no school

Holy moly it's been 12 days since I've blogged!  Unfortunately the naps have gone again as quickly as they came and LIFE has been filling the time I allow for myself on the phone/computer when Ben doesn't nap.  I talk a little about our Longmont house in this post, http://itallbeganwithbenandabbq.blogspot.com/2011/11/3123.html, and there are also some cute chunky-cheeked Ben pics.  Well the time has come to sell Pratt and the market is so crazy here that we are managing multiple potential buyers and the house isn't even listed yet.  A neighbor just sold her similar unit in less than two weeks for MUCH more than we were hoping to get for ours that has more upgrades.  So, that and our neighborhood block party are my time-sucks of late, but there's plenty of fun going right along with it for the Heimer fam.
Last week Ben had no school as the teachers prepare for the summer session.  It was a little taste of what summer might be like next year with no preschool and we had a blast.  We visited Nana and Papa's with a new tire swing and MeeMee's with a new kiddie pool and water toys. 
On Thursday morning we went to the zoo which had been planned on Tuesday but missed out on because of someone's failure to stay in bed the night before. :)  It was the first time at the zoo without a stroller and Ben was an amazing listener.  He stayed fairly close and would stop to look at the animals with more frequency.  Climbing a large rock was still his favorite part but we had a delightful picnic (with chatting included) and an overall wonderful morning.  With a membership thanks to the Lineberrys and a close proximity to our house, it's easy to go for a couple of hours and a picnic and head home with no guilt for having paid a high ticket price.

chattin it up with "hap feet."

Careful to give equal love to both "daddy and baby." Mommy continues to be missing and taken for granted in most of these scenarios.

a ram for DaDa

THE rock was great for asking passerby, "how ya doin'?"

That evening we rode the lightrail for the first time to Tante's work downtown for a BBQ and Finding Nemo on the big screen.  Ben was absolutely thrilled to ride the train and delighted lots of other passengers.  It wasn't any different from the airport and other city trains he's been on but I tried to make a big deal of it being a "real train." With multiple plane trips before he was one, it's sometimes hard to find novelty in things that seem like they should be a big deal. 
The movie was shown in the giant cafeteria and Ben quickly found a girlfriend to chase.  They ran and ran for quite a while and then started (thanks to the girlfriend) climbing on tables.  Ben got a few warnings but sadly had to cut the evening short thanks to his monkey-ing around.  Unfortunately, getting back on the train and heading home is no punishment.  (Ben always wants to be home these days.) No iPad or basketball the rest of the evening did allow for some great behavior discussions. 

 

Our week of fun was capped on Friday with joining the Lineberrys in their neighborhood garage sale. 
We were up with the sun and the hard-working people.  I had the thought as I drove to their house at 6 am that people who were out and about at that hour are really the people getting stuff done.  No one is driving to the mall or just out for fun.  As Rob Dirdek would say, they are, "doin' work, Son."  I was headed to work for early east coast meetings frequently at that hour in my last job, so there was a lot of contemplation for me on the drive down. It felt good to be up, out, and being productive.
The garage sale was mostly productive and spending hours playing and chatting with our friends was lots of fun.  Ben got extra iPad time as I think the early morning wake-up call left him with less than enough big-girl chasing energy.  We were mostly successful with our small table of stuff and made enough money for lunch and a mini-trampoline for Ben (my goal for the day along with a strider bike.)  I'll post about the trampoline and it's reasoning when it arrives as well as where the heck we find to keep it.
Overall, the week was a blast and included lots more of my thanking Ben for listening and good behavior than reprimanding.  I am happy that he returns to school today though.  I've gotta, "do work, Son."