wavywards

The end of 2014...

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 18:59:00 +0000

Since our last post... Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom came to visit over Halloween. They got to trick or treat with both kids classes and go trick or treating in Summit Cove with Casey's friends. We also went to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park and road the Alpine Coaster and Zipline. They even got to take a few runs at Abasin while they were in town.

Happy Halloween

Road a gondola up a mountain to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

Mom & Garrett at the shooting gallery

Dad & Casey on the Zipline!

Garrett turned 3 years old on November 17th. He weighed in at 32 lbs (53%) and was 38.5 inches (75%) high at his 3 year old check up. He is still keeping his underwear dry, including during naptime, but will not poop in the potty. No interest. He gets pretty mad when you try and make him. He will literally sit on the potty...and then immediately after getting off, go poop in his underwear.

Happy Birthday G!

Kelly and Bodie came out for Thanksgiving. We went out to a buffet dinner at Keystone Lodge with our friend Mark and Amy. Kel got a bit of sledding and skiing in too.

Giving Bodie a squeeze

hitting a jump on the sledding hill

ready to sled

now it's time to ski

and snowboard

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, the kids performed in Dillon Community Church's Kids Sing...this was Garrett's first time and Casey loved having her brother with her. She is very good at making sure he behaves in Sunday school and holds his hand when they walk to their classes.

Casey keeps busy with school, piano, Daisy Scouts, gymnastics and now skiing. She is learning how to trade pennies in for nickels and dimes and about US Symbols. This past Sunday, she played "Oh I Love Snack Time (or "Jolly Old St. Nicholas") in her first piano recital.

Santa and Mrs. Claus came to Dillon

Happy Birthdays to Uncle Dave (Dec 2), cousin Jack (Dec 7) and cousin Ashlynne (Dec 9).

Happy Holidays to everyone!! We'll blog you next year!

Fall

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 04:37:00 +0000

Garrett is peeing in the potty. He is wearing underwear and keeping them dry. Pooping is a whole other story. He has no interest in using the potty for that. Maybe when he turns 3 next month...keeping fingers crossed. He is very articulate when speaking and loves to reenact everything that is said or happens.

Casey is doing great in school. She enjoys reading and is good at it. She has learned about tally marks, the hour hand on clocks, and just started learning about pennies and nickels in math. She is getting better at using capital and lower case letters correctly. They have learned all about nouns and active verbs and punctuation in literacy.

Last weekend, Stan and Casey flew to Birmingham to visit Gramma Lois, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Dave, Ashlynne, Morganne and Max. They had a great time. After they got back, we found out Casey, Garret and I all had strep throat...fun for all. Casey already went through a week of strep a few weeks after school started.

Congratulations to Blair, Chad, Grayson and Everett...they just added little boy #3 to the family! Can't wait to meet you Oliver!

Happy Belated Birthday to Lily (Sept) and Happy Birthday to Uncle Stuart (October 24)!

Dillon, Connor, Garrett and Casey making Halloween decorations

Casey's cat and pumpkins

up close and personal

We have new swings under our deck.

Happy Halloween!

Videos of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 15:39:00 +0000

First Grader

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 05:22:00 +0000

Casey started first grade on August 19th. She loves her teacher, Ms. Comeau and her good friend Hayden is in her class. She is supposed to read to us 20 minutes every night and has just started getting a homework folder, which she has a week to complete. Her reading is impressive, when she is interested in it. She can sound out most words and she more often reads the words instead of reading the picture. She is learning about nouns and verbs right now in class. Her math skills are coming out more this year too...addition, counting by 2's and 5's. She has also come out of her shell socially in the past few months. She is still a little cautious with people, but has more confidence. I volunteered in Casey's class the past two weeks and noticed she raises her hand to answer questions, which did not happen last year. She did get strep the second week of school, but it didn't slow her down too much. She started Daisy Scouts last week and was not shy at all at the first meeting, unlike last year (mom is co-leader again this year).

Garrett is our tall, social little 2 year old. He is outgoing until all attention is on him. In the past few weeks he is saying all kinds of words and sentences. His favorite..."Seriously!" He is a ham big time. He loves to be outside skateboarding, riding his bike, playing basketball, playing catch, kicking the ball. He knows how to push his sister's buttons one minute and then play so nicely with her the next minute. He loves to snuggle. At night he gets so excited to run into Casey's room to give her and whichever parent is in there a kiss and a hug goodnight.

First day of school

School started Tuesday...kids had Friday off for the Pro Cycling tour...we decided to go cheer the cyclists on in the rain and dressed in Super hero attire

Casey cruising around the Frisco bike park

A little pony ride at Keystone Stables

He picked out his own helmet

Alli and Collin came to visit on their way to Oregon...on the gondola on our way up to Breckenridge Fun Park at Peak 8. They rode the Alpine Slide.

Casey's girl night with Hayden and Sophie...nails were painted, smores were eaten

Happy to be on a jeep ride...Peru Creek.

Back in Colorado...End of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 04:46:00 +0000

We made it back to Colorado at the end of July. 3 weeks before school starts. And so, we made the most of it. We went to the Dillon Farmer's Markets on Fridays, Casey did Gymnastics camp for a week, Garrett raced in his first Strider race at Keystone, we went camping and mountain biking, and went on some jeep rides.

Burgers with Connor, Dillon and Ella

A jeep ride up Keystone Gulch Road to the Outback lift

View of Breckenridge from the top of our jeep ride

Driving down...passing part of Erickson Mine

Getting a few tips from dad before the start of the race

racing...can you see Casey on the left running with him?

Getting ready to ride Monarch Crest

The view of O'Haver Lake, where we were camping

Oklahoma

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 04:25:00 +0000

On our way back to Colorado, we stopped in Bartlesville, OK to visit Auntie Cousin Blair, Uncle Chad, Grayson and Everett.

The Beach

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 04:13:00 +0000

The whole Birmingham crew headed to Indian Beach, Florida for a week of sand and sun.

Made it to the beach with Gramma Lois.

