Littleton Historical Society & Bear Creek Picnic

I love that about eight years ago eight couples with no kids met at church and formed a young adult group that has stuck together despite the pull of lots of "real life" experiences. Thanks to Jackie, some of us have begun to meet once a month with as many (here, now!) kids as weather and school permit.

Today we went to the Littleton Historical Society to tour their fantastic *and free!* pioneer village and working farm. Turkeys, goats, mules, and more are right on site. This was my family's first time there, and I know we'll definitely be back. The kids had a ball, and as usual they made their fun. The all-but-empty old barn was quite possibly more exciting than the two-storey, fully stocked house we walked through.

It's so fun to see our little kiddos growing up together. We missed those who couldn't be here today. Here are some more pics. And check back because I have a couple of videos to post soon, too.

From Pioneer Woman Photography

(click title of post to see article)

Then, get in the frame. Now.

“You will have written exceptionally well if, by skillful arrangement of your words,

you have made an ordinary one seem original.”

– Horace

Sneaky

I snuck some in with earlier dates:

Song

Snow! Glorious Snow!

Questions

Did I say we were averaging 5 questions per minute? It's the denial, I promise. It's more like 20:1, or sometimes more than that. And there's something about the confined space of the car that really turns up the frequency.

Not even counting just the incessant, stacatto "why?"s.

This morning, at breakfast, it was all about Spanish:
Mom, what's 'nose' in Spanish?
Me: "Um, I don't know. I'll look it up." Typing into MyFriendGoogle: "English to Spanish translation" then realizing, I don't know how to pronounce Spanish either.
What's finger?
Me: "Deedoe. No, day-doe." If the child would ask me French, it would all be easier. But I'm learning, too, though he'll retain 90% more than I will.
Day-doe. What's 'foot?'
Me thinking: We really need to find a Spanish program. This is good.
What's 'hand?'
Me: Oooo, I know this one. Thanks, Sesame Street. "Mano, Zach."

Sometimes, especially by about 5pm, it's hard to remember that all this inquiry is a blessing. He's a bright little Poppet, who's just trying to soak in the world.

Biker Babe

"I gotta adjust this derailleur cable tension."

Olivia's been receiving package after package these days, as she attempts to fix up her bike for this season's races. Ebay has been her most frequent emailer, and she's watching those bike-part sales like a hawk. On the weekends, she gets in at least one long ride, whether-the-weather-be-fine, or whether-the-weather-be-not. (By "long," I mean 6+ hours.) Her first race is coming up on May 9th, the Front Range 50, down at Bear Creek Lake Park about 3 minutes from us. We'll get to see her several times, as she completes each of the 5 ten-mile laps. Bike season is here, friends.

Oh, yeah. By "Olivia," I mean "Scott."

But don't count her out of the fun. Daddy is The Best. Nobody earns a "welcome home" squeal like he does.

Song

Sung to the tune of "Frere Jacques" (or "Are You Sleeping?"):

Oh la-Livia, oh la-Livia.
Cakes and Pie! Cakes and Pie!

Lolly Dolly Livvy Girl,
Lolly Dolly Livvy Girl.

Cakes and Pie. Cakes and Pie.

We sang this way-back-when LaLivia was just a Biddle Dollit. Oh, wait. She still is. Anyway, we did (and Zach, too) sing this back when she was under the age of one. Now, of course, we realize we should have been singing, "Oh-ah-ee-ih-ah, Oh-ah-ee-ih-ah, Cakes and Pie..."

Melodies bring back the memories just like that *snap*.

When I hear the CD that played non-stop during Zach's first year sleepy-times, I'm lulled into a peaceful fog. And then shocked that I survived on so little sleep. That music, which did not magically induce sleep, played continuously during naptimes, and nighttimes, and on the road trip to Montana, and out at the cottage in the MN humidity, and in the cramped little Vegas hotel room on the computer when Zach was the youngest SuperFan at his Pop's baseball tournament. We only stopped playing it when the curious Poppet had banged on the buttons of the player enough that it finally acquiesced, and played its last lullaby.

Sampling of Zach-isms

"C'mon computer. Do yore thing." - As he tried to turn on the DVR to watch "the rabbit show" while I was still in bed.


