When the Lundstroms came to town.

I love the chaos of a full house.  Loved ones chatting, the refrigerator door opening and closing when someone's looking for a snack, and the delightful sounds of family loving our girl - and her loving them back.  And who better to be the instigators of those wonderful sounds than grandparents?  In the span of only a few weeks, we were lucky enough to host Grandma Sally, then Papa and Grandma Pat.  Needless to say, Ava was in heaven.

Here are a few highlights from the long weekend with the Lundstroms:

First, we headed up to the mountains for a short hike.

Ava had to borrow Grandma's sunglasses and hat.  It was bright up there!

Sometimes you just gotta dig.

Then followed that up with an afternoon at Heritage Village.

They didn't want to let her ride the horse unless she held onto the saddle horn.  As you are probably well aware, Sister is not so keen on being told what to do, so after "politely" refusing to do what they asked she decided to walk away without a ride.  This was attempt number 2, and she managed to skirt the rules just enough to feel like she won.  That's my girl.

The next day was just as beautiful as the one before, so we spent it at Belleview Park. 

Despite a rather disturbing cough, this little guy was a favorite.  I had no idea a goat could even get a cough.

"I got this, Grandma."

Then there was this moment:

And sometimes you just gotta run half-naked through the yard carrying a purse and wearing someone else's hat.

But I think the best part of the whole weekend was watching Ava fly a kite all by herself. 

Thanks for a wonderful weekend, guys!  Can't wait to see you again soon!

First Day of School

I (as usual) have lots to catch up on, but a very important milestone was reached here yesterday, so I wanted to make sure I gave you an update.  Ava started preschool!  Now, since all of you know me, I'm sure it will come as no surprise to any of you that this was a source of great stress to me.  Late at night my brain would conjure up helpful thoughts such as, "What if she doesn't make friends?  What if she's scared?  What if her teachers are distant cousins of that creepy witch from Oz that they dropped the house on?" 

See what I mean?  Helpful.

You will be pleased to know that my neurosis was completely unwarranted.  Our brave girl walked right in like she owned the place, grabbed some toys, and proceeded to play.  Here are some pictures of her completely ignoring me.  Since that's what she did until I kissed her goodbye, these are the only pics I have to show you.

No need to drop any houses on these teachers.  They're pretty nice.

Today was Day 2, and once again I was so proud of my sweet girl.  She walked in, laid claim to a bin full of animals, and turned to confidently ask three little girls if they wanted to play.  Ava and I were both pleased to hear them say that they did. 

On days like this, I love being wrong.



This bed is juuuuuuust right.

Grandma and Grandpa Lundstrom came to visit for the long weekend, and immediately began doting on their only granddaughter.  Grandma took bedtime duty the first night...

And never came back.

The weekend handed us some gorgeous weather, and was full of fabulous activities.  Stay tuned for all the details!

Time with Grandma.

We love when Grandma comes to visit.  Not only does she spoil Ava rotten, (and take care of all the laundry) but she also gives us an excuse to pull out all the stops when it comes to enjoying the fun Colorado has to offer. 


You may remember that about this time last year we paid a visit to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. This incredible place is famous not only for its amazing mountain views, but also for - in my humble opinion - the coolest thing ever: a real-life, up close and personal encounter with a family of giraffes.

And don't forget the world's fastest carousel.  We had to ride that twice.

A little snack by one of the caves.

We also spent time at the museum (sorry, no pics), and the Botanic Gardens.

But just in case you think we refused to let Grandma relax at all, here's a little proof that we did spend some lazy days painting tiny bird houses...

And drinking our juice out by the pool.

It was a wonderful 2 weeks.  Thanks for everything, Grandma!  We can't wait to see you again once Baby Sister makes her debut!

Just to see the splash.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that technology - for the most part - is a good thing.  But I have to admit that when I see a table full of people out to dinner, all of them absorbed in some gadget or another, it really gets under my skin.  Have people really reached a point where they have to be constantly entertained at the expense of human interaction?

This is one of the reasons I love being a mom.  Having Ava gives me so many reasons to be in the moment.  She teaches me to be patient, and to remember what it means to take joy in the little things.  If I were to miss the look of pure delight on her face when she spots a butterfly at the Botanic Gardens because I'm checking email, what a loss that would be for both of us.

So if you ever find yourself wishing that life would slow down a little bit, arrange to spend some time with a child in your life. Start by taking them to the nearest body of water, give them a handful of pebbles, and watch as they throw them in for no other reason than to see the splash.  And leave the phone in the car.

Oh, and just once, jump into a waterfall with all your clothes on.

You won't regret it.

Coming soon:  Fun with Grandma!

Once again, better late than never.

I know it's been a few weeks, but I wanted to make sure I finished up the Easter post.  Cuz Baby Girl dyed some serious Easter eggs, and nobody should have to miss that.

My instructions were minimal: Take the egg, and put it gently into the color you want.  When you're ready, take the egg out and place it - gently - into the bowl.  This was loosely translated to: Hold the egg 3 to 4 inches above the cup, then drop.  Turns out my way didn't hold a candle to hers.

Each egg was dipped by hand in color after color until the desired hue was achieved, then placed with satisfaction into the bowl.  Miraculously, they would up with relatively few cracks, and were arguably the most beautiful Easter eggs either of us had ever seen. 

Her hands were still green the next day.  Totally worth it.

I think we should find something to dye for every holiday.

Happy (belated) Easter!

Easter Egg-stravaganza!

Saturday was Ava's first public Easter egg hunt.  When Andy first approached me with the idea for taking her, I have to admit the images that flashed through my head were not happy ones.  Thanks to a couple of recent newspaper articles, I pictured a chaotic scene full of hundreds of greedy children, egged on by pushy parents willing to drop-kick the nearest kid for a shot at getting just one more egg into their basket.  I was sure first-aid would be required, and the mere idea of subjecting Ava to this nightmare sent shivers down my spine.  But, unwilling to be a total Easter killjoy (and making sure to give myself full rights to call the whole thing off the minute I smelled trouble) I gave in.  We grabbed Ava's Easter basket and headed to a nearby school, hoping for the best.

I'm so glad I did.  Instead of the aforementioned horror show, we were greeted with games run by sweet, smiling teenagers, cotton candy and popcorn machines, bounce houses, and an egg hunt, organized by age and featuring literally thousands of plastic eggs filled with top-notch candy.  And as for Ava?  You'd think she did this for a living.  She waited behind the line for the hunt to begin, and when the signal was finally given she knew exactly what to do.  Frankly, she was brilliant.  Instead of simply stepping over the line and snatching up the first thing she saw like all the other kids, she took off like a shot and claimed a treasure-filled spot all her own. 

She hunted like a champ until she figured out the eggs had chocolate inside.  She was pretty single-minded after that.

 

The day was a hit.  She loved the games...

She was supposed to stand about 10 feet back and throw the torpedo thingy through the hoop.  She thought that was a stupid idea.

Was baffled by the cotton candy...

"Ok, so you're trying to tell me this is food?  I'm pretty sure I just pulled some of this out of a teddy bear this morning."

And capped the whole experience with a "drive" through a nearby park. 

She's laughing because she's using the car to pretend to run over her dad.

Happy Easter, all!  Tomorrow I'll get to our adventures in egg dying.  Stay tuned...