http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/longjourney/1/1317906223/tpod.html

http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/longjourney/1/1317906223/tpod.html

Rachel Goes to Learning School

For most of her life, Rachel has gone to in-home daycare. For the first year she went to Sarah's house, and then up until the time Bree went on maternity leave with Clay, she went to Shea's house. Rachel knew that she wanted to expand her horizons. It was important to her that she start going to pre-school, which for the longest time she has decided to call "Learning School". We decided that she must have a little hillbilly in her.

On August 28th Rachel started attending learning school at Our Lady of Fatima on 20th street in Lakewood. On balance we believe that the experience is going well for her. She has apparently made some friends, although we can never tell if the names she is giving us actually go to real people. There is the elusive Brian, who is often mentioned in conversation, but is also apparently never actually in attendance. Brian* may or may not be a little older (like 4) and typically has appointments scheduled or has contracted some sort of malady that precludes him from attending learning school. Other names she mentions are clearly fabrications and outright gibberish that might, on some level, be associated with actual children.

Bree found her eating Fruit Loops as an afternoon snack when she went to pick her up one day. Rachel suggested that we should get Fruit Loops for at home. This didn't sit well with my wife. They actually sound pretty good to me. Its been years since I've had Fruit Loops. I'll bet they would be good with some Skittles from Rachel's Halloween basket. But I wouldn't necessarily want Rachel to partake.

Here is a photo of Rachel on her first day.

*subsequent investigations have revealed that there is nobody named Brian enrolled in preschool at Our Lady of Fatima this semester. This would account for why he is never there.

Sunday Afternoon in the (Estes) Park

Bree and I often try to make a trip up to Estes Park every year some time around our anniversary. Rachel has been up there with us a couple of times, but this was Clayton's first visit. We always go to the YMCA which is where Bree and I were married, now over 6 years ago.

When I got up on Sunday morning I wasn't sure if we'd be able to go or not. Clayton and Rachel both were clearly not feeling well. After a couple of hours, though, they both seemed to have improved. After the decision was made, is sure took a long time to get out of the house. Motivating and organizing for a day out of the house with two kids is substantially more challenging than with just one.

It was a perfect autumn afternoon here in Colorado. Temperatures were close to 70 in Estes Park and needless to say, the sun was shining. Rachel seemed very interested in the fact that this was where Mommy and Daddy got married. This made such an impression on her that she was pretending to have her Clifford the Big Red Dog doll retell the story of our wedding after dinner last night.

On the way into town traffic was stopped for a herd of elk milling by the side of the road. We came across several more elk on the drive and then several deer on the grounds of the YMCA when we walked around. We spent quite a bit of time at the outdoor chapel where we had our ceremony. We also went over to the livery to let Rachel check out the horses. There were even three small ponies in their own separate stables. I reached out to pet one, but was quickly advised by my wife of the "Do not pet the ponies" sign posted nearby. I thought this was very unfair that these little ponies should be right there but we're not allowed to touch them.

I took a short hike to a place called Bible Point, while Bree took the kids back down to the playground.
"The short but steep hike takes you to the top of Bible Point (.6 mile from 8,130
to 8,650 feet). This vantage point offers outstanding views of YMCA of the Rockies, Glacier Basin, and the Front Range of Rocky Mountain National Park.


Originally known as Buena Vista, the name was changed to Bible Point as a result of the tragic death of Edwin Bradt. The adventurous young man had climbed several mountains, including Longs Peak, and had stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies in 1916 when he attended the YMCA Student Conference. Afterward, Edwin and his father worked exceedingly hard to build a cabin on land given to the family by A.A. Hyde, the man who invented mentholatum. The land is an inholding on YMCA of the Rockies property. Even water for cement was manually hauled up to the building site within the YMCA of the Rockies grounds.

When Edwin was killed in an automobile accident in Nebraska, on his way to his brother's wedding, his father requested the body be taken to Estes Park where the funeral was conducted. YMCA of the Rockies employees carried the casket from the Assembly Hall to the top of Buena Vista where Edwin was buried.

Near the grave, the Bradt family placed a mailbox containing a Bible and register for hikers. Over the years the old name faded away and was replaced with "Bible Point." When hikers visit the site it is traditional to place a cone from a nearby conifer on the grave.

The marker on Edwin Bradt's grave reads, "A normal life. He advanced in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. His chosen text: 'All things work together for good to them that love God.'".......Waymarking.com

Bible point offers a great vantage point for viewing into Rocky Mountain National Park as well as a birds eye view of the YMCA grounds. It was nice to have a few minutes to stretch my legs out and get a little hill climb in, also. After a few minutes of being winded on the climb, I started feeling great and really enjoyed the trail. For being so close to the Y, there were only a few other people on the path.

