Quick fall recap :)

Connor is in Cub Scouts and their big fundraiser is selling popcorn. Thanks to all who ordered! Connor sold the most of his entire pack!! As you probably already know, Connor is super outgoing so selling door to door is easy for him. He's not afraid to talk to anyone! He quickly learned that if someone looked like they were going to say no or said they didn't like popcorn that there were alternatives like sending popcorn to the troops or ordering pretzels. :) He won a marshmallow crossbow for his efforts and is supposed to attend a party at some point too.


Our camera gets used the most during fall because I LOVE leaf pictures :) Don't be surprised if you see one as our Christmas card pic!

















I was done taking pictures but then Connor posed a few times in the tree telling me exactly when to take the photos and from what angle. He told me these are the shots he wants to keep and that Logan can't have them :)





The most important decision during October is, of course, what to wear for Halloween! Logan flipped through a costume catalog in September and decided that he wanted to be "a box man" AKA the UPS man. He was totally set on it so we went with it! Connor wanted to be a secret agent. He drew many pictures of how the costume should look - all black clothes with a hat and mustache with a white belt, a briefcase and special glasses. We did the best we could :)

Our crazy lives

Connor started first grade this year and we had heard that this transition could be difficult - more time spent learning and doing it all day 5 days a week. And it was true, of course, the first few weeks Connor came home and zoned out. He would just sit and stare at the wall he was so tired! So we didn't want him to be involved in too many activities outside school so his body and brain could adjust to this new level of work. We signed up for Cub Scouts which only meets 2, maybe 3, times a month so it seemed doable. He adjusted to the demands of first grade and in October we decided to add a gymnastics class - Trampoline and Tumbling - once a week. Connor is a really active, physical guy so it was a good way to get out some of the extra wiggles. Great.

Well then somehow we heard that the Longmont Theatre Company was going to put on A Christmas Story and that they needed boys to audition for several roles. Connor has always loved acting and, since it's a real community theater and he is just 6 years old, we figured the audition would be a good experience for him but that he'd never actually get a part. We had to put together a resume (did I mention he's 6?! ha!) and head shot. Then we went in for the audition. There were LOTS of kids and parents there. Connor was paired up with a second grade girl, Zoe, and given a short scene to read with her. He and I read through it once together, then he practiced with Zoe twice and it was time to read for the director. Once again, did I mentioned he's SIX?? :) He's right at first grade level for reading, still sounding lots of words out, etc so he's not exactly a fast, proficient reader and reading through something just 3 times before performing it seems crazy! He and Zoe had their turn with the director and unfortunately were far enough away from the parents that we couldn't hear what they were saying. I did see Connor point to Zoe's script when it appeared she lost her place. Funny! So they finished reading for him and talked to him for just a minute and we were done, sent on our way and they said they'd call to let us know if any callbacks were necessary - don't call us, we'll call you. :)

We went on about our lives. The very next day, though, the phone rang. You guessed it, he got a part!!! He was cast as Randy, Ralphie's little brother! In case you don't remember the movie (shame on you!), Randy is the little boy who doesn't want to eat anything - his mom struggles to get him to eat by calling him her little piggy and he oinks. Then every time they walk to school Randy is so bundled up that he can't put his arms down and always has to "go wee-wee." He likes to hide behind the couch and under the sink.

Anyway, we were shocked! Performing in this show would mean rehearsals FOUR times a week - a total of about 13 HOURS EACH WEEK! And NINE performances! NINE! I'm not sure what we were thinking, aside from the fact that Connor was SUPER excited and that he loves acting, but we agreed to it.

So our lives have been nothing short of crazy since then - school, rehearsals, Cub Scouts, gymnastics, oh and some eating, sleeping and playing in there somewhere. Did I mention Logan is playing soccer which means practice once a week and a game every Saturday? And that he changed preschools in October? And that I'm co-room mom for Connor's class so I helped plan the Halloween party and collect money to pay for the 2 class parties and teacher gifts? And that I still work "part-time"?? ACK! ;)

Crazy, yes, but also lots of fun :)

Would you like to see Connor perform in A Christmas Story in December? Opening night is his 7th birthday! You can order tickets online here.

Facebook killed my blog posting mojo

Yep, Facebook killed my desire to compose blog entries. It's just so much faster to post a picture and a one line explanation of what I'm doing at any moment of the day.

