San Fran Comes to Denver

What a wonderful weekend we had with our out of town visitors from San Francisco. It was great to catch up with my girlfriend from work and meet her sweet little girl, Ella. Krishna and Ella were wonderful guests and we hope they enjoyed their brief stay in Denver. We were able to take them up to see Red Rocks (and Krishna and I got in an aerobic workout while Ella napped). And we enjoyed a nice Saturday evening BBQ and taking in some curling on Sunday morning.

The boys were well behaved (Marshall included!) and Drake was especially sweet with Ella while she was here. She definitely thought he was a ham (and Drake loved having her full attention). There are definitely benefits to working remotely - so numerous I can't list them. Of course, not having friends and co-workers around from one's place of employment can be a bummer. No running to get drinks and dinner with Krishna on a regular basis.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get to California soon for work and I WILL stay in the city and take it all in. Krishna can show me her life as I have now shown her mine. It's funny how we can have tons in common and yet the lives we lead in Denver vs. San Francisco are so different (can you say "car is a necessity in Denver?"). And yes, the minivan once again came in handy for tooling around the city with the entire family and our guests. As Krishna put it, it's a little apartment on wheels. hehe

A Kid Friendly Day

Today was all about the kids. I made waffles for breakfast and then the boys and I went swimming at the indoor pool at the rec center. Drake's swimming has been so much better since his lessons and he just takes off with his goggles and any diving toy he can find. Tanner enjoyed a few of the water toys and just getting in the water. The pool is very kid friendly and Tanner was happy to tool around in the shallow end and climb up and down the ladder for the slide (but hardly going down the slide).

Marshall got home much earlier than expected and we were able to go to Casa Bonita in Denver to see the cliff divers and celebrate the passing of his "blending". Drake really enjoyed the show and the haunted maze. He also go in on some pinata action and just took everything in. Of course, he loved the sopapillas that came with the meal and the shirley temple really topped off the evening.

Tomorrow Denver Public Schools starts and after all the hassle and headache, we have decided to keep him in his current school. The school we originally wanted didn't have a full day spot and the school they did have room in, was not something we were completely thrilled about. So, after weighing all the pros and cons, we opted to stay where we are. I continue to hope that things settle down there and we have a good year. Drake did tell me this weekend that he likes school so that makes me feel better about the decision too.

Just an Update

Marshall's off again this weekend so just me and the boys hanging out. I'm watching the Olympics again - what an amazing race Michael Phelps just had. WOW! Drake and I did a Spiderman puzzle tonight and he kept saying "Where in the heck of the world?" when he didn't know where a piece went - so cute.

Tanner is picking up more and more words. Today, we had to put on jackets because it was so cold and Tanner started saying jacket for his jacket. Something else we do when we say good buy is the "I love you" in sign language, but we do the sign and say "signs". Tanner has now started to put on his hand out and say "signs". So precious.

Blending - Passed!

Today was a very special day for Drake - he passed his final blending at school which means that he is now on "books" at school. He is obviously very proud as are we. We promised him we could go out to dinner once he passed his blending - Chuck E. Cheese, bowling, Benihana's, whatever he wants. So, although we have been battling with school choices (nightmares), Drake is doing well at school and really seems to enjoy it. We finally had our parent/teacher conference and Drake is doing well at school and everything is going well - except for the occasional timeouts of course.

There was also mention of only have 30 children in the classroom this year which would be a nice thing. There has been so much turn over of both children and teachers, I'm really hoping that things settle down and we have some consistency soon. How many more years of this do we have?!? Sigh.....

The Olympics Begin

Marshall and I usually enjoy watching the Olympics together, but since he was off hiking, Drake took his place as my Olympic companion. Drake got out his United States flag and also, realized that one of the soccer balls he owns has the Olympic rings on it. Drake has enjoyed the gymnastics and the swimming - he is now practicing the four main strokes quite a bit. We even ventured to the pool on Sunday afternoon to test out his new skills. He even showed me his backfloat - I was very impressed! Tanner enjoyed sitting on the edge of the pool (except when he fell in). Drake is very excited to watch diving which I have recorded from last night. It made me very happy when he said "I like the Olympics." I feel the same way.

Tanner is so fun these days. He has put together a couple words recently - Dada shoes and one I can't remember of course. He has also started to tell us when he is "poo poo". He is definitely communicating more and more. He is also figuring out how to play (and tease) Drake. It starts out as fun, but then we always seem to end in screaming. Ah, the brotherly love. The boys and I had a nice weekend. We had happy hour on Friday evening and survived 3 1/2 inches of rain in 1 1/2 hours and a small flood in the basement. It was definitely more fun to be hanging out with friends and drinking during the hail, wind, and rain.

Work from Home Benefits (aka Our Pender Trip)

Last week was a wonderful week spent in Pender with Nana and Pop and the Geisert family. We were also lucky to spend a few days with Aunt Jacki as well. I enjoyed time with my sisters and parents - good food, drinking, time on the porch, Indian Trails, and golfing were highlights. The boys really enjoyed the time with Nana and Pop and all the different activities - fishing, swimming, trips to the country, out for coffee, time with cousins, and golfing (for Drake).

Drake and I were able to enjoy 9 holes together on Friday afternoon. I shot a 47 which I was very happy about and Drake really enjoyed being out on the course. He was a great listener and even got to play all of hole 8 (we caught up with the 5-some in front of us). It was really special for me to have that time with Drake.




It was a crazy week for all of us, but I feel so lucky I was able to have this time with my parents and sisters and be able to work remotely. The drive home was less than stellar as Drake had the stomach flu. I felt so badly for both the boys during the drive, but we made it. Already looking forward to next year!