That is pretty much all I can say right now.
I turned around and this boy….
has turned into this big kid…..
I feel like we blinked and he is already done with elementary school.
Middle school.
Wow.
This kid is growing up.
Wow.
It definitely goes way too fast for this momma. That is for sure.
Yes, that is the name of the picnic.
Every year, one of the second grade teachers invites all the second graders and their families out to her horse ranch in Fairplay for a day full of fun. There were horse rides, lunch, a seed spitting contest and lots of other “ranchy” stuff. The kids were running from the minute we arrived and didn’t stop until we hit the car. It was a great day for all.
This was the only picture of Paige (our second grader) from the whole day. She was so busy with her friends that I couldn’t get her to stand still for a picture. I guess she had a good time:)
Mrs. B told Sam that he was a natural on the horse. He told me that his knuckles turned white because he was so afraid he might fall off.
I love Mason’s little face in this picture. He was waiting his turn at the sunflower seed spitting contest.
Alice and her two besties, Adam and Lilly. Where they go, so does she. We are so happy that she has made two awesome friends. The three musketeers, for sure.
Even Scott got in on the seed spitting action. The parent competition got pretty heated:)
It was a fantastic day for all of us. The weather has been gorgeous and the days long and sunny. We are blessed to live in this beautiful place, surrounded by such wonderful people. Blessed indeed.
Jennifer
Today, along with 3 other 5th graders from his school, Samuel was give an award from the Elks Lodge of Summit County for outstanding achievement in academics and citizenship. His teacher nominated him and his principal and both fifth grade teachers came to give out the awards. We were so proud of Sam. Momma was pretty teary. He is such an awesome, cool, bright, kind kid. He also still gives the best hugs. We love you Mr. Man.
Quickly approaching the last day of school. I am not kidding when I say it is a race to the end. My mind and my calendar as swirling with picnics, field trips, promotions, gifts, parties and ceremonies. I think I can, I think can…..
Is it nap time yet?
Jennifer
Paigie had her end of the year dance recital tonight. She takes a combination dance class at the rec center in Silverthorne. They have a great program that is fun and very low-key. Right up our alley:) Paige’s class danced four routines including ballet, tap and hip hop. She did a great job and we were very proud of her. She is very timid and isn’t a fan of being in front of people so for her to get up on stage is a huge accomplishment. The pictures were horrible so here are just a couple. She has another performance tomorrow for one of the elementary schools. I will try to get some better shots then. 
Getting ready. I am not a huge fan of performance make-up but I did let her wear a little blush and mascara. She was pumped! 
I think her favorite thing about the recital (besides the blush and mascara) were the flowers. 
She danced her little heart out and we could not have been prouder of our girl.
Jennifer
Well, we are quickly rounding out the school year and the end is approaching. Doesn’t it kind of come on like one big downhill on your bike. You really want to finish strong but you know the end is like a free fall with a lot of bumps. By this point we are all so ready to be done. Done with homework, packing lunches, keeping track of those pesky library books and on and on……
In two weeks my first-born baby boy will be graduating from 5th grade and I gotta admit that while we Sam is totally ready for middle school, I am a bit sad that he is already becoming a big kid. Everybody says it and at times you crave it and wish time would move more quickly, but the little kid years do go by way too fast.
Sooo, yesterday was the first day that it was nice enough in the morning to bike to school. Thank goodness because it was Bike to School Day. I love this day. All over town kids are riding their little hearts out. When I got to school, I counted three cars in the parking lot. Love. It.
By Paige’s bike computer we are exactly one semi flat mile to school. It is a perfect ride and takes us about 8 minutes as long as we have no collisions or catastrophes (with four kids, it happens).
It is always such a great start to our day when we bike to school. It really minimizes the squabbling in the back seat 🙂
Happy Friday. Everybody take a deep breath. Only two more weeks of school. We can make it 🙂
Jennifer
As most of you know, we are veggieliscious over here at our house. We eat mostly plant-based with a bit of fish thrown in for giggles. For the most part, the kids have adapted pretty well to this diet. We do let them make their own choices when they are out of the house (camp, out with a friend, sleepover, etc.) and they do a pretty good job. Last night at dinner, Sam popped a sweet potato tempura in his mouth and declared that all his friends would eat vegan if they had yummy stuff like this. Just to prove that they are still kids (and human) Sam had a chili cheese hotdog with fries and gravy last week when a friend took him along to Dairy Queen. Scott and I try not to refer to ourselves as vegan, because while we mainly eat a veggie diet, we are not quite ready to give up everything else (like boots) that comes along with it….so we are veggieliscious/plant based/ most herbivores:)
If you are interested in eating plant based or just getting back to nature and encouraging more fruit and vegetables in your diet there are tons of options. These are just a few recipes that are easy meals at our house.
