18. August 2010 · Comments Off on Now is Time We Talk About Our Feelings…. · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

Before I get going with my Colorado blog posts, I’m going to take a moment to discuss my feelings.

“Really? You RARELY talk about your feelings….you fill this blog with things you’ve seen, things you’ve done, things you would like to do….”

Yeah, I guess you’re right, my dear imaginary blogosphere friend. I think the only emotions you ever see out of me are:

“I’m so excited we got to do ^insert activity here^!!!!!!”

or

“Would you believe folks eat ^insert high fructose corn syrup, trans fat-laden food here^?”

So now I’d like to discuss the Inner Mom Peace emotions I’m feeling.

“Aww….how sweet! Whatever do you mean?”

I mean this:

Feeling the peace….

I don’t think I realized it until yesterday, the first day of school for my boys.

Yes. Boys — in the plural! My little Timmy started Kindergarten yesterday!!! Jacob’s old hat at this now, and he had no problem making his way to school almost on his own.

From 2010 08 16 First Day of School & Timmy’s 1st Day of Kindergarten

From 2010 08 16 First Day of School & Timmy’s 1st Day of Kindergarten

Yes, it was emotional for me as Mrs. Brockhaus read the Kindergarteners “The Kissing Hand“.

So…after the 30 minute parents’ time in Timmy’s class, Dave went on to work and I was left with a house to myself.

All.

Day.

Okay, so it wasn’t really all day — but it was 6 1/2 hours! And today, it was 7 hours!

And for the first time in a long time, I was finishing things around the house without one of the kids interrupting me in some way. Whether it’s the two of them arguing, one of them asking me a question, or my having to stop everything because it’s mealtime or snacktime. Part of being a Mom, I know.

All of our traveling contributed to the disorder in my mental being, I’m sure. It was a fun-filled, action-packed summer, but the return to routine is very welcome!

It isn’t really the physical tasks of doing things around the house that’s bringing me the peace, it’s the mental part of it — that my brain isn’t getting flooding with other things. I’m not thinking “Oh my gosh! I have to get this done NOW!”. I know that these things will get done eventually while the kids are at school.

Yesterday I caught up on yard work, laundry and cleaning floors. Today I caught up on filing paperwork — I had a stack of bill statements, medical insurance statements, military paperwork, even stuff from taxes last winter…a single stack that was growing and growing since New Year’s!!! I used to file this stuff MONTHLY! I also put the boys’ completed schoolwork in a pile in our office area…I later decide what stuff to keep, what stuff NOT to keep (remember, we’re a military family, we can’t keep everything!).

This feels great! And it couldn’t come at a better time as I have to start preparing for our move this fall. We’re planning a yard sale for much of our unneeded stuff, but I’ve also discovered that some of our items will sell well on Craigslist or eBay. I feel like I have time to do all this now.

It’s a nice feeling.

16. August 2010 · Comments Off on First Day of School 2010 · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

IMG_3582

I’m putting up pics from the first day of school each year, as an archive. This is Jacob’s first day of 2nd grade, Timmy’s first day of Kindergarten.

Today Shannon and I took our boys to this new “splashpark” that opened 2 weeks ago in North Omaha.  What a fun, FREE, way to spend a hot summer afternoon! School starts Monday!

Since the original post this afternoon I’ve had a chance to add more commentary about this place. The City of Omaha has built several of these “Splashgrounds” around the city and they’re a great time for the boys. Papillion has one, but Bellevue has none (hint hint!)

Today the boys spent nearly 3 hours at the park — then the horseflies started attacking and the boys were happy to go. Shannon and I sat under a tree in the shade and had a good old fashioned chatfest.

This particular one was intriguing: there’s this innocent looking post stationed near the entrance to the fenced area — you rub the top of the post (yes, I know what I’m saying here) and that activates the water for 5 minutes.  As long as a kid runs back to the post every 5 minutes or so, the water stays on.  A nice conservation tool.  You can see the post in the 3rd picture here.

From 2010 08 13 Fontenelle Splashground
12. August 2010 · Comments Off on Nebraska Discoveries 17: Ashfall Fossil Beds & "Fossil Vacations" · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

A couple weeks ago, Jacob and I (Timmy was in NY visiting Grammy and Grampy) headed out with our friends and neighbors, Shannon, Brandon, Connor and Dean to the Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historic Park, which is near the small town of Royal, Nebraska.

From 2010 07 30 Ashfall Fossil Beds

We had learned about it from our visits to Morrill Hall State Museum in Lincoln, there’s a room dedicated to the skeletons assembled from Ashfall, along with an advertisement for the facility.

Ashfall isn’t close. About 180 miles from Bellevue, and well over 3 hours worth of driving each way. So Shannon and I aimed for a 7am departure time, and headed out.


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12. August 2010 · Comments Off on Our Delightful Long Weekend in Colorado · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

Hello friends!  We just got home from our long weekend in Colorado!  I’ll summarize our trip in the next few blog posts, but in short, we had a really good time!  The day in Denver with Adam, Rose and Brad’s wedding, our day in Golden, and 2 days in Rocky Mountain National Park were all tons of fun!!!

Here are a few “teaser” pictures (to steal from fellow blogger Bengela’s example from a recent — more exciting — trip she took).

Dave got a birthday trip to Caboose Hobbies!

From 2010 08 06 Denver Trip & Stoor Wedding

Our college friend Adam met us in Denver and showed us around.  LOVE his “Skywalker Ranch” t-shirt:

From 2010 08 06 Denver Trip & Stoor Wedding

We had a great time at Rose and Brad’s wedding at Buckley AFB and their delightful reception — Paris-themed, of course!

From 2010 08 06 Denver Trip & Stoor Wedding

Who’da thunk Jacob was such a great dancer??

From 2010 08 06 Denver Trip & Stoor Wedding

The Colorado Railroad Museum was a good time…here’s Dave explaining the difference between standard gauge and narrow gauge, and how the track they were on was “dual gauge”:

From 2010 08 08 Colorado RR Museum

The boys had a good time at the Coors Brewery Tour (even the little ones!):

From 2010 08 08 Coors Brewery Tour

And Mom learned how NOT to pay $20 for a 5×7 family shot in front of a green screen by using her iPhone camera (shhhhhhh!):

From 2010 08 08 Coors Brewery Tour

Our stay in Estes Park was at the YMCA of the Rockies — an amazing family-friendly resort!

From 2010 08 08 Coors Brewery Tour

We did two half-day hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park, the boys are such troopers and seemed enthralled with the rugged mountains and the plants and animals around them.

From 2010 08 09 Rocky Mtn Natl Park Day 1
From 2010 08 09 Rocky Mtn Natl Park Day 1
From 2010 08 09 Rocky Mtn Natl Park Day 1
From 2010 08 09 Rocky Mtn Natl Park Day 1

Yep, that’s SNOW behind Timmy! We took the park’s Trail Ridge Road from Estes Park west to the Continental Divide.

From 2010 08 09 Rocky Mtn Natl Park Day 1

From 2010 08 09 Rocky Mtn Natl Park Day 1