My friend (we'll call her S) had major surgery about 3 weeks ago now and to help her out we (my husband and I and our friend Laurel) decided to treat her to a day without kids. So, we planned a fun day at the Zoo and went with it.
We met up at S's house and got her two kids, then our little convoy headed to the Zoo. It was a perfect day today for the Zoo, 80 degrees, a light breeze, and lots of things to do and see. Upon our arrival at the Zoo we hit the bathrooms...I took S's daughter and Laurel took S's son...what I did not expect was that I would have to wipe a bottom (first time, but definitely not the last as we are going to start potty training here soon with Alonzo).
After we were all settled and in the zoo with plenty of sunscreen and such we headed towards the elephants. I really enjoyed spending time with S's kids, they are soooooooooooo well behaved, polite, and listen well (especially considering they really don't know Laurel, Jesus, or me well). We went from elephants to see baby mountain goats and big horn sheep to eating lunch, then on to the flamingos, monkeys, and giraffes. The kids were really enjoying these sites.
What was the cutest things of the day, was not the baby animals (although the goslings, and other baby animals ran a close second), but rather S's daughter and my son holding hands and telling each other "I love you" and S's daughter saying "Alonzo is my new best friend". Totally cute and made my heart soar...has my son found his first love of a girl other then me?? LOL!
At about 1:30 or 2 we decided to treat the kids to coloring and goodies (ice-cream or icees) and then we headed to the cars (both the kids and the adults were ready to head home for naps). S's kids amazed me and my son amazed me at how well he handled the day.
Going into today I was afraid of something horrible happening (losing a child, a child getting hurt, or something else), but in all it was a perfect day! I amazed myself at being able to multi-task the way I did, I handled the kids well, and I didn't lose anyone!!!
I was especially happy that Laurel and I were able to give such a great friend and mentor (at school and in life) a day off so she could rest and heal. I am so proud of my friend and happy to help in this way!!! After all, what are friend for, if not to help?
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Goodbye to a fun friend....
As the summer is passing us by, I find myself (as I normally am) thinking about next years school year. I am 80% prepared with only a few minor things left to complete. I will be teaching Applied Biology, General Biology, and Zoology this year (my dream job!!!)...and unfortunately I gave up the Aquatic Biology course.
It isn't that I didn't want to teach it anymore, in-fact far from it, it's that I had to chose either Aquatics or Zoology and my heart is more bigger towards the Zoology course....so I gave Aquatics up for now. In making this decision I had to say goodbye to a program that I hold near and dear to my heart....RiverWatch.
RiverWatch is a program sponsored by the Colorado Division of Wildlife that monitors water quality around the state by having Voluteers (school groups, individuals, small groups, or companies) do the sampling and some of the tests and then they analyze and use the data in the means that they need to.
When I took Aquatic Biology in high school at DCHS I fell in love with our monthly river trips (I was incharge of the pH testing), then in college at Mesa State, I took Aquatic BIology again and we went out to rivers too. Not to sample, but to see fish ladders, damns (small and big), and so on. So, when I set out to get a teaching job I wanted to teach 3 things: Biology (which is my degree), Zoology, and Aquatic Biology so that I could inspire my students just as my teachers had inspired me.
So, for the last 3 years I have taken students out to the rivers to do our tests and explorations and have LOVED it. Some students had never been to a river, littlelone seen the aquatic organisms that live in it. I touched so many students lives with this program and it, in turn, touched my life.
But with a heavy heart I decided that RiverWatch just does not fit into my Zoology curriculum and although I could make it fit, it is not appropriate. So, I am saying goodbye ol' friend...thank you for the great memories, the exciting times, and the amazing insight!!
Until next time...
It isn't that I didn't want to teach it anymore, in-fact far from it, it's that I had to chose either Aquatics or Zoology and my heart is more bigger towards the Zoology course....so I gave Aquatics up for now. In making this decision I had to say goodbye to a program that I hold near and dear to my heart....RiverWatch.
