Cowabunga!

Tate is swimming like a fish this summer and took his first leap off the diving board. He took lessons in June and has been working really hard on swimming all by himself. He has been doing great in the shallow end, where he can only touch right by the stairs, and he is proud as punch! So last weekend, he said he was ready to go off the diving board. Derek and I encouraged him to practice a few minutes without his goggles, and without an adult to catch him. He assured us that he was ready and didn't need any more practice. Mom took a deep breath, "Ok . . . "

We walk over, Derek starts to climb down the ladder into the dive well, so that he could be there if necessary. Mom is getting the camera ready, Avarie is in the stroller pointing, "My Tate." Dad gets in, Mom has the camera . . . too late - Tate's already made a splash! Needless to say, he was happy to do it a few more times so we could take some pictures. So, the first picture is acutally his 2nd jump off the diving board :)

Now, we have to take time to go off the diving board every day at the pool, which is a bit challenging to keep Avarie safe (occupied) while Tate jumps and swims. We have so much fun every week at the pool!

Summer Road Trip to Mike and Lindsey's Wedding

Mike and Lindsey Museousky~July 11, 2008

The Drive~What a great reason for a road trip! We packed the kids up early and drove through Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri the first day, ending on the west side of St. Louis for the night. The next day we had a short trip across Missouri and into Kansas. Tate loved hearing what state we were in and asked about every river we crossed. The kids were FANTASTIC in the car. Derek got to visit Cabela's in Kansas City before we met up with everyone at the hotel. On the way home, it RAINED almost the whole way, but the kids were troopers again. I wish I had a picture of them with their headphones on in the back seat. It's sad to say they probably watched more TV in those days than they have all summer, but they were happy and quiet. It is a really pretty drive ~ very green and hilly, and the mountains in western Virginia and West Virginia are so different than the mountains in Colorado. It was certainly less expensive than flying and no lugging car seats, rental cars, delayed flights, etc etc.

The Wedding and Family Fun~We were so lucky to share in the celebration for the wedding of Mike and his new wife, Lindsey, in Kansas City on July 11. Mike is one of the triplets and their wedding was a great chance for us to see ALL the Kansas cousins for a few days. Everyone from Wichita, and my dad and Kay, and my Uncle Jack's family from Pennsylvania were all there. It has been 3 years since we have seen most of them so we had a great time. My Aunt Mary Jo did great planning and we all had rooms on the same floor and a hospitality suite in the middle so we were able to get lots of time together. We always have such a fun time with them and there's lots of laughs and happy memories to share.
Tate was thrilled to meet so many new cousins and had a great time playing with Nick, Cole, Christian (the Bright boys), Sarah (Jill's oldest daughter), Zachary and Michael (Russ and Jen's boys), Connor and Lauren (Rachel's kids). We had a delicious dinner at Brio for the rehearsal dinner in a great outdoor mall part of Kansas City. We shopped, played and ate some delicious Kansas City BBQ with Papa and Nana on Friday before the wedding. The wedding was Friday night and was a perfect ceremony then dinner and dancing at the country club nearby. Our kids were some of the youngest cousins but they were party animals both nights. At the reception, Derek and I had to scoop them off the dance floor at 11:30 to leave. We had been sitting while they danced! We all had a GREAT time! Congratualtions, Mike and Lindsey!

The Mattila family after the ceremony

Mattilas and Papa and Nana


Mattilas and Brights (Chris, Chris, Nick, Christian and Cole)

Danicng machines - Tate, Avarie and mommy

Fourth of July

Yes, it was a few weeks back, but just haven't gotten to sitting long enough to update.

We had a quiet holiday weekend with a little pool time, a little neighborhood parade, and a barbecue with friends. The parade was in a nearby neighborhood and we went with some friends from My Gym - Evan, Brennan and Olivia and their families. The kids were thrilled to catch candy from the various Boy Scout troops, local politicians, and convertibles. The best was when someone dressed as Uncle Sam came by and Tate shouted, "Santa Claus!" The kids played and ate, the adults laughed, the food was great - what more could you ask for? Avarie was working on a nasty sinus infection so she was not up for fireworks, but Tate and daddy went over to the causeway on the reservoir and fished and watched the fireworks. I was quite happy with the Washington, DC fireworks on TV - no bugs, no bug spray, no hoomidity, AC and a cocktail on the couch - need I say more? I only have a few pictures - it's hard to be the photographer now that Avarie is walking (running).

Hope you had a great holiday wherever you were too!