Wednesday, October 14, 2015

And Then There Were Three

From Mike:

A family of five is certainly not the same as a family of four.  Over the past almost five months, we’ve been quickly forced to accept this  obvious fact as we attempt to navigate daily life with three small children.  No longer can we fit our kids comfortably into a sedan (or midsize SUV for that matter!), a booth at Chili’s, or a shopping cart.  Getting all three of them dressed, fed, groomed, and in the car before school/church/anything starts takes a small miracle.  Finding time to write a blog takes an even bigger act of God.  So here you have it…the miracle blog.  Behold its magnificence.

In case you couldn’t tell already, Kelly had the baby!  Addison Akemi Nishi was born at 11:43am on May 7th weighing 6lbs. 4oz. and measuring 19.5” long.  Our little Addie has been growing like a weed over the summer and now weighs almost 16 pounds!!  After she was born, we spent most of our time at home being spoiled by the generosity and culinary talents of friends and family.  Thanks again to everyone who brought us meals!  Despite the overwhelming exhaustion, we managed to sneak out of the house for a couple of quick baby/family photo shoots.  We also made a brief appearance at the Erie Town Fair, and Erie’s first summer concert in the park.

Before I had to return to work in early June, we went with the Wolfs to the Luke Bryan concert at Mile High.  Afterward, we learned that Uber’s “surge pricing” is evil and will cost you about $300 to get a ride back to Erie if the demand for cabs is high.  Needless to say, we found alternate means of transportation (Thanks, Fred!). 

The following week was full of wedding activities for our very dear friends Beth and Matt, which meant Kelly was busy fulfilling her matron of honor duties.  The bachelorette party was held at a Mexican restaurant in downtown Fort Collins. The much-anticipated Drase wedding took place on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at the Tapestry House just outside of Fort Collins.  We danced the night away, enjoyed the company of out-of-town friends, snapped silly photos, bid adieu to the newlyweds, then returned to our hotel room for a well-deserved sleep.

We celebrated Sophia’s 3rd birthday the following weekend with a Frozen-themed party at our neighborhood park, and wrapped up Father’s Day weekend with dinner at my parents’ house.  Kelly and I spent the next two weeks travelling for work – Kelly to Indianapolis and me to Augusta, Georgia – but we were all together again to celebrate the 4th of July attending parties at the Franklin’s and the Wolf’s.

Kelly spent the majority of July working, travelling for work, working some more, oh, and raising three small kids.  She travelled back to Indy and once to San Diego while working on two proposals for MWH, with a brief respite in between when Alex and Katey Johnson came to visit.  We got to see Train, The Fray, and Matt Nathanson at Fiddler’s Green, and rounded out a very busy and stressful July with a trip to the Broomfield Bay water park.

August began with a barbecue at the Vinson’s, which Kelly attended alone while I stayed home with a sick Olivia.  Kelly went on a MOPs retreat the following weekend and we completed our “summer of concerts” by returning to Mile High to see Kenny Chesney.  After learning our lesson from the Luke Bryan concert, we got a hotel room in downtown Denver and enjoyed our fun little overnight getaway.

The next weekend, Addison got her first “modeling” gig with Lillebaby, a company that makes ergonomic baby carriers.  She was a perfect angel as a complete stranger toted her around posing with the company’s newest line of carriers.  We drove up to Keystone the next weekend and went paddle boating, took a gondola ride, went for a brief hike, and tried slack-lining (unsuccessfully) while Granny took the girls to Heritage Square for a birthday party.  We drove to Saratoga the last weekend of August to visit Gary and Crystal, who took us fishing on Saratoga Lake and kept us well fed.  After a relaxing couple of days, we drove home in time for me to go to a Broncos preseason game with Zack Wulbecker, pushing my excitement for football season to its limit.

Over Labor Day weekend, the Zuikers graciously invited us to share their cabin for a night at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park.  We fought the crowds and the traffic and eventually made it up there for lunch and a quick walk around town.  That evening, we all went for a gorgeous sunset hay ride that concluded around a campfire where we roasted marshmallows.

We attended Anna Lever’s baby shower one Saturday in mid-September, watched the Rams lose another Rocky Mountain Showdown (Go Buffs!), and ended the day feeling sophisticated at the Wolf’s wine and cheese party.  Kelly traveled to Arizona the following week for a 252 Basics writers’ conference, came home for an hour, then left again for the mountains to spend the last September weekend with her girlfriends at a condo in Silverthorne.


Aaaand, I’m exhausted.  We ask for your prayers during this insanely busy season!  Until next time!

No comments: