You better watch out...

...Santa Claus is coming to town!
We took Kyler over to Loveland to see Santa this year. The Group Realty was hosting Santa, and designed it very well. While we were waiting in line to see the big guy, they had Royal Crest Dairy sponsoring a room with milk and cookies. Then we got to see Santa. Kyler amazed me once again when he climbed right onto Santa's lap, gave him a "high five", told him he wanted a "really big choo-choo train", posed for a picture, got his candy cane, and then waved good-bye to him! All as if he knew him! Then while we were waiting for our picture, they had a craft room, and Mrs. Claus was doing storytime by the fireplace. As he did with Santa, Kyler climbed onto Mrs. Claus' lap and listened to her read! It was very nice, and the best part was that it was totally FREE! I couldn't believe just how free it was!

Playing Doctor

Even before our week of doctor visits (I think there were at least six that week), Kyler has shown a real interest in playing "doctor". He would pretend to put the stethoscope into his ears, band-aids on "owies", and check our ears, eyes, and bellies. One afternoon, he found an extra ace-bandage lying around the house and asked, "play doctor?" I humored him and played doctor. We tried that ace-bandage on every part of his little body that it would fit around--his arm, head, and eventually he wanted to be like daddy and have it on his leg!Then he tried hopping around the house with a "hurt" leg, but it didn't work out so well since he has not quite developed the balance to do so. So then he said, "Be right back!" He came back with some "crutches" (aka golf clubs)! Kyler's sense of imagination is really taking off! It is so fun to see what connections he makes and the train of thought that his little brain goes through!

"I like to move it, move it!"

I am constantly feeling this baby move! Morning, noon, and night. When I went to the doctor the other day, she even had difficulty following the heartbeat with the dopler because the baby was flipping all about. Feeling the baby move is one thing that I truly enjoy about being pregnant!

Speaking of moving, Josh is doing really well! He is up and about moving and helping out wherever he can. We recently rented him a "roll-about". It is a one sided walker-like, knee-scooter. We figured since he was going to be on crutches for about two months that it would probably be more convenient to have this nifty invention.Josh sporting his new mode of transportation!

A Different Kind of Thanks

This week has really shown me what I should be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Yes, I am thankful for things like family, friends, a job, our health etc., but there are different things that I have noticed especially this year (in no particular order).

1. I am thankful for modern medicine. Where would our family be this week without it? For that I am thankful!

2. I am thankful for all of the support that has come piling in. We have had many friends step up and provide dinners for us this week. We have had numerous phone calls and e-mails from people that want to help in any way that they can. And for this I am thankful.

3. I am thankful that none of us were told that we were terminally ill. All of our ailments can be cured. After watching a segment on the Today show about the Cancer Center at St. Judes, I am thankful.

4. I am thankful for flex spending. With all of the co-pays, prescriptions and Josh's surgery costs. Even though it was intended to pay for the birth of our second child, I am thankful that we had it.

5. I am thankful that Josh's left leg was injured. If it had been his right leg, he probably would have been unable to drive for at least two months. It seems silly, but yes, I am thankful for that.

6. I am thankful for Thanksgiving break. Had all of this happened at any other time (not backing up to a break) then Josh and I would have had to take more days off from work running into the risk of not having enough sick leave and being docked pay. For this I am thankful.

7. I am thankful for my brother and sister-in-law. They are going to care for Kyler while Josh is in surgery, and cook dinner for us. They have also changed their whole Thanksgiving plan to include us by making more work for themselves. They are hosting dinner. For them I am thankful.

8. I am thankful that so far, there have been no effects of my stress and all of the medicines that I have been taking on the baby. I went for my 20 week ultrasound on Friday, and the baby was giving me a "Thumbs up" to tell me that all was going to be all right. Even though I have lost the 4 pounds (from the pneumonia) I have gained (from the pregnancy), all of the baby's measurements were spot on. The ultrasound technician said, "You can't get a better picture of a 4-chamber heart than this!" I was relieved, and for that I am thankful.9. I am thankful for Josh. I think that should be enough said, but if you don't know him, you don't know that he is the greatest husband on Earth! He treats me like a princess and pitches in with housework whenever possible (even with a gimpy leg). He makes being married easy! He is the world's best father and cares for Kyler more than he will ever know. For Josh I am thankful. (PERIOD)!

