Swimming Lessons and No More Trainng Wheels

Today was the first day of summer, and the first day of Carissa's and Gabe's swimming lessons. They have been marking the days off waiting for today since we registered a few weeks ago. They both did a great job in their classes which ended up being combined together for today at least. They are both essentially doing a level 1 class, but because Gabe is under 5 years old he has to be in the pre-level 1 class. They both commented on how short the class was and how they wanted it to be longer, but they get to go again tomorrow so that made it okay.

Then this evening Gabe came running in the house and basically told me that I needed to take his training wheels off, because he can ride a 2-wheeler now. I told him that I wasn't ready to take them off right now, but if he could first show me that he could ride on Carissa's bike then I would do it. He promptly got out Carissa's bike. When I got outside Carissa and another neighbor boy were holding up Carissa's bike, so that Gabe could get on the seat. As soon as he was on they let go and off he went, no problems. So, Ben and I talked about it a little and figured that he would still have to learn to start by himself but if Gabe was really ready and determined to do it we might as well let him. I took off the training wheels and then spent a little time helping and coaching Gabe on how to get started without help. It only took him a few tries and he can to that now too. I thought he would be ready sometime this summer, just not quite yet.

32 week appointment

On Friday, I had my 32 week appointment and Ben and the kids all came with me. I thought that it was a good idea for Ben to meet my doctor before the delivery and then the kids just came too. It turns out this was the last appointment that I would want the kids at too, because I was told that for the rest of my appointment I would be getting undressed from the waist down. At my next appointment I will be getting tested for strep B. Anyway, I would prefer the kids weren't there to ask questions about my exam. Everything all checked out good, and again I'm not doing much for weight. Since my last appointment I have only gained .2 lbs, which puts me at a total of 10.8 lbs gained. But, my doctor said that my weight is just fine. I also got the phone number and information to pre-register for labor and delivery, so I can do that whenever I'm ready to now.

North Pole-Santa's Workshop

After our first failed attempt at making it to Santa's Workshop we stayed an extra day in CO and the weather co-operated nicely and we had a nice day there. The kids started off by driving cars, and Gabe was just barely under the height requirement to drive alone so Daddy got to go with him.


The kids went on several rides alone and with Ben. Ben even got to stay on the ride for 2 consecutive runnings in order for Carissa and Gabe to both be able to go, since I didn't go on the rides because of being pregnant. Most of the rides go in circles too, and Ben's motion sickness was getting to him. But, he was a good daddy and kept going so that the kids could keep going. We also went to see Santa Claus, and to feed the animals there.

The kids really liked the roller coaster too.

We also had to visit the frozen North Pole while there.

We saw a magic show, ate lunch, and all of us rode the train together and saw the reindeer. Then right before we left Ben, Carissa, and Gabe all rode the sky cab ride. When I saw them all lined up waiting to get on the ride, I realized that Carissa and Gabe should be really good at getting on that ride because of them being little skiers and it is just like a ski lift. When they all got back to where I was, Ben had a story for me. Apparently, I was on the right track with the ski lift idea, because as the ride got near the part where you turn around and head back Carissa asked how they were going to get off/down. She thought it was exactly like a ski lift and that you only got to go one way. Ben told the kids that they were all going to have to jump, they didn't think that sounded safe. But, they started to consider it and Ben told them that they would stay on until they got back to where they started. They liked that idea better.

Days 3 and 4

Not too much exciting happened. We spent some time both days getting Ben's stuff ready for moving. And, Carissa and Gabe just love being able to spend time playing with their cousins. On Sunday afternoon, we drove up to Denver and visited with a couple of friends and had dinner. Then headed back to the Springs and got everyone ready for bed.

Day 2

We didn't have a lot of plans if any for our second day, but we that ended up being a good thing. Our cat, Leo, had started acting uncomfortable late in the afternoon on Friday. Then, he barely ate his food that night, and sometime during the night he threw up everything that he had eaten. Basically, Leo was acting exactly like he did a few months ago when his urethra was blocked and his bladder was full of stones. The first time this happened Leo, had surgery to remove all of the stones, and spent several days at the vet's office recovering. Then he had to switch to special food, and he took medicine at home as well for weeks. He was supposed to stay of the new food forever though. Well, because of all of that we made him a vet appointment for 11:30 on Saturday. And, we went in prepared to hear the worse. We talked to the kids about Leo, and let them know that he might not be coming back. We were already looking for a new home for Leo, because of Carissa's allergies and they weren't happy about that. But, I think knowing that Leo was going to be going away anyway made it a little easier on them. We told them to say bye to Leo before we left. And Gabe said, "Bye Leo, you're going to heaven." Carissa said bye too, but she was still hoping that Leo would come back. As soon as the vet examined Leo, he said that yes Leo was blocked again. He let us know that we could still try one more surgery that would remove part of Leo's urethra and would cost a lot, and there was no guarantee that Leo wouldn't be back with another blockage later. So, we made the decision to put him to sleep and we stayed with Leo until he was gone. It was a very emotional day, and I'm glad that we didn't have any other plans for the day. I'm also happy that it happened when it did so that we could both be there with Leo. Leo was almost 9 years old, and I adopted him when he was 6 weeks old and my mom adopted Leo's sister at the same time. Leo's sister was put to sleep a year earlier from kidney failure, so he lived longer than his sister and he had a pretty good life. He will be missed.

Day 1 Colorado

After getting in so late, we all slept in. We had planned on going to Santa's Workshop but between some miscommunication and the storm that was supposed to be coming we decided to wait. Instead, we took the kids mini-golfing for the first time and then went to buy a snack. The rain came while we ate our snack, but it looked like it would be a quick storm so we headed over to the Garden of Gods anyway. It did clear up and was sunny for a little bit before the rain started again. We went to the balancing rock and let the kids climb for a bit, but it was slippery and the rain had come back. We also drove by the little church where my parents got married 29 years ago, and I pointed it out to the kids. We had a very nice family afternoon together.

WIC, Drive to CO

Gabe and I had a WIC appointment on Thursday, so we packed up the van for our drive to CO and then went to the WIC appointment. At the WIC appointment, Gabe is still staying around the 10th percentile and growing. This was Gabe's last appointment, since he will be 5 in August. For me, I've gained weight and was told that I look like I'm pregnant. But, I'm just barely at the bottom of their weight chart. Next appointment will be for me and the new baby at the end of August. August is going to be a very busy month.

Then we had lunch, and got gas and headed out to CO. The trip took longer than we thought and longer than we wanted, but we made it by about 1:30 am. We made a few stops for gas, food, bathrooms along the way. We drove through a few construction areas in WY, and through a good sized hail storm and there was lots of lightening and thunder too. Gabe was started to get a little worried with the lightening, thunder, and heavy hail coming down. But we made it through. Then, we hit parking lot traffic at about midnight just north of Denver. We thought that was crazy, but they were detouring everyone off of the interstate and then back on again. So, once we were on the interstate again things went back to normal speeds.