The CTR Gearharts Family Blog

Monday, August 31, 2009

Leaving . . .

August 31, 2009 - I am leaving the country on Thursday for 11 days. I know! Crazy, isn't it!? My mom invited my sister Ashley and I to go with her to England way back at the beginning of the year. We had our tickets booked and things in motion at least a month before we had even found out about Cameron's diabetes. I am at the point now where I have planned and prepared and tried to get everything humanly possible ready for this trip. I've made and frozen meals for my family, made plans for a sub to take over for singing time for me, made lists and schedules for Tristan and Teresa (my wonderful mother-in-law who is coming to help out while I'm gone), stocked up the pantry and the freezer, notified the bank and the school, bought a foreign outlet adapter, half-packed my suitcase, and a hundred other little things that I hope make my family's life a little easier while I'm gone. I am looking forward to this trip and dreading it at the same time. I will miss my best friend, Tristan. I will miss having him with me everyday, and I'll miss his love and encouragement. We do obviously have the technology today to chat a little each day, but it won't be the same - I get homesick just thinking about it. And of course I will miss my sweet kids. It's not often I'm not with them every waking moment. That is not an easy thing to walk away from even for a week and a half. I will miss their hugs and kisses and their silliness and I will miss being the one taking care of them. I know I am leaving them in good hands, that is the only reason I am not totally going crazy right now. But it will be hard all the same. I hope I can relax and enjoy my little vacation. I'm really grateful to my mom for making this all happen - and it's not like you get to go to a foregin country every day! So I'll need to take a few deep breaths, give Tristan and the kids lots of love and kisses, and do my best to go have fun. Wish me luck!

Cameron's first day of preschool

August 24, 2009 - Cameron has been waiting for this day for a long time! He has patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) watched his big brother and sister go to school each day, and yearned for the day he would get to walk across the street with them and go inside too. I LOVE that we live across the street from the school! And I love that Madison has a preschool! Cameron got on his new Speed Racer jacket and Mario backpack and walked to school as a student for the first time. He was so cool and calm about the whole thing. In fact, I'd had to meet with his teacher and the school nurse a couple times the week before, so he told me "Mom I'm going to preschool and you not come this time." Needless to say, he was ready! He hung up his jacket and backpack and sat right down at his table to do a puzzle, without so much as a glance at his parents! We each kissed him quickly, told him to have fun, and let him get to work!

Cameron, and his buddy, Hudson

School time!

August 18, 2009 - The first day of school. Many a mother has shed tears on this day. Tears of sadness for the end of summer - the end of having no end to the possibilities of what we can do together today. I have to admit, however, that for the first time this year, I had no tears to cry on the first day of school. I feel kind of like crying about that! I miss my kids, but it feels normal and familiar this year. It's back to our routine htat makes up 3/4 of the year. I feel almost guilty in admitting that I have adjusted really well to the school year coming around again. Maybe next year when Cam starts kindergarten I'll cry. But for now, I am tear-free. And my kids are enjoying 1st and 2nd grade, and making new friends. And Cam and Reese and I are having more time together at home. Maybe that's not something I need to feel guilty about. Heaven knows, that list is long enough!

Becca and her buddy, Hatcher. Becca had it easy this year; her teacher and her entire class moved up to 2nd grade together. So she has all her same friends in her class, and no stress about a new teacher. (We love her teacher, Ms. Rose.)

Tristan getting ready to line up (his teacher, Mrs. Rice is in the background - she has taught a couple of Gearharts in her years at Madison.) I think she taught Trister's uncle Taft too.

Father/ Son Campout '09

August 15, 2009 - Tristan took the boys to the annual Father/ Son Campout, and it sounds like they had a good time. Fortunately, the rain decided to leave them alone! Here are some pictures from their manly excursion. (I'll have to remind Tristan to get into some of the pictures for next year, but for now, enjoy these of the boys!)

Does he look like a mountain man, or what?

rugged

outdoorsy

And that's all I can say on a subject I have a very limited knowledge of - like I mentioned before my kind of camping is in a nice warm duplex!

Here, fishy fishy!

Aug 15, 2009 - After our fun at the North Pole, the kids and I stayed the night in farish Park again wiht my parents. I was glad for the duplex we had reserved, because it rained a lot, again! We got creative and made our s'mores in the microwave! The kids thought it was pretty cool how big the marshmallows grew in the microwave. (It really is cool - you should it sometime!) We went out to the lake again in the morning (before the rain started) to try our hands at fishing again.

Sally, looking proud of her whopper!

Carmyn (my niece) and her fish

Cam, bored with fishing decided to go rock wall climbing instead

Reese, Mom, and Carmyn

The North Pole in July!

I don't know how many of you who live in CO have been to Santa's Workshop, but I have memories of going there as a kid - and now as a mom watching my kids enjoy every minute of it. It's pretty much a kiddie wonderland - a Santa theme park geared just for kids. We had as much fun as you can running out from under sheltered areas every time the rain clears up! I have never seen it rain so much there - it was really pouring, too. I was on a Christmas tree ride with Cam and Reese, where you rise inside an ornament that goes around the tree when the skies opened up and began to soak us. When it started to hail, I yelled out to the ride operator to ask him to stop the ride (he must have a different idea from what I do on reasons to stop a ride, or he would've stopped once it started pouring!) and we ran for cover. The closest non-wet area was the outside of a bathroom, where the overhang from the roof was providing a small amount of shelter. Eventually, the kids got bored, though, and decided to venture into the bathroom to play with the automatic hand dryers. After that, it cleared up some, and we did our best to ride everything we could before the rain started again. Reese was cracking me up! There is a mini roller coaster there that the older kids consider a "cool" ride that I would not have thought to bring her on, but she LOVED it! In fact, she raised her arms up high like a roller-coaster-riding-pro, and screamed the whole time! I really wish I had proof to show you, but since I was on the ride with her, the footage would proabably have been pretty bumpy!

Cam preferred the low key rides - and this one was right up his alley! Go Speed Racer, GO!

Tris, Becca, and Reese on the highly popular boat ride

Tris going for a cruise

Cameron made me do the Candy Cane slide with him several times in a row - there are a LOT of stairs - I got my workout on that one!

Biker Babes!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Waterslidin' in Broomfield

Aug. 8, 2009 - We had one last chance at some summer-time fun a few weeks ago and we took it! Grandma and Grandpa Gearhart invited us up to Broomfield to stay the night with them (Grandma made her famous cabbage burgers - yum!), and to go to the community water park with them the next day. We had a lot of fun this year - all the kids were old enough to do some slippin' and slidin'. The kiddie area was a big favorite for the younger 3, and we again took turns going on the bigger slides with Becca.