10. I am thankful for Kyler. Even when he is not feeling the greatest he can make me smile! (After pooping on the potty today he took one look at it and he said, "Looks like choo choo train, Mommy!" I had a great chuckle from that!) He is such and caring and kind individual already. For Kyler I am thankful!

It's all of the small things that we usually take for granted that I have been forced to look at this week. We do have MANY things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

What a week!

About six weeks ago, Josh got invited to play basketball in the mornings with some new buddies that he has made in moving to Windsor High School. He would religiously get up at 4:45 every Tuesday and Thursday morning to hit the gym. I, being the selfish wife, would discourage him most of these mornings. It was really difficult for me to get myself ready for work and Kyler ready for daycare all by myself (I don't know how single moms do it!). Anyhow, this week I had finally come to terms with the fact that this was going to be Josh's time that he needs to grow as his own person.

This Tuesday started off as many others did on our house. Josh got up at 4:45 and left the house around 5:00. Then, as I was feeding Kyler breakfast, I got a phone call. This was really strange because nobody ever calls me at 6:20 in the morning. It was Josh and he proceeded to tell me that he had hurt his Achilles tendon. He was on his way home. Once he got home, I realized the seriousness of the situation when he couldn't walk into the house on his own. Then as I was getting ready to leave for work, I helped him get to Urgent Care. I couldn't stay because I had 28 students waiting for me in my classroom. Then Josh text messaged me the bad news...he had ruptured his Achilles tendon and would probably have to have surgery. I rushed over to Urgent Care to pick him up and take him back home where he would work feverishly on getting into an orthopedic doctor.

My day at school went as normal as it could with the worry of my hurt husband at home. Then at 3:00 my office manager called my classroom and told me that Debbie, my daycare provider was on the telephone. "She NEVER calls me at work," I thought to myself. Then she began to tell me that Kyler had laid down for his nap and was "barking" a nasty cough. I didn't think much of it since he has had a cough before. At 4:00 when I picked him up I noticed that this just wasn't any cough. He seemed to be in good spirits so we went along our way. We stopped by the pharmacy to pick up some crutches for Josh and then headed home for our nightly routine.

Once we were at home, Kyler's "bark" was becoming more frequent, but it still hadn't changed his mood. We got through dinner, bath time, and story time pretty smoothly. Kyler headed for bed at 7:00 as he normally does. At this time, I had decided to sit down and write some substitute plans for the next day since Kyler was catching something and Josh was laid up. As I was putting the finishing touches on my plans, Kyler had awoken with a terrible coughing fit, and in between the coughs he would gasp for air. I called our doctor right away. She said by the sound of it, it was the croup. She suggested we put him outside and let him breathe the cool air, or fill up the bathroom with hot steamy air and keep him in there. Josh and I looked at each other, and then at Kyler (and the way he was struggling for air) and made the decision to bring him to the Emergency Room right away.

When we got there, luckily, there weren't many other patients. We got through triage...Kyler had a temp of 99.7 and his heart rate was 188 bpm. This caught my attention as well as the nurse's. We waited for about five minutes before they admitted him. In the 15 minutes that it took for us to get from triage to the next time they took his temperature, it had spiked to 103.4. The doctor came in and said he is the textbook example of the croup. Then she explained that it is a vocal cord virus that can make the vocal chords swell so badly that it can restrict the airway and that's why a "barking" sound comes out. They treated him with steroids and a cool mist treatment. The ER nurse looked at Josh and noticed that he was on crutches and asked what had happened. After telling him, he looked straight at me and said, "You know things happen in threes, what is going to happen to you?" Meanwhile, we were waiting and waiting for things to get better. They did after about 2 hours. Then at about 12:30 they came in and checked him again and made the decision to discharge him. I was relieved to finally go home and get some rest.

