Picture of the Day -- Week 36

September 4th – During college, Jeff & I often washed and waxed our vehicles. Since having busy jobs and busy kids, we often take them to a car wash. Jeff got a wild hair and decided to wash & wax the Jeep today. Of course, he volunteered me to help!


September 5th – Mattea helps out with house work (sometimes more willingly than others!) and today, she spotted me vacuuming and totally took over for me. I was happy to let her help!


September 6th – Today is Jeff’s birthday! He got some new Linkin Park t-shirts (with matching ones for the boys!), some bike shorts and a Camel Bak water bottle. We had a really relaxing day.


September 7th – The ice cream truck was making its rounds in our neighborhood and I gave the kids some money. The ice cream man was selling ice cream treats as well as candy.


September 8th – Mattea just got out of the bath tub and I put her hair up in a towel turban. She loves doing stuff the same way Mommy does it!


September 9th – Alex stayed after school today to go to the library, so I picked him up. Since there was no one else around, I snapped a picture of him in front of the school. I wouldn’t have dared do that if his friends were around!


September 10th – Josh and Erik are good friends even though Josh is a couple years older. Erik is such a sweet little boy and just loves playing with Josh.

Picture of the Day -- Week 35

August 28th – Even though Indy is 13 years old (that’s 91 in human years), I still mess with him!!! I thought he looked awfully cute wearing my sunglasses. He was annoyed.


August 29th – Mattea was practicing her handstands in the front yard. Lucky, the gymnastics coach wasn’t watching with those bent legs and flexed toes!


August 30th – Every great once in awhile, I get the family on the couch for an updated (and casual) family picture. Amazingly enough, I don’t even worry anymore about what everyone is wearing… I’ve come a LONG way in that perspective.



August 31st – The butterflies were ready to be released, so when the kids got home from school, they carefully scooped them up and let them go.


September 1st – We had purchased two sets of caterpillars, so we had more to release today.


September 2nd – Mattea has moved into a more advanced gymnastics class and they are practicing the splits. It seems like every time she tries it, she gets a little closer to the ground.


September 3rd – Alex & his friend, Jacob, were quite focused on their video games.

Chicks... hot chicks

Disclaimer: I do realize that there are certain stories that I shouldn't share for the sake of my kids' embarrassment, but since most of you don't get to interact with them on a daily basis, I feel the need to share some funny stories even if my kids get mad at me for it!!!

So, Alex told me today that he has a crush on two girls at school. I asked what their names were and he wouldn't tell me. All he would tell me was that they are both smart and cute. Later, I told Alex to share this with Jeff. Of course, Dad scored more information than Mom did. Alex told him that he was scared to talk to them. So Jeff tried to understand why. He told Alex to talk to the girl like he would talk to his sister. About that time, Mattea wandered into the room and said "Yeah, talk to me. I'm a chick." Alex replied "They are hot chicks." (You know what's coming...) So, Mattea said "I am a hot chick!" Alex rolled his eyes. So, then Jeff asked Mattea what she would say to a boy if she liked him. She told him she would say "Hi" and "Kiss me!". Oh boy... we are in TROUBLE!!!

Picture of the Day -- Week 34

August 21st – Today, our whole family volunteered with DEVO (Denver Employees Volunteer Opportunities) and we helped paint the house of an elderly lady. It was a great way to get the kids involved in volunteering. It was a long day, but they were awesome helpers!!!


August 22nd – We are “growing” butterflies… yes we are! We sent away for some caterpillars and we have been waiting patiently for them to form their chrysalids. Finally, it was time to move the chrysalids into the butterfly garden.


August 23rd – Today, Alex started middle school. He was pretty nonchalant about the whole thing. I was excited and nervous for him. Middle school means… new kids from different schools, multiple teachers, changing classes, a combination locker and higher expectations. I know he'll do great!


August 24th – Josh has accumulated quite a few Silly Bandz. Silly Bandz are silicone rubber bands formed into shapes and worn as bracelets. The kids collect and trade them like crazy. They are all the rage!!!