Cheese

Garrett learning how to play in the sand from his big sister

First surf lesson from Dad

Being goofy

Morganne and Casey dug a hole

Cute

Ashlynne, Casey and Morganne enjoying the calm waters

Ready to boogie board

Enjoying an after dinner walk

Hanging with Gramma Lois and cousins Ashlynne, Morganne and Max

Birmingham in July

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 03:39:00 +0000

We spent a week in Birmingham, AL visiting Aunt Lisa, Uncle Dave, Ashlynne, Morganne, Max and Gramma Lois.

Max giving Garrett soccer tips

Casey and Ashlynne collecting flowers

A little swimming at the local Jewish Community Center

Backyard sprinkler fun

Savannah

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 05:14:00 +0000

On our way to Birmingham...we made a quick stop in Savannah, GA.

We walked the River Walk.

Ate dinner at The Pirate House, the oldest building in Savannah...Argh.

Pirate?

The road to Wormsloe...Spanish moss.

Fun at Lake Gaston

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 05:10:00 +0000

We drove to Virginia at the end of June to visit Grandma Gail, Grandpa Tom, Aunt Marcy, Uncle Stuart, Aunt Kel, Lily and Jack at Lake Gaston. We spent 2 weeks at the lake.

Casey on the sea doo with Grandma and Lily...3...2...1...blast off!

Collecting shells at "Lily's Island" with Grandpa.

Garrett cruising in the matrix with Mommy, Jack and Lily.

The slip n' slide was a huge hit this year!

Taking a breather and striking a pose.

Garrett picked up some freckles at the Lake.

Serious pontoon driving

Sea dooing on the slip n' slide...Garrett sporting a new clean cut look.

Garrett is ready to fly...not this year though...a little too squirmy.

Casey is ready to fly again.

and their off...

They flew over the Lake this time.

A Couple Birthdays and End of Kindergarten

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 04:39:00 +0000

Easter egg hunt in Frisco with Dillon and Connor

Easter breakfast with bunny ears

The Easter bunny came and the kids found the eggs. Casey was such a helper to her little brother. She gave him hints and let him find the easy ones.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Happy 6th Birthday Casey! We celebrated with her annual Abasin party.

The Summit Cove Kindergarteners took a field trip to the Denver Aquarium. I was a chaperone and this was my group, Milo, Carston, Hayden, Casey, Taylor and Jonas.

We went camping in Goblin Valley, Utah in May.

It looked like Star Wars...or a bunch of mushrooms.

Not a bad view from our campsite.

The last day of Kindergarten...Ms. Michaels/Ms. Hurds class. Casey had a great year and met some good friends. Her best friends were Hayden and Taylor. Her favorite part of school was PE.

Stan coached Casey's Tball team again this Spring, The Hot Rods.

The Hot Rods were pretty good this year. Casey was good hitting and running and is getting better at throwing and catching.

We went camping at Jackson Lake State Park with Mark and Amy and Amy's parents, who brought their ski boat. Though it may look warm in the picture, it was cold and the water was freezing! Stan and I each got to ski/wakeboard, but it didn't last long.

1st Quarter of 2014

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 05:03:00 +0000

We have been tweeting away, but have not kept up with our blog. So I figured I'd add some pix and videos of our January through April activities.

Daddy's birthday on March 4th

Garrett is putting sentences together now. So instead of "my turn" he says, "it's my turn now." "Mommy, upstairs whiff me."

He has a monster voice that he uses every once in a while to make a point, especially when we are not paying 100% attention to him.
He is learning his colors, he knows pink and orange really well.
He is still obsessed with snowboards, skateboards and guitars. We got my old guitar from my parents over Christmas for the kids and Garrett loves to carry it around. Whenever we talk about going upstairs he says, "Ah geetar." (guitar). He also loves playing the drums and so do we:)
We just got him a snowboard to finish out the season and he is a shredder. Stan took him to Keystone yesterday and he did not want to stop. It snowed like crazy today so we went outside for a good 30 runs down the driveway.

cross country skiing

Casey is still loving school. She is a great reader...really good at sounding out words.She knows her 3 & 4 letter sight words really well and loves to practice with her flash cards at dinner. She can read all kinds of books and most importantly, she comprehends what she is reading. She even reads with a little emotion.
She is still involved with Daisy Scouts every other Monday.
She was in gymnastics these past 2 months which she really enjoyed. They had her twirling around the bars; walking forward and backward on the high balance beam and jumping off; working on front rolls, back rolls and cartwheels. She almost has the cartwheel down. She will start up again at the end of April.
We go skiing almost every weekend. She is working on her parallel turns now. She has conquered the wide box in the mini park at Keystone and has hit a couple of the narrow boxes too. She also learned how to cross country ski with Mom & Dad. It's been a fun Winter.

Sitting with her classmates including Sofie, Elizabeth and Hayden at the Mexico Mercado Assembly.

The Daisy's got a visit from the Summit County Sheriff's office at one of their meetings. The girls donated 10 cases of cookeis to the officers. The officers let the girls play with the sirens, lights and CB's. They also got to meet the only Summit County police dog.

Daisy Leprechauns

Casey & Mom on the chairlift

Such a shredder

With their cross country skis

On February 18th, Grandma Gail, Grandpa Tom and Rimsky drove out to visit. It was a busy week of skiing, going to Garrett's tumbling, and Casey's gymnastics. Friday, we visited Casey's school, met her teachers and ate school lunch (pizza) in the cafeteria.

Aunt Marcy, Uncle Stuart, Lily and Jack arrived February 22nd . We all (except Garrett) got to ski together a couple days before Grandma & Grandpa headed home. The cousins had a great time skiing and playing together and did really well sleeping in the same room all week, including Garrett.

Grandpa & Grandma with the Grandkids

lunch at Casey school

some pool time with Connor, Dillon and Jack

Me & Marcy

Aunt Kelly & Bodie drove out April 7th and are visiting with us for another week. We got to snowboard at Vail on Wednesday, a beautiful Spring day; Keystone on Friday and Keystone again with Casey, Dillon & Connor on Saturday.

