A dream come true

 

Jared LOVES garbage trucks. He has been in love with them for the past 2 years at least. It helps that we have a communal dumpster so he gets to see the garbage truck 3 times a week.  This Saturday the local recycling center was holding an open house to celebrate their 1 year anniversary. They are a combo recycling and garbage center so we headed over to check it out. They gave tours, had popcorn and pizza, showed a short movie and for the main event (in Jared's eyes) had 4 trucks out that kids could climb on. He was in heaven. Their event was really well planned and I loved being able to take Jared and watch him enjoy the trucks and have this dream come true. Most days he says he wants to be a construction worker when he grows up but yesterday all he kept saying again and again that he wanted to be a garbage man. I also love that Jared still loves garbage trucks so much.  We have been talking about Halloween costumes and as I look at the most popular ones (superheroes) it just makes me happy that he is still just a little boy in love with garbage trucks and construction workers. Its also much less expensive!
I was so happy when I found out about their event.  I subscribe to a local calender of events program. Each week they send out an email with a list of events happening around town.  Most often there is nothing we would attend (we are pretty limited in the times we can go do things because of naps which I am not complaining about at all) but 2 or 3 times a year that have an event like yesterdays on here which is perfect for us. FYI:  It's called Macaroni kids, I think its a national group so you could look up your city.
It was a super fun day. Sadly Mark could not come as he was conducting a Baptism. He kindly took Lydia with him so I could stay longer with Jared and enjoy some one-on-one time with him. We found out some fun facts like a trash collector typically gets in and out of their truck 600 times a day!! Also here in the Springs you do not have to sort your reclying they do it at their facility. This company has this whole superhero theme going with MRF (Material Recovery Facility) Man. So yesterday they were handing out these superhero capes and free t shirts which is why Jared is wearing one.

He could have stayed and climbed on these trucks for HOURS!

 He was really happy to see the "Hopper" all full.

The timing of this event was perfect too. I had called some companies in town to see if I could bring Jared over to their facility for a tour for his birthday and hadn't heard back from anybody so it was cool that I found out about this one.  It was perfect, a dream come true for a sweet little almost 4 year old boy.

Picking...

Raspberries.

You were expecting apples and pumpkins right? I know I was.  We drove down to Happy Apple Farm in Penrose today to celebrate the first day of fall. Sadly we got there and found out that they (very sadly for them) lost all their apples in April in a freeze.  This happened to this poor little farm last year too.  So far I am not doing so well in my Fall activities which is ironic since they are my favorite type. But I will not give up, we are just getting started! It was still a beautiful day and something new and different to do.

 

They did have a super strong raspberry crop and their pumpkins were out so we picked those instead.  Mark loves raspberries so he was pretty pleased. We went on a tractor ride to the fields (notice I said tractor not hay ride. They had a hay ride but were not using that tractor today what gives?) which Jared was thrilled about and had fun enjoying the perfect fall weather.  After we filled two containers of raspberries we headed over to the pumpkin patch to find some pumpkins.

I am happy we could pick some raspberries and pumpkins. But I really wanted to pick apples. I had some apple recipes in mind but don't have anything in mind for raspberries. We stocked up on raspberry jam about a month ago so we will have to find something else. Or just make more I guess. We got 4 little pumpkins and they make our house look extra festive.

In other news, I had the most amazing run last night. I typically go running around 6:20 in the morning M-W-F.  When I went to bed Thursday night my right foot was killing me.  I have no idea what happened. It hurt to put any pressure on it and even hurt when I was laying in bed.  So when I went to bed I figured I would not be running Friday morning. I got up and tried running in place and it still hurt so I went back to bed.  When I got ready to leave and put my shoes on later that morning my foot felt better. I went about my day with my foot still hurting but feeling way better when I had shoes on then when I didn't. So after we got Jared to bed I just decided to go on my run. It was awesome. There was a huge full moon, the harvest moon and I ran and ran.  On Friday's I typically run 3.15 miles and have to stop around 23 minutes and walk a little. Last night I got to my usual stopping place and just kept on running. I kept thinking I will stop at this spot, okay I will stop here but by then I was almost done so I kept it up. What was amazing was how good I felt. I am not a good runner. I go and feel good after I finish but mostly just because I did it not because it felt good. But last night was awesome and I finally got to experience that runners high. When I got to our street entrance I felt like I could even keep going but I needed to cool down before I went inside.  I can't describe how exciting this was and how happy it made me. I have been doing a Jillian Micheal's DVD on the mornings I don't run and I think it has made a big difference. I never really knew that having a stronger core would help you run better but it really does. Mark has been talking about this since he has been coaching cross country and I see a big difference in my running over the last month from when I started her DVD. So thank you Jillian Micheal's. Or maybe it was because it was dark out and I wanted to get home as soon as possible.... Either way I loved it which is not something I can honestly say very often about my running.

HAPPY FALL!

Picnic in...

