We made it!

We made it to Colorado! Total driving time = 17 hours! Kids did wonderfully in the car (aided by many movies on the DVD player), Scott drove us each and every mile north while I tended to the kiddos and read half a novel and numerous magazines (wonderful downtime for me!).

Today was Sunday, Father's Day, which we spent relaxing and getting acclimated to our new

surroundings here in Steamboat Spings. After breakfast we ventured downtown and found lovely parks along the river to explore. Check out these photos...

This afternoon was marked by swimming in the hotel pool (heated, since the air temperature is no more than 80 degrees in the sun) followed by "quiet rest time" in the room and then dinner out (prime rib for dad!) in a local restaurant. We had a great day and are looking forward to exploring more of Steamboat tomorrow!

Bikes

Amelia has taken a renewed interest in riding her bicycle! We took the training wheels off over a year ago, but she rarely wanted to practice riding her bike. I think she got frustrated by how wobbly she was and got tired of falling. Then all of a sudden one day last month Amelia asked if we could practice, and by the time we got to the end of the block, she was riding steadily all by herself. Amelia was so happy about it! We practiced for a few days in the alley and then progressed to taking the bikes to the park.


John rode with Amelia on his little motorcycle at first. However, because the little wheels are so much smaller on the big wheel than the wheels on Amelia's bike, he couldn't go as fast, no matter how hard he pumped the pedals. So after watching him having to work so hard to ride, we realized that he would likely enjoy a bigger bike. So Scott and his dad selected the new bike for John over Memorial Day weekend.

Here is John with his new bike. He is so proud of it! John LOVES to ride his bike, and he usually requests to ride everyday after school.

This weekend I braved the heat and took the kids to a nice shady park. Amelia chose to take her skates and John chose his bicycle (of course). The kids had a great time circling the wide path that surrounds the playgrounds and then took a break to play on the equipment afterwards. I titled the last photo below "ROAR!", which, as you can imagine, is exactly what John was saying when I took the photo.

Recital

I love recital time! Today was Amelia's second dance recital, and it was beautiful. Sure, I admit that I complain about the endless practices the week before the performance (I mean, these little girls are five years old and just beginning to understand ballet - does it mean they need to practice their three minute recital dance FOUR times the week before the recital, twice at the studio and twice at the rehearsal hall?!?), but having been brought up around ballet I should be more sympathetic to the challenging task faced by the studio directors. It cannot be easy shepherding hundreds of young girls in tutus and lace through a lovely choreographed two hour performance.

So today was much fun, admittedly as much for for me as for Amelia. Amelia seemed to enjoy the recital and she did a great job. Mentally, she totally understands what's going on and she knew her dance well. And I think she looks just stunning in her costume (see for yourself below). Amelia declared that she wants to take ballet again next year, so we will hopefully get to enjoy her dancing yet again. I love my beautiful little ballerina!

Below is backstage before the performance. Amelia was so excited!

Tummies and whales

This week John drew a picture at school of him inside his daddy's tummy. Yes, that is right - John in his dad's tummy. I would take a picture of the drawing and post it, except that this particular drawing is red marker scribbled on a white sheet of paper. I am sure this picture is easily imagined without a photo to accompany the description.

In any case, John's teachers were tickled about his drawing and readily brought it to my attention that day when I picked him up. John's teachers said that earlier that day in chapel the kids had learned the story about Jonah and the whale, and thus they assumed that perhaps John had drawn his picture inside his dad's tummy because Jonah had been swallowed inside the whale's tummy. So I was obviously intrigued, and asked John a few questions during the drive home.

Me: "John, I love the picture you drew of you inside dad's tummy. Did you draw that because you learned about Jonah today?"

John: "What? Who is Jonah?"

Me: "Oh. You know, the story you learned in chapel about the man who got swallowed up inside the whale's tummy?"

John: "Yes! Mommy, Jonah got eaten by the whale! That is very exciting!"

Me: "So, is that why you drew you inside of dad's tummy?"

John: "No. I just got inside of dad's tummy by going to the front and opening the door. I push open the door - mommy, because I am so strong - and I just unlock it and open it up and hide inside."

Me (ever the practical one): "John, that seems silly. I mean, how exactly can you get inside of dad's tummy? There is no door in the front."

John: "Mom, yes there is. It's this part, the button (pointing to his belly-button). I just open this up in there and make myself really small, like a roly-poly bug, and then I climb inside."

Me (not knowing what to say, but laughing): "John, that's pretty neat. But why are you in dad's tummy?"

John: "Just because I want to be. And it's cozy."

That's pretty much where our conversation ended. But when Amelia learned about John's drawing and his statement about wanting to climb inside dad's belly through the button hole, she set him straight that it would not be possible. john looked like he didn't believe her, and I think that is perfectly OK.