The year is flying by already...we started tweeting this year. As you can see it is posted on our blog or you can follow us at twitter.com/twrightward. I will try and add updates and videos as much as I can on the blog.

Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 06:43:00 +0000

Family Photo at Denver Botanical Gardens Holiday Lights...don't mind the reflector on Stan's jacket!

We drove to Virginia for Christmas, arriving at Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom's house on Friday, Dec 20th. We had a belated birthday party for Garrett which included yummy ice cream cake and a new scooter.

Making Christmas Cookies with Aunt Kel, Aunt Marcy, Lily and Jack at Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom's house.

Santa came to visit on Christmas Eve.

After crying when Santa first came in, Garrett pulled it together to accept his present from Santa.

Christmas morning...Jack, Garrett, Casey and Lily are ready to see what Santa left for them.

Santa brought Stan a beard...

Casey got what she asked for from Santa...American Girl doll, Kit Kitteridge.

We then headed to Roanoke to celebrate Christmas again with Gramma Lois. Aunt Lisa, Ashlynne, Morganne and Max came up from Alabama.

Horsing Around

Cheesing with Aunt Lisa

We also got to see Aunt Cousin Blair, Uncle Cousin Chad, Grayson and Everett in town from Oklahoma. We visited the Science Museum and Butterfly Pavilion with them, as well as, Aunt Linda and Uncle Marvin. The kids got to touch horseshoe crabs, starfish and sea urchins. Look how brave Everett and Garrett were.

Though you can't tell in this photo with Gramma Lois...Casey was a little freaked out in the Butterfly Pavilion...she absolutely did not one of them to land on her.

Who bought these kids drums?
Oh their parents did!
I think we bought them more for us than for them;)
Garrett is a big fan of them. He'll drum away, then say, "Daddy's turn." "Mommy's turn."
For a couple weeks after getting back from Christmas, Garrett was walking around with a guitar magazine saying, "Geetah." He wanted to sit in the rocking chair and read it, show the pictures to everyone, look for the green Geetahs. He then added a tiny skateboard to his group. So then it was, "geetah. saboard." He then moved onto Sport Illustrated magazine and pointed to every ball he could find, "foobah, bazebah, bassbah."

Casey will play the drums every once in a while, however, her passion is singing. She has a microphone plugged into Stan's old amp and she likes to belt out made up song after made up song.

We arrived home the weekend before school started. We had a great trip to the East Coast. It was fun visiting everyone and we appreciate the hospitality!! Happy New Year to everyone.

Thanksgiving and Other Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 05:08:00 +0000

We spent Thanksgiving at Snowmass Mountain in Aspen. Aunt Kel come into town to celebrate and to upgrade us to an amazing suite right on the mountain. Mark and Amy also joined us for the weekend. We hit the hot tubs in the mornings and the slopes in the afternoon and yummy turkey Thanksgiving night. Saturday, on the way back to Dillon, we stopped at the Glenwood Hot Springs. The kids had a blast in the huge hot pools. Casey is swimming underwater and is much more confident swimming around on her own.

Sunday, Casey sang with the children's choir at church. They performed at both services. She was really nervous on the way there, but when we got to church, she walked right into practice. She performed the first 2 songs great...big smile on her face, singing while looking around...
Then came song #3...looks closely... The boy behind her threw up all over her back. She tried to hold in her tears, but then she saw her back. We went to the bathroom, cleaned it off, got her a cookie and she pulled it together and went back for the second service and sang all the songs no problem.

This past Monday, Casey got her Daisy Scout vest! All the girls were SO excited! So far, she has really enjoyed Daisy Scouts. She started out quiet and shy and now she plays along with all the girls.

We've been skiing a few times since we got good snow in November. Garrett enjoys his plastic skis, or at least puts up with them for a few minutes. Casey is great on her skis. She is very fast and can turn really well. We just need to work on her confidence some more. Garrett has been continuing his tumbling career every Thursday. He loves it and is really good at log roll and swinging on the bar. His favorite part of the obstacle course is the tunnel slide and of course, ball time. Casey takes tennis on Sundays. They have been working on front hand, back hand and volleying. Today they worked on moving toward the ball while hitting front hand.


at tumbling...he likes when i roll him around in this. or he acts like he's in a hammock sleeping.

is she 5 or 15?

taking a breather

carrying her own skis and ready to shred

shrowing the pow

Thursday night the kids got to visit with Santa Claus. Casey ran right up and jumped on his lap. Garrett was a bit more apprehensive, but he sat there wide eyed, looking around, but no tears.

who is this guy?


why is she hugging him?

Garrett turns 2!

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 04:34:00 +0000

Garrett turned 2 on Sunday, November 17th. He weighs 26.5 lbs (46th percentile) and stands 34 inches high (32nd percentile). We had ice cream cake and opened some real cool presents, including his big gift, a basketball hoop.

The weeks leading up to him turning 2...he started putting a few words together and he answers questions, "yeth" "K." He is also answering "No" quite a lot. He constantly says "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy." He knows how to bug his sister...sometimes he just leans against her, sometimes he just touches her. The other day, he climbed on the couch, while Casey was watching a show, laid on his belly, feet towards Casey and started kicking.

Turning 2 made today his first day in the 2 year old, Bumblebee room at school. He LOVED it.

birthday cake...mmmm

next day bday ice cream cake...mmm

Frankenstein and Spider Girl take October

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 03:50:00 +0000

We had Frankenstein and Spider Girl living with us for most of October. We visited a few pumpkin patches, trick or treated in Frisco and partied with school friends at the Summit Cove Fall Carnival.

Casey and I also fit in a trip to DC to cheer on Aunt Marcy while she ran 26.2 miles in the Marine Corp Marathon. She finished strong!!! While in town we got to stay at Aunt Kel's new house, had a nice lunch in DC, made a quick trip to the zoo and hit up the Burke Pumpkin Patch/Playground/Spooky Hayride with Grandma Gail. Before leaving for home, we celebrated Uncle Stuart's birthday with bbq and pumpkin carving with Grandma Gail, Grampa Tom, Aunt Kel, Aunt Marcy, Lily and Jack. Good times!