"Mom, can I have some brocolli?" Gotta love that the kid enjoys brocolli.

Z: "Mom, do mommy deers and daddy dears lay eggs to have baby deers?"

K: "No, Zach. Deer don't lay eggs.

Z: "Well, den, what do dey do [yes, we took a step backward in the "th" use, here] to have babies?"

K: "Wait a minute, Zach." [thinking: I need to get this down before I forget it. And benefiting from the delay because our question per minute ratio these days is about 5 to 1. So, by the time I had finished jotting it down, he had forgotten this one.]


"Livia! Get your sword, so we can fight." Bless her heart, I'm pretty sure she got one because I heard the whapping, and no whining from the other room.

Beautiful Day!

Following our five inches of snow yesterday (I'll see about posting some pics from that), we had a georgous day today! Tank tops and flip-flops and a two-park day.

Just to rub your nose in it (sorry), I have to ask, is this the view from your oil-change station?

View out the rear window, as we drove out of the garage:

Seriously, it was almost a bit of heaven getting the oil changed:

1. I drove right up and had no wait.

2. It was just Zach and me because Olivia was finishing up lunch at "school."

3. Zach practically galloped into the waiting area where they have a bucket of toys. Although his favorite fire truck must have been retired, he found a new Hot Wheels race track that kept him busy when he wasn't peering in through the window at the workers in the service area.

4. I was practically bubbling in my seat where the sun poured in from the skylight above.

5. I had a basket-o-stuff-to-keep-me-busy, including a magazine to tear up and underline and no one to tug on my shirt or request a diaper change or spill something...Ahhhhh.

6. Chuckles as Zach said, "I know where the bathroom is...and I can go all by mysewf." And he did. And he left the door open. So I (and anyone else who might have wanted to) could still have keep track of him. Luckily, I got there just in time to close the door before a technician came back into the room.

6. To cap it all off, my iced white mocha lasted just long enough for me to slurp down the last luscious sip as I signed the receipt. In, out, and on with the day!

Really?

:: More Snow? :: Isn't it almost May? ::
:: Don't get me wrong, I think it's absolutely, snow-blanketed-peacefully Bee-u-tiful. ::
:: But I think it would be more beautiful if it were still January. Or February. Gosh, or even March. But it's April 27th, folks. Really? ::

:: Those May Flowers are trying so hard. ::

Breakfast Counting

...and then the camera ran out of memory. He can definitely count beyond four.

Zach has really mastered his "th"s lately.

I'm (a little bit) lamenting the loss of the "I sink I left dat sick book over der."

Got Chocolate Milk?

Olivia can finally tell you her name! (I'd better get practicing. I'm not sure I've been saying it right.)

Happy Earth Day - Clotheslines

Coincidentally, I received the poem below just as I was thinking, "I need to bring in the clothes on the line before those clouds open up."

A clothesline was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by.
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the "fancy sheets"
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the "company table cloths"
With intricate designs.

The line announced a baby's birth
From folks who lived inside -
As brand new infant clothes were hung,
So carefully with pride!

The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed,
You'd know how much they'd grown!

It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.

It also said, "Gone on vacation now"
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged
With not an inch to spare!

New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way . . .

But clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is any body's guess!

I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung on the line.

I have mostly fond memories of being "made" to hang clothes on the line at Grandma's house, growing up. Dragging the umbrella-like line out to the hole in the middle of the yard; the smell of heavy, wet linens; running under them; toes digging into the soft ground; spending "hours" combing the grass in search of Mom's aquamarine earring; folding sheets out in the sun; jumping in the basket on top of fluffy, warm clothes; the heaven-scent of line-dried sheets on bed at night.

And, today, our HOA does not allow clotheslines. Really? So I have one long, retractable line that is not permanently affixed, but which I jerry-rig to the poles of our deck. It's not really high enough, but it works. And I challenge the HOA police to call us on it.

I'm such a rebel, you know.

April (Snow) Showers

We certainly had some showers over the weekend. It started just as Scott was (good hubby!) fertilizing the lawn, in a steady, building rain. The forecast said it was supposed to turn to snow at 1am, but when I peeked out the window at 5am, it was still just rain. By, 8am, however, we were blanketed with several inches of the white stuff.

