I can Ride my Bike

She'll be riding around with the big kids before long.
Brad took the training wheels off....

She needs a little help from Dad. She's doing it.
Well Lauren is working on riding her bike....
It's been going okay. Here are some pictures.

First Swim Meet

Well today the boys had their first Swim Meet. It was here at our pool, which makes it very nice. Here are a few pictures.

Austin's JOB

Well our friends were going camping this weekend, and they needed a dogsitter. So Austin is slowly working on a few jobs. He needs to make up a few flyers or business cards. It's nice that our friends are in the neighborhood, and he's had a lot of experience with Scarlet.

Just a busy Day

• Well at Brad's work there is a big old Army water tower that is well recognized for being part of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. And today it was being torn down. Who would be more interested in watching it fall than Austin & Colton. So I took the boys to Brad's work, and had to coordinate picking up Lauren.
• So Grandma & I decided we'd meet in Aurora. While in Aurora, I stopped by to say Hi to Mom, and Guido, Mary and Jaiden. He's getting so big!
• While we were in Aurora, Grandma Becky, Lauren & I decided to have have lunch at Panera Bread. So I called Sonia, and she meet us over there. That was fun, and we should do that more often.
• After lunch, it was off to pick up the boys again, and we had to head home, as we were meeting some friends at the pool. The boys loved watching the big water tower being knocked down. And an awesome bonus, Dave called Brad today, and since the boys were with Brad, they also got to talk to Uncle Dave.
• So unto the pool. It was fun, and the weather was beautiful. But we couldn't stay too long, because Colton had Try-Outs.
• Colton was invited to tryout for the 9-10 year old All Star Team for Northern Lights. We were very excited about this. As we arrived, we discovered, that on Monday's tryouts there were a lot of 10 year olds. And they were very good. So we'll just have to see how it goes.

We're home

Well we made it home safely, and we're all back to reality. Lauren drove home with Grandma & Grandpa, so she's still on vacation. The boys and I had a hard time getting up for swim team...Just kidding, I slept in and the boys were on their own. I love that the pool is just 2 blocks away. We did have some errands to run. We only got a few things done. And we decided that the boys and I would go to the Rockies game tonight. It was a delayed game from the first week of the season, so there was a free giveaway, and we wanted it. The giveaway, was a replica trophey for being the National League Champions. So we just got some rockpile (cheap seats), and went to the game. The boys had never sat in the rockpile before. But we had fun, and Brad was able to come home from work and have the house to himself.

Father's Day

Well today is the last day of vacation, so Brad gets to spend Father's Day in the car.... But we did spend all week together, and so having to spend Father's day coming home wasn't too bad.

The Arch

The Clingmans In St. Louis

The Arch

The River is covering a street

Well we have not been to the Arch in about 9 years, Colton was just 6 months old. So what better time to go, since the kids should all be able to remember it. So here are a few pictures. Grandma and Grandpa decided to break up the long trip home, so Lauren drove home with them. They left late this afternoon, and Lauren slept a lot in the car.
In the bottom picture you can see some of the flooding starting in St. Louis. It's expected to rise 8 feet in the next 2 days.

The Cardinals

Well tonight we had tickets for a Cardinals and Phillies game. We got there a little early and walked around the entire stadium. It's very pretty. Unfortunately, the score didn't go the way we wanted it to. Brad's had a spot for the Cardinals, and we don't have anything against the Cards unless they are playing the Rockies. Well we didn't want to see the Phillies blast the Cards. The final score was 22 to 1, Phillies. But we still had fun, it was a great night for a game.

Stargate

Well when we got into the car today, I checked my voicemail on my phone. I was surprised to have any messages. But the one message was a good one. We had applied for Lauren to go to another charter shool called, Stargate. In March, we received word that they didn't have any openings for her. Well today, they called and said they had a spot for her. Stargate is closer, and she won't have to wear uniforms. This does change a lot of plans for the upcoming school year. Lauren will now go to school in the mornings. And I had originally said that if Lauren went to Stargate, that I wouldn't work this year. So we'll just see how the rest of the summer goes....