Mark's classroom!

 

Jared asked if we could go on a picnic today but it was around 55 degrees outside and cloudy so a little chiller then I would prefer for a picnic in the park.  So we had to come up with an alternative destination.  Since Mark has been coaching Cross Country he has not been getting home till 5:30 instead of his usual 4:30.  I know this is still a lot nicer then many people's jobs but we like seeing him as soon as we can so we have missed him. Jared is pretty sure he wants to do cross country when he is older. I am pretty sure it's so he can see his Dad because I don't think he really knows what cross country is. I have explained what it is a couple of times but distance and time are concepts he does not fully understand at this point. Go figure right?  I would still prefer him to participate in cross country over baseball so it sounds good to me.
We all love visiting Mark at school. I am so happy Lydia is older and I only work 2 days a week now so it is possible. It is hard not making the same amount of money but my attitude was really suffering so our whole family was so it needed to change.  We ate our lunch and Jared and Lydia ran around for awhile, writing on the whiteboard and playing with Mark's world "beach ball".

They also love these colorful storage bins. Jared always ask if we can give them a ride and Lydia will just go sit in one one. We are so happy we can visit Mark at school.

According to my camera

These events have happened lately.

1.Pre-Dinner entertainment:

I rarely make very complicated dinners around here. But sometimes I do need a little more time. I also like to have the house cleaned up before we eat so I try to set up a little distraction for Jared and Lydia in the kitchen so our living room won't explode while I cook. This has been our favorite distraction lately. Jared always paints "Commotion in the Ocean" from our summer Ocean theme and Lydia loves using these markers. I love that they are 100% washable. They were both so focused so I became unfocused.

2.  Our fall celebrations got underway. I am so happy it's September. It's no secret how I feel about this time of year. Our house has been decorated since the first but now we are busting out some fall activities starting with this one, with many more to come.
Jell-O Sensory Tub
I saw this online and thought it would be so great. Jared and Lydia were not nearly as excited as I thought they would be. They still enjoyed it but I think the texture was a little too much for them.  Luckily Jell-O keeps for a pretty long time in an airtight container so we will try it again and see if it doesn't freak them out as much. It smells so good!

 

Sidenote: We have been really fortunate that our side of town has not been affected by the flooding. The West side of town has had some troubles but we have just had way more rain then any other year we have been here. There is a dry river bed that runs through our neighborhood and for the first time I saw it with running water and lots of it. Northern Colorado has been hit so hard.  The students of the school I worked at in Greeley/Evans lived right in the middle of the flooding there. Since we have lived here (2008) Colorado has been in a drought.  All this rain/flooding has reminded me a lot of Yuba City. I really never expected Colorado to face these problems. We are feeling very blessed. It rained pretty much all last week and places were getting biblical amounts of rain! Denver's average annual precipitation is 14.92 inches.  Some places got that many in 24 hours! Its crazy. I love rainy days but these places really need a break. Its been such a rough 3.5 months for Colorado with the fires, flash flooding and now flooding.

Primary Program

Our ward Primary Program was this past Sunday. We worked with Jared each night to make sure he had his part memorized and that he knew not to put his mouth on the microphone and that he needed to sit reverently while up there. He was successful for 2 out of the 3...can you guess which of the 3 he struggled with?
 I was surprised he had such a hard time sitting still. I kept expecting one of the presidency members to send him down to me!  The President had mentioned that they were thinking of sending the Sunbeams down to their families after they read their parts, oh how I wish they would have. I know he was not the only kid who had a hard time up there, and he is only 3 still but it was hard to see him be so distracting. Especially since he did so well at their practice on Saturday. I honestly thought he wouldn't have any problems. Mark was asked to sing a song with the older boys so he stayed on the stand.  He finally went to go sit by Jared which helped him.  He did do a very nice job on his part and did not try to eat the microphone so yay for that. I ended up taking him home after Sacrament because he was sort of an emotional wreck. Mark told me he kept wanting to lay his head in Mark's lap while on the stand and just snuggle. When we took him to Primary he bonked his head and acted as if it was the end of the world so I am guessing he was pretty tired (he always is on Sunday's since church is during his nap) and not feeling his best. This other little Sunbeam fell asleep on the stand! He is a friend of Jared's so if he could sleep through Jared's silliness maybe it wasn't so bad. I also know I was watching him more than any other kid up there so I for sure noticed it.  I know I have high expectations of him but I also know what he is capable of.
  Jared has been asking for some scriptures for the past month or so so Mark and I decided we would give him some after the program. He was so very excited. I love looking over at him throughout the day and seeing him reading his own scriptures.  His favorite primary song is "Scripture Power" and is so happy when we sing it.  After we do our family scripture reading he often asks to hold the Scriptures so he can have "the power".  Its pretty adorable. I most sincerely hope he will continue to love the scriptures and be excited about them. I am not sure how to make this happen but we will for sure keep doing what we are doing.

