Sunday, September 29, 2013

Howl at the Moon in the Rain with a Pink Gorilla

It was raining and cold all day Friday.
I begged (and even bribed) the kids to skip the Howl at the Moon fun run for their school.
I promised them nobody would show up, their friends wouldn't be there, they wouldn't miss a thing.
 
 
They were having none of it, and apparently, all the other kids were having none of it too because everybody was there.  In the rain.
 
 
Jason thought he wouldn't have to run. 
Reed's kindergarten teacher lets all her students walk with her. 
But when she made the mistake of mentioning the kindergarten group came in last place last year, Reed bailed on her immediately and informed Jason he was running with him. 
 
 
Here they are at the start with our neighbors Audrey and Sam.

 

 Almost to the finish line of the 1 mile! These two finished in 13:38.
 
 
 
Kyle wanted to run the 5K with me and JR wanted to run with his friends.
JR took off with his friends and I never saw him again.
 
 
Kyle and I lined up with our neighbors Tom and Alex.
(And yes, I'm wearing ear muffs and about 14 layers. I don't care that it's only September. It was freezing!)
 
 
We also lined up with a pink gorilla. 
Cause...It's Colorado, and things just can't be totally normal.
 

 Kyle got lots of high fives and "Way to go, Little Dude" along the race route. 
This is him at mile 3.
 
 
Kyle finished with a time of 42:22.
He came in 8th in the 0-8 year old category, and had there been a 6 and under category he would have won!
 
 
(There was actually one 4 year old and one 6 year old and he beat them both.  
Everybody else in his age group was 7 or 8.)



As you can see, he was super excited to get a bag of popcorn as we crossed the finish line.
And yes, that's rain.
 
 
 
I finally found JR after the race. He finished with his friends in 38:34 (which is awesome for a group of boys who never run).
(Ninja moves tend to cover up your face for pictures.)
 
 
 
Thankfully the sun came back out yesterday and I've finally warmed up!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Givin' Me an Art Attack

Wednesday is art class morning, here's what Reed drew.
 


He's so proud of it he wouldn't even let me touch it.
 
He's informed me he wants it framed and hanging in the house.
 (I'm thinking pinned to the bulletin board in his room is more the direction I'm wanting to go.)



After about the fiftieth time of Reed making us compliment him, Kyle decided he'd draw a picture too.
 
 
And for the record: For Kyle, this is good. Like masterpiece good.
 
It's a picture of Mittens.
(Paw-Paw's kitten)
 
He drew a collar on Mittens (I think that's the yellow part), so I had to make a phone call home to tell my dad that Kyle wants him to go out and buy Mittens a collar...so he'll match the picture.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Twosies

Whose genius idea was it to let Kyle and Reed do football, soccer, and roller hockey all at the same time?
 
Oh yeah, that would be mine.
 
 
It seems this week all 3 have converged into a perfect storm of games:
 
2 football



2 soccer



2 hockey


6 games in a 5 day span.
I'm just trying to keep up with the "costume" changes.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

The Candy Man

Jason and I spent Saturday morning walking with JR's Willy Wonka cast in the Broomfield Days parade.
 
 
The theme was "Colorado Living at its Best"...which means everyone threw on their Broncos or Rockies gear and called it a day.



I wasn't aware just how big of a production the parade was.
We were #71 in the line up, sandwiched between a dragon butt (pictured) and a truck load of square dancers. 
 
 Not sure if that placement's a statement about how the parade organizers feel about theater kids or not.



Kyle and Reed walked with us, and due to a "previous year's incident" throwing candy was strictly forboden, though you could hand it out. 
 
 
As you can see, I'm not sure Kyle actually passed any out. 
The only passing of candy he did was through his own lips!

Friday, September 20, 2013

Fashion Fabulous Friday


I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before (and if I have, I'll mention it again) but school doesn't start until 9:30 on Wednesdays so the teachers can plan.
 
(Why was this not in place when I was teaching?!)
 
 
Our school has different activities kids can take during that hour, so, if you want, you can go to school like it's a regular day, or you can sleep in an extra hour on Wednesdays.
 
 
My kids take activities, because, as I see it, I only have to drop them off in one location for 3 different things. 
It's a win-win.
 
 
JR takes a computer/robotics class (he took Chinese last year, but was the only kid to sign up this year so they cancelled it).
Reed takes an art class.
 
 
And Kyle takes Tae Kwon Do. (or as he calls Kai Twon Do.)
 
 
On Wednesday they earned their belts.
 
 
The excitement of a new fashion accessory that was earned because of punching and kicking is pretty much a dream come true for this one.