And Monday, I guess I will be registering her at Stargate.

Ozarks Day 4

Well it's hard to believe it's time for everyone to head home. The weather was beautiful all week, and of course today, it rained. We will miss everyone, but are glad this trip was a huge success.
We are headed now to Saint Louis. To check out the Arch, and of course to take in a ballgame. Grandpa John and Grandma Becky are coming with us. Colton will drive this part of the trip with them. We had plans for Grandpa & Grandma Summy, and Uncle Rod & Aunt Debbie to join us in St. Louis. But unfortunately the weather has other plans. The Summy's live very close to the Mississippi in Iowa, and they will be helping cousin Aaron and his family move things from their house, as they live right across the street from the Mississippi. I hope all this flooding stops soon.

Ozarks Day 3

We all had fun again on the water, and at the pool. After dinner we gave Grandma Lucille and Grandpa Deane an anniversary present. And we took family pictures for the frame. They should have lots of good pictures to choose from. We also went to Race Go-Karts tonight. We should of just rented out the whole place. That was a lot of fun too. The boys were both tall enough to drive themselves.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow we have to leave. Time has gone by too fast.

Ozarks Day 2

Well, the boys were off fishing early this morning. We could hardly keep track of them, as the camp we stayed at was huge and they just would hang out with everyone. Uncle Terry bought Colton a fishing pole, so he was in heaven... There were lots of trips on the boats. Brad tried water skiing. And Austin and I tried to ride a jetski together. I let him drive, and it just didn't work out for us. So I rode for a little bit by myself. It was fun! And tonight there was the birthday party. After that some of the gang, stayed up to play games. Now the boys are hooked on this dice game called farkle, thanks to Aunt Dee. We need to get the rules so they can play at home.

Ozarks Here we come

Well we had a short drive today to the Lake of the Ozarks for our Family Reunion. The place were we stayed was very nice. It was fun to see everyone. The kids and Brad went on a nice evening boat ride.

Steamboat Arabia

Well we had heard from Uncle Rod, that there was this cool museum to go to in KC. So we went, it really is fascinating. A precivil war ship sunk, and years later was dug up out of a farmers field. It was a lot of fun! We also wanted to go to a few other museums, but a lot of them were closed on Mondays. Grandma, Lauren and I wanted to go to the Hallmark Headquarters, but it was closed. The boys all went to a Museum of Airline History. As you can imagine Austin was in Heaven.

Our Trip to the Ozarks

Not much today, we left early this morning, and drove all day. Our first stop before the Ozarks it Kansas City. There was a crazy rain storm right before Kansas City. And that's where we lost some time. We left about an hour and a half before Grandma & Grandpa, and Austin, and they arrived at the hotel within 20 minutes of us.

Austin is Going with Grandma

Well tomorrow we are headed on our vacation to the Ozarks. We decided to take Brad's car, and we thought it might be good to split the kids up. So Austin was picked up this afternoon to ride with Grandma and Grandpa. They will listen to a book on tape, and Austin will enjoy time with them. See you in Kansas City Austin.

Colton's Pitching Again

Colton had his last game of the season today. He played starting pitcher, and almost pitched a complete game. He made it all the way to the 5th inning, with 2 outs. His last batter he hit with the ball, and so with that pitch, his pitch count was 70. Which is the limit for his age. But his team won. They have really been playing well the second part of the season.
And tonight Colton had his Baseball Picnic at Coach's house. His coach has a great little house that is perfect for all the kids to play, either baseball or football. And the assistant coach's wife, made a team DVD. It was very awesome!!

Kelly's Baby Shower

Today, I had Kelly's Baby Shower. I rode down with her, Annabelle, her mom, and her friend. So we had a nice time, and I heard lots of fun stories about Kelly. The Shower was very nice. And Annabelle's new sister will be here very soon.

