Sunday, June 22, 2008

Super Find!

Okay, this is the last post for today...I promise! Yes, I do apologize for slacking the whole week and then posting three times in one day. As soon as I download our photos, I realize how behind I am. You would think I would learn but no, not yet!Look at this beauty!!!! The mixer is a beautiful too but look at that marble rolling pin? A match made in Heaven! It's heavy, it works like a charm and it was $8 baby!!! I found it at the U.S. Air Force Academy Thrift Shop while dropping off some old clothes. I thought it was a cheap replica of a nice marble rolling pin until I could barely pick it up...I instantly fell in love and can now take my little, sad, not-so-heavy-at-all one to the Thrift Shop! Yahooo!!!

Wilson Ranch Pool..

What a wonderful pool we just have about a 1.5 miles up the road. The only problem can be the wind but today was a perfect day to hit the pool and Daddy was able to join us making it an extra special day. What a difference a year makes with little ones. We took Lucas to pools and even Water World last year which was fun but very limited. Not today! He was all about exploring and loved the slide. He really wanted to go down the big water slide but it will be a few years for that one which has a height requirement.

If you live in Colorado Springs and haven't been to Wilson Ranch you should really go. It's a beautiful pool in an incredible setting...mountain back drop. It's all about kids and I think the deepest section is 4 ft. They have a float river and a whirlpool which is super fun! Not to mention all the fun water spray toys and slides!Venturing out with Daddy...notice the sun?!
Hiking to the top!
Good overview of the pool...Lucas' favorite was the orange slide you can barely see on the left side of the water fort.
Getting wet! It's still sunny!
Oh no...the sun disappears but that doesn't stop the fun! Lucas quickly realized how the rope "sprinklers" worked. He would stand out to the side not to get hit by the water. However, didn't take into account the other two ropes being pulled by other kids. It created a few surprise showers for sure.
Check out those new swim trunks (with room to grow!) from Grandma Jakulewicz...thanks Grandma! (Sorry, no photos of Mommy's new suit, next time!)
After one of those "surprise " sprays!
I love this one..."what are these crazy things on my arms supposed to do?" look?!
The clouds stuck around and Mommy and Lucas got cold! We jumped in the warm car and headed home for some tasty lunch. He had grilled cheese and Edamame (THANK YOU ERIN! HE LOVED THEM AND ATE A TON!) It's hard to see but the plate is full of Edamame shells and bread crusts. Daddy thought he was clever and told Lucas, "Oh, you don't like the crust? I love the crusts!" Lucas saved all his crusts and offered them to Daddy because Daddy "loves them sooo much!" Out smarted Daddy this time around! :)

Lean Mean Running Machine!

Look at the muscles on this kid?! Wow-Wee! A Real Lean Mean Running Machine for sure.

The evenings around here have been wonderful this past week. The wind goes way and calm cool air comes in for a visit just before the sun goes down. Lucas was getting antsy and ran out the front door in his diaper. We quickly discovered he had some extra energy to run off so he did sprints up and down the hill in our back yard. Yep, all in his stylish white diaper! He has been doing really well with the potty and is getting used to that "feeling in his belly" but it usually is only for number 2. Number 1 feeling is hit and miss. After numerous sprints Daddy and Mommy joined for some airplane fun. Here he is, getting ready!Then fast down and fast up straight for the camera!
Here's that ever so natural smile my friend Erin , a wonderful child photographer always talks about. A little "cheesy"...
and I can't imagine where he gets it from???
Here's Daddy all suited up for airplane flights...
As you can see, Lucas is Daddy's big helper and loves taking part in airplane time! He's still learning how to be gentle. :)

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Spring Time?!

I guess technically it is still Spring for a few more days and what a wonderful treat we have had just outside our back door about a week ago!

A little mama robin has been so busy taking care of her babies. As you can see, it's getting a little tight in the nest and the very next day mama had to deal with "empty nest" syndrome. I have a feeling she wasn't too sad...those three mouths to feed were a lot of work. She loved when I watered our lawn in the morning to draw up the tasty worms!

Little birdies are cute but how about twin fawns?! I saw mama deer the night before hanging out in our back yard. In the morning she was lying down with that look on her face...the look of "let's get these things out!" Unfortunately, I got distracted with breakfast and missed the actually birth by minutes. It happened in our back yard and what a wonderful experience. Lucas was excited until he had to be quiet and couldn't go play out back. We just didn't want to scare mama, she needed time to clean up while the little ones learned to walk almost immediately!
Here are the twins, mama is still cleaning everyone up. I love the wobbly legs and it was amazing to see how fast they learn to walk and get brave to go explore.
More rest and cleaning...
while the other one explores!


