Monday it was back to normal for the most part. After school was Gideon’s first Cub Scouts meeting. He seemed to enjoy it and there’s a good chance this will be good for him. We got home while Cecilia was finishing her show, Paw Patrol of course. No stories for either of them as the show was started late and ended late.

Tuesday Gideon had some trouble getting up. Hopefully this isn’t a sign and was an isolated incident. I worked from home to attend a “virtual conference.” I’ve watched/participated in many webinars, and this essentially was a full day of webinars instead of a full day of presentations in a hotel conference room. They even had them available for replay immediately after the presentation which allowed me to still attend my job meetings and just play the missed sessions after for a slightly longer than normal work day, watching webinars instead of driving. After the kids swim lessons Gideon picked Shimmer and Shine for a bedtime show.
I read him a shark book he got from the library while Cecilia had another princess story for me to read.

Wednesday I hurried out of the house giving a goodbye to the kids as their alarms started going off. This is pretty normal for Wednesday due to a weekly early morning meeting. I made it home for dinner and we managed to eat and get cleaned up fast enough that the kids and I went to the park. Heather had already left for a PTO meeting. After the park Cecilia picked Paw Patrol.
Gideon had me read the other one of his shark books while Cecilia continued working through her Princess Stories.

Thursday started a little more relaxed. The kids both got downstairs before I was ready to head out the door. I got home before they were back from swimming by just a little bit. They had apparently had a rough drive home, so the evening was a little tainted by that. Cecilia dragged her feet through the evening, making her shower after dinner instead of before it. Gideon picked Teen Titans Go and Cecilia only made it down for the very end.
Cecilia wanted a story from her princess book again from me. Gideon was done with his library books, but I’m not sure what we read instead.

Friday the kids ended the day very tired. I got home and they were already really tired. We watched some America’s Got Talent while we ate dinner, but they were too tired to finish the episode. Their bedtime show was a Paw Patrol that Cecilia picked. She had me read her the Red White and Blue book she got from the author that visited her class earlier in the week. Gideon read me Pizza Party.

Saturday we had house cleaning day. That went about as well as you’d expect with a kindergartner and a 1st grader. By bedtime the whole house was basically done, including the kids rooms. We didn’t do much else for the day though due to the time it took for the cleaning to happen. We did watch some America’s Got Talent during dinner before Gideon picked a show. I’m not sure what it was though. Gideon had us both reading Encyclopedia Brown stories. Cecilia had us read her new library book, the Gingerbread Baby.

Sunday we went to the park in the morning. The afternoon saw a bit of quiet time and a bit of “mom and dad time.” Basically, each child got to be with us one on one for about 20 minutes and got to choose what they wanted to do, for the most part. We also chatted with Grandma and Grandpa Nelson on Skype.Cecilia picked Paw Patrol. Gideon continued his stories from the night before and Cecilia cycled back to the Red White and Blue book.

Monday was a holiday here in the states. After such a late night Sunday we all slept in a little. It turned out to be a quiet day at home for the most part. Heather and Cecilia went to the store for some groceries and we watched some more America’s Got Talent. I think we’ll finish this season before the next one starts. After that Cecilia picked Paw Patrol for an early night-time show.
Gideon had me finish his F-117/A book. Cecilia continued her 5 minute princess stories.

Tuesday it was back to work. I was home before the kids were back from swimming. We had a dinner and a bit of a rough night getting God time, show, and stories. That show was Shimmer & Shine which was new as of this fall.
Gideon had snake books from the school library this time, so I doubt Heather read any of those to him. Cecilia continued with the princess stories. After bedtime routines were done and while I was typing this Gideon moved all his animals to his sleeping bag so he could save them if there was a fire.

Wednesday I got home right as the kids were heading out to the park with Heather. Unfortunately they were coming back right as I was ready to head out and join them. After dinner and Cecilia picking Paw Patrol they got stories.
They had to go to our room for the ones from Heather as she got hit by a really bad headache over dinner. I read Gideon some more out of his snake book and continued the princess stories with Cecilia.

Thursday started with me apparently not getting my lips wet enough before giving Cecilia a goodbye kiss. None of us are sure where she got this idea that people needed really wet lips before kissing her. I got home a little early, but used the extra time to get logged in to work and catch up on the day while the kids went to Swim lessons. They got back right as I finished. After dinner together Gideon picked a couple of Teen Titans Go episodes after which we continued the same stories we’ve had all week.

