NOT safe in the backyard

I turned on the hose for him to water the garden. I set it at a low spray and stepped back in the house for a second. He turned the hose on full blast and aimed it at me. I barely got the door closed in time. After I documented the situation with both the camera and video camera, I began to worry about how I was going to get the water turned off.
He solved my problem for me. He sprayed himself in the face several times, became frustrated, dropped the hose and turned the faucet off all by himself.
That means he knows how to turn the hose on all by himself. Therefore, it is not safe in the backyard (if you want to stay dry).

A Saturday in Boulder

We found ourselves with no weekend plans. Joel was supposed to be sailing in the Aspen Open Regatta. Jace and I were going to tag along. It was going to be a huge adventure for all of us. It was going to be Jace's first camping experience (and our first time trying to camp with a toddler). I was anticipating the whole weekend with a mixture of excitement and dread.

All our plans changed suddenly when the owner and skipper of the boat that Joel crews on ended up in the hospital. It sounds like he is doing OK but he has several weeks of recovery ahead of him.

Joel and I decided that the long drive to Aspen wasn't really worth it if he didn't have to sail. So we headed out to find a little adventure closer to home.We spent a day in Boulder. We dropped in on my cousin Patrick at his new Starbucks job. We took a picnic lunch up Boulder canyon. Joel and Jace played in the creek. We stopped at LeaAnn and Pete's house so that we could see everyone and Jace could rest. It was a fun, full day and I got to sleep in my own bed that night (instead of in a tent with a toddler).

Jace spots the perfect rock for throwing in the creek.

Joel obediently fetches it.

Jace explores Lily and Patrick's tree house.

Uncle Pete won a new friend for life by giving Jace a wild horsey ride. After this Jace would not let Pete out of his sight and was always wanting Pete to carry him.
Patrick introduced Jace to the joys of sword fighting in the living room.

Dylan & Taylor come for a visit

I can't believe it has been a week ago now.

We had a great afternoon with Justin, Becky, Dylan and Taylor. Jace loved having friends around to play with. I loved having friends around to visit with. We spent a fun afternoon at the spray ground. Jace learned some new water fight moves from the big kids.

I hope they all get to visit again before the summer is over.

One of Jace's new moves was figuring out how to deflect the spray right at me.

I love the little girl in this photo. I generally try not to post photos with people we don't know in them but I thought this girl's total spray ground enthusiasm deserved an exception.

beating the heat at the sprayground

I don't want to wish my summer away because our lives are going to get crazy in just a few short weeks; but, it has been too hot for my taste lately. I like to imagine that is my Dad is smiling at the "heat units" and that this year the corn harvest will be over before December. That helps a little when I'm using half a bottle of sunscreen a day and sweating like a buffalo. (Pigs don't sweat so that comparison always bothered me.)

Last week we spent two afternoons in a row at the Greenwood Village spray ground. Tuesday evening we went just before dinner time and the park was emptying out as other families packed up to go home for dinner. We had the place mostly to ourselves. When the cloud cover came in Jace started shivering, too cold in the water. He soon discovered that he could climb the steep grassy hill behind the play area and terrify us by running back down. Joel showed him how to roll down the hill, which was only slightly less frightening for me to watch. (This is the same kid who got super nervous on the carousel.)

Photo: That's Elaine with her scooter in the background and the hill that Jace started playing on when he was done with the water.

Joel and Jace, alone on the spray ground.

Scaling one side of the steep hill. The photo does not do justice to the grade.

When we returned to Palmer's house, where we were spending the night because Gary was out of town traveling, the power went out. Dinner was a little crazy as we hunted for flashlights and tried to figure out what to fix with no microwave or stove. Joel found the camp stove and cooked some hot dogs. The power, thankfully, came back on before Jace went to bed so at least his room had air conditioning. Joel and I ended the evening with a trip to Baskin Robbins. Ice Cream is the cherry on top of any summer day.

New Fence

We have been talking about replacing our fence for years. It has been broken since we bought the house (almost 10 years ago).

Joel worked and worked and worked. The old fence posts were set in a ridiculous amount of concrete. The posts were also rotted and broken so they would not pull out easily. I felt helpless because I spent most of the weekend keeping Jace away from the construction.

Sunday night, when two-thirds of the new fence was in place, Gary and Elaine came over to see the progress. It was great to have the extra hands on the fence and eyes on Jace when Joel and I were tiered out.

Joel finished the third side of the fence last Monday and the finishing touches when on this weekend.

The new fence looks amazing. The gate is functional (the old fence gate never worked). The extra height makes the yard more private (the old fence was 5ft this one is 6). I'm so proud of Joel and totally relieved that the project is finished.

Joel sets the gate that he built.

Jace helped Papa Gary remove some hardware from the old fence.Then he pouted when it was time to put the tools away.