So, if you're not already Facebook friends with me, WHY NOT? Everyone is doing it. You know you want to. :) Here's my profile. Joining is free. Yes, I should update the blog. It's a goal but it's far down on the list. So while you're waiting for me to find some blogging mojo, you can find me on Facebook. :) Just remember that if you choose not to be my Facebook friend you're missing little gems like this:

Nikki Marchman Dean Logan: Mommy, you're a queen! Me: Aww, thanks Logan. Logan: And I'm King Soopers! :)
August 19 at 8:59am

See? Pure awesomeness that you can't live without. :)

Logan

Love love love this picture of Logan I took with my phone today...




Connor has only 7 1/2 days left of kindergarten. :( and :) all at once...guess that would be :S haha

Well Hello :)

Just sharing some pictures...don't expect too many details! :) LOL

Before the Blue Mountain Talent Show


Easter Eggs!


During Spring Break Jeremy took Connor to a Nuggets game. He LOVED it!


Also during Spring Break we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Here are the boys eating lunch :)


At this very moment I can't remember where this picture was taken...haha


We went to an Earth Day event at NCAR in Boulder. Even though it was super cloudy the views are always amazing!


Logan's class celebrated his summer birthday early and he insisted I take a picture of his birthday crown.


Jeremy, the boys, Grandpa Mark and the Gomez boys went to a Rockies game in April. Fun!


Connor starred as Noodler, the pirate whose hands are fixed on backwards, in Peter Pan. He was an awesome pirate and did a fantastic job! Here he is with his friend Noah and then showing his "backwards" hands :)


Snow in late April...


Connor's teacher, Mrs. Rabenhorst, opening the container Connor and his partner Zach put together for the egg drop. Their egg didn't break!


Connor reading his report on Tarantulas


Kindergarten Field Trip to Sunflower Farms (that's corn falling out of his shoes)






Mother's Day at Lake McIntosh here in Longmont

YouTube

We have a YouTube channel :) You should check it out because we've uploaded a few videos lately - one from New Year's, a couple of Logan singing and one of the boys at Rope World! Click on the link to view them!

Pre-Christmas Activities

Think I can finish posting about 2009 while it is still 2009? Doubtful, you're right :)

Way back on the 12th we went to Santa's Workshop which is conveniently located right here in Longmont one night each December :) On our walk to the building the boys made snow angels!




Logan was very comfortable talking to Santa. He could have stayed there all night! He asked for a baby doll :)


Connor politely asked if he could see if Santa's beard was real. Santa agreed and Connor gently pulled. The crowd laughed!


Santa's workshop included lots of stations for the kids to make small crafts like a beaded candy cane or reindeer ears to wear on their heads or a small bag of oats and glitter to sprinkle in our yard for the reindeer on Christmas Eve. One of the stations allowed the kids to write their wish lists on postcards for Santa. Here is Connor's!


The next night was Longmont's Holiday Parade and fireworks show. Here are the boys waiting for the floats to arrive on Main Street.


Jeremy and I decided to take a picture of ourselves. After taking the one on the left we looked at the preview on the camera and thought our eyes looked squinty (yeah, I'm making it a word!) so we decided to take another with our eyes wide open :) It makes me laugh just thinking about it!


Logan had a nice little Christmas program with his 3 year old preschool class. The Christmas story lasted all of 30 seconds but Logan was the star! No, not baby Jesus, the real star - the North Star :) He had a construction paper star hat and everything. haha! They also sang happy birthday to Jesus and Feliz Navidad. Here he is with his great teacher, Mrs. Henry!


