A Day out with Grandma and Grandpa

We packed up what seemed like everything we owned and a big cooler of food and headed to Nederland to ride the Carousel of Happiness. That's what it's called, really! It just opened a couple of months ago. Adele wasn't sure about it all at first, but by the end she liked the moose she was riding on. I rode the pig.

We followed up the carousel ride with a picnic at the park by Boulder Creek. In typical Nederland fashion, it was pretty windy in the picnic enclosure, so we had to literally hold on to our hats.

Grandparents!

Jeff's parents came to visit over the Fourth of July weekend. It was great to see them and the kids loved spending time with them. Adele was very sad when they had to go home.

June 2010

Doesn't it look like Adele and I are getting ready for a big expedition? I think that in reality we (I) had big plans, but we only made it to the swing set!

Which brings me to............our new swing set. We got it for free from Craigslist last fall. Jeff set it up in early June and it's been fun. We already owned the toddler swing and I picked up a new swing at a flea market. I love these old, steel swing sets. No wood = no maintenance.

That's Carter up in that tree. He spent the night out there and most of the next day before Jeff talked him down. That picture was taken from the deck. He was at least 25 ft up.

There's Jack, trying out the skateboard.
This was our big project in May and June. We cleared out most of the basement, insulated the ceiling for our radiant heat, finished a bunch of framing, and then had the rest of the drywall hung and finished. It was monumental. We used cotton insulation for better sound dampening, but it is really hard to cut. We already have a bunch of this insulation in the walls upstairs to help with sound, so we knew how hard it is to work with. After a quick search on the internet, Jeff came up with a plan to use a masonry blade on the table saw, which worked like a dream.


I forgot to take a picture of the finished product before our stuff took over again.

May 2010

Jack went for his first real hike in May. He did great and seemed to enjoy it very much.
Here's Adele enjoying her tricycle

Our good friends Jim and Linda from Virginia, whom we haven't seen in a few years stopped by along with some other friends, Andy and Sue, from Ft. Collins. We went for a walk through the woods and got our photo shoot in. Jack and I tried to use the self-timer to get in the shot, but I just wasn't fast enough with him on my back!

And for those of you who weren't aware, you can use your toddler as a battering ram.

Mother's Day 2010

We went to my parents' house for Mother's Day this year. It was a gorgeous spring afternoon.



The kids had a real treat: the ice cream truck came by. We heard it from a distance and I couldn't believe what I hearing. That truck must have been 50 years old playing the same song I remember as a kid. I never thought Adele or Jack would see an ice cream truck, but I was wrong! The older cousins were nearly hysterical with excitement and the tension was building; would the truck come up our street? Here we all are waiting.
Here comes the truck!

WooHoo, Success!

Here's Jack with his cousin and his grandpa

April 2010

Here we are in April. Jack and Adele started playing together in April.

Easter 2010

Easter with Adele and Jack was a lot of fun this year. Adele colored Easter eggs for the first time this year. It didn't take her long to get into the swing of things.
Here's Jack with his Chocolate Easter Bunny. Don't worry, we didn't actually let him eat it.

We hosted an Easter Dinner later in the day that was a lot of fun. Here's Adele eating olives with her Aunt Diana and a couple of group shots.