I'm Seven!

Whew- we hit the ground running this week and kind of haven't stopped until today.  We will start with the most important even of the week- my birthday!  It was kind of awesome!

I got to start the day and end the day opening presents and there ain't much wrong with that!  My favorite present came down to two.  I got a book of paper dragons that I can make and they actually fly like real dragons which is pretty awesome.  The other contender (and most likely the winner) is the awesome remote control car.  It's huge and powerful and can up to 25 miles an hour and is tons of fun!

We all headed out to try it on the basketball courts by our house.  That thing was fast and we think every 'tween boy within a ten mile radius came to check it out.  They must have a "remote control" sense imbedded in their brains.  I was a hit!

Since I was up at 6 AM, I spent the rest of the day laying low and getting ready for my first multiple person slumber party.  I've had one friend over for the night but never 3 and I couldn't wait.  Mom was little worried about how we all would handle it and she was justified as you will soon see.  We all started out nicely enough- everyone came over and we headed out to Dave and Buster's to play games for a few hours and that was pretty cool.

The four of us won enough tickets that we could each get a new stuffie and life was good so far.

We came from that and headed out to the park so we could all take turns crashing  driving my new car. It was a pretty fascinating hour.  Then it was time for cake.  I specifically requested a polka-dot cake like mom saw on Pinterest, stupid Pinterest but then I also wanted those little lemon cakes from Costco on it.  Now, first of all, I've never had those lemon cakes before but was absolutely infatuated with them.  So, dad made a special trip to Costco to get them for me.  Then mom got going on my cake which was really a week long project.  First, she had to bake the cake balls then she had to bake the cake balls again in cake batter.  Supposedly, when all is said and done, when you cut into the cake, you see dots.  Then comes the decorating which isn't mom's specialty and makes her a little crazy.  Here is the finished product.......

After all that work, guess how much we ate?  Go on, guess!  Pretty much none.  None of my friends wanted any, I only ate one bite, dad didn't even eat a piece.  So now my birthday cake is sitting lonely on the counter because no one wants it:(

We finally headed up to bed around 9:45 and we were quiet for about 5 minutes (which was expected) before we all tromped downstairs to announce that we could not sleep.  We got sent back up stairs at which point we decided to tell scary stories.  Next thing mom knows, she has 4 scared, sobbing 7 year olds on her hands who won't calm down and who refuse to go back to my room because "we keep hearing noises!" (Sob, sob, sob)  It was so bad that Sophia's mom had to come and get her.  The irony of that is that it was Sophia's story that scared us so bad.  Mom ended up sleeping next to us, getting a crappy night's sleep herself.  We ended up sleeping just fine though, so all is right with the world!

The ones that made it through the night headed home around 10 on Sunday and mom was secretly quite happy about that.

So that was my awesome slumber party gone bad- I don't think I will be allowed to do that again for awhile.

Now, back to the beginning of the week.  My swim team practice started on Monday.  I loved it and have a lot of friends on the team as well- which doesn't allow much time for actual practice.  

Wednesday and Thursday were my first softball practices.  Dad took me to those since this is his area of expertise.  He has determined that I need a little more practice....

but didn't do too poorly for my first time.

Dad left for his week long camping trip with The Boys bright and early this morning so mom and I are on our own.  We spent most of today recovering from the slumber party but we did manage to get out to buy some flowers for our porch and then we headed to the remote control car race track for a bit.  Now we are all off to bed.  Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Shoes

We had a pretty quiet week around here.  Soccer practice is over, swim lessons are done, off week for Girl Scout meeting.  Mom and I weren't sure what to do with all our extra time- so we went shopping!  I was in desperate need of new shoes.  My trusty Twinkle Toes were completely worn out- Velcro falling off, socks visible through the bottoms of them.  I looked a wee bit ragged from the ankles down. Mom suggested new shoes and now I really wanted shoes with laces because I finally learned how to tie them.  I chose a pair of neon yellow running shoes with hot pink laces.  They make me run really, super fast, I can stop super fast AND they are soft on my feet.  What more could a girl want from a pair of shoes?  Mom also thought I needed a summer pair that could get wet so then I picked out a pair of neon blue Keen's- cause you can't have too much neon.  It was actually very good timing on our part because the very first day I wore my neon yellow shoes to school, my teacher had us write a poem about our shoes!  How cool was that?!

