Another Song... "boom boom pounds"

Here is another one of Kaitlyn singing.

Now - wait for it! Wait for "people in the place..." It's worth it. I really admire my ability to keep a straight face and not laugh hysterically when she does stuff like this. I think it's quite a gift! I think she is quite a gift!

She keeps me smiling! Hope this makes you smile too!

I'm gonna pound ya!

So tonight while wrestling with Daddy this is what I heard.

Kaitlyn: Ouch Ouch Ouch
Daddy: What's wrong?
Kaitlyn: YOU HURTED MY ARM!
Daddy: Is it OK?
Kaitlyn: NO YOU DID IT - AND YOU BETTER STOP OR I'M GONNA POUND YA!

Mike immediately started laughing harder than I've heard him laugh in a long time, which ticked her off even more. She yells "STOP LAUGHING"! It wasn't funny AT ALL to her, and she had quite the furrowed brow. It took a good 10 minutes for Mike to stop laughing.

I'm laughing so hard in the kitchen that I almost (almost) peed!
We have no idea where she got that, but it cracked us up and I didn't want to forget it!

"Can't you see- hee- hee"

Kaitlyn's newest "fravrite" song.

I just love her. I am SO thankful that she loves music! :-)

Kaitlyn's first "real" haircut!

A few days ago I took Kaitlyn to my friend Amy, at Aloha Salon in Castle Rock ,

for her first real hair cut.

She was SO excited!

She kept saying "It's not going to hurt, RIGHT?"

She was very concerned that she was going to cut all of her hair off. Amy reassured her and all was well! She sat so very still and was so serious. When Amy finished, she asked Kaitlyn what she thought "Kaitlyn said... Ummm, I think you could take a little more off!" What a little diva! The best part for her was the candy cane at the end!

Here are a few pics!

Getting set up. She really liked the penguins!

She was so proud - she really felt like a "big girl"!

Picking hair ties for the COOL BRAIDS!

There was a little more, but I didn't get to it before some got swept up... dang it! :-)

Thanks Amy for making this a really great experience for us! You're the best! ;-)

Another snowy Halloween

With the storm dropping a ton of snow on us (and still snowing) I am reminded of all the snowy Halloween's as a kid. I remember being SO upset about not being able to go trick or treating because the weather was just too bad. One Halloween in particular I remember Bev was even disappointed. She stopped at the store and got us a bunch of scary movies, we got to eat cream of wheat for dinner (which was a treat and one of our favorites) and eat all the candy that we had to give the trick-or-treaters. I think we ended up having a few die hard kids that year (clearly their parents didn't win the battle). It ended up being one of the best Halloweens! I can still picture Jamie and I on our tummy's in the living room (on Baltic St) watching the creep show - and laughing at Mom who thought it was the scariest, most disgusting movie ever! HA! That still cracks me up. I also remember the time I got my tonsils out 8 days before Halloween and was DETERMINED to be well. I was a zombie punk rocker. The zombie part was unintentional. Snowy Halloween Lights

Good Times! I remember all the fights with Mom and Bev about having to wear my jacket over my costume (or winter boots for crying out loud!) Me, "But if I wear my jacket no one will see my costume" Bev, "well if you don't wear your jacket, no one will see you - period". I wore the jacket, begrudgingly. I remember dressing up for school (that was the best) and getting to do the costume parade!

Kim and I as Gypsy's in Grade School at one of the costume parades. I hated this costume at first because it was "home made" and not store bought (like all the other kids). But when I got to school and parents and teachers thought my ear rings were the best ever - well... it quickly turned in to one of my most favorite costumes ever! :-)

The view from my front porch this morning.

I find myself thinking about this as my little girl gears up for her first snowy Halloween. Last year was a fluke - it is NEVER nice enough here to trick or treat on Halloween - with only a light jacket. She is so excited and I am hoping she will get to go to a few houses - or I will find myself in the same predicament as Mom and Bev... "what to do with a ticked off trick-or-treater!"