Friday morning I got a bit of a slow start. I didn’t hurry out either as the kids were going straight to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s after school. They were getting the weekend there and Heather and I were getting the weekend here. I know the kids brought their school library books to the grandparents place.

Saturday the kids went for a hike. So did Heather and I, but not the same one. We also went to a murder mystery dinner on The Royal Gorge, the kids did not.

Sunday Cecilia had a birthday party that was low enough on responses Gideon was invited to join. (The reserved location was for “up to” a number of kids.) It was after the party we met back up with the kids. They were happy to be home and see us. We ended the weekend with a pizza dinner. Cecilia decided to watch Paw Patrol. I read Encyclopedia Brown to Gideon, but I don’t remember what I read Cecilia.

Monday I was late getting home from work. We had interviews and the discussion after went a little long as the choice was a very difficult one. It was one of those times where I really didn’t mind not being in charge. The night kind of flew by with dinner as soon as I got home, shows as soon as I was done helping to clean up, and then stories. Gideon picked some show that I didn’t recognize. It’s good to see him trying new things out. I don’t remember what we read, but don’t think we read any of the school library books.

Tuesday Cecilia asked me in the morning to come home earlier. I did. I got out on time and the drive home wasn’t horrible, just bad. I think it’s going to stay bad until next summer or so when the two main construction projects along my route are scheduled to finish. Cecilia said my getting home time was perfect. Gideon helped Heather make dinner by cutting the tomatoes. After dinner Heather left for the equivalent of MoPs but for moms with school-agers. Cecilia had a bit of a rough go, but after a little bit and some playing with Gideon and I in her room she was fine. She picked Paw Patrol. I read them a book about helicopters from Gideon’s library collection for the week and The Gingerbread Girl from Cecilia’s room.

Wednesday I spent most of the workday at Denver International Airport. While I’ve been to DIA many times in the past it’s always been as a casual traveler. This time it was business, and not business travel. While it was a great learning experience for what we have going on there and how it’s working out it did result in me getting home very late. The kids got to have a special pizza and movie night. Partially to help raise money for their school and partially to help keep Heather’s stress level down. I got home before the movie ended and the kids got stories from us both. Gideon returned to the Encyclopedia Brown books while Cecilia had The Gingerbread Girl and Jeremy’s Muffler.

Thursday I got home at a decent time, but the kids had started to have a rough afternoon. Gideon woke up in the middle of the previous night with a bad dream, so I understood him being tired. Cecilia I’m not sure about though. I started reading Gideon a book about stealth fighters. Cecilia ended up not getting a story from me due to having a rough night.

Friday was Doughnuts With Dads at the kids school. I went to work late after heading up with the kids to enjoy a doughnut together and check out their classrooms. It was also a short day for me at work. Cecilia’s birthday too. And our anniversary. Gideon still had to get Cecilia a birthday present, so I brought him to the store immediately after school. It was PJ and Snuggly day for him, so he was in jammies but didn’t care. Heather’s parents had come up to have lunch with Cecilia and they stuck around for her birthday dinner too. Cecilia eventually picked Red Robin, but wanted a play place. We decided to get our food to go and went to a park we hadn’t visited before. Cecilia loved her kick scooter, she’d been asking for one for weeks. After Cecilia picked Paw Patrol I read her new library book to her while I read Gideon a chapter from a book on stealth fighters he had from school.

Saturday Cecilia had a birthday party. There were only two kids from her class that managed to make it out of 8 invited. Considering how new to the area we are we didn’t feel that was too bad. The day started with Home Depot’s first Saturday. We exchanged one of Cecilia’s presents at Walmart which I forgot to test at the store after Gideon picked it out. While there Gideon spent some of his money to get a scooter like the one that Cecilia had gotten for her birthday. After lunch was the party at which the kids all had a good time. Following church we watched a little America’s Got Talent (about 15 episodes behind) while eating and finally had stories before a late bedtime.
Gideon wanted to take a break from the library book about Stealth with me and instead had me read a couple pages from his Big Book of Airplanes after Heather read him Encyclopedia Brown. We both read to Cecilia from her new 5 minute Princess Stories book.

Sunday Cecilia spent most of the morning asking if it was time for the tea party yet. Heather’s aunt put one on as a small celebration of three birthdays all at about the same time. Cecilia loved it and Gideon and I hung out at home some. We were waiting for a delivery so couldn’t go anywhere unfortunately. When the girls got home we immediately set out for Colorado Springs to enjoy a bit of the evening activities for the Colorado Springs Labor Day Liftoff. This of course meant no shows and no stories, though Cecilia managed to get one out of Heather due to the energy gained by her nap on the way home.

