A Quick trip to Ouray

The kids have been working on presentations about ancient inventions for their co-op history class. I think this is a great opportunity for them to practice research and writing a speech. For their topics, K chose glass blowing, and AJ chose water clocks. There are no local glass-blowing facilities, so we drove to Ouray for a quick trip to interview the glass-blower who lives and works there.

Upon arriving, we found the glass place and unloaded our crew to visit Sam, the local artist. He was kind to take time out of his day for us, but I got the feeling that he did not expect K to know or understand as much as she did about glass-blowing. He answered her questions, but I think that we both were a little disappointed that he did not offer her more in-depth information. It was still a successful trip in that she gained some interviewing experience as a form of research, though.

After the glass store, we walked to Mouse's Chocolates, a local chocolate, coffee, and ice cream place that is known for its tasty treats. The kids enjoyed hot chocolate and milkshakes, and I devoured my "hippie bar", a scrumptious blend of dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and coconut.
Walking back to the car, I spotted a cute crocheted sweater that I needed. Timo took the boys while I shopped with the girls. Then we met again a few stores down. AJ wanted to go into a mining store to see if they had pickaxes. Not that he needed one. He just wanted to see one. They did, and they were about as tall as S. We left them all there, loaded up in the car, and drove to Box Canyon. We intended to do some hiking, but rain cut our climb short. I did manage to get photos of the kids, though.

AJ photobombing K

K photobombing AJ

A hanging out in the backpack

Deep crevice

That's a long way down

Sweet AJ

Beautiful K

Cutie Pie

A little waterfall

My gorgeous girl

A rare photo of me, courtesy of K

I almost didn't get a photo of S

This photo doesn't do justice to the beauty of the area

I hope to return to Ouray sometime in the future. I would like to finish hiking around, and there is always room for more chocolate.

AJ's Eighth

Fall means birthday season, and AJ is first in line. This year, he turned eight, which almost seems impossible to me. How can that many years have passed since I was in the hospital awaiting his arrival? I suppose all parents feel the same way, and I don't guess it will get any easier as the years pass.

AJ is a fun-loving boy who demonstrates a tender heart and exhibits great amounts of creativity, especially where Legos are concerned. At this point, he wants to be a Lego Master Builder when he grows up because he would get to play with Legos all day (in his mind).

For his family party, he chose apple pie instead of cake to celebrate. He also chose to wear his favorite florescent yellow shirt for his birthday photos. We had fun snapping a few pictures before dinner, and his personality comes out quite a bit in some of the photos.

Being silly

Eight Years Old

Blowing out candles on his birthday pie

Cutting the pie

After pie, he opened his presents, which included three board games. AJ thoroughly enjoys board games, and this proved a smart choice to deviate from his usual Lego gifts. Timo and the three older kids played a game of Clue before bed while I put the younger two down. AJ had never played Clue before, but I think it quickly became his favorite.

I am looking forward to this coming year to see what God has in store for my growing boy. He truly is a joy to have in our lives.

Post-Op

I am happy to announce that all went well with S's operation. He woke up and was acting completely like himself, including arguing about who would hold the juice cup and complaining about not being able to play in the play area by the waiting room. It is not that these are praiseworthy character traits, but it shows that he feels normal. That makes a mother's heart happy.

From the Mouths of Babes

S is facing surgery later this week, and, in preparation, Timo was reading a story about going to the hospital for an operation. At one point, he asked S, "Are you going to see a doctor with his operating clothes?"

S's response? "That's not a great idea."

Family Retreat

We went on a family retreat last weekend up in the mountains of beautiful Colorado. The drive up there was gorgeous, and it was refreshing to spend some time surrounded by the peace and quiet of nature. We didn't even have cell phone coverage or Internet access.

Driving up

Our mornings were spent in sessions, learning how to grow in our Christian faith and apply it to our lives in marriage, parenting, and reaching out to others. Our afternoons were free, allowing the kids to go out on boats on the lake or to catch minnows and crawdads along the shore. Timo also took the opportunity to practice fly fishing, while I seized the opportunity to nap one afternoon.