And if you don't think Kyle wore his belt to school that afternoon, then you've never met Kyle.
 
I had to put my foot down though, I wouldn't let him wear it to hockey that night.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

One From the Broncos Playbook


 
 Kyle uses the "Colorado play" and distracts the offense with his grass offerings.
 



 And look! Not only did it work, it's totally legal...cause ya know, we're in Colorado.


 
 
 The downside of Kyle's grass play is that it can make him a bit mellow.
 
 

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Glory, Glory Hallelujah!

I got the call...and school is back on for tomorrow!
Yesssssss!
 
JR has play practice tonight, the littles have football...we are back in business.
 
 
It's been touch and go around these parts.  Not from floodwaters, but from stay-at-home-waters.
 
 
For the past two days I've made them go and jog with me...literal running energy off. 
(They made it a mile without stopping both days...though they certainly weren't complaint free miles.)
 
 
I have no photo evidence of JR since he wouldn't let me take his picture (I guess he wasn't movie star ready) but Reed has looked a lot like this.
 
 
And I found Kyle wearing both his hockey helmet and his football flag belt.  Just look at that face. Even dressing up in his athletic wear can't combat his boredom.
 
We're so mind-numbingly brain dead from a 6 day flood vacation that I'm sending a piece of tape for Kyle and Reed's 't' word tomorrow.
 
That's right, tape.

It has to be something smaller than 2 inches that you leave in the sound box for the entire year and you don't get back...ever. 
 
Tape it is.
 

Monday, September 16, 2013

Sweet Belle

My mom just gave me the sad news that their dog, Belle, died.
She was 15 and had a wonderful farm dog life.
 
 
 
My dad found her on the porch of the barn this morning, (she usually sleeps on the floor by their bed, but she wouldn't come inside last night) it looked like she just went to sleep and didn't wake up. 
 
 
 
My dad always says it's as hard to loose a pet as it is a person, and he's so right.
 Pets are such a sweet part of the family!
 
 
 
These are the last pictures I have of her that we took this summer.
She was the best dog.


 
 
  Here are some of my favorites.
(It's funny to see Belle with her summer hair cut and Reed with no hair!)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And, of course, my all time favorite picture. Ever.
 

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Don't Send the Arc...Just Yet

We haven't washed away.
 
The rain of biblical proportions is still falling off and on.
 
The not going to school of biblical proportions also continues.
 
They didn't go Thursday or Friday, and now school is also cancelled for Monday and Tuesday.
 
 
Oh, serenity now....
 

Thursday, September 12, 2013

A Good Rain

So you might have heard we're a bit damp up here in the Denver/Boulder area.
 
 
I say "a bit damp" simply because in Texas the amount we've gotten would prompt my dad to proclaim "we got a good rain".
 
 
 
Here in Colorado, my dad's definition of a "good rain" means school is closed today and tomorrow.  
Roads have washed away.
And I actually heard one friend use the words "biblical proportions" in reference to the wet stuff falling from the sky.
 
 
 
To be fair, this did happen a mile or so from our house.

But please don't let the above image worry you, we are totally fine and totally dry.
 
As evidenced by my childrens' request to go to lunch at Golden Corral where they proceeded to eat cotton candy in "biblical proportions".

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Oh Dear. No Deer.

Jason and JR came home from JR's first deer hunt (as the hunter) empty handed. 
He was disappointed, but is learning that that's part of hunting...you don't always come home with an animal.
 
 
They were in Kansas where a record high of 107 was set.  Not many animals moving around in that kind of heat.
 
 
This is what he looked like for 4 days.

Monday, September 9, 2013

Don't Point That Thing at Me

There's a lot of work that goes in to learning how to be an Ingersoll.



Luckily, I get to retain my Reynolds-ness when it comes to shooting things.
(I don't.)




Just look how hard they're working, how can this possibly be fun?




What can I say? The smiles say that it is.







(BTW, do you know how hard it is to take pictures at an archery range? 
That whole "not standing in front of a speeding arrow" thing is kinda a requirement.)

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Davids and Goliath

Soccer season started yesterday.
Remember the giant from the spring?
If not, you can refresh your memory here .
 
 
My kids hadn't forgotten him at all. 




They were worried they'd loose as soon as they saw him.
I can't say I blame them, it's scary to go up against someone 3 times your weight in the under 6 league!



Reed kept running into him and I thought he'd bounce off like he was hitting a brick wall. 
But Reed took him down with him everytime!


 It was a win yesterday, with Kyle and Reed both scoring a goal.
 
 
Ha! I love it when they can beat giant "kindergarteners".