Whitewater Rafting

On Friday we were able to use a Christmas present that Rob had gotten me off of Groupon. We went rafting in Idaho Springs.

My parents watched the kids so that we could go. They met us at the Clear Creek Rafting Company and had the kids watch us get ready, brought them to watch us get in the river, see us at different points in the river, and convinced the bus driver to let the kids ride back with us. (That was the kids favorite part).



(Look at our awesome stylish wetsuits :)
It was fun! The river is high right now, we took the beginner course which I thought was perfect. Only thing I recommend is paying the $3 for water booties for your feet. They provide wetsuits and everything, but not the booties. Well, me being the cheapskate that I am, told Rob that we would wear our tennis shoes in the water and then our flip flops afterwards.

It was a 90 degree day. Perfect, but having your feet soaked and sitting in 38 degree water for the whole trip makes them ache, cramp and then slightly go numb!

The river was gorgeous. We went through a canyon and the mountains were beautiful to look at. At multiple bridges that we went under we actually had to duck in half to not hit our heads on the bridge, this is how high the water was!

The white water waves that we did were scary and fun. Rob had a blast. He looked excited and fearless in all the pics. I looked scared and half excited. I really did have fun though :)

It was a great experience and an awesome christmas present to celebrate in June :) I like those type of presents, and it makes me wonder what our next adventure will be...

Our latest renovation project

We decided to rip up our sidewalk and redo it, all on our own!!!!!







JUST KIDDING! The city workers are ripping up sidewalks all over our neighborhood, and guess whose turn it is today.....ding, ding, ding, we're the lucky winners. Lots of LOUD work all morning (I'm sure for the next few days, all day). Plenty of entertainment for the kids. Who knows if nap time will happen though.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, to my amazing Dad! He is thoughtful, kind and always willing to help. He is a great example of what a Dad should be. I'm so greatful he's my dad!

Happy Father's Day, to my awesome Husband! He plays with the kids, endures daily wrestling matches with them and is very patient with them. I'm so greatful that he's my kids' dad!

Before and Afters

We have been redoing our basement. We are going to be renting out the basement of our house as a apartment to some lucky single, couple, family. It is 2 bedrooms 1 bath and is like 1100 or 1200 sq. ft. We have worked ALOT on this. Rob and his dad/mom, my dad/mom have put in lots and lots of hours on this thing.......

It's almost ready, we're doing final touches, but thought I'd share.

What do you think?
PS- We didn't know how to ANYTHING prior to starting this. We have learned alot from our parents, watched youtube alot and read about how to do things online. Including, flooring, grouting, cabinets, changing light fixtures, door nobs, towel rack, mirror, etc...Wow!

Kitchen BEFORE:

Kitchen AFTER:

Bathroom BEFORE:

Bathroom AFTER:

My Hobby

I have a secret desire to become a coupon lady. But, alas, I have neither the energy, the talent or the time at this point to do it. I think of starting small and maybe I will. But, right now, one trip to the grocery store is plenty....and honestly I don't want to spend my "free" time going there after the kiddos are asleep.

So....those are my excuses.

But....this is my hobby that I thoroughly enjoy, garage saleing! I love Saturday mornings for this reasona and my kiddos are finally learning that if they're good and not fussing and throwing fits about it, that I will buy them something. I almost NEVER buy them anything at the store (b/c they ask for things at every trip) so this is a real treat for them.

Afterwards I feel elated at my amazing deals I get. Rob was the best husband ever and yesterday gave me $20 in cash he had in his wallet so I could go garage saleing (I never have cash on hand, which is an issue....and a hassle when you just want to go to a sale, not to the store or atm first). Then, he grabbed me $20 more when we got some pizza from Sam's, "just in case I found a big item) Wow! I was so greatful for him encouraging me :)

Here are my treasures from today:
1. Boy clothes for Ethan - 25 pieces 2. Girl clothes for Breanna - 13 pieces3. Awesome 3T winter coat/Snowsuit for next winter, Winter boots for Ethan, and Bike Helmet for Ethan (so he doesn't have to wear one that's pink with flowers all over it!)

4. Trike with handle pusher (he wants to "learn" so after bending over and walking up and down the sidewalk....I'm over it, I needed a handle!) ABC tracing book for Breanna.

5. Not pictured- Small soccer ball, Dora sandals for Breanna, Pair of sketchers for Ethan (to grow into), Buzz lightyear toy.

Grand Total : What would you guess??????????

$16 and yes, I'm pretty proud of myself!

Swimming

Our awesome neighbors gave us this pool that their youngest daughter (now 10) has grown out of. Our kids LOVE it!!!

Little Monkey Business

Has anyone ever been here? I went with my kids, sister, her kids, cousin Mikey and my mom last week.

I was raving about it afterwards to Rob, the kids loved every second of it and ran around like madmen for 2 hours....they would have gone longer, but I had us leave for bedtime. There is a family night on Tuesday nights where it's cheaper to get in and $1/slice pizza, so everything is pretty cool. Tons of bounce houses, slides, playground, jungle swinging things, etc....

Now, I don't think I'll ever go back.

The day after we went my sister's child started throwing up all over, then her baby started doing the same thing. Paxton (Michelle's child) was sick the whole week. He was weak, not eating, grumpy, the works. The next day my mom got it too....her's lasted 24 hours. The next morning Ethan started throwing up (never seen the little guy sick like this). He threw up a ton for the whole day and had a high fever. The next 2 days he threw up one time per day. The illness wiped him out for an ENTIRE week. He threw up on Thursday last week and just today started acting normal (not lying around on the floor all day, or needing held the rest of the day). 3 days after Ethan got it, Breanna got it, but only threw up once and then laid on the couch the whole day. The next day their cousin Mikey got it, recovered in less then a day.

I swear it's from Little Monkey Business, b/c NO ONE was sick before and we didn't go anywhere else. Also, my mom talked to a nurse at her work who had just taken her kids there and they got the same illness afterwards, which wiped them out too.

Coincidence....I think not.

Sorry, but that's my last trip there, even though it was amazing fun for the kids.....but talk about a long week of work helping my little ones recover.