Arapahoe Basin Ski resort opened in October and we went opening day and we (including Casey) took 1 run.

Casey is settling into Kindergarten. She is sounding out words and learning her sight words quickly. She loves books. We have been reading The Magic Treehouse series at night and she is great at keeping up and recapping the story to us, since we trade nights putting her to bed. She can speak a little Spanish, "Mi llamo Casey. Por Que?" Her favorite class, PE, is even more favorite, now that they are doing Gymnastics. Yes, she is comfortable at school and still loves it. She did tell us she fell asleep during computer class a couple Fridays ago..."I was just really tired."

As for Garrett, the big news is...he no longer uses a pacifier. We stopped cold turkey 2 weeks before his birthday. The first day I put him down for a nap, he cried for about 5 minutes and the rest was history! He now jokes about it, asking, "Pathy, Pathy." I say we don't have anymore and he just laughs. Garrett is talking more and more each day. "Pancake peeze. More sausage...peeze." "Ah treat." He is also more active in the crib. He has escaped from his crib a couple times. We had to remove the pillow pet, which gave him just enough height to escape. Also, every once in a while, I'll go up to get him from nap or in the morning and he is standing there pant-less, holding his diaper. He hands it to me and say, "Poopy." Luckily they have not been poopy...yet. However, everything is "ah poopy" to him. He constantly says he is poopy, when he is not; all the dolls are poopy; his cars are poopy.

So there is October...

Early morning in the DC metro on our way to Aunt Marcy run the Marine Corp Marathon

Marcy's marathon fan club

The last .2 miles and she is still smiling...

Cousins at Aunt Kel's new house

at the Burke Pumpkin Patch with Grandma

playing

picking a pumpkin

how do you like our pumpkins

who's the horse head?

being sweet at the pumpkin patch

do si doh

Connor/Batman, Casey/Spider Girl, Dillon/Iron Man, Garrett/Frankenstein trick or treat

Trick or Treat or Rock Stars

Camping, Daisy's and The Bug

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 18:25:00 +0000

We are all recovering from the dreaded stomach bug. Garrett got it first, then Casey, then Stan. The kids had it for over a week and they all still have a cough. No fun!!

Since our last post...

The weekend of Sept 19th, Stan went to Iowa with Steve, to golf and play in the annual "Olympic" games (including foosball, darts, cornhole, battleship, etc). While he was gone, I decided to take the kids camping with some friends. We went to Fruita for some 80 degree weather and camped at Highline Lake State Park. There were 2 other families with boys that were Casey's age and girls that were a year older than Garrett. The kids played in the lake, on the beach, rode on the paddleboards with us adults, biked and found all kinds of forts throughout the campground.

Casey started Daisy Scouts. She had her 2nd meeting this past Monday. It's held every other Monday right after school in the school art room. There are 12 girls. I got talked into becoming co-leader with 2 other moms. So far, so fun!

We are getting into more of a routine with school (besides last week, where Casey stayed home most of the week sick). She is very good at getting up, making her bed (still working on it), getting dressed, grabbing her backpack, etc. without any arguments. We still meet Ryan and Hogan at the front and they all still walk back together. Sometimes we drive Dillon to school too. She definitely comes home telling us about her day and telling us things she has learned. She knows all the pieces of a computer; She is learning to discuss stories and think about what might happen next; She knows her days of the week, and that Saturday is no school.

Though she does come home tired and a little grumpy, she has been really sweet to Garrett, most of the time. She helps him with a lot: she will take him upstairs with her to play, tries to read him books, brings toys into the play house, walks him down the stairs. Very sweet to him, until he starts getting feisty and takes a toy she wants or when he hits her because he didn't get his way.

Garrett loves playing upstairs where the toy room is. Sometimes he'll be playing in the living room while I'm in the kitchen and then I'll hear him make his way upstairs. He is trying to say more words and sometimes he'll "say" a full sentence and look at us like we should understand him completely. He is also interested in the potty. Yesterday after I told Casey to use it before we leave, he raced her into the bathroom and was pulling at his pants. So I put him on the potty and he just grinned, so excited...he did not go potty, but we'll get there.

It's been getting cold here. It's in the mid 30's in the morning and 50's/60's in the afternoon. We got snow last Friday/Saturday. The resorts have started to make snow. We are ready to shrow the poow!

Onto pix...

Garrett's new "cheese" face...

Walking down to the lake from the campground...Garrett, the ladies man.

another "cheese" face

Garrett not feeling so well...chilling on the couch, watching some football

princess Casey

at the playground with Dillon and Connor

Kindergarten and more...

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 03:54:00 +0000

Casey loves school. I drive Casey to school, because Summit Cove Elementary is not our neighborhood school, so there is no bus. The first 2 weeks I walked her to her line and left after the 1st bell rang at 8:40 (this is when eveyone lines up and the teachers come outside...2nd bell rings at 8:45 and the classes walk into school). The 3rd week of school, we started meeting her Kindergarten friends, Ryan and Hogan, at the front of the school at 8:35 a.m. and the 3 of them walk in together. She gets so excited to meet them, there is no hesitation and barely a "good bye" anymore. This past Thursday was school pictures and Back to School Night. Casey had a blast showing us around her school. She has "specials" throughout the week, including PE, Media (Library or Computer), Spanish, Art and Music. So far specials are her favorite part of school, especially PE.

Ever since Casey started school, Garrett has been getting some quality time with Mom. I think he misses Casey during the day because he gets really excited when we go to pick her up and sometimes when she comes downstairs in the morning. The other morning, Garrett was playing in the living room when Casey woke up. He heard her door open, looked up and saw her. He squealed, ran to the bottom of the stairs and waited for her to get down with his arms open. He gave her a big hug when she finally got down.

