3 Men & A Little Lady

Monday, August 12, 2013

{Family}

To welcome us to Colorado, the aunties drove from Denver to visit us. We were so excited to see baby Penny!

I love this little brown eyed beauty!

Mya pretty much thinks Penny is the greatest thing on earth and smothers her with love!

Drew kept trying to make Penny laugh, but it had the reverse effect! We like to blame it on her hunger pains!

We took the kids to the Rocky Mountain PBS Healthy Kids Fun Fest at the Lincoln Park. The kids loved playing games, winning prizes, eating candy, and playing instruments.

Mya even made the newspaper!

Mya bonded with Auntie Kim while she was here...I mean how could she not when Aunt Kim dressed up as Cinderella also and danced with her throughout the room!

The aunties always get a workout when they are around my kids!

Kim also let Mya paint her nails. Luckily, it washed off after one hand washing!

Aunt Catherine was sweet enough to cut each of the boys hair, so they would be already for school to start.

I sure love my sister-in-laws and am so grateful that we live closer to them! I am hoping to see them at least once a month, I have to get my Penny fix somehow!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

{Colorado Bound - The BIG MOVE}

Traveling back to California from Branson took us 16 hours! We had a four hour unexpected delay in the Las Vegas airport that almost pushed us over the edge! Mya had swimmers ear and was exhausted, so she threw her body on the ground and had a major meltdown right in the middle of the airport. She was screaming and every time I looked at her she yelled, "Don't look at me!" I tried to give her medicine and she pushed my hand making me spill it all over the floor. She pretty much screamed in the airport with us unable to console her for the majority of the time. I've never had so many people staring at me as I did in that airport. I felt like the world's worst parent!

We finally made it back to California where our dear friends the Headley's picked us up from the airport and let us stay the night at their home. We got to bed at 1am after drugging Mya (please don't judge me) and woke up at 6am to load up the remainder of our luggage to drive to Colorado. We again had a tearful farewell with the Headley's and started out on our 10 hour drive to Colorado. Kenny and I both had to drive our separate cars, since he was only going to help drop the kids and I off in Colorado and then return back to work in California while he finished up on buying All Pets Center.

Ian is excited for this new adventure!

After traveling for two days with little sleep it was hard for me to stay awake as we drove. Kenny was downing Mt. Dew at every gas station we stopped at, but I can't stand soda, so he bought me some caffeine pills. I popped two in my mouth just as he called me and warned me to only take one because each pill had as much caffeine as a 3 liter of Coke, too late!!! It was AMAZING what those two little pills did, besides my heart racing! I was on such a caffeine high that I was like the Energizer Bunny! I couldn't sleep well for the next two nights, but it did its job and we made it safely to Beautiful Colorado!!!

Home Sweet Home

We are living with Grandma and Grandpa Summers for awhile, while we wait for Kenny to join us permanently in Colorado and as we figure out our financing from purchasing a business. They have welcomed us with open arms. We know what a sacrifice this is for them. We have upset their quiet, easy going, lives that they are used to, to let us move in 4 rambunctious, loud little ones. We greatly appreciate their generosity, love, and support they are giving us as we make this big step in our lives.

I do love that my children are building an awesome relationship with their grandparents, who they used to only be able to see a couple of times a year. This was one of our many reasons to move to Colorado, so we could be closer to our families.

We taught Grandpa to play Boche ball.

Not only did the grandparents welcome us here, but the abundance of deer did too! It was like waking up in another world, when we woke up in the morning to a field full of deer.

My kids have taken at least 100 pictures of the deer and the novelty has yet to wear off.

Ian captured this cool shot!

The kids have quickly fallen in love with the pools in Grand Junction. They have enjoyed going over to our friends house the Whites, where Kenny grew up swimming.

The city pool is probably their favorite! They went down this slide at least 50 times!

All Smiles

Ian

Mya

Owen didn't realize how high the high dive was. He contemplated turning around and going back down the ladder, but his brothers kept encouraging him and he did it and loved it! To think that just earlier in the summer his swim teacher was having to throw him off the low dive because he was too scared. How quickly his swimming has improved.