For the weekend, mom was finishing up her Dry Needling course so she was gone all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then came home tired and kind of sore every night- not so much fun.  Dad and I however, tore up the town.  Friday night, we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner and then went to buy my third pair of shoes for the week- new cleats for my upcoming softball season.  We bought a glove and a ball too, so I will definitely look good, even if I don't play good.

On Saturday, we headed to Elitch Gardens, the big amusement park near downtown.  We rode the big roller coaster twice and I won yet another stuffie to add to my already enormous collection.

And then Sunday, we went to the Aquarium for the afternoon.  Dad kept us running but he always does and I love it!

We tried hard to enjoy our slow week because starting Monday, it's going to get a little crazy around here for a while.  I start swim team practice Monday, softball practice Wednesday, Girl Scouts and softball Thursday, swim practice Friday, MY BIRTHDAY SATURDAY(!!!).  WITH A SLUMBER PARTY(!!!) and then dad leaves for a week.  And he will be gone for most of the month of June with work so mom and I will be holding down the fort as best we can.  Good times.  Not.
Have a great week!

Finally......

We have made it through another week here in Goedel Land and this time, we think Spring is really here.  We got a ton of rainy cold weather last week but mom will take cold rain over snow any day.  It was a refreshing change.  

It warmed up enough by the weekend, that people were out in flip flops.  We weren't ready to make that transition yet as we are still Arizonans at heart and the 60's still seem cold.

I had my final soccer game of the season on Saturday and even though we lost, we played well and finally seem to be figuring out this concept called "passing".  I'm not sure if you all have heard of it but it does make for a bit more exciting game.

After my game, we bee-lined home to get ready for our second trip in our RV.  We can't really call this trip camping as we were in an RV park with full hook up- meaning we had Wi-Fi and cable TV if we wanted.  We called it our "have hotel room, will travel" weekend.  We "hoteled" it just outside of Estes Park near Rocky Mountain National Park and we had amazing views from our little site.  We were right next to the Big Thompson River and I spent a lot of time throwing sticks in the water and seeing how fast they floated away.

After the stick floating, we walked into town for some really good bar-b-cue, root beer floats and more great views.

 We wrapped up the evening with a little DVD action on our TV.  Told you this wasn't really camping!


On Sunday, Mother Nature provided all the moms here with beautiful, clear blue skies and, wait for it, amazing views.....

Mom, Haile and I went for a walk- down to the river- while dad whipped up some cinnamon rolls and fruit salad for a delicious breakfast.

After a relaxing morning, we headed to Trout Haven for some fishing.  I have been fishing too many times to count and have never caught anything, so we thought we would try something with the odds stacked more in my favor.

And wouldn't you know it- success!  Dad and I teamed up and managed to snag an 11 incher.   I was super excited and can't wait to eat it for dinner.  Yummmm!

After that adventure, we headed to the Stanley Hotel.  This was the inspiration for Steven King's novel,
The Shining.  I was fascinated by the fact that it is haunted and kept asking where the bats, spiders and vampires were.  It was kind of a let down when I didn't see any but mom and dad thought it was a pretty cool looking place.

More pretty views.....

We finally got home around 2 and spent the rest of the day relaxing.  Dad grilled up our trout for dinner and with a little lemon and some herbs, it was kind of tasty.

We hope all the moms had a fabulous day and we hope everyone has a wonderful week- see you in 7 days!

The Maiden Voyage!

So I believe we got a little ahead ourselves last week by going on and on about spring and how it had finally sprung.......

This was Wednesday, May 1.  We got 6 inches of snow but thankfully since it was just in the high 70's the day before, nothing stuck to the roads.  We have warmed up a bit since then- all the way into the 50's!  Woo-hoo!  Break out the tank tops!  (Insert sarcasm here)  Even the native Denverites are starting to whine.  Hopefully, now it is a thing of the past.

The rest of the week passed pretty quickly for mom and dad but could not have dragged by any slower for me.  I was beyond excited to go camping in our new RV and Saturday was never going to get here. Mom and dad told me I could take my friend Cami and when we got off the school bus on Friday, we were both screaming "CAMPING IS TOMORROW!!! CAMPING IS TOMORROW!!"  Whew.

Dad finally got home with our RV on Friday night so we could get it ready to go.  Mom and dad got food, blankets, towels, equipment etc. packed up and ready and I got busy making The Rules.  I wrote lots and lots of rules and then posted them throughout the RV.  As I told mom and dad, "these rules are to keep us safe.  But the most important rule is to have fun!"

