July gifts

I can't believe July is over! July was like a long, merciful grace period before the challenges of the new school year loom too large. Jon had long weekends in July, and we welcomed visitors that made us feel a little less far from home in our new.... home.

Before the Grunerts left, we showed them Jon's office...

...and his view...

I love all the fountains in Pueblo!

We took a family visit to the zoo, thanks to our gifted zoo passes. We got very close to the lion family, the parents of whom were trying to enjoy some afternoon.... cuddles. They didn't care for us being there to watch.

We have made several visits to the neighborhood pools during the week. 

The kids are increasingly comfortable in the water, but they're not exactly swimming yet. When I was a kid, we had access to a neighborhood pool a five minute walk from home, so it's hard for me to comprehend that children don't just learn to swim as a matter of course. Maybe private lessons are in order.

In mid-July, we received another set of visitors. My cousin, Joel, who lives in Denver, was himself being visited by his family, and my Uncle Doug, Aunt Lynda, and cousin Aaron accompanied them on a long, hot drive to Pueblo. I'm so grateful that they did! It felt so good to see my extended family in my new home. After a tour of the house, we visited a park and then went to see Jon at work, before they returned to Denver.

Here are the four cousins, Isaac, Eli, Miles & Adele. Isaac and Eli are each less than a year older than my kids. Such luck that they're only 2 hours away!

This whole family shot makes my heart happy:

Back at the zoo that week, we discovered a children's play cabin in the middle of the zoo. It looks locked, and like it's only there for display, so the kids think it's their private playhouse:

Adele loves her some pigs:

Love watching otters frolic!

That following weekend, we trekked up to Denver to shop at Ikea (we got a massive horde!) and to visit Joel, Bri and the kids.

Paid respects to Pike's Peak on the way

We decided that while we like the size of our city better, Denver's mountain views are superior.

During this trip, we managed to take zero pictures of ourselves or the kids! I won't let that happen again. But we had a great afternoon with the Cornells, visited the pool, watched the kids play, talked about family and about politics and ate some absolutely gourmet pizza. I even got to watch an old home movie from 1985, where Joel is five, Leah and I are three and Buddy is just a few months old. I got to see my grandparents and mother again, in living color and motion and sound, and it was entrancing. I especially enjoyed watching my tender Grandpa, whom we lost in 2014, play with my baby brother. It makes me remember that all the little moments we spent pouring love into kids matters, stays with them, becomes a part of them, no matter how fast the time seems to fly and yet, at the same time, paradoxically, crawl. I'm so grateful to be a link in a long chain of love.