He has started saying more words, though most people probably wouldn't recognize them like we do. He is also communicating better with hand movements, pointing to where he wants you to sit or to something he wants. He is very into books right now, looking through them himself and having us read them to him. He likes to "jam" on his guitar. I will try and get video this week. He usually wants me to jam with him though.

Garrett started tumbling on Thursday. He is one of the youngest in the class, but did a great job listening to instruction. He still can't jump though...hopefully this class will help.

Labor Day weekend we took the good ol' jeep on an adventure to Peru Creek Trail. We got to check out an old mining town. That Monday we rode our bikes from our house to Breckenridge, about 16 mile one way. Casey rode the tag-a-long attached to Stan's bike and lasted the whole day. Garrett rode in the Chariot, reading his books and napping.

This past weekend, we went to Vail for Oktoberfest with Steve and Stacia. Good times watching the VT game, playing washers and cornhole, touring Oktoberfest and swimming at the condo pool.

We have not been great at taking pix, but here are a few...

Helping Daddy make BBQ sauce

Mining House off Peru Creek Trail

very short hike to a waterfall

Casey found some cool mushrooms

Go Hokies!

No school Friday, so we went to the Breckenridge Children's Museum...Casey built this cool bridge

"who's ready for cornhole?"

Awesome August

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 05:08:00 +0000

We got back to Dillon on July 21st.

First...video of Casey "getting up" on water skis...forgot to post in last post.

After we got home, Casey spent the week cooking up cinnamon crisps, dirt pudding and meatballs at Kids in the Kitchen camp. We ended the week at Lakeside Amusement Park with Dillon and Connor. Garrett was able to keep up with the big kids and ride most of the rides.

driving

Big sister taking care of Lil Brother on the crazy ride


are there sharks in that water...

We went camping the first weekend of August. The first 2 nights we stayed in Buena Vista at Chalk Creek Campground right on Chalk Creek. The kids had a blast playing in the creek, playing on the playground (which literally consisted of swings, an old really tall slide and tether ball, but they LOVED it), and meeting all the kids in the campground. Garrett is Mr. Social, waving to anyone and everyone he can. Casey was pretty social too, very unlike her. She made all kinds of friends at the playground. Casey also rode her bike all over the campground. Garrett tried too...his strider. He would basically stand there and get frustrated because he couldn't go with Casey. However, since then, he has figured out how to take a few steps not only on the strider, but the scooter and the skateboard too.

our campsite right on the creek


older kids were tubing down the creek...looking forward to going back

We then moved our camp down the road to meet up with friends near Cottonwood Lake. The campsite was right on a very calm river. Casey had a blast exploring, fishing, hiking, canoeing and eating smores. Garrett was great too...he has adapted really well to camping. He is finally down to 1 nap in the afternoon, and took some great naps while camping. Stan got some fishing in on this trip and finally caught 3 fish...Casey, Garrett and I as his witnesses!!

Casey taking over the paddling

dinosaur attack

enjoying the canoe ride...

on the hike, Casey enjoyed a wild strawberry


1/2 the camping crew hiking

The 2nd week of August Casey went to Keystone Science School camp. It was an all day camp and included games, hikes, fishing, and lots of outdoor fun. Though a little nervous at drop off every morning, she seemed to enjoy herself the whole week. That Wed, Garrett and I flew to VA to attend my grandmother's memorial service. We got to see lots of family and enjoyed remembering an amazing lady, Katie Wright!

YG's family

Lily, Garrett and Jack walking the streets of DC

While we were in VA, Stan and Casey went to Steamboat Lake for a night of camping with our friends, Chris and Christy, Ryan & Kaitlin. Ryan was in Casey's preschool class and is in her Kindergarten class too.

Casey started Kindergarten on Wednesday, August 21st. Her teacher is Ms. Michaels. Casey was excited, but nervous. Every morning we walked through the school, to the back playground to line up. She is definitely shy, but after a few minor tears on the first day, she is becoming a pro at lining up, waiting for the bell to ring, teacher to come out and walk the class in. She even smiled and waved to me on Friday. On her first day of school, the entire school took a walking field trip to see the Pro Cycle tour ride through Dillon on their way to Steamboat. Thursday, they had art and music classes and Friday they went to the computer lab. At pick up, you can tell she enjoys her days...she comes running out the door with a huge grin on her face and talks the whole way home about what she did at school. She knows a bunch of kids in her class from preschool, but has already made a new friend, Taylor.

Garrett is in school at Lake Dillon Preschool every Wed. He cries when I drop him off, but only until I leave, just like his big sis used to do. He loves his class though and is learning all kinds of things, including how to wash his hand and throw away the paper towel & all his body parts, eyes, ears, hair, fingers, toes, etc.

Garrett is finally old enough to start Rec center classes and participated in his first tumbling day. He did great following the rules and can already hang on the bar and lift his legs up a little and walk across the beam while holding my hand.

Lots of change this month. The kids are growing, playing together a lot more, Garrett is down to 1 nap while Casey is over naps for the most part. Garrett still hits, but not as harsh, more of testing and when he doesn't get his way. However, he will give you a hug after he hits you.

have fun at school Casey...we will miss you

July in the East

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 05:27:00 +0000

We left Colorado at the end of June and headed East for our annual lake and beach trip. First stop was Lake Gaston to spend a week and a half with Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom and Rimsky at the lake house. Aunt Marcy, Uncle Stuart, Lily and Jack, Aunt Kel and Bodie and Cousins Alli and Davis all took part in the annual July 4th reunion.

Casey started the week off a little skeptical, but by the end she had gotten up on skis; was jumping in the water by herself, no goggles; and was sliding down the slide like it was no big thing. The weather was also a little frustrating at the beginning of the week, but by the end, it was warm and sunny and not too humid. We cooked smores, waved sparklers, burned snakes and set of Roanoke Rapid Wal-Mart special fireworks on the 4th, then got to see the big Lake Gaston firework display the following Saturday. There were trips to the marina for ice cream and several trips to Goat Island...to feed the goats.

