Things that make you smile

Olivia and Zach spent the past 2 1/2 days with Mimi and Papa. Again, a win-win-win for everyone. Dave is in Spain, Monaco, St. Tropez, you name it for work. Hard work, I'm sure :-) I had quiet time. Do any of you know what that is? Movies, yoga, errands, reading, more yoga, you get the picture. I'm not boasting, I'm grateful!

O & Z were so happy and sweet when I picked them up today. We had an awesome day of reading, playing with games and toys, eating breakfast for dinner and a late night swim. They were finally in bed at 10 pm, but it was worth it. The stories they have told me are precious.

Mom and Dad took them to feed my cousin, Kim's, animals while her family is on vacation. I must have heard at least 15 times today that Olivia is going to get a bunny. Kim has a bunny. We discussed why we couldn't get a bunny for our house. I "think" it's in our subdivision rules that we cannot have outdoor bunnies and the like (I think....), and I'm not too sure about indoor bunnies :-) I am almost caving in on the dog issue, so she is pushing her luck with the bunny. Go visit cousin Kim more often. He he. From the stories I hear, Kim has two chickens, one black, one blonde, a rooster, not sure what color he is, the chicken will peck at you and they sit on their eggs. I recieved an actual peck on the chest from Olivia to bring her point home. Also on the pet list, beagles, a blue fish (one like Olivia was given for her 2nd birthday, which she kissed and watched it try to breath out of water for several minutes before I found her!!) It died.... Kim, you will have to fill us in on any other animals, but the bunny made a lasting impression. Olivia will be knocking on your door very soon.

Olivia asked me tonight as I put her to bed if I would sleep with her all night when daddy was out of town. She told me we could talk all night until we were sleepy and snuggle because she loves me so much (followed by several long kisses). ahhh.

Both kids, independently, asked me tonight and not any other time today - "oh, where is daddy?" I said "Monaco, I think." Zach's reaction - "Oh man, that's a race track. We gotta go!" Olivia's reaction as I lay with her later on - "Oh man, don't tell Zach Daddy is in Monaco. He'll want to go!" Funny little munchkins.

As I lay with Zach, he was talking about being a genius. Seriously, it's funny, but you don't want him to say it too often (he gets it from us, so blame us). He said, "yeah, I can learn how to make cars run, what gasoline is made of, how airplanes fly..... That's what science teaches you." Just rambling thoughts from a 4-year old, but funny ones for later years.

Olivia's parting words tonight, "If we get a bunny and keep it at our house on accident, then we can't get in trouble, right? It's just an accident!" (coming from my 'Subdivision Rules' excuse) Also, "When I get older, I'm going to have a bunny, a baby one, and a dog and a chinchilla..." She just keeps adding one more thing.

Infamous Boss Pool Party

"Back in the day", we all have a story that starts out this way, right? Well, back in the day, a group of us would meet up at Dr. and Mrs. Boss' house (Mrs. Boss being our high school chemistry teacher and Dr. Boss being the doctor in our town). Ken and Kelly had numerous parties at their house and pool with or without the direct knowledge of their parents. Good times and The Boss' can laugh about it now.

This past weekend, we were officially invited to a Boss pool party to help send our dear friends, Bill and Julie Henley off from their 2 week long vacation here in Georgia. Bill and Julie live in Arkansas with their 3 beautiful children. They took residence in Arkansas about four years ago when Bill was promoted within Walmart. They love the area, the kids (and parents) are happy and healthy, so they plan to stay indefinitely. That's a bummer for all of us still residing in Georgia, but we love it when they come into town.

It all came full cirlce when we counted 16 children between our small group. Hey! We used to rule this roost (pool). Who do these little tikes think they are?! Just kidding, we had a blast sitting back and watching all of our offspring do what they do best - have fun. Our kids do not get to see each other very often, but they must know the bloodlines run deep with this crew, because they got along beautifully.

A huge thank you to the entire Boss family, especially Ken and Brandy for feeding us from noon until 7 pm (I cannot believe we stayed that long, but it's hard to leave when everyone is having fun).

To good friends and good families.

G-Man fishing

We have to sneak in as much cousin time as we can this summer (before the school bell rings). Gavin came on a trip to the lake last week along with Andrea, Ava and Gage. We had an amazing time and suffice it to say, the kids are still talking about it - all of them.

