Football!

Logan has officially started his first season in football. He is a member of the Monument Blizzard. They are the defending state champions in the PeeWee division. As of today, they are 4-0, and have outscored their opponents 139-19. I think they could be on their way to a repeat championship! I'm so glad Logan is enjoying himself. I am also thankful that Ed is willing (and available) to drive him all the way to Monument 3 days a week for practice! Good luck Logan and Go Blizzard!

First Day of School

So...somehow I forgot to take a picture of Logan on the first day of middle school. I'm pretty sure I was so preoccupied with getting each child to the correct bus stop at the correct time that I just forgot. Sorry buddy. However, I do have a distant, blurry shot of his waiting for the bus. I was that mother who refused to leave until I actually saw my kid get on the bus. I'm paranoid like that.

I managed to get this quick shot of Tyler before he took off for the bus. Such a Tyler pose...and it was a bit chilly that morning, so he wore a sweater. I haven't seen the sweater since. I'm sure it's already found a spot in lost and found.

If you look close, you can see Tyler's feet about to get in the school bus. That's how fast he took off. I couldn't even get my camera to reset in time.

This was after the first day of school. Tyler is walking towards me on the sidewalk and Logan is in front of the brick wall. In the mornings, they get on different buses in different places. Tyler's is on our corner, while Logan's is 2 blocks over. Somehow they end up on the same bus in the afternoon. I'm still not sure how that happens. I guess as long as they get home, I'll try not to worry about it.

Logan's 11th Birthday

I can hardly believe that Logan is already 11. Where did that little boy go who used to answer every question with an adorable shrug and an "I don't know!" He has grown into such an amazing, smart, generous, and loving young man. He has started middle school, which is just another reminder of how old he is getting! I'm so glad he was home form Michigan in time to celebrate his big day. We love you Logan!!!


The kitchen all decked out for the birthday rock star!

Every birthday morning starts with a cinnamon roll cake and presents! I think his favorite one by far was his new PSP.

Logan decided that he wanted a PSP for his birthday in lieu of a big birthday party, so we took him, and friend, and Tyler to Mr. Biggs for the afternoon. They had so much fun! Then it was home for a yummy Harry Potter birthday cake!

At the Braves game...

It had been almost 3 years since we last went to a Braves game. Obviously, making it to Atlanta is a bit of a task, and they only play the Rockies in Denver for one series. Usually that series is during the week while school is going on, so it's hard to get up there. This year, we were able to go because it was in July. Logan was flying to Detroit on the Tuesday of the second game, so we decided to go to the game the night before so Logan could go with us, and we stayed at a hotel to avoid driving back to Falcon only to drive back to Denver the next morning. The boys love staying in hotels...especially when they get to swim-which they did before the game.

Apparently we picked a good game to go to because we won. I don't think they were as successful the remaining nights. The weather was warm, but we had seats under an upper level, so we wer enice and cool. We had tons of fun, and I hope we get to go back next summer. The Braves hit 2 home runs-in the same inning. I was doing a family food run. I missed it. That's life. There is a collage of pics at the bottom.

I miss my boy...

Okay, okay...he hasn't even been gone 24 hours, but I already miss Logan like crazy. I've never been a fan of leaving the boys with babysitters or letting them spend the night with other people. I just think they're "safer" when they're with me. It took all the willpower within me at the airport yesterday to not play 20 questions with the airline workers. You know...like, in the event of an emergency, is someone going to actually CARE for my child? I just pictured that other plane landing in the middle of that river and how they were talking about water filling the back of the plane and picking up kids...was someone going to pick up my kid? What if there was a need to land somewhere other than Detroit? Was someone going to watch my kid until he could get on another plane? Would they feed him? Find him an electrical outlet to charge his DS? Let him call his mother?

Tyler tracked Logan's flight on my iPad most of the afternoon. It always said IN FLIGHT. What else would it say? CRASHING? IN GREAT LAKE? SEARCHING NOW? I was only relieved when it finally said LANDED-45 minutes after its scheduled landing. I don't know what I would have done if both the boys had been on the plane together. Ed would've committed me.

Of course, Logan called as soon as he got to his grandma, and hearing how excited he was made me happy that he was there. Now I can relax until next Thursday, when we get to do it all again. Until then, I'll try not to worry about every time he gets in a vehicle and on a road in Michigan.

Happy Birthday Ed!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Ed...Happy Birthday to you!!!

Football Camp

Logan had such a great time at football camp this week. It was put on by some current and former NFL players and was held at UCCS. Ed and I liked the way they also focused on character traits, instead of just football skills. I have never seen Logan more motivated than he was this week. He was ready to go every morning and never complained even once of being too hot or tired. We got to watch him scrimmage on Friday, and he did so well. I can't believe how big he is. He starts tackle football on August 1st, so we'll get to see him put his new skills to work.

Pikes Peak

One of the most fantastic things about living in Colorado Springs is the amazing view every morning out our windows of Pikes Peak. We decided to take the boys up there as part of my Cayson's birthday. Logan, Tyler, and Tanner went to the top a couple of years ago when my parents came up to visit. It was the end of May, but by the time the cog made it to the top, the winds were blowing over 50mph sometimes, and the windchill was below zero! It was snowing like crazy and once we got up to a certain elevation, you couldn't see anything. Logan and Tyler-between living in Germany and Colorado-are used to brutal cold, so the snow and wind in their faces didn't bother them so much. Tanner-on the other hand-panicked and was insisting that he couldn't breathe! It was quite the ordeal!

