War Wounds 2010

Let’s talk war wounds for a brief moment!

Obviously, I had plenty of war wounds on my neck in the past two months from various biopsies and to the surgery. Check out my war wounds at the various stages after the thyroid removal experience.
Next up on the war wound list at the Tracy House in Denver is…well…my mother! While I was still at home ‘resting’ from my surgery, Tutu fell out of bed and cracked her head open on the night stand table. She had to get two staples from a local clinic. Lovely. These pictures are the end result of this escapade! Finally, Jack felt empathy and wanted a war wound/wounds. He wore band-aids all over and then he started to place one on his neck to emulate his mama. How sweet! But at the same time, the day care provider was getting questions from folks about his various wounds and she had to explain that he really didn’t have one. Following her new experience in a local Colorado clinic, Tutu bought us flowers for the front porch while adds color and life to our brown house. With the new addition, the kids take their responsibilities of keeping them alive via watering very seriously. They each have a watering can of their own to use when they come home from school. Of course, these new bright flowers - - well, they bring bees so that's exciting for the boys to watch...or squeal (depending on their moods). One of the last outings we had with Tutu prior to her departure back to Chicago was to the Colorado Museum of Nature and Science. The boys enjoyed the hands-on activities but we bypassed the Body Worlds exhibit. Check out the view from the museum...perfect day and pictures of the city of Denver!

Late last week, Sara, Ryan’s coworker, came over and brought with her a half bushel of fresh Maryland blue crabs! Sara and Ryan almost picked all of them. Talk about tedious labor and stinking up the house. I didn’t mind as it reminded me of the beach in Fenwick. It was just funny how a smell can bring you back to a place and time in your life…isn’t there a Kenny Chesney song with those lyrics?

Eban's 4th birthday

Tutu came in town to help tend to me following my surgery. It was hard as I felt decent enough following the surgery but I did pay attention to doctor’s orders and took it easy the first week or so. Our first little outing was to the local Erie airport to catch Cessnas land and take off. For fourth of July, we went to the big hill behind our house to watch the fireworks. It was a huge letdown as the kids had meltdowns of various degrees and the fireworks were so far away that it wasn't worth it. Ugh. At least we saw a beautiful sunset - - that was a big bonus! We also celebrated Eban’s birthday three weeks after the actual date at a little indoor kid place called Little Monkey Bizness. All the kids ran around and played on the slides until it was time for dinner and cake. Our friends, Keegan and Lisa of dbar desserts, made Eban a Hot Wheels cake and the kids raved about it! Jack claimed the police car and Eban claimed all others. I thought it was nice that Eban shared the toys on the cake. What’s interesting about little Jack is that he’s turning into me as he’s the only little kid who didn’t have any cake as he said he doesn’t like cake. What kid doesn’t like cake?

In lieu of presents, we asked for food donations so we could go to a local food bank with the nonperishable items. Our back trunk of the minivan was loaded with items and I’m proud to say that Eban didn’t even notice the lack of presents. Tutu was kind enough to find the church and deliver the items.
I do want to say that Eban did get presents from his family and certain friends. Grandma and Grandpa sent him dress up hats which the boys took to immediately.

Grammie Kass sent him a Cold Stone Creamery credit card which he proudly exclaimed that he’d buy all of us ice cream ‘for FOREVER’ since he has a credit card now.
And Grandpa from Denver gave him walkie talkies which we used at an outing at the zoo. I love this picture of the boys with their serious 'walkie talkie' faces! Anyway, besides being stealth zoo explorers, we also fed the birds at the zoo which was a highlight although Jack kept tipping his little nectar cup over so he lost his stash within a two minute span.
At a neighborhood garage sale, I got Eban a kid’s recliner. It’s a tad broken but Eban loves to sit in it and recline like daddy. It was an expensive purchase. One whole dollar!! Keegan and Lisa got him a Hot Wheels car that changes color in hot water or cold water. So overall, it was very successful for our little four-year old! Here are some interesting shots of the boys enjoying their goodie bags from the birthday party as they excitedly ran outside the front door to eat their first candy necklaces - - talk about being silly!?

Good news on the Jack Jack front…he is almost done with the bottles. He hasn’t used one in three days and is sticking to using sippy cups. Now we need to work on the diaper and the pacifier. He has shown no interest in giving up the diaper since going to a new daycare. He does rid himself of the pacifier as he says he’s a big boy.

Also in June, my student assistant, Courtney, was chosen to help Fox News in Colorado with a summer grilling segment that occurs every Thursday night with the meteorologist. To prep, she came out to the house and used our grill to practice for her first live show as the ‘sous chef’. She was too cute in her outfit and tolerated the massive amounts of dog hair/drool and the dogs’ excitement about her cooking something new in the house. She made smoked gouda burgers with an aioli sauce - - I loved being her guinea pig!

For Father’s Day, we spent another fun-filled day at the Colorado Railroad Museum- - just like last year. The boys love it there and we went around the whole park. We didn’t ride a train this time (to their dismay) as the trains that run around the park only do so on Saturday. Next time, we know to go on Saturday! In honor of Paraguay playing in the World Cup (and for Nani), we put the boys in their Paraguay soccer jerseys. Too bad Paraguay didn’t pull through but as an underdog team, I was proud of them to get that far in the tournament!

Right before my surgery happened on June 29, 2010 (yes, Eban’s 4th birthday), I had a great friend, Winston, come into town from Hawaii - - one with whom I haven’t seen in 20 years. I met his wife, son, and we caught up from our days as leadership camp counselors. We never stopped talking and it was a wonderful, but short visit. The only thing wrong was that the Sakurai’s didn’t stay long. But, I did catch this rainbow in the distance on the evening they visited!
The other thing that I’m appreciating this summer are the neighbors. The boys are meeting more neighborhood kids and thus I’m meeting more adults. Finally! And most of all, the kids love hanging out in the various driveways or yards. At one point, a little girl from up the street opened the side gate and came into our backyard to play. Thank goodness the dogs weren’t out as I’m afraid they’d scare her half to death but then again, she’s a boisterous little thing so I think she’d like them no matter if they were happy to see her or growling a fair warning for her to exit the premises.At one point all the kids were hanging out in our yard and I was like the ice cream truck - - handing out popsicles to all the kids without napkins. Nice, huh?

Finally...some other pics from the month of June!

The above video is at the Colorado Railroad Museum on Father's Day 2010