Catching up on summer-times

Yes, we are safely moved in and residing in Colorado Springs!! The last few weeks have been tiring and very busy, so we've had a hiatus from blogging. But slowly now we will try to get back into it...so here's a post catching up on some summer fun with family (with the Weltys in town for 2+ weeks). 

...back in early July: The Weltys, Freys and Giesers (and our 7 kids) were able to get away for a couple of nights in Montreat, NC, thanks to kind friends loaning us their two cabins. (And then the Weltys stayed on longer, meeting up with friends.) Even though it was quite rainy, we had a good time seeing this little community and enjoying the 'mountainous rainforest' that Montreat is! And maybe next time our kids will be old enough and the weather will be nice enough for some hiking. And drop by to say hello to Billy Graham, of course.

three cousins within 6 months of age - and playing together well!

Timo shows off some chub and relaxes with Auntie

Ice cream for Gemma and a napkin for Timo (this boy loves to eat paper)

a view of little Lake Susan, though the rain

Craig and Rachel and Lillian cooked up some delicious stromboli

Mountains. Mustaches. Yeah.

Back in Durham - Timo started crawling!! (8 1/2 months old) No more sitting idly by while Gemma dances and plays and runs. Watch out, Timo's coming, too!

July 14th was our 12th anniversary!! After putting the kids to bed, we headed out to American Tobacco campus downtown for an al fresco Cuban dinner. Lovely. (oh, don't worry, Jaja graciously stayed with the sleeping children.) And lovely to sit together and reflect on the last year - birth of Timo, selling our home in Bloomington, moving to Durham open-endedly, job-searching, Jim's graduation, and now the anticipation of a job & new life in Colorado Springs.

 

who knew old tobacco warehouses could look some dreamy?

Soon after, we had to say good-bye to the Weltys, and they continued their cross-country trip (up to Maryland, then Connecticut, then Ohio, & then home to Texas).

Wait, don't forget to get a photo of the three sisters!

Wonderful summer days with family

We have been enjoying 2+ weeks with the Welty cousins in town from Texas, which means lots of family time with everyone around and some extra energy to do special things together - like picnics or pool time or trip to the lake or game night or a cook-out. That's 7 cousins age 6 and under, plus 4 Hawkins siblings and our spouses, and 1 Grandpa and 1 Jaja.

What a special way to bring our short-term residency in Durham to a close. The Weltys leave in two days, and we are now just two weeks away from our move date to Colorado Springs. Busy days. Lots of good-byes and "one more" time at a favorite park or bakery.

Here are a smattering of photos from 4th of July and a morning at Jordan Lake.

Dad hung the flag that was given to Grandma Hawkins in memory of Grandpa H.'s service during WW II

a bit of decorating our scooters and strollers for the neighborhood parade

Gemma and Wes rode together, with Asher sitting on the front part-way

Neighbors lines up behind the fire truck for the parade

ice cold Cokes at the end - a welcome beverage!

Lillian enjoyed her Coke, too

Wes and Gemma took a turn in the fire truck

Grandpa and 7 of his 11 grandchildren: Gemma, Asher, Timo, Adah Joy, Lillian, Wes and Jack

Pete was the grill master for our holiday cook-out

Timo getting a nice horsey ride from Grandpa

Timo has been treated very well by his older cousins

We spent one morning at Jordan Lake and had a nice time eating a picnic breakfast and swimming. Unfortunately we have had such a rainy summer that the lake was very high and more muddy/brown than usual - but the kids still enjoyed it just fine.

T's newest accomplishment: standing!

On July 4th (at 8 months old), Timo figured out how to pull himself to standing! He is, of course, quite pleased with himself and now will spend a long time contentedly playing in the living room, scooting/crawling around, pulling himself up, grabbing toys, and even starting to push things around while walking. Look out, all.

Summertime visit to Wheaton, part 2

We're a few weeks behind with posts - so getting caught up on our visit in mid-June to Granddad and Nonna's house... 

Our second week there we were joined by the Brink clan (wonderful!!!!), though we ended up having only a few days together since we (Jim, Timo and me) had to leave midway for our Colorado trip. But Gemma certainly had lots and lots of fun staying behind and being with Elsie, the girl cousin closest to her in age (6 months younger). 

Lunch with cousin Betsy and Aunt Elaine. Betsy & Nathan are in process of moving back to the area.

learning to blow bubbles

Gemma loves to chase bubbles while singing "I can sing of your love forever" (praise song) - I think it is the influence of Praise Baby DVD that she watches occasionally during Timo's morning nap. Apparently this song and bubbles are inextricably linked!

I think Timo looks a bit like his grandfather here!!

While in Wheaton, Timo began learning how to stand and hold onto things, like this musical table. Of course, after a minute of two, he would come crashing down.

Hurray for time with cousins! How special to be able to spend a few days together at the same house. Can't you tell how excited Nonna is?

A bit of relaxing for the parents (while kids were playing in the sprinkler)

These boys are 2 months apart - and I'm sure before too long they will be wrestling and running around together!

Gemma and Elsie have coordinateing dresses that Nonna bought last year in Bali

And more Gieser cousin time! Susie and Nate (not in this pic) and their four kids arrived back from a beach vacation just in time to say hello before we had to leave the next day. And Wendy came over again to say hi, too. 

Jul, Britta (holding Timo), Wendy, Carl, Elsie & Katie; Jim, Lars, Gemma & Susie, Olivia

A Second Visit to Colorado Springs - Finding a Home

While still visiting family in Wheaton, we took a couple of days and returned to Colorado Springs to a find a home to rent. We had a fantastic time staying with Don and Cyd Storrs, good friends from our BFA years - Cyd and Julianna both taught English - and now living in the Springs since 2007. It was so fun to be with them again!

Although it felt like a whirlwind, we ended up finding a three-bedroom home approx 25 minutes drive from my office. Considering the recent (and ongoing) forest fires and all the hundreds of homes lost, we are thankful to find a house in a nice neighborhood. And now we are gaining some momentum for the upcoming move, as we think about what is next!

Such good friends - we're blessed to be moving closer to them. Our new home will be less than a mile away.

Timo and the Storrs' dog, Scampi, had a good time discovering each other. Meanwhile, Timo was working on his crawling!

Here's Timo shortly after pulling himself to standing from a sitting position. The next moment, he had tipped head-first into the suitcase. It was cute.

Not a real nice pic, but this is the view from my office! That's the Air Force Academy in the distance, at the foot of the mountains.

Closer up pic of the Academy.

 

Development Associates International owns part of the building.

This was taken for Gemma's sake: it's in the Denver airport. She's been really into astronauts lately.