One of those traveling parking-lot-type carnivals came to town last week and Sam thought it would be fun to take Ollie. Oliver was in heaven running from one end of the park to the other, he wanted to ride everything but unfortunately he was only tall enough for a few of the attractions. Sam even insisted on giving Ollie his first taste of cotton candy - of course, who wouldn't enjoy a snack whose only ingredient is sugar? Sam thought that the only thing missing was my mom, he likes to listen to her blood curdling screams on all of the rides that go to fast or spin you upside-down. My only complaint would be the ride operators, I am convinced that they were all ex-convicts. Sam says he thinks it was some kind of rehabilitation program. Couldn't they rehabilitate them on a potato farm somewhere, they certainly didn't give a very friendly face to the carnival.

Parade

Colorado Springs didn't have a parade for the Fourth of July, but they had one a few days later to kick off their rodeo days. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed because no one was throwing frootsies (the fruit flavored tootsie rolls). That is the only reason I go to parades, those candies are my favorite and it is the only time of year I ever see them. Other than the lack of candy I would have to say the parade was pretty fun. It was mostly all horses and so Oliver thought it was absolutely spectacular.

Disasters and Cleanups

Pregnancy brain is nothing to joke about. I swear, I can't remember anything these days and I feel like such a klutz. I am blonde to begin with, so when you add pregnancy into the equation I become a force to be reckoned with. There was one week this summer that was a real doosey. First, I ran over a sprinkler head and crushed it to pieces. Then, I was filling up the kitchen sink when I heard Oliver yelling in the backyard. I went out to help him and got distracted, for about an hour. I went back in only to discover that my kitchen now resembled Niagra Falls. I totally flooded our basement as well. Fortunately there was no permanent damage done. I am very lucky that my husband never gets mad, he just laughs at me. Oliver didn't mind either since he got to splash all around in the kitchen and help dad replace the sprinkler. I'm sure he can't wait for my next big blunder

Fourth of July

We got to have house guests for the Fourth of July and it was sooooo much fun. My whole family drove out to spend the weekend with us. Their whirlwind stay included rock climbing at the Garden of the Gods, swimming, a trip to the top of Pikes Peak, some good barbecue and a whole lot of fun.


Oliver pointing to his daddy on the side of the rock.


Sam, making his ascent.

Oliver decided to do some rock climbing of his own.

He had no trouble keeping himself entertained at the base of the cliff.

How impressed are you that I summited a "fourteener" (a 14,000+ foot mountain) at seven months pregnant?


Does it count if I rode a train to the top?

We had planned to go and see the fireworks at the Airforce Academy, but there was a huge downpour and we figured they were most likely canceled so we came home and lit off a few of our own, courtesy of grandpa and the Wyoming Indian Reservations. Oliver wasn't a huge fan of the bottle rockets but he couldn't get enough of what he now calls "hot-pops." (The little white firecrackers you throw at the ground.) All-in-all it was an awesome 4th.

Enough Said

Today was our last day of swimming lessons. The final remark from Oliver's instructor was, "wow, he's a handful." That pretty much sums it up!