Summer Swim

I continue to marvel at how much the kids love to swim, and how fast they progress in skill. Katie is now diving to the bottom of the pool (like 9' down) and picking up multiple rings. Andy is holding his breath for 20 seconds. The both love to jump in and splash me. Katie did about 25 cannon balls in a row without stopping during this session. I've gotten the kids firmly hooked on 80s music as we listen to it on the the pool speakers while we swim. Katie like the Bangles. Andy likes anything that lets him play air guitar.

Tomorrow Jen has to get her teeth cleaned so I am going to babysit the kids at HP for a long lunch while this is going on. The campus is pretty big and I'm going to take them on a tour of all the 'fun' stuff. Ill report back in with how it goes. I'm expecting the vending machine and the copy machine to be the big hits. Also we have a white-board that you can 'print' whatever you draw on it... It's pretty funny how excited they are about coming to the office. It reminds me of how Dad used to take TL and I to GE and let us Xerox our faces on the high-tech copy machine in the 70s. Good times.

Anti-Fire Fireworks

Wish I had a better picture to tell this story. Not that this ins't a great picture of Uncles Chris and Monty, as well as the beautify Katie and cousin Nika...

This shot was taken just before a very exciting night of watching fireworks in Parker, Co. Imagine that you are sitting in the dark, on nice cozy comfy blankets, surrounded by friends and family in the middle of a grassy area in a park. There are people surrounding you everywhere. Everyone is waiting anxiously for the fireworks to begin.

When all of a sudden you hear that familiar but terryfing sound of a large sprinkler system turning on... and the sound is ALL AROUND YOU. Seconds later you feel streams of cold water beaning you in the head. Mayhem quickly ensues. Screams and shrills as hundreds of people start panicing running into each other, and grabbing thier stuff while they blindly stagger to try to find a safe place from the automated sprinkler sentries that are systematically soaking everyone in sight... kinda like attack of the water cylons.

It was pretty exciting. We all got soaked with the exception of Kari who managed to stay smart, not move, and avoid any water at all.

Those people in Parker sure know how to have fun at thier fireworks shows!

Steve

Uncontrolable Giggles in the Weee Hours of the Morning

I have a little story to share. I will warn you up-front with a disclaimer that it is one of those stories that is likely not to be nearly as funny for you (the reader) as it was for me. I also warn you that it involves flatulence and two 'men' sleeping together...

OK, with that warning out of the way, here goes:

Two nights ago I was heading to bed. It was very late and I was really tired. Also, it's been pretty stressful around here so I was ready to hit the sack. I went into Andy's room to wake him up and have him go to the bathroom to try and prevent another accident (we have had a little too many lately.) As I woke him up, he asked me to get him a small sip of water, which I did. Jen had been not feeling well and so I deided to sleep with Andy in the guest bedroom.

We started to settle into sleep, we said our 'good-nights'... and then about 10 seconds into the silence, my son makes a sound from his rear-end that was a little like a cross between an elephant and the horn of an 18-wheeler! I mean, it was long, and it was LOUD.

Well, the comedic timing was perfect, and it sent Andy and I both into the giggles. The giggles then progressed into chuckles, and then laughing, and then full-on hysterics. I swear we were both laughing for at least 10 minutes, to the point where Andy told me his face and tummy hurt from all the laughing. Mine did too, really bad. But we couldn't stop. It was one of the best 10 minutes of my life.

I have only had the 'uncontrollable giggles' about 5 or 6 times in my life. Each time it is memorable and euphoric. Reflecting on this, I realize that my body and mind (with all the stress of late) simply needed to unload and laugh. It felt like taking a shower. It was great. I can't speak for Andy's motivations, other than he thinks pretty much anything is funny.

Thank you my son, I can't wait for the next one.

More from the 4th

For those of you who don't know my mother-in-law, you are all missing out on one of the greatest holiday hostesses America has to offer. Kari takes holidays to heart, and drives this home with detailed holiday decor, as well as smartly coordinated outfits, AND full-blown feasts to top it all off. (My favorite part is the mass selection of sweets and treats :).

The 4th was no different with much red white and blue to be had by all. As you can see, Katie got so much sun that she was always flying the independance spirit on her rosy cheeks.

The Godfather

Another special treat during our visit to Co was to meet up with "Unc-al Gom-ery". That's Andy language for Uncle Montgomery. The kids had a great time catching-up with Monty, as it had been far too long since their last visit. Monty was ready to go with much wrestling, sprinkler chasing and all-around shennaigans. As you can see for the picture, the mere presence of Uncle Gomery spawns the most demure behaviour in my kids.

Still backlogged on pics, will try and get more up. Don't want to leave anyone out!

Castle Rock

While we were in Colorado, we got the treat to get together with all the Heldt cousins for the first time in a long while. It was truly special to see everyone and marvel at the kids.

My favorite moments:

Mike putting a Pepper Johnson style linebacker hit on Krystal

BBQing in the rain

Duck Duck Goose

Watching Mike play his church guitar solo.... 5 times!

And being reminded that family is something that changes and grows. Children become parents and parents become grandparents. And sometimes, when the weather is just right, we all get the chance to act just like kids again.

Thanks for having us, hope to see you all soon.

We just got back from a nice long vacation in Colorado. Visiting family, and enjoying the warm warm weather. The kids had a great time seeing all their cousins... I think we saw them all -- at least all the ones I know about.

I came back a bit a early to work, and Jen and the kids flew home a bit later. After getting home from the airport, I had an interesting conversation with Katie:

Me: "Katie, you guys need to take a bath."

Katie: (Looking at her hands and body) "But I'm not dirty..."

Me: "Well, you have just been through the airport, and there is a lot of dirt you can't see called bacteria that we need to wash off."

Katie: "What is Bak-tear-eee-ahhh"

Me: "Its like little bugs that you can't see that crawl on you and can make you sick."

Katie: (Thinking now, looking both disgusted, and a bit worried) "Why would god make bad things like bacteria?"


I decided not to answer, mainly because I didn't have an answer. I think there are a lot of questions about why god makes bad things and it was interesting to see Katie unconver this line of thinking. We talked about it later and I ttold her that there are lots of bad things in the world, and that god has them there to teach us things.

But seriously, what the heck good is bacteria anyways? I read the Wiki, and I still don't see any benefit. I'm open to any suggestions in helping to answer katie's question.