Colorado Rocks!

What an awesome trip! It was so good to see Tracy and do sister stuff = ) For the last couple of years -- basically since I became a mom -- we haven't really had much time to hang out and have real sister time as I am usually being beckoned by one of my little ones for something or other. So, as much as I missed my kiddos (and talked Tracy's ear off about them) it was equally nice to have conversations to our hearts desires without 10,000 interruptions = ) I am so proud of my sis for making this move out to Denver. I know it had to be very scary to pick up and move somewhere new where you know only a handful of work associates, but she has done it and is being such a trooper about it. Her new home is gorgeous and the area she lives in is lovely. It really reminds me of Overland Park, but with mountains = )

Here is the view driving to her house.

There was a storm moving in ...

the picture does not do it justice!

One of our adventures was taking a trip Red Rocks for a hike. This area is so amazing and the weather cooperated magnificently. It is really cool to see the different types of terrain converge ... it's like a combination of desert, mountains, and prairie all together. Awesome. We had a great time hiking the trails and taking in all of the sites. The altitude did get to me a couple of times though. One minute we'd be chugging along just dandy, then all of a sudden I'd be extremely light-headed and need to take a moment to compose myself. But all in all, it was wonderful. I'd love to hike that area every day!

Me in front of one of the spectacular rock structures.

Tracy and I sweatin' it up, but still smiling!


This capped off the end of our hike. We came around the corner to find this lovely doe grazing. She came within about 4 or 5 yards of us. Nature's beauty!

Another of the great sites we visited was the Denver Aquarium. It was awesome! I soooo can't wait to take the boys there, they will have so much fun! It was amazing viewing all of the sea life there, especially in the glass tunnel where you are surrounded on all sides by fish, sharks, sea turtles and more. Beautiful. I won't bore you with the plethora of pictures I took, but here are a couple of my faves ...

Ahhhh --- about to get chomped!

"Swimming" with the fish

Eerie ghostlike like jellyfish.

Other than that, we most just hung out, ate at great restaurants, did some shopping, and bonded while playing board games and enjoying cocktails (yeah, my hubby made major fun of us for that last one, but whatevs ... we had a great time!)

As much fun as I had visiting my sis, it was also wonderful to come back home. Corey greeted me at the airport with a warm hug and kiss which was lovely. It was so nice to have that friendly face waiting for me! After I got home and unpacked, I headed to daycare to pick up the boys. Gage spied me right away when I walked in the door and starting jumping up and down yelling "momma's here, momma's here ... look, there's my momma!" Riley quickly followed with a "moooooooooommmmmmm!" and huge hugs and smooches and a million stories. Perfect. Of course, once we headed home and I mentioned there were presents waiting from Aunt Tracy and me, that took center stage over my arrival. Ah, the attention span of toddlers = ) Regardless, it's great to be back home!

THE FAIR!!!!

Oh, the fair. We came, we conquered - we laughed, we cried, - we had fun, we had stress ... it was quite the roller coaster and I'm not talking about the one made of steel! But, all in all it was a great time. Little Gage was a bit concerned with the large crowd and wanted mommy to carry him everywhere. Riley was the exact opposite. He was mister independent and wanted to run all over on his own. Very stressful for daddy to keep up with! Thankfully, though, a good time was had by all for the most part = )

Riley and daddy loving on a goat at the petting zoo.

Gager feeding some goats.

One of the few rides Gage enjoyed. He likes the ones he could ride with big brother. This particular one was a helicopter, so it was definitely a favorite!

The police department had one of their cars at the fair for the kids to get in and check out. Heaven for Riley! He climbed right in and drove like a police man. They even let him turn the siren on for a microsecond!

Gage's turn in the police car. He was scared to death. He wouldn't get in it without mommy 'cuz he didn't want to go to jail. He actually cried. Let's hope he always has a little bit of this fear in him = )

The boys on the pony ride. Probably the favorite event of the evening. Gage kept saying he wanted to ride his horsey out of the gate ... nice try buddy = )

Oh poor Gager, he wanted to ride this so bad ... but got scared and cried and cried and cried. We finally abated the torture when the ride worker was nice enough to stop the spinning for a moment so we could remove him = (

Riley, on the other hand, dug every minute of it. Oh the difference a year makes!

