We started calling J "shark boy" after we noticed his second row of teeth popping through.
The dentist gave him several weeks to try to wiggle out the baby teeth in front on his own. I really, really didn't want to have to go through the anguish and trauma that would go along with having the dentist do the dirty work. So as the scheduled appointment date approached, I piled on the incentives...heavily.
It wasn't without drama (Is anything around here?), but on July 22nd J lost his first tooth. The second one hung on until July 31st.
Those two teeth cost us ice cream, a movie day at home, a Lego set, and $5 for tooth fairy wages.
We found some fantastic deals on shoes for J at the Nike outlet store while we were on vacation. I'm not much of a shopper, but I love good deals. And I can't resist announcing any great find to everyone I cross paths with...like a pair of football cleats and two pairs of tennis shoes for $55. Three pairs of Nike brand shoes for $55. See what I mean?
While in the store, we couldn't decide if the shoe sizing chart was amusing, disturbing, frightening, or just plain inaccurate.
J is six. His shoe size, confirmed by a salesman, is 4.5.
Maybe the whole idea of Big Foot isn't so ridiculous after all.
I really would love a vacation...like now. Since that's not going to be happening anytime soon, I decided that maybe I could fool myself into being more refreshed if I finished the photos of our summer vacation.
Another glorious time in lovely Colorado was had by our family. We changed our travel plans about 100 times due to wildfires and the condo availability, but once we arrived at our destination, it was nothing but wonderful. So wonderful that I actually looked to see what jobs were available there when we got home. It'll never happen, but it's fun to dream once in awhile.
Would you believe that I didn't even pull my camera out until the third day there? Unbelievable but true. Our first full day there we went to a very large water park. That's no place for a camera, but it was the place to push our barely tall enough three-year-old daughter to her limit. She wasn't a fan of a few of the rides, but she was a trooper nonetheless.
The rest of our days were filled with early morning runs, great weather, playing at the park, the Breckenridge Fun Park, card playing, relaxing, a few outlet stores, hiking, hiking, and more hiking. Again, we pushed Miss E to her physical and emotional limit with the hiking. We rode the lifts up three different mountains and hiked all the way to the bottom. That really is a lot for a little gal to do, and she did it with minimal complaining. We may have bribed her with ice cream. That girl will do anything for ice cream or Skittles.
(Here's a mix of photos from my camera and iPhone. I have no idea what Blogger's deal was when I was trying to upload these, but it really did something to the quality of the images and some have these lines through them. I simply can't waste anymore time figuring it out. Get over it because I (begrudgingly) had to).
Once again, there's nothing like an outdoor church and worship service in the mountains. Loved every minute of that!
We also loved having some vacation friends this year!
J would have been perfectly content playing at the park for eight days.
E was training as well. Unfortunately, I didn't get a video of her doing the monkey bars all by herself (no help from the rope) by the end of the week. Look out, American Ninja Warrior!
E needed her own walking stick.
This was the best purchase of the trip. It's amazing how much fun a boy can have with a sling shot. And we haven't had a broken window at home either...yet.
This was the most tolerant deer in the world. She stood around grazing while J made her the target for at least five minutes. When she finally walked off, J announced, "That was the best experience of my entire life." Thank you, deer.
E adores K.
The altitude really impacted us on our ascending hike near the Continental Divide.
Daddys are supposed to point there children in the right direction.
Snow! There wasn't much around this year.
Oh, and guess who got engaged? That was such a difficult secret to keep all week. I really, really, really wanted to hide in a tree so I could take pictures of T popping the big question, but I didn't want to impose upon their private moment. But I really, really, really wanted to.
We left the lovebirds a little surprise at the condo hoping that K accepted.
We were standing in awe at the Lego Store when we were informed that she did say "yes!"
We said "yes" as well and walked out of the Lego Store with a bag full. I haven't priced engagement rings lately, but one of those might be cheaper than a nice Lego set. All was great because we were on vacation, but I must say it's a good thing we don't have a store closer to us.
Thank God for rainbows. We broke up the monotony of the long drive by quoting the double rainbow YouTube guy for at least fifteen minutes. We're easily amused.
Oh, mountains, how I love thee! I'm not sure when I will get to take in your grand beauty again, but I'll miss you until I do. 'Til we meet again, Colorado...
