October 2008

Halloween dinner (chili) and trick-or-treating at Nona and PaPa's house today.

The kids sure have worn their costumes a lot this year, and they were just as cute as ever today.

Trick or Treat
at
Nona and PaPa John's House

Answering the door . . .

We briefly went to the Alpine Elementary School Halloween Party this evening. This is where Drew goes to preschool.

There was a costume contest and a couple of activities and we were glad we went, but didn't spend too much time there.

Three kids with lots of other kids

Lexi chasing Brie

Tracy's MOPS group spent a couple hours at the Pumpkin Farm in Longmont today.

Nona was able to join them for a great time including painting pumpkins, a corn maze, and many other activities.

Brielle and Alexia at the petting zoo

Three Kids and lots of Pumpkins

Painting Pumpkins

Andrew and the Great Pumpkin

Each year the City of Longmont has a Halloween parade where kids get to walk down Main Street wearing their costumes.

This year we joined other families from the Boulder County Twins Club in the parade.

All the kids loved being in the parade, and we saw some familiar spectators (Nona & Papa) several times throughout the route.

A couple of the Twins Club families

Walking in the Parade

Today we had to make the very difficult decision that Shiloh was in too much pain and that it was better for her if we had her put to sleep.

The vet figured she had the equivalent of a dog stroke a couple days back. She needed help to walk out to the front yard a couple times a day and would eat hardly anything. Poor girl.

Shiloh came to live with us unexpectedly after Jamie's mom passed away in January. We were her temporary home until a more permanent solution could be found.

Finding that permanent home never did work out, and we soon became her permanent home. She was perfect with all three of our kids and they were pretty good to her too. She really did become our dog and we will miss her a lot.

Andrew is having a more difficult time with this than we ever expected that he would. We tried to explain that Shiloh would not be coming back home, but he didn't get this right away.

It will be different not having Shiloh live with us anymore. She was a great dog.

Shiloh Deba

Last picture of Shiloh standing

A Boy and His Dog

Lexi & Brie giving Shiloh as many crackers as she would eat

It was pumpkin carving day at the Deba house tonight.

We spread out some large trash bags, got the kids in some clothes to get dirty in and then had a really fun time.

It was a bit early to carve pumpkins, but we are hopeful they will last ten days until Halloween.

All Three Kids Carving

Brielle Had Fun

Lexi Ate Seeds

Andrew really got into it for the first time ever

Everyone Working Hard

The Finished Product

Andrew and Daddy took a morning fishing trip to the nearby Union Reservoir today.

It was a very special and fun time, even though there was more playing than fishing.

The weather was slightly cold, but that didn't keep Drew from getting into the water, up to his shorts at least (and a bit beyond).

Mommy packed a wonderful picnic lunch and it was a great time.

Getting ready . . .

Having fun fishing

Having even more fun playing with my new green string

Andrew Kaden

Yummy Lunch

More Fishing

Fun in the COLD water

Drew's preschool class had a field trip today at Miller Farms which is several miles East of Longmont.

This is a really fun place to visit. You get to pick all the produce you want (and can carry) and there are plenty of fun things for the kids to play on.

We were fortunate that Tracy's mother could watch the girls so just Jamie and Tracy could go with Drew. The girls would have had a blast, but we think it is important to do some "only Drew" things sometimes too.

Drew wanted to swing all day even though he has his Park in his own back yard

The giant pile of hay helped get Drew away from the swings

Follow the yellow brick road . . .

Preschool Friends

Picking Indian Corn

Digging for Potatoes

Sliding down the sand hill

Drew inside the giant tractor tire

Ending the day with a photo by Mater

Drew turned four years old today. He seems to be growing up so fast.

Mommy, of course, made a special cake just for today. And, of course, it was an Imagination Movers cake. Mitty just loved it.

Most of today was spent with Daddy in the basement building a project. Heading down to the basement we had no idea what would be built. Several fun hours later we emerged with a small table. Drew added his own personal touch with drawings and writings and scribblings all over it. At first Daddy wanted to stop him, but then let him have at it and it makes this a unique, special piece.