The Fruita pool has a basketball hoop and rock climbing, so its pretty cool too. Lots of swimming options for my little fish!

I think what we love most about living in beautiful Colorado is the great outdoors! In California we could see into our neighbors houses, and out here we have space, a field to run in, and it just is so peaceful. We are excited for this new chapter in our lives to begin...let the ADVENTURES BEGIN!!!

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

{Elliott Reunion}

After filling the storage unit to the brim, packing our two cars with the rest of our belongings, handing the keys to our house over to renters, we said our tearful farewells, and jumped on a plane to go to Branson, Missouri for our Elliott family reunion. We were leaving California without closing on a deal for Kenny's new vet practice in Colorado and had just signed our house away to renters for a year, so we were beyond stressed! What better way to relieve some stress than to go on a vacation and relax!!!

We threw our worries to the wind and headed to Kansas!

The kids couldn't wait to see their cousins and to spend a week playing!

Owen and Justice bonded over the Wii! Love these two little Super Men!

Mya couldn't get enough of all her fabulous girl cousins!

Ian fell head over heels for new baby cousin Tenlee!

Drew figured out quickly which cousins were ready to explore!

Ge is always prepared and ready for fun!

Ge always has the best prizes!

Princess Mya won enough rings to bedazzle every finger!

The most talked about game was the jelly bean game.

Each person was given the same color of jelly bean, however each color had two different flavors. A pleasant flavor like chocolate or a disgusting flavor like puke!

Blurry, but some great disgusted reactions!

Mya and I went on a horse ride trail in the Ozarks.

She couldn't wait to see what horse we would be riding!

She held on tight to the reigns, but loved being a cow girl for an hour!

A little "M&M" (Mya and Mommy) time!

Uncle Matt, Aunt Holly, and Brynlee

After riding horses, we were off to get pedicures!

Mya was excited to get her first pedi with cousin Jaxyn!

Lovely time, lovely toes!

The men spent hours in the pool!

There was minimal blood drawn from some intense water basketball!

The boys sure loved being in the pool with Uncle Ty and Uncle Adam!

Our room was right next to the pool and the shuffle board court. Drew took this game very seriously!

A visit to Branson must include a trip to the Fish Hatchery!

Just a few Elliott Grands hanging around!

We spent two days riding the rides at Silver Dollar City! The second day was rainy, but it didn't stop us Elliott's from running with our kids from roller coaster to roller coaster! We were the only ones crazy enough to ride in the rain, so we didn't have to stand in any lines. We rode the worlds second fastest wooden roller coaster, "Out law run" eight times in a row! It was our family favorite ride at the park.

It was at the Tom Sawyers ride that Kenny received an email saying the Heidemans accepted our offer to buy All Pets Veterinary Clinic in Grand Junction!!!!! Now we finally were able to relax and know that our move was legit!

Hiking with Grandad to a cave!

Owen wanted to bring this little guy back home with us! We reminded him that we no longer had a home, so he left it in Missouri!

I can't thank my parents enough for the time and effort they put into bringing us all together. I love spending time with my family and love the memories we create at our reunions. I love the relationship that my kids develop with their cousins and look forward to the next Branson Family Reunion.

It was sad to say good-bye to family and end our relaxing week knowing we now had to face the stress of real life. We dreaded having to fly back to California then turn around and jump in our cars and drive to Colorado!

They say the cutest things.....

Mya, my little girl, said in her prayers last night, "Please help us to be strong and healthy like the Hulk!"

Owen almost ran straight into a woman as we entered a dark parking garage. As I told him to watch out, he quickly yelled, "Well she's all black!" Coincidentally she was African American! She was wearing a black dress, which is what he was referring too!

Owen told me today, "You are the best mom I ever had! I love you all the way up to Jesus!" He also loves kissing and told Kenny, "I just want to stay home from school and kiss mom all day!"