This time was much better though, as you can tell by the pictures. Instead of winter coats, scarves, and gloves, all we needed were some sweatshirts and long pants. The temperature was 38degrees at the summit, but it wasn't all that bad. A thunderstorm had just passed through, so I think that's why it was cooler. We didn't realize how much stuff was at the summit because when we went before, it was snowing like crazy and everything was covered in snow and ice. So, it was nice to see more this time. The boys had some hot chocolate and donuts before we got on the cog to head back down. We had so much fun!



At the summit

My heart was racing while I was taking this picture. I was petrified of someone falling off!

Some pictures from the summit and the train.

More pictures from the train...we did not see all of this on our first trip a couple of years ago!

Fun in Texas!

We spent a week in Texas in early June. The boys got to see their Mimi and Pawpaw, Aunt Tracy, Aunt Katie, and Uncle Cody. Aunt Emily was sick, and the boys were sad they didn't get to see her, too. Of course, they spent lots of time with their cousins-Tanner, Cayson, and Brynley. What better to do in the hot Texas heat than go play at the sprinkler park in Cameron Park??? They also had races on the Slip-n-Slide.

Summer Fun...

We decided to pack up the RV and held out for a little camping trip. We decided to go back to the Great Sand Dunes because we really wanted to take the boys sledding on the sand and let them play in the mountain snow melt-off that forms a creek through the sand dunes during the summer. When we went over Easter, it was still snowing, but they told us to come back in June and there would be run-off. Well, long story short, they only had 13% of their annual snowfall, so the runoff only lasted about a week, instead of all of June and most of July-and it was completely dry. Oh well-we thought-we'll go sledding. Let me tell you, I don't know how the people in the pictures do it because we could not figure it out. There were lots of other people trying, and none of us ever did it successfully. Total bummer!

However, we did have a fantastic time at Zapata Falls. We couldn't go over Spring Break because you have to actually walk through the creek to get into the crevice where the waterfall actually is. Our pictures don't do it justice because you can't see how high it really is because it's blocked by rocks in the camera shot. The water was so cold on our feet! It was so much fun though and the waterfall was amazing. For some reason, my camera was having a hard time focusing, so the pictures weren't too good.

These are some pictures from Zapata Falls.

Thank goodness there wasn't a burn ban in Mosca! Otherwise there would not have been any smores, either!

What is a trip to the sand dunes without burying your cousins?

The boys did some fishing at San Luis Lake. The little boys were "old man" fishing!


Here are some more pictures from Zapata Falls. Once you entered that cave, the temperature dropped at least 15 degrees!

The Villas at Grand Cypress

Cheyenne Mountain Resort gifted us with a week's stay at the fabulous resort. The villa we stayed at was so wonderful that I could've stayed there every single day. There was a nice pool that the boys liked to swim at. All I can say is that I definitely want to go back here! As guests at the villas, we could go down the road to the Hyatt and use their wonderful facilities. I'm sure I have the pictures on another camera, but I have yet to find them! Stay tuned...

Spring Break in Orlando

Over spring break, we went on a fabulous trip to Orlando. We took the boys to Downtown Disney and Universal Studios, and we all had a blast! We stayed at a great resort called The Villas at Grand Cypress. It was absolutely beautiful. We were able to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which was by far my personal highlight of the trip. The weather could not have been any better, either.

The boys got to make these awesome remote controlled cars in Downtown Disney. You literally picked out every component of the car and built it yourself. You had the option of making the car free-rolling or remote-controlled, so of course the boys made their remote controlled. They were actually a beneficial souvenir...when we were stuck at the airport for hours, the entertained themselves-and others-in an empty gate area.

We also had fun in Seuss-land. All the rides were based on Dr. Seuss books, and there were plenty of characters running around. It was really cool to see all the books come to life.

We finally made it to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I was so excited, I could hardly stand it. The park looked just like a scene out of the movies-Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the train, the shops...it was amazing! I can't find some more of our pictures, so I'll have to keep looking. It was so much fun!

These are just some random pictures from Universal Studios and Hard Rock Cafe. I can't even begin to explain how much fun we had together! I hope we can go again...

Soccer with Tyler

Tyler's favorite sport has always been soccer. He seems to get better and better with every season. One of these days he might actually grow out of his jersey. I think this is the fourth season he has worn it. What do I love about his soccer program? They practice and play at the park across the street from our house! I love being able to just run across the street and watch him practice and play. Ed works with him a lot, and it is really starting to show. I love looking at the pictures of him playing because you can really see that he is understanding what he has been taught. Great job this year, Tyler!

Bugz!

The first and second grade classes at Pikes Peak Elementary performed a musical called Bugz! It was such a great show to watch, not only because it was my own class, but because it was Tyler, too!! One of the perks to having Tyler at my school this year was being able to see him and Logan do everything. When I was at Pikes Peak and they were at Woodmen Hills, it was so much harder to be a part of their lives at school. Thank goodness I could always count on Ed to be there for them. I will miss Tyler and Logan this next school year. Since Logan will be going to Falcon Middle School, we decided it made more sense to send Tyler back to Woodmen Hills. Tyler wasn't too happy about leaving his new friends behind, but he will be able to make more neighborhood friends.

5th Grade Graduation

It seems like just yesterday that Logan started kindergarten in Germany. His backpack was almost as big as he was, and he so excited to start school. I'm so happy to say that Logan still loves school just as much as he did that day. He is such a smart and bright boy. I do not doubt that he will do something amazing with his life. He graduated from 5th grade this year, and he will be starting middle school this year. I cannot even believe I'm saying that about my little boy! We are so proud of you, Logan! We know you will do great in middle school!