Grandma's visit

Grandma came to visit and we had lots of fun. We went to the zoo and to Splash water park. Kiley brought her friend, Sabrina. Cort loved the water. He was not cautious at all and was ready to dive right in. He's a brave little 8 month old. Creighton is very cautious and loved the water, but stayed in the areas he felt comfortable in. Kiley and Sabrina went down the water slides and laid out. They swam a bit, but Kiley seemed more interested in getting some sun (even thought she was lathered up in sunscreen). We swam for a couple hours, played in the sand and then went to get a snack. Creighton was running to throw away his ice cream cone and fell, skinning both knees pretty badly. He turned around and blood was already running down both legs and he said "I fall....it hurt". Cute. We took him over to the first aid station and he was so brave as they cleaned him up with soap and water and put some big bandages over his knees.

The bandages stuck for a couple days and we finally had to rip them off in the bath. Even though both Grandma and I did it, he only held a grudge against Grandma and wouldn't let her touch him for a while. He covered up his knees if she tried to change him. They made amends though. We went to the Denver zoo. We are pretty spoiled by Henry Doorly in Omaha, so it was hard to not compare the two. It was a good zoo, but not half as good as Henry Doorly. We walked the entire thing in about 2 1/2 hours. I don't think we will get a pass though. It's just not like Henry Doorly.



Kiley flew back to Omaha with Grandma Kriss for a summer visit. Creighton was so upset he cried and tried to get out of the car. Poor guy. Things are surely different without Kiley and we are surely counting down the days until she comes back. A little girl at church, who adores Kiley, said "I need my Kiley". She's funny. Kiley will be very excited to learn that some friends of ours are expecting a baby in January. My best friend, Jimmi, and her husband, Paul, are expecting a baby in the next week. I am so excited. Paul plays baseball for the Rockies, so we get to see them a lot. He usually gets traded every couple of years though, so it's been nice to have them here for 2 straight seasons, but we never know when they will have to move. Fortunately, they are from Omaha, so we always see them over the holidays.



We had our garage sale over the weekend and made about $500. Kiley made $100-well, we threw in some to make it an even hundred since we are requiring her to save 1/2. We gave Sabrina $30 for helping out. We plan to put in a nice sandbox for the kids under the tire swing and fort and put in a 4th bathroom in the basement.



We don't have any big plans for the 4th. I have to work at church that Sunday, so the boys will lay down about noon and sleep until about 4pm. Around 5pm we are going to have a BBQ with several neighbors and then watch and set off fireworks. Hope everyone has a fun, but safe, 4th of July.



Creighton and Grandma

Yep, the hat goes in the water too! He had a lot of fun.

Kiley and Sabrina in line for the water slide.

Colorado is awesome. Nebraska doesn't have water parks nestled in the foothills.

Kiley is in the brown suit. She was more interested in laying out than swimming. Her friend, Sabrina, is in the pink.

Chad and Creighton in the little cave at the zoo.

Creighton watering Kiley's flowers while she is visiting Omaha. He is wearing Kiley's shoes. He likes them because he can slip them on and off without my help.

I realize this pic is only cute to me, Chad, and Grandma Kriss. Whenever Creighton is working in the yard, he gets very serious and he will occasionally put his hands on his hips and think for a moment before going back to work.

Sweet baby Cort in the airplane swing in the backyard.

Baby Cort put his hat on this way.

Creighton was hanging out in the backyard while I made dinner. He is sitting infront of our raspberry and blackberry bushes. He was so excited when Chad came home and they hung out for a while in the yard while I cooked and baby Cort slept. Creighton adores Chad

I know I am posting a lot of similar pics, but I couldn't resist. Chad and Creighton were having some one on one time in the yard and it was so cute.

some new pics

Creighton waiting to go outside. That is baby Cort's red hat he stole.

Creighton encouraging his baby brother to wear a hat because, for reasons of his own, that is the expectation of every boy/man.