July 5th - Monday night dinner

Monday nights in the summer are less organized than our Monday "Dancing with the Stars" nights. There is no show so it is difficult for everyone to assemble at one time. The kids are gone with their Mom for the summer. Elaine had ankle surgery and is recovering from that. There are a lot of complications to our normal family gathering.

This week, it all came together. It was a beautiful night on the deck. Chris and Cole joined us. The little boys had a very loud, fun time playing together. They chased the dogs, hid from each other in a little tent and went for wheelbarrow rides when Joel agreed to push them.

Jace is in the overalls. They were a cute pair.

July 4th - Zoo trip and lots of rain

It was a weird 4th for us this year. Often, we enjoy the weekend in Wray but we had been there the last two weekends. We felt like enjoying a weekend at home but that left us with no plans for celebrating. It ended up being a really fun day.

Chris M. invited us to the zoo. The girls in his family were gone visiting Deanna's parents. Chris and Cole were on their own for a few days. The morning was cool and humid. It was the best zoo day. The animals were active and the crowds were small. The boys had a great time and were both exhausted by the time we left at 12:30.

Jace didn't get much of a nap because he slept in the car but didn't make the transition to his bed. We were glad that we had already decided not to worry about seeing fireworks this year. We were planning to attend a backyard barbecue at the home of some sailing friends. They have invited us every year for as long as we have known them but we have always had other plans. Half an hour before we left for the party, the sky opened up. It rained and rained. Jace is still nervous about thunder. He calms down if he can watch the storm so we have spent several rain storms sitting under the cover of our front porch. Today, the rain was so heavy that you couldn't sit on the porch without getting wet. Jace stood in the doorway watching.

We did end up going to the barbecue. It was great to see lots of sailors that we hadn't seen for a while. It was very wet. It rained off and on. I chased Jace round and round the yard mostly trying to keep him from falling in their little goldfish pond. We left when Jace started to get wild and were glad to be driving home when the rain started coming down in sheets again.

We listened to some of our neighbors attempts at fireworks in the rain while we were snuggled into bed, happy for the cool, wet evening.

Happy Independence Day.

Chris and Cole on the Carousel. Jace got nervous on the Carousel ride and was very glad when it was over. He preferred the train.

July 3rd - Javin's 3rd B-day

Jace was right in the middle of everything as we helped Javin celebrate his birthday. We all enjoyed the bounce house and slide. Mat was the grill master. Dylan supervised Jace on the trampoline. Lexi taught Jace how to wait until just the right moment to launch the Buzz Lightyear water rocket. Javin got an awesome new bike and Pam sent a vehicle home with us that Javin had out grown. Now when ever we go to the mailbox, Jace likes to drive his car.

Thank you Barr family for the super fun evening.
Jace helped pick out the RC motorcycle gift earlier that day at Kazoo and Co. when we needed a break from the heat at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival.

Jace really wanted to help blow out the candles. The Buzz Lightyear and Woody cakes were adorable but the real winner was the homemade carrot cake.

Lexi and Jace try out one of Javin's new gifts, the water rocket launcher.

They both loved throwing the switch to launch the rocket. The trick was whoever had to reset the rocket usually didn't make it back to the switch before the other one threw it. Lexi was the first to soak Jace with this trick but he caught on pretty quick. Soon he was pointing and telling her, "You do it." (Meaning its your turn to get soaked resetting the rocket.)Jace's turn resetting the rocket. This time Javin at the launch switch. They were all soaked and happy.

2 trips to Wray

We were back and forth to Wray two weekends in a row.
We celebrated Father's Day weekend with a water fight with Grandad. Jace - "Here!"

Grandad - "You want me to go over there?"

Really, Grandad should have suspected that this was an ambush.

They were both soaked.

We had an amazing Father's Day dinner with Grandpa and Grandma Courtney.Jace was fascinated by the motion sensitive Cardinal bird. It made him nervous but he really wanted to hold it.

The next weekend we were back in Wray to enjoy some time with Curt and Kadra who were visiting from Iowa.

Lookout Uncle Curt! This is not his first water fight.

Aunt Kadra joined Jace for a run through the sprinklers.

We always have a great time in Wray. Can't wait to head back for Wray Daze.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays Alyssa and Dustin!

A goofy family photo.

Jace doing his best to be gentle with Ozzy, the toy Australian shepherd.

June. What happened to June?

There is just no way to account for all the time that has flown by.

Of course we are busy, everyone is busy.

Our sleep habits have suffered disruption with Jace making a sudden change to a "big boy bed". Joel and I felt a little like the rug was pulled out from under us. It seemed like one night Jace was sleeping, peacefully in his crib and the next night he would not stay in it. Our whole routine changed.

Jace seems to like his new bed but it has definitely taken some getting used to, for all of us.

Lots of times, if Jace woke up in the night, we would find him curled up in the chair.

Daddy lost out the most when Jace ended up in our bed. There is just not room for three people when one of them insists on sleeping across the pillows.