And rest is what I did. Off and on all evening and throughout Wednesday. That is when I realized something could be wrong with me. I was coughing, fatigued, and had a headache and sore throat from hell. I just kind of brushed it off as being stressed and tired from the night before. Then Wednesday night was horrible for me. I was waking up every hour, my chest was burning, I was vomiting and I couldn't stop coughing. 5:00 in the morning was when I realized that maybe I should go to the doctor so that they could give me something safe for pregnant women that would relieve some of this pain. As I was booking an appointment for myself I booked one for Kyler to be rechecked by our primary care doctor (the ER had suggested to). Kyler checked out ok, but when Dr. Ripley took one listen to my lungs she diagnosed me with pneumonia. She said that we couldn't do a routine x-ray since I was pregnant, but with the explanation of my symptoms and what she had noted she concluded that it was pneumonia.

We went to the pharmacy and I started on the antibiotics immediately. I was feeling much better even after just the first day. That's when Kyler took a turn for the worse. Thursday night he was up coughing again with a fever. Luckily this time there was no "barking" or wheezing. I called my doctor on Friday morning and she just couldn't believe what she was hearing. She must have felt sorry for us because she said that I didn't need to come in for an appointment (she assumed it was pneumonia from me) and that she would leave a free sample of a prescription for Kyler at the front desk. We are both feeling much better after the weekend, but still have to take it easy.

As far as Josh is concerned, he is not complaining (he never does). He is simply playing the cards that he has been dealt. He is getting pretty good at crutching around the house and brought up the wheelie office chair up from the basement and wheels himself about. He is still willing to help out where needed and has only asked for my help with a couple of chores. He amazes me! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband! Surgery will be tomorrow...but a long recovery is predicted.

"It's Autumn!"

That's what Kyler says when we talk about it getting cooler outside and the leaves falling off of the trees. He simply amazes me with his vocabulary, and all of the things he is learning at home as well as at Debbie's Daycare!This year we purchased two new trees, this maple being one of them (both our our previous trees became diseased). It will be neat to watch both Kyler and the trees grow up together.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was so fun for us this year. It is just so neat to see the expressions on your child's face when something new is introduced to them. It brings an unexplainable joy to a parent. Kyler is beginning to understand our crazy tradition of dressing up and going around to ask for candy. He really loved the dressing up and getting candy part, but he could care less for the whole "scary" aspect of Halloween.

We started our Halloween fun this year by going to Greeley West's Trick or Treat Street. We were able to meet up with all of Josh's old work buddies, and Kyler got to experience Trick-or-Treating for the very first time. At first he was a little timid, but he then began to realize what was going on. Again, he didn't care much for all of the scary-type things like skeletons, monsters, and bloody gore. He was sure to hang on to us tightly when those things came into sight. (He has also been obsessed with monsters. Lately, Kyler has been afraid of the dark and telling me he has monsters in his room. The other day as we were passing by the cemetery he pointed and said, "Monsters over there." That was kind of creepy for Josh and I. Maybe kids do have that "sixth sense".)
On Saturday night, we resumed our annual pumpkin carving party and had a few good friends over for drinks and dinner. Only a few people carved pumpkins, but we had a good time. We were the pirate family!
And of course Josh's pumpkin had to fit the theme!My pirate boys!
Then on Sunday, we took Kyler Trick-or-Treating around our neighborhood to our immediate neighbors' houses. He loved it, not to mention, many of them had made "special" goodie bags for him! Then for the rest of the evening we answered the door for the 200+ Trick-or-Treaters that came to our door!

All in all, we had a fabulous Halloween, and it has made me realize the many joys that children bring to a household. Not only are we looking forward to an exciting holiday season, but we are also looking forward to expanding our family, which, in turn, will multiply the joy in our house (as well as the occasional headache)!

Welcome Hadley Marie!

We are so excited to welcome another niece into this world!
Hadley Marie Urich
Born October 14, 2010
4lbs. 8oz.

We can't wait to meet you!

