The blind shall see

Remember how Joseph spontaneously got his wisdom teeth removed around Christmas time, without informing me first? Apparently that sent a precedent for having major surgeries done on a moment's notice. At least this time around he checked in with me before he went ahead and decided to get LASIK done!

Since we've been out here in Colorado we've been checking out the local Groupons for some good deals on family activities, and one day they just happened to be offering LASIK for an unbelievable price. He's been considering having it done at the University for quite some time, so when this opportunity came up and would cost way less than it would at the school, he just couldn't pass it up. He bought the Groupon, went in for the consultation the next day, and that weekend he went under the laser!

It all happened so fast, but Joseph was completely calm throughout the whole thing. Right before he was about to go in, I asked him if he was nervous and he said, "No, but I am little hungry..." Typical. I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. The doctors kept assuring me that they had done thousands and thousands of LASIK procedures, they even did it on John Elway (to save yourself any embarrassment, let me just tell you that he was the quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Joseph was horrified when I asked who that was). Everything went perfectly, though.

I actually watched the whole thing, which took about ten minutes from start to finish. In fact, from the time that we stepped inside the office to the time we left, it was less than an hour. It really was amazing. The next day his eyes were 80% healed and they said it should be completely healed within a week. He went from having 20/200 vision (yes, twenty/two-hundred) to seeing almost perfectly within a matter of 24 hours. Have I mentioned we LOVE Groupon???

And so, he who once was blind has received his sight. The recovery plan? Doc's orders to wear sunglasses inside for 24 hours after the surgery and just outside after that for a week.
Thank goodness I have good eyesight, because I think I would have a heart attack on the table if it were me going under the laser.


Oh, and on the way back from having surgery we saw this across the parking lot:

So basically it was a good day for all.

Photo-op!!

Have any of you noticed a recent improvement in the quality of my blog pictures lately? For my birthday (27, can you believe it?) Joseph caught on to the many hints I was dropping and bought me a beautiful new Canon Rebel! I am so excited to have a decent camera that isn't taped together that will take nice pictures of the kids as they grow up. And so, for your viewing pleasure, here are a few pictures that I took recently of the boys. As it turns out, they (and by "they" I mean mostly Jake) are not the most willing subject for photographs, so I didn't get very many, but I did get a few.

Love these boys!

More adventures in CO

We have been loving our time out in Colorado. The more we are out here the more I am determined to make Joseph start a practice here. We'll see how that goes, seeing as Denver already has tons of dentists. It seems as though every other dental wife in the nation had the same idea that I do!

Almost every neighborhood has a beautiful playground for the kids. Jake has especially enjoyed visiting the different parks.

We went to a wildlife animal shelter a couple weeks ago. It is essentially a refuge for large animals who have been born into captivity whose owners can no longer care for them. For example, people buy tiger cubs thinking that they will make cute pets, but then realize that a tiger is not a pet and then they have no place to go. Many of the animals are abused or have never seen another of their kind, so the animal shelter rehabilitates them, then eventually they are put on acres of land where they can interact with others of their kind. There are lions, tigers, bears, wolves, camels, cougars, panthers, and more. It was very interesting, and neat to see the animals rescued.

In our most recent adventure, we met up with some friends who live in the area and went to the World of Wonder Children's Museum. We had so much fun!

Jake pretended to be a pirate on a pirate ship:

And a red dragon conductor of a train:What cute kids!!This is how we left - Jake in tears because he didn't want to leave:And Eli sleeping in the stroller. Sounds about right.

Adventures in CO

We have safely arrived in Colorado, and let me just tell you that that was no small feat. Our car has been in the shop not once, not twice - no, not even three times- but FOUR TIMES in the past two weeks. Cha-ching. With our car being in the shop most of the time we've been here, we've had to stay local and see what the quiet town of Firestone (which is about 20 miles north of Denver) has to offer.

We've hit up the local rec center where they have a surprisingly super-fun pool:

We have gone for walks and enjoyed the beautiful CO scenery:

We have played at some fun parks:

We visited the local lake (which was actually pretty smelly and not good at all for swimming, but still scenic)

Hopefully our car troubles will end soon (it's in the shop as I write this...fittingly). Once we get it back, we look forward to getting into the city and checking out all it has to offer besides semi-knowledgable mechanics!

Walking in Daddy's footsteps

I remember doing the same thing when I was a kid. What is it about your parent's shoes that is so alluring? Whatever it is, it makes for an adorable picture.

Oh, what do we do in the summertime?

On this scorching day in the middle of July, we (I) decided to stay inside instead of braving the summer heat (I'm not a wuss...heat index has been around 110 lately...unless that's wussy for you, in which case, yes, I'm a wuss). That means a nice blog catch-up for you, my faithful reader.

We were privileged to have a visit from my sister. It was wonderful to see her. My boys loved all the attention she gave them, and I loved all the help she gave me! Love this girl.

We said goodbye to our good friends, the Abarcas, who have graduated from law school and are now off to bigger and better things (read: a paycheck). Our kids became great little friends, and we were very sad to see them go. I know, Eli, I feel the same way.

We've also spent lots of time at the local Splash Pad. A free playground full of water. And when your dad has a two week break from school, it's even more fun!

And of course, while Jake and Joseph spend their time playing around in the water, Eli makes sure to catch some zzz's. It's a hard life for this baby.

There are tons of other things we've been up to, such as the local pool, refinishing our table and chairs, visiting relatives in Nauvoo, summertime bbq's, and even a quick trip to Chicago, but since I don't have pictures of those, the only mention that they get is this sentence.

Joseph had his last first day of school today. It was orientation, then we leave for CO on Friday for his externship. Let the summer fun keep on rollin'!

God Bless the USA

I love my country. Period. This Fourth of July I had a renewed appreciation for what it means to be an American. And I am proud to be an American.

America is the place where I can dress my kids up to attend whichever religious service we please (it's also the place where they are given adorable American flag pinwheels in nursery!):

America is the place where we hold parades down Main Street (or 5th Street) to honor our country and those who have fought for it.It is at these self-same parades that the kids are given gobs of free candy and delight in seeing (and hearing!) true americana such as bright red fire engines and blaring tow trucks.

America is the place where I can let my 3-year-old enjoy his very first sparkler.And where my 6-month-old is free to drool all over his mother.

America is the place where my children can grow to be whatever they want to be. Maybe a pilot?

A train engineer?

Or maybe even a dentist?

Whatever it is, I hope they grow up with an appreciation for the wonderful country that they were privileged to be born in.

I hope you all enjoyed your Fourth of July as much as we did. God Bless the USA!