July 13th-June 24th

I will start where I left off.

Kim came back on Monday evening. The kids were so happy to see her. Even though they said they didn't miss her, you could tell that they did. I know Kim was happy to see them too.

Tuesday we went to town and had lunch at Fargos. The kids had a blast. We hung out in the arcade for quite a while. After that we went to the park and let them run some energy out there. After the park I took the kids home and Kim had some alone time to run errands. I know she enjoyed that!

Wednesday we hung out here at the house. Kim cooked a roast and all the fixings for us. That was really nice. We had plans to go to the pool that evening, but Kirsten had a spot that came up on her arm and it wasn't getting any better. Kim took her to the doctor and I took all the boys to the pool. It turned out that Kirsten had impetigo, so good thing she took her. Me and the boys enjoyed swimming and closed the place down! They were all asleep by the time we got home.

Thursday we went with Cat and the kids to Itz. The kids really enjoyed that. We were there for 4 hours. I think us adults enjoyed it just as much as the kids did! Thursday night Kim and I went to Tracy's for an adult toy party. Yep, that kind of party.. It was actually a lot of fun. We spent a lot of the time giggling at everything. Mick stayed home with all 5 kids! When we got home around 10:30 all of them were asleep. We were pretty impressed!

Friday, Dylan had a dentist appt at 9:30. So Kim stayed here with the kids while I took him. They took the metal piece off of his tooth and decided to give it yet another week! We got done around 10, ran to Target and then headed home. We packed our bags, loaded up and headed to town to pick up Mick. Then we drove up to Breckenridge to Ryan and Tanya's cabin. They have a really nice place. The kids LOVED the creek that ran behind it. We got there around 5, unloaded and then went to dinner at Bubba Gumps Shrimp Company. It was so delicious! We walked around for a little while and then headed back to the cabin.

Saturday we got up and hung out for most of the morning. Mick went to talk to the neighbor and found out that around 6 that morning a black bear had walked between our cabin and theirs! Pretty scary. Of course the kids were on the lookout after that. We told Kim to go do some shopping in town and we took the kids on a hike. It turned out to be a bit further than we thought and with 5 kids in tow, we decided to turn around. I was tired, so I know they were too. We took them to McDonald's for lunch and then headed back to the cabin. Kim had made it back too. She cooked fajitas for us that night and we watched College Road trip. It was a great day!

Sunday, the plan was to pack up and come back, but... since we had two vehicles... Mick was the only one that came back. Kim and I weren't ready to come back just yet and the kids were having a great time too. So... Mick left that afternoon around 3. Me, Kim and the three younger kids went and drove around Breckenridge to take some pictures. We stopped by the grocery store and headed home to make dinner.

Monday, we went into town after lunch. We made the kids suffer through more picture taking. They were hating it by the end, but oh well. We did let them play at the park for a bit afterwards, so it was all good. We went back to the cabin and laid around for the afternoon. We watched Harry and the Hendersons! It had been so long since I had seen that. After the movie we looked at the hiking list again and found one that seemed more suitable. It was called Sapphire Point. We walked up to the first part of it and there were about 25 chipmunks. I then remembered reading about it and how people brought sunflower seeds to feed them. Oops. Luckily there was a lot of food there, so the kids picked it up and feed them. We ended up staying there for a couple of hours.

Tuesday, we decided we probably needed to head back home. Dylan woke up not feeling too great. He said he had a headache and was tired. When we were driving back and he just kept letting out little cries and saying his head still hurt. I gave him some more Motrin and kept on driving. We were coming out of some turns and up it came! He threw up all over himself. Kim tried to catch it in her hand, but it was too much. We pulled over at a rest area, but they had NO running water! I couldn't believe it. We wiped up as well as we could, changed Dylan's clothes and headed on down the mountain. He felt a LOT better after that. We drove up to the north side of the springs to pick up Kim's car at Mick's work. She ran by the store for me and me and the kids headed home. Dylan was jumping on the trampoline and playing hard until about 6:30. He came in and laid on the couch. I took his temp and it was 103.8. So I gave him some more Motrin. By 7 he was coming back to life and his temp was down.

Wednesday, since Kim was leaving the next day, we decided to just hang out here. The kids were tired, Dylan still wasn't 100 percent and with her having a 7 hour drive the next day, we figured it was for the best. We ended up washing our cars and catching up on house work.

Today, I woke up with whatever it is that Dylan has/had. He seems to be doing better. I still have to give him Motrin ever so often, but I understand why. I have to keep taking it myself or else I feel horrible. I think it is just a head cold. Probably from the difference in temperature in Breckenridge. It was only in the lower 70's while were there. So NICE! Kim and the kids left around 10 this morning to head back to Topeka Kansas. She will be there till Monday and then head on home. We had a great visit! I hated to see her go. We spent some much time talking about when we were younger and just cracking each other up. Hopefully we can get together next summer too, if not before then.

