Getting the Kids into Volunteering

In early May, I took the kids to their first volunteer activity - helping with a senior garden. In Broomfield, the RSVP (Retired Seniors Volunteer Program) in Thornton/Broomfield get together weekly on Saturday to plant and cultivate a community garden that helps low income families with organic vegetables to augment their diets. On the first day of their summer volunteer program, the kids and I showed up to help till the land behind one of the historic farmhouses in Broomfield. I helped pull weeds and others tilled the ground. Eban and Jack walked around with shovels and their gloves playing in the mud. They didn't help much, but at least they were present. One of these days, they will be helpful in their contributions!! Most of all, I was completely surprised by the amount of people who showed up and by all the different demographics. I thought it would be mostly senior citizens, but it was every age and I was completely impressed by the showing of citizens!! I learned about this opportunity through another member on the Colorado Governor's Commission on Community Service who is a RSVP member.

In May, Grammie Kass came out for a week long visit and the kids loved hanging out with her.

We also attended the annual Thornton Festival at the community park. Lisa, Ryan and I took the kids along with the Brand's children and her children. It was pretty ambitious of us to take all the wee ones, but we didn't lose a single kid! Eban at one point said he had to pee and couldn't hold it and ran behind a bouncy castle to tinkle. I'll have to learn how to handle those situations a little better as I was telling him to hold it until we could make it to a port-a-potty and he had no clue what I was talking about. On this topic, Eban loves to run in the backyard and pee whenever he can. He prefers the backyard to the bathroom and our little discussions aren't going very far. Even our neighbor was enjoying the sights from her back porch as he peed on a tree. She laughed and I made him go over to Brenda (a grandma) to apologize. She laughed while he said sorry so I'm sure that encouraged him to continue to pee outside.

Going back to Thornton Fest stories- the kids were able to "drive" a city garbage truck. They were able to go with firemen and learn how to escape a fire in a simulated trailer that blows smoke. Jack didn't do that activity but when the alarm went off, Eban was the only little kid that cried and was super scared of the simulation.

They went on plenty of jumpy castles, on a little choo-choo train (I love his thumbs up in the attached pic), had cotton candy, listened to live entertainment, etc. It was a good time.

Grandpa came up from Denver and brought a choo-choo train movie which the kids watched on the portable DVD player. My dad says it's the most boring video of a train going through a mountain pass, but the kids loved it.
Here they are watching it and of course, I'm interrupting their fun!

More to come as I need to work on the June update as I'm so behind...this will do for now!

WATCH THIS ONLY IF YOU HAVE A STRONG STOMACH


A SING ALONG


HOW SEAMUS HELPS JACK TO WAKE UP (TWO MORNING VIDEOS on TWO DIFFERENT DAYS)

Girls Night at the Cabin and New Deck Update

I’ll start with the May update as I simply have been neglecting my blogging duties! In early May, I was delighted to have a girl’s night up at Quincy’s cabin in Estes Park. Lisa, Quincy and I headed up there on a Saturday afternoon for some relaxation and a nice dinner out. When I got up there, I was impressed as it was a genuine fishing cabin from back in the day. Her grandfather built it as a fishing cabin and thus it had an outhouse, etc. They have since installed electricity and running water and a toilet!! But rustic is the key word I should use when describing this charming and quaint little place. We went for a mini-hike and the girls weren’t prepared to run into the wild life behind the cabin in the back 40!! We ran into a snake and both the girls howled as they were so frightened by a little nonpoisonous garter snake. It was hilarious to see them shriek like little girls! I tried to find it to pick it up and really make them nervous knowing that would set them into a frenzy but I decided it was in my best interest not to tease the girls with a little snake. I always go to sleep first so who knows what prank they would pull on me if I flung a snake in their direction. So we came back to the cabin for a little R&R and then headed out to eat. I was out like a light before 10pm and up by 7am…I love the fact that I can’t sleep in anymore thanks to my wee ones! In the attached pictures, you can see the homemade corral that Quincy’s grandfather made her, the converted ice cream truck that now serves as a shed, the fire pit and other scenic photos. In May, I also remember sitting in bed with Eban and he looked up at me and said, “Mama, I’m going to give you a ring.” And it was out of nowhere so I asked if it was a diamond ring like in the song we sing. He shook his head with an adamant no and said, “NO SILLY, a Hot Wheels ring.” I told him that would be the best ring ever. How cute! We also started to put in our deck so we’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors watching the progress. The boys have loved watching the men in the yard! We have also been playing a lot of baseball in the backyard and Eban pretends he's Benny from the movie, The Sandlot. He also calls Seamus The Beast and Seamus simply lops next to him while they play. Jack still uses his pacifier so I’m hoping this goes away by the time he’s two. Eban now will find Jack and say, “Jack, will you play with me?” And little Jack will say, “YEAH!” And the two boys will trot off to play together. I love hearing that…it’s just the best. JWU’s school year ended and it was sad to see many of the students go off into the world. I was close to many of these students and I will simply miss them. Ryan has been BUSY at work and finishing the year at DU. My next update will be the mid-May update which includes Thornton Fest, Eban and Jack's first volunteer activity and others...just wanted to get something new up in the interim! THE CUTEST VIDEO OF JACK, EBAN and LITTLE SEAMUS