A (Mostly) Relaxing Week

Mike presented at a conference in Denver this week, so this was Hallie’s first time to look after the kids alone. Fortunately, he was only gone a couple of days, and the kids seemed none the worse for wear. ;) She and Sara took the kiddos to Jungle Java, where Landon burned off some steam and Eliza practiced the basics of crawling. Five months and the girl is almost crawling. Then again, maybe we’re just imagining things, like when we thought she was teething. . . . Then again, see for yourselves:

Mike’s conference was held at The Curtis, a fun-themed boutique hotel in downtown Denver. The meeting rooms were named after childhood games (Peek-a-Boo, Hide & Seek, etc.), and everything about the hotel reflected a tongue-in-cheek attitude. Here’s a look at the men’s restroom:

see dick go. see jane run. lol!

A bunch of family and friends helped Sara and Jason install sod in their giant back yard. Landon totally got into the whole digging around in the dirt thing. By the time we left, he was filthy! We got started in the late afternoon, and we couldn’t stay for the whole time, but Sara told Hallie they finished at around midnight. This was the result as seen the following morning:

Look what Jason has to mow. Ha ha!

Hallie spent the night Friday participating in a sleep study while Mike looked after the kiddos. When she got home the next morning, we played in the backyard and otherwise had a quiet Saturday at home. Landon and Eliza played in the kiddie pool, and Dad did some gardening. The raspberries have come in (yum!), along with the morning glory (grr). Tomatoes are ripening, and the viney plants (squash or pumpkins?) are taking over the garden bed.

It's only a little cold

Reacting to Landon's prat falls into the water

Ooh, I'm not so sure about that water to the face. . . .

This is fun! 

This afternoon we watched Team USA play Team Japan in the Women’s World Cup. In spite of Japan’s Cinderella story, we wanted the American women to win. So many US opportunities in the first half, the great American score in the second half, and Japan’s tying goal late in the game had us on pins and needles. Womack's awesome header off of Morgan's cross in overtime was a thing of beauty! Then Sawa ties it up, again! No, not penalties! Landon had no clue why Dad was glued to the TV. Congrats to the Japanese women. You gotta give it to both teams for a tremendous effort and a great sports story. How do you say, "Do you believe in miracles?" in Japanese?