Monday was relatively normal. We did have to make a trip to get the Mini after it returned for follow-on service. The people at Castle Rock Imports did good though. The issue that was apparently fixed originally returned immediately, and they fixed it up the second time at no cost. That might seem like a no-brainer, but I’ve found it can be kind of rare in some industries. Cecilia picked Paw Patrol for a nighttime show after a little bit of a late dinner.
I read There’s No Place Like Space to Gideon and Cecilia had me read her Olivia the Princess again.

Tuesday started with Gideon warning me to make sure I left work as early as I could so I’d be home in time for an informational meeting about Cub Scouts at the nearby church. I did make it home and Gideon was excited to go. While there he mostly played on an indoor play structure. We talked about whether he wanted to try it out or not, and after consideration he decided he wanted to. He did go back and forth on the decision a couple of times. Cecilia went to her Kindergarten open house night with Heather and was home in time to watch a show and get stories. Gideon had to skip a show though.
I read Cecilia the Wonderful House from the Golden Book Collection in her room. Gideon got a few pages from the Star Wars book he borrowed from the library after Heather read him the Helicopter one he borrowed.

Wednesday could have been better, or worse really. I had a tire blow out as I was just getting to work. It likely suffered from a slow leak and just lost enough air for the seal to go around the time I took the off-ramp to work. On the bright side the building I work in is right next to the highway, just have to cross under it. Even better, there is a tire shop between the exit ramp and the office, so I was able to limp the car in instead of having other issues. Of course, there is the whole tire bit to deal with throwing a wrench into anything else happening that night.

11/1/2015 – So, apparently the tire thing threw me off enough I didn’t get anything written the next three days and just noted that we visited the Colorado State Fair on the fourth one. I hope I got better the following week.

Thursday…

Friday…

Saturday…

Sunday We spent the day at the Colorado State Fair.

Monday Gideon picked Tree Fu Tom. I read Even More PArts to both of the kids as Gideon’s books went back to the library the next day, and Heather read them both Otis & Sydney and the Best Birthday Ever.

Tuesday Cecilia and Gideon got two shows instead of a show and story due to a meeting Heather and I had which ran late. They watched them up on our bed and we did actually each read them a story, but we made them share. They were Gideon’s new library books, but I don’t remember the titles.

Wednesday I had some off-site training for work that ran for almost 12 hours when all was said and done. As such I barely saw the kids. I hear they got two shows because Heather had an evening phone call though.

Thursday was training day two, but I got home much earlier. In fact, I was home in time to have dinner together on the deck. We then  took grandma and grandpa out for Ice Cream at Freddie’s. It was school spirit night and a percentage of proceeds went to the kid’s school. Of course, we got back so late there was no show. There was reading.
The kids had me read one of his library books, Monster Trucks or something like that. I’m not sure what they picked for Heather to read though. (They were on a shared story plan due to the late hour.)

Friday the kids were playing together in the basement when I got home, and didn’t want to join me in the garage to work on their bikes. I added water bottle holders to the handlebars. After our evening of not much for activities Gideon picked Miles From Tomorrowland.
At story time I read Gideon Olivia and Cecilia had both Heather and I read her Olivia the Princess, her library book from school this week.

CURRENT STATEMENT:

Apparently I didn’t get Saturday and Sunday added in this week. :^\

Monday I didn’t go with to drop the kids off at school. Since I was going to be starting a job sometime during the week Gideon decided we were practicing me not being there. I took the time to dig into the brakes on the Mini, which turned out not to need replacing. This was in line with what should have been since, as Heather pointed out, it hadn’t been long enough since the front ones had been done (right before leaving Elk River I believe) and the rear’s were done right before leaving Circle Pines. I looked into the rear’s and the driver rear hadn’t been clipped onto the piston properly, so that might have been the issue. I’ll check the passenger rear sometime when I have 45 minutes to get it done. The kids made the trip home between the rain showers that came through. Apparently it wasn’t a huge storm here, but where I was it was pretty bad. Hail and flooding. Three times on the drive to the highway water came in the floor due to how deep it was on the road. Heather and the kids got to hang out and play some games while I troubleshot the laptop. Gideon picked a new show, Tree Fu Tom.
Gideon had Heather read to him from his Kindergarten yearbook. I refused, so we ended up reading about Mercury and Venus from his First Book of Space.
I read Cecilia part of Dragon in the Backpack. We haven’t read it for a long time, but she had me pick up where we had left off, I think.

