Today's the Big Day!

Today, my little Pumpkin comes home!!! I'm so excited. :)

I'm also very nervous...the most nervous I've been since Pumpkin's odyssey began 2.5 weeks ago. I feel like I might puke...or cry...or both.

Today, they (meaning Pumpkin, my parents, and my nieces & nephews) have to travel by car 2.5 hours to San Antonio to catch their flight to Denver. My sister and brother-in-law are driving them to S.A. in 2 separate cars in order to accommodate everyone, and they'll continue from there on to Dallas to take their goddaughter back home. (She spent part of the summer with them.) Obviously, with so much traveling and so many people involved in this trip, anything could go wrong. I pray that nothing does. In fact, I'd greatly appreciate it if y'all would pray along with me for safe travels for my family and my boy.

******Six Hours Later******

Reunited and it feels so good!

The day after the family's arrival, I took the kids to the Zoo while my parents stayed home with Giggles. I meant for them to get a break, but as it turned out, Giggles apparently refused to nap. Still, on her own, she's infinitely easier to deal with than dealing with 6 grandkids at the same time so it wasn't a complete waste. At least, they said they enjoyed their afternoon at home. Maybe they were just trying to make me feel better....Nah!!!

We Start 'Em Young

I'm referring, of course, to their (our) indoctrination into all things Texas. Texas flags, Texas cookbooks, Texas mugs, Texas keychains, Texas maps, U of Texas, etc etc etc. I mean, what other state can boast a state-shaped waffle maker?!!! Oh, ok, you got me there. If you had a rectangular waffle-maker, I suppose you could technically say it was a Colorado-shaped waffle maker. Hmph.

Anyway, these pics were taken during our trip to Houston. Our vacation within a vacation. At Buc-ees to be exact. This summer, we went to Houston because we wanted to take Pumpkin to Space Center and also to ride the new and improved train at Hermann Park . He loved both activities! We also spent some time at the hotel pool and putting green and having fun with friends and family.

Crazy Girly

The big news is that Giggles stood up unaided this past Friday. She stood twice and only lasted 2-3 seconds upright each time, but she did it! So far, she hasn't shown any inclination to do it again, but now we know for sure that it's coming.

Then, earlier today, the 3 of us (sniffle--there should be 4)...anyway, the 3 of us were playing in the living room, and she crawled off after Sunshine. I stayed in the living room, and I could hear her nearby. Next thing I knew, she was on the stairs! She ended up climbing the stairs all the way to the top! I was right behind her the entire way, but she didn't need my help. She didn't stumble or falter or anything. Just climbed on up like she'd been doing it her whole life. (all 10 months of it ;)

No telling what's coming next with this crazy kid! I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, enjoy this short video of Giggles playing with Sunshine.

Another Birthday, Nintendo DS, and Water Fun

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Alyssa Bday Slideshow

For Lys' birthday this year, we enjoyed a Mexican Fiesta! Since some of us weren't aware of the party theme until the day of (A-hem!), we weren't able to acquire a decent Mexican blouse to wear to the party. But there were some who did. And, my sister Chela was kind enough to get a blouse for Giggles too though Pumpkin had to make-do with wearing a "Backseat Driver" shirt, which we thought was still appropriate for the birthday theme, hehe. (just kidding!)

The following pictures are from the party and also from the subsequent family carne asada held every Sunday at my parents' house. After the carnuk, the girls put on a thrilling "show" which we all watched with bated breath (as evidenced in the pictures). Giggles spent quality time with her Grandpa and her cousins (notably Ron the punk). Happy days!

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114 Hours

I fear my son is having a harder and harder time being apart from us as his "vacation" stretches on. He's been exceptionally whiny and/or cranky the last few times I've talked to him on the phone. Earlier this evening, his (paternal) grandfather went to pick him up to take him out for pizza, but according to my mom, Pumpkin burst out crying and saying that he didn't want to go!

I guess, in a way, I understand...I think. He's probably exhausted and feeling all out of sorts by now. My mom tells me that he's become a "chicle" and barely lets her out of his sight anymore. Compare his current behavior to that of his first week in Texas without us, and there's a marked difference. I feel so bad for him that I almost started to look up last-minute airfare to go get him, but I held back. The cost of booking a flight all the way home is prohibitive under most circumstances but especially so at the last minute, and I'd need to buy 2 tickets. Not to mention, the ticket he has for his trip from San Antonio to Denver next week would pretty much go to waste once you factor in rebooking fees. So no go. He and I will both have to make do without each other for a while longer. 114 hours to be exact. Hang on, baby. :(

216 Hours and Counting!

Goodness, how time flies! We've been back from Texas about a week and a half, and I still feel slightly exhausted. Of course, this may be because I went to sleep so late last night, and Giggles woke so early this morning so perhaps I can't blame today's exhaustion on our marathon trip.

I meant to post pics from our trip as soon as we returned, but it turns out, I haven't updated this blog since before we left so I'm going to remedy that first and work my way to our trip. Warning: these go back a bit so please be patient. BTW, I also (finally) posted pictures from our Memorial Day ride on the Rio Grande Scenic Train so check those out too when you get a chance. Ok, here's May 2009:

1. Pumpkin's last week of school was one party after another. In the 1st picture, Pumpkin appears to be discussing water slide physics with his friend Reese (y'know, acceleration, displacement, velocity ;). In the next picture, he's preparing cards and end-of-year gifts for his teachers and classmates, and in the final picture, he's playing with BFF Amira at Westlands Park. Happy times!











BTW, if you're wondering about the title of this post, it refers to the number of hours before Pumpkin returns from Texas! He was having so much fun with his cousins that he elected to stay behind when we returned. Lest you think we simply left him there without a thought, my parents were already planning a visit up here at the end of July so he'll be flying up with them.



2. Giggles: With Daddy and having a bath prior to our Texas trip.

Percy Jackson and The Olympians

I just wanted to tell y'all about a fun book series I read during my sojourn in Texas. It's called Percy Jackson and the Olypians. The first book is The Lightning Thief, a rip-roaring ride, which I hear is to be made into a movie soon.

Incidentally, I'm feeling half & half about that. The only movie I've ever seen that mirrored its print version and didn't ruin it for its readers was The Princess Bride, a movie I still love to this day! The Harry Potter movies were also pretty good at keeping in tune with the books, but for obvious reasons, the studios had to cut out a lot of the book details in the movie versions so....half & half. All other movies that started as books that I've ever seen didn't go nearly as well. I guess we'll see.

Anyway, if you're looking for something fun to do this summer, pick up The Lightning Thief and read it! I promise you won't regret it. And, if you're not a "reader," don't worry. This series is written for grades 5-9. I'm sure you can handle it. ;)

Heat Wave

This was not a good day for a power outage, but that's what happened. Heck, it was probably due to this heat anyway.

It took the utility company about 4 hours to restore power. Consequently, we spent the afternoon at my sister's. It was a tiring day.