Here was his part: I have agency and I am responsible for my choices. Heavenly Father loves us and wants to to make good choices and receive the blessings of those choices.

He did a great job learning it.

Around the house with Lydia

Lydia is a pretty independent little girl.  She rarely "needs" me to play with her and really does a great job entertaining herself. She is not demanding at all. Sometimes she does little things that are so stereotypically "girl things" it surprises me because she is so young yet naturally does them.
Such as:
Carry any shopping bags we bring home.  She doesn't just carry them she looks good doing it she is like a professional.

 

SHOES:  Most kids like trying on adults shoes.  She loves it.  Any time we leave shoes out she tries them on. It doesn't matter if they are mine, Jared's or Mark's. I often walk upstairs and find a pair of my shoes in the hallway instead of our closet. We keep her and Jared's shoes in the downstairs closet so anytime it is left open she makes a beeline for it and grabs some of her shoes. 

 







 

And she likes to turn things that aren't shoes into shoes.

Dramatics: Fortunately these scenes are few and far between. The stairs seem to be her spot of choice so if we just keep her off the stairs we shouldn't have to deal with this right?



 

We are so lucky to have this good natured little girl. She makes us so happy. Mark has admitted that he has an extra soft spot in his heart for our "sweet baby girl".

 

In reality, we both think she's pretty fantastic and so does Jared. He is a great big brother to Lydia. I love how concerned he is for her and how he looks after her. He really tries to play with her and include her. She still drives him crazy at times but that is to be expected. It's so fun to be their Mom.





Pre-School Goer

Jared started Preschool on Tuesday. He is going to a small (just 6 kids in his class) in home preschool and he is loving it! When I dropped him off on Tuesday he gave me a Kissing hand (See book here) and I gave him one and that was it. As I walked out the door, down the driveway I had a split second where I thought about what just happened and thought tears might come then it went away. We both did very well.  His class is only T, W, TH from 8:45-11:15. Last Thursday we went to an open house with his teacher and all his classmates.  They played with the toys and learned a few rules.  Miss Amy read a story and we did an art project together. I am sure it helped him feel comfortable. I got an email from her last night saying how much she was enjoying Jared's fun and outgoing personality. He has really opened up the last 2 months or so.  He used to rarely talk to people at sores and now he always does.  In Primary he rarely participated and now he always comments. He may not be on topic but I am glad he is participating.

 

This was the pose Jared chose. It was his apple tree.

 Yes. I did write the wrong date.

Should be 09.03.13

(And yes, I did put my fall decorations up on the first.)

Nobody would have known but I knew.  That was dumb, oh well. He was super cute in all these pictures.  A blog I like to read suggested using an apple for back to school pictures and I loved that idea.  I will probably lose that little chalkboard one day but we almost always have apples in the house. So fun.

Sadly when we got home on Wednesday (his second day) he told me he didn't feel well.  He ate very little lunch and fell asleep right when he laid down. Then he woke up crying 2.5 hours later because he was burning hot and his stomach hurt.  So I got him in a cold bath and cooled him off then 10 minutes later he threw up. Jared does not handle throwing up well.  He SOBS and is so upset.  An hour after he threw up he threw up again. We watched some Curious George on the couch and tried to keep his fever down.  He fell asleep around 4:45 and I let him sleep until 5:15.  He said he was feeling better and ate some toast and drank some sprite then threw up again after his bath. I was all prepared for a long night but he slept like a rock until his normal wake up time. He said he is not sick anymore and has yet to throw up.  I am glad it seems to be a quick bug. He asked me today why he didn't handle throwing up well and I said probably because it is so disgusting.  He is acting just like his normal self but we will keep taking it easy today.  The Primary Program is Sunday so they are having a practice Saturday so I want to be sure he is well enough to go to that. He has his part all memorized and we are trying to teach him he should NOT put his mouth on the microphone. (So gross). I can't wait to see him up there. He is such a cute little boy who will soon not be so little.

Labor Day Fun

We had a great morning yesterday. We got up bright and early to check out the Colorado Balloon Festival.  Both Jared and Lydia seemed shocked that I woke them up before they woke up themselves. Jared kept saying "You never wake me up!" Lydia was not very pleased with me.  Apparently Jared is more of a morning person than she is at this point. We left our house at 6:40 and headed off to Memorial Park where the Hot Air Balloons are launched from. It was a beautiful morning.

 

 

 

Lydia was extra cuddly since she was still so sleepy, Mark enjoyed all the extra cuddles.

After enjoying the balloons we headed over to Dunkin Donuts for a morning treat.

 

Then we went over to Helen Hunt Falls for a quick hike. 

 

 

It was really nice to have a fun morning together.  I love community events like the balloon festival. I often wish Colorado Springs was smaller and had more events like this.  My hometown in California had so many parades and fruit festivals. It was great. I hope we can live somewhere one day that has lots of fun things like this.