I bought worms for fishing and within minutes, the fish were on the hook. Well...maybe because we feed the fish all the time and we suckered them in to it. Catch and release is our motto around the dock, so maybe there will be no hard feelings. Gavin seriously caught six fish while we fished for about an hour or so. He was so proud of himself (we were too). Ava and Zach each caught one; it's a delight to see their eyes light up with this new found sport and independence. Olivia was the worm keeper and oversaw the fishing expedition. She wouldn't let us use the worms at first, but I was ready for some fun, so mommy overruled. Luckily, Andrea and I had a system; I didn't mind baiting with the worms (I even split them before hooking them at times) and Andrea didn't mind taking the fish off the hook. Teamwork is all it takes to put smiles on the kids' faces and lasting lake memories in their heads. It was a good week - except for the alternator going kaput and the boat dying in the middle of the lake. Ha. I knew I was in store for this, so battery #2 brought us home. I'm patiently waiting on the new alternator to arrive.....I'm missing precious boating time :-)

Colorado for July 4th

The 54th annual Porsche Parade was held in Keystone, Colorado this year. Dave thought it would be a great place to take the kids this year with their age and their interests. And, guess what?! He was right on the money. Olivia and Zach (along with their parents) had an amazing time in Colorado. Just the drive from Denver to Keystone was unbelievable. I typically do not like this drive, but in summertime, it's magical. It's something about those mountains....

Coors (made in Golden, Colorado) doesn't have much to worry about in their marketing; the mountain springs speak for themselves.

It really is something about the fresh, clean air that wakes your senses. Those senses that are dulled with the heavy humidity of Atlanta. You can't beat Mother Nature.
We took the rental (Sequoia) up steep mountain passes in 4-wheel drive. Our goal was Mosquito Pass in the Rockies, which supposedly is the highest pass, but it was closed at the top due to snow (still). So we played in the snow, hiked around the old gold mine, picnicked and came back down the same way we went up. Later in the week we drove around the mountains to see the other side and visited Leadville, along with it's many goldmines. I wish I took a quick snapshot of a local tour guide of the Baby Doe cabin in Leadville. She was something else (entirely). Missing front teeth, man's shirt and jacket, grey braided piggy tails and a personality that belonged on stage. This lady could act! And she was only a tour guide. Let's just say, her talents were wasted here. She obviously made an impression on me :-) She gave O & Z each a piece of rock with minerals.

We hoped to see much more wildlife, but we did not see much except for the animals that were a cross between rats, prairie dogs and groundhogs. They squeaked like birds, but ran like rats. Hmm, not what we were looking for in the terms of wildlife. I spotted a doe in the mountains, but what we missed in wildlife, we made up for in the views of the mountains, streams, big sky and the like.
Everyday was an adventure. When not out gallavanting, we watched or participated in Porsche Parade events. This was Zach's time. He was the youngest person (4) to compete in the Remote Controlled Car event. They drove their RC cars around a designated track and were timed. We were lucky enough to borrow a car, so Zach had the time of his life (well, for that day - he he). As we approached Keystone, Zach began yelling "Porsche!!". He proceeded to yell this EVERY SINGLE TIME he saw a Porsche. I think there were over 800 cars registered for the week long event, so you can only imagine. The Autocross was another favorite event for Zach. Just ask him and he'll tell you all about it. We only watched 15 mintues of it, but the autocross was all day. Everytime we passed the site, he would say, "can we please go see the Autocross". Again, this was days after the event, so we heard it a lot.Olivia was just happy hanging out, feeding the ducks, geese and fish in the lake (we looked out upon), paddle boating, and going to the hot tub. Nothing is better than an outdoor hot tub in the mountains. Olivia said "mommy, do you want to thank me for finding this hot tub? It's the best one." Well yes, Olivia, I do want to thank you. We proceeded to visit that hot tub most evenings.

To cap the week off were the 4th of July activities. We watched the parade in Breckenridge, ushered in by the Clydesdale horses. We commented on how different it was to wear a long sleeve shirt to a 4th of July parade, instead of our normal meltdown from the Atlanta pavement. Keystone had various festivities, so we headed back to enjoy panning for gold, jumpy houses, petting zoo, games, and a theatre show of the Ant and the Grasshopper. The fireworks were over our lake at Keystone, and we timed it perfectly after a banquet Porsche dinner. Dave introduced the new Panamera Porsche car a few nights earlier to rave reviews, so all the Porsche Club members were ecstatic. We were ecstatic over the fireworks, full moon and mountains.

It was a great family trip.