Later in the day Sarah and Taylor came over from across the street, bringing their parents with them. Nona and PaPa John also were there and we all had a great birthday time.

Mitty with the Cake and the Table

Better view of the Cake

Opening Presents

Taylor and Mitty waiting for cake

Blowing Out Candles

Mitty enjoying his new microphone with Sarah
(Singing and dancing along with Imagination Movers on TV)

We celebrated Andrew's 4th birthday today with family and friends at a costume party.

Drew was having a lot of asthma problems but they didn't seem to slow him down too much. We had to make him take it easy.

The party was a great success and it seemed like everyone had a great time.

We had pizza, cake and ice cream, a costume contest where everyone one their own category (complete with medal and certificate), and several fun games for the kids.

Mitty with his cake

Close-up of the Imagination Movers cake

Drew showing off his Idea Box

Big kids ready with their Idea Boxes to play "Where is Warehouse Mouse?"

Referee Parents

Andrew had a great time rolling the trash to the dumpster and back

Nini with a sleepy Lexi

Sam as Einstein
(How cool is that?)

Mitty had his birthday party at preschool today. Mommy made some special music notes cupcakes just for the occasion.

Drew got to wear a special birthday hat and pass out napkins to all the kids. He made sure to open each and every napkin (all the way) which took forever, but he was determined to do this for each person. He likes to do that when he sets the table at home too.

It was great for both Mommy and Daddy to be there too. Yet another parenting moment that makes you realize how much he is growing up.

Close-up on the Cupcakes

Passing Out Napkins

Enjoying the Treats

Silly Birthday Boy

Trial run today for Drew's Smitty Halloween costume and Daddy's referee costume (Tracy has one too!).

Smitty & Daddy

Smitty Playing His Guitar

Today was our last day of the Nebraska road trip.

We spent the morning packing up and checking out of the hotel in Omaha and then drove straight to Lincoln to meet up with Great Grandma and Grandpa "O" for lunch and playtime at Pioneers Park.

The kids loved the playground and then we took some time with Drew to walk up to an Indian statue and some further exploration behind it.

It seemed so soon that we had to pack into the car again to head all the way back home.

We left around 4:00pm Lincoln time which is 3:00pm Colorado time.

We made a single stop for about 45 minutes in North Platte, Nebraska for a bite to eat and to let the kids run around McDonalds for a while. Then it was back in the car for four hours straight until we got home. This worked well because much of the time most everyone but the driver were sleeping or deep into some project/movie/whatever.

No matter how far you go or how long you are gone, it is always good to be back home.

On the swings at Pioneers Park

Brielle with Uncle Brian

Daddy and Lexi

Drew walking to the Indian Statue with Auntie Sarah

Tracy stayed behind for a bit to take a photo

Sarah & Brian at the Indian

Tracy & Jamie at the Indian

Exploring past the Indian

Tracy and her Grandmother (Betty)

PaPa and the Girls

The Whole Gang

You can't say this boy isn't having fun

Today was a nice, relaxing morning in the hope that the kids would do well at the wedding and reception.

And they did great.

All three kids were quiet enough to be in the sanctuary for the entire ceremony.

And they were just perfect until almost 11:00pm that night when we finally left for the hotel.

It was a great day and we were glad we could be here to see the wedding.

Leanne and Mark getting married

Leanne and Mark married

Brie was happy to run around after the ceremony

Lexi was glad to be outside

All three kids liked to collect and play with the rose petals

Pomi and Nini
(Great Grandparents)

Sometimes you just deal with the best picture you can get with kids in it

Mommy and Lexi at the reception

Brie and Daddy at the reception

Lexity really liked the food

Today was all about the Omaha Zoo.

Tracy has told Jamie stories about how great this zoo is for a long time, so we planned an entire day to see it and nothing else that day.