It's amazing how different even a few miles makes. As the kids and I trucked up over Green Mountain, the snow was thicker and heavier than on our side of the mountain. The gym's parking lot was sloppy, and cars parked in crazy jigsaw puzzle rows. Thankfully, when it was time to leave, only one side of the car needed to be scraped, though we did have to wait about five minutes for the internal temperature to regulate so I could see out the front window.

We headed back up and over Green Mountain, then about 5 miles south to socialize and play and eat (healthily!) at McDonalds playland. There, the parking lots and roads were just wet. No snow.

By 11am , our friends up the mountain in Evergreen said they already had two feet of snow, but "down" at our home's elevation, the snow didn't ever accumulate to much more than two or three inches inches at at time. That said, I'm not sure I've ever shoveled such heavy snow. As I pushed and hoisted, it continued to fall in soppy clumps, and my jeans were soaked by the time I came in. It was impossible, of course, to keep the kids from scooping up handfuls. Olivia was at first thrilled, and later not a happy camper in her fleece mittens. We followed up the shoveling escapade with a hot bath.

Pretty much from Thursday night until Saturday morning, the rain-snow mix did not cease. At least at our house, it took only two shoveling episodes to keep the driveway clear. I-70 which takes folks up to the ski hills was closed Saturday morning, though, due to accidents, avalanche danger and rockslides. We heard that the snow on the trees up there was causing branches to snap.

Who knew such a storm would bring five inches of precipitation in the middle of April? That made up for our dry, dry winter in the span of three days. Now, of course, we're expecting 70 and 80 degree weather in the next few days, so it's been sloppy at the park. But we're grateful for the moisture. Just ready for the May flowers.

Learning Opportunities Abound

Just when you think all you can do is try to come up with another trick to entertain the kids while waiting for their brunch, BAM!, you realize this is a great opportunity to learn from your surroundings. In this case, just focus your attention on the nuggets of knowledge posted on the walls at the Country Road Cafe.

Pop, did you soak it in? It will make you wiser. You're already older, so let's round it all out.

And again, say it out loud: ...the-way-your-WIFE-told-you.

CO Sky

Live from Lakewood!

SmithWallace Ensemble

One show only.

Featuring Master Zach on vocals and lead guitar, with DollyLollit on the recorder and PopSmith with backup chords and the only real melody.

At a special post-show jam session, The DollyLollit did some picking herself.

April Fool's Day Thunder Snow Storm

After nap time the sky was brown and there was something in the air. Just knew it was coming. A few minutes later, the first sprinkles of soft hail began to fall. And I had to ask Zach, "Is that thunder?" We listened, and heard the wind. And watched the snow-hail swirl. And then we heard it. Thunder.

Zach went to get Olivia. He opened her blinds so she could see that we couldn't see the mountain. The snow was thick, blocking our view of Green Mountain. Still, on the ground, it looked like broken up styrofoam pieces packing the cat's dish.

All of a sudden the lightning and thunder were right on top of us, rolling and flashing all around.

Now it's moved on. And we have just large, fluffy flakes blanketing our outdoors.

And fighting over the fighter airplane indoors.

And a craving for some warm, comfort food. Who's delivering?

Earth Hour 2009

Let's join the world in switching off our lights for an hour on Saturday, March 28th from 8:30p - 9:30p.

* This movement started in Sydney in 2007. Yet another reason Australia is SO cool.

Snow! Glorious Snow!

Well, it wasn't an ideal day to be on the road. In fact, I could barely see the cars in 50 feet in front of me, but we stuff going on. And I'm a winter driver. Or something.

The town basically shut down in the afternoon, as the sleeting now froze on the roads, and Zach's school conference was postponed because people couldn't get up the drive to the school. But that didn't keep the kids inside. Zach decided the snorkle was the way to beat the horizontal snow. Not a bad idea, really.

And then Friday came, in all its sunny glory:

Good luck, little blooms

From 9news.com: A long-awaited, much-needed spring snowstorm will impact most of the state Thursday and Friday. Heavy snow beginning in the mountains Wednesday night will spread to the Front Range and eastern plains Thursday during the day, lasting into the evening.

Denver will have its biggest snowfall of the season by far Thursday into Friday morning. 9NEWS Meteorologist Marty Coniglio says that after some wet snow in the morning, the snow will intensify in the afternoon and evening.