#11 Brad Hawpe

Well today, Brad took a half day and wanted to take the kids to Elitch's again.... So we meet at the Sofa Mart close to downtown, so he could get the kids. I have been looking for some bookshelves, and so I was wandering around the SofaMart. As I was looking I spotted this guy who looked just like Brad Hawpe, (for those of you who don't know, he's the right fielder for the Rockies.) So in comes Brad, and I told him to please verify for me if it was really Brad Hawpe. He confirmed it was really him. Poor Brad Hawpe, after he knew, that I recognized him, he sat down and was ordering some furniture. I never said anything to him, I guess I was nervous. But I'm glad I had a witness, since Brad still speculates, about my Todd Helton run in at Chick-fil-A last year.
The really cool thing about seeing Brad Hawpe, was that prior to today, he has been on the disabled list. He started in the game tonight, and scored the game winning homerun!!

Pool Today

Well we went to the pool today, and 2 of my kids from school were there. They were so cute to see, and play with. We took up most of the pool, since the other neighborhood kids are still in school. The boys, and Lauren all had fun. And Colton had a baseball game tonight. I learned yesterday, that using paper plates and cups is the thing to do when you have 6 kids.

My Three Boys

Today, we had some houseguests...Our friends, Isaiah, Graham, & Athan. They will be staying with us until their parents return from Hawaii on Wednesday. So I will have the experience of having 6 kids. The kids are all getting along very well. It has been funny to see how the similar personalities match up, and hang out together. Austin and Graham, are always together. Colton and Isaiah are always together. And Athan will not leave Lauren's side.

10 Year Anniversary

Well today, is Brad's 10 year anniversary of his first job, out of college. It seems hard for me to believe. If you were to ask Brad, he might say it feels longer. I don't know too much about Brad's work. He kinda keeps that to himself. But they have an awesome take your kids to work day. I don't even think he uses his actual civil engineering degree. The project at his job I think is only expected to last 2 more years. So I wonder what he will do next?

It's Saturday

Well today we had a lot going on. We didn't sleep well, as Colton got a prank call at 12:30 this morning. And Brad heard a funny noise outside our bedroom window during the night. When he got up to check on it, he found a racoon, on our deck, chewing the cable wire for our tv. No wonder we've been having trouble. Then, Brad had to get up early, because he had a golf tournament. We had an early morning, because Colton had baseball. And we wanted to put some things out for the community garage sale.... But we had some stuff set out, but then by the time I came back from baseball, a lot of people had already been through the neighborhood. Maybe next time.
But the boys did decide they would try to make money by selling lemonade. So they made a little stand. They worked very hard for the $4.10 that they made. And then they quickly spent their profits, and start up money on ice cream, from the ice cream truck.. Can you believe, the ice cream truck sells $3 popsicles? Austin definately has inherited my spending habbits, so we are going to have to break them.
After that, since the weather was finally nice and sunny, we went to the pool. Lauren brought her friend Bailey.
And the last thing today, was Brad bought me a new camera. I can't wait to start using it. It will help me give you all the best pictures we can of the family. I think I am going to try to actually start printing my pictures. I think that in the last 5 1/2 years since I've had a digital camera, I've only printed out 100 pictures. So once again, please be patient with me and my pictures.... As I have a lot of functions to figure out on this camera.

A Day Off

Well today was our first day of summer vacation. I got up early, and took the boys swim team registation to the coach. Well, I was on automatic pilot.... (the coach lives one street away from our carpool buddy), and I drove as usual to pick up our carpool buddy. Colton had to point out my error. After that we didn't do too much this morning. Lauren had a birthday party at the Bay. It's a small water park near by. And as I was driving Lauren to friend's house, I did it again. I started driving to the kids school. I couldn't believe it. I wonder how long it will take me to break the habit of driving to school.