Cool Down

We have returned from our NC/Italy escape and are slowly unpacking.  I have a lot to show and tell about our trip but I need to get my head on straight first.  I thought I'd show you some pictures I came across recently in hopes they would help you think cool thought on these late July days.

Angel #1

Angel #2

Our overgrown bushes made an excellent snow fort.

They played in it for hours.

The girls were all warm and snug inside.

My backyard actually looks kinda pretty with all that snow.

Snow days will be here before we know it so enjoy the warmth.

Love,
JKFP

Under A Rock

Just in case you live under a rock and haven't seen the news...

This image is from facebook and has been shared over 5,000
times.  It looks like Dana Smith took it.

Colorado Springs had a rough week.  Still is.  Now, this is not my area of town.  The fire is on the NW side of town and I live in the SE part so my house isn't in the direct line.  My sister and her family were evacuated and spent Tuesday night with us.  They were able to return to their home today and it is fine.  My mother-in-law was evacuated the same day my sister was and she is still under evacuation.  The bottom line is this: my whole town could use your good thoughts or prayers right now.  There is not one member of our community that isn't somehow affected by this fire.

The secondary issue for my family personally is the air quality. It's very smoky. It's not a great place to be if you're a tiny asthmatic unicorn.

We spent Monday at the Dr's office being put back on the daily medication she had stopped for the summer.  I just couldn't get control of it. 

We had originally planned to go to NC in August anyway and since being trapped inside a hot (no a/c) house with two crazy kids is not fun we opted to move our vacation up.  We were hoping that getting away from the smoke would help a sister out. 

Packed and ready to go.

We left yesterday and covered about 500 miles.  Remember our road trip from hell?  That was NOT pleasant but I figured my kids are older and more technologically advanced now....they can't be terrible at road trippin' forever right? 

Halfway through day one .

So far they've been awesome.  Last time Piper had broken the DVD player two days before we left and as we were stopped at a campground she shoved a ton of money into the cd player and broke that too.  Well come to find out, music and movies make a huge difference.  So does this...

Kansas.  A whole lotta not so much.

I love a wind farm.  It's my favorite thing about Kansas.  (besides leaving it.)

You may also remember that last time we had a little car trouble in KS.  True to form it happened again.  We noticed it as we pulled in to Salina yesterday and just in case we booked our room for 2 days. 

Kickin' it like pickles.

We slept in this morning, figured out some car stuff, and decided to stay that extra day anyway.  Piper's breathing has improved and I think we just needed a day to hang out in the air conditioning and relax.

And swim. 

We're heading out again in the morning.  We have a "we'll get there when we get there" kind of mentality about it and that seems to be working out.  The goal was to make sure sissy could breathe and she can.  We do look forward to getting to Bella and Papa's house and playing with them, cousins and friends. 

See you soon -ish.

JKFP & Bob

p.s.  being on fire, stuck inside, not able to breathe, and in a car all day is kind of a bummer.  No Bummer Summer returns as soon as we get to NC!

No Bummer Summer

We started it!  Our No Bummer Summer has begun.  We actually ended up doing fun stuff all week (we played with Johnny on Monday and we saw Madagascar 3 on Tuesday) but we're officially counting it from Wednesday.  I thought once a week I could try and recap it for you but I may do separate posts for things too.  We'll just have to see.

NBS Day 1: We had a super fun play date with Onora and Melanie AND we played with a new bubble machine.  I forgot to take pictures!  I know, I can't believe it either.

NBS Day 2:  We played at America the Beautiful park and splashed in the fountain.  We went with some old friends who are visiting from Texas. 

Abby and Fisher

Tristan and baby Wayne

Flamingo Pipey

Wayne, Abby, Fisher, and Tanner

Tristan's back and Pipey.

Fisher and Abby.  He has missed her so much.

Miss Pipey.

Piper, Tristan, and Tanner

This ended up being the best day ever.  We came home from the park tired and sun kissed (or sunburned in my case) to naps, pizza, a movie, and a toe painting session.  Here's where I stand on painting boys toes....

