get them organized and posted. We also attended a family wedding recently and I must post about that, too, because it was so much fun! Updates soon, I promise! TTFN...

Alex is SOOOOOO done with elementary school

On Friday, May 28th, we attended the 5th Grade Continuation Ceremony at Rolling Hills Elementary. Alex's class walked into the gymnasium all dressed up and looking like graduates! Alex downplays his emotions quite a bit, but I know he felt very proud and was so happy that we were there to watch him finish up his last day of elementary school. The principal said some words and read a poem that made me cry. Shocking? Not really. Then Alex's teacher, Mrs. Nolte said some very nice things about the school year and made me cry again. [sigh] After that, we watched a slide show containing pictures of the kids throughout the school year. It was highly entertaining and very touching. More tears. Alex received his diploma and I completely missed taking a picture of it because my camera somehow got set on the self-timer option and I couldn't get it off fast enough. I was totally bummed, but Jeff got a kick out of it. After the ceremony, Alex's class went to The Trails Recreation Center for a pool party. It was a totally awesome day!

Mattea's Preschool Graduation

Mattea graduated from preschool on Saturday. Her class performed several songs complete with actions (and a little sass!). They recited the Pledge of Allegiance and also helped their teacher read a book. She looked so adorable with her "Taylor Swift hair" and her red cap & gown. She is counting down the days until she starts kindergarten. I might have to add a counter to the blog because she is always asking me to figure out how many more days until she starts! We are so proud of her!!!

The graduate!

Alex insisted on taking a picture of us. Josh is hiding under Mattea's graduation gown.

Mattea is looking to the future... that sounded good, but she was actually just looking at the pool in the back of the clubhouse!!!

Joshie was very proud of his little sister!

Mattea "shakin' her groove thing" during the preschool rendition of N' Sync's "Bye, Bye, Bye"!

This is a shot of Mattea as she walked in with her graduating class. Doesn't she look SO proud???

Mattea & Alexis - best friends at preschool

This is the questionnaire Mattea filled out for the graduation slide show.

Picture of the Day -- Week 18

May 1st – Uncle Terry must be a good luck charm. He was at Josh’s baseball game today and Josh had the best game he’s ever had! He did great at catcher, but his batting was really impressive. He hit a double that had the crowd on their feet cheering and then he had another hit that drove in the winning run.


May 2nd – This morning, Mattea and I got up early to participate in the Furry Scurry. It’s a walk to raise money for the Denver Dumb Friends League. Alex ended up bailing at the last minute and I made the HUGE mistake of taking both dogs with me. Yes… it was me, Mattea, Indy and Cody. How did I think this was going to turn out??? Well, as you might have guessed, it was disastrous. Cody was extremely overwhelmed at all the dogs and the smells. He was barking at other dogs and acting much differently than he normally does. By the time we picked up our race bibs and t-shirts, I was done. We skipped the race altogether and went back home! (Oh, did I mention that we had gotten lost along the way there and had gone 10 miles out of our way?)


May 3rd – My kids LOVE strawberries! We go through cartons of them every week. I bought these strawberries and couldn’t believe the size of them. I had Mattea hold them for a picture and afterwards she said “Mom, since I touched these, I have to eat them.” Smart little girl!


May 4th – Mattea does NOT like to sleep by herself. She will come up with any excuse to snuggle Daddy or Mommy and will even be satisfied if the boys will let her snuggle them. I’m not sure what happened, but when I went up to check on her, I found her asleep in the hallway. She hasn’t done that since she was probably two years old.


May 5th – I made a chocolate cake and Mattea happened to be in the right place at the right time, so she was the lucky one that got to lick the beaters! She was quite happy that the boys were nowhere in sight so she didn't have to share.


May 6th – Josh sliced his knee open while playing "pickle" in the yard. He was so brave about it... I can’t believe he didn’t cry because it looked like it hurt a lot! He’s a tough little cookie. I’m sure he’ll have quite the scar.


May 7th – The boys attended the Sock Hop tonight with Justin. It’s Alex’s last Sock Hop as an elementary school student! They played games, ran around with their friends, danced a little bit and filled up on sugar. What a fun night!

Picture of the Day -- Week 17

April 24th – I have decided that there is no reason the kids can’t help out with the laundry. I am no longer going to sort their socks for them, so Mattea did her own today. We are lucky that the style these days is to wear different colored socks!


