Breck: The Bear

So I need to finish up on our Breckenridge trip...two months later.  Just get excited because my next blog post will be 4th of July.  One way or another this blog is not dying people!  

I saved the best for last.  We went on a white water rafting trip without the kids while in Colorado.  Addison will be old enough to go next year and I think she's going to love it.  

We geared up and had our safety orientation.

Aren't we stylin?

Group photo before we pushed off.  Can you tell Eloise is excited?  I love this pic.

Right before we went to Colorado, I got a Lifeproof case for my phone so I could take it on the trip and not worry about it getting wet.  I loved that I was able to get pictures while on the river.

 On our boat we had, Matt & Mindy, Mark & Crystal, and Andy and I

This was right after I told him he didn't look cool giving me the thumbs up sign....because he totally looks cool now in this pic.  =)  Love the helmet look.

Our guide was awesome and took plenty of pics for us as well.  

 To get to the raft trip we had to take a very scenic albeit a bit scary route through The Continental Divide.

 Back home we WINEded down.

But before wine time, there was BEAR.

When we drove up in the driveway, Andy hopped out of the van and ahead of us and seconds later I hear, "Melissa!!!!  Grab your camera, there is a BEAR!!!"

I really didn't believe him because even though he was yelling this at me, he really didn't sound that scared....like I would be if I saw a bear.  So I didn't really hurry.

By the time I got to the top of the stairs he was in the house running to the back, saying it had run away and he was going to find it.....

yes, you read that right.  He was going on a bear hunt.  

This would not have been my reaction bytheway.

By the time he located it, it was back in the woods but I was able to see it before I could grab my phone and try to document and it was SO much bigger than it looks in this picture.

 So it came back se we could get a better look....on our neighbor's porch.

This is authentic Colorado folks.  We came for the entire experience.

After all the excitement and WINEdown, we were ready for a low key last day.

We rode the chair lift up the mountain with the kids and then the next day headed to the airport.

We loved our trip so much that we're going again next summer.  Hopefully this will be the beginning of a Parsons family tradition.

Breck: The People

Still catching up as always.  Let's go back to Breckenridge, CO.....seems like way too long ago we were there with school already starting, but it was not even three weeks ago.

I want to go back tomorrow.

Colorado is a beautiful place to visit (and my preference would be summer), but the main reason this trip happened was to reconnect with family. 

Andy's family is so spread out.....over 5 states from west coast to east coast and in between, that we needed an excuse to get everyone in the same place.

We even got to meet this adorable little guy.  Conner is so adorable, and it was fun to finally have all the cousins together.

 Addison LOVED spending time with her girl cousins, Iris & Eloise.

Here we were taking a gondola up the mountain.

The entire crew.

JB & Lois and all five kids.

 We are so grateful for these two and thankful that our kiddos got some great time with Papa and Grandma.

 Andy, Sarah, and Mark

 Andy, Sarah, Mark, Matt, and Lisa

Addison loved getting to see her beloved Uncle Mark, whom she ADORES.

And hey, we even got a family pic!

 Shut the front door, we got two!!

1st Day of Kindergarten

So before we get to the big day, a few pics of how we spent our last day of summer....where we spent most of our summer, the pool.  Because if I didn't get them off my phone once in a while, you wouldn't see them and more importantly I'd run out of memory.

Addison started Kindergarten today.  Five and a half years ago, this day seemed forever away, but that calendar kept turning and today we found ourselves here.  This girl was more than ready.

I was so excited for her, but a few tears were shed....most of them last night when we read that wonderful/darn book, "The Kissing Hand".  Don't read that book to your baby the night before they start Kindergarten unless you want to do the ugly cry and have your five year old ask you if you're going to be ok.

When Addison went to the gym last week, one of her sweet teachers in the childcare area asked her if she was excited to start Kindergarten.

She replied, "Yes, but mom is freaking out."

A little true.

She of course knew it was just because I was going to miss having her with me, not that I didn't totally think she was ready because she IS.

Last Thursday we walked up to her school to find out and meet her teacher.

It was a quiet walk for her.

I think she was more nervous than she led on.

But once she met the teacher and saw her classroom (as well as a couple familiar faces of friends), she couldn't stop talking about starting school all weekend.

I have prayed for her teacher and this school year for months.

I asked God to provide the best teacher for her and place some sweet friendships in her life this year.  I of course gave God my own list of preferences for teachers and faces to be in her room, but knew that his plan was better than my own, whatever that may be, so I really tried to give it over to him.

When we went up to school on Thursday to find out her teacher and see who would be in her class, truth be told, I may have been more nervous than Addison.  And if I were to tell you that one of us shed tears, it shouldn't have been the one who's old enough to know they need to keep a smile on their face (or the one whose husband may have told her she needed to get it together for the sake of her daughter).

God had answered my prayer.  Not taking most of my preferences into consideration, but what do they matter, really?  His plan is always best.

I was basing my preferences on a 20 minute walkthrough tour done in January.

God observes 24/7.  He knows the exact place for my sweet girl.

He even cares to provide kind words from friends and parents to ease my own concerns.

He even provides a friend for me as well to share this journey with....because we all need friends our first year of school.  =)

 So as we loaded up the backpack that was just about as big as Addison

and walked the 0.3 miles to school (which let's be honest, I may drive most days)

I knew we were both ready.

Her teacher was kind enough to invite the parents into class to hear that precious/darn story of The Kissing Hand before kissing our Kindergarteners goodbye.

and Graham was kind enough to provide plenty of distraction so that I not get too weepy in front of my girl.

And even though some of our sweet friends are in different classes this year, Addison still got to see them at lunch (and was excited to see that they have the same sense of first day fashion).

And tomorrow we get to do it all over again.