Drew lost a tooth at school when he bit into his apple. He felt the tooth inside his mouth as he was chewing and when I asked him about it, he said, "I didn't realize it was mine and I wondered if it was one of the workers!"

While at church, a teacher asked the kids what happened to Jesus right after he was baptized and brought up from the water. Ian enthusiastically raised his hand and said, "He asked for a towel!"

After a long struggle with my boys, to get them inside, bathed, and into bed, I yelled, "I am done, go to sleep!" Owen looked up at me and said, "Mommy I'm sorry you're sad, but the problem is that you don't beat up Drew and Ian. Just beat them up and I will be on your team!"

We are not a family who eats beans, so when Drew went to a friends house to play and eat dinner, he was hesitant to eat the burrito that had refried beans in it. When I picked him up he said to me, "Mom she put mud inside the burrito!"

Aunt Connie pleaded with Owen to shoot his daddy with the gun instead of her and his response, "No, he's the best daddy i've ever had!"

I begged the boys to quit fighting and Drew looked at me and said, "Its not Mothers Day anymore mom!"

Owen got kicked in his "man hood" and said, "Oh, I hurt my Tenders!"

Drew asked this morning, "Mom in 2011 can we get a cat?"

Everytime I feed Mya prunes, Owen comes up to me and says, "Me like chocolate mom!" I give him a bite and his face turns to total disgust.

Owen ran up to me after wrestling the dogs and said, "Me see Cassie's boobies!"

While I was nursing Mya, Drew walked in and said, "Is she done drinking from your boob?" I replied, "No and it is called a breast, thats the proper way to say it." He looked at me puzzled and said, "No thats the Spanish word for it."

Kenny opened the fridge and said, "Something in here stinks." Ian looked at him and said, "Dad, sometimes I toot over there!"

Last night as the boys were saying good night to Mya, Drew looked up at me and said, "Mom, Mya has a boy haircut!"

Drew was reminding me about how when we saw macaws in Hawaii, that one of the macaws was chewing on a woman's hair. He said, about the macaw, "Thats not very nice, it's not choosing the right."

My favorite word Drew and Ian used to say when they were toddlers was, Laddie- for water. I thought it was such a cute word. Owen comes to the fridge and points his little finger and says, "Wa-Wa" for water. So cute!

Last night Kenny went in on a call to deliver a goat and Ian came into our bed. He climbed in and snuggled up beside me, he usually snuggles into Kenny. I asked him why he was snuggling with me and he said, "I can snuggle you because daddy isn't here mom!" He is such a daddy's boy.

Ian is such a daddy's boy. The other night Kenny had to go to the clinic and Ian was sobbing for him for a good twenty minutes because he wanted to go too. When I asked him why he was so upset he replied, "I just want my daddy, he is my favorite boy!"

Birthday parties celebrated in California are usually BIG! There is always a huge jumper, pinata, food for the whole family, and tons of presents. Well we went to a party last night and the boys spent 2 hrs. jumping in a big jumper. On our way home we saw another party going on that had an even bigger jumper with a slide attached. Ian asked, "Can we go to that party too?" I replied, "We don't even know who those people are. " His response, "Well lets just go ask them their names."

As we prepared to go to the Glenwood Springs pool in Colorado with Kenny's four sisters Drew impatiently said, "Come on girls, you're taking too long!" Kenny told him, "Get used to it, this is what men do, wait for girls to get ready."

Much to my dismay I found black ink all over our white sheets on our bed. I of course went straight to Ian and asked very sternly, "Did you write on my sheets with a pen?" With an innocent look he replied, "I was just trying to write my name."

Drew was watching me as I divided my hair into sections with clips to straighten it. He looked up at me and said, "Wow, you look beautiful!" Then when I was completely done with my hair he said, "You're a cute little mommy!"

Ian was dipping his finger in Kenny's contact solution and then touching his eye. I asked him what he was doing and he replied, "Just putting my eyes in mom!"