Kicking Off the Season

Our Thanksgiving was a small event - just the four of us. Parker and I were sick, sick, sick, so we spent much of the day unconscious on the couch or on the bathroom floor, curled around the toilet. So we were thankful for the comforts of home, being together - and (oh very thankful) that we weren't sick and traveling. Jerod cooked a pared-down dinner all by himself (which he likes and does anyway, by the way). We felt good enough to eat by late afternoon, so we were able to celebrate a little.





By Saturday, we were feeling much better and ready to get OUT of the house. So we headed to Country Cove Christmas Tree Farm. This is at least our third year coming to this place, and we love it. Give it a try if you've never been there. Free cider and hot chocolate, hayrides, Santa, a little gift shop, and some of the nicest kids to help you with your tree. If you don't find one you like in the field, they have plenty of big, fluffy pre-cut trees you can buy.



It was a beautiful day - mid-60s. No snow in sight.


Parker gave Santa a long and detailed account of a certain toy he wants for Christmas.

Sawyer noticed the similarity in suits ...


Later, we decorated.

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How We Spend Our Saturday Mornings

Almost every Saturday morning since September, we've headed to the Centennial Sportsplex for Parker's group ice skating lesson. The first half-hour is a lesson, and the second half-hour is a free skate, when parents can join in. I love this place. It's somewhere we wouldn't normally think of going, and it's great exercise for the wintertime. The Sportsplex is a hub of activity, with hockey leagues practicing and playing on one rink, and lessons taking place with kids of all ages on the other. Parker's friend Connor is taking lessons, too, which makes it even better.
This might turn into hockey someday, or maybe just something fun he likes to do. Right now, it gives us an active way to spend the morning together no matter what the weather is like.

Here's Parker (left) and Connor with the teacher.

Sawyer checking out the hockey practice ...

Erica (Connor's mom) skating with Connor...
Jerod and Sawyer ...
Parker likes to return his skates by himself...
Waving to the Zamboni driver ...

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Halloween Catch-Up

OK, Uncle C.P. ... you asked, and I deliver! Here are some pictures from Halloween. (Deep breath ...) Here goes:

We started with the fall festival at Parker's school. This was Parker's third year in a row to be Batman. But this time he had muscles. Very important difference. Here's Parker with his friend Jasmine. She was (you guessed it) Hannah Montana. :)



We had a spaghetti supper after the games. Here's Parker with his friend Sophia, who was trying on his mask.


It's Rapunzel. Wait! No, that's Parker's teacher, Mrs. Newbill. She is awesome.

We went trick-or-treating with Cameron (Little Mermaid) - as we have for years! A very fun tradition. These guys are such good friends.

A little pre-trick-or-treating weenie roast with our friends Scott and Stasia (Cameron's mom and dad).

Sawyer was Superman, mostly because he wouldn't wear a costume with any sort of hat or headpiece. And it worked with the whole superhero theme.

The crew. The guys went, too, along with Cameron's grandma.

Sawyer jumped right in like a pro. I'm sure he was wondering, "What the heck is going on? But hey, people are giving me candy. I'm in!"


Someone gave out these glow-in-the-dark teeth. They were Parker's favorite treat of the night.


Up next, photos from our trip to Arkansas last month... Stay tuned.

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60 Years and Counting

Sixty years ago today, two crazy-in-love teenagers were married – against their parents' wishes. Just 16 and 18 years old, LeRoy and Patsy Tucker got hitched on a horse-drawn buggy by a preacher in a small Arkansas town. They picked cotton on their honeymoon and spent many years with just about nothing except each other. My Dad eventually joined the U.S. Marines, and my oldest sister Patti was born. Susie was born just over a year later – and about 16 years after that I came along as a big surprise to everyone.

My parents have experienced a lot – the Great Depression, poverty, stressful jobs, big moves across the country, raising children, deaths in the family ... all kinds of good and bad things that just happen through the years. They've seen their world change dramatically in ways I can't imagine. And through it all, they've stuck together.

Here's to you, Mom and Dad. Happy 60th.

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A Boneshaker and Bongo Drums

I took the boys to Centennial Park recently, and we saw this man riding a weird contraption around the park (maybe you've seen him?). We eventually struck up a conversation, and he told us all about it. Parker even got to try it out. It's called a Boneshaker (also a Hiwheel bike) first built in the mid-1800s. It's called a Boneshaker because there are no shocks, and it would rattle people's bones when they rode on dirt roads. Cool, huh?

Then we fed the ducks...



And just ran around...

Another Centennial Park adventure: Earlier this month, Jerod took Parker to the city's Celebration of Cultures at Centennial, and they came home with bongo drums.