Garrett had a blast at the lake. He would wake up and be ready to go out on a boat, which he can now say over and over. He loved swimming. He just needed his swimmies and he would be off. The slide was a hit, until he realized that hitting his head over and over at the bottom really starts to hurt after a while. He is very good at saying "mine!" for everything and anything. He runs all over the place, his belly leading the way.

Everyone left by Sunday, so we had our friends Chrissy and Andrew and their 10 month old, Duncan come up from Greensboro for a visit. Monday, Grandpa Tom took Casey flying for the first time. She had fun and talked the entire time.

We left the lake, picked Gramma Lois up in Roanoke, then headed down to Birmingham, Alabama to see Aunt Lisa, Uncle Dave, Ashlynne, Morganne and Max's new house. Dave started his residency in radiology at UAB. We spent a couple days getting to know their new neighborhood before packing up again and heading to the beach with everyone but the Doctor.

We stayed in Indian Pass, down the street from Cape San Blas, a bit south of Panama City. The house was perfect, right on the beach. A river formed on the shore and stuck around, which helped the kids create a "fort" that they played in all week. Garrett played right along with the big kids. When he wasn't digging or stealing toys or wrecking newly built walls, he was running circles in the sand...around and around and around and around...

By the end of the week, the weather had calmed so we were able to take all the kids out past the first break. They all, including Garrett in his swimmies, loved it out there...didn't want to come in. Needless to say, they were exhausted by weeks end.

We had a great time visiting with everyone. Hopefully we didn't cause too much of a mess!! It's good to be back in CO. Hope everyone is enjoying the Summer.

proud to be Americans

seadooing with Daddy

again...proud to be Americans

is she 5 or 15?

huh?

driving...

and he's out

snacking with Grandma

Casey, ready for her first flight

at the Mecklenburg airport

scooter gang

Casey loved playing in the sand

5 cousins

somewhere under the rainbow

come on, let's boogie

just chillin' in the ocean with my floaties

so happy to be swimmin' in the ocean

cheese

June

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 04:55:00 +0000

The first week of June Casey was in tennis camp every morning and then a free golf clinic at Keystone's River Course 3 mornings. She has TBall practice Tuesday and Thursday and her first TBall game Saturday morning. Coach Stan did great at preparing the team. Most knew to throw the ball to first base and to drop the bat and run to first after hitting the ball. Fortunately we have a lot of parental help in the field reminding the kids what to do so the game doesn't come to a stand still. We then had 3 more games in a row (Tues, Thurs, Tues), then the league decided to give the coaches a break and the rest of June was game Tuesday, practice Thursday. Casey really likes playing and loves having her Dad coach. Garrett keeps busy playing on the playgrounds or emptying the ball bucket or trying to get in the middle of everything. He is ready to play. Here are some videos showing what she has learned...

Week 2 of June, Casey attending Vacation Bible School up at our Church. There are over 250 kids who attend. She loves the fact that there are middle school girls who are her group leaders.

Both kids and Stan got some much needed haircuts this week too. Garrett would not sit still this time. He kept swatting at Betsy's hand while she tried to cut...he did allow the clippers and his haircut turned out really cute.

We finished off the week at the Frisco BBQ Festival. Friday night the kids got to bounce around in all the bouncy castles, listen to music and run into all their school friends. We had a good time too! Saturday we took a bike ride over to Keystone for a BMX bike trick show and lunch at Kickapoo. Saturday night we headed to Denver to hang with Mark, Amy, Ella & Hanna in their new house. Ella (2 1/2) loves following Casey around! Garrett was excited about their basketball hoop which was taller then the baby one we have, but small enough for him to make a basket...in which he now says, "Boom" when it goes in. Father's Day Sunday, Stan went golfing with the guys then met us over at Sarah and Geoff's for a BBQ.

Week 3, Casey went to Art Camp, where she got to create her own Fairy Mosaic Garden. Each day they made a piece of the garden, starting with the fairy on day 1. She tried to be very independent on day 3, "mom, you don't have to come down with me." With much hesitation on getting out of the car I suggested I would walk her to the stairs...a little more hesitation she decided I should walk her all the way down, but don't come down to get her at pick up...she will come up by herself...and she did.

We ended this week with our first camping trip of the Summer. We met Mark, Amy, Ella and Hanna at the Angel of Shavano campground about 2 hours South of us. It's right on a river and the Colorado Trail. Casey was a trooper on Saturday hiking 1 mile uphill on the Colorado trail and then the mile back down. We also went on a bumpy ride up to North Fork Reservoir where Casey, Ella, Mark and Stan tried to fish, to no avail. The camper is great. Stan put "peel and stick" hardwood floors in, to replace the indoor/outdoor carpet. Much easier to keep clean now that we can sweep. He also bought solar so we could charge our new monster battery, so we can run the heat all night when we aren't plugged in. It worked great!

Garrett is in a funny and frustrating phase right now. He might be getting his 2 month molars, because he has been extra sensitive/fussy and had a low grade fever for a few days. I just need him to slow down so I can look in his mouth. He does not like being told "no." He immediately throws a tantrum. Casey knows how to get under his skin. He drops a toy or gets up from a seat, she's on it, even if she could care less...G fights back though...literally...he like to swat, though you can tell he knows he's not supposed to. He tests way more than Casey did. You tell him not to touch something, he keeps doing, sometimes nonchalantly, sometimes right out while staring at you. He is not a great eater. He would rather throw his food. He likes fruit, pizza, pancakes, yogurt, cookies, lasagna and everything else it's hit or miss. Casey is a constant noise maker. She is talking like me and doing my mannerisms more and more, I really need to watch myself... She loves helping me around the house, always asking, "What can I help clean." She is starting to figure out chores and how if she does a chore, she could get money and if she does it enough, she can get enough money to buy another Littlest Pet Shop animal. She makes her bed, sets the table and helps clean up...sometimes. She is still very shy and timid, but I have noticed her coming out of her shell more since she turned 5. June has been beautiful here in the mountains, we have spent tons of time outside at the Farmer's Market (Fridays), the pool (Flying Dutchman's outdoor heated pool), biking, running, playing golf and just chilling in the backyard. In other news, Stan and I have been married 12 years today.

