And Another Year Begins...

When you have kids, your lives revolve around school calendars.  Even though I'm a teacher, this really didn't hit home until a few years ago, when Craig and I pulled the kids out of school for a week to take a vacation.  It was then that we realized what a headache it was to get the kids excused from school, reveive work from their teachers prior to the absence, turn the make-up work in after the return,and the overwhelming feeling that they missed out on instruction.  Don't get me wrong.  The life experiences are worth their weight in gold.  The memories we created with them priceless. But over the years we've learned that it's sometimes easier to follow the school year calendar and plan our trips accordingly.  We had a great summer with many wonderful trips and activities.  But now a new school year has begun.  In honor of it's return, we took the kids shopping last weekend.  How fun to hang out and see the choices they made.  We gave them each some cash, so they could have a little lesson in financial planning, as well.

All tuckered out from a day of shopping!

First Day Outfits

Our 10th grader.

These two are something special!

Our 8th grader

It's Already Over?!

I can't really believe our 2014 family vacation is over.  It seems like we'd been planning it for months. Deciding where to go. Deciding what to do. Finding deals on the airline tickets, the car rental, the hotels, the park tickets, etc. Saving. Saving. Saving. Now that we are living on a cash only budget, vacations look a whole lot different.  Coming home debt free--PRICELESS!

Deciding to go take our teenagers to California was the best decision ever.  It was a blast hanging out with them, and since they are older it ended up being more fun than I could have imagined. No crying, no naptimes, no fits. We let them pick and choose what we were going to do and it was fantastic!

Our hightlights included:

Disneyland. Truly the happiest place on earth!  We were there from 9:00 am to midnight with a brief intermission for a dip in the pool and dinner outside of the park.

California Adventure.  This was our favorite of the two parks.  Geared more towards older kids.

Sea World.  Fun to see all the different shows and be able to interract with aquatic animals.

Beach Day.  This was so relaxing.  While the temps were cool, it was great to see how different the Pacific Ocean is from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Each is beautiful and amazing in its own right. God is good!

Vegas.  Each trip we've taken to Las Vegas provides new memories.  My favorite will always be the time we renewed our wedding vows with the kids at our witnesses.  But this time, we headed to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  Now that was pretty spectacular! And the delicious ice cream sandwiches were pretty awesome, too!

Head on over to my instagram feed if you haven't already seen our photo highlights.  I have over 400 pictures I could share with you, but most of them are only meaningful to us, and I'm sure it would be a bit overwhelming to sit here and scroll through them all!

This vacation filled me with so much joy.  While it is sad to think that we don't have many more 'summer' vacations left before our 'babies' head off to college and start their own 'grown up' lives, I am glad to know that we are creating lasting family memories.  Fights will occur.  Impatience is inevitable. But so is joy.  And I look forward to the times filled with laughter. Appreciating each day and what it has to offer is what I am taking away from this trip.  I am grateful in many ways that our children are older.  It offers a freedom that we did not have when they were little. Each season has something wonderful to offer.  Learning to appreciate the season is when true joy will be found.

The Day before the Day our Vacation Started!

So today we are headed to California.  The kids are over the top excited.  We are going to have 3 amusement parks days, and they get to go to Vegas.  One of their favorite places.  Don't ask! Just know that their dad and I really don't condone tons of drinking, gambling and 1/2 naked lady cards being bombarded in front our kids, but there's a whole lot more to Vegas than meets the eye, folks!  And my kids have been to Vegas a half a dozen times since they were knee high to a grasshopper.  They were even witnesses at our 3rd wedding.  Yes, their parents have been married three times.  To each other, mind you! So many stories to share, but today's post is not about Vegas, peeps.  It's about the day before the day our vacation started.

We took my mom to see her football team.  No, she doesn't really own them. However, she's been supporting them for over 30 years.  Through the ups and the downs, the good and the bad. She's been ever so loyal to this team. Surprisingly, she has never been to the stadium where they play. Until yesterday, the day before the day our vacation started!  Oh, that's today!

We made so many great memories.  I'm sure this will be one of those days we'll look back at the pictures and say:

Remember the day we went to see the Denver Broncos and we didn't think we'd get a parking space, but it turned out they were saving one just for us in a lot right next to the stadium?

Or, remember the day when we took Nana to see the Broncos, and we got to see Peyton Manning on the field, and there was were a sea of orange and blue, and you could hear and feel the excitement in the stands?

Or, remember the day when we decided to go check out the updated Union Station in the old downtown area?

Remember when Emaleigh was taking a picture of Mom and Dad, and Caleb decided to nonchalently photobomb like he was a total stranger walking in front of the picture?!

Remember when we went inside and thought it was lovely with the addition of restaruants and shoppes and the hotel, but the original was better.  It felt more authentic and had this cool place that had postcards and newspaper clippings from the station's glory days.

And remember how we decided to venture into the basement, and we found this amazing safe that was built into the walls.  Remember that?!

Or when we went saw the back side of the safe and Dad tried to photo bomb Mom's picture, but it was so blurry and didn't turn out at all.  Remember that?!

Oh and remember the time Mom was trying to take a great shot of Emaleigh admiring the architecture of downtown Denver, but Dad decided this was the day of photo bombing and thought he would make for a better photo.

Or the the time we were leaving and this crazy bike/bus contraption was in front of us at the stoplight, so Mom decided to take a picture of these random strangers and post it on our family blog?!  Remember that?!

It was such a wonderful day and I know we'll look back on it with fondness in our hearts.