I'm all for open green spaces and plenty of parks.

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Random Moments

Here's a little moment that turned out to be one of my best memories from the past week. The kids were up by 6:15 Sunday morning - the first really chilly morning after the swampy, buggy weather of last week - and the neighborhood was cloaked in fog. We ventured onto the porch for a quick look, but Parker and Sawyer didn't want to come back in. So we all headed down to the trail (bleary-eyed, hair sticking up, teeth unbrushed) to experience the cool, misty morning. Cobwebs, heavy and white with dewdrops, could be seen everywhere, and the woods were quiet. We ended up walking for more than an hour.

Asters, transplanted from my late grandmother's garden, are in full bloom for the first time this year.

Art in the buff...

A new nighttime ritual - looking for bats in the sky at dusk ...

Parker drew a special picture for our neighbor, Amanda (an older woman of 12). He was so excited to give it to her. Here he is waiting by the fence.

And here's Amanda accepting the drawing so sweetly.

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Lying Low

It's been a sickly kind of week in the Denton household. Parker has had the flu since last Sunday. Fever went away Wednesday, and he went back to school yesterday - only to run a fever again last night. So we are lying low this weekend, skipping Parker's ice-skating lesson and a birthday party at the zoo.

Parker stayed home with me all week, and we worked together in the bed - me on my laptop, him drawing pictures and watching cartoons. It was actually nice and kind of cozy, hanging out together as the rain drizzled outside.


We decided to send some of his drawings to family members, and - taking a cue from my homeschooling friends - he learned how to address envelopes. The stamp had the Liberty Bell on it, which led to a mini-lesson about the Liberty Bell - where it is, why it is cracked, why it's called the Liberty Bell. (Mom and Dad, Uncle C.P., Nonnie - your drawings are in the mail!)

I only wish Sawyer could have stayed home, too. (Work schedule is unrelenting these days but should slow down soon.) Sawyer is not sick at the moment, and I'm hoping, hoping this passes him by. I've been Lysol-ing like crazy.

A Sawyer update: He knows his colors! He won't really say them, but he can point to them. He is crazy about books, and his favorite is Good Night, Gorilla. But he also loves Happy Baby Colors and many others. He's very particular and likes to read new books every night. (Except Good Night, Gorilla, which is pretty much a mainstay.) This sweet munchkin is a bit of a hellion these days (early terrible twos??) He says "no" a lot and has started hitting when things don't go his way. But he's also so sweet and affectionate, doling out kisses to us, his big brother, his stuffed animals - and his books.

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Meet My Office Mates

Don't get me wrong; working from home is a wonderful thing. But it can get a little lonely. And there are so many distractions. Dirty dishes, rumpled beds, crumbs on the floor, dinner to be made, piles of laundry waiting to be washed and folded ... they all beckon. A half-hour here, a few minutes there, and it's time to pick up the little ones - but the work still has to be done, so you're up 'til midnight after the kids go to bed.

Solution: Spend a lot of time at my friend Stasia's house, which is just a few minutes from Parker's school. She works from home, too, so we can keep each other company between e-mails and phone conferences. The sweet dogs, Missy and Jasmine, snore and scuffle at our feet. There's camaraderie, fresh coffee, wireless Internet, my own desk - and a really cool treadmill setup if I ever have a free minute to use it. It's like going to the office without actually going to the office.

So thanks to my friend for being so generous.

Here are Stasia and the girls, Missy and Jasmine, in Stasia's lovely home office ...

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Our Weekend: A Mixed Bag

One thing I like about blogging is that it helps put things in perspective. I needed that this weekend, although it started out great.

We headed to the home of our friends Amy and Ted on Saturday to hang out - but mostly so Amy and I could hide away and watch Twilight while the guys watched the kids. But before we started, this amazing milestone happened... No training wheels! Parker saw Brayden do it, so he had to try. Sometimes peer pressure can be a good thing.




The kids played and took a break for popsicles...



Sawyer found a friend ...

Amy made some awesome Sangria (she gave me the recipe - will post later) and we slipped away to watch the movie ...


Then we all headed to the Corner Pub for dinner ... after 7 p.m.! Amazingly, there were no meltdowns...

One reason I love that restaurant - they have a place for kids to run around and throw beanbags.

The next morning, we decided to take the kids shopping - and that was a BAD IDEA. Now I remember why we don't take the kids on extended shopping trips. Sawyer and I had to leave a restaurant and sit in the car. We were that family. **Sigh**

So we regrouped on Monday and made it a don't-leave-the-house-play-in-the-backyard-no-stress day. Everyone was much happier.



Hope your holiday weekend was a great one!

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