More summer fun......

We finished up our week of soccer camp with amazing Coach Dave. How many almost four year olds do you know that get to go to camp with an "International Soccer Coach"? Yeah, only the best for our kids! It was a beautiful sunny week with lots of laughing and some learning. The first pic shows most of the group working hard at dribbling drills with our alpine vistas in the background. Next is Colter and Chloe goofing around when I asked them to pose. No. 3 is Dylan with Bryan, Shai Ann and her big sis Ayla.

Our weekend adventure took us to Grand J, Glenwood and the Upper C. We took Tim to catch his train to Cali and all weekend when Colter saw an Amtrak he would yell out "HEY, Tim we're gonna beat you there!" Next we went to Glenwood to meet Nana and Janet so that Mom could get her new car. We all went rafting Sat. afternoon from No Name to Two Rivers. It was perfect weather and we even stopped at some hot springs on the side of the river. Nana and Janet only had one rogue wave jump over the side and get them. I'll get some of those pics from Mom and post soon.

On Sunday we went up to Rancho and ran into Jen and Robert------what great timing! Nicole (Steve's soon to be step daughter) joined us and Colter was in love! He spent the entire day trying to entertain her and show all of his skills. Dylan tried to get in on the action too, but he doesn't have as much game as his big bro. We had a great afternoon trip and even stopped at the dinosaur tracks along the way. Colter was very impressed. We spent the night at Robert and Vannie's house in Eagle. They were very nice to host our travelling circus, especially since they have a three week old cutie named Megan and a two year old named Jack. It was nice to show up and see old friends with our random unplanned weekend style!

We stuck with the dinosaur theme with a stop at the Dinosaur Museum in Fruita on the way home. Colter was just about beside himself with this one and it got us some great behavior the entire car ride! The last two pics are from there.

Dylan is in constant motion with no more crawling. He is running and climbing everywhere and likes to be held less and less. He is also becoming more of fan of Daddy these days. Tonight he actually crawled out of my lap and onto Trevor's chest to fall asleep! Daddy is so happy and I'm a bit sad. My baby is growing up so fast!

You might be a redneck if....

this is your backyard swimming pool!

Colter's quotes of the week "Mom, I have an allergy." "To what Colter?" "Going to sleep mom, I just can't do it!"

While going over Imogene Pass between Telluride and Ouray with Trevor and Dylan, he said "Dad, when I'm a Daddy I won't take my kids over this road, it is NOT safe." (It does have a huge drop off so he is not too far out there on this one, but ask him about it now and he will tell you how much fun it was)

We have been going to soccer camp this week and it is so cute! The first pair of soccer shoes/shin guards and socks is just about too much to handle. They have a great coach and are enjoying every minute, the weather has been wonderful and that helps. The other picture is of Dylan and his little buddy Bryan- they are the next round of athletes. Bryan is Chloe's little brother for those of you who remember Colter and Chloe pictures and stories from years past.

Two Years Ago Right Now...

We were still happy and expecting our second child, not sure if it's a boy or girl, not sure of a name, not sure of how many more hours of labor. If we had only known what was coming next......we would have done it all over again. That statement has taken some time to say without crying. For a time after Tyson's birth and death, we just wanted it all to stop and go away and for everything to be different.
Two years later, I'm not sure what to say. The build up to what would have been Tyson's second birthday and is instead an "anniversary" has been uncomfortable, but not as intense as last year. Our "new normal" still finds me at times anxious, snappy, pissed off, lost, so happy to be through "the worst of it", thankful, sad, guilty, strong, more focused, overwhelmed, observant, scattered and often unable to identify what is causing such strong emotions. In other words a little bit crazy and mostly OK with it. Our lives have changed so much in the past two years, it is sometimes hard to quantify or qualify.
Last year we were playing the "one year ago today, we were doing this and life was still OK" game and now we can say "one year ago, our world was already changed", so that makes it a bit easier to be more present with day to day stuff. Although I think grief is (and should be) a life long journery, we are in a better place and feel that we have come out of the dark- most of the time. We are integrating our experience with Tyson into our lives and finding a place for it all. This past few weeks, we have had time to look back on where we have been and what we have done since our world crashed down around us. We are thankful for the friendships that have formed or remained strong, for the support we have received and the love that has been shared. This year we have more answers for "what are we going to learn from this?" and "what will we do from here?" I can't say we are totally excited with all of our answers, but we are excited that our focus is more positive now.
I think that is enough late night ramblings from a cracked Mommy, I will try to sleep now since I have two wonderful, beautiful, healthy, happy, energetic boys to care for early in the morning.
I will finish today with the same words I said to Tyson. "Thank you for coming to visit us on earth, we love you!"

They'll drive us to drinkin'

Yes it is root beer and yes it is empty, but the pictures remind of us of Daddy in his college years. Some of you might say Mommy too, but since I am perfect in the eyes of my children, we'll just skip those stories! We have a fun outdoor concert series every Wednesday night and it is a good time to picnic and hang out with friends.

We have had another busy week of summer work and fun. Finally a groundbreaking at Tim's house next door. I am very excited about that. Mom and Dad closed on their beautiful piece of land in Ridgway and now the work has started. We picked out all of the colors, cabinets, carpet, doors, trim............ and their house is being built as we speak. After a few hours of back, shoulder and equipment breaking work trying to clear trees off of the homesite, the professionals were called in. In our world that meant Rob with a really cool tractor that has a mulcher/grinder attachment. He took care of business and literally saved everyone weeks of work. It looks great and we will post pictures soon. Their land is only a couple of miles from a legendary hot springs pool and we already have the family membership activated. Last Saturday, while I sold extra stuff at a neighborhood garage sale, Trevor and Colter enjoyed a new section of the Gunnison River outside of Delta. They went with a group of friends that included lots of other kiddos. Needless to say, Colter now is a water fighting machine and wants a HUGE water gun. His comment of the week (so far) came on Sunday when I asked him to get out of the truck and help me move some rocks. He laid down, closed his eyes, put up his hand and said "Just five more minutes, HONEY, I need a little nap!"- oh yeah, he even had Trevor's tone of voice on that one.