Nine

We started the weekend on Friday with Campbell turning 9. Wow! I can't believe she's 9. It seems like just yesterday that she was 2. The time sure does fly. She took pumpkin muffins to school for her friends. At school she got a special pencil from her teacher and her music teacher sang happy birthday to her. When she came home we all got ready and went out to dinner. We went to an Italian restaurant that looks like a castle. Campbell has been asking to go this place, so her birthday was a perfect excuse. The food was absolutely delicious and both kids just gobbled it up. We got a piece of cake that even with four of us sharing we couldn't eat the entire thing. It was at dinner that we gave Campbell her birthday gift. She got the Kirsten doll that she has been asking for. She couldn't not have been happier.

Saturday, Aaron was working on building a chair for his co-worker so the kids and I went out to run some errands and do some shopping. The three of us had a nice time just hanging out. We then came home to just hang out. I made some soup for dinner and we prepared to watch the baseball game. That chair I said Aaron was making, well it broke and he was no longer able to work on it. He ended up going to a gory boy movie while the kids and I watched the game.

Sunday we got up and headed out to breakfast. You wouldn't think that this would be a big ordeal but it sure was. The first place we went to were only serving brunch on Sunday and it was $15 per person. No thank you. I don't eat that much breakfast. So we loaded in the car and headed over to another breakfast place that we have been wanting to try. The wait there for breakfast was an hour. An hour for breakfast, I don't think so. We had hungry kiddos who were not going to wait an hour. Finally we just settled on the old standby I*HOP. This turned out to be a great choice. The wait was short and there was a lady there making balloon animals for all the kids. Campbell got a white cat and Caleb got a blue "baby wawee" (giraffe). They each got to choose the color and animal for their balloons. If only we had known what wonderful things these balloon animals were. Once they got those things neither of them (and by neither I do mean Caleb) whined for the rest of the morning. They both carried their animals everywhere. They were great!

After breakfast we went to the "out of our class" shopping mall. This mall has certain high end (read: expensive) stores that we don't buy from but are fun to walk through. IT was a nice relaxing morning. We then came home where Aaron made stew for dinner and we settled in for what would turn out to be the final baseball game of the season. Our home town team was swept in the WS but it was fun to have them in it. They are a young and talented team, so I'm sure they will make it back to that stage soon. It all made for a perfect fall day.

Party Central

We had a great long weekend. Campbell was off of school on Thursday and Friday. We had a great time. On Thursday we went to park with our new friends. S is very nice. They have 3 kids; 2 girls (8 & 5) and 1 boy (almost 3). We had a great time playing with them. After the park we headed to lunch with some friends from the Navy who were in town visiting. It was great to have such a social day. Those days are few and far between for me with my work schedule, so that was nice.

Friday morning the kids and I went to the zoo with S and her kids. Again, it was nice to have another adult along for the ride. Usually it's just the kids and I that go, so it was nice to have company. We got to see the baby giraffe and the baby zebra. Caleb was thrilled. He has been asking to see the "baby wawee" (baby giraffe) for weeks now. That evening Campbell had her birthday part sleepover. Last year's sleepover was such a success that we decided to do it again this year. She had 2 friends come over. They watched their girly movie, played girly games, and listened to girly music. They all had a great time. I had to make them go to bed at midnight though. They were willing to stay up longer, but I was too tired.

Saturday we went to the pumpkin farm to pick up a couple of pumpkins. I hate that they ave to be so expensive at these farms. But, I guess it's the experience that counts. Caleb really loved climbing on the pumpkin piles. Campbell didn't want to do any of the games. She just wanted a pumpkin. The pumpkins at this place were all huge. Campbell picked out hers. It was too heavy for her to carry, so I had to carry it. We looked and looked to find one for Caleb that Campbell was able to carry. Forget getting one that Caleb could carry.