...I'm not leaving him out if he wants it done but I do try and "dude" it up for him.  We were shooting for Angry Bird Pigs.  (He's big on Angry Birds) 

I'm not sure why he curled those under?

It's not my best work but it doesn't look girly.  I've promised to try and get more colors so we can do a variety of the Birds next time. 

We all had such an amazing day and they fell asleep so quickly.  I went to check in on them only to discover they had fallen asleep holding hands.  You bet I did go get my camera. 

And yes, I sorta woke them up but they went right back to sleep so it was totally worth it.


NBS Day 3:  Piper and I had a "girls day" and got haircuts at my salon (along with a visit to Starbucks of course).  Fisher went to Carly's and played with water balloons, bubbles, and sprinklers with Johnny.  She blogged it.

Miss Yvette fixing Mommy's mess.

I actually had to cut close to 4 inches off Piper's hair earlier this week.  She somehow ended up with a massive - couldn't get it out- knot.  It was pretty much a dreadlock.

So I sat her in the sink and crookedly cut off a lot of hair.  It was adorable.  It's so much cuter now that it's straight and not so blunt. 

I love watching this one mug in the mirror.

She also got some new earrings.  I just put them in this morning.  She just knew it was going to hurt like the original piercing so I had to sit on her to get the first one back in.  Then she was fine.  She sat still (with a sucker) and let me put the second one back in all the while marveling at how "it didn't hurt".  Told you. 

There you have our first few days of No Bummer Summer.  It has been a wonderful thing to have something to look forward to everyday.  It's getting us out and about.  I've been determined, unless we already have plans, to say YES if we get invited somewhere.  No bummer summer indeed.

JKFP

p.s.  Just in case you want to join in the No Bummer Summer, I started a pin board with fun ideas to get you started.

Adventures

James has been gone for almost three weeks now and we're settling in to our new routine.  Things are going pretty well.  Don't get me wrong though...

For those of you who didn't see this one on facebook,
here we are leaving the airport.

...it's was rough at first.  I was surprised this time around actually.  I was all "prepared" for him to leave and knew what to expect.  However, the kids also knew what to expect and they didn't handle it as well as last time.  All that pretty much means I was unprepared.  It also means we need distraction.


Enter distractions or adventures as I like to think of them.  We've been trying to have at least one "adventure" each week. My friend Susan and her children are having a "No Bummer Summer" or NBS where they do a fun something everyday. Now, that something could be as simple as blowing bubbles at the park, or having a movie night, or a science experiment, just something. We're going to join in the NBS starting at solstice. I think it'll be good to have something exciting to focus on everyday. I'll let you know how that's going once we start.


We went to the zoo with Carly and Johnny.  Here is Carly's blog post about it.

I love how protective of his sister he's being. 
The careful holding of her pigtails to keep her a safe distance.

All three on the train.  Johnny was really nervous about
a free range peacock here..

The kids seem to really be leaning on each other this time.

They are bonding.  Always counting on each other.

We went to The Wildlife Experience in Denver with my friend Jessa (from high school) and her sweet kiddos.

Four out of the five kids.  Eli, Fisher, Amos, and Piper

These guys are getting to be pretty good buddies.

I LOVE these glasses.

Amos and Piper.  Fisher said later it looked like they were on a date.

My little fairy in the trees.

Sunning

Three tired kiddos.

We also went to a super fun cookout with the Stillwaugh family.  They live on a farm and the kids had so much fun with all the animals.  (And of course, playing with all the kids too.)

There were kittens!  She would love nothing more than to
 bring a kitten home.

We realized this was Fisher first kitten experience.
They were cute enough to offset the itching that would come later.

Horses too!

Piper has never met an animal she couldn't charm.
We caught her trying to scoot under the fence to get a little closer.

She has NO fear where animal are concerned.
She just marches right up and does what seems natural to her.
They sense that about her and go with the flow.

She was a big hit with that white duck also.  Mr. Magoo is his name.
They're friends now.

Fun times.  Hope your summer is off to a great start!

JKFP & Bob


p.s.  Piper says...hpgfrt77g78utol r uirfti   bbbbbbbbbbbbbihfhfytt   tuuuuuuuutyyyty        gfkffvvj  piper