Riley on his "Harley" -- he had so much fun on this ride, it popped wheelies and had a little ramp on one side ... he was one bad motorcycle dude!

Ahhh, the merry-go-round, the traditional toddler favorite!

After this, we had about as much fun as we could handle, so we started home. On the way out we encountered a band that was playing. They were all dressed like 70's and 80's characters - Tina Turner, Madonna, Wonder Woman, Kiss and played music from those eras. We stayed to listen to a couple of tunes because the kids loved it! If it hadn't been so late, we probably would've stayed longer. But, truthfully, Corey and I were more pooped than the kids! However, we're still looking forward to doing it again next year!

Oh the things we do ...

We have been so busy since my last post! I left off last with Riley's less than prime behaviors. He has been getting better with some strict discipline, but our little man definitely still has some room for improvement = )

Last weekend we enjoyed celebrating our dear friend Patrick's 1 year birthday. It was a blast and it is always so cute to see a little one enjoy his first cake! I think Riley and Gage may have almost given Shawn and Kari a heart attack or two with their rambunctiousness, though. They are still used to only one quite little dude who doesn't talk yet and is just learning to walk. The constant motion and jibber jabber from our boys was definitely a break from the norm! Riley also made good friends with a little girl at the party named Kiley. They were all smiles, sharing cups, playing hard, and many hugs. Such a ladies man -- too cute! Not so cute was Riley throwing a ball up into the ceiling fan and a football the full length of the living room. Luckily, nothing was damaged. And thankfully, our gruesome twosome must not have scared them too bad as we all hugged when we left and I'm fairly certain we're still welcome there = )~

That evening we had quite a scare with Gage. He has been enamoured with Riley's fishing pole as of late and enjoys working on his casting skills. Well, he thought it would be a good idea to climb to the top platform area on his swingset and cast from there. He was doing quite well and having a good time, so Corey and I didn't think much of it and we just sat back at the table and enjoyed a few minutes of uninterrupted conversation. Then, I see Gage sliding down the slide and then stop halfway down and grab his neck. I immediately freaked out and sprinted over there. Somehow, he had managed to get the fishing line tangled around his neck and the pole was wedged behind the wood slats on the platform. The poor little fellow just about choked himself to death! The line was so tight it cut into his skin a little and left a mark for a couple of days. So scary! It happened so fast. I'm so glad we were outside or this could have been so bad. We rarely leave them outside alone at this age, but it does happen occasionally if I am cooking dinner or need to run inside for something. And Riley, of course, was oblivious to it all. We are just thanking heaven that we were so fortunate this time and pray that nothing like this ever happens again! However, with our little no fear adventureres, I doubt we'll be that lucky!

I don't know if I've ever expressed on here how much of a chocolate fanatic Riley is. He is not a big fan of most other candy, but the kid seriously enjoys chocolate in a huge way. The other morning after Corey had already left for work, the boys were playing while I was finishing my hair. I noticed it was eerily quiet in the house ... you know what that means ... someone's into something they're not supposed to be. Well, below is the scene I walked in on:

Riley had decided he wanted some chocolate and couldn't reach the "chocolate raindrops" -- so he opted for the next best thing in his little mind. He opened the fridge, grabbed the chocolate syrup, and poured himself a bowl! He was quite pleased with himself! Boys!!! I guess I should at least be happy that he took it upon himself to drink his big bowl of chocolate at the table -- that's some manners, right? = )

Below is a pic of one of the other favorite things right now -- bean bags! I always wanted one of these as a kid because they are just so cool. When I saw these on sale at Target the other day I just had to get them. The boys love chilling out on them and having their evening snack before bedtime. What a perfect fit!

