A Tale of Two Toddlers

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”  It’s amusing how this Dickensian portrayal of oppression during the French Revolution can often be likened to parenting two toddlers.  Some days, our household is pleasant and joyful.  Other times, however, it feels like living in an insane asylum: Random screaming for no reason, pee on the floor, uncontrollable sobbing, people running around with no pants on, fights breaking out…aka absolute mayhem.  With that in mind, here’s what’s been going on around our house the past few months…other than two whirling, pint-sized tornadoes of destruction.

For Kelly, January was marked by a ton of work-related activities.  She wrapped up two proposals for MWH, and traveled to Georgia for a writers retreat hosted by 252 Basics--the Sunday school curriculum publisher she writes for.  While 5-months-pregnant Kelly diligently brought home the bacon, cared for two kids, and grew a third, I played the part of the responsible husband and father by mourning the Broncos’ devastating playoff loss to the Colts and the end of another football season.  However, our toils were rewarded at the end of the month with dinner at Osteria Marco and concert tickets given to us by friends to see Eric Church for Ashley Wolf’s birthday.

Over Valentine’s Day weekend, we dropped the girls off at Nana and Grandpa’s house and headed up to Frisco with the Wolfs to spend a few kid-free days enjoying the mountains.  On Saturday, Jason and I headed to Copper to snowboard while the ladies went shopping at the Silverthorne Outlets.  Afterwards, we all got gussied up and drove to Breckenridge for a lovely Valentine’s Day dinner at the Blue River Bistro.  In late February, we gathered with friends at the Franklin’s house for our monthly family dinner night.  As expected, the men dominated yet another round of party games…

Kelly and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on March 1st, and officially entered “boring adulthood” when we decided to buy each other furniture. We took a mini road trip to the Ashley Furniture Gallery in Cheyenne because there’s no sales tax…SOLD!  The next weekend, we celebrated my birthday, along with Chad Harding’s and Ryan Mast’s, by visiting a few breweries in Boulder, namely, Wildwoods, Fate, and Sanitas Brewing.  After taking a couple of days off of work for my actual birthday, I took a quick 1-night trip to Alexandria, VA to accept an award for my audit team, who won the 2014 Acquisition Audit Report of the Year.  Kelly also got to go see Garth Brooks in concert with Sharon and Lynn.

Olivia turned 4 years old on April 4th, which is just unbelievable.  At the birthday girl’s request, we threw her a Hello Kitty party, which I’m sure she’s already forgotten about.  That same weekend, we spent Easter Sunday with family.  After church, we went to a brunch buffet at the Colorado National Golf Course, which managed to disappoint everyone except the kids, who left sticky and sugared up after a few visits to the chocolate fountain.  The following weekend, for Jason’s birthday, we took a tour of Stranahan’s Whiskey Distillery, and then gorged on Sushi at the Izakaya Den in Denver.  In late April, Olivia had her spring dance recital, which forced me into a coma from cuteness overload (the lollipop theme didn’t help).  Olivia proudly performed ballet and tap dances for a packed house in the Erie High School auditorium and we all went out to dinner afterwards to celebrate a job well done.

Unless Kelly goes into labor beforehand, she is scheduled to be induced on May 7th. Which means next time you hear from us we'll have a new addition to the Nishi brood.  So long for now!