Bad things come in 3's.

So, it all hit at once.

1. The stomach bug- three kiddos over 5 days and one trip to the ER while Matt was out of town. Sleepless night full of worry, countless loads of laundry, lots of time spent disinfecting. Luckily (or unluckily) I got it the day after he got home. At least I was able to lock myself in our room and rest for a quick recovery.

2. A dog bite. I take pilates classes at an in home studio where the instructor allows her dog to stay while we work out. He is a rescued, albino, mostly blind and mostly deaf great dane. About 180 lbs and big. Normally he is gentle and just lays quietly on the ground next to my machine. This particular morning, as I went to pull my ponytail from behind my head he took my neck in his mouth and bit me. Luckily (or unluckily) if he had wanted to really hurt me he could have and all I got was this-

which warranted a round of antibiotics and some apprehension about dogs.

3. All others pale in comparison to when my mom called to tell me her doctor had found a polyp on her colon during her last colonoscopy. Colon cancer runs in our family with my aunt passing away at a young age with it. My mother gets checked every two years so as optimistic as we all wanted to be it rang too close to our hearts. The next procedure brought stress as the doctor never followed up and a nurse ended up telling my mother, on the phone, she had colon cancer and the doctor would call her soon. Turns out the sample had to be sent for a second opinion which resulted in laparoscopic surgery to remove it. All in all, luckily (or unluckily), we are as thankful as ever it was PREcancerous, is now removed and my mother is recovering. We are counting our blessings and sending sweet prayers to my momma.

Hoping the next several months are uneventful.

And then there was 1.

1 child in diapers, really? Oh yeah, with a huge sigh of relief. This is how it all went down- 3 days of Eli by my side. Teaching him how to notice the urge and encouraging him to run to the bathroom. Lots of praise, jumping up and down and high fives. Throwing away ALL the diapers and staying dry through naps and bedtime. This kid knows how to rock it!

Some serious moves.

So close yet so far away.

All you need.

Sometimes all you need is finding a Chick Hicks matchbox in your green smoothie to turn a grouchy mom into a smiling one. No joke, the car came shooting out of the ice dispenser and landed right in my mug. Haha.

We love it!

We were all thrilled when Aunt Dana and Gino made the trek to Colorado for a visit, the only missing piece was Uncle Sammy (next time, we hope!) To say that Luke and Eli were excited was an understatement, they were beyond thrilled. And James actually let someone hold him, it was like I was on vacation! The boys showed off their mad gymnastic's skills at Little Gym, the big boys headed up to Copper Mountain for some skiing and sledding, there were S'mores (of course) and Minute to Win It. Aunt Dana even broke down and spent an afternoon playing Mad Scientists with Luke and his experiment kit.

If you ask Luke about his Aunt Dana he says, "She is smiley and always funny. She says, "I hope you eat all your dinner so I don't call the dupa police." And Gino has grown into such a handsome and caring young man. When most college kids would prefer to be out cruising the town, Gino is right at home reading books to these little guys. Their hearts were overflowing with love and eyes were filled with tears when we all had to hug good bye. These memories will be etched in their little hearts forever.

Granby Ranch.

We took a family ski vacation to Granby Ranch. Beautiful weather, me getting my bearings on a board again, Luke catching onto skiing and Eli making his way down the magic carpet made for a great long weekend.

By the end of the weekend Matt and Luke were cruising down the blue runs. Matt said it was one of the best days of his life. The love you can feel for your child is something so hard to explain but you know that your parent's love for you is just the same. To be loved and return that love is the greatest of all gifts.