I will add that Mike couldn't be MORE happy with the weather. For one, he loves the cold - but more importantly, he gets to use the snow blower! Kaitlyn loves it because she gets to use her bucket and fill it with snow - to make stuff! Guinness loves to tunnel through it - I am the odd one out. I am making it through this mess by imagining myself on a beach, with a fruity cocktail of some kind - smelling coconut suntan lotion....aaaahhhh.

Yesterday afternoon. You can't see the grin because he took off so fast!

Kaitlyn was super excited yesterday to go dig! Boy - wonder what she is going to think of today's accumulation!

Guinness in his tunnel path this morning.

Tea Anyone?

Last night as Mike was on the phone and I (undoubtedly) was playing around on FB, I heard Kaitlyn downstairs talking to someone. "What's that honey? WHAT?! No - Stop it, I can't understand you honey, What? OH, OK!"

Intrigued, I came down to see what she was doing.

This is what I saw.

Every place neatly set on a blanket table cloth, complete with a coaster (plate), a crayon(spoon or fork) a tissue (napkin) and some of her bears patiently waiting to be served a gourmet meal. She even had a centerpiece!

The bears were dressed in their Wednesday night best (her old nightgowns that she refuses to get rid of even though they fit her like a t-shirt)! Apparently the bears were a bit upset that there was no "real" food.

I came down just in time to see her heading for the pantry - where I will point out Mike was sitting next to and had no idea the mess she was about to make. LOL.

I just love watching her play and use her imagination.

Lil' Munchkins party

Kaitlyn was well enough to go back to school last Thursday, just in time for her first Halloween party. Mrs. Holly allowed me to sit in and help out - so I snapped a few photos. It was so sweet to see all the kids interacting and learning. They made treat bags, had story time, they danced and sang and searched for Halloween eggs filled with treats - the makings of a fine party I must say!
I really enjoyed being able to be a part of their day - and the popcorn balls were to die for! Seriously - best I've ever had!!

Here are a few of my favorite shots - see the slide show on the side for the rest.

She is super excited about trick-or-treating this year - and even more SO to be Wonder Woman! Man, to be a kid again!

Lions and tigers and Swine flu - Oh MY!

No lions or tigers, although I'm sure I growled just as much as one. Kaitlyn came down with the swine flu and narrowly escaped hospitalization. My poor little angel had a fever of 103 (with Motrin) for 4 days. I was able to get the presciption for tamiflu, although her Doctor said it wouldn't be available much longer. She is mostly better now, no fever, but still doing breathing treatments (we are down to two a day). During this time Mike was also sick.
It is so hard and scary to see a little one so sick. I am so thankful she is on the road to recovery!
Now - after taking care of Mike and Kaitlyn, I am starting to come down with something.
Where is my tea? My tissues? My soup? My vicks rub down?
I got nadda.
Sigh - such is life. The life of a Mom.

Jennifer Louise Robeck

Jennifer Louise Robeck, of Cotopaxi Colorado, Born May 23, 1955 lost her battle with cancer on September 12, 2009. Known as the “burrito lady” to many, Jennifer loved to cook and lived life to the fullest. She and Carol, her partner for 18 years loved to fish, camp, hunt, sing and dance. Jennifer was a proud Coloradoan who loved her mountains, the Bronco’s and the Rockies! She loved to play games and would grace us with her legendary whistle upon winning! Jennifer is survived by her brother Chris Robeck and Uncle Harvey Robeck and many dear family and friends. We would like to invite all her knew and loved her to a celebration of her life on October, 10 2009 at the Cody Park Church in Cotopaxi at 1:00 p.m.

These are just words. Words that will be printed in the paper. She was so much more than words, and I'm having a really hard time summing up her life with words - summing up my relationship with her in words.

It was no secret that Jennifer and I didn't always see eye to eye. In fact she down right pissed me off at times. But, she never treated me any differently because of it - nor I her. I think she was one of the few that I just "accepted" as they were. No more - no less and she accepted me. We had a few rough patches here and there, but I really don't remember them as much as I remember her smile and laugh.

She had an infectious laugh - it would start off as a small chuckle then build to something that, even if you had no idea why she was laughing, you would join in!