Doctor's Appointment

Last week we went to see the doctor for Baby Urich #2. We were able to see the baby via ultrasound. It was amazing! But then we had to reschedule our appointment for the exam because my doctor got called off to deliver a baby.
On Monday we were all able to go to my rescheduled doctor's appointment. Kyler was home from daycare, Josh had jury duty but got dismissed at lunch and I was home since Kyler was. We headed over to the doctor's office about 1:00. I told Dr. Stoltz that Kyler had tagged along to hear the baby's heartbeat, so she had Kyler stand on the chair that she had pulled over to the exam table and had him use the Doppler to find the baby's heartbeat. He did a great job! Once the sound came over the machine, he seemed intrigued. It was just so neat to have him be a part of this pregnancy. Then Dr. Stoltz asked Kyler if it is a boy or a girl. He responded as he ALWAYS does with, "girl". She then told me that any little child that she has asked has been right. So, I'll go with her on this one!

Baby Urich #2

This pregnancy has definitely been far different than my pregnancy with Kyler. "That's because it's a girl!" is the typical reaction when I tell people that. According to the Chinese Calendar this could be true. I didn't believe in the Chinese Calendar until it made liar out of me when Kyler was born a boy. I am indifferent when it comes to the gender of our child. I think that it would be nice to have one of each, but then again it would be nice to be able to create a brotherly bond for Kyler. I will be very contented if this child is heathly. I have also heard that frequent morning sickness is a sign of a healthy child...I sure hope so.

Morning sickness is one of main differences between this pregnacy and Kyler's. I have gotten sick almost everyday of my first trimester. It is fianlly starting to subside with the entrance into the second trimester. When I was pregnant with Kyler I had only gotten sick, maybe, half a dozen times. As with any pregnancy, I have been extremely tired and have had the appetitite of a 350 lb line backer. Even considering the pitfalls of pregnacy, it is all just part of an amazing journey. As with the pregnancy of Kyler, I am astounded with the pure miracle that is happening inside of me.

This pregancy has also been vastly different because Kyler is a part of it. When we wanted to announce our exciting news to our families we had Kyler shout out, "BIG BROTHER!" He is going to be a big brother, and a good one at that. I'm pretty sure he understands that fact that there is a baby growing inside of my tummy, but I don't think that he can yet associate that with the fact that he won't be the only child in our household come April. When Kyler is asked where the baby is, he does respond with, "Mommy's tummy". Kissing my stomach is something else Kyler will do to acknowledge the baby in there. If I am doing something that is loud, Kyler will say, "Shhhh Mom, baby sleeping!" It is extremely strange that whenever we have asked Kyler if it is a boy or a girl in there he has consistantly responded with, "Girl". Could he be right along with the Chinese?

I have also noticed changes in my body a lot sooner. Even though I have not gained any weight, my belly has gotten rounder. I have decided to stop trying to squeeze into my regular clothes and bust out the marternity clothes(Thanks Angy!). With Kyler I didn't break down until about 20 weeks, with this one it is 15 weeks! Boy, am I thankful that I did!

Pregancy is simply an amazing endevor that I am so grateful to be able to experience!

Fall is in the air!

Today was the first day that I have really felt fall. We woke up to cloud-covered chill in the air. It was time to start admitting fall is here, so we took Kyler to a Pumpkin Farm to pick out pumpkins. He LOVED it!Posing with Pumpkins!

The PERFECT one!

Wheeling the wagon!

So Long to Summer!

This summer was one of the best of my life. Kyler and I had a blast just spending time with each other and getting to know one another. Not only did I get a chance to watch my son grow into his own little person, but we are excitedly expanding our family. As a mom, time with your child(ren) is something that can never be replaced. For summer I am thankful. Unfortunately, all good things have to come to and end. This year it has been difficult to say, "So long to summer."

With the passing of another great summer, comes an opportunity for Kyler to grow and change with the weather. He is at the age in which he can communicate his feelings and excitement. This makes me, as his mother, eager to give him the life experiences that go along with the different seasons. Eventhough our time is more limited, the moments that we do spend together as a family will be that much more meaningful. Thank you summer of 2010, you have been extremely kind to us! Hello, and welcome to autumn!

Post #200!

I started this blog when I found out that I was pregnant with Kyler. My goal was to keep our family and friends updated with our daily life and to be able to watch as Kyler grew up! Well, now all of you can watch as we raise our second child! Yes...I'M PREGNANT! I am overwhelmed with emotion! I can't wait to watch as Josh grows as a parent and Kyler as the big brother!

