Colorado

Our family vacation this summer was to Colorado. We visited Ted's parents in Denver and saw all of his 7 siblings and their families for the first time in years. Ted and I also spent a couple days alone in beautiful Steamboat Springs. We loved the cooler weather and getting a chance to visit with everyone.

Love this picture of Madeline's goofy hair

Sierra and mom

Daddy and Madeline

Trying to get Caleb to smile for the family photograph

Three silly kids

All the Biddulph grandchildren

The entire family--notice Caleb dead center bugging his sister (does this bring back any memories...)

Horseback riding at Uncle Geoff's house

Madeline on a horse for the first time

Ted and Caleb playing basketball with Uncle Nathan

Steamboat Springs--we tried to go for a morning run but soon decided it was easier to walk given the high altitude. We apparently weren't the only ones getting used to the altitude--we saw a stand selling flavored oxygen on the street!

We watched an early morning balloon launch. Other fun memories were swimming in the picturesque hot springs, eating dinner at a cafe called Chocolate Soup, and visiting our friends Ryan and Jen Bailey.

Mountain lake

Early summer

The first part of summer is the best--it's still not too hot and everyone is excited for the freedom of long unstructured days. (This is before the kids start finding their main enjoyment in trying to antagonize each other.) Ted and I celebrated our 15th year anniversary on May 27th. Our gift to each other was going to see a performance of Wicked (highly recommended). Our anniversary was the same day as the preschool carnival, and I got his initials tattooed to my arm. (There were other teachers with Edward tattoos, but I think they were referring to the Twilight vampire.) My mom flew to Dallas, and Michelle and I took turns hosting her. We had a circus themed family Murder Mystery party, and Caleb had a good time designing a tuxedo for his ventriloquist hand puppet.

Our 15th anniversary

The kids enjoyed hearing the Wicked performers at the mall

Before seeing Wicked

At the park with Mom and Michelle

Caleb and his puppet

Michelle (the alluring blond) and Danny (the ringmaster)

Ted (the weight lifter), Sierra, and mom (the snake charmer)

Goodbye to the Big Three

Caleb took a step toward adulthood yesterday when he officially learned the truth about The Big Three--The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus. Ever since he was about 5 and googled some questions about the Easter Bunny and found out that the bunny is really a human dressed in a costume, I have been waiting for him to put it all together. I've been suspicious for a while that he knew something was up, like this Christmas when Santa Claus called down from the rooftop through the chimney that it was time for the kids to go to bed and Caleb started racing through the house determined to figure out where Grandpa Dave had gone. I noticed some eye rolling this Easter when I saw a family of bunnies in our backyard and asked the kids if they thought any of them were Easter bunnies. And he seemed to have a hunch about the tooth fairy when he began playing the Bead Fairy, leaving his own money and a cute letter for Sierra in exchange for beads. When he first began loosing teeth as a kindergartener, I made up an elaborate character named Samson the Tooth Fairy who left Caleb long letters about life in fairy land, including eating habits, magical carnival rides, encounters with cats and fairy bullies, and even some stories from Fairy Mythology. Caleb would write back with questions and explanations about human life, and it was a very fun way for me to interact with him (albeit he didn't know it was me) and for him to stretch his writing skills. I've known it was coming for a while, and Caleb said he figured out the truth some time ago and was too embarrassed to bring it up, but it still feels like the end of an era of childhood wonder and magic. Of course, we still have Sierra and Madeline, but Sierra is already having a crisis of faith after a world-wise friend of hers told her that she caught her mom putting money under her pillow after loosing a tooth and that Santa doesn't exist. Sierra won't leave her tooth under her pillow any more because she's nervous the fairy will wake her up when she comes, and she's terrified of elves, so we'll see how long she lasts. Madeline is just getting old enough to understand holidays and characters, so we might have a few more years of enchantment. I asked Caleb is he was upset (I've always worried he would feel like we were deceiving him), and he said he was glad he got to believe for a while and he's glad he knows that truth now. Then, he gave a shy smile and says he can't wait until Christmas Eve when it will be his job to consume the cookies and write the kids a thank you note from Santa.