Sunday is when everything went really crazy. You see, Saturday the temperature was 78 degrees. We went to get pumpkins in t-shirts. We woke up Sunday morning to snow. It continued to snow all morning. When all was said and done we got about 7 inches of snow. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but we had a cookout birthday party planned for the kids. We had all the fixins for a great grilling get together. We still had the party, but instead of everyone hanging out in the garage as planned everyone was in the house. Aaron rented a propane heater for the garage so he could cook outside. ( You gotta love these stores being open on a Sunday morning. We aren't in the South anymore for sure.) The party turned out really nice. We had 4 families show up. We sure missed our normal birthday guests but it was nice to at least have some people to share the day with. Aaron made some awesome food as usual and I did a great job ordering the cake and picking it up. Happy Birthday to our kiddos!

Pictures from the week

What a week!

We had a busy week. It started on Wednesday with Caleb's birthday. Our baby is now two. It seems so unbelievable. He had a great day. We started by going to breakfast as a family. That evening we had cake. He was a champion candle blower. He was able to get them both on his own. He then opened his gifts from Nana and Poppy and Campbell. He got a Leo (Little Einsteins) doll from Campbell. From Nana and Poppy he got an Elmo and a movie. His gift from Mommy and Daddy still isn't here despite the fact that it was ordered on October 1. Oh well, he's too young to know the difference. It was a great day for our little man!

Thursday, the kids had their yearly physicals. Both kids are very healthy and have met all of their developmental goals. Caleb was able to stack the blocks and went one step further and was able to tell the colors of the blocks. The only not so great thing that we got with both kids is that they are too small. Campbell still isn't on the growth chart. She never has been. Caleb is still not on the chart for weight and his height fell from 20% to less than 3%. In two months we have to re-weigh and re-measure Caleb. If he hasn't gained 3/4 of a pound and/or grown 1 inch then he will have to go see a specialist. In 6 months we have to re-measure Campbell. If she hasn't grown and inch in that time then she will have to see a specialist. We believe that everything is fine and that they are just small kids. But, if there is something wrong we would like to know now when we can do something about it.

Friday night, Aaron and I got the chance to go out on a real grown-up date. We went to the Navy Day Ball. Every year there is a celebration for the Navy's birthday. This is always a big deal and most places go all out for the event. This one was no exception. It was a lot bigger than we had anticipated. We arrived and had our first cocktails while we waited for our friends to show up. One of Aaron's sailor friend's needed a date so Aaron set him up with a girl from work. Once they arrived we headed to the ball room for the formal part of the ceremony. This is where speeches and toasts are done. They also do some special things for the POW/MIA sailors as well as for those lost in war. It's a really moving ceremony. After all that we ate and then danced. We made fun of overly drunk people. And believe me, there were some drunk people. One in particular was at our table. We didn't know him, but believe me we will never forget him. The two people Aaron set up got along great and even exchanged numbers. It was really nice to have such a wonderful parents only night.

Saturday morning Campbell had another marathon. Aaron was at drill weekend so it was just the kids and I. We got on the train at 7:30 am and headed downtown for the race. We arrived 30 minutes later and got her checked in at the sign-in table. The race wasn't scheduled to begin until 10 so we had some time to kill. The weather also picked Saturday to turn into winter. It was so incredible cold out there. Luckily the Radio Disney booth was there to play music for the kids. We spent an hour or so dancing to keep warm. Caleb visited with Ronald McDonald. At 10 the races began. Campbell still had to wait though because the 1/4 and 1/2 milers went first. Once those were finished it was time for Campbell's group to go. They started and finished in front of the capitol building. The run took them on a loop that went past the art museum. Campbell loved that she has been to all the places they were running by. She ran her mile in 10 min 36 sec. That is fast for a kid her size. She got her medals and we headed back to the train to go home.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and trying to keep warm. Hopefully this week will be a touch slower.

The Louvre Comes to Denver

At least part of it did. The exhibit "Artisans and Kings" which normally resides at the Louvre is currently on display at the Denver Ar Museum. Campbell right now is fascinated by anything French. Her room is even decorated in a Paris theme with poodles and cafes and the like. When we heard that this exhibit was here in Denver we decided we had to go.