We played a lot of games; poker, dice, card games, board games, horseshoes, darts - you name it and she was in! And you could count on that whistle when she won! For those of you who have never heard it I compare it to the whistle in the Rawhide theme song...She also loved to ski. She took me skiing for my very first time - and man! That was a great day! Definitely one of my favorite days! I don't ski often, or very good - but what I can do is because of her... and I'm grateful for that experience.

Our "thing" was food. We loved to cook, and we cooked really well together and I think that is where we bonded. We really liked bouncing idea's and recipes off each other (I did more bouncing than she). It was a special treat when we got together for a meal because you could believe it would have every course imaginable! :-) She loved her "snackies" and sample time at the grocery stores was a highlite of the day! I often used her to test foods for me, to see if they were too spicy. If something was spicy her cheeks would sweat. No joke - little beads of sweat would form on her cheeks right above her cheekbones...and she would look at me and say "Don't eat it!"

She was very generous, if she had it and you needed it, it was yours! Of course, she did have 5 of whatever it was!!! She was a big bargain shopper! Her and I would just get so tickled if we got a great deal on something! It didn't matter if she didn't really need it - what could she get it for?! She wasn't cheap either. The first gift she ever bought me was a pair of pearl and diamond earings from the Shane Company. I was speachless... I didn't know if I was more excited about the earings or the fact that she got them from a company who's commerical I had memorized as a kid! (Go ahead say it with me... The Shane company just off Arapahoe Road and Emporia street one half mile east of I-25....) I still love those earings and I will forever cherish them.

She loved to crochet, and I'm really bummed now that I didn't have the patience to learn. She tried to teach me and I'm telling you - that's hard! She loved quilting and wood working - I have been on the receiving end of each of these talents and I am grateful.

>

I am grateful that she was a part of my life, and I'm going to miss her.

Working Out!

Nothing much to say about this - it's just cute!
Here are Kaitlyn and her Daddy working out! Pardon the mess in the Garage...

Camping - August 09

We got to go camping again at Elevenmile (we really liked it last time). We got up there Friday afternoon and enjoyed a nice night all by ourselves. It was the first time we were camping and it was just us! It was a beautiful night, couldn't ask for anything better - well maybe for my air mattress to not have a hole, but other than that it was great!!
Saturday we were joined by Gabe and our neighbors Monique, Brian, Riley and Zoe. We had a great time - the weather turned a bit crazy Saturday night tho!

Check out the link below to see all the pics!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5435&id=100000095584659&l=a03bb7a885

First day of school

Okay - so today is actually her second day of Pre-school. I am sitting here drinking my coffee, in complete silence because Mike is driving today. I'm thinking to myself "what should I do now?" Seriously - What should I do now? I know it's only two hours but I found myself with this nervous energy. So - I decided to bake some bread (in the bread maker of course) and get going on laundry - Only after I sat for 20 minutes and just did nothing. I didn't talk to anyone. I didn't watch t.v. I just sat. It was kind of nice! Now, to tackle that darned pantry. Uggh.
Tuesday was her first day - and NO, I didn't cry. Almost - but the tear didn't come out. She marched right up to the door, kicked off her shoes and asked where to put her book bag! She didn't even say goodbye! (That's the part where I almost cried.) She learned about the letter "A".
Kaitlyn is beside herself excited for school and "Mrs. Holly's class" and all her new "friends". Wednesday was excruciating for her. She must have asked 20 times "when do i get to go to Mrs. Holly's house?" She sang a song for me today "adios, adios - see you on Tuesday! See you on Tuesday." I think she is really going to do well!

Here are some pics from the open house and from her first day.

All set to start learning!

Daddy explaining that we have to wait until Mrs. Holly opens the door.


My little angel!

All sass, but still so cute!

Brushing her teeth all by herself, after all she's a big girl now!

Her folder! I know I'm a dork - I thought this was exciting!

Some of the classroom

Mommy and Kaitlyn decorating her book bag.

Mrs. Holly and Kaitlyn.

can we go in yet??!