So, I leave Friday morning to go visit my sister in Denver. I'm so excited! I'm already packed and ready to go. Yes, I know it's only Tuesday, but I'm just trying to be prepared = ) I'm also a little scared as this will be my first time to fly by myself and I'm really not a fan of flying to begin with. I know everything will be fine, but still have the butterflies. I'm also already missing my kiddos and I haven't even left yet. Is that weird? Probably, but I can't help it -- I just love the little creatures so much! But, mostly I'm just looking forward to seeing Tracy's new home and city and getting to spend some sister time together. Corey on the other hand is already worried about spending almost 4 days alone with the boys. I keep telling him to chill out as they can smell fear = ) They'll do fine, I'm sure. Corey sat down and wrote out an agenda last night so as to make sure their days and nights are full of fun activities. Should be fun!

Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs ...

Well, more trial and tribulation than anything, but we're hopeful the triumphs will come soon enough! Our oldest, Riley, has really been a pill as of late. Seriously, the terrible 2's have nothing on the terrifying 3's! When he is directed and focused, he is the most loving and helpful little fella that a person could ask for. However, this is not how he chooses to spend the majority of his time as of late. Instead, he favors spitting, saying naughty words, and telling everyone he is going to punch them in the face. What? Seriously? Ugh! All of my parenting books tell me to be a good mom and help direct him with these activites as they are just a phase that will pass when the novelty has worn off. For example: for saying naughty words the advice is to have him go in his room and let him say the words as much as he wants, but then he cannot say them anywhere else or in front of others. Really? Do people get this to work? Hmmmm, tried it, didn't help our cause. Next - spitting. The books say let them spit all they want into the sink, but nowhere else. Sounded ok, so I tried it. Still didn't stop the little rascal from wanting to spit all day long. Oh if only the SuperNanny could come visit my house, then maybe we could have the sweet Riley around more than his disobedient alter ego. Don't get me wrong. You all know I'm not a total prude. I understand "boys will be boys" and all that, but his actions have been to the extreme and are often done in direct defiance, not in jest. These are times when my blood boils! I just keep telling myself, yes, this too shall pass. But, in the meantime, I'm sticking to my guns and not letting these troublesome mannerisms slide. If any of you out there have any suggestions, I am all ears. I am willing to try just about anything at this point!

I guess there is a bright side to all of us this. Our elliptical machine and the Wii Fit have really been getting put to use lately. When I feel my top just about to blow, I have been going to exercise to release the steam. It really has helped me discharge a lot of tension which is good for everyone in the household, because as the old saying goes ... If mom's happy, everyone's happy. That is very true at the Huber house!

Ok, enough griping. Otherwise, things are going pretty well. We went to see my parents in their new house last weekend, which was a lot of fun. The boys love it there and have asked to go back every day. Although, Gage is sometimes worried about the monsters there. Monsters? Well, you see, the cable had not yet been hooked up yet during our visit. We were aware of this beforehand and decided to bring several videos for the boys to watch during their down times. The favorite movie of the weekend was Monster House. In hindsight, this may not have been the best show to pick when staying at a new house for the first time. At bedtime each and every little noise became a monster in Gage's imagination. Now, for those of you who don't know, my parents are avid hunters and trap shooters. They have an arsenal in their home that could easily defend against a small army. So, I tried to aleve Gage's fear by explaining that if, by any chance, a monster made it into the house, it would not be there long as Papa or Grandma would surely be able to take care of it. This seems to appease him for now =)

Speaking of Grandma and Papa, here's a few pics of them with the boys at the new house:

Hangin'

Happy Happy

I also got to spend some time with a handful of my dear cousins last weekend. It is always so good to see them and easy to be around them. It's nice that we all got to grow up so close and spend so much time together ... lot's of memories. It's also just as nice to get together as adults and make new ones!

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully my next post will be full of happy pictures and me reporting that Riley has come full circle and grown into a new wonderful, obedient, and perfectly respectful little man. In the meantime, just in case this doesn't happen, I am really sincere about passing on the parenting advice to me. Seriously. Thanks! = )

Always something going on ...