It was not a moment too soon that I arrived at the playground to meet up with Bree. She was not feeling well, and Rachel was starting to show signs of being very overtired. I pushed her on the tire swing for a time while Bree fed Clayton. Afterwards Bree told me she needed to get back to the lodge and asked if I would follow shortly with both kids. She took the stroller so I was carrying Clayton. I ended up having to carry Rachel most of the way at the same time, also, when she she flopped on the ground in tears unwilling to move. It comes with the territory, I guess. She was in good spirits again after sleeping the whole way back to Denver. We finished up with dinner at the Yard House and finally watching the Brewers lose game 6 of the NLCS. I was very sorry to see the Brewers lose, but overall it was a pretty nice day.

Clayton still seemed like he had his cold this morning when I got him up. He is a nose breather, and breathing through the nose was clearly causing him some serious problems. Rachel and I have been fighting colds ourselves for a few days. Hopefully he will not get it as bad as we did. I appreciate that Bree took care of him last night so I could get some sleep before coming back to work today. As usual, she has been great about that, which has helped to keep coming to work tolerable during this period.

Anniversary Weekend

This weekend Bree and I will be celebrating our 6 year anniversary. Thanks to my beautiful wife for helping to make this life so great.

Reading to Friends

Rachel has lined up several of her friends for story time. She often wears her princess finery around the house. This is not any kind of special occasion or anything.

A Birthday Wish for my Wife

Bree,

I know you are home today taking care of our children rather than out partying or enjoying a day at the spa, but I just wanted to take a few moments to wish you a very happy birthday.

You have gone through a lot lately between being pregnant, giving birth, being up nights with a new baby and being called upon to support other people, including myself, through some hard times. You are a strong person with a good heart and powerful sense of devotion. You have been a wonderful mother to our children, a good wife, and I want to make sure that you know that you are appreciated. Judging from the outpouring of support you got from friends and co-workers while you were pregnant, it is pretty clear that I'm not the only person out there who has a high opinion of you.

I am grateful to be able to share my life with you.

Happy Birthday,

Love,

Trevor

A Month of Firsts

Bree and I have not really been the kind of parents that go out of our way to shelter our kids. We have usually tried to get them out in the world and expose them to new things right off the bat. This may partially attributed to the fact she and I are both anxious to get out of the house ourselves sometimes.

In Clayton's first month he has:
1. Attended his first Celtic/Irish Festival. This was a small festival over in the town of Edgewater in which there wasn't too much of the debauchery other Celtic fests sometimes are known for. The excitement didn't really start until the skies opened up and it began to pour. To

Rachel's dismay this interrupted our viewing of the little girls doing Irish Step dancing. Nobody wanted the rain to damage their ridiculous curly wigs. Fortunately we were able to take shelter under a tent next to some squash and pumpkins. Daddy was able to drink some beer with a small group of hardcore Celtic Fest afficienados and share stories of Ireland and other festivals. These folks had a different festival scheduled for themselves every weekend of the summer.

2. Clayton attended his first Music Festival. The Sunnyside Music Festival in Chaffee Park is held every September in Northwest Denver. It isn't exactly Woodstock, but it's a cool neighborhood festival featuring a bunch of local merchants and some half way decent entertainment. Rachel built a birthday cake out of dirt on the baseball diamond using sticks as

candles. She got filthy, but seemed to have a great time. I took in some of the acts such as Bonnie and the Beard.

3. Clayton's first Restaurant experience was at the Edgewater Inn, where we went for pizza after the Celtic Festival. Last Friday he also made his first visit to Carmine's On Penn. This was more of a date night for Bree and I as Rachel had been dropped off at Monique the babysitter's house. Carmines is always great although Clay was not old enough to be able to enjoy the Chicken Parmigiana.

4. Last weekend, we took Clayton and Rachel up to Red Rocks Amphitheater. It was time to start his musical as well as geological education. After spending some time admiring the dramatic rock formations I pointed out to him where the Beatles played in 1964. I went on to edjucate him on some of the other greats that have played Red Rocks throughout the years, including Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, U2, Jimi Hendrix, John Denver and Jackson Brown, to name just a few. Clayton was clearly overwhelmed and promptly fell asleep.

Other developmental items that should be noted here include the following:
1. Clay is now sleeping between 3 and 4 hours at at a stretch at night. This is not all the time, but he has shown a good capacity for prolonged slumber.
2. Clay has good head control for someone of his age. He is able to lift his head up and look from side to side. He commonly does this when he hears his mom's voice and senses the potential for a meal.
3. He is already out of newborn diapers.
4. Clayton apparently can smile. I have not personally witnessed this phenomenon, but Bree swears that he his all grins whenever I'm not around.

All things considered, it has been a good first month for the little guy. He's a pretty laid back is getting cuter by the day. Rachel is a great sister and is doing her three year old best to be a help to us taking care of him. I'm looking forward to my parents and other family members having the chance to meet him soon

.

Welcoming Baby Clay

August 31st, 2011 my wife Bree gave birth to a son. After several days of deliberation following the birth, we finally settled on the name Clayton Daniel. The name Clayton closely beat out Calvin and Corbin in the final competition.

