Weekend Enjoyment.....

We had a great weekend. I always think it would be so great to have perfect weather all year long but then of course I realize that without bad weather, I would not appreciate the beautiful spring/summer temperatures we have had this week. So, for that and the love of the first big snow storm, I am grateful for Winter. Friday evening we took the kids downtown to the Living Traditions Festival. We have never been but due to Denvers Economics teacher having a booth there we thought we would go down there and support him. It turned out to be a really cool thing. They had 3 stages with performers from different cultures dancing, singing, or playing music. This is a picture of some Korean Dancers that performed....

There were different booths set up displaying crafts from different cultures such as Tongan wood carvers, Navajo basket weavers and all sorts of other cool stuff. It was really amazing watching this Tongan man sit on the ground and carve a Tiki out of a log... This is a picture of a Japanese gentleman teaching Japanese calligraphy....

They also had numerous stands selling all kinds of ethnic food. The smell was unbelieveable. Laotian food, Hawaiin, Mexican, Russian....you name it, they had it. Here is a picture of the Laotian ladies.....

We played it safe and ate some Teriyaki Beef sticks from Hawaii. Unfortunately we came unprepared for the chilly night air and had to leave sooner than we wanted. The kids were freezing..... Had we known ahead of time how cool this festival was, we would have made sure we could stay. Next year it will be a must do on our fun list..... The best part about it was that there was no entrance fee. Free entertainment is always good.

Saturday, Denver spent the day fishing in Idaho. Funny story.....I got a friend request from my 2nd cousin on my Dad's side. He is from Florida and I think I have only met him once...although I cant really remember it. He lives in Boise now and was talking about fishing and so I mentioned that my husband likes to fish. Long story short, Denver drove 3 hours to Idaho to fish with my cousin and his son. According to Denver, he caught 100 fish. The boys are skeptical...this could be due to the fact that every time Denver has taken them fishing it has been a bust. I guess we will have to make another trip up there and see if his story is on the up and up.... :)

Sunday, Nate and Alisa kept the kids for us so we could go and see the movie "Angels and Demons". I have been waiting for this movie for a long time. I LOVED this book and although I know that movies never compare to the books, I still enjoy watching them. This movie did not disappoint, although the beginning was different than the book. This was a little irritating at first, but about 20 minutes into the movie I forgave them because they followed the book correctly for most of the remaining movie....notice I said "most". Ah well....its Hollywood, what can you do?

Sunday evening, after the kids were put to bed, we rented and watched the movie "Taken"....this was another great movie. Very intense and frightening at times. I love movies and could watch one every night if time permitted.

Hope you all had a great weekend....it is supposed to be 90 degrees today. Time to turn on the AC!!

Horton Hears a Who.....

Well, the kids' spring break is nearly over and we really havent done anything fun. So today, since Soren left us early to get a shot (ouch!) I decided to take the kids to see Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who. I figured any movie with both Jim Carrey and Steve Carell in it, kid movie or not, has to be great. And, I was right. I thought it was very smart and witty. The kids were cracking up all through the movie. And it was just long enough to keep their interest without fidgeting too much. Now Addison was a different story. We went to the 4:00 movie and she hadnt had a nap yet so my hope was that she might just fall asleep in the middle of it. Yeah right. She was all over the place. Up the stairs, down the stairs. From one end of the isle to the other. On my lap, off my lap. It was a good thing that we went in the middle of the week to a matinee because there werent too many people in the theater.....she wasnt noisy either which was a bonus. Of course there was that little issue of her loading her diaper halfway through the movie. And brilliant Vanessa forgot to pack diapers/wipes. I remembered the illegal treats though, very important.....but diapers, who needs those! It was painfully obvious how unaccustomed I am to going out these days. Thankfully there was no gagging or dry heaving from the horrid smell. This is one of the reasons I let her walk around a bit....I was hoping it would allow that wonderful aroma to be evenly distributed rather than hover like a toxic cloud in one spot! Ok, so enough of that. Im sure you are all happy to hear about my daughters diaper issues. The movie is a hit in my opinion.....Go see it! Especially if you like Dr. Suess and the ever talented Jim Carrey.

Happy Spring!