We probably didn't pick the best weekend to go. Denver had an extremely packed weekend. Here's a quick list of events: Race for the Cure, Oktoberfest, Avalanche hockey game, Broncos game, and two NLDS Baseball games (although only one was needed. Go Rockies!). With all of this planned parking was not an easy task. We should have taken the train. Oh well! We eventually found a place to park and headed for the museum.

The Louvre exhibit was fantastic. There were paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and funiture. Campbell was amazed that these items came from castles and were created more than 200 years ago. The tapestries were beautiful. The colors are still very bright and the detail was perfect. I found it amazing that these pieces of art have survived for more than 200 years in perfect condition.

Once we finished the two floors of the Louvre exhibit we headed upstairs to look at the rest of the art museum. There was definitely some nice art and then other "art" that you wonder how it ever made it there. We ended up spending 3 hours at the museum and only made it through the first building. There are two buildings to the museum. We will be heading back another day to see the rest of the museum.

After leaving the musuem, we walked through downtown to go get some lunch. Aaron, Campbell and I ate while Caleb napped. We then went to a cute little spice store where Campbell got some Ginger ice cream which was surprisingly good.

Campbell Lenna

Wednesday we had Campbell's parent teacher conference. It pretty much went as we had expected. She is a very bright child who loves school and does well in school. Her teachers were very proud of her for being elected to Student Council. They said that at this age and being new to the school it's a very big thing to get that recognition from fellow students. She is getting terrific grades in all subjects. She's doing very well in math. This is where we expect some difficulty. They use a different method for teaching math here than in SC. She may have some holes to fill in there, but so far so good. She's doing excellent in reading, spelling and science. She scored in the high group for her writing ability. She is our smart girl.

There is one problem, though. We have the same problem at home with her. The teachers hated to even bring it up because most kids are not like this at all. The problem is that she reads. It's not just that she reads, but she reads while she should be doing other things. She has been caught reading when she should be doing spelling worksheets or paying attention during math class. She does the same thing at home. She is the kid whose punishment is to have to pack her books into boxes and put them in the basement. Overall though, the teachers are very pleased with her.

Wednesday was also her first Student Council meeting. She has a meeting once per month. They discussed their first project which is a food drive. She was responsible for hanging some of the posters and putting boxes in two of the classrooms. They also discussed the officer positions for Student Council. She wants to try for Seargent at Arms. This is the only position available for the third graders. If she wins she would be responsible for setting the meeting location and calling the meeting to order. This weekend we will be writing a speech and making posters. Our sweet little Campbell has turned into a politician! She loves the power.

We are so very proud of our Big Girl. Can you believe that she is almost 9?!

Fall Classics

On Saturday the family headed down the street for the Corn Maze. The kids were both very excited about this outing. Campbell loved finding her way through the maze. Caleb loved picking up every kernel of corn he saw. He had to throw them to birds for "bird yumma". Campbell did get tired of waiting for her brother to feed the birds. We had to remind her not to get too far ahead so that she (or us) wouldn't get lost in the maze somewhere. It took us about an hour to walk through the maze.

Once finishing the maze we shared a funnel cake. The kids both enjoyed the yumma snack. After our snack, Aaron and Campbell went back through the maze. This time they made it through in 15 minutes. While they were going back through the maze, Caleb and I hit the little kid maze and the pumpkin patch.

To end our Corn Maze experience we looked at all the scare crows. Caleb wanted nothing to do with these scare crows. Campbell loved the bride and groom pumpkin head scare crows. All in all it was a great fall day.
On Sunday, we went to the Rockies game. Aaron was participating in a military parade on the field before the game. It was Military Appreciation Day at the game, so we attended. It was a fantastic game. Campbell was really wrapped up in the game. I was so excited to see her getting so happy about a baseball game. Finally she is showing some interest in something not girly-girl. She wanted the home team to win so badly. They did not disappoint. The teams were all tied up until the 8th inning, but then the home team scored three runs. Caleb was not thrilled with all the noise. At that point he was trying to take a nap. The final score was 4-3 Rockies. Yeah!!