Well, Corey's shed project is finally close to completion. Hopefully by next weekend we'll have a finished product. Yay! That will be just in time for him to start his new hobby ... restoring an old Jeep that we have acquired. But, that story is for a different day. Back to the shed. The boys want to help daddy on the shed so bad they can hardly stand it. However, oftentimes it is just too dangerous or troublesome for them to be anywhere in the vicinity. But, the other day Corey gave Riley a "job" -- hammering nails into a board. Riley thought this was the best thing in the world. He actually did a really great job once he got the nail started and pounded the thing all the way down without even smashing a finger. Thank goodness! Below is a pic of him concentrating on his workmanship while Gage supervises = )


Riley's fishing pole is also still one of his passions. He soooo wants to take it to the lake and catch a real fish. Someday soon we'll take him to do this. In the meantime, he is happy to practice his casting and reeling skills in the yard (he is no longer allowed to do this in the house, though, as he has actually gotten quite good and can fling that baby a good 20 yards!) Below is a pic of one his practice sessions ... check out that form!



Who has red hair? Gage does! Just look at the carrot top glow in the light of the sunset. Love it! You'll also notice the brown dribbles, streaks, and glops all over his shirt. These are from one of Gage's favorite new hobbies -- helping mommy cook. This boys loves food! On this particular evening he helped make veggie burgers and brownies. Guess which one was our sugar baby's favorite? = )~

Speaking of our sugar baby, he also loves Cherry StarKisses from Dairy Queen. Lucky for him one of our neighbors works there and brought some over that were a little deformed due to freezer issues. Gage was a gracious - and happily stained - recipient!

Another one of Gage's new interests is trying on mommy's accessories: shoes, necklaces, bracelets, sunglasses -- you name it, he wants to try it. Corey is obviously not a fan of this, but I'm not worried. Besides, he looks just so darn cute!

We had a great visit with our friends Shawn and Kari this weekend. It is always so good to see them! Their little boy, Patrick, is getting so big. He'll be one in a little over a week. How time flies! He is such a good boy and so mellow compared to the chaos that we're used to. He also really seemed to take to Corey giving him big smiles. Check out this cute picture. Could they be any more adorable?

Riley and Gage also got their haircut this weekend. I decided to go a little shorter this time since we are in the middle of summer. I think Riley's turned out pretty good. He can really pull off the short hair, but it somehow makes him look so much older to me. Not sure I'm ready for that!

Here's Gage's new cropped 'do. It's okay, but I don't think I'll go this short on him again. His long red moptop is just too precious and fitting for his silly personality.

Well, that's about all for now. Looking forward to the weekend as we are having a "Cousin's Weekend" back in our old stomping grounds. I am so excited to see all my Soukup Girl's and enjoy all that Czech Fest has to offer. Watch out Wilson, here we come = )

Common Phrases ...

There are several phrases that are spoken in our home more than a few times each day by Riley and Gage. Here are a couple that continually seem to tickle our funnybones:

Phrase 1 - "I want both!"

My parenting books advise me to give my toddlers choices to help them feel empowered and avoid some of the typical frustration/no control tantrums. Luckily my boys aren't much for throwing tantrums, but the situation does occasionally arise. So, I try to employ this choice tactic on a daily basis to help us all out. It worked well with Riley, but little Gager has outsmarted me. Here's a typical back and forth ...

Me: Gage, would you like choice A (insert any food or toy here) or would you like choice B (insert any other food or toy here)?

Gage: I want both.

Me: No, honey, you get to choose only one. The one you like best. Which would you like?

Gage: I want BOTH.

Me: Gage, you're a big boy and you get to choose your favorite. Do you choose "A" or "B"?

Gage: I want BOTH!!!!

Seriously, my books said nothing about this. Some help!

Phrase 2: "We'll probably have to get that!"

