Camp Grandma and Grandpa

In July, Isaac and Cate (and Bill and Jamie) were lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa come and visit--for a month!  It is hard to say whether the kids or Grandma and Grandpa were more excited, but there were a lot of smiles and laughs shared by all.

The first two weeks Grandma and Grandpa had a really cool--and slightly eclectic--apartment right off Pearl Street which was put to good use during a couple of sleepovers.  In addition to amazing views and a killer vintage record collection, the apartment also had a bathtub on the deck,  and we had several meals there, although they were eaten at a more conventional location--the table.

Although the visit had a lot of highlights, the kids' favorite part was probably their "adventure" to Grand Lake.  During their three-day trip, the kids went fishing, swimming, boating and ate ice cream with nearly every meal.  Grandma and Grandpa got Isaac and Caitlin their very own fishing poles, which were put to use a few times.  The fish population in the Boulder and Grand Lake area was not decreased, but Isaac is an expert, just ask him (or Grandma who he hooked accidentally).  The picture below depicts a very pleased Skipper and Gilligan--we leave it to the readers to determine who is who...

Some people take driving more seriously.

The crew of the SS Minnow

The hunter with her princess fishing pole.

Honey I shrunk the grandparents (and grandchildren).

Just hangin' on the farm (in their adorable new camping chairs- another gift!).

Grandma and Cate working on goodie bags - Grandma became an expert in art projects over the summer, doing significant research and planning and overseeing all kinds of cool stuff.

Hard to see, but Isaac and Cate at "Turbo" with Grandma and Grandpa (Cate's first movie--and most expensive nap).

Isaac and Cate spent a week at Jungle Camp at the end of the summer, which is at the same place as Caitlin's princess camp, so it also had a recital at the end.  While it was very far off Broadway, Grandma, Grandpa and Daddy cheered their final show like it was Les Mis.

News junkies.

As a Father's Day gift Bill, Evan and Rach took Grandpa to a Colorado Rockies game.  Although the Rockies stink this year, they managed to beat the best team in baseball this year (the Pirates) 10-1, due to this powerful cheering foursome.

While the kids headed to Grand Lake, we got to spend several days in Telluride at the Jazz Fest thanks to camp-Grandma and Grandpa.  We really enjoyed the vacation and were SUPER grateful for the excellent childcare and chance to get away.

Finally, Aunt Ray-Ray came for the last few days to instruct Isaac and Caitlin in kickboxing and the finer points of hand-to-hand combat and be a part of the big birthday party celebration.  In all it was a fantastic visit that all involved will remember very fondly.  The kids are already talking about Grandma and Grandpa's next visit.

Birthday Party

Earlier in the summer, I had visions of making two birthday parties, and then it came time to plan and we decided we would ride out the double-party as long as they would let us.  So we booked the gymnastics place where they love to play and asked them to name all of their friends (Isaac from class, Caitlin from dance, gymnastics, etc).  I didn't think we'd have so many, but we ended up with 22 kids! It worked out great though, and both kids had a blast (and got a ridiculous number of new toys to add to their already overstuffed playroom!) Here are some pictures from the weekend, including putting together goodie bags with help from Grandma Bertie, their super-cute birthday shirts from Grandma Gerri, the awesome ninja turtles/fairy cake, and lots of playing at Xtreme Altitude with their friends and family.  With no injuries and exhausted, happy kids -I'd say it was overall a success!!

Caitlin is 3!!!

Our baby girl turned 3 on July 26th! I seriously feel like the last year flew by and she just turned two.  She really is a little diva who loves to exert her independence at every opportunity.  She has the most expressive eyes and gets this adorable furrowed brow when she's mad which is almost as cute as her crossed arms and stomping foot.  She has an opinion on everything and is almost as good at letters and numbers as her brother. She is fully potty trained (night and day) and can swim by herself!  Overall, a joy to be around - except when she's not ;)

Isaac carried Caitlin's banana bread with a candle in it to wake her up

She was excited to wear her birthday shirt and carry her balloons around the house

After work, I took Caitlin for a haircut (braids with purple sparkles) and her first mani-pedi in the afternoon.  Mayensi does her nails all the time, but she loved sitting in the chair and getting pampered and picked the most sparkly polish she could find - pink for her toes and purple for her fingers.

After the "beauty" shop, we headed home for birthday dinner with the whole family.  Caitlin asked for mac and cheese, so her daddy made a delicious homemade version (plain for the kids, and one with carmelized onions, bacon and jalepenos for the adults) followed by ice cream cake (with strawberry ice cream - her favorite) and rainbow sprinkles.  

Among the many presents, Caitlin was beyond excited to get her first dollhouse

She also got a big girl bike which she picked up quickly, but rides a bit more cautiously than her brother. When she asked me why I kept telling her to be careful, I told her it was my job to keep her safe.  She said no it's not, Mommy, your job is to make pancakes :)

As a big 3 year old, Caitlin couldn't wait to switch to a toddler bed

The rest of the weekend we continued the celebration with a cousins sleepover, her first real movie-theater movie with Grandma and Grandpa (Turbo- she slept through half of it), and an even bigger family dinner celebrating all the summer birthdays (Jaden, Talia, Isaac, Caitlin, Jen and Chad).

Finally, at her 3 year old appointment, we were all super-excited to see that Caitlin measured in the 75% for height and 50% for weight - amazing!!

4th of July

Although it was hard being away from DC for the 4th of July, we still had a great day.  It started out with a family bike ride around Louisville and to the park with everyone dressed in red, white and blue.

After lunch and naps, Grandma and the Stamms came over for swimming, daiquiris and a bbq.

Taking advantage of the time difference, we watched the Capitol 4th on TV and had fun dancing to Barry Manillow and Neil Diamond and then had dinner outside while counting down to the fireworks.

After dinner, we walked to the end of the road to watch fireworks and were happily surprised to be able to see the displays from Boulder, Denver and Louisville.

After the fireworks, the kids went to bed and the grown-ups kept celebrating. Unfortunately, after a few too many drinks, Bill decided to ride his bike back down the road to pick up our camping chairs with no helmet ... and ended up with 7 stitches in his head! Thankfully, he's okay, and it was a great lesson about the importance of wearing helmets for the kids :)