Oh yeah, and we surely can't forget the time when we were almost home, but decided to check out a new house that was being built across the street and we saw this guy checking us out instead!

Great day.  Great day, indeed!

P.S.  Don't forget to check out the sister blog.  I'm having a sale tomorrow and Tuesday.

This Week

Its been pretty uneventful around here the past couple of weeks.  Our big trip to CA starts on Sunday.  So grateful that my mom lives here, so that we can leave the dogs and the house knowing that everything will be secure.  Although, last summer's vacation ended up in an unexpected evacuation.  I don't anticipate that happening again since we've had nothing but rain here this summer.  Not complaining!  Just saying.

Anyway here's a few snapshots that we took over the past few days!

The pool finally got finished enough that we could add the the water this weekend.  The kids were pretty excited!

Except for when they got in and realized how chilly the water ended up being.  I had to bribe them with some spending money at Disney to go all the way under.

The little kids love jumping on the tramoline with their cousins. This is a ritual every Sunday at Grandma and Grandpa's house in the summer time.  This week I decided to join them for a bit.  They were thrilled!  Little did I know how much this works the core...Don't mind the blurriness of the photo.  Not one of Mr. Mann's forte's!

This week was the final golf tournament of the summer season.  While Caleb will still play a few rounds before summer ends, he is looking forward to trying out for the golf team again this year.  Definitely a passion of his.

Our Little Escape Artist

This summer has been a nightmare as a pet owner.  Something has happened to our girl dog. Something has freaked her out and caused her to behave like a mad dog--a thunderstorm? New neighbor dogs? The many visitors we've had this summer? Bunnies, birdies, teenage dog hormones?  I really don't know. All I know, is that she has become quite the escape artist and doesn't like to be in her outdoor enclosure unless one of us is with her. Seriously?  Seperation anxiety?  Aren't we a little beyond this stage??!! Mind you, the dog pen is larger than most city yards, but she doesn't know this.  She's only lived in the country and loves access to the bigger yard, and more importantly, her human friends.

At first it started with pushing and maneuvering her way between the metal t-post and fencing that was not permanently secured to the house.  So we cemented in two wood posts.  But she didn't care. She decided that wasn't going to stop her, and she climbed the wire fencing instead.

Doesn't that look make you wonder if she's already plotting her next move?  I'm certain she was!

Next we added a little extra wire to that section, but then she decided to climb over the gates.  So we added some taller pickets to the other side.  Not too nice for the curb appeal factor, but we don't really have a curb anyway!

Yeah, that didn't work either, she just climbed the wire right next to it.

Then we added chicken wire to heighten the fence. It worked, but we didn't have enough and she climbed the one section we hadn't done within an hour of our leaving her back there the first time.  The craziest part was that she climbed out, helped my mom with a few yard tasks and then climbed back in. BIZARRE!

(I didn't take a picture of this stage, because I was just too exhausted from dealing with the craziness!)

Well, with all of these wacked up antics, we decided to pull out the big guns.  While we had initially borrowed an invisible fence from our brother and sister that are dog owners, I was having a soft heart and didn't want to hurt her.  Given that we had tried a variety of humane ways and she was still misbehaving I had a change of heart.  Now, I was all for this drastic measure.  My only concern was that Quinn, our boy dog, would chew the collar Lilly would be required to wear for the shock system to work.  He's been known to go for her neck when they are playing.  For some reason, he loves collars! Maybe his dog food doesn't have the nutritional value he is needing?!  Anyhoo, enter Craig's dad to the rescue! He just happened to have an electric fence system that he wasn't using it anymore.  This one doesn't require a collar, so I won't have to worry about Quinn destroying it.  While we didn't really want ours dogs to experience the pain of the electric fence, we needed to nip this problem in the bud. There safety is our primary concern and getting out could cause them much more harm.

Seriously,  I can't quite understand how she couldn't love this area.  A custom built dog house, lots of room to run.  Plenty of shade and sun.  What more could you ask for?  

Well, Lilly was certainly not a happy camper that first night.  She tried two different escape routes that landed her with the unexpected shock.  She was so freaked out that she climbed over the one gate we hadn't added extra pickets too.  I know what you're saying..."Of course, she did!  What would you expect at this point?  Why didn't you fix that problem before you put her back there?"  Well, I was impatient and didn't want to run to the Home Depot for the bazillionth time, my friends!  It's fixed now, so if she gets out, I just have to throw my hands up on this one!

It's been a few of days now, and while she was definitely not herself that first day, she is adjusting just fine.

I look at her and tell her that I tried to be nice, but she left us with no other options.  We want to keep her safe from the dangers that exist beyond our yard. But then I remember she's just a dog, and realize that her self gratifying spirit probably only cares about chasing rabbits and birds!

And maybe a good nap on my favorite chair!

Photos of the Photographer

We returned from our visit with my dad who lives in Florida a few weeks ago, and were toying with the idea of meeting him in the Mesa Verde/4 Corners area as he was making his way to Utah to volunteer as an astrophotographer/lecturer for Bryce and Zion National Parks.  However, we decided against it, as we have a couple of other big trips planned for the upcoming months. One of them being with him in March.

Well much to our suprise--and a very pleasant one I might add--he called us last Monday night and decided to come stay with us for a couple of days.  Even though the clouds were abundant and the night skies were not cooperative, we kept ourselves busy.  His passion is definitely photography, and it brought me much joy to be able to take him to some great spots to capture just the right shot!

Thanks for a great visit Grandpa Buick!