Welcome Back Colorado Boys - Days 3 & 4

Day 3 and we have a plan.  I think.  The morning is spent just hanging out and then we walked down to the highway to catch a bus to the mall.

Cars 3 is on the agenda and I have to tell you -- I think it's my favorite of thee Cars movies.  Way to go Cruise.

After the movie, a quick stop at the LEGO store provides some fun and kills time all at once.

There is a building display if you wish to participate and Raef enters his creation.

It's back home again and we manage to catch the On Demand bus so are delivered right to the house.  Woohoo!

Grandpa arrives home shortly after  and we all sit down for the wonderful pot roast dinner that I put in the oven this morning.  After that, it's a trip to JoAnn's for some pj pant fabric without Grandpa.  His is laxin'.

I love the colors they all pick out and we soon have enough to not only make pajama pants, but some tops as well.  There may even be enough leftover for some other unknown project - time will tell.

With our purchases in the car, a stop at TCBY makes sense and I have to admit -- it is oh so yummy.

Upon our return home, I relinquish custody of the three of them while Grandpa gets his turn.  They need some time with him too.  That's it -- this day is a wrap.

Day 4 --- Amanda calls today and has rescheduled the boys departure date.  They were supposed to leave on the 3rd, but now it is much later.  Score for us.  More time together.  Let's get this day started.  First up - cutting out the pajama tops.  Since we only bought one pattern, Raef goes first with the largest sizes.   He has chosen a tie dye flannel pants and pink/purple knit top to go with it. The pink is a super slinky soft knit -- should be interesting for him to sew with.

Ryan is next so we cut down the pattern a bit.  He has selected a blue/green leaf pattern flannel for the pants and blue and green knits for the top.

Last, Caleb's blue shark flannel and blue/black knits get cut out.  Yep, it's me doing all the work this go round but I make him stay right with me the whole time.

That means that this is OH SO BORING and he starts playing with my pins.  Before long, he has managed to get one of the pins to stand on it's own and he is elated.  Meanwhile, I cut away.

A storm starts brewing and soon the boys are outside enjoying it.  This is what they have been waiting for.  It's a good storm and frankly, I have never seen the wind and rain like this before.  It's kind of crazy.

It is not messing around and within no time, the gutters are full and water is flowing like crazy.  Enjoy these pics and the video -- I nkow the boys sure did.

Raef lost his pants as the water was flowing so fast.

Okay, enough.  In they come and into the shower.  Once everyone is dry and clean again, we settle in to watch Pirates of the Caribbean,  Midway through it, the power goes out and we finish on battery backup.  Crazy.  Now for dinner.  At least when the power goes out, we still have the gas stove so I make salmon and rice by flashlight.  Yes, there is a veggie too.  It's yummy and we even do the dishes by candlelight.  Now what to do with the boys since we don't have any power?  Let's go check out the dam as the storm has stopped and I bet it's flowing like crazy.  The birds are EVERYWHERE, looking for a place to roost as well as to  pick the fish that are along the edges of the dam.  It's a regular smorgasbord.

Lookie, lookie at these birds.  What a treat to spot them.

As we go along, the boys climb and check things out in addition to some skateboarding by Ryan.

The water is roaring by and again, we are amazed at it's power.

I could stand here for hours watching, but three boys are just not as into it as I am.  We have to keep moving.

The sun is starting to go down as we are here and I LOVE the shapes that are appearing in the clouds.

Do you ever play that game?  You know -- find the shapes in the clouds.  I get the boys to play along and it's amazing how we can look at the same clouds and see entirely different things.

What do YOU see?

Caleb is always a step ahead of everyone (or ten steps behind) so my eyes have to follow him always.  He wears these crocs and jumps off everything, giving my heart a bounce constantly.

The sun is almost set and know I see and eagle taking flight in the clouds.  How about you?

Walking back towards the car, I bypass it to cross the bridge and head to the other side of the dam.  Let's see the view from over here as well.

The lake wall is just right here and in no time it makes a great "thoughtful place" for two of the boys.

Ryan and Grandpa walk towards the dam to check it out while the other two enjoy their time on the wall.

Well, what do you think the odds are that we have power yet?

One last stop at the convenience store across the street.  Popsicles all around.  Mister looks at me like I'm completely crazy but the boys think I rock.  Who is right?

Upon our return home -- still no power.  Oh well, bed time.  We have power back around 11:15 and Raef is still awake so I visit with him a bit and then we both go back to bed.  See ya'll tomorrow.