Saturday FINALLY came but we had to get through my soccer game first.  We lost and that's all.  We drove the RV to my game and after, loaded Cami up and off we went on our adventure!  We drove all the way to Cherry Creek State Park.  It is a huge reservoir/park in the middle of the city but a perfect spot to make sure everything worked.
After we got there, mom took Cami and I for a walk to give dad some peace and quiet and time to organize everything.

We ended up at the lake and despite the cold breeze, the 53 degree temps and the frigid water, Cami and I kicked off our shoes and socks, rolled up our pant legs and headed right in.

About an hour and half later, with blue lips and wet, frozen toes, we headed back for some hot cocoa and warm clothes.  We spent the rest of the afternoon very wholesomely, playing frisbee, collecting rocks, sticks, making the dog crazy.

We roasted hot dogs for dinner but the highlight of the evening was the s'mores.  Sooo yummy!  Even though Cami and I both loudly stated our dislike for "brown marshmallows".  Mom and dad were a bit incredulous at that one.  (How do you make a good s'more with a white marshmallow they wanted to know).

We finally crashed around 9:30 and slept hard until 6:30 the next morning.  It was a good night!
We packed up and headed home and spent the rest of Sunday relaxing and getting ready for our next camping trip!
Here hoping for no more snow!

Spring??

Could it possibly be?  No, it can't possibly be.  We think spring may have finally sprung!  We had a beautiful weekend here- dad was able to get in a bike ride wearing his Tucson "winter" kit instead of his Colorado "WINTER" kit.  Mom was able to run in her 3/4 length running tights instead of the full length ones AND no jacket.  I was able to play soccer in shorts and a short sleeve shirt- and I was hot!  But more on all that later...

We had a pretty good week but it felt like a long one.  One of Dad's colleagues from Norway was in town for the week, so they headed out for some mountain biking in the hills behind our house on Wednesday.  We all thought it was a bit chilly at 66 degrees, but Borre is from Tromso which is very far north and he said this weather was "high summer" for them.  We are trying to figure out why anyone would live there voluntarily.  Maybe the food is good?

On Thursday, it was Take Your Child to Work Day at Dad's work.  I had such a great time last year that I couldn't wait to go again.  This year, not so great.  Last year, we got to design roller coasters, learned about propulsion by building a balloon powered car, made goop.  All kinds of good "mathy" stuff.  This year, I came home with a brochure from HGTV on how to landscape your business for maximum profit.  Not quite the learning opportunity mom and dad were expecting.

It was great to spend the day with dad though.  That is always tops in my book!

I had Friday off from school so mom took the day off from her work.  It was such a relaxing kind of day.  We spent the morning hunting bugs in the creek bed by our house.

After a lot of work, I came home with two roly poly's that died about 3 hours later.  My spirit is not daunted though and I will be back for more.  We rounded out the day with a play date at my friend Lena's house and soccer practice.
We did manage to sell our beloved A-liner too on Friday.  We sold it to a nice family with a little girl and we hope they have as much fun as we do.

Saturday was very busy in a good way!  We finally got to pick up our new RV and bring it home.  This was the view from our front porch for most of the weekend.  Beautiful, ain't it!?

We had to go to my soccer game (which we won 2-1) and then came back (with my friend Cami) and we got the RV all stocked up and ready to go for our first adventure.  Cami and I helped as only two seven year olds can so it took a little longer than planned but it's done and we are good to go!

Sunday was another super beautiful, super fun day.  We had some of our friends over for Sunday brunch and it was so warm, we were able to eat outside and had a wonderful time.  Mimosas, Bloody Mary's, breakfast burritos, fruit salad.  We were fat and happy!

The adults finally got smart and sent us off to the park for a while and they spent the time talking about how nice it was that we were old enough to send off to the park.  We were back in 15 minutes.  Even so, it was a great day.  Can you tell we are happy it's warm?

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

A Suburban Kind of Weekend

So.  Here we are near the end of April.  And we are still. wearing. our. PUFFY COATS!!!  Gaaaaaaaa!!  It snowed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and did not get above 35 degrees.  And more is coming this Monday and Tuesday.  We have decided to take a reverse psychology approach- we LOVE winter, we want MORE winter!  MORE snow!  MORE icy streets!  Please?

There- that ought to take care of things.

Once Thursday hit, it warmed up a little bit and mom's attitude thawed as well.  A little bit.  Just enough to start our Suburban Weekend.

On Friday, all of the 1st grade/2nd grade blend classes put on a program of patriotic songs and presentations about various patriotic symbols.  It was very well done and considering all the events of the past week, it brought a little bit of a tear to mom's eye.  Mom and dad were both very impressed and we celebrated my debut with a trip to Dave and Busters for dinner and games.

