4th of July Weekend

For 4th of July weekend we drove up to Monte Vista, CO to visit Micah's parents. Originally we were going to stay home for the weekend, but since Micah came home a couple of days early from AK and we had already spent a weekend at home with the family, we decided it would be more fun to travel. I had not left ABQ for more than a day trip since January, so I was particularly excited to leave town.

We weren't sure how the kids would do in the car as the last time we attempted a two hour drive to a climbing area they cried almost the entire way there and back, but this time we were prepared with the movie "Cars" and a sing-a-long show on the iPad. We left around 8:30 in the morning on Friday and we started the drive without the iPad on, but we only made it about 45 minutes before the non-stop whining and crying started, so we turned on a show and for the most part it helped. We made our customary stop in Ojo Caliente, which is a hot springs resort and spa halfway between ABQ and MV, and the kids really enjoyed running around outside. The second half of the drive went much better, although Alexis fell asleep for about 20 minutes at the end, which meant she didn't take an afternoon nap.

The weekend was spent playing inside and outside at Grammy and Grandpa's house, going out to dinner, going to a local park twice, watching a small town parade, and going to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. The kids loved having free rein of their grandparents' house since they don't usually have that luxury at home. They also had a great time playing in the water at the sand dunes, so we will have to make that an annual event. The drive back to ABQ went better than expected as we didn't have to stop at all during the four hour drive, although I'm sure the fact that the iPad was on for almost the entire drive helped.

Here are some photos from the fun weekend:

Lexi and Faith at Ojo Caliente

Ojo Caliente

Running through the paths at Ojo Caliente. Although the kids were tempted the yell and scream as they ran around, luckily they were mostly quiet as this is the kind of resort where everyone walks around quietly wearing robes, so the last thing they expect is three rambunctious two-year-olds.

Jack is obsessed with guitars right now and Grammy was able to borrow this from his cousins last time she was at their house. Jack was thrilled with this toy all weekend!

Jack and Faith at the park

Faith is a natural rock climber

Faith, Jack, Alexis at the park

Our three zombies watching TV with Daddy in the morning. They don't get to watch TV first thing in the morning at home, so this was extra special.

Jack and Grandpa on the stairs in the side yard

Lexi ringing the bell in the garden

These horses and the firetrucks were the most exciting parts of the parade in Alamosa. I was sure there would be at least one band, but sadly I was wrong. Oh well, at least the kids were entertained.

Parade watchers

Faith and Lexi on the 4th of July

We turned the sprinkler on and the girls weren't as thrilled with it as Jack. Here is Lexi running away from the spray.

Faith got pretty upset every time she got wet from the sprinkler. She just doesn't enjoy being messy or partially wet.

Jack loved every minute of the sprinkler

Lexi going down the big slide at the park

Lexi and Faith climbing up to the big slide. Jack only went down a couple of times and it took a lot of convincing, but the girls loved the tall slide!

We had to repeat the photo that we took last time we visited Monte Vista in September (see below). They definitely have grown!

9/26/14: Last time we were at Micah's parents' house we took a pic of the kids in the 20 gallon crock. They still looked like babies 9 months ago!

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Lexi

Playing in the water with the sand dunes in the background

In some areas of the creek there were strong currents and Lexi actually got knocked over by this one that Jack is playing in, as she walked through it without holding on to anyone's hand. It was a little scary as she was flipped over by the water several times, but luckily I was able to grab her really quickly.

Faith

Lexi taking a snack break and trying to warm up after being tossed around in the water

Lexi

Jack and Faith

Me and Faith

Jack throwing sand

The kids absolutely loved the water and they really didn't want to leave

The Past Month

Summer has been very eventful for us thus far. Micah spent 18 days in Alaska and during that time my parents were here for over a week, then Micah's mom came for four nights, then my friend Katie came for five nights, and then Micah's mom, sister, and our nephews came for a night. Micah was supposed to return on June 28th but due to an incoming storm and the fact that he made it to the top of Denali twice, he was able to fly home on June 26th instead. Two days makes a huge difference when someone has been gone for 18 days, so I was very excited to have him home early. Plus, I didn't have any visitors lined up for the last two nights to help, so I was grateful that I didn't have to spend any full days or nights alone with the kids while Micah was gone.

Our trio was officially 25 months yesterday and they have continued to learn new things, such as:

• Alexis can pretty much walk up the stairs by herself (no railing, wall, or hand)
• Both girls are very close to singing the entire alphabet by themselves. They also like to try to sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "Baa Baa Blacksheep." Jack tries to sing "Twinkle Twinkle."
• Jack can open doors, which is giving me some new challenges.
• They no longer like Baby Einstein shows. If I turn one on they whine and say "noooo!"
• They are much more specific about what they they want to eat. Last night the girls wanted plain raisins while Jack wanted yogurt covered. 
• They all enjoy pretend play. Just this morning the kids were eating Cheerios out of their play dishes and when they were done Jack brought some of the dishes to the play sink and pretended to wash them!
• They are all continuing to put two or three words together.

