Cousins*

As someone who grew up with a crazy number of cousins, I think it's strange that my daughters don't (and likely won't) have true cousins. By that, I mean none of their aunts and uncles will have children of their own. This used to bother me quite a bit because I thought they would be missing out. Luckily I was wrong. They have cousins even if they're not related by blood. I love seeing them together. Love it. Our favorites are Audrey and Clive (Aunt Erin & Uncle Adam) who live close by, but the girls couldn't get enough of Falon (Pappy & Grammie's granddaughter) and little John John (Pappy & Grammie's grandson) was just too cute for words.

And a surprise bonus! We have cousins Selah and Elise! Score! I'm so blessed to have my cousin Andy and his wife feel like my girls can call their girls "cousins." Watching them all together made my heart sing.

Life is good even if not how I always pictured it.

Camping makes me happy

Father's Day Camping

It's become a tradition and I love it. This year, we added collecting heart-shaped rocks, badminton, making friends with trees and rock climbing to bocce ball and card games to the list of fun activities that make our camping trips all the more unique and special for our family.

Wordless Wednesday

90's Day

Ellie had 90's Day at camp and I found myself surprised that my decade is now a themed day! Crazy. I'm thinking Ellie's version is really a cross between 80's and 90's but she insisted that knotting her shirt was a 90's thing and didn't believe me when I tried to correct her. What do I know? It's not like I grew up at that time. Oh no, that would just be dating me. At least we got the grunge thing down!

Happy Grandpa's Day

This year for Father's Day we went a bit out of this world...

(sadly I don't have a photo of the monsters Addie drew for Pappy. I'll update the post if I can get a copy)

Makes me smile

Murder in the Kitchen

Addie: Mommy, I have something really sad to tell you. There. Is. A. DEAD. Avocado. On. The. Kitchen. Floor!

Where are my pants???

Ellie told me to not look at her picture until AFTER we left the office. I had to wait until the next time I came into the office to see the lovely treasure she left for me to enjoy.

Passive Aggressive

After a conversation where Ellie learned that we do not plan on letting her live with us forever, we stopped by my office to take care of a few things.

Hats

Most of the time my girls will where a hat if I suggest doing so, but I love it when one of them randomly asks me if she can borrow a hat for the day. They will be molded!!! (enter evil laugh here)

Time with Ellie

This entire week I have had to pick Ellie up from her Innovation Academy summer camp, eat lunch with her, then take her to daycare. To say that it has been enjoyable is simply not giving it enough credit. This day we sat and had a picnic and laughed and laughed and laughed. In pictures it was one of those precious parenting moments that any parent dreams about.

In reality, the laughter is because she kept tooting and fanning the smell towards me. They don't include those details in those picture-perfect movies, do they?

Famous FINALLY

Ellie made it to the front page of the Longmont Times Call newspaper with a story about the Innovation Academy camp she's in. What did Ellie think of this?

ELLIE: I am FINALLY famous!

I'm glad that after 7 years of hard work, she has FINALLY made it!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Today was my birthday and boy was I busy! You may ask what I did to celebrate so below is a summary of all that I accomplished on my birthday. I'd love to know how you celebrate yours!

My day started by me thinking about how fortunate I feel and how there are so many people out there who are not as lucky as I am. Lucky? Is it luck? Maybe not. Maybe it's just hard work, but that's not the point. There are people out there who are lost in one way or another. Some may be finding themselves without a home. Some without a hope. Some without a friend who cares. Whatever the reason for them feeling lost, I wanted to help. If only I could spend a bit of time helping them out?

Then it dawned on me! I had a brilliant idea and I got straight to work providing a stable home to many children who have found themselves and their siblings to be orphans. They now can live in a supportive, community environment where they can grow into caring, productive, self-reliant adults. And the best part? They can stay with their siblings! Why did I spend my day doing this? It's simple. Because every child deserves a home. SOS Children's Villages Illinois

Then I got to thinking... these children have been separated from all they know. They need something to hold on to. So I spent a bit of time to pass out bags to help the kids feel like they can still keep some of their prized belongings that have been a constant in their turbulent lives. Sometimes they just need something to hold on to. My Stuff Bags Foundation


Time for lunch and a bit of Lemonade. I personally sponsored many small lemonade stands across the country, each with a noble cause: fighting childhood cancer, one cup at a time. I think the lemonade stands shoudl be able to stay in business for quite some time now. Sometimes it's the smallest, most meek souls who prove to be the bravest and most influential. Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation

By now it was time for my afternoon nap. Not really, but I do think my brain needed a bit of a recharge, which is a MUST-Do if one wants to inspire excellence, confidence and curiosity. When I look at my Ellie and my Addie, I see two souls who love nothing more than to learn, learn and then learn some more. If it stops being fun, then that spark will slowly fade. No way! I don't think so! Not on my watch! MathCounts Foundation

After my recharge, I was ready to tackle the world again and what better way to do that than through science! Addie would be proud! After all, there is nothing better than science transforming life. I helped to provide the best integrated and innovative care for patients and their families for various diseases. Someday, patient care will be transformed to become both proactive and personalized instead of simply reactive and victimized. National Jewish Health

When I finally had a chance to sit down and catch my breath, I got to thinking about beginnings and endings. It's not just about the magic that happens in between. What if I could provide sunny starts and bright futures too? So that's what I spent my afternoon doing - pressing Start Over buttons for many children who didn't know they even had such a thing. Bright Beginnings

On the way home, my mind wondered to endings. Every good book has an ending, right? It's easy to say that when one door closes another one opens but what if you feel like you're just stuck in a box? I decided to take a detour on the way home and provide a new sense of hope and healing for those who are grieving from the loss of a loved one. Somehow I managed to cram a year's worth of counseling into just a few moments but sometimes even the ending of a book needs to be modified. Sometimes the unspeakable happens and you need ways to figure out how to find your voice again. Judi's House

By the time I got home I was exhausted! I managed to do quite a bit in my one day. I would have also liked to spend a bit of time banning the sell of children (Traffick911) or host a bake sale (Cookies for Kids' Cancer) but really? There is only so much that one person can do in one day before running out of time and resources!

So... Tell me... What do you do to pass the time on your birthday?

Ariel's lost song to Eric

This one didn't make it to the sound track as I believe the recording was tragically lost during the production of the movie...

(Ellie singing with a up-beat sassy tune)
Do you like my undies?
Do you like it?
Do you like it?
Do you want to see my undies?
Oh yeah.
They have polka dots.
Do you like it?
Uh huh. Uh huh.
You like it you like it.
I know you do!
Polka... Dot... Undies!!!

Cure for the Grumpies

For those of you who are parents, or maybe even those who are not... If you ever happen to find yourself driving a car filled with grumpy people and you've asked around for ideas on how to fix the problem only to discover a car full of grumpy people whose grumpies are preventing them from being able to use their heads... I have a solution for you!!!!

Find yourself a good round-about in the road. They're more common out East, but I assure you that they're getting more and more popular everywhere. Not only are they wonderful inventions for traffic flow, but they're a perfect cure for incurable grumpies in three simple steps:

1. Enter the round-about without saying a word.
2. Stay in the round-about without saying a word.
3. Leave the round-about only after every single passenger is laughing because it's so silly.