Creighton hanging out in the window, where he often curls up with a blanket and takes a rest. It's everyone' s favorite seat in the house.

Uh oh....baby Cort got into the plant....

Creighton coming to the rescue with the swiffer and Cort moving out of the way.

Creighton trying to clean up his brother's mess and keep him out of trouble....neither the mop or the swiffer were beneficial to the clean up.

I can't offer an explanation for this....he found some Q-tips in the bathroom and walked around like this all morning.

Creighton sleeping in his big boy bed. He got out to get his hat. I have never met someone so attached to a hat.

Baby Cort 8 months

Cooper, our new lab. He is great.

Where does the time go?

As always, I had all intentions to update a couple of weeks ago and the time got away from me...again. Kiley's last day of school was Tuesday, June 8th. I am really enjoying the freedom in the morning. Instead of waking up early, packing lunches and backpacks, and driving Kiley to school, we now get to wake up when we want (around 7am) and move at our own pace. It's awesome. Kiley has been having sleepovers and plays outside with her friends every day. So far, it's been a great summer break for everyone.



Creighton is sleeping great in his new bed. We tried it again over the Memorial Day weekend and he did fantastic. He must have learned from the weekend before that he has to go in his crib if he gets out. He goes in at 7pm, we turn on a short movie, and when it's over we can see on our monitor that he gets his bear and blanket and goes to sleep. So cute. He doesn't come out at all. It's a blessing and a relief that the transition has been effortless.



Cort has been crawling everywhere and pulling himself on the furniture. He wears himself out more during the day now, so he is more than ready for bed at 7pm. It's been really great with the boys being such great sleepers. Cort now sleeps about 12 hours straight at night and I get an uninterrupted (usually) 8 hours. It's amazing. Hopefully, we will all get a great night of rest til baby #4 comes....probably sometime next summer.



Chad's work has picked up some and he got back 20% of his pay. We are still down about 30-40% from previous years, but we will gladly accept any increase in his work. The company has a lot of prospective projects so it could get very busy soon. We are definitely ready to get back to "normal". Chad's last test for his license is on Sunday. I will be so glad when he is done with these tests. They are so time consuming and expensive. This one is mostly calculus. It's about structural engineering, so there's a lot of formulas to memorize. He has put in well over 100 hours, 2 full months of studying and has taken a week off work to prepare for it. Yesterday, he studied 13 hours straight and today is the same. Thank goodness grandma is coming to town and offered to watch the kiddos for a night. We are both in need of a nice dinner and maybe a movie or walk in the park.

My twin sister, Tricia, is getting married in Oct. at a very intimate ceremony in Vegas at sunset. Her dress is gorgeous (picked out by me) and the bridesmaids dresses are adorable (also picked out by me). Chad and I are looking forward to a short vacation and some time away. I would do more writing, but I am exhausted and have to go price things for our garage sale. I can't wait for it to be over. It has been taking up so much of my time. We should make quite a bit of money though. Kiley is not happy that we told her that she can only have about $50 to spend and the rest will go into her savings. I try to explain that she will be happy when she has money for a nice car and for college, but she doesn't care at all. I'll update again in a couple of weeks. Grandma is coming in this week and we plan to go to the water park and zoo and then Kiley will be flying back to Omaha for a few weeks. What will we do without her?

pictures from the past month (sort of random)

Just some pictures. I am not on my laptop (where I have most of my pics saved), so here are a few pics until I have time to put some up from my laptop.

naptime on the kitchen floor...he was tired and waiting for me to finish up something before I could take him upstairs for his nap.

the cupcakes Kiley and I made for her school bake sale.

Creighton eating his lunch in the living room. The furniture is scotch gaurded...so, no worries.

Baby Cort

Sushi night at the Shaffer's. Lots of homemade sushi .....

Baby Cort wearing Creighton's hat and looking a whole lot like his older brother.

I WILL UPDATE SOON!!

I will update sometime this week. I have tons of new photos and stories to tell. Sorry grandparents who look foward to the weekly update and pictures....I will get on it!