Potty Training 101

Last week we decided to start potty training Kyler. He has shown a few of the signs, plus this was one of my goals for the summertime. We started by heading to Target. I let Kyler pick out the "undies" that he wanted and some stickers as rewards - he chose Elmo undies and Toy Story stickers (two of his favorites). Then I decided to just let him wear the undies around the house. The first two days were very difficult...he would shout, "Potty Mommy" as he watched the pee drip down his leg. But I think that was the start of him realizing when he was going and what it felt like. He has gotten a lot better and now has only 1-2 accidents a day. Hopefully he will be fully potty trained soon!

We Love The Hill!

Kyler and I decided to go on vacation by ourselves this summer. Unfortunately, Josh had to stay home because he has been diligently working towards a master's degree. Watch out New York here we come! My sister-in-law, Courtney and my two nieces, Jillian and Madi were planning on driving from Colorado to New York and they invited Kyler and I along for the fun! 32 hours in the car with 3 kids 3 years old and under...who could pass that up? Mema's house or BUST!

Courtney made a believer out of me! She had planned to do the trip in two days...I didn't think it could be done with three kids. We left on July 12 at 5:00 am and arrived in Jefferson, NY on July 13 at 11:23 pm. Eight states in two days! It really wasn't that bad considering the circumstances. For lunch and dinner we stopped at McDonald's Playplaces or parks so that the kids could blow off some steam. We watched, "Two Guys and Two Horsies" (Jillian's inventive title for "Spirit") about 5 times and listened to lots of kid tunes! The kids all seemed to be on different schedules. There were only 30 minutes out of the entire trip that they were all asleep at the same time...it was the most relaxing 30 minutes of the trip!
When we finally got to Mema's house we had tons of fun! We went on "hikes" around the property. We saw lots of wildlife including, but not limited to: salamanders, snakes, frogs, fireflies, a skunk, deer, and a badger.
We created our own little swimming pool. My mom called it, "The Hill Swimming Pool"!
We had Poison Ivy scares and bee stings. We had fun relaxing...Ahhh!
We had tons of fun playing on Papa John's "Toys"!The lawn tractorThe four-wheeler (aka the "motorcycle tractor")The 1948 Jeep Willys
Even though we missed Josh terribly, we had lots of fun! Hopefully next summer there will be a tree house for the kids to play in!

Welcome Tyler Jeffery!

July 1, 2010 at 9:57 pm we welcomed another little friend into this world...Tyler Jeffery Cranson!
Congratulations to the Cranson Family!

Kyler's Two Year Stats

My BIG boy!

Weight: 32.2 pounds = 88th percentile
Height: 37 inches (3'1") = 96th percentile
Head Circumference: 19 3/4 inches = 85th percentile

We went to see Dr. Ripley today, and Kyler is right where he needs to be. She said that he is perfect, and I couldn't agree more! I adore watching him grow into his own little person and am very proud to be a mother of such an awesome child!

Summer Lovin'

As I have mentioned numerous times before, summer is my absolute favorite season. This summer has been especially fun. Kyler and I have been spending some quality time together and really getting to know each other. He is a cool kid if I don't say so myself (I'd like to think that I had everything to do with that, but can't possibly take all of the credit)!

Things that we do to make us LOVE SUMMER
1. Playing in the pool - Kyler absolutely loves playing in the pool. When we fill it he gets extremely excited and yells, "Pool, Pool!" He even likes to run and jump into it!
2. Hanging out with friends - Not only is this time for Kyler to get some socialization, but it's mommy time too!
3. Going to the park - Luckily there is a park really close to our house, so we can go pretty much whenever we want!

4. Finger painting! - The other afternoon it was extremely hot, so I decided to reach into my bag of tricks. Since our basement is unfinished, not to mention really cool, I thought that it would be a good place to try finger painting on a hot afternoon.


5. Story time - Every Thursday our local library has a "Toddler time story time" that we have been attending regularly. Kyler really enjoys the songs, stories, finger plays, bubbles, and friends there. Afterwards we spend some time in the children's section looking at books, playing with the train set, and running around the amphitheatre. Kyler loves to read, so this is right up his alley!