April 25th – Josh & Alex tagged along to the roller skating party that Mattea attended today. They both went out during the speed skate and I was so impressed by their skating abilities. I think it’s time for me to buy some roller blades and get out there with them!


April 26th – Jeff has been annoyed with Comcast Cable for quite some time, so we decided to ditch them and go to Dish Network for our cable. The kids are fascinated with our new array of channels.


April 27th – I started making smoothies for breakfast and snacks lately. The kids and I have been having them at least once a day. They consist of frozen berries, yogurt, ice & water, vanilla protein powder and fresh spinach. I only get away with the spinach because it’s all ground up and you can only see tiny green flecks. YUMMY!


April 28th – Mattea has preschool graduation pictures today, so she wore her pretty dress (the one that is supposed to be saved for Christmas) and I curled her hair. She looked so beautiful and Jeff told her she looked like Taylor Swift... which of course made her SO happy.


April 29th – Today, I found Mattea in the bathroom getting ready. Typically this means she gets dressed and brushes her teeth. Apparently today there was something special going on because she had her big shiny makeup case (thanks Uncle Tom & Aunt Jenny!) and was applying purple eye shadow.


April 30th – Mattea has this fuse bead set that she gets out every once in a while. I was delighted when Josh got down to help her with her project. I was even more delighted when she LET him!!! (PS - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AUNT JULIE!!!)

Mattea's Photo Shoot

Mattea has preschool graduation pictures today, so she wore her pretty dress (the one that is supposed to be saved for Christmas) and I curled her hair. She looked so beautiful and Jeff told her she looked like Taylor Swift... which of course made her SO happy. Later, before I took her to school, she said "Mommy, I wish I was Taylor Swift." I asked her why. She said "Because she's so pretty." I told her "Well, you are prettier than Taylor Swift." She looked at me (appalled) and said "That was mean." HA! I guess she took that as a slam on her most favorite artist. Anyway, I made her go outside for a few pictures before school. I didn't do a great job dealing with the lighting, but hey, I had an anxious preschooler who didn't want to miss the REAL pictures at school. I deal with the cards I'm dealt. : )

Picture of the Day -- Week 16

April 17th – I went into Lifetime Fitness today to do a cardio and calorie point assessment. I had to wear this goofy mask and just breathe for 20 minutes to get my resting metabolic rate. Then, I had to go out to the treadmill (with the mask on) and briskly walk at a steadily increasing incline for 15 minutes. This gave me my VO2 max. This information (along with a TON more from a personal trainer and nutritionist) is going to help me become a more fit and healthy person. WOO HOO!


April 18th – Alex is such a trooper. He gets dragged to Josh’s baseball practice twice a week and attends his baseball games on the weekends and most of the time, he doesn’t complain about it. He always finds a way to have fun no matter what he’s doing.


April 19th – I had been looking for a new purse with lots of rainbow colors. Julie told me she had one at her Hallmark store and she thought I would love it. After I vetoed the first purse she sent, I received this super cute purse in the mail. I’m in love!


April 20th – In our refrigerator, you will find the usual - orange juice, applesauce, eggs, milk, fruits, veggies and you will also find the unusual - Alex’s experiments. I love his creative nature. He has been fascinated with making experiments since he was little. The messes he makes while he’s creating do make me slightly more bonkers than I already am, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.


April 21st – One of the things the nutritionist told Jeff & I was that we should be taking fish oil capsules. My first thought, of course, was “ewwwww”. But, I guess since it’s good for me and it won’t taste like fish going down, I can handle it. Then, I saw the size of the capsules. YIKES!


April 22nd – Today was “Take Your Sons & Daughters to Work Day”. Jeff took the boys to work and Mattea stayed home with me (after I reminded Jeff that he had said last year that he would NEVER take Mattea with him again!). The boys had fun and came home with all sorts of City & County of Denver trinkets. Jeff told me that many people had asked where Mattea was and he told them she was at home and that he had “dodged a bullet” with that decision. LOL!


April 23rd – The weather has been crazy lately. Yesterday, it was dreary & rainy in the morning, sunny around lunch time and then we had a tornado warning about 1pm. Today, it was dreary & rainy again in the morning and then mid-morning, we got some slushy snow. Gotta love Colorado! Wait 10 minutes and the weather will change.