We got up early and arrived a few minutes after it opened. We decided to rent a double stroller and a wagon for Drew. This was the best decision of the entire vacation and really tells us what we need to do at Disney World in January.

We toured the zoo ourselves for a couple of hours and then had plans to meet up with Tracy's parents, her father's parents, and Brian and Sarah. We met up, ate some lunch, and then had a great rest of the afternoon touring the rest of the zoo.

A tiring day for sure, but it was a lot of fun and was really a step above most zoos.

Drew and the girls playing in the suite before we leave for the zoo

The double stroller and wagon were perfect to tour the zoo

The girls love animals and they really loved this zoo

Mitty was in the wagon 95% of the time
(which was fine with him and with us)

Daddy and Drew on a rope bridge in the rainforest

Lexi had a great time

Brie had a great time too

We met up with the extended family as they were on a path further along in the rainforest

One of the few pictures of all five of us as we stand in the rainforest

Drew was a bit disconcerted being a couple inches from a gorilla whose head was bigger than he

Mitty really liked riding the gorilla

A day well spent

Day two of our Nebraska trip was a relaxed, laid back short travel day.

We started the day with breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. The kids were pretty good considering a night in a hotel.

Jamie then took Drew back to the pool while Tracy got the girls ready and got ready herself.

Back from the pool, Jamie and Drew got ready to go and packed up everything, which Jamie then loaded into the van.

It was lunchtime by this point and we picked up a quick Runza or two and headed to the nearby Archway Monument which is a museum of sorts build over Interstate 80 near Kearney.

This monument is a trek through 150+ years of history, with a specific focus on Nebraska, but not a complete focus.

Drew was apprehensive at first of the headphones, but once they turned on and started to tell "stories" he loved them.

Time seemed to go by really fast and it was already time to get back in the car to drive to Omaha.

The kids were great again and we almost made it to the hotel when we needed a Mitty bathroom break about twenty minutes from the hotel on the outskirts of western Omaha. We didn't want to push him too far in case it took some time getting into downtown where our hotel was.

We quickly made it to our hotel and just loaded everything inside before heading off to a suburb of Omaha for a family gathering.

It was a lot of fun to see everyone which we have not seen in quite a while. The kids were great and I think everyone had a good time.

We left pretty late and just headed back to the hotel and put the kids to sleep right away while we tried to settle in. We had three nights here, so we decided to unpack and put everything in the drawers throughout. This worked very well.

Our hotel was perfect. It was a suite so we had a separate room for the kids to fall asleep in while we had lights on, etc. in the main room. There was a kitchen with a full size refregerator which made it nice to have milk, leftovers, etc.

We all headed to sleep as early as possible for an early trip to the zoo tomorrow.

Drew and a Big Buffalo outside of the Archway Monument

Jamie and the kids in the Archway Monument

Drew with his headphones listening to the "stories"

Mommy and Drew watching cars go by underneath on I-80

Lexi and Pomi

Keenan, Shelly, Jamie, Brie, Drew and Leanne (bride to be)

Today was our first day of our trip to Nebraska for Tracy's cousin's wedding.

We left soon after Drew got home from preschool. It was about 1:00pm.

We made it to Kearney, Nebraska after a single stop at about 8:00pm which is one hour ahead of our home time zone.

The kids were GREAT in the car and it seemed to go by very fast, even if they didn't sleep hardly at all.

We stopped in Kearney specifically for the pool at the Holiday Inn.

We were worried specifically about this night because we had a plain old hotel room (not a suite) which means that the girls had to get to sleep in the same room as the rest of us were awake in.

It turned out to be ok. Tracy took the girls back from the pool while Daddy and Drew stayed for another hour or so. Tracy sat in the dark while the girls fell asleep and then we had a very nice, memorable dinner in the dark while sitting on the hotel bed by the light of the TV. It is hard to describe, but it really was probably the best meal of the whole trip.

All three kids having a great time in the pool

Brie and Lexi splashing

Drew riding the Turtle

Lexi and the Turtle