Sorry for the backward order - I'm having a hard time organizing pics on here lately. Anyone else having this problem?

one more super cute pic!

Kaitlyn's friend Zoe had a spa day for her birthday - and Kaitlyn got her toes painted and this...

SO SO CUTE! What have we set ourselves up for?!

my first salad from my garden!

On the 4th I got to eat a whole salad entirely from my garden! It was SO delicious! Fresh lettuce, radish, spinach, tomatoes, basil, parsley and cilantro!

My Garden is growing fantastically!

Day at Chatfield Res

Last weekend, we went to water world and had a GREAT TIME! I hadn't been there since High School. It was so fun we all had a great time and I can't wait to go back!

The next day we went to Chatfield with my brother-in-law's family and our neighbors. We had a great time! It was nice to do something different - the kids enjoyed hanging out in the water and the big kids played badminton! Thanks to Aunt Patty, we had TONS of food and nothing went to waste! Check out my dirty face girls! LOL That's when you know you're having a good time!

Above are Jan, Mike, Richard, Mike, Jarod and Dee in a battle to the finish! :-) We had a lot of fun - laid back fun day!

XBox360!

My cousin Chris generously gave us an Xbox360!!! How lucky are we?! By we, I mean Mike because all the games are his, he got a remote for it (which is his) and he got me one game (Sonic) but won't show me how to set up a profile so I don't have to start over each time.

I'm going to have Jarod show me how ... and then.... watch out! That baby will be ALL MINE! LOL

Even Kaitlyn is getting in on the action! She loves mortal combat. So - is that a bad thing??

Thank you Chris for you generosity! We greatly appreciate it and are thoroughly enjoying it!

Where has the time gone?

Wow - I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since my last post! To start, I am totally addicted to Facebook. It has occupied all my free time lately and yes, I am ashamed! (Not really)

So - aside from facebook, what have I been doing? Enjoying the summer, enjoying the rain, loving my garden and hanging out with my family! Here are some pics of us enjoying the sunshine!

Kaitlyn gettin' jiggy wit' it!

Taking a sip out of her birthday pool!

The kids dancing - so cute! Check Jarod's moves out!
Below are Zoe, Kaitlyn and Bean showboating in the front yard!

Garden Update

Have I mentioned how utterly proud I am of my garden? Well - I am! I am SO stinking proud! Food is growing, ACTUALLY growing! And pretty darned good I might add! :-)

It hasn't been without it's problems tho - the wind knocked over my tomato planter and all the tomatoes on the bottom got broken. The hail killed several things... actually I killed more than the hail did trying to protect it from the hail. Sigh. But, overall things are growing and I can eat them ... AND I have been doing it totally organic! No harmful pesticides or growth enhancers! I got this great book from the library that I may not give back (just joking Chris....) and it has tons of organic tonics that help your garden, yard and flowers! I recently treated my garden to a pest pulverizing salsa - to get rid of harmful bugs! It smelled so good I wanted to eat it - except that it had 6 jalapenos in it and it would have been way too hot! But, it worked! I have made a friend with a crab spider. Yes, I said it - a spider. Don't get me wrong, we're not hanging out having iced tea or anything but we are "co-existing". He lives on my tomato plant, and eats all the bugs and promises not to sneak up on me. In turn, I let him live. Symbiotic relationships are so nice!

My yummy spinach

Here are a few pics! Today I think I might make a salad with my lettuce, spinach, cilantro and radish! ;-)

Above - Some of my lettuce, and one of my radishes! YUM!

My bell peppers are just starting to grow, and an overall view of the upside down planters.

Here are my cherry tomatoes - you can see one is almost ripe! Ya! The one looked like it had a seed growing on the outside, so i picked it off, and it left a scar. Ooops. This is where the spider lives, he was camera shy today. The second pic is a close up of one of the bell peppers.

basilSome lemon boy tomatoes

Well, that's all for now, have a great day!

On a sad note - I came home from work to this.... apparently (or we're guessing) that the wind broke my tree. :-( Anybody know of a great deal on tree's????