2nd Grader!

And we officially have a second grader! I'm still not quite sure how. How did he turn 7 all of a sudden? Sometimes it feels like he was born yesterday. But then again, I can barely remember a life without him in it.

Tindra and I sure miss him today. The house is too quiet. Tindra walked around for a good hour this morning yelling "Jap bear?" And then turning to me to announce "Jap bears gone" Even though she walked him into his class room and kissed him good bye, twice. 

Now that school has started, I'm ready for some cool, crispy fall weather and to start getting into a routine again. This summer we didn't have much of one, and I crave routine, and I think my kiddos to also. So hopefully this means I can start playing catch up on the blog! And in my house and the rest of my life as well. 

Bring on fall! 

Madsen

Three months ago we bought THE most amazing bike of all bikes. The Madsen. Ever since we were living in Sweden (in 2009 when Jasper was one) I have been lusting after a cargo bike. There was a family at Jaspers daycare I would see with one. The mom (or dad, they took turns) would drop the kiddos off at day care, lock the bike up and then hope on the bus right outside. I thought it was brilliant. 

Fast forward a couple years and I start searching for cargo bikes here in the US. When I came across the Madsen I knew I had to have it. We have really enjoyed biking all over the city the past year but Tindra was almost out growing her bike seat, and Jasper isn't quite old enough to go on super long bike rides so we were limited to a couple miles one way.

Well not anymore! We have had the Madsen for over three months now, and I'm not exaggerating when I say its changed our lives for the better. Now we go on long family rides together on the weekends, to the farmers market, to brunch, to dinner, to parks and pools, really everywhere! And one of my favorite parts, now I can go on bike rides with both kiddos while Drew is at work. Before I was only comfortable going on rides if we had both adults so one could be in the front of Jasper and one behind him, but now I just put both kids in the Madsen and off we go to summer story time followed by  ice cream. A weekly favorite activity here!

I was a tiny bit nervous that it would be really difficult to ride with kids in it, but it only took a ride or two to get used to, now I feel like a pro! I'll be honest, hills are still sort of difficult with 70 lbs in the back, but lets be real, those hills are difficult for me even on my regular bike.  I get asked most about balance, and as long as the kids are sitting still in the back it's not an issue at all. Also, I have to take wide turns, theres no zooming in and out of traffic for me, but no way I would do that with my kids in the back anyway. 

Another great thing about Madsen as a company, customer service is phenomenal! We had issues getting the tire on, and the owner himself face timed with us and helped us figure out the problem. Amazing service right?

Thoughts and Prayers

Yesterday, which shall go down as one of the hardest days of my life, Tindra had bilateral strabismus repair. Which if you don't speak doctor means: double eye surgery to repair/move eye muscles. She's being a champ even though she has to be in quite a bit of pain. Seriously. She's amazing. As I spent the next few days cuddling her and making sure she doesn't touch her eyes (a difficult task since to her it feels like she has sand burning in her eyes) please pray that the surgery was 100% successful and that she doesn't get an infection. 

I'm so thankful for the wonderful care she got yesterday at Denver Children's Hospital, and even as she was going in for surgery I felt strangely grateful. Grateful this was her (and Jasper's) first time in a hospital other than for birth. Grateful for my healthy babies. Grateful for amazing doctors and nurses. Grateful for the technology available in 2014. Just grateful. 

4th Annual Mountain Getaway

Every year we go up to Grand Lake, CO with some friends of ours and go camping. We usually go in August, but between all of our travels and all of theirs as well, two weekends ago was the Only weekend that worked for the entire summer! The nice part we decided about going in July vs. later in August like previous years is that instead of the night temp being in the very low 30's it was in the mid 40's. Which seemed a lot warmer in theory, but turns out, 44 degrees is still pretty cold while sleeping in a tent! Regardless, our kids were all troopers and slept well. They also had a blast roasting marshmallows, playing in the creek, lake, and petting all the animals at the petting zoo at our camp site. Until next summer, Grand Lake! 

Yellowstone

We disappeared to Yellowstone for a few days (an 11 hr drive from us) to relax and spend some time with my dad and his cousins visiting from Sweden. It's so incredibly beautiful here! The days are hot and the nights are cool, and when a little afternoon thunderstorm rolls in and leaves a breathtaking rainbow it's not hard to imagine why my dad chose here.