K on a paddle boat with a friend

Timo with the boys on a paddle boat

The lake

One of the mornings, we ate breakfast by the river. It was rather chilly, but A slept snugly in my Boba. As for the other kids, it is always nice when you don't have to worry about spilling on the floor.

The smiling picture

The silly picture

H sharing his blueberries with S

H by the river

Our morning view by the river

More of our morning view

The last full afternoon, we packed lunches for a picnic at a destination of our choosing. We opted for lunch by a waterfall about a half hour away. It was a short hike after the drive, but it was easy enough for all but the youngest of our group to manage. In all fairness, she isn't doing any hiking these days.

The waterfall. It was about 70 feet high.

Our attempt at a family photo

Another family photo. A wasn't very happy at this point.

After we left the waterfall, we stopped at a reservoir for another photo op.

The kids

Wait! We have five kids, not four.

Another family photo

The weekend was great. I came away from it with a lot of good information, and I think the kids enjoyed themselves and learned a lot, too. I hope to make it up there again sometime.

Arriving in Boston

My first view of the Boston skyline

We visited Boston for a couple of days last week. I have been wanting to tour this historic city ever since we moved to New England, but it just never happened for one reason or another. My wonderful hubby took a couple of days off of work last week to fulfill my dream before leaving the area.

Not on our list of sites to see while in Boston

Our trip started roughly. We left our house later than planned, and, when we arrived in Boston, we encountered many closed roads as we were trying to find the apartment we had rented. A was screaming in the back, and, when we were forced to turn around at a closed bridge, I seized the opportunity to nurse her and hold her a bit. Meanwhile, Timo took H to relieve his bladder. They stepped over a construction fence, and, on the way back, Timo's foot caught on something, and the two of them crashed into a pallet. I was oblivious to all this until I see Timo carrying a crying H. Then he said, "I'm sorry, Jennifer. We have to go to the hospital."

H waiting for his turn to see the ER doctor

Thankfully, we could look for hospitals on the GPS, and the first one we encountered was at MIT. They refused to see H because he was too young. They claimed that they aren't allowed to see anyone under 18. Frustrated, we moved on to Massachusetts General Hospital. They were great. They put us in a family room to wait, and we were out of there in about an hour and a half. They also brought us crayons and coloring pages, bubbles, toys, and stickers. It made waiting with five overtired kids so much easier. H had his chin glued in two places, and we were finally able to complete our journey to the apartment.

H Turns Five

Yesterday, we celebrated H's fifth birthday. Life has been crazy, and I was a little worried that he would not feel special and celebrated. The morning after arriving home from Boston, I baked a cake for his party. H had requested a castle cake, which I had never attempted before. Honestly, I was a little intimidated by the whole thing. When I was done, though, I was satisfied with the results, and, more importantly, so was he.

When I had asked H what he wanted to do to celebrate his birthday, he mentioned some neighbor boys he wanted to invite over to swim. I therefore planned on a relaxed swimming party where the time would be filled in the pool. Unfortunately, H could not swim because of his chin. The glue was supposed to remain dry for another week. This left me mentally scrambling to figure out how to entertain the kids. Fortunately, H is a good sport, and, after a couple of races and a water balloon fight, he said that they could still swim. He came inside with me, and I let him watch some Animaniacs. Then, he went back outside and got in the pool. He was good and stayed on the steps to keep his chin dry, though it did get splashed a couple of times.

After the kids got out of the pool, we got out a veggie tray to snack on and the cake. The party was about over, so after cake and ice cream, H opened the present from his friends, and we said goodbye. When they were gone, he opened his presents from us, and the kids played superheroes for the rest of the day (he received four superhero costumes).

I think he had a good time. He told me today that he likes birthdays. I take that as a sign that all went well in his eyes. I love my sweet H, and I am glad he feels like we took time to make him happy.