RiverWatch is a program sponsored by the Colorado Division of Wildlife that monitors water quality around the state by having Voluteers (school groups, individuals, small groups, or companies) do the sampling and some of the tests and then they analyze and use the data in the means that they need to.
When I took Aquatic Biology in high school at DCHS I fell in love with our monthly river trips (I was incharge of the pH testing), then in college at Mesa State, I took Aquatic BIology again and we went out to rivers too. Not to sample, but to see fish ladders, damns (small and big), and so on. So, when I set out to get a teaching job I wanted to teach 3 things: Biology (which is my degree), Zoology, and Aquatic Biology so that I could inspire my students just as my teachers had inspired me.
So, for the last 3 years I have taken students out to the rivers to do our tests and explorations and have LOVED it. Some students had never been to a river, littlelone seen the aquatic organisms that live in it. I touched so many students lives with this program and it, in turn, touched my life.
But with a heavy heart I decided that RiverWatch just does not fit into my Zoology curriculum and although I could make it fit, it is not appropriate. So, I am saying goodbye ol' friend...thank you for the great memories, the exciting times, and the amazing insight!!
Until next time...
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Splish, Splash...
After mowing the grass and eating lunch yesterday we decided to head to Elitiches for an afternoon of water park fun. Alonzo has never been to a water park before, only to the Rec Center Pool or Glenwood Springs (where he only sat in his floatation device and floated around).
So you can only imagine how much fun he had yesterday. The water was a bit cold, but we went down two different water slides, floated down the Lazy River (6 times), and laid on the towels for a bit while we snacked. He giggled as we raced down the slides and laid back and sunned while we went on the Lazy River.
He definitely (and neither did we) like the coldness of the water, but it was a nice afternoon out. We ended our visit with a ride on the carousel and then we headed home. I would say about 5 minutes after getting in the car Alonzo was out...sleeping and dreaming of the day he just had.
So you can only imagine how much fun he had yesterday. The water was a bit cold, but we went down two different water slides, floated down the Lazy River (6 times), and laid on the towels for a bit while we snacked. He giggled as we raced down the slides and laid back and sunned while we went on the Lazy River.
He definitely (and neither did we) like the coldness of the water, but it was a nice afternoon out. We ended our visit with a ride on the carousel and then we headed home. I would say about 5 minutes after getting in the car Alonzo was out...sleeping and dreaming of the day he just had.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Footloose and Fancy Free...hehehe!
Last night was a GREAT night. We arrived at Red Rocks, got a great parking spot, then hiked up to the entrance of Red Rocks Amphitheater. Once we found our seats (which were PERFECT!!) we settled in for some great entertainment.
The first group that performed wasn't very good (in my opinion), but Matt Morris was PHENOMENAL!! He has a great voice, beat, and personality...he even sung a cute song to his Grandmother who was in the station. After he sang he invited "fans" down to get a "free" C-D from him. I got in line (only 10 people back thankfully...the line ended up being huge) and got a C-D that I listened to today and it rocks!
After a poor performance by a poor comedian, we got to the movie. It was a great night...stars were out, Red Rocks shined, and the audience was up for some great Footloose watching.
Alonzo loved the crowd, the beach ball flying, and seeing Red Rocks (or as he called them Blue Red Rocks...don't ask me why). I was so happy to have experience a night on the rocks with Film on the Rocks!!
Hope to see you all in July for Top Gun on the Rocks!
The first group that performed wasn't very good (in my opinion), but Matt Morris was PHENOMENAL!! He has a great voice, beat, and personality...he even sung a cute song to his Grandmother who was in the station. After he sang he invited "fans" down to get a "free" C-D from him. I got in line (only 10 people back thankfully...the line ended up being huge) and got a C-D that I listened to today and it rocks!
After a poor performance by a poor comedian, we got to the movie. It was a great night...stars were out, Red Rocks shined, and the audience was up for some great Footloose watching.
Alonzo loved the crowd, the beach ball flying, and seeing Red Rocks (or as he called them Blue Red Rocks...don't ask me why). I was so happy to have experience a night on the rocks with Film on the Rocks!!