Notice the little white flower camouflage?
This was a few hours later. Nursing was high priority then it was kisses from mama and nap time!Mama knows best! The deer travel from yard to yard and we hope that crossing the street doesn't create any problems. Yesterday morning we had another surprise stop in for a visit. Another mama deer with very young triplets! What a Spring!!! We are definitely going to miss Colorado wildlife in our own backyard!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The Osborne's...Oh, The Osborne's...


Luke, Amanda & Marybelle are dear friends of ours and ones that always know how to make you smile! To sum them up...AWESOME PEOPLE!!!

We received a lovely little package in the mail yesterday...or shall I say, Mike received a package from The Osborne's. This was not your typical GET WELL SOON package but boy did it make us smile! Nothing like some HEALTHY FOOD FOR HEALING QUICKLY!

First, I must say that it almost caused a little boy to hyperventilate when he saw that the treats where packaged in a Jet Boil aka "Fire Hot" box. I quickly had to explain that there was probably not a "Fire Hot" in the box and he seemed a little confused but sooo excited to see the photos of the "Fire Hots" anyways.

There was a lovely homemade card with caring words and two tasty?!?! Healthy???? treats! See photos for details! Now keep in mind, these tasty nuggets came from Mr. and Mrs. All-NatUral, No Trans Fat, Juiced Fruit and Veggies, and Homemade meals only family! A couple who knew Mike in his prime bachelor stage eating bagsof Oreo cookies for dinner... in one sitting! The fact that they not only had to go to the store to buy these Little Debbie snacks but paid money to buy them (were seen in public buying them) and paid to mail them is quite remarkable! We quickly convinced Lucas that these were things to laugh at but tasted nasty! HA!
Notice the back brace decorations...
"What Goes Up Must Come Down, Hard"
"When It Comes To Gravity, You Have No Choice"

There about as fitting as the healthy recovery Little Debbie Snacks! After some smiles and laughs it was back to business...watching Tiger and Rocco battle on the golf course.


Thank You Osbone's! We can't wait to send Little Marybelle a care package from Dayton!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

This first photo shows the end of the day...wrapping up with some good Doctor Seuss books and a chat on the phone with Grandpa Anderson! The day was definitely not your typical Father's Day for the Anderson's which is usually spent out doors climbing but we had fun and made the most of our new routine...

It was definitely a mellow day around our house this year but I think that is exactly what Daddy needed. Lucas woke up early but was very good at keeping quiet to let Daddy sleep in for Father's Day. He was very eager to run in and wish him a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY but was patient. Watching the Bee Movie and a quick trip to the park with Mommy helped too. After giving Daddy big hugs and kisses, we were off to the Circus. Mommy has many mixed feelings about the Circus but thought it would be fun for Lucas to check out. We received free tickets for military appreciation so we headed to the Circus. Unfortunately, Daddy was not able to join us. Sitting up for long periods of time is like torture for him. Peace and quiet for 2 hours at home was much more appreciated. Creepy photo of Mommy but hey, we're at the Circus...there's lots of creepy things! Expensive things too! Snow cones were $9.00 baby and luckily I convinced Lucas that his snow cones were much tastier at home! He did have his sights on new binoculars which I was excited about too because they were smaller than our current ones and actually worked...a little!

Here are his new binoculars...pretty sweet! Now, if only I could get him to believe me that the other end is for his eyes.
Notice the "look"...he wasn't ever really excited about the Circus. I think it was half confusing and half scary.

Let the show begin! Lucas did like the frisbee dogs, the bouncy people and the motorcycle on a wire rider.
F
There's that "look" again...trying to figure out just what a Circus is really all about?!?!?! He was ready to go after intermission so we headed out early to go home and spend some time with Daddy.

After a nap, Lucas was ready for fun with Daddy! However, first things first...we had to have a big snow cone just as messy as they ones he saw at the Circus. He usually has a request right before nap time. He'll ask me, "what do you want to do after nap Mommy?" I try to turn around the question and ask him the same thing. Today it was "a big snow cone...really, really messy like the ones at the Circus!" Watermelon popsicles and random things like going into the basement to see the big fan or water heater or whatever is on his mind have been on the list before. He won't forget and whatever was requested before nap will be the first thing he asks for after nap.

After our really, really messy snow cone, he pulled out all his stickers and colored pencils to make Daddy a card. It was a true work of art and I'll have to get a photo of it to post!

For the first time in MONTHS, the wind was calm and the boys were able to take out the remote control airplanes and helicopter. It was a beautiful calm evening and a rare one at that! Lucas gets soooo excited to help but still has a hard time remembering to be "gentle" but he does a really good job! For dinner, we decided not fight the crowds and grilled hamburgers. It was yummy cake and cupcakes for dessert to top everything off! The evening finished with some puzzle building and book reading of course. Mommy can't read books anymore before bed time, this is Daddy's job and Lucas won't have it any other way.