6. Movies - On Friday, we had a family day at the movies. Luckily Debbie blazed that trail for us, so Kyler acted like an old pro. We took him to see Toy Story 3 - He loved it and so did we!

The summer is only half over, so we have a lot more to fall in love with! We can't wait!

Baseball Mania!

Kyler Urich was baseball mad, he had the fever and he had it bad!

It all kind of started with us bringing Kyler to the Rockies game back in May. He really made the connection to baseball and began to understand the basic premise of the game. Then the connection was solidified when we visited our friends, Billy and Mariah in Montrose, CO and their three boys. They had a real t-ball glove, and Kyler wore it pretty much the entire time that we were there. Everytime even a clip of baseball comes on the TV Kyler shouts out! Since he became so interested in the sport, I picked out a couple of baseball books on one of our many trips to the library. He LOVES to read them, as I posted before, he also likes to sleep with them. So, for his birthday he conveniently received lots of baseball paraphernalia.


Another one of the gifts he got for his birthday was a beach towel that folds up nicely into a backpack. One evening we tried on the towel backpack and Kyler said, "O-k, bye, bye!" So I predictably responded with, "Where are you going?" He blew me away with his immediate response of, "To the ball game!" After having a chuckle, I thought about why he might have said that and concluded that it was probably because we have been singing, "Take me out to the ball game" quite frequently. So cute!

One of the books that we got from the library is titled, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". It tells about how the song originated. It is one of his favorites (he sleeps with it often)! Since we have read it numerous times, Kyler pretty much has it memorized. Here is his rendition of the song!


Since Kyler has been asking so much about going "to the ball game", I decided that I would take him to see a high school game. Not to mention our good friend, Dave, coaches so we were able to support him too. While Josh was out of town, Kyler and I got a little bored, so we headed out to Butch Butler Field to catch a summer league game. Kyler loved it! He sat in the bleachers so well just staring at the players, listening to the surroundings, and clapping when the other fans clapped. He even gave high-fives to the entire front row on the way out. Now when you ask him, "Kyler, what do you do with a baseball?" He will respond with, "Heet (hit), tatch (catch), and throw!

We are hoping to make it to at least one more Rockies game before the end of baseball season!

6.26

What can I say, it is an important day in our household! This year Josh and I are celebrating six years of marital bliss, and two terrific years with the coolest kid I know.

Six years ago...
...I married my best friend! I can remember being extremely nervous as my dad walked me down the aisle of St. Peter's Catholic Church. Then through the sea of people I can remember finding Josh's eyes and the calm feeling that rushed over me as I was about to promise my love to him forever. To this day, he makes me feel calm and collected when things get crazy. I am extremely lucky to have such a wonderful husband!
Two years ago...
...Josh announced to the entire room, "It's a boy!" We were both in pure shock! I was convinced that I was pregnant with a girl, therefore, I had convinced all of my family and friends (including Josh) of the same. Kyler Allan Urich, a name that many may not know, but we will be forever grateful that we do know him. Over the past two years I have come to know, teach, and love him in so many ways! He is an integral part of our lives, and always will be! We love you Ky!
This year we decided to have a family day. We all got into the car and headed up the mountain to Estes Park (this is a special place for us because Josh proposed to me there on February 15, 2003). If you have ever been to Estes Park, you know that it is a touristy town with lots of shops and beautiful views of Colorado's Rocky Mountains.We strolled around for a bit, found a bite to eat as well as a quaint little candy shop, hung out at the Scandinavian Festival (Kyler danced a jig), and watched the rushing water of the river.As soon as Kyler saw the water he was intrigued! We all just stared and listened. Then we got to a part in which you can go down to the river and immediately Kyler yelled, "Shoes off!" He wanted to take his shoes off and stick his feet into the ice cold, snow melt water.What a fabulous day to commemorate two very important events! I love my boys!

Kyler Turns TWO!

My baby is two already! How did that happen? It seemed like just yesterday I was bringing him home from the hospital! He is turning in to quite the character. He is talking lots and into everything! We are so lucky to be his parents!

Kyler's Top Ten at Two!
1. Mommy and Daddy (equally)
2. Lucy
3. Debbie and the "guys"
4. Sports (currently Baseball)
5. Tractors ("trakers")
6. The pool
7. Books
8. The park
9."Abby" (that's what he calls Sesame Street)
10. Cookies ("keykey")

We have a doctor's appointment on July 1 and will update his stats then.