August 25th – Mattea starts soccer next week, so we had to buy her soccer gear – shoes, socks, shin guards and a ball. She looked too cute all decked out! I mean, who doesn’t wear a sparkly vest to play soccer these days???


August 26th – Josh and Alex were goofing around today and Alex put Josh on his shoulders. It makes me so happy to see my kids playing together happily.


August 27th – Mattea had an upset tummy today, so she stayed home from school. I made her some “teddy bear toast” and it seemed to cheer her up. Thanks for the great idea, Grandma Judie!!!

Picture of the Day -- Week 33

August 14th – Jeff eats eggs for breakfast most mornings. We saw this cute omelet pan at Home Goods and thought it would work perfectly to give him another option for breakfast.


August 15th – Alex & Mattea gave Cody a bath this morning. It was quite entertaining to watch. I think they were wise to do it in their swimsuits because when he shook the water off of himself, they got soaked!


August 16th – This is Mattea’s bike tire that we had to put out for the trash because once she learned to ride her bike, she never stopped without skidding!!! She must have older brothers…


August 17th – We went school supply shopping for Alex and I couldn’t believe all the stuff he needed. We got spoiled in elementary school because we were able to buy school supply kits online. It was much more expensive this time around!


August 18th – Once again, Alex orchestrated some fun for the neighbor kids. They were playing some game and got all dressed up in costumes.


August 19th – We made pretzel hugs for Mattea’s kindergarten class. This week, they are studying the letter “M”. (Yes, I know pretzels starts with the letter “P”, but there are M&M’s on top. Get it???)


August 20th – I know it might be surprising, but the Dolan kids seem to have a tough time keeping track of their library books. So, I ordered this cute bag and it hangs on the door to the laundry room. When the kids aren’t reading their library books, they are kept in the bag. When it’s Library Day, they take them out of the bag and return them to the library at school!

Picture of the Day -- Week 32

August 7th – I saw Goober Grape at the grocery store and I just couldn’t resist introducing the kids to it. They were super excited to try it!


August 8th – Let’s play a game. It’s called “Where’s Mattea?”.


August 9th – Alex lined up his stuffed animals on the stairs one day when he was trying to entertain himself while Josh & Mattea were at school.


August 10th – It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago when Indy didn’t want anything to do with the little puppy we brought home. Now, Cody and Indy hang out together all day long.

August 11th – Alex wanted to cool off, so he filled a bucket with water and hopped in! Mattea couldn’t resist joining in on the fun!

August 12th – Often, my desk becomes a dumping grounds for everything… mail, school papers, work papers, my iPod, etc. Today was one of those days. It drives Jeff crazy, so it doesn’t stay this messy for long.

August 13th – Summer is the perfect time to ride your bike… in your bikini and flip flops… with one white tire and one black tire because you skidded through the other one. : )

Picture of the Day -- Week 31

July 31st – Since Mattea learned to ride her two-wheeler, it was time to initiate her to a Dolan family bike ride. We didn’t go as far or as fast as we normally go, but 5 miles for her first family bike ride on a two-wheeler was an awesome start!


August 1st – We were so excited that Missy & her family made time on their trip to Colorado to stop over for a visit. It was wonderful to meet Ella and hear about their life in Chicago.


August 2nd – This is Alex’s latest Lego creation. He has been creating with his Legos quite a bit since Josh & Mattea went back to school.


August 3rd – Tonight is the first night of adult pick-up volleyball at Lifetime Fitness. I got the volleyball out to practice a little bit and before I knew it, I was surrounded by the neighbor kids who all wanted to play. Needless to say, I didn’t get a lot of practicing in!!!


August 4th – Alex loves his dog. He loves to lie on the floor and snuggle him or just use him for a pillow. Cody doesn’t seem to mind.


August 5th – Josh has a creative mind. Apparently, he couldn’t go fast enough on his roller blades, so he borrowed the neighbor kid’s motor scooter to increase his speed!!!


August 6th – This print is in my office so I see it everyday. I hope to check at least one thing off this to-do list everyday of my life. (Hopefully, not just the “eat ice cream” one.)