We got to bed early because I had swim team try outs first thing Saturday morning.  We were up and out the door by 7AM.  I was trying out for the non competitive/club team and I made it!  Yeah me!  I wasn't the best swimmer out there but I was waaaaay better than the one boy who had to be rescued by the lifeguards, the boy who was clinging to the lane ropes and the other kids who barely made it across the pool.
I got my suit and cap ordered and our first practice is May 20th.  We can't wait.

We got home from swim team and had enough time to eat something and turn around and head out to my soccer game.  We had team pictures before the game and although they tried very, very hard, Coach Jen and Coach Cathy could not keep us corralled in one spot......

...but we did eventually end up in a tree all together.

All that pre-game activity must have been really good for us because we won the game 4-1 and I scored a goal!

Sunday, I had a birthday party with my whole class and then I got to hang out with my friend Sophia for the afternoon while her mom and my mom discussed their plans for the Daisy Scout troop.
Dad spent the day getting our pop-up ready for sale and we are spending our evening watching the movie "RV"- you know to get us ready for our next trip!

Have a great week!

Upgrade.

So here we are- the middle of April.  And winter just won't go way.  We are so dang tired of putting on our puffy coats.  They are filthy and need to be washed but it doesn't stay warm long enough to get them washed AND dried before the next snow storm.  This past week, we had a low of 7 degrees and semi blizzard conditions.  The only good thing about this nastiness is that I got a snow day out of it.  The weather forecasters were predicting an epic blizzard Monday night into Tuesday so I was hoping, hoping, hoping for a snow day.  It is Colorado tradition (and maybe elsewhere as well, but we've never lived where snow days are a regular occurrence) that if you want a snow day, you need to flush ice cubes down the toilet and wear your pajamas inside out.  I did both and then I made dang sure mom and dad had their PJ's on correctly as well.  Wonder of wonders!  It worked!  I woke up Tuesday morning to 1" of snow- and a snow day!  While I was definitely not complaining about a missed day of school, it kind of stunk because it was nasty windy and nasty cold.  We thought about going to a movie in the afternoon but did not want to step foot out of the house.  Blech.  Dad went into work because he has still not caught onto to the fact that EVERYONE takes advantage of snow days and "works" from home.  He ended up heading home to "work" from home around noon.  Believe it or not, he actually did work....  It ended up being a nice family day.

The rest of the week was just plain cold but it warmed up a little by Saturday, in time for my soccer game.  We lost this week, 4-2 but we still had a good time.

So, mom and dad have been married for 9 years this November and have know each other for 11.  If you asked mom to describe dad in one word, after all these years, without hesitation, she would say "persistent".  Once he gets it in his head to do something, it will get done and it will get done before anything else gets done.  Whether it is fixing our computers, putting in kitchen cabinets, tackling Mt. Lemmon on a bike, buying a car- he doesn't stop until it's done, no matter how long it takes.  

Well, dad decided a couple of months ago that we needed a bigger camper.  Mom wasn't quite on the same page as she felt our awesome little pop-up was just fine but she has also learned not to try and talk him out of stuff.  He has been researching, researching, researching and with his persistence, he found exactly what he was looking for.  And we bought it on Saturday.

We headed down to the dealership to take it for a test drive.  It felt and sounded a little like driving an airport shuttle bus but dad looked good behind the wheel.  We drove it to the nearby mall parking lot to park it and play with all the gadgets.  All went well until we tried to start it up again and nothing happened.  We thought we broke the dang thing already!  Turns out it was just the battery (as dad suspected) and a little jump start from the nice man at the RV place had us back in business.  We were just glad we weren't out in the middle of nowhere!

So we bid a fond farewell to our little A-liner pop up.  We had a lot of good times in it.  And we say hello to our Coachmen Freelander.  As much as mom will miss the A-liner, it will be kind of nice to have a real potty!  And I love my very own queen size sleeping loft.  I think mom and dad love that too because I'm way to wild of a sleeper to share a bed with anymore

It will be ready for pick up next weekend and we are planning our inaugural trip already.  We have all kinds of plans from pre-bike race housing to housing extra family during the holidays.  Can't wait!

Mom has been scrolling through our old blogs and realized we haven't had any "Jordanisms" lately.  My latest came this morning after watching an episode of Gator Boys.  "Mom- are they speaking English in Mississippi?"  To which mom answered "Mmmmm- kind of."

Happy travels and have a good week!