Crazy Daze

We had a terrific time last weekend at Wray Daze. It was so nice to spend time with family, especially Curt and Kadra. We did our best to squeeze in every Wray Daze activity that we could. We started early with Friday sidewalk sales, sopapillas at La Familia, swimming and Fun Night. Saturday parade, duck race, BBQ, keg fights (Curt and Kadra were the family reps at this event since Jace needed a nap), we watched Patrick and Lea Ann compete in a tennis tournament and ended the day with homemade ice cream. Sunday didn't go as planned because Joel was out of commission for the day and couldn't do the bike race. We did make it to Sunday dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Courtney's house (yummy chicken and noodles and the first sweet corn of the season). Then we went out to the golf course for a full afternoon in the sun.Jace and Toby were quite the pair. Both of them have grown a lot since Christmas. Toby was so patient with Jace letting him be rowdy and loud without getting upset. A favorite toy for both of them was the turtle pull toy. Jace pulled it all around the kitchen and living room with Toby chasing behind nipping at the turtle's little moving feet. It was a noisy game. Jace was laughing and squealing while the little turtle sped along DING.....DING.....DING.....and Toby raced after.

Curt (2nd from L all in dark clothes) along with Eric Oestman participated in the keg fights Saturday afternoon. They went 2 and 2.

Sunday afternoon Curt, Kadra, Jace, Dad and I had a golfing adventure. It was not too hot and not busy on the course so Jace could wander around. Dad tried out his new driver (his birthday gift).

It was a full weekend.

bath time with Emma

Jace and Emma have a crazy relationship. They get each other very excited and usually end up both in trouble but they continue to seek each other out.
Jace will scream and laugh at Emma. Emma starts jumping and nipping at Jace. They chase each other around. Jace's most recent bonk on the forehead was a result of their rowdy play. We are not sure if Emma bumped Jace over or if Jace just got so excited that he fell over without any help from the puppy.
No matter what happens they love to play together.

a week in Angel Fire

It has been a very busy, full week for us. Jace and I traveled with Joel again to Angel Fire, NM. It was difficult to get a decent Internet connection while we were there so here are some of the photos from our trip.

In the weeks since we were there last, all the flowers have started blooming. Jace loved stomping through them and picking them. I tried to show him how to smell the flowers. He didn't quite understand. He would blow his nose on the flowers.

One afternoon, Jace and I went with Joel and Tim while they tried to locate survey points on the side of a slope above the ski resort.

I was amazed at the view and at how much steep hiking the guys do every day. Joel carried Jace in the backpack and I just tried to keep up. Friday afternoon the guys finished work early so Joel, Jace and I drove over to Red River, NM. Joel and I had been there before with Grant Marsik on a Jeep Jamboree camping trip. It was fun to explore the town a little and go hiking on the trails above the river.

Jace did his first "rock climbing". We all got some sun and were very tired at the end of the day.
Saturday we made the long drive home. It looks like the work in Angel Fire is finished. We have no idea what Joel will be doing now or where he will be traveling. For now, we will just enjoy a week at home. Joel will work in town early this week and then we will head to Wray for the big Wray Daze celebration. It will be extra special this year because Curt and Kadra will be visiting.

when Daddy is home

When Joel is home we stay extra busy. We take advantage of all the time that we can.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the Denver Zoo. It was hot out so we spent most of our time exploring indoor exhibits. Jace liked the aquariums because he could get up close to the fish and didn't have to worry that they would make any scary noises. Jace pointed at the Zebra, chased the peacocks and growled at the polar bear. It was a good time. We bought a Zoo membership for the year so we look forward to exploring some more on a cooler day.

Today Jace spent the afternoon with Palmers while Joel and I enjoyed a movie. We saw Public Enemies. It was cool. After the movie we went for a walk with Elaine and the puppy, Emma. Jace rode in the stroller and Emma ran all over the place. She would dart from one side of the path to the other stringing the leash under our feet. The walk was 2 miles so it got to be a little much for both Jace and Emma. Jace started crying so he ended up being carried on Joel's shoulders. Emma started lagging behind so she ended up riding in the stroller. I'm sure people passing us were pointing and laughing (I would have been).

Don and Jessica joined us for dinner at Red Robin. Jace was so tired that he fell asleep on the way to the restaurant. He stayed asleep on Joel's shoulder for a good 20 minutes. Joel loved it. He rarely gets to hold the sweet, sleeping Jace. Once Jace woke up he immediately noticed the balloons that the restaurant gives away. Uncle Don brought him one and tied it to the highchair. He ate most of his dinner with the balloon string in one hand while he fed himself with the other hand. The down side was that Jace was very scarred by the squealing sound of the balloons being filled. He cried a couple of different times (Joel even asked the staff if they could hold off on filling any more for a little while). Our tired little guy suffered one more balloon incident when we got home. Joel was carrying Jace and his 2 blue balloons in to the house when one popped. Jace had one of those long moments. Most people know what I'm talking about. The long moments when the kid's face is already crying, eyes squinting, face turning red, mouth wide open but no sound in coming out. You can actually count the seconds of silence before the wailing starts and you know the more time passes the louder that first scream will be.

Poor little man. I'm not sure if he will be so excited about balloons next time.

This photo is from Yesterday. Joel was playing Hide-and-Seek with Jace. It was funny to see him "hide" on the couch in plain sight. It still took Jace a while to find him.

a disagreement

I realized today that the change from baby to toddler is marked not only by those adorable wobbly first steps but also by the first cry until I get what I want tantrums.

This afternoon Jace decided that he wanted to play with my cell phone again. First he came over to me and climbed up on my lap. Foolish me, my first thought was that he might just want to be closer to his Mom. Then the reaching and grunting started. Then, when I didn't end my call and immediately hand over the requested item, the tears started to roll. Amazingly, this was not the disturbing part of the story. I was most worried when I did hand the phone over to him and the crying stopped instantly. He smiled and made this adorable happy sighing sound. Yikes.

Overall our day was a very enjoyable one. We had lunch with Aaron and dropped him off at the airport. He was off to Chicago to visit family. We went to the bookstore and the health food store and went swimming before dinner. In the bath tonight Jace discovered how to fill an empty bottle under the running faucet. It was hilarious because the water kept splashing off the bottle into his face. He would try to turn away and still hold the bottle under the water. We were both soaked and laughing.

Photo 1: The tears still hang on his cheeks. Evidence of three seconds ago when he thought his world was ending.

Photo 2: Running away with his prize.

Photo 3: Returning to tell me something. I assume he said, "Don't ever even think of not giving me what I want or, so help me, you will rue the day!".