Miscellaneous...

Because I started this blog as a way to record our memories, for my kids to read when they grow up, I think I'll jot down a few things right now. I always think that I should only write about the "big stuff" but really, it's all the little details in life that matter. Plus, I want my kids to know what their daily life was like when they are young, since the probably wont remember a lot of it when they grow up.

Not sure that makes sense but it's probably because I wait until it's past my bedtime to write in this darn thing and by then, my mind is fried.

First, let's talk about swim team. K and E are on the Hillside swim team like they were last year. Practice is M-F, 10:40 - 11:10 (although they start warming up at 10:20, outside the pool). We ride our bikes to practice so in the summer, we have all morning to have breakfast, clean up, play, whatever. I love the late practice time because we have PLENTY of time to eat and get ready.

And riding our bikes to the pool couldn't be any easier. It's not even a mile to the pool so it takes literally a few mins to get there.

The coaches are great - Patrick and Bradley - and the team is pretty big. Not sure how many kids are on it but its a lot.

Today we had a swim meet at the Greeley Country Club. Katerina hasn't wanted to do meets this year but she decided to try this one. Evan wants to do meets this year. We got a few relays in before the rain came but unfortunatley, it was cancelled due to rain.

We were waiting out the first rain when I heard a woman telling her husband that Michael Jackson died. Wow! Farrah Fawcett also died today. Very sad about FF but it was expected. But MJ, what a huge shock.

We went to Grandma's house to help her with her computer. It was raining so hard that I could hardly see to drive.

Later, we came home and watched all the hoopla re MJ's death on CNN. Then I decided to show the kids Thriller on YouTube but that was a mistake - it really scared them! Kurt's on call so they decided that they wanted to sleep in my room. Evan is on the floor and K is bed - they are too scared to sleep in their rooms. Bad mommy, me!

But I really enjoyed laying on the bed with both kids and listening to Evan read a story. He did a great job. Katerina wanted to look at her book re rockets so we did for awhile...too funny. I love times like that when we're relaxed and connected. We need more times like that!

More on that later.

Kansas Trip - Part 2

Here are some pictures of the family "reunion". We spent Saturday celebrating Andre's first birthday and Sunday (supposedly) celebrating Katerina's birthday. On Monday, we went to Worlds of Fun and that happened to be Austin's birthday.

It was great seeing everyone but to be honest, I came home feeling pretty sad. We are not as close as I would like us to be. No one's fault...just the way it is.

I enjoyed seeing the new babies, Andre and Miah, and seeing Kai and Austin again. They are all darling children and I look forward to seeing them grow up.

And even though Rick and I are political opposites, I feel strangely connected to him. I love my brother immensely and wish I could see him more often.

And Kelly is great, I enjoy staying at her house.

That's all I can say here. Not that anyone in my family reads our blog anyway but I'll write more in my own personal diary. I'm glad we made the trip but I'm it will be a long time before I do it again.

Reunion Trip - Part One

There's so much to write about this trip that I don't know where to begin. First, where did we go: Kansas. Why: for me to attend my 30 yr high school reunion and to see my family for a quasi-family-reunion. Several family members had birthdays this weekend (including Katerina) so the plan (I thought) was to celebrate them all together.

Let's talk about the class reunion first. We met on Friday and Saturday night in Gardner. I was a little nervous about it as I had not seen anyone from my high school graduating class in 10 yrs (I went to our 20th). Plus, not having good memories of my senior year, I was not super excited about it.

I had a great time! I really enjoyed seeing everyone and got some good "vibes" in return. As I mentioned, my senior year in high school - actually my junior AND senior years - were two of the worst years of my life. Too long to write here (and way too personal) but believe me when I say it was a dark time in my life.

As a result, I left Gardner ASAP after graduating and never looked back. I completely blocked those years (and everyone in them) out of my mind. So going back is surreal...it's like going back to another lifetime.

But I really had a great time. The one person I was really happy to see was Steve Reimers. He and I had crushes on each other in high school and I think I still have one on him! But now, it's a different kind of crush - a "respectful" one, if that makes sense. He is just such a great guy and I have a tremendous amt of respect for him. We really connected and it was so nice to talk to him. We really re-connected.

And the other person I enjoyed seeing was Bob McCarthy. He was/is one of the most well-liked kids in my class. He's funny (and ornery) and an all-around nice guy. Kurt and i stayed after the reunion and talked with a group of people for a long time and Bob was one of them. My other good friend, Theresa, was there too and we just had a nice time talking with them.

Then on Sunday night, Bob asked us over to his house (he lives across the street from my brother). Theresa and Steve were there and so was Robyn and a few others. I stayed for 2 hrs while the kids swam in their pool. Just had a wonderful time.

The one nice thing about this trip is that Kurt had a good time meeting my high school classmates! He is not usually interested in meeting old friends of mine and originally, he was not happy about going on this trip. But he really connected with both Steve's (Wallace and Reimers) and he thought Bob was a great guy. That was a nice change - for Kurt to really enjoy meeting people from my past life.

More on the reunion in the next posting....

Bolder Boulder

We walked the Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day with Olzhas and had a blast. The weather was cloudy but warm and the rain held off until right after the military ceremony, which was great because the kids didn't get to see it last year.

We really had a fun time and the kids did great. This was my 20th Bolder Boulder and the first time I registered as a walker instead of a runner!