Hope to see you all in July for Top Gun on the Rocks!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Friendship
Today I had my friend Tiffany and her family come over for a visit to see the horses and have dinner at my parents house. The entire time they were here I kept asking myself one question, and I think those of you have kids will relate...."Why don't we do this more often?"
As our son's (hers and mine) played together, pet the horses, and us parents chatted I count help but feel bad that I don't do this kind of stuff more often with my friends. As a parent I get so caught up in just making it through the day, surviving the little speed bumps that is my life now, that my friends and family become side attractions on the road.
Do you want to get together? they ask...we say yeah. Then neither of us ever do because most of my friends now have families of their own and it is so hard to coordinate. Am I a bad friend I think? Of course not...but for those of you who are not parents...who don't realize the responsibility of that task...it is so hard to explain to you how hard it is to choose between spending time with friends and keeping those connections strong OR spending time with your kid who doesn't see you much because you work two jobs.
Sometimes it makes me feel like a failure, like I can't win for trying. Other times I feel like I am keeping a good balance only to find out that I or realize that I haven't kept up with certain people.
For someone like myself who is a GREAT organizer and planner, sometimes even I cannot keep up with the musts and the have toos...call friend A, see friend B, go here with son, go on date with husband, plan for school, grade papers, did I tell boss at jewelry store what I needed to?...all these things go through a mothers thoughts.
If only my single friends could understand...don't get me wrong some of them totally respect that I am a mother who has a chaotic life...but I have lost friends because they just don't get it (lost as in either lost completely--except for facebook--or friends who aren't flexible enough to work around what we need--or just plain lost them because they couldn't see past their own needs).
So as our sons played today and I reconnected with a great friend...I felt guilty that I haven't seen her more, I felt guiltier still as I thought of other friends who I haven't seen either, and really guilty that I have a friend who just had major surgery, and because I haven't had 2 seconds to just breath, I haven't seen yet...what is a mother supposed to do?
I end this post with this....if you are a mother and my friend thank you for knowing what each of us goes through in relationships (as a wife, a mother, a friend, a coworker, a ______) and for understanding what it truly means to be #2 sometimes; and to my single friends thank you for understanding, for being there even though you may not fully understand, you are truly lifesavers and dear to my heart for knowing that even though I may not see you for a year...you still are my shining stars!
Tiffany....thank you for a great visit and for making me feel sane in a world that feels very unstable right now! I appreciate it and hope we can do it again this summer!
As our son's (hers and mine) played together, pet the horses, and us parents chatted I count help but feel bad that I don't do this kind of stuff more often with my friends. As a parent I get so caught up in just making it through the day, surviving the little speed bumps that is my life now, that my friends and family become side attractions on the road.
Do you want to get together? they ask...we say yeah. Then neither of us ever do because most of my friends now have families of their own and it is so hard to coordinate. Am I a bad friend I think? Of course not...but for those of you who are not parents...who don't realize the responsibility of that task...it is so hard to explain to you how hard it is to choose between spending time with friends and keeping those connections strong OR spending time with your kid who doesn't see you much because you work two jobs.
Sometimes it makes me feel like a failure, like I can't win for trying. Other times I feel like I am keeping a good balance only to find out that I or realize that I haven't kept up with certain people.
For someone like myself who is a GREAT organizer and planner, sometimes even I cannot keep up with the musts and the have toos...call friend A, see friend B, go here with son, go on date with husband, plan for school, grade papers, did I tell boss at jewelry store what I needed to?...all these things go through a mothers thoughts.
If only my single friends could understand...don't get me wrong some of them totally respect that I am a mother who has a chaotic life...but I have lost friends because they just don't get it (lost as in either lost completely--except for facebook--or friends who aren't flexible enough to work around what we need--or just plain lost them because they couldn't see past their own needs).