Belated Happy Birthdays go out to Aunt Kel (June 5) and Gramma Lois (June 13).

And we pray for our Yellow Grandma Katie who passed away this month at 92 1/2 years old. She will be missed! But as Casey said, "I'll see her again though mom in heaven...but you'll see her first."

Hope you aren't too overwhelmed by all the videos and pictures...enjoy!

being silly

Garrett cheering his sister #10 on...

Team Picture...Casey is front row 2nd from right. Coach Stan is back left.

Coach and daughter

she didn't understand the oranges after the game, but loved them at dinner that night, after I showed her what to do with the orange slices

tennis camp

hanging with Ella

our first camping trip of the Summer...Angel of Shavano campground west of Poncha Springs

the kids were covered in dirt all weekend, absolutely filthy and eating hot dog with ketchup didn't help

is it time for smores?

a short hike to a waterfall

Catch Up

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Wed, 29 May 2013 05:42:00 +0000

We are way behind. So here is a catch up blog...

Casey is 5 (May 1). She is 42 1/4" tall (47%) and weighs 37 lbs (34%). No shots at her 5 year old appt, though she was ready to be brave for them this time. She had her annual bday party at Abasin with her friend Rowan who shares her May 1st bday. There was plenty of snow this year and the girls learned how to get on and ride the bunny hill lift up all by themselves. A little scary for us parents watching, but they had a blast.

Casey graduated from Ms. Lauren's preschool class, though her last day is actually tomorrow. What did she learn in preschool? She can write her name legibly. She knows all her letters and numbers up to 100 (though sometimes needs help). She is writing 3 letter words on her own and constantly asking how to spell other words. She is adding small numbers.

Casey started TBall this month. Dad is the head coach. They have had 2 practices so far and the teams seems to work well together. Basically working on how to throw, catch and hit...the basics. First game is this Saturday. Casey is also riding her 2 wheel bike. She is starting to get the hang of starting on her own. Getting ready for the Frisco bike park!

Garrett is a bundle of energy. He is now 18 months and wants to be one of the big kids. He loves watching Casey and her friends and tries so hard to do what they are doing. Though he is also completely fine playing by himself. It's like DisneyWorld when he plays upstairs with all the toys while Casey is gone at school. He has started making noises for animals...ERRRR...and he gets them to walk and tackle other animals. He is still very snugly. He leans his head in for hugs, he blows kisses and he loves to crawl all over us.

Garrett is 33" tall (75%) and weighs 23lb 8oz (45%). He had a shot and was not happy about it, though he recovered quickly. He is still mostly on 2 naps, still trying to get him down to 1. Some days he can fight through the morning if we are busy and take one 2 1/2 - 3 hour nap. But most of the time, he is ready for nap at 10:00. He wakes in the morning around 7:30, goes to bed around 7:30, so he is a good sleeper like his sister. He goes to school every Wednesday and seems to enjoy it, even though he cries when I drop him off. He immediately stops when I leave the room. His words are "ball, cookie, mommy, mommy, mommy, daddy, bubble, gurt (yogurt), mowha (more), hi, bye." He is trying to say Casey (Cay-he) and Marcy (Mar-ee) and other words or names that we repeat over and over to him.

He is very different than Casey. He is a climber. He likes to hit and throw things. We have been working on the hitting and he has definitely gotten better, but when he doesn't get his way, his arms start swinging. Casey learned "No" quickly. We believe Garrett understands "No" but really enjoys testing us. He will keep going for something over and over, even if we are right there telling him "No" or when we try and remove him from the situation. He thinks it's a game.

So what has been going on since our last blog...Aunt Kel was Casey's roommate for a month and a half and is now back in DC buying a house; I had a bday; Casey's bday party at Abasin; Casey had her last ski days at Abasin with her preschool class; went back East to MD for Marcy's 40th bday bash, then celebrated Casey's bday at Chuck E Cheese, then celebrated Grandma Gail's bday, then headed down to Roanoke to visit Gramma Lois before heading back home.

Enjoy pix and hopefully we will get back on schedule with this blog!

skiing at Casey's bday party

the birthday girls

taking time out of building snow castles to "cheese" with Connor and Dillon

hurry up...gotta play

cute

riding the Roanoke Zoo train with Gramma Lois

"where did she go?"

hehe

playing with Grandma Gail and Grampa Tom's new puppy, Rimsky

this has been our morning ritual...playing on the deck with sand and water table and bubbles

what else can i play with?

Vet Garrett

Cooker Casey

Silverton, Grandparents, Aunt's, Uncle, Cousins and Closing Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:43:00 +0000

It was a busy March!

Stan turned 40 on March 4th. To celebrate, we went to Silverton, CO March 16th for a guided ski tour with 12 of our friends. Aunt Kel came out to join the party. Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom drove out to take care of the kids for the weekend. Saturday we arrived at Silverton at 8:30 a.m., broke up into 2 groups (total of 80 people are allowed on the mountain each day). We got 4 runs in. There is a lift you ride up halfway up the mountain...you have to hike the rest of the way. The snow was variable, but we were able to find some powder here and there. It was an experience!

The kids had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa. They went to family night at the church, which was filled with moon bounces, obstacle course blow ups and a big slide blow up. The kids also got to go swimming and bowling while we were gone too.

Grandma and Grandpa left Wednesday, March 20th. Marcy, Stuart, Lily and Jack arrived Sunday, March 23rd for Spring Break. Kel is staying with us, though in and out of town with work and social activities. She was able to be around the week Lily and Jack were in town. We went to the pool 1 day, tubing another day, the rest of the time was spent skiing. It's fun that the kids can now ski with us!

