VBS

This week was VBS at Caitlin's preschool's church. We were pretty excited it was this week because we were unable to attend VBS last summer due to travel. Last year all the VBS's took place on the same week in June - which was the week we were gone! This year it's much the same. Most of the places holding a VBS this summer are holding them during our vacation. But this year we had an exception. The kids were happy they could attend (can you see Caitlin there on the left? She's the one at the far end).

I volunteered to work in the crafts room this year, being that it's the first time both kids have been able to attend. With Brian gone all week, I'm not really sure what I was thinking. 3 non-stop hours of children was a bit grueling (there were 110 in attendance, with about half under the age of 5). I kept telling myself "it's only 3 hours", but I'm wiped out! I'm not sure I'd make it as a preschool teacher! With the feet and leg problems I now have, my legs get really stiff at the end of the day when I'm on them for an extended period of time. In all reality, I don't know what I would have done with all that time to myself, but one day would have been nice! Live and learn, I guess.

I was amazed at the church volunteers, too. Most of the VBS staff was made up of church attenders and the preschool teachers. The parent volunteers probably made up about a quarter of the staff. The church skews older, so I'm sure the kids felt like they were hanging out with their grandparents. In the middle of the week I overheard one of the volunteers say "I keep waiting for that second wind to kick in, and it never does!" That phrase kept reverberating in my head for the rest of the week. I haven't been this truly exhausted in a long time. The birds waking me daily around 4:30-5:00 weren't much help, either. I tried to bribe the kids into going out to lunch yesterday, but they were so tired they just wanted to go home. When has your kid ever turned down eating out?

We all had a good time, though. Along with VBS, we've done two play dates, soccer, and a afternoon at the pool. I'm tired! They're tired! But they loved it. They even asked if it was going to happen again this year. Maybe after vacation? Ha ha! They don't want to wait!

A Milestone of Sorts

In the busyness of the last few months, I forgot to mention something. We've lived in our house for over 3 1/2 years. Our move in date was October 12th or 13th, and we passed the 3 years and six months mark in April of this year. It's now June. We've been here 3 years and 8 months! This is no big deal to most people, but it does mark the longest time I have ever lived in the same house. In my whole life. In all my 41 years. The last time I even got close to this amount of time in one house was when we lived near Santa Cruz in junior high - which was around 3 years and 4 months. We were almost at 3 years in our last house in California, with no aspects of moving around in the bay area anytime soon. Until, you know, we decided to move to another state.

I've been going through my closets lately. Kind of strange because I did a big purge a few months ago - mostly outgrown kids toys, outgrown kids clothes and things I no longer love. The MOPS garage sale made a lot off of me! I brought out the kids summer clothes and stored the winter things to keep. I thought I'd done a good job, but then again, not so much. This whole 3 years and 8 months thing - it's the longest I've ever gone without a move of some sort! I feel so disorganized and overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we have, and the upkeep required to make our house clean. Of course, if the kids would just take care of their own stuff..... I do keep stumbling across items, wondering how they made it all the way out to Colorado. Right now I'm deeply in touch with the side of me that can let go of stuff. I'm trying to do as much as I can before I temporarily lose touch with her again. Or get to busy. You never know when either one of those scenarios will happen!


***I've been corrected by my mom. I guess I lived in another house in Big Sur for 3 years, 10 months. I guess I've forgot a little about my life as a 6-10 year old!

A Boy and His Boat

Somehow, Brandon managed to spot his remote control boat waaayyyy up in his closet a few weeks ago. I thought I hid it well behind his little suitcase, but his questions told me the my hiding skills were sorely lacking. After failing to remember to buy a 9 volt battery on about 10 shopping trips, I finally remembered! The heavens opened up, angels sang, and mommy and daddy and the kids headed to the great outdoors (otherwise known as Boulder) for a remote control adventure!

The inlet Brian had found near his office was clogged with cottonwood dander. A couple of days earlier it had been fine, but Saturday it was debris ridden. We stayed there for a little while, but the boat wasn't working all that well and Brian had to constantly clean out the cottonwood and algae from the propeller. Caitlin was not very entertained by the boat experience (then again, she never got to hold the remote), so she entertained herself by blowing bubbles and hanging with mommy.

After a while, Caitlin and I headed out on a better water scouting expedition. We found a place that looked like it had clearer water and relatively easy water access, but we had to drive there. Oddly enough, the nice clear water was behind the Waste Management headquarters. There were lots of garbage trucks and other vehicles going in and out. Dump day, maybe? We parked and went behind the administrative offices. There were many, many, many Canadian geese there. Unlike the rude Californian Canadian geese by our old house that take over your space and charge towards you if you get too close, these Coloradan Canadian geese were not happy with our presence and kindly all went for a swim. We had the water all to ourselves! The water was cleaner and clearer and not clogged with debris. There was a little spillway near our second destination that could have taken the boat, but Brandon managed to keep it away from that area. Although the front range didn't get much snow, the mountains had well over 200% of normal. Many rivers and streams are cresting and flooding, but not here. We had a nice remote control boat afternoon after all.