Here are some photo highlights from the past month:

My dad came up with a plan for getting rid of the old sandbox in our backyard, and I am very grateful that we were able to get the project done in one day! We moved the sand (and dirt) by the bucketful to the driveway since our air conditioner makes it impossible to get a wheelbarrow through. We found a guy that hauls away trash, so my dad helped move all of the sand (again) into the guy's truck in the evening. I helped with some of the shoveling, and of course the kids wanted to "help" too, but in reality my dad did most of the work.

Jack enjoying his new Mr. Potato Head that he got from Aunt Emily & Uncle Kent (the girls got Mrs. Potato Heads). "Potato head" is requested almost every day by at least one of the three.

The kids enjoying their balloons after Jack was discharged from the hospital. Jack received a couple of balloons from a friend while in the hospital, and my parents went to the dollar store and picked up four more so each kid could have two (one for each hand). They definitely understood our fairness struggle by the time they went back to MI as six balloons for our three children is definitely a necessity!

A photo with Grandpa and Grandma Snyder before they flew back to MI (A, F, J). Unfortunately we weren't able to get out and do anything once Jack was diagnosed with low white blood cells a few days after his birthday, since there was a such a high risk of him getting sick, but we still had a good time together.

Jack playing with an iPad at the hospital after a blood draw. He has had to go back a few times to check his numbers since his hospitalization. Jack is completely obsessed with iPhones and iPads even though he rarely gets to use ours, so he was thrilled when a Child Life worker brought this to him while we were at the Infusion Center.

Lexi all bundled up in a blanket. She is constantly asking to be wrapped up. This girl likes to be cozy!

Luckily we were able to get out and do stuff the last two days Micah's mom was in town as Jack's white blood cells and platelets had gone up. Grammy and I attempted to take all three swimming in the kiddie pool at the YMCA. The kids enjoyed it but we both came back exhausted from keeping such a close eye on them.

Reading before nap time (A, F, J)

Post backyard pool snuggles (A, F)

Exploring Old Town with Grammy. The kids loved the music (especially Jack!).

Reading a book with Katie

Faith loves to "feed" stuffed animals and dolls

Katie and I took the kids to the Botanic Garden and they spent most of the time running up the ramp and walking down the stairs by the pond in the Japanese Garden, but they all took a break from their workout to draw in the dirt for a few minutes. It's so funny how they copy each other all of the time!

Katie has come many times to help me with the kids while Micah has been gone, so this time I got a babysitter so we could go out and do something fun. We had a great time drinking wine and painting our tulips! 

Unfortunately we had only seen Micah's sister's family once since our kids were born. They live in the Denver area and the one time we did the 7.5 hour drive was pretty miserable with our trio (plus much longer due to stopping numerous times), so we haven't made the trek back. I was glad that Becca and her kids were able to come to ABQ for the first time, if only for a night, as it was fun to see the kids with their cousins again. 

Grammy with all six of her grandkids, ages 2 (x3!), 2 1/2, 3 1/2, and 5 1/2. Our house was very noisy with all six kids playing, but fun!

I don't know what our kids thought about Micah's whereabouts while he was in AK. Once in awhile they would mention him, especially when they saw pictures of him on the wall, but they are used to him being at work most days and there were a lot of people in town to distract them. When Micah was home when the kids woke up from their naps, though, they were all pretty excited to see him! No one can replace Daddy!

On Micah's first full day back in town we went to the zoo, which was crazy busy since it was a Saturday morning. The kids spent a lot of time outside of the wagon and for the most part they did a good job holding our hands.

Half of the fun of getting wet is being wrapped up in a towel afterwards!

Watching Daddy grill

Jack woke up due to a thunderstorm when Micah was showing me the Go Pro movies from his trip, but Jack didn't seem to mind watching the movies with us. 

We decided it was finally time to move our gate from the living room entrance to the stairs since our kids are getting older and they need more room to run around. We put the gate a couple of stairs up so that the kids could safely practice walking up and down a couple of stairs on their own. Overall this transition has gone well.

Micah kept his AK beard for an extra week after he got back from his trip. This pic was taken right before he shaved it off.

Jack had another blood draw yesterday to check his numbers and this time I had to take all three kids along since Micah had to work and I didn't have help in town. I was prepared with a movie, juice boxes, and snacks, which are pretty much all a toddler needs to be entertained, and the Infusion Center gave the kids coloring books and crayons. The appointments are over an hour as we have to stay and wait for the results in case he needs treatment, but fortunately his numbers were still okay. Since everything did go down a little bit, though, we have to keep going back to make sure things don't get worse. 

Alexis building a tower as high as she can reach!

The girls having an early morning tea party on our new ottoman coffee table. I decided this was a necessity since we needed something kid-friendly in our living room. 

Shopping at Target this morning. I take the kids with me on a lot of errands, but Target is by far one of my favorite places to go with them since the triple cart is so handy!