Connor's school had pajama day on the last day before Christmas break. Here he is in Spiderman gear from head to toe :) Yes, the pants are too short but at least they're not falling down! Do you know how hard it is to find pjs with real drawstrings in boys sizes? Yes, I know I could shorten the elastic myself but I don't for some reason. I bought him a larger size for Christmas and he has to hold them up when he walks! :)

Fiddle the Elf was a huge hit in our home this year. He spends eleven months of the year at the North Pole so we were all sad to see him gone on Christmas morning. Here are a couple of places he chose to hang out after his nightly trips to report back to Santa...
As soon as we decorated for Christmas he found the nearest Santa to hug


He also liked the Advent Calendar

Connor's birthday

It's hard to believe that 6 years ago December 9th our lives changed forever with the birth of our first son, Connor! I am amazed every day at the things he can do and how fast he is learning and growing. Oh I how I wish time could slow down! :)

Connor decided on a Mad Science birthday party this year, having attended two Mad Science summer camps last summer. He had 5 friends from his class and they all seemed to have fun doing science experiments and eating cake :)
Logan trying to use a magnifying glass to look at his fingerprints :)


One of the science experiments the Mad Science guy showed - did you know acetone "melts" styrofoam? Think about that the next time you get your nails done :)


The science themed birthday cake (no, I didn't make this! I like to bake but have no decorating talent)


Being silly posing for photos after all the fun





On his actual birthday we had dinner with Grandma Sue and Papa at Connor's favorite restaurant - Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Connor announced to the staff that it was his birthday and got a free dinner! Then we went to his favorite ice cream place, Glacier, to enjoy some ice cream.

I read back through the posts I did when he turned three, four, and five and they made me cry! So many happy memories in that time :) I miss the "little boy" stuff but the "big boy" stuff is pretty great too. An update to a few things from those posts - "Boy" is still around though Logan talks about him a bit more than Connor these days. Connor still naps a couple days a week which will obviously have to change by the time first grade rolls around! He has always liked school but this year he LOVES it. He is in AM kindergarten but we signed him up to stay in the afternoons for kindergarten enrichment two days a week at the beginning of the year and he's talked us into three afternoons now. If he could, he'd stay every day - weekends too! :) He adores his teachers. I'm lucky enough to be able to volunteer in his classroom every Monday which he loves, of course, and I do too! He loves doing his homework and even asked if they could keep their homework binders over Christmas break since he missed it so much over Thanksgiving break.

He still believes in Santa and Fiddle the Elf has been a big influence this month :) He's totally into the story! Oh, he lost two teeth this year which he handled wonderfully - mom not so much! I'm usually ok with small amounts of blood but for some reason a wiggly tooth sends a chill down my spine! And, of course, he had to lose the first one when Jeremy wasn't there!

He still thinks he's going to marry Rhyann and they're going to have dozens of kids. He says his best friends are Noah, Tyler, JJ, Morgan and Anna. He still enjoys being the center of attention and is so confident and self-assured that it's crazy! He did a dance in front of his whole class on his birthday with no hesitation!

Ok I'll stop now but just wanted to give you a little snapshot at our amazing six year old!

Quickies

Just a few things I don't want to forget to record somewhere...

Last night we went to Santa's Workshop here in Longmont and as we were walking through the frigid weather to get back to our car Logan said "I'm HUNGRY!" I knew we were on our way home to eat dinner so I just said "Oh?" He said "Yeah, I'm hungry for CHOCOLATE!"

We love the new Disney Christmas special that was on ABC last week (and will be on again soon - the 16th I think?) called Prep & Landing. Connor and I have picked up the funny phrases the elves use on there - "This is so TINSEL!" when something is great and "Oh Frostbite!" when something is bad :)

Speaking of frostbite, it has been so incredibly cold this last week or so but that, of course, doesn't keep the boys from wanting to play outside. As I was trying to explain why we couldn't go out to the school bus stop 20 minutes before it was scheduled to be there, I told Connor that we didn't want to get frostbite. When we did finally go out there, he took his gloves off and said "Mom! I don't have any frost bites yet!" Haha! He thought frost bites were like mosquito bites :) Appropriately, the high temperature in Longmont on Wednesday (Connor's birthday) was 6 degrees. The temp matched his age! The low was -17...brrrrrr!

I shoveled our driveway one afternoon after picking Logan up from preschool and he "helped" for a bit but then got cold. I told him he could go in the house and take off his coat, boots, gloves, hat, etc and that I'd be in in just a minute. He went in and moments later opened the door (with only the coat and gloves off) and yelled out to me "I was hungry so I got my own snack. You took too long!" :) Luckily it was just graham crackers and kix cereal!

It just occurred to me that two of these are about Logan saying how hungry he is - we really do feed the kid! He also likes to announce when he's sleepy and will go and lay down in his bed by himself, surrounded by his many stuffed animals and with his thumb in his mouth. :)