I forgot to add this to the bottom of yesterday's post.

Sam is two years old today.  We celebrated in two-year-old fashion yesterday.  More pictures on my flickr page if you want to see more. 

First, Frankenberry cereal (blech, that his dad bought; the kids loved it).
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Then early in the morning we had to get to Olde Town to participate in the Arvada Harvest Festival parade.  All Kindergarten kids and their family are invited to walk.  So we thought, why not make it special for Sam and take the bus?

Bus!  Bus!  City bus!  Fun!  Bus!

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A bit more walking, a lot of waiting, and we were part of a parade!

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Here's Jack talking with his teacher. 
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We stopped a block from the end of parade route to finish at the playground. 

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Then back to the car for shopping and lunch.  We bought a trike for Sam at Toys R Us and had pizza buffet. 

Cheetza!  Cheetza!  Cheetza!

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Before nap he had a minute to try out the trike. 

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After nap Amanda joined us for cake and presents.  It's just a Rice Krispies treat cake - since Sam only eats the frosting off cake anyway.  I figured the treats would be easier to form into a train.  It was a delight to the boys.

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Happy birthday little Sam!

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We had been planning a trip to Salt Lake City all year long.  I dreamed of dropping off the kids with grandparents, then spending time in the city with our dear friends Nate and Miranda and my brother Andy and his wife Jenn.  After Brian died, I looked forward to the trip in a new way.  It was planned for mid-August.  By then all the memorial work and immediate grief would be past.  The trip would be like pressing the reset button.  It really worked too!  When I came home I felt more relaxed and at peace.  We had new memories with old friends to think about.  We had a really great time.

First things first: deliver kids to grandparents.  Done. 




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Then a half day spent in the desert listening to a Brandon Sanderson audio book, and we arrived in a soaking wet Salt Lake.  Thus began a continuous stream of talking, laughing, and eating. 

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(That's ginger beer so strong I sputtered after a sip)
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Where we ate:
Japanese
Lunaberry
Hires
Mellow Mushroom
Finn's

We went to the farmer's market and craft fair, then saw Jenn perform in the Fringe Festival.  What a surprise to see my aunt Martha and cousin Jill there!  Miranda also had a reunion with a childhood friend in the audience - crazy!  Then breakfast with Andy and Jenn, quick stop at Trader Joe's, then onward to Grand Junction to pick up the kiddos. 

I'm so so happy we went.  I can't wait to do it again.  Is everyone up for this next summer?

Ben says I need to post something and he's right.  I don't blog when I get down.  Since school started I got a terrible cold with a lingering, terrible cough.  Then I had a really bad weekend related to mourning with depression and anxiety.  This week was starting to get good - cough improving, depression clearing.  Then I was up most of last night with a vomiting toddler.  Ugh. 

Maybe I'll throw some photos up here in a lazy post.  I know I haven't talked about our SLC trip, Jack's dance classes, Sam's general cuteness, and the birthday for Jack's doll.  More laundry for me, then some pictures here.

Just a note here that I had to turn off my comments.  There's a troll attacking my posts.