Visit with the Duffins

My sister Carol Lee and her family stopped in Denver on their way to a Duffin family reunion in Idaho. It was great to see them (for the first time in four years)! After 3 1/2 long hours stuck in traffic and VERY narrowly missing an accident (the guy swerved to miss me and hit the person in his own lane. But in my defense, he shouldn't have been changing lanes, going so fast, and should have checked his blind spot), the boys and I finally made it to the hotel which had a really cool park behind it. They didn't want to do anything except play so we had to get some wiggles out before we went to eat dinner. We went to White Fence Farm the first evening and then to the zoo the next day. The zoo was fun but hot and humid. Carol Lee laughed at me when I said it was muggy but at least it rained to prove that the humidity was high.


Jake was too hot and too tired to watch the penguin feeding that everyone else was watching.Boy, did it rain! We barely made it to the monkey house before the downpour started. I thought it would only last about fifteen minutes, but an hour later we decided to make a run for it. Of course the shuttle van passed us on the way to the gates and asked it we wanted a ride. We were soaked by that point, so we just finished the walk. The puddles were more than ankle deep and almost rolled into the wagon but it was exciting! The boys loved it!

Manitou Cliff Dwellings

Josh has been wanting to go to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings since he saw a picture of them in May. So near the end of June, we drove up there to check them out. Unfortunately, the picture he saw kind of said it all and he was a little disappointed when we got there. They were neat--just not very many of them.
We brought the boys' cousin Kyle with us. He sure looks like he could be their brother though!

Because the cliff dwellings didn't take too long, I also took them over to the Cave of the Winds. I've wanted to take them for a while but had to wait until Jake turned 5 to go on the tour. I really like the caves. We saw some great stalactites and stalagmites but my favorite was cave bacon. It's pretty tough to get pictures in the dark of the cave, and although it doesn't look like it Josh really was having a good time.

New house

I found this great house to rent for the next few years. It's over 100 years old but fully refinished and beautiful inside! It looks like a magazine--that is, until I get my crazy furniture in there. Somehow I don't think my hand-me-down peach and gray wicker sectional will go. Of course it's so ugly it doesn't go with anything. I'll have to put it in the carriage house. Yes--the home has a carriage house! I'm very excited--moving day in mid-July!

Testing Day

School may be out, but Josh still has tests to complete. He passed his karate test for yellow belt with flying colors! He's EXTREMELY excited and has been taking his new belt in the car everywhere we go. Good job Josh!

Josh's favorite day of the year

School's out for summer! We are all very excited--no homework for three months! It was a good day but I can hardly believe that Josh will be in 3rd grade! It's cliche but I can't believe he's growing up so fast!

Josh's teacher--Mrs. Powley, Josh, the 2nd grade aide--Mrs. Martin, and Kaedyn--a classmate who wouldn't step out of the picture. :-)

Graduation!

So we celebrated our first graduation! Jake is now officially done with pre-Kindergarten and has moved on to the real thing! I actually think any graduation before high school is a little superfluous, but he sure looked cute in his hat! They sang several adorable songs including "You Are My Sunshine"--one of my favorites. For Mother's Day Jake gave me a button that every time I press it, he has to sing that song. I love it!

Sorry it's sideways. I can never remember which way to hold the phone. It's still cute.

A Visit from Mom and Dad

Here are just a few pictures from Mom and Dad's visit in May. The boys and I were still in school, so they were on their own for entertainment but I think they did OK.

Josh got to show off his karate skills for Grandma and Grandpa.

Jake likes his Little Dragons class (although this is not what they do during class).

Jake loved his Cookie Monster ice cream.

No trip is complete without a bike ride on the Riverwalk.

Classic Jake.