ISTE 2016 ~

 I went to the ISTE conference today....can you guess where it was? Here is another clue...

 Thats right, the big blue bear....I was at the Colorado Convention Center and it was my first time inside the building...Ive always just driven by to take photos of big blue on the outside!  :)   What does ISTE stand for you might ask...International Society for Technology in Education, so yes, my school district paid for me to attend and it was fabulous!

 There were lots of classes and presentation boards, etc, but one of my favorite spots was the "playground".  This is where you could explore new tools, gadgets, etc and ask questions to learn all you could about these new toys and ways to use them in the classroom.  They have such cool things out for kids now!

 I cant wait to get some of this stuff in our classroom to make stations for the kids to explore!  Im already devising a plan to approach our PTO for money to purchase some of this cool stuff!  After exploring that stuff, I went upstairs to check out the expo....and boy was that massive!

 While up there, i got to meet Floyd Little, retired Hall of Fame Star from the Denver Broncos.  I got in line to get his autograph for my Aunt Gwen...I knew she would love it!

 I also admired his gorgeous ring....just look at the size of that thing!

 Anyways, it was on to more booths and fun, including the GoNoodle booth.  They were giving away a lot of silly prizes, which naturally I brought home for Jordyn.

 Then I took one more photo upstairs of me and the big blue bear and then it was time to go.  Christy dropped me off and Beas picked me up so I didnt have to worry about parking, which was awesome! All in all, a super fabulous, informative and fun time!  Thanks for making it possible Christy!

More Pool Fun at Tabbys ~

 Today we went to town to have a play date at Tabbys!  We were excited to finally see her new place and check out their pool!  Since Jordyn was good and sunburned from the pool yesterday, she opted for her swim shirt today!

 We spent about 5 hours at the pool, and then celebrated Victorias birthday back at the house with cupcakes and snacks!

Happy Birthday Kiddo!

 

Thanks for the margaritas and good time Tabby!

Western Ridge Pool Fun ~

 A bunch of us have decided to have an ongoing pool date at the Western Ridge on Wednesdays, so this was our first time out.

 The kids had an all day epic battle in the green pool (yes, it was green due to all the yellow pollen that had changed the color), and then we enjoyed burgers for lunch!

 And then we swam for a couple more hours!

The kids all had a great time together and we look forward to the next gathering!  Don't ya just love summer!

Birthday Garden ~

 Thought I would share pictures of my garden on this lovely day as I turn 48!

 and a cute picture of Jordyn playing archery with dad!

Happy Summer Solstice!

Father's Day Weekend ~

Christy came up on Saturday with Beas to show him around the property and visit for a while...she also brought me this beautiful basket of flowers for my birthday!!!  Thank you Christy!

They had an early day planned on Father's Day with Uncle Lynn, so they didnt spend the night...but it was great to visit with them for the afternoon!

The next day was Father's Day, and Jordyn and Grandma Kristi put together this little picnic lunch complete with wine, salmon, super salad, and carrot cake!  Included was a birthday card for me and a gift card!  I had to work all morning, so this was a wonderful treat to come home to.  Thanks Ken and Kristi...the picnic and goodies were great!

After our picnic we enjoyed playing with Justins fathers day gift...a new lawn golf set.  I love playing this game, our old one bit the dust several years ago, so we decided a new one was needed for the meadow!

Kato loved watching us play and kept attacking the balls whenever they landed!  Get em Kato!

Happy Father's Day Justin...We love you!

Summer Fun ~

We had a small playdate at the house yesterday and the kids had a blast!  Its high water right now, so they couldn't play in the river or on the rope swing, but that didn't stop them from having a great time!

 They ran around in the meadow, played capture the flag, had water fights with squirt guns and took turns driving around the circle in the golf cart with Justin, while the moms enjoyed margaritas and great conversation!

We munched on hot dogs, chips and other tasty side dishes and at around 6pm we called it a day!  A great day!  Can't wait to do it again....and soon!  :)

Meanwhile....Jordyn was asleep on the couch this morning, and i asked her what she was doing there...her reply, "i had this terrible dream last night, that i was talking to these teenagers, and one of them had a weird curled up worm type thing on its leg that she kept picking at, so Jordyn finally asked her...what is that thing on your leg, to which the girl replied, when you go through puberty, you'll get one too". Jordyn ran! hahahahaha

Movie Mania ~

 Still in Denver, and still hot outside (today was expected to be even hotter than yesterday), we decided to go to the movies, where it was nice and air-conditioned!  :)   We chose X-men Apocalypse and it was REALLY great!  We loved it!  While still at the theatre and with more time to kill before meeting at Aunt Gwens for a BBQ, we decided to pull a "Grandma Barbara", and sneak into another movie, so we snuck in and saw Captain America Civil War....also fabulous, but a little darker than some of the other Marvels.  They brought in some new characters though, so that was a lot of fun, and all in all, a great day at the movies!

 Aunt Gwens was fun too!  Mckenna and Devyn are heading out to Buffalo on Tuesday for the summer to be with family, so we were happy to see them before they left.  Uncle Jim got out the go-cart and the kids had fun driving that around the cul-de-sac, and then they got creative and started pulling each other around on the skateboard!  Always a great time at Aunt Gwens!

 Free Throat hugs anyone?!?

I had to work on Saturday afternoon, so we headed home Saturday morning...but it was a great time in the city with family and friends!  Thanks again Christy for such a great time!  We hope you and Beas come up to the Black Bear soon so we can reciprocate!  :)