So as our sons played today and I reconnected with a great friend...I felt guilty that I haven't seen her more, I felt guiltier still as I thought of other friends who I haven't seen either, and really guilty that I have a friend who just had major surgery, and because I haven't had 2 seconds to just breath, I haven't seen yet...what is a mother supposed to do?
I end this post with this....if you are a mother and my friend thank you for knowing what each of us goes through in relationships (as a wife, a mother, a friend, a coworker, a ______) and for understanding what it truly means to be #2 sometimes; and to my single friends thank you for understanding, for being there even though you may not fully understand, you are truly lifesavers and dear to my heart for knowing that even though I may not see you for a year...you still are my shining stars!
Tiffany....thank you for a great visit and for making me feel sane in a world that feels very unstable right now! I appreciate it and hope we can do it again this summer!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
GGGGGOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!
As Mother's Day came and went this year, my husband has been thinking about what he wanted for Father's Day in June. He pondered and finally decided he wanted to go see the soccer game between his home country (Mexico) and New Zealand on June 1st at Mile High.
So, we did.
We met after I got off work and then rode the light rail up to the game (kiddo LOVES riding the train...and we LOVE not being in all the traffic). When we finally got there we met up with a friend of Jesus's, Joseluis, and then went and found our seats.
Let me just tell you...our seats were PERFECT!! We sat 21 rows up from the field and could see EVERYTHING! Jesus was in heaven and couldn't stop thanking me.
As soon as we entered the stadium I was amazed at the sounds and the level of those sounds. I have never been to a game that was as loud as this one...and I've been to a Broncos game, a Rapids game, a Nuggets game, and other games...the only one that even comes close to the sound level of this game was when I went with a friend to a Mammoth's Lacrosse game. There were horns of different kinds, banging air tubes (sorry don't know the name of these), and screams of joy. Mexico was definitely the team most were rooting for.
We got settled, got our beverages, and were ready for a great game. Kiddo didn't know what to think, he had NEVER been to anything like this. But after the game started he got into it and even cheered with us (it was really cute hearing him say "Go Mexico".
As the game went on, and Mexico scored three goals in the first 1/2 we knew we were watching a good, clean game! All three of us had such a great time and experience. I am so happy that Jesus got to see his home countries team play and that we, as a family, got to have a fun experience!
When the game was over we left and took one of those bicycle cart rides from the stadium to the light rail (kiddo was just too tired to walk the whole way, and our arms just couldn't bear the weight of kiddo that whole distance either)...and it was the cherry on top of a great night. Kiddo loved the guys horn and the whoosh of the air.
What a great start to our summer this has been!!
So, we did.
We met after I got off work and then rode the light rail up to the game (kiddo LOVES riding the train...and we LOVE not being in all the traffic). When we finally got there we met up with a friend of Jesus's, Joseluis, and then went and found our seats.
Let me just tell you...our seats were PERFECT!! We sat 21 rows up from the field and could see EVERYTHING! Jesus was in heaven and couldn't stop thanking me.
As soon as we entered the stadium I was amazed at the sounds and the level of those sounds. I have never been to a game that was as loud as this one...and I've been to a Broncos game, a Rapids game, a Nuggets game, and other games...the only one that even comes close to the sound level of this game was when I went with a friend to a Mammoth's Lacrosse game. There were horns of different kinds, banging air tubes (sorry don't know the name of these), and screams of joy. Mexico was definitely the team most were rooting for.
We got settled, got our beverages, and were ready for a great game. Kiddo didn't know what to think, he had NEVER been to anything like this. But after the game started he got into it and even cheered with us (it was really cute hearing him say "Go Mexico".
As the game went on, and Mexico scored three goals in the first 1/2 we knew we were watching a good, clean game! All three of us had such a great time and experience. I am so happy that Jesus got to see his home countries team play and that we, as a family, got to have a fun experience!
When the game was over we left and took one of those bicycle cart rides from the stadium to the light rail (kiddo was just too tired to walk the whole way, and our arms just couldn't bear the weight of kiddo that whole distance either)...and it was the cherry on top of a great night. Kiddo loved the guys horn and the whoosh of the air.
