What a busy couple of weeks

We have definitely been keeping busy now that spring is here. We have been doing projects around the house and helping our neighbors with their projects. These past couple weeks have flown by, we have had a lot of fun though. Last weekend, Kiley had a great time with friends. On Friday, it seemed like all the kids on our street played in my driveway. There were tons of them gathered there. I like to see them all getting along so well and Kiley has so much fun. Early Sat. morning, Kiley went to the aquarium with her friend, Sabrina. The girls were supposed to swim with the fish. Kiley chickened out when she got there. I probably would have too. She did have fun watching Sabrina do it and then walking around for a couple of hours. She got home at 1pm and I had to take her immediately to a b-day party at Jungle Quest. It's an indoor jungle where kids can climb trees, zip line, rock climb, etc. She had a blast. I picked her up from there and she went right over to meet a friend for a mani- pedi. Kiley didn't get home until around 8:30 and went straight to bed. She had a really fun time. Next weekend, Chad is taking her to Elich gardens on Sat. with a few friends. I am staying back with the boys, but I know they will have a blast.

Chad and I have been trying our culinary skills with making homemade sushi. We don't go out often because we don't like to hire sitters. We took a menu (just a paper one) from our favorite sushi restaurant here and tried to make them at home. They turned out AWESOME!! Our neighbors have been over for a "sushi party" twice. We get together and make a bunch of rolls and talk. It's been really fun. Our neighbor, Jeff, who we see all the time has been asking me to teach him piano for some time now. I am going to teach Kiley when I can get a piano or keyboard. I was going to wait for the community garage sales in June to see if I could find one. Jeff is getting one so I can teach them now. I taught him some basics last night on Cort's toy piano, but I was able to teach him "Mary had a little lamb" and "brother John". It will be nice to work on my own skills again. I haven't played in over 10 years, but it's like riding a bike.

The next couple of weekends are going to be busy too. This weekend Cooper is flying in. Cooper is our chocolate lab who has to make the trip from Ohio. We are going to take Kiley to the airport with us to pick him up, but leave the boys at home. The next weekend, we have some family members coming to visit and to help put up our play set for the kids. We also have our monthly church get together.

On a not so near future note, my sister, Meghan, is getting married. Her wedding is on New Years Eve this year in Omaha. Chad and I are planning to attend. I will have to find a sitter for the kids though because it's only for adults. It's a nearly $60,000 wedding. I am very excited to have such a nice evening out. Chad has to wear a tux and I have to wear a formal gown (everyone does). Usually, we attend this charity event every year over St. Patrick's day that is formal and we get to wear a tux and gown. We didn't go this year though. I am hoping to be able to fit into a size 2 gown by then. I have plenty of notice. I have been working out and eating healthy all week and lost 5lbs this week. I am excited. I have finally found something that works well for me. I just need to stick to it, which I find is easier to do during the summer. It's time to say good-bye to the baby weight (I know, just to put it back on next year). This wedding is something I am looking forward to. It will bring back some good and bad memories. Chad and I had our first kiss on New Years Eve, but it will also be a sad reminder that Mark is not with us. The third anniversary of Mark's death was a week and a half ago. Hard to believe it's been that long. I anticipate that the wedding will be here before we know it. This year has flown by so fast. We are having such a wonderful time in Denver. I feel so very blessed to live here. Whenever I am driving on this certain overpass getting onto 225, there is a moment of breathlessness when I can see a beautiful lake, the mountain range, and downtown all at once and it's so picturesque. What a wonderful time in our lives!