Summers' End

Well, it is Monday. I didnt post yesterday because I had a really bad weekend. Long story short, I wrecked the van. It is rather embarrassing to admit that I hit a fixed object (a cement post) but I guess that was actually a good thing. Much better that, than another car with people in it. Anyway, the whole passenger door has to be replaced so we are currently driving a rental vehicle. I finished the Harry Potter book last Tuesday. Best book of the series! I wont say anything to spoil it, but it was pretty intense. I cried....a lot....and had no idea what was going to happen until the very end. I wont say how it ended but I will say that she made a good decision with the way she finished it. I am going to read it again this weekend. For those still reading or planning to read, make sure you dont listen to the spoilers. It will ruin the intensity of the book.

So, this week was uneventful (besides the wreck). We went and saw a movie on Saturday. It was Ratatouille. Super cute movie focusing on good food. The kids liked it. I have actually been pretty sick all week and lost my voice for a couple of days. Thankfully the worst has passed and I can speak again. We went swimming this afternoon (foggy picture to the left) but it didnt last long due to someones kid pooping in the pool. They made everyone get out and closed it for 2 hours....needless to say we didnt want to wait around so we went and got pizza and a couple of movies. The boys are watching "How to Eat Fried Worms" as I type. What a funny movie!

Well, the end of summer is quickly approaching. It ends in 2 days for Ian as he starts school on August 1st. We spent this past week buying school clothes and supplies for him. He got a letter in the mail the other day from his new 1st grade teacher and was feeling pretty good about that. He is very excited to learn about Australia this year and also that he gets 3 recesses! Makes me miss school...... Evan is very upset that he has to wait 3 more weeks for his school to start. He goes on August 24th. He cant wait to be in Kindergarten and go to his new school- Bonneville Elementary. Im excited for him to experience everything that Ian did last year. I worry about his tenderness sometimes though and am pretty sure there will be a few tears shed during the year. I hate the thought of him getting hurt by his friends but I guess that is part of childhood. I only hope I have the ability as a mom to help him through it without being too protective.... :)

So, Alec returns home on August 1st. It has been a pretty easy going month with him considering he is in the midst of pre-teenage angst. I was pretty nervous at first but other than a few eye rolling incidents and one or two attitude problems, he was pretty mellow. The month passed by really quickly and the boys are going to be pretty sad when he leaves. It is always hard for them and the questions they ask show that they still dont understand the situation completely. Denver was able to spend some time alone with Alec this time which was good for both of them. Alec will be 18 before you know it.....it is hard to believe that I have known Alec and been his step mom since he was only 3 or 4 years old.

Well, I think we had a great summer. We saw alot of movies, went on some picnics, watched the fireworks, went swimming. All in all it was fun. Next year I think we are going to attempt a trip....maybe to San Diego/Disneyland. We'll see........

Ciao for now,

Vanessa

New Pictures

So, Im going to try and do this each Sunday I guess. Seems to be the only time I have to sit at the computer anymore. We had a nice week. Didnt do a lot during the week because of work of course, but on Saturday we had a big day! First I went to Alisa's baby shower which was lots of fun. We are so excited for her and it was fun to see all of her friends giving her fun gifts for their little boy. I thought it was funny though because anyone who knows Nate knows what a fashion freak he has ALWAYS been and it seemed to emulate through all of the gifts that were given to the baby. Very stylish onsies and outfits.....every one kept saying how Nate was going to love them and I finally said "I thought this was a shower for the new baby not Nathan"......ha ha...... We love you Nate and know you will enjoy the stylish gifts..........even more than Soren will. I made a cake for the shower which of course drove me crazy. Im not sure why I do it because the process drives me nuts and I almost never really like the end result, but I guess I do enjoy it and I always hope the recipient likes it too. I made this cake to match Alisa's shower invitation and it turned out cute.

After the shower was over, me and all the boys went to see the new Harry Potter movie. I have been waiting to see it all week since it came out on Wednesday.....Denver was nice enough to stay home with Addison so I could really enjoy the movie. Wow it was great. I just love Harry Potter and cant wait for the new book which comes out in 6 days. Sadly it will be the last one and I guess I will have to find some other book to read. Addison loves to sing and has been singing the theme to Harry Potter all week. Even in church she will start "singing" during the song. I think music affects her....Im very happy about that.

Today, we went to church and afterwards we went and had some new family pictures taken. It has been awhile since we have had any taken with me and Denver in them. I have avoided it for years because of my weight but I finally decided that Im going to just have to do it because the last picture we took, Ian was just 9 months old and now he is 6! We have had 2 other children since then. Anyway, I posted the new picture above and below are a couple more.

Well, that is about it until next week........