Tuesday I started work. I skipped Costco Monday due to severe weather and then got home at almost bedtime for the kids due to getting out late and having to stop at Costco today. Highlights of the first day include Cecilia telling me I looked good as I was finishing getting ready and getting a Surface Pro 3 as my work PC. Cecilia had a rough night and I picked Bubble Guppies since she wasn’t picking. That set her off for a bit, but eventually she calmed down for bed.
I’m not sure what the stories were. I was hungry and had a headache, but did read to them.

Wednesday we went to Heather’s grandparent’s house for dinner. That entailed Heather driving for 1.5 hours immediately after picking the kids up and getting there just in time and me driving for 1.5 hours after work and getting there fairly late. It was a goodbye dinner for Brittney as she is heading to Spain for her next round of overseas teaching this weekend.
The kids got no stories, and watched one of the Disney Fairy movies on the way home in the van.

Thursday I had a meeting get moved later and didn’t get home until 6:30 again. Heather and the kids visited a park and got rained on before having dinner without me. I met Heather at the school to get the kids and go home while she went into back to school night to learn about the year from Gideon’s teacher. The kids and I played a little before Gideon picked Tree Fu Tom for a show.
I read Fly Guy versus the Flyswatter to Gideon and The Pink Parade to Cecilia.

Friday the kids were struggling to get up and they were both in jammies and bed as I was leaving. They were supposed to be waking up, so I didn’t feel bad about waking them. When I got home we did some Bible time, ate dinner, and they watched Paw Patrol because Cecilia really likes it.
Gideon had us both read from his First Big Book of Space. For anyone keeping score Aunt Erin knows a little more than Uncle Jon about space because she worked with them in Texas.
Cecilia had me read her Zara Zebra and Heather got to read the library book from school. Something about DW and her room.

Saturday we cleaned the house in the morning and went to church in the afternoon. That’s really the extent of the day. We had pizza for dinner after the kids did a little playing in the yard. Gideon picked Blaze for a show.
Cecilia had a repeat of the previous night, but with me reading two Zara Zebra’s instead of one.
Gideon continued his First Big Book of Space.

Sunday we went to the an airshow at Rocky Mountain Regional Airport. Needless to say it was not an Airventure level event, but we all enjoyed it. In the future we think we need to figure out a shade solution if we are going to continue going to airshows. There’s precious little shade on airports near the runways for some reason… Cecilia picked Paw Patrol while trying to stay awake after baths/showers and some America’s Got Talent during dinner.
Gideon had us read to him from the Big Book of Space again.
Cecilia had me read Christmas Countdown with her.

Monday was the first day of school. For those trying to keep track that’s Monday August 3rd. Technically Cecilia’s first day is Tuesday, but she was in the explorer program all day. She had quite the breakdown on the way home resulting in extra excercise for me as I carried her home. She eventually calmed down and we chatted about what went wrong. We then surprised the kids with dinner out that G&G Reed, as well as Jon, showed up to. Heather had an evening phone meeting with Shanghai so Gideon picked Bedwetting and Accidents Aren’t You Fault and Cecilia picked If You Give a Pig a Pancake for before the show. Cecilia then picked Paw Patrol to watch. (Ret) I read The Pirate Fairy and one page from The Big Book of Airplanes for Cecilia and Gideon respectively.

Tuesday the walk to school was a little rougher. Gideon was having a difficult morning for some reason. The walk home went well though. We let the kids pick some one on one time with each of us before dinner and ended with Gideon wanting to start the nighttime show early. He picked Ninjago. He likely will until we make it through Season 5, which is the only full season available on demand right now. Also after a few days of careful thought and prayer Heather and I decided that I would accept a job offer. Assuming nothing odd happens in roughly 1-1.5 weeks I will be the Project Manager at the HSS corporate offices in Denver. I believe it’s technically Denver as well, not an inner ring suburb. It’s a little further (about ten minutes) north than I had hoped for, about ten minutes south of Downtown Denver proper. The opportunity is a good one though. I believe that I can do good things there, and that it will be worth the current commute in the long run.
I read both kids When Will It Be Spring. I think Heather read a page from the Big Book of Airplanes to Gideon and there were some of the Tonka Reader books brought over for Cecilia.

