Somebody's Growing Up Fast (and Other Happenings This July)

It's hard to believe that Gavin is 7 months already! The summer has flown by, and so have many of his milestones. The little booger is a real mover and shaker. He began army crawling in June, a week before he turned 6 months old, and honed his skills on our trip to New Jersey. Now he's more than mobile, crawling all over the place and trying constantly to keep up with his brothers. A couple of things that he's doing amaze us: he will stand flat-footed at the train table and play with/suck on trains while not holding on at all (see below). He also crawls to the bottom step and pulls himself up to standing, pulls himself up to standing when he's on our laps by using our shirts as a hand hold, and will take steps when we stand him up and hold his hands. Some people say he's going to be an early walker. We'll have to see!



Last weekend we went to my hometown - Gering, NE - to celebrate Oregon Trail Days. Since my entire family went (Mom, Dad, sisters and their families, aunt and uncle) we got a lot of quality time with family and friends. The Kirbys no longer have a home in Gering, which is hard for me still, but we stayed with the parents of my dear friend from growing up, The Parrs. What made it even more fun was that Allyson and here family were there too, as well as our friend Julie and her family. We got to have a fun evening of catching up at Jadie's house, where I was reminded that not only am I blessed to have my dear college friends, but also to have these five amazing women, who shared my growing up years, still in my life.



The five grandsons posed (if you can call it that) for a photo op with their Grandpa, a task which felt an awful lot like herding cats.



And finally, a picture of the countryside where I grew up. Some people think that the panhandle of Nebraska is flat, hot, brown, and...well, flat. Those of us who love the land in that part of the country are drawn to it's wide open spaces and humongous horizon broken only by sandstone bluffs that look so different depending on how the sun is rising or setting, how the lightning is striking the sky, how the snow is falling, and even how the fog has settled. As Allyson and I drove into town one morning to get some donuts from the world-famous Gering Bakery, I couldn't help stopping the car to snap the picture below. Being "home", though the home of my childhood is no longer there, fills my heart with peace. As my uncle says, "Life just slows down here". Yes, it does, and I love it!

Scottsbluff National Monument

A Weekend of Memories, Made & Remembered

This past weekend, we had a great mini-vacation in Summit County. This time, we stayed with some friend with whom we haven't connected as much as we'd like over the past four years. It was the first time our whole family stayed with them, and while they don't have children themselves, they are two laid-back people who put us at ease in their beautiful home, and were very gracious when the boys used their furniture for a trampoline and their hallways for a track. They also have two of the greatest dogs I've ever known - Monty and Loki. The boys had a ball with Graham's collection of Scooby Doo movies and DVD's (from the first two seasons!), and loved snuggling with a couple of dogs that are a bit more laid back than others they know.

In an attempt to save money and avoid the MLK crowds on the slopes, we decided not to ski. Instead we tubed at Copper (got a screaming deal thanks to Michell's employee discount), took the boys swimming at the rec center, and went ice skating on Keystone Lake. Our attempt to save money resulted in us doing our part to stimulate Summit County's economy! Our ice skating trip evoked a lot of nostalgia for Stephen, Michell and me. We all met working at Keystone, and have wonderful memories of our former lives. We couldn't help but laugh at the fact that we were now the "gapers" (or, "filthy Front-Rangers", as Graham so kindly put it) who were now bringing our family to ice skate and paying full price! When we worked at Keystone, paying full price for something (if paying at all) was so rare, and "hook-ups" were so common, that the resort actually rolled out a promotion called "It's not a hook-up...it's theft!" (by the way, that is my Dad's favorite thing to remember about me working there). Long gone are the days of free on-mountain dining, snowmobiling, skiing (with our employee passes, of course) and just about anything else you can imagine; not to mention the free beer that would be slid across the bar and labeled as a "mis-pour".

Good friends, good memories, and new memories being made with our kids were what made this past weekend a great little mini vacation.

Connor and Monty get all snuggly in the "cozy pit" at Graham & Michell's.

My old office on Keystone Lake (between the two white lights).
I know it doesn't look like much when you're standing on the lake,
but you should see the view from inside!

This used to be the restaurant/bar/nightclub that Stephen managed.
Now it doubles as activities reservation center and ice rink center.
(We had our first kiss here - tacky, I know)

This is the look of pure 5 year-old joy.

Hanging out on a patio at the base of a mountain
always was one of my favorite things to do...here,
we're relaxing with Graham and Michell
(oh, the boys are there too...they take the pictures
while we drink the beer!)

We were quite surprised that by the end of our
tubing session, Connor wanted to go it alone (he loved it!)

I just can't get enough of these pictures
with their arms around each other!

Happy Halloween and Such...

What a fun weekend! Here is a look at how we spent it:

Connor and Kirby pose with their Clone Trooper cousin, Jadon

Ollie the Pirate went trick-or-treating with his cousins...


Uncle Nick was introduced to the father/son trick-or-treating tradition while the mommys handed out candy and socialized (that's code for enjoyed a cocktail)...

The whole family enjoyed an evening at Bob and Heather's house,
sitting by a fire with no jackets on November 1st! (here with Lorie
my young, hip aunt and Megan, Connor and Ollie)


And two little boys had a ball with a flashlight,
a camera, and some leaves.

(I'm assuming this is Kirby warming his buns over their "campfire", which was made of leaves placed over a flashlight - isn't is a crack-up what boys think is funny?)

The End

Photos!

The reasons that I started blogging are many, but two of the reasons are: a. it's a great way for me to record the happenings of our family (since I've been terrible at doing photo albums, scrapbooks, or baby books), and b. it's a way for me to post photos for our family who lives far away. It's been awhile since I've posted any pictures and we've been busy doing a lot of fun things. That being said, here are some photos of recent happenings...(hope you have time, there are a lot!)...

Connor and Daddy show off his 19 3/4" trout - what a catch!

Connor was a little scared of his fish.

Kirby didn't catch anything, but Dad says he was a real fisherman, never leaving his post.

Our boys take a paddle boat ride with our good friends, the Siegfrieds. Yes, I actually
allowed my kids to go out in the middle of a lake sans adults! Thank goodness for Regan, the oldest!

Our whole family at Ollie's baptism

The boys got their faces painted at Stephen's company picnic - at the zoo.

Connor shows off his new wheels on his 3rd birthday - check out the hair!

Nanna took the boys to the zoo on Connor's birthday.

Baby Ollie gets ready to party!

The boys with their cousin, Jadon. The cake was one of my more "rustic" attempts.

Connor plays us a tune on his new guitar, while his Uncle Joe looks on (lookin' good Joe!)