get outside....thank you, Mr. Presidents

President's Day weekend and Valentine's Day came in one big jumble this weekend and the Heimer Haus had no grand plans.  Temperatures in the mid-sixties Friday and Saturday meant our main focus was to GET OUTSIDE!!

Some Friday afternoon hoops and beers. ;) 

On Saturday we headed out to hike (Hayes' first) at Deer Creek Canyon.  We were significantly thwarted by ice and mud, but enjoying an al fresco picnic and messing around with the pups.

 

 

A dog up the hill scared a herd of deer down right next to us.

 From there we stopped at Cole and Amy's who live nearby and had perfect timing as the new-to-them trampoline had just been installed.

 

 

 We WAY overstayed our welcome right through dinner and into my first non-electronic poker playing.  I learned so much and had so much fun.  There are lots more hands that "count" than I ever thought and I'm excited to play with Brandon this Summer as he has a little experience with the game.

 

Sunday was Valentine's Day and Grayson's birthday party that Ben had been waiting for arrived.  We headed into the hills for some sledding and celebrating.....

 

 

 

 

You can watch Ryan and Ben's fastest run above.

The snow was deep in spots but not conducive to some of the sleds.  The weather was beautiful and in the high forties with periods of sun.  Jana worked hard for this last-minute find and it was fun and fabulous.  We enjoyed hot chocolate and cake before heading down the hill to MeeMee's.  

Happy big-5 Grayson!!

MeeMee had offered to watch Ben Sunday night as she had Monday off along with Ben and I.  Ryan and I picked up Indian food and headed home to watch Bridge of Spies.  The movie was great and a date night in without kiddo interruption was delightful.  I knocked out a few things in the morning today before grabbing Ben and heading to Kung Fu Panda 3 with Amy, Grace, Sara and their cousin Chilah.  Ben did a pretty great job in a completely packed theater and just when I thought he wasn't paying attention at all, he stood up and offered his hand and his chi to the animals in need as they circled the Panda.  It brought tears to my eyes and evoked a big "awwww!" from Amy. 

Admittedly, before the weekend began I was a little bummed at not having big plans to head to Breck or Winter Park, but the in the end I wouldn't have changed a thing, and it was a good reminder of what a little focused staycation can do for the soul.

swim~swam~swum

Well, our little fish is back at the swimming lessons and while he's still certainly more comfortable in the water than a lot of kids humans, many kids his age are now surpassing him in the speed and finesse departments.  I would love for him to take advantage of our neighborhood swim team, but he will need to rise to the top (literally) of the water and take some strokes.

He's taking private lessons at our gym and so far the results have been great.  I set very clear expectations and let the teacher know about Ben's manipulating ways.  My firmness has paid off and Ben is not still in the water for the whole 30 mins which is quite different from his days at Swim Labs.  He is up to 8-10 strokes and decent kicks in a row with his face in the water and will start on back stroke next time.  Whether or not it all pays off in swim team, these skills will be great for his whole life and the patterned movement is good for his brain.

He and Ms. Bridget are hiding over in that first lane.  

I try to keep my distance to avoid distraction.

He enjoys the extended warm showers after. ;)

Super Bowl 50 Champions

Well, today is painful in one of those delightful ways.  Yesterday our beloved Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50!!!!!

 

It was clearly due to Ben's lucky skivvies. :)

 

We started the day with a family trip to the gym to burn off some nervous energy.

....by 2pm that had worn off and we moved on to tequila. ;)

Until pretty close to the big day, we thought we'd be going back to "Grandpa Dennis's" (or is it Dennis'?) where we'd watched the last playoff game.  He and his buddy headed to San Fran to join the party, so we hosted a little gathering of our own.  We thought it might be just us and the Lineberry's but Amy's parents, Alan and Debbie joined, as did Nana and Papa.  We all had a seat where we could see the TV well and everyone did a good job of taking care of themselves so I could get as close to the TV as possible and shut out the world.  To say it was an exciting game would be a drastic understatement and the fact that the world had so little faith in us, made victory even sweeter.

 

Lots of tense moments....

 

even the TV kid was happy!! 

(while Ryan fumbled with the tripod and Amy's phone to get this shot, Ben excused himself, went to his room and got his camera, and told us all to, "CHEESE!!!" as he snapped our pics. Good job, buddy!)

Sara added a last minute addition to the mural I requested. ;) 

Thanks to everyone who game to cheer with us and to Amy for most of the pictures.  The city is on Championship high and I hope it sticks around for a while. I tried to get Ryan to promise we could get a bigger tv if we went again next year   Ryan even promised we could get a bigger TV if we go again next year!! ;)

Go Broncos!!!!

Celebark

By far, the highlight of life in our new hood happened today.  We were sitting and chatting with MeeMee and Superbowl party prepping when "knock, knock, knock."

Sweet Sophie from next door stood on our stoop with her lollipop and explained that it was George's birthday and "could Hayes and Luke come to the party at 12:30?"

George is Dick and Sarah's labradoodle who was celebrating the big numero-uno.  George is a very handsome fellow and was sitting like a proper pup statue on one of our first visits to look at our house.  Hayes and Luke love romping with him and we love him showing up at the front door to play.

I sent Ryan and Ben to the party with the pups and requested Ryan take lots of pics while I continued party prep.   I stopped over near the end of the party and snapped a pic of this delightful banner.  I later learned Ryan failed to take any pics. :(

Sophie had gone all out with treats and favors and special gifts for George.  Dick teased that the gauntlet had been thrown and they'd expect quite a bash for Hayes.  I've never done much pup birthday acknowledgment beyond some extra treats and pets, but it might be fun for Ben to do a little more going forward.

Happy Birthday, George!! We love you!