Last Days in Denver

My three weeks in Denver started on the plane, followed by a train, followed by the bus. 

I arrived on Labor Day weekend when it was still summer. We went to the Denver Zoo and got to admire the beautiful zoo train. By the time I left on September 20, the weather had turned to fall.

We spent some time at playgrounds, where Freddie got to partake in a favorite activity: swinging.

We went to the Science Center, where Lloyd got to build a meandering train track.

Cousin Lauren visited and we walked to ice cream. We also went to City Park and she taught Lloyd some German words.

This very colorful playground is at a school just a few blocks from their house.

Uncle Don and Aunt Kathy visited and Lloyd was given a prized possession: his very own skidster. 

Freddie likes to eat most things (most of the time), he likes books, he likes most things that Lloyd likes, and he was learning to walk while I was there.

He's also a happy and sometimes silly guy.

And Lloyd likes to be moving. Even if it's on a stationary bike.

Midway through my visit, Troy came down for the weekend. I got to spend some time with the Kidds while she was in town.

John or Troy took this sweet picture of Freddie at the zoo, all decked out for fall weather.

Freddie is again quite the fall fashion plate in this handknit sweater.

Every morning and every afternoon this crew went back and forth to daycare.

Lloyd likes to help. On this day he carried his lunchbox. He also likes to push the remote control for the garage.

Brad arrived on Friday and I went home on Saturday. First thing Sunday morning they all left to drive to Minnesota, and by all I mean the humans and Sirius. They're in Minneapolis right now getting settled as they await the closing of their new house next month. 

Flashback Friday

"On the day you were born the round planet Earth turned toward your morning sky, whirling past darkness, spinning the night into light." This is the opening line from a book we used to read to the kids called On the Day You Were Born. Today is the day Peter was born, 37 years ago. Since he arrived, the world - our world - has never been the same. Happy Birthday Peter!

Flashback Friday

Happy new school year circa 1997!

Flashback Friday

This weekend I head to Denver. John and Troy are moving to Minneapolis. Troy starts her job on Tuesday so I'll stay for a few weeks to be an extra set of hands for John, who's staying in Denver with the boys until the end of the month. Today's picture is from January 17, 2019. John and Troy (and Sirius) were heading out the door to move to Fort Collins and start their almost 7 year stay in Colorado. When the time comes for all of them to go to Minneapolis (in around a month), there are two little boys who will now go with them, and thankfully Sirius is still here too. 

Flashback Friday

Mary turns 33 tomorrow! Here she is at the about same age that Owen is now - 5 months old. She's already showing great taste in fashion - and shoes.

First Days of School and Last Days of Summer

First things first! In the past week, all the grandkids have had a first day of school. Last week, after being gone for the summer, she rejoined her friends at her Polish daycare.

Next up was Owen. On Monday he was excited to go to his very first day of daycare ever, on his mom's first day back at work after spending five months at home with him. 

Tummy time is great place to meet new friends. Owen wasted no time in meeting other babies at daycare.

Not to be outdone, Lloyd and Freddie headed back in style to the first day of their new daycare school year. They've both moved up to a new class. But there are changes ahead. By the first of October, these two will be on their way to Minneapolis and a brand new daycare. 

But wait! There's been more happening than just the first day of school. You've heard of plus ones? Well here we have a plus two. Owen took his mom and dad to his very first wedding. He wore a vintage 1989 outfit, compliments of his Uncle Peter.

It's 1989 vs. 2025. Who wore it best? (Answer: it's a tie!)

Owen also got to spend a week at the Maryland shore and experience his first time "in" the Atlantic Ocean. 

Meanwhile, Lloyd and Freddie wound down their summer by catching up on their reading.

Over in Warsaw, Chef Rosie celebrated being back home in her two kitchens. (She has a kitchen in her bedroom and she shares her parents' kitchen with them.) Her dad got her a made-in-Elkader apron.

A few days later, Coach Rosie went to a small town in Poland with her mom and dad and a contingent of their American friends for the Mölkky World Championships. They competed and I'm told had an absolute blast. Sounds like a great finale to the summer.
 

Flashback Friday

Peter, Jessa, and Rosie are in Gołotczyzna, Poland, with some of their friends from the States, to compete at the 2025 Mölkky World Championship. It seems like a good time share a picture from the time they played Mölkky on Peter and Jessa's wedding weekend in June of 2022.