Cinco Cinco

On Cinco de Mayo we ate Latin food. Delicious.

We watched Andrew run a PR in the 800M at the district track meet. His first track race ever!

This morning we competed in the Cinco Cinco 5K at CSU. (One of us competed, the other two participated).
Nathan stayed at the pace he wanted to run and brought home some hardware. SUCCESS.
I did not have to walk the whole time. SUCCESS.
My dad did his first 5K walk ever! SUCCESS.
Caitlin and Diana did the kids' race and earned medals. SUCCESS.
(Bryn would have but was too old).
Thank you mom for being with the kids and cheering us on.

Then we went to part II of the district track meet and watched Andrew in several more events, (long jump, 75M, 200M, and shuttle relay). He enjoyed it and we enjoyed the lovely weather.

Here are some photos Bryn took of our street today:

Recycling Day

Every other Tuesday is our recycling day--and today was the perfect day to recycle a car.

We realized that the reason we were having a hard time getting rid of our Buick was that we didn't want to sell it. When a friend told me about donating her car a few weeks ago, I presented the idea to Nathan. SOLD.

We found a replacement car. Today, Cars Helping Veterans drove our 1991 Buick Lesabre away.

We bought it nine years ago, when we only had Andrew and Bryn. It worked especially well when we needed 3 car seats at a time (a position we've been in for the past 6.5 years). I stopped driving it when we were expecting Diana and 3 car seats wasn't going to cut it anymore.

Shortly after moving to TX, the fabric on the roof started to fall down . . . It's been held up with pins for the past 3 years. In the past year, it's had some rough moments. The driver's side door won't unlock from the outside. And then, there was the unforgettable drive north from Texas, when the car stopped working altogether. Dinner at a greasy, fly infested diner. After we paid a stranger (not a professional mechanic) $100 to fix it, my parents earned "Parents of the Year" award for driving it without air conditioning in late June the rest of the way. We fixed the air conditioner after we finished the long drive to Northern Colorado. It worked through the summer, and needs fixed again. The last money we spent on it was a new tire. It needs an oil change, a new windshield, new shocks, some transmission work, and a lot of love. More than we were willing to give.

It's funny how we get attached to cars. It was old and when we bought it. Together we laughed as we drove up to purchase it--because it was so square. It was the first car we bought together. Somehow we paid cash for it on almost no income. For many years we drove it without needing expensive repairs. I had serious labor contractions in that vehicle as we went to the hospital in it with only 3 children. Then only 4 children. And we brought both Diana and Ed home from the hospital in it. A thousand trips to the grocery store, the library, church. Driving from Park Ridge in the dark to Maywood and back again in the dark. And in Texas, north on 31st in the morning, and south at night. Thankfully, a shorter drive.

It is not hard to adjust to the newer car, just feels a little like saying goodbye to someone who has been with you for the blur of memories that have been the past 70,000 miles. Andrew asked if we would keep it until he is driving, for the record. We said no. And I took back some of my pins.

Thanks, Buick, for the ride! We will miss you.

Waving goodbye

Car report

15 Honda Odysseys today.

14

The number of Toyota Siennas Nathan and Bryn counted in the church parking lot as we left yesterday.

(Two wards meet in our building and overlap times--we were not the first ones to leave).
They did not zig-zag through to make sure they counted each and every one--these are the ones they passed.

If you want some more number trivia (and a great story about modest prom dressing) click HERE:

Have you heard our news?

"It is my privilege this morning to announce three additional temples, for which sites are being acquired, and which in coming months and years will be built in the following locations:
Fort Collins, Colorado," President Thomas S. Monson.


At this point, I screamed, so we didn't hear the locations of the other two. Nathan calls it shouting for joy--but what I call it is not being able to contain my excitement. Tears quickly followed. When we decided to move here, one of my hesitations was the location of our temple--still close but too far away to go very often. Having a temple in our very city is almost too good to be true!

Nathan is excited about the second temple, as well, Meridian, Idaho, since he grew up in the Meridian South Stake.

Finally, after being reminded to thank Heavenly Father for having a temple here, Andrew prayed,

"Heavenly Father, we thank thee that we will have a temple here in Fort Collins, so we won't have to have the long, boring, two hour drive to Denver."





(If you want to see it live, click HERE, the announcement begins about 1 min 45 seconds).

What's on your kitchen table?

Or who?
Ed's learned how to climb the chairs, and thus scale the kitchen table.
He's got the bruises on his face to prove it, too.
Although I think he's only fallen from the kitchen chair, and these bruises he got elsewhere.
He brings me his shoes and jacket in the morning so he can take the kids to the bus.
His intelligible words are: cracker, shoe, mmmmm--which means milk, and ball.
He wants to drop his morning nap.
He doesn't sit still for the camera.
He likes to dance. 

Five for Five

I am not quite sure why anyone would choose the floor over a bed, but . . .

In the past 6 or 7 weeks, each child in our household has had a fever. Bryn's was the shortest, and only lasted 18 hours. Ed's was the longest, and was 5 days. I took him to the doctor on day 4--they told me to wait a little longer.
Now they've all had it, we are done. I will take a virus that is fever and fatigue.

The funniest part of the sickness was watching Caitlin, overcome it. She had it on TH and FR. She did not want to miss a birthday party on Saturday, so Friday afternoon she said, "I'm going to be like Colin from the Secret Garden. I CHOOSE to get better!"

Well, she got better, and went to the party. CHOOSING works.