Manual Labor

 These boys put in a few good minutes of hard work hauling heavy rocks from the pile into the front of our house.  I think they have a new appreciation for the hard work our workers have been doing hours on end for weeks now.

Do It Again

I don't know why the boys decided to teach B "Do It Again" but they did, and B (and everyone else) finds it hilarious.  If you say, "Do It Again", he does this funny thing with his arms and gets excited.
He was busy reading when I took this video, but it still shows "Do it Again!"

Yard update

The yard should be done this Friday!  The concrete slabs and walkways are all in.  New stairs and pergula are finished, and the lighting is in.

 Most of the brickwork is finished in the front and back and the planters are in.

And the first two new trees have been planted.  Today they are taking out the back stairs and railing and filling that all in.  

Pool Rat

B gets dragged around a lot, but he sure loves being dragged to the pool.  He makes himself at home there.  We spend most Wednesday evenings having dinner at the pool and last week was no exception.  

And just a funny story so we don't forget.  Our family was eating burgers for dinner.  B didn't seem interested so we thought he just wasn't hungry.  As I've said, he's pretty comfortable running around the pool so as long as we know he's away from the actual water, we let him wander.  Before long, we noticed that he had an entire piece of pizza he was eating.  Apparently he'd climbed up to some other family's table and helped himself, they were laughing.  He ate that entire piece and ran off to play.  Again, we checked on him and he has a big chunk of red juicy something in his hand.  I assumed it was watermelon, but slowly realized that no one (including us) was eating watermelon.  He'd found a sandy piece of dropped otter pop, licked the sand off, and was eating it.  Minutes later, we couldn't find him.  I began walking around the grounds and saw on the bleachers a row of teenage boys eating pizza.  B was smack in the middle eating anything they put down.  He knows how to get his needs met at least.  

Still Good Buds!

These two met at age 3, they've been in the same class ever since and remain good buddies.  

Authors Share at school (from ~2 years ago)

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Itsy Bitsy Spider has been one of B's favorite songs since he was very small.  When I was teaching, I would sign the songs with my kids and this is one I remember most of the signs to.  The boys have caught on, even B.

Another Swim Buy a Share

 Yesterday another friend and I hosted a buy a share at VV for LTs age group.  We swam and had snacks and pizza.  

A and another sibling got to come as well.

Bear Peak

 Yesterday, LT, a friend of mine and her son set out to do Bear Peak.  I was honestly questioning the reviews that this was "steep, challenging, long" etc.  It was in Boulder after all, how hard could it be?  We left Denver at 7 and returned at 4 PM.  We took few breaks despite the incredibly hot weather and the challenging terrain.  It was long, hot, beautiful, steep, challenging and a huge accomplishment for these two boys and for us!

Yard is Underway

 When we signed a contract to have our yard redone in March, they said they would start June 5.  Neither Brian nor I really believed it would start on time.  Friday June 2nd, they came and surveyed the yard and said they had to finish a few things on the 5th at another project and would start June 6.  And they did!  They demo'd the yard quickly.  It has been so fascinating to watch how its all done.   Brian and I are in awe by their tireless efforts for hours upon hours in the sweltering heat.  Its truly incredible.  All 3 kids spend lots of time pinned to the windows watching the work.  

Buy a Share

 The boys school has a fundraising auction each year where each family has to donate something to be sold.  This year we donated two "buy a shares".  Basically you donate a party and then sell each individual party slot to a child (or adult if its an adult one) and then that child (or adult) can go to the party.  For A's class, a friend and I donated a 2 hour 1st grade boy's swim party.  6 little guys bought it at the auction and so yesterday we held the party.

 They swam a little, played a little on the playground and then ate some pizza.  I also donated a 3,4, 5 swim party for LTs class which is next week.

Zoo with Grandma, Aunt Jayne and Uncle Peter

 My mom's sister and her husband are in town visiting this week.  Today they took B to the zoo while I took the big guys to swim practice, and then dropped off at camp.  They sent me all these cute pictures.

Happy Boy

Half Marathon

 A few weeks ago I ran the Colfax half marathon.  The day prior was rainy and snowy and I wasn't sure I was going to muster the energy to run the race alone.  But I woke up and it was sunny and warm and I decided to run it.  And I got a PR!  They send these pictures out with free downloads so I thought I would put them here.  The course is so fun, you run through the zoo, down through Park Hill to Aurora, through the first fire station in Aurora, a few miles on Colfax (not a highlight, or even remotely decent part of Colfax), back to Park Hill and ends in City Park.  

Trashy Town

One of our all time favorite books, "Trashy Town" has made an appearance again.  B is obsessed with it and his brothers are more than happy to read it to him.  

Painting

 The other two had a chance to paint their stumps this past week.  Now we're ready for the work on the yard to get started so we can use them.