Baked potatoes- top with everything in the fridge. We even splurge and get some soy cheese.
Soup- I usually start with a veggie broth base and go from there. Veggies, lentils, beans, etc. There are also tons of recipes on the web that are completely animal product free.
Pasta- topped with a hearty marinara sauce, sided with some crusty whole wheat bread and a salad. Easy-peasy.
Chipotle-style burritos- this is a family favorite and super healthy. Tortillas, black beans, brown rice, guacamole, pico de galo, sautéed peppers and lettuce. Roll it up and enjoy. Again, if you really like the texture of sour cream, you can buy the tofu sour cream. In my opinion, it doesn’t really taste like anything but either does real sour cream….
Hope you are having a spectacular Tuesday. We are loving our warmer weather. The sun is shining, birds chirping and we are digging out the summer clothes. Have a good one!
Jennifer
I hope you all had a fantastic Mother’s Day! We spent the day working in the yard and getting it all ready for summer. Please don’t snow….please don’t snow….please don’t snow….
Now that I am working a few days a week and Scott is working more than ever with unpredictable hours, we don’t get a lot of time alone without kids in tow. So, we try to get out for some alone time while the kids are in school, which usually happens on Thursday or Friday mornings. Usually we go out for a run but yesterday we were ready for some warmer weather and riding bikes.
We headed down to Denver for some mountain biking and lunch. We started at the Green Mountain trailhead in west Denver. Right off the bat, we were headed up the trail. And more up. And more….well, you get the picture. The views were beautiful from the top and I was wishing that I had my big camera. You could see all of Denver and it seemed that we were higher than even the airplanes. After much deliberation on getting down this mountain, we found a route that I could work with. Once down, I was much happier and had fun playing around with my new bike. We even got a bit muddy:)
After changing and cleaning up we headed into Golden for a quick lunch. We ate at this little Thai restaurant right downtown. I am not sure if it was super yummy or if I was famished after riding my bike into the sky 🙂 Actually, we both enjoyed our lunch and will definitely go back.
Anyway, we had a great day together. We laughed, I cried (a little) and we loved our day without the kiddies. And we wore sandals. I know, right?!!??
Jennifer
This past Sunday, Kristin and I ran the Colorado Half in Fort Collins. We have been training independently (since I moved and abandoned her) and getting in a couple longer runs together. I was hoping to snag an official race picture for this post but as of two minutes ago, they weren’t posted yet. Bummer for you all. The photo guy snapped my picture right as I was popping half a granola bar into my mouth. It could have been worse, believe me.
I never liked running but I decided to start after I had Paige to get back into shape. The nice thing about running is that is costs little or no money. Put on your shoes and go out the door. It is easy. Takes minimal time with all the results. But…I still didn’t really like it.
Once I started running with Kristin, I forgot that it wasn’t any fun and I ***gasp*** started to enjoy myself. It still hurts and I much prefer to run with my friend but I have learned to appreciate running. Even by myself. It seems a bit cheesy but it so much a metaphor for life. Just keep running. It might not feel good. There will probably be a giant hill when you least expect it. It might not always go your way but in the end it was so worth it.
I was really sore on Monday AND Tuesday but feel awesome today. I guess maybe I should have trained more independently 🙂
When people ask me why I run I sometimes reply that I like to eat so I have to run but actually it is mostly for the laughter and friendship that comes along with it. And the twenty year high school reunion in July. Just kidding…sort of.
The Colorado Half was a great race. We started a few miles up the Poudre Canyon and the views were beautiful. The only downside was the 6:30 start time. Loading the bus at 4:45 am was a bit crazy. Thank goodness I was with my partner in crime and that there was coffee (for her) and toilet paper (for me) at the start.
Now that my muscles have gone back to work I can start running again. What should we train for next, Kristin?
Isn’t it funny how as time goes by, all of a sudden, your new friends have become your old friends. And you really don’t notice. It just happens. Sometimes I forget that we have lived in Colorado for 14 years and that many of our friends here have become like family. We had some awesome moments this weekend with those kinds of friends.
Here is a picture of some wonderfully strong woman who have seen me through most of my biggest life moments (jobs, kids, moves) and have always cheered me on. Thanks Vic, Ann, Nikki, Gretchen, Cindy and Annemarie!
I hope you all had a great weekend! Ours was full and busy and so worth it.
Sunday morning I ran the Colorado Half with another amazingly strong friend, Kristin. She keeps me running even when I really want to stop. More on that tomorrow 🙂
Jennifer
Live Your Life 