What a great start to our summer this has been!!
First adventures!
First item to be accomplished this summer happened on May 30th.
We decided for Memorial Day to head to Elitches for the afternoon for our first time this summer. As we packed the car and headed to downtown Denver, we thought we could just cruise right into the park and enjoy a summer of fun and laughter. Little did we know that hundreds of other people were thinking the same thing.
Having our vouchers (for our season passes) in hand we parked (after waiting in a ridiculously long line of cars to get in and had to pay $12!!!!!--what is this the Taj Mahl (spelling?)??) and headed to get our passes. The line for the Season Passes was a 2 hour wait! What choice did we have but to go to the end of the line and wait. Thankfully about 1/3 of the way to the window we were told by a nice worker to go to a different line since we had the vouchers. We only ended up waiting only 1 hour, received 2 bottles of water free from the park for the long wait (gee thanks) and headed inside to a very crowed park.
Kiddo was VERY excited by all the people and sounds of his first visit to an amusement park. We walked down the beautiful pathway towards the tall Ferris Wheel and kiddo's eyes were like saucers! We headed straight for the kid section of Elitches and was amazed to find only a few rides that he could actually ride at his height and age (only 3 rides allowed parents to ride too). But kiddo didn't seem to care, he was happy riding the train and semi-truck rides over and over. We felt like honey I shrunk the kids, but only opposite! Our legs are bruised from the confined quarters we were shoved into just so kiddo could ride a ride with us...but even though this may have been true, we couldn't be happier to see the smiles and laughter on our kiddo's face! He was having a blast.
After the kid area, we headed for the Carousal for our last ride before heading home for the day. We got on, kiddo and I shared a horse (but was promptly yelled at by the conductor...as only "one person per horse was allowed"...and we enjoyed a lovely round-and-round ride on three (1/2 way through 2) horse ride. Kiddo was in heaven for the day.
Now, whenever the Elitches commercial comes on the TV, kiddo stops whatever he is doing and says "oh....fun mommy, fun!!" He keeps asking when we will go again!
We decided for Memorial Day to head to Elitches for the afternoon for our first time this summer. As we packed the car and headed to downtown Denver, we thought we could just cruise right into the park and enjoy a summer of fun and laughter. Little did we know that hundreds of other people were thinking the same thing.
Having our vouchers (for our season passes) in hand we parked (after waiting in a ridiculously long line of cars to get in and had to pay $12!!!!!--what is this the Taj Mahl (spelling?)??) and headed to get our passes. The line for the Season Passes was a 2 hour wait! What choice did we have but to go to the end of the line and wait. Thankfully about 1/3 of the way to the window we were told by a nice worker to go to a different line since we had the vouchers. We only ended up waiting only 1 hour, received 2 bottles of water free from the park for the long wait (gee thanks) and headed inside to a very crowed park.
Kiddo was VERY excited by all the people and sounds of his first visit to an amusement park. We walked down the beautiful pathway towards the tall Ferris Wheel and kiddo's eyes were like saucers! We headed straight for the kid section of Elitches and was amazed to find only a few rides that he could actually ride at his height and age (only 3 rides allowed parents to ride too). But kiddo didn't seem to care, he was happy riding the train and semi-truck rides over and over. We felt like honey I shrunk the kids, but only opposite! Our legs are bruised from the confined quarters we were shoved into just so kiddo could ride a ride with us...but even though this may have been true, we couldn't be happier to see the smiles and laughter on our kiddo's face! He was having a blast.
After the kid area, we headed for the Carousal for our last ride before heading home for the day. We got on, kiddo and I shared a horse (but was promptly yelled at by the conductor...as only "one person per horse was allowed"...and we enjoyed a lovely round-and-round ride on three (1/2 way through 2) horse ride. Kiddo was in heaven for the day.
Now, whenever the Elitches commercial comes on the TV, kiddo stops whatever he is doing and says "oh....fun mommy, fun!!" He keeps asking when we will go again!
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