Casey's preschool goes skiing at ABasin Ski Resort every Wednesday for a month in March/April. She is loving it. Her group...basically Casey and Lydia, though sometimes Greta goes with them too, got to go to the very top of ABasin.

While Casey was at ABasin and Garrett was at school, we went to Vail. We got a bit of snow the night before so the back bowls were nice. Though def more than what Marcy and Stuart were used too, they were awesome on the steeps and loved it.

We dyed Easter eggs Saturday and had a great Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday. After a morning of jump rope races and sidewalk chalk, Marcy, Stuart, Lily and Jack bid us farewell.

Thursday we went to Kindergarten Round Up at Summit Cove Elementary School. Casey got to see the Kindergarten classroom and meet both teachers. She seems pretty excited about starting school.

Casey had her last soccer class today. The first half of the session was a lot of whining and not much participating. The second half was increased participation every week and today she wants to do the next session. She is actually a pretty good player, but she is very shy and really afraid of losing her ball to another kid (even though all the balls look exactly the same and there are more than enough balls to go around).

This weekend was Keystone Ski Resort's closing weekend. Saturday, Kristi watched Garrett so Stan and I could take Casey on her last Keystone runs of the season. We then watched Robert Randolph & the Family Band play before dinner at Luigi's. Sunday, we went back to Keystone in the morning to watch the annual "Slush Cup." People skiing/snowboarding across a pool of water. Pretty amusing.

Happy Spring!!

hanging with the Grandparents

Erica, Amy, Kelly, Sarah, Tracy, Stan at Silverton

Tracy Hiking on Top of the World

Tracy Living on the Edge with Sarah and Amy

Tracy, Stan and Kel after our 4th and final run


cousins getting ready to tube...Lily, Garrett, Peaceful Jack and Casey...

ready to ride

Garrett had so much fun...sleeping

Kelly, Jack, Marcy, Casey and Lily skiing Keystone

let's shred

Lily the babysitter

in jail at Keystone

Aunt Marcy showing Garrett the ropes of Easter egg dying

having so much fun dying Easter eggs...

Thank you Easter Bunny!!

Frogman with Bodie photo bombing...

being goofy

he loves sitting in this cabinet

I'm exhausted!

Garrett is 15 months

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 03:54:00 +0000

Garrett had his 15 month well baby appointment last Tuesday. He weighed in at 19 lbs 10.7 ounces. Unfortunately, that is almost 2 lbs less than his last weigh in 3 months ago, so we will check him again at 18 months. He is 32 3/4" tall, 85-95 percentile. Tall and skinny, like his daddy.

He got 2 shots, one in each arm, had a quick cry, but was very good.

San Diego

noreply@blogger.com (TWard) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 03:46:00 +0000

We went to San Diego the week of February 15-22. Casey, "It's really sandy here...is that why they call it San Diego?"

We drove to Las Vegas on Friday. It was a bit of an eventful trip...and not the good kind. Casey threw up in the car while driving to Las Vegas.

Saturday, Stan woke up with the flu...fever, chills, sore throat. We drove through the Mojave National Preserve and then through Joshua Tree National Park. We stayed in Palm Springs Saturday night.

Sunday, every one seemed to wake up feeling better. We walked down Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, ate lunch at Tommy Bahamas Restaurant in Palm Desert, drove South to Salton Sea, then headed West through Anza-Borrego State Park towards San Diego, where there were hundreds of RV's and wheelers camped out. We stopped in the tiny town of Julian for their famous apple pie and apple donuts holes. Right before we made it to our hotel in San Diego, Garrett threw up in the car. We ended up taking him to Children's Hospital Sunday night after checking into The Bahia Hotel in Mission Bay. They told us he just had a virus. He had a temp in the 100's since Friday, an upset tummy out both ends and was a little lethargic.

Monday we visited the San Diego Zoo. We took a double decker bus ride around the park, sitting on the top level of the bus. We got to see a polar bear swimming, the panda bear eating bamboo and a flock of flamingos running in a big circle.

Tuesday, we drove down to Point Loma to see the view of Downtown, Coronado and tried to find whales swimming south. Unfortunately, it started to rain so our whale watching was cut short. We went to Sea Port Village for lunch and a cookie, then drove the bridge to Coronado, then down to Imperial Beach and back to the hotel. By the time we got home, Garrett looked exhausted again and his temp was up to 103. He was having trouble walking, wasn't eating much and was very sleepy, so we decided to take another trip to Children's Hospital. This time they actually looked closely into his ear and realized he had an ear infection. We were sent home with antibiotics and he started feeling better 2 days later.

Wednesday was another overcast and cool day, so we decided to do another driving tour up the coast through Pacific Beach, with a stop in La Jolla Shores to see the Sea Lions sleeping at Children's Beach. The kids played at the playground in La Jolla, then we grabbed sandwiches and headed up Mt. Soledad for a great view of San Diego. We then drove through Torrey Pines and then over to Penasquitos, my old stomping ground from 3rd through 5th grades. We drove past my old house and Sunset Hills Elementary School. After we got back to the hotel, Casey and Stan headed to the Bay Beach to play in the sand. We then took a walk down to the Mission Beach Boardwalk to see the sunset.

Thursday, on our way out of San Diego, we stopped at LegoLand. It was finally sunny and in the 60's. The park was perfect for Casey. She rode all 3 roller coasters and loved them. The drive back to Colorado was uneventful, thank goodness. We stopped in Monroe, Utah for lunch at the Sage Brush Restaurant and drove past Mystics Hot Springs, run by a guy who used to work with the Grateful Dead.

Garrett is much better! Stan is much better! Casey is much better! I never got sick.

Casey and Garrett wish everyone a belated Happy Valentine's Day. And a Big Happy Birthday to Aunt Lisa (March 3) and Daddy/Stan (March 4).

Enjoy the videos and pix!

wii time

baby Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree

hanging with Marilyn in Palm Springs...we did get to wear shorts 1 day of our week long trip

Our little navigator at the San Diego Zoo

who's who?

The whole fam got to ride in the FairyLand Forest

Lego Plane Ride