In the evenings after all of our activities, part of our nightly wind down routine is watching Noggin or one of the Nickelodeon channels. These stations are fantastic for parents of toddlers and pre-schoolers. They have exceptional educational programs that teach manners, problem solving, teamwork, shapes, colors, and the like. However, they slip in these wonderful little commercials sometimes between programs for such products as Bendaroos, the Rocket Fishing Pole, Paperoni's, and Bump-It's. Each time one of these brilliant little commercial/infomercial segments appears you are sure to hear the following conversation:

Riley: Cool! We'll probably have to get that!

Me: Hmmmm, probably not.

Riley: Probably, we will. Just look mom. We NEED that.

Me: Maybe, but probably not. (Yes, this is my own fault for leaving that tiny possibility of hope.)

Riley. Yes, we'll probably get that. It'll be soooo fun! (The boy is nothing if not hopeful!)

So, with going over these same conversations and situations each day, one would think that we would get tired of it. But, we don't. Sometimes we maybe get a bit exasperated, but then we just sit back and enjoy the routine. Because, after all, we're getting to interact with two of the greatest people on this earth and watch their little minds work. It's amazing really. They're 2 and 3. Just one short year ago this type of back and forth didn't even seem possible. Riley and Gage are both growing and learning so fast it sometimes takes me by surprise. Even with the repetition, new elements are always being added. Even with all of the complaining I sometimes do, it is still the highlight of my day, every day, to come home to this. I thank God for my sweet little family = )

Most Excellent Weekend!

We travelled back to Mac to commemorate our nation's Independence Day with family and friends. Thankfully, Mother Nature played along and the weather was fabulous for outdoor festivities! We couldn't have asked for a better weekend = )

Mmmmm ... watermelon. Check out the juice streaks running down his tummy!

Chillin' like a villain with his "watermountain!"

This is the first year the boys have gotten to really see fireworks and participate. In years past, they have always been in bed before the big stuff starts and I've been too chicken to let them near even the little stuff. But, this year I decided to brave and venture into sparkler territory. They both LOVED them of course! We only had a dozen little ones as I wasn't sure how they'd react to them. I'll know better next year! At least we had plenty of little poppers to tide them over = )

Riley with a sparkler --

-- or a "sparkly" as Gage called them = )

Later in the afternoon, we headed to Corey's cousin's home to see family from far and wide and enjoy a good ol' fish fry. Delicious! On our way, we stopped by Corey's parent's farm for a visit. The boys love it out there as there is just some much to see and do.

Gage showing his patriotism out by the round top.

The boys taking a spin around the farm in the golf cart. Riley is an excellent driver!

A beautiful Kansas sky. It's like God smiling down on us = )

The fish fry was a blast. It is always great to see the Huber bunch. There's never a lack of conversation or entertainment when this group gets together! Riley and Gage were a little shy at first, but once they got some of the good grub into their bellies, their normal/crazy sides came on out to play. Here's a few of their shenanigans ...

Riley sitting in one of the Bullpup (McPherson mascot) emblems. He and Gage thought they were Blue's Clues paw prints = )

Playing with some of the parachute remnants from the rockets.

Gage LOVES cupcake frosting and red punch. That's our sugarbaby!

After these festivities we headed back to my folk's place and lit our nightime fireworks with the boys. It was so fun to see the joy in their little faces and have them "help" us light some of the goodies. I think they are hooked!

The little monkeys in a tree in mom and dad's front yard. Aren't they cute?

Another highlight of the weekend was getting to spend a little time with our good friends Fran, Trace, Tahse and their families. We haven't seen them for several years as they now live in Arizona, so it's always a treat to get together. They're the type of friends that even when you haven't hung out in years, when you get together it's like you've never been apart. It's a wonderful thing to have friends like that!

The old rowdy girls who aren't quite so rowdy anymore -- but don't test us!

The old rowdy boys, who are, well, not as rowdy as they used to be,

but they can still be pretty wild if they put their minds to it! = )~

Unfortunately, even with 3 days, there just wasn't enough time to spend with everyone we wanted to, but we are thankful for the time we got to spend with many of our family and friends. We hope you all enjoyed your weekends as well!