Bree put in another gutsy performance and with the help of our Doula Pam and Nurse Cindy Clayton was born after a very long and mostly uneventful night in the hospital. After about 10 in the morning things began to progress quickly until Clayton was finally born at 12:41. He was 8lbs 10oz and 20.25 inches.
Rachel, who turned 3 in July, has been a terrific big sister. after a few weeks the novelty of having a baby around the house is wearing off a bit, but she has displayed great affection for her baby brother and has often gone out of her way to be helpful.

Lunch With Friends

Admittedly it has been a very long time since I have posted anything here. For all of you who have been eagerly awaiting the next installment I am happy to announce that your wait is over.

Bree is pregnant again with an expected due date of next Monday, August, 29th. She has been uncomfortable these last few months and is anxious to get it over with. I am looking forward to having another child but I can't help but be a little nervous about how well we are going to handle it. Rachel has gotten much easier over the past 6 months or so and it has been very nice.

Rachel finally decided to get potty trained last May. Bree told her that if she didn't get potty trained she couldn't have a birthday party. That's all it took. For the next several weeks Rachel could be heard muttering to herself while seated on the toilet that she was using the potty so she could have a party. Shameless bribery yes, but effective nonetheless.

I took Bree and Rachel to Costa Rica in April. It was an adventure taking a 2 year old and a pregnant wife to Central America, but overall the trip went very well. We didn't rough it too much but we didn't camp out at any all inclusive beach resort either. I hope to be able to take my family on many more trips like this in the future.

Sorry this wasn't much of an update, but I'm writing from my desk at work so I'm can't take too much time out of my day.


.....Bree just called me from home and it sounds like she might be going into labor! We'll see

Farewell to Our Dear Masha

To the hungriest, gassiest, orneriest, sweetest and loyalest old Dalmation I've ever known.

This morning, February 22nd, 2010, I had just shuffled into the kitchen and had poured my first cup of coffee of the day when I heard a great rattling and thumping coming from the one of the bedrooms. As I was getting up to check it out I heard Bree call out for me. Upon walking into the bedroom I found poor Masha trembling on the floor by the bed and struggling to get up. It was obvious something was terribly wrong. I tried to help her up, but her legs stuck straight out in front of her and would not support her weight. We sat with her for a while trying to calm her and hoping it would get better. Before long Bree called the vet and got her an appointment to go in at 9. I wa afraid she'd had a stroke. The vet said instead that it looked like acute onset canine vestibular disease, a condition affecting the inner ear that makes the dog feel as though they are super dizzy and can't get their balance. This is a condition that will sometimes clear up. The vet put the chances at 50/50. Bree was left with a very tough call to make.

In some ways Masha was responsible for bringing Bree and I together. We used to walk our dogs together over in Cheesman park when we lived in the same building. That is how we first got to know each other. I think Masha was a little protective of Bree, because for a long time I don't think she completely trusted me. I had to earn her trust and affection. She did not take well to my occasional teasing. And I know she didn't like my overly friendly Golden Retriever, Otis, harassing her. Masha was a private animal who liked her quiet time and preferred to be around only a small, select group of humans. She liked certain cats, but I don't think she ever cared much for other dogs. The only purpose they ever really served for her was so she could filch a little food from them.

As a dalmation, she didn't have a big, thick coat of hair, so Masha was often cold. We'd put blankets on top of her when she slept when it got really bad. I remember one night just before New Years we were travelling and stopped for the night a tiny little, backwards town called Horse Cave, Kentucky. We stayed at the Horse Cave Motel. Not only was the room dirty and worn, but it was super cold as well. The heat was barely be functioning. Otis was fine with it, but I remember feeling terrible for Masha having to sleep on the threadbare carpet with no heat. She didn't have a lot of tolerance for for any accomodations rated less than 3 stars. I'm just glad she didn't have to see me bargain with the illiterate hillbilly at the desk just to get the privilage to let her in the room in the first place. The few times we went camping together it was obvious that she wouldn't be happy unless she practically got in somebodies sleeping bag with them.

I always appreciated that she was always game to take walks, though. She didn't care much for rain, and avoided sprinklers like the plague but she never balked at getting the leash on and going outside. Some of my favorite memories in recent years have been of going for walks with the dogs. I used to walk the dogs while pushing Owen in the stroller and later I think I must have developed a reputation in the neighborhood for being the guy who walked around the Baker Neighborhood and down Broadway at night with the dalmation and the German shepherd with the baby chattering away in the backpack.

Bree got Masha as a gift when Masha was only 5 weeks old. She lived in Cincinnati, Blackhawk and then in Denver. She must have shared 10 different residences with Bree, and several with me as well. The old girl turned 14 last November. That's a pretty long life for a dog, but this still came as a real blow. Only the night before I had been walking Masha and Oscar in a snowstorm and Masha was bounding through the snow like a pup. She looked very happy and I might say quite spry for a senior citizen. Mash had an insatiable appetite , and was hungry enough to finish my bagel, even when she couldn't get up out of her bed. I thought that said something about her spirit. Now we are very sad and the house is definitely not the same place without her.

We miss you, Masha.