Wednesday went fairly well. The kids continue having small issues with the walk. We actually brought the bikes to pick them up. They enjoyed that a lot and instantly were planning to ride each and every time there and back. We went to the store after dinner. These trips aren’t as easy here as they were in Circle Pines for some reason. My initial thought is the time and distance, but they really aren’t that much off of what they were. We must still be getting used to the area and trying to settle in. Cecilia picked Mickey Mouse Playhouse in the car since we got out so late.
Cecilia had a breakdown and didn’t get stories. Gideon had me read him Caps For Sale. After that Heather read him something, but I’m not sure what.

Thursday we started the day with the first attempt at riding bikes to school. Gideon struggled some. Hopefully a couple of times next week is all he needs to be able to handle it. The way home was fine with no issues. Gideon picked Ninjago and both kids got their stories.

Friday I finally got the garage finished while Heather finished the main level. Well, actually after we tested the garage set-up we realized I needed to change it a bit, but in a minor way. This was after the bike ride to school, which went OK. I hope Gideon gets it figured out in time for Heather to be comfortable even with me not there. Cecilia picked Paw Patrol and both kids got two stories, though it was close for Gideon.

Saturday we went to a parade. The Douglas County Parade. We actually were able to drive close, walk a short bit, and get a decent spot. We didn’t get there to early for the kids, and they did a good job staying back for their age. Gideon picked Teen Titans Go.
Both kids got stories but I don’t remember what they were.

Sunday we went to the Douglas County Fair. It was a free admission day as well as a free pancake breakfast. I was surprised at how few people were there. Grandma and Grandpa Reed brought Uncle Jon by for the afternoon and the kids got to play some while Heather and her mom went shopping. Cecilia picked Paw Patrol for bedtime after a successful bath/dinner/America’s Got Talent trifecta. (You don’t want to know how far behind on AGT we are this year…)
Both kids got stories. I read Gideon one of the Encyclopedia Brown stories while Cecilia had me read her Bearenstien Bears Easter Parade.

While this post was already late last Tuesday night when I went to put it up, it was made later by the amount of missing stuff. I couldn’t leave it quite as empty as it was, so I filled in what I could remember.

Monday we prepped for a trip to the sand dunes. That included getting all of our bags packed for the trip and prepping food. Heather decided to take charge of meals this time around due to her mom having a lot going on. I’m sure there was a show and stories, but in the craziness of the day and evening I didn’t get them down.

Tues we drove to the dunes. In the past we have borrowed a pop-up trailer for the trip. Our van has been the tow vehicle of choice simply because it has no problems with most pop-ups and it’s still in good shape. This time around the people it was borrowed from sent the tow vehicle with it. We discovered the pop-up was more of a pop-out than a pop-up. As in, it was  travel trailer with ends that popped out with beds and no roof raising was needed. This would have proven too big for our van for what it’s worth. Of course the kids didn’t want to be on their own, Cecilia wanted to sleep with Mom and Gideon wanted to sleep with Dad. We’ve tried working around this a little in the past, but really probably need a camping trip that we specifically address this during to get past it.

Wednesday we spent at the dunes. The weather wasn’t bad, a little cooler than previous trips and some clouds meandered through a couple of times. It was a good day and the kids had a lot of fun.

Thursday we came back from the dunes. As is normal I helped break the camp down. I find that being one of the two or three doing that instead of going and playing with the kids can be one of the more calming parts of these trips. We stopped at an event at the park next to the school put on by the PTA, a kind of back-to-school party, on the way home. After that Cecilia picked Paw Patrol.
I read Gideon and Cecilia both stories, but I was too tired to remember what.

Friday Heather got a bunch of errands run while I caught up on the weeks email and such. The kids hung out at home after a morning of pretending to go to school. Basically they got up at the regular time they would need to, got ready, had breakfast, and walked to the building. (Cecilia made them late.) Gideon picked Lego Ninjago for a nighttime show.
I read Gideon Shark Attack and Cecilia Santa Duck. Heather had a massive headache and read to the kids in our room, but I’m not sure what she read Gideon before reading Cecilia If You Give a Cat a Cupcake.

Saturday we went to church in the evening. We watched Paw Patrol for Cecilia, but it was very late so we didn’t have stories after.

Sunday we did a family bike ride in the morning, and a park in the afternoon for a short bit. Gideon picked Ninjago again.
I read Cecilia If you give a Moose a Muffin after I read Gideon Santa Duck I think. I’m not sure what Heather read to the kids but she did get some chatting time with Gideon which doesn’t usually happen as much as she’d like.