Sick, sick, and MORE SICK!

The bug(s) have hit our house...and not even Lynx was spared!

It started with Reece. Just nine days into the school year, he came home with a fever. That's the only symptom he had (if I don't count his traveling pains...head, back, heart, legs etc.), but it lasted for 3 days.

Then it was Riley's turn. His started in Silverthorne with congestion and complaining about being cold... it turned into a fever, missing one day of school, and more head junk. Yuck!

The same day, Lynx started sneezing... I had suspected he was congested for a while, but it started to get worse... and fast. He eventually started coughing too.

The boys healed on their own...with a little help from IBU an Tylenol, but poor Lynx (and poor Jake's wallet) needed a trip to the vet, which is a new experience for us. (FYI: Potential vet bills have always been my reason to not have pets.) She had a fever and of course the obvious congestion had caused her to become dehydrated and she wasn't eating very well. They put an IV in her and gave her meds for us to feed her (which is a chore in itself) twice a day. Within 24 hours she was a brand new kitten. It was like night and day. She still is sneezing a little, but she is playful and fun, with a little ornery mixed in. Before she was sleeping all the time and almost lethargic...

Finally, beside from a small cough from Riley and the occasional sneeze from Lynx, I think the "sick" is gone. *knock on wood* But let's hope this isn't foreshadowing the kind of year that lies ahead.

Silverthorne

Our soccer schedule is forcing us to travel a lot more than we are used to. Our third game was in Silverthorne...about 1.5 hours away. Silverthorne is known for their outlet shopping, so we took advantage. The game wasn't pretty...Reece's team suffered their first official loss of the year. 1-5. But the shopping was great, and in between the 3 separate shopping centers, we were able to watch some fly fishing take place. It was a nice day, away from Glenwood (minus the loss...and Riley was actually starting to feel a little under the weather...so that wasn't nice, but everything else was lovely!)

I spy the Aspen starting to turn yellow! Aspen are my new favorite trees...just stunning in the fall!

Family Funday Float

Last summer we floated the Colorado River in tiny inter tubes... this has been such a wet year in Colorado, there  is no way we were brave enough to give it a shot. The Colorado has been roaring ever since the spring runoff from the very snowy winter.

So my boss was so kind enough to let us use their raft, and the weather couldn't have been better. It never gets old taking in Glenwood Canyon from the river. 

Purple Lightning

Reece is back on the field again. He is definitely showing some improvement. He has a more balanced team this season too... Reece's strength is definitely driving the ball down the field, and staying in control. It seems to fall apart as he gets to the goal and it goes way left or way right...still working on the shot on goal.

Reece's team tied his first two games, and in his very first game he tied the game at the very last minute against Carbondale. We tied again in Aspen, which was surprising, because Aspen always seems to have a much "older" looking team with 20 subs, therefore a more talented team with lots of fresh legs to sub in. If you remember last season at all, these ties are way better than losses. I think we've scored more goals this season than we did all last season combined. That makes it more fun for the boys too.

Meet Lynx

We caved. Reece has wanted a pet for so long, and now that we are settled in the house, we couldn't hold off any longer. We debated between a kitten and a puppy, and a kitten won. The kitten would be house broken, and we just don't have the space for a dog to run around. Maybe this will be a "baby step" to a puppy...maybe. Lynx is a sweet, cuddly pet...just like Reece wanted. The best $10 we could have spent on him. (It was a special price... $10 kitten adoptions...hard to turn down.) Hope we are capable of caring for a pet... ;)
Side note...he is already on life #2... he took a nose dive from the loft to the main floor. Bet that won't happen again. Good thing he has 8 more to go.

I will call her "Stache"... or maybe "Stachey."

This boy is in heaven!

4th & 7th

Wowza! Where did time go? Where did summer break go? How are my babies getting so big, so fast?
Ready or not... here goes our newest school year. Reece has Mr. Malone. Riley has several teachers as a big, bad 7th grader. The coolest part is he is in an advanced Math class. The most exciting part is Mr. Scott, his Math teacher from last year, told me he tested in the top 10 in his class in last year's TCap, and he is on schedule to skip 9th grade Math. Not to put too much pressure on him, but woohoo!! And if it doesn't actually happen, that's okay too. Riley does have one complaint. His Math is first thing in the morning...my pre-teen likes his sleep, and doesn't feel like his brain is quite awake first thing in the morning. Here's to a great year!

Hanging Lake

Final weekend before school starts called for a hike up to Hanging Lake. One of the boys' favorite. The weather was amazing...almost fall-like. It's a "touristy" hike, so you must get moving early to make sure you can park, and to avoid the massive crowds going up and down the narrow path. It's a pretty tough hike, but we are getting very good at it. We aren't as out of shape as I sometimes feel.

Lego Tables

I'm am currently caught between "my boys might not LOVE Legos for much longer" and "I'm so tired of Legos being on the floor...all the time." So I wanted some table for the boys to play with their Legos on, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money. Solution was to have Jake make some cheap tables out of 2"x12"s... I also had a vision of some beautifully stained tables. The boys decided to make them a little more colorful. I let go of the control and let them use the leftover paint we had and below are the finished product. I helped a little on the first two tables, but the boys did the last two all on their own...mostly. 

"Everything is Awesome!"