Around metro Denver A WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect from 6am until 6am on Friday. Total snow forecast by Friday morning:
Metro Denver: 8 to 16 inches
Front Range Foothills: 16-22 inches

Out in western Lakewood, we generally get the high end of the metro forecast amount or the low end of the foothills' forcast. 16 inches? We could sure use it, though of course tomorrow is the day I'm scheduled driving the crew all over creation like a madwoman. Wish us luck.

Love You!

Hiya!

Such cute kids.

They must get it from their mother.

Scratch that. It was certainly their dad.

Sprung?

Video for documenting tweeting birds, not bluebird sky.

Spring has sprung in Colorado! We've had a string of 70 degree days, accompanied by their signature Colorado bluebird skies. We've been worried about sunburn, and have ventured outside in shorts and shortsleeves and flip flops (oops, haven't done the pedicure yet). The buds are spouting and the crocuses are already up and gone. I've seen nests with eggs in them (does it count that it's in a bird cage in Zach's preschool?), and those little songbirds are loud in the A.M. It's so SWEET to see Spring!

(There. That should do it. We really need a snow storm.)

Opportunities Missed

Photo Ops, those were.

As many of you know, I love to have the camera on hand because life passes too quickly, and I can't remember it in my old age. (Sometimes I think I have that backward, and that I should put the camera down because life passes too quickly, and I should be living rather than documenting...it's a constant battle.)

Anyway, to err on the other side, I missed a few opportunities recently:

1) Tutu
Olivia's first piece of dress-up clothing was a purple, garage sale-find tutu. It's too, too big, so the stretched-out elastic is pinned to fit her teeny waist. There are periods when she wants to wear it all day long for several days, and then we don't see it for weeks. A few nights ago, we checked on her before our lights-out and found her all curled up, out cold, snoozing the way only kids can. Over her pink blanket sleeper, she'd pulled up the purple tutu, all the better to spin and chassé into babygirl Dreamland.

2) Lipstick
You know that lipstick I borrowed from Heather for my wedding day, and then "forgot" to give back to her (it was almost gone when she gave it to me, afterall)? Well, it's been almost gone for over 6 years now, but that hasn't convinced me to toss it because sometimes I think I'll buy one of those lipstick brushes and make sure I don't waste any of that discontinued Aveda hue. (That and the fact that I lost it.) So far, though, I haven't bought the brush and haven't gone the route of digging my pinky down into the tube to slather on the last of it. That's what daughters are for, right? Yes! Olivia at your service. Expert lip-stuff finder, finger-digger, and schmearer, front and center. In front of the computer screen, that is, and with an aim that's a little off-center. More than a little off-center, probably, like way off the lips, onto the lids, and the cheeks and the keyboard and the computer screen. No wonder she was so quiet (*alarm bells sound*) over there. Not all quiet is peaceful.

3) Toilet Bowl
We're sooooo proud of her when she uses the big girl potty! She has decided, apparently, that she's such a big girl that she prefers to use the regular toilet over the training potty we have. Unfortunately, she has yet to master some of the finer points of toilet use:
1. Girls don't lift the toilet seat before sitting down.
2. The lid is not a "bahk-pahk" to pull down after you're seated.
3. It's better if you don't fall all the way in so you resemble a napkin being pulled through its ring. "Uck, uck, uck, Ma, uck." You might think that's an appropriate comment to make in such a situation. I would say so, too, but in "Olivvy-ish" that means "stuck," which was also true. Yuck. And up to the emergency bath.

Sadly, because now the childhood photo montage at her wedding will be three slides shorter, I didn't capture any of these moments on film.

What is the world coming to?

Cupcake Tips

Colorado Days

Days like yesterday are why we love living here. Load 'em up; roll 'em out.

We did a short spin around the park before picnicking at the playground by the lake. It was a beautiful day!

You might be from Colorado if...

(have you heard this one?)

You might be from Colorado if...you carry your $3000 bike on top of your $300 car.

We spotted this Coloradoan at Bear Creek Lake Park on our family ride and picnic yesterday. It was a beautiful day, and the bikers were out! We even saw some Lance-ish riders in their space-age-looking helmets (can you tell who doesn't have the bike jargon down?) doing a time trial.