WE LOVE YOU DADDY!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Grandpa Comes to Visit

Grandpa Jakulewicz had to work in Pueblo for a few days which is about 30-40 minutes from where we live. We met for dinner one night at the Outback Steak house and Lucas was on his best behavior. His favorite things at restaurants are the salt and pepper shakers. The ones he found at the Outback were grinders so they were extra cool!

Grandpa J came back the next evening to spend some time with Lucas and help Mommy with the sprinkler system. Mommy fights with the sprinklers all the time and swears that someone messes with them each time she finally gets them adjusted. Very frustrating but Grandpa came and saved the day (and left Mommy with lots of homework!) Thank you very much for helping Grandpa! It was very appreciated. We didn't get any photos this visit but Lucas came away with a little bubble machine from Grandpa. This is a bubble machine I bought about a year ago and left it at Grandma and Grandpas house. It finally made it back to Colorado Springs and was a brand new toy for Lucas. He was thrilled!

Look at this concentration! He was back to sharpening today and was quite confused why the wood on the colored pencils would not go away. He could see the shavings but wanted the wood part to be gone. After a series of whys, he decided to attack them from another angle. No luck, that wood would not go away!

Today we decided to make Shertzer Chocolate Chip Cookies after nap time. For those who have never had Amy's cookies, you're missing out! You can check out more of Amy's tasty treats at ShertzerTime. She has figured out the high altitude secret and I have no idea what I'm going to do when we live in low land Ohio?! Cookies seemed like a fun idea mostly because the WIND was back and according to the weather man this was supposed to be a wind free day...HA! Here Lucas made sure his bear, Sedrick, could see everything that was going on.
Notice how Sedrick isn't so important when it comes to the tasting part...yummy cookie dough! There was no sharing this part today with our favorite bear.

Oh, the house is back on the market and we are looking for renters again. The folks we had under contract fell through today but I truly believe it was a blessing in disguise. So, if you know of anyone who needs a home in Colorado Springs send them our way!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Sara , These Are For You!

Hope you have a wonderful week. Happy Birthday!

More Wind!

Lucas and I ventured out in the wind yesterday for a little hike. We had big intentions of going to the top of Blodgett Peak but that quickly diminished when the gray clouds started to form. We were still able to get out for about an hour and look for poison ivy...this is Lucas' new infatuation while hiking because every time I see it, I go into great detail on how horrible it is. Details are gold these days to Lucas and fall right into the "Why?" train.
The hair-do is the wind! It's been miserable this week blowing and blowing all day long. Today we had about an hour of peacefulness in the morning and then it was 30-40 mph wind gusts all day!
The binoculars always come on the hike with us. If any of you have had the chance to check this out, you would know that it actually makes things look farther away than closer. This resulted in Lucas smacking into the wall at our house a few months back...he was a sad boy but has since embraced them again and decided that using them outside works better. Someday he'll be sooo amazed when he gets to use some that really work!
Mommy and Lucas...it was freezing! Who would of thought that June would be so cold? I think the low last night was 38 degrees! I'm not complaining, just not prepared for a cold hike.

Lucas, I sure am a lucky mom to get to spend so much time with you. I absolutely love our morning breakfasts and hikes together! Watching you explore the Great Outdoors and discover the new growth on trees, the butterflies and the beautiful views are all gifts from God. You are a wonderful boy and everyday you make me smile and laugh. Each day, I look at you in amazement and I can't believe how much joy you've brought to my life. I know your daddy feels the same way and misses his outside time with you. We will be taking a break from climbing for awhile but we cherish the time we've been able to spend as a family. We love playing Candy Land, building puzzles, reading books, cooking meals, getting wet with the slip-n-slide, watching the Bee Movie and making huge messes with bubbles! I know that it is a real treat for daddy to be able to spend so much time with you and before we know it, he'll be all healed up and ready to take you climbing again! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH! Thanks for bringing so much happiness into our home! Love, Mommy & Daddy
Okay, back to the hike...here is our new 2008 Sherpani pack compliments of the company after losing our first one! I love this pack and feel like I could hike for hours. It's much more comfortable than the 2006 model. However, it doesn't prevent my legs from getting sore?!

Just another view...and this one if for my friend, Sara, who I'm sure thinks I'm nuts for hiking in Colorado. I have to admit, seeing this sign before heading out on the trail really makes me wonder what's out there watching us! I hike on really populated trails with guaranteed people and dogs which eases my mind. Hikes that have scared me in the past when Mike was along are not on my list of "to do's" anymore. We do miss daddy on these hikes for sure.
No thanks, I don't need to see one of these things in the wild! Sara, look at the cute little kitty!

Above Photo: Downtown Portland Oregon Bike Ride

The Danger Zone needed a little update to include not only LUCAS DANGER, but also his little brother...AXEL ADVENTURE!

Welcome to our family blog now known as:


DANGER and ADVENTURE Around Every Corner!!

Enjoy!!