Ted's Birthday

Ted had an extended 38th birthday celebration. Madeline and I stopped by his work with balloons and took him out to lunch, and that evening we had a family party with his favorite dinner of tacos and watermelon. The next day, Danny and Michelle babysat while Ted and I went for a date at an Italian restaurant in quaint downtown Addison. The next weekend, Ted wanted to stay at a resort on Lake Ray Roberts. Although the lake is only 45 minutes from our home, we had never been there, and we were all pleasantly surprised with the lovely forested hiking trails and sandy lake beach. The kids loved swimming, paddle boating, and building sand castles at the lake. The hikes were particularly lovely with the wildflowers in bloom. With the views of the lake below from the resort grounds, it almost felt like we were overlooking the ocean as we enjoyed the gazebo swing.

Sierra, Caleb, and the Baby Beebee Bird

So hard to get a good family shot, especially when everyone is hot and tired--at least the wildflowers cooperated

The lovely grounds and lake view at Lantana Resort

Bake Sale

Sierra and Caleb teamed up with our next-door neighbor Sabrina to have a bake sale Saturday morning. They earned $18 and had a wonderful time--not bad for an hour's work. Caleb put his money toward his college fund, but Sierra has the money burning a hole in her pocket and can't seem to understand why nothing she wants is in her $6 price range.

Sierra's 7th birthday

Sierra turned seven this week, and she is sweeter than ever!

Working Girl

This has been quite a busy school year for me! I taught preschool during the day and attended school at night. I'm relieved to have a chance to catch my breath over the summer, and especially glad to have survived my first anatomy class, which was something like an academic bloodbath. I never realized how far I would be willing to go for a grade until I dissected Roger the Cat. My male lab partners were happy to do the dirty work (they said someone had to have clean hands to turn the pages of the lab manual instructions) until one of them nicked his hand with the scalpel. I just tried to tell myself it wasn't any worse than cooking a turkey, and other than the smell and pieces of fur that splattered on my shirt, that was pretty much true. On my final exam day, I asked the kids to please leave me alone for one hour so I could get some last minute studying in. They each had list of things they needed to do, with timers going off to remind them when to begin a new item on their list. They were absolutely silent, and after a successful cramming session, (it's amazing how much I can get done when I'm not interrupted every 10 seconds) I emerged from my bedroom. Madeline had a bead stuck up her nose and had pooped her pants and Caleb was chasing Sierra through the house trying to handcuff her for an offense which is too embarrassing to publish. They were, however, perfectly quiet, so how can I complain?

School is over soon, and then it will be a long summer of snow cones and swimming. I think I'll have more time on my hands, but I'll be taking one class this summer and working at a rehab hospital as a therapy aide for people with brain injuries. I applied there on somewhat of a whim after a classmate who works there told me there was an opening. I figured I probably wouldn't get the job since I don't have any medical/therapy experience yet, but the ladies who interviewed me said that teaching is an excellent segue way into working with those who have brain injuries because it requires to same qualities of patience and skills in explaining something with simple step-by-step instructions. We shall see! Since the fanciest thing in my closet is a cotton wrap-around skirt, I borrowed an interviewing suit from my dear sister Michelle. She's a few inches taller than I am, and she wears heels with her suits, so I had to borrow her super tall heels to make the pants look the right length. My feet are probably a size smaller, and I had to walk very slowly to keep from losing my shoes. I figured I would be okay as long as they didn't give me a tour of the hospital after the interview, but of course they did. I told the sweet lady giving me a tour that I would love to see the facility as long as she didn't mind stopping when I needed to put my shoes back on again. She offered to take me around in a wheelchair--but I thankfully managed just fine without assistance. Guess that would have made quite the first impression!

Above: I love being able to teach in jeans and a T-shirt

Below: Interview day--I hardly recognized myself. Guess I gravitate toward casual professions!