My brother Matt and his wife moved to the panhandle of Oklahoma on Tuesday. They are attending school there. I think me and the boys are going to drive there on Monday and spend most of the week. I figured it would be easier now than when the kids start school. Which is only in 2 weeks from this coming Monday! I haven't done any back to school shopping yet... Maybe next weekend.

Mick has been working a LOT of hours lately. 3 times a week he works his normal shift and then heads into the springs to do software testing for 5 hours. He doesn't get home till around 10 on those nights. I hate it, but its part of his job so... He is hoping to get to work on the car this weekend. He hasn't been able to in a long time.

The pictures are of the kids at Sapphire Point, the kids on the hike, us at the cabin, the view on our hike,me and the boys in Breckenridge, me and Kim in Breckenridge, the kids in Breckenridge and Dylan "hanging on for dear life". Actually he was standing on the ground, but we had him pose that way. He looks pretty convincing, huh?

Well I hope all is well with all of you. And I hope your summer has been as great as ours has! Until next time....

June 30th-July 12th

I spent most of the days leading up to July 4th weekend getting the house and yard ready for our company. Kim and her family got here on Friday, the 4th. We had our get together on Saturday afternoon and had a great time! It was great to see and visit with everyone that we hadn't saw in a while. Kim and Brandon brought up some illegal fireworks and that was a highlight of the party. Some of the guys brought out their guns to shoot and of course they got out the potato gun too! They ended up shooting the potatoes into the air and then shooting them out of the air with the real guns! I guess they got bored. Which I am not sure how because Dave brought out his new "Tommy Gun". Another highlight of the day!!

Sunday Kim loaded up and headed back to Kansas with Brandon and Benson. Bradon, her oldest and Kirsten the middle one wanted to stay with us. I was actually pretty surprised that Kirsten wanted to stay but she did. We ended up just hanging out at home on Sunday.

Monday Dylan and Kristian had dentist appts. They were both cavity free!! After the appts. we went to the park for a picnic and then to the pool for the rest of the afternoon. We had a really good time.

Tuesday we went to the zoo. We had been there about two hours, when Dylan had an accident. He was running around a corner and a little girl was running towards him around the corner. They bumped into each other and then Dylan crashed into a fence. He had blood all in his mouth. After I was able to get a better look at it I realized that his top tooth had been pushed back. So I loaded everything up and we headed out. I called the dentist and they said to bring him right in. We were on the opposite side of town and it took a LONG 40 minutes to get there. They gave him some nitrous and 3 shots. He was able to pull the tooth back into place, but the problem was how damaged his gum was. It was pretty cut up. It took us 2 hours that night just to get him to eat some yogurt. But once he figured out the technique of not eating with his two front teeth he kept eating and hasn't stopped. By the way, the little girl was ok. It just scared her.

Wednesday we decided to take it easy. We went over to our friend's Bryan and Michelle's to see their horses. She has two baby ones. The kids really enjoyed that. Dylan, of course, is allergic to them, so by the time we left both his eyes were swelling. Benedryl did nothing for it unfortunately. He looked like Rocky by the middle of the day. With his busted lip and eyes. But he didn't let it stop him.

Thursday, I took them to see Speed Racer at the Dollar movie. Kristian wasn't feeling well so we figured that was something easy to do. When we got out of the movie he felt better... not sure what was up with that. I think it may be his 12 year molars coming in and giving him trouble. The dentist said that they were coming in. After the movie we went and got Bradon and Kirsten a tooth brush. They said they wanted one to leave here for the next time they came. I guess that means they are having a good time!! We ended up going bowling for a couple of games and then heading home.

Friday Dylan had his follow up appt. They decided to give it another week and then go from there. If it isn't any better than he will just take it out. I guess because of the damage to the gums it is hard for them to take back hold of the tooth. After the dentist we took the kids to the park. Mick took off yesterday, so he got some time with the kids too. We took them down to the arcades in Manitou Springs and then to lunch at Fargo's Pizza Company. They really liked that place. We ended the day at another park for a few hours.

Today we got up and went back over to Bryan and Michelle's to go for a ride in the wagon. They have a few draft horses and used one to pull the wagon. The kids really enjoyed that. We also got to see one of the babies again. Dylan didn't swell up near as bad as last time. I told him to try not to touch the horses, but... I knew that was asking way too much. He LOVES animals.

We are going to take the kids swimming later on today. Kim is coming back on Monday to spend a few days and to pick them up. Neither one of them are ready to go. Which is great to hear. I am glad that they are having such a good time. I hope we can do this every summer. It is so nice to have them get to visit and to get to know them better. They are great kids! Maybe next summer Benson can stay too, but.... we will just have to see! :)

Pictures are... The kids patiently waiting for the safety check to be over with at the pool, getting ready to shoot fireworks, Kirsten, Dylan and Max, the kids at the zoo, the kids over at Michelle's with the horses and Dylan after the fact, at the park and today at Michelle's with the wagon