This year we decided to celebrate Kyler's birthday a bit early for many reasons, some of which included Josh's folks being in town, Josh heading off to college, and the fact that our anniversary is on the exact same day as Kyler's real birthday. The backyard BBQ is the way to go. We invited family and friends and had a grand old time. Kyler seemed to really understand what was going on, therefore, he had a great time!
Thank you to all of our friends and family that were able to come and celebrate with us - you really made Kyler's Birthday special!

The Kinyon's Cabin

We have great friends! This weekend, the Kinyons invited us up to their family cabin to spend some time with them.

September of 2004 was the first time that they had invited us up to the cabin by Nederland to hang out. This was one of the first times that I had ever really hung out with Angy, and to be quite honest, I didn't really want to go. I had just started working with Angy at the time, and didn't know her extremely well. She had always been kind enough to invite Josh and I to go out with she and John but I seemed to decline rather frequently. This particular time I didn't have any excuses. We packed up our things and decided to give it just one night. Well, one night turned into the entire weekend. It was filled with lots of laughs, playing tons of cards/board games, drinking our fair share of Bud Light, a scenic trip into to the town of Nederland in search of a shot glass for Irish Car Bombs, a few short hikes around the Switzerland Park area, and it was the beginning of a friendship that will last a lifetime!This time, however, was quite different. There was still the Bud Light, and card/board games, but there were also 3 kids, 2 "pack-n-plays", waking up in the middle of the night, and crying fits. Although there was this change, we still had fun. It was really nice to get away, out of town, and relax a little bit. Not to mention, the company was great! Thanks Kinyons! We heart you!

Sucker for SPORTS!

Oh my goodness! Kyler is definitely a sucker for sports! Anything sports/ball related he is extremely infatuated with! While we were visiting some friends of ours, Kyler found a child-sized baseball glove...I don't think he took it off the entire time we were there! Baseball has become a real "hit" in our house! The connection was made for Kyler when we brought him to the Rockies game in mid-May. He got out his baby t-ball set that he got for his birthday last year. He is so funny when he wants to play he will say, "Moma, base-ball, heet (hit)!" So, since he has this new-found fetish with baseball, I decided to get him a baseball book at the library, "H is for Homerun". We read it every night, and just last night he fell asleep with it.His "Uncle" Dave would be proud!

Colorado National Monument

Since we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa, we took advantage of the "built in babysitter." Josh and I were able to go on a date night! It was the first one in a while! We took the short trek over to Grand Junction and went out for sushi. It was delectable! Then, a few days later, we headed over to Grand Junction with out the little one again. Only this time we were able to do some sightseeing! In all the years that I have know Josh (nearing 10 already!) and traveled over the mountains to see his family, we have never gone to see the Colorado National Monument. It was simply breathtaking! We had a fantastic visit with the Urich's and are looking forward to their visit at the end of the month. It was a fabulous way to ring in the summer during Memorial Day Weekend!

Field of Dreams

Another one of Kyler's favorite things are parks. Everytime we drive by one he shouts out, "Poke (park) Mama!" Luckily, there is a park right across the street from the Urich's farm. Coincidentally, it is called the Field of Dreams. Kyler had a blast, and I think his daddy did too!

Where does milk come from?

If you asked Kyler this question, he would respond with, "Molk (milk) MOOO!" Last week we paid a visit to Grandma and Grandpa Urich's house on the western slope of Colorado. They live on a dairy farm, and things really seemed to click for Kyler this time around. He says, "tracker (tractor)", and even got see one up close and take a little ride on one!His grandpa even bought him a John Deere hat so that he would fit right in!
Swinging on the tire swing! Hanging out with Great-Grandma and Grandpa!

Not only did Kyler learn about cows on the farm, but he also learned more about his grandma and grandpa's hobby. "Moakas (motorcycles)!" He loved sitting on them with his Uncle Jake and Grandpa! Then we came across a little surprise!A rocking motorcycle! Kyler LOVED it! It was a great visit to the farm!