Fun, fun, fun!

It's been a great week! Here are a few picts of Owen "enjoying" his new bike helmet and his stroller ride. Our bike ride last weekend was a lot of fun but extremely HOT. My word...it was seriously close to 100 degrees. I think we will choose a different time of day next go 'round. Owen enjoyed it, as long as he didn't have his helmet on! (FYI MOM: he was very safe and sound in the trailer. :)

Owen started his first animal sounds this week. He says, "Baa Baa" for the sheep, and "Moooooooooo" for the cow. He is really funny! Our great college friends, Jason and Tonya Yoder Rupp were here overnight last night and they got a kick out of hearing all of Owen's words. It was so good to see you both--hopefully we'll reconnect again soon!!

Today I met with some other moms and their kids in a new "mommy group" from church called, "MennoMamas." I thought it would be a good idea to provide a space for moms and kids to interact with one another during the week to network and connect with one another. We had a blast! Next week we are meeting at a park and then having a picnic lunch...looking for more good times of connections ahead.

Also--we are getting ready for our first roadtrip with Owen tomorrow, as we travel to southern Michigan for Shawn's family reunion. Not sure how Owen will stand the 18 hr. trip---we'll let you know...hopefully he'll be a trooper! We'll be back on Monday--so more pictures of Owen's first "camp" experience then!

Getting settled back home

It's been nice actually being home this week, with all of our recent travels (and more around the corner). Owen has enjoyed the normalcy of a schedule and familiar surroundings. As you can see--his newest favorite thing is to help me "put away" the dishes--or maybe play in the water in the dishwasher door. Anyhow, he made me laugh yesterday when I turned around and saw him sitting like this. :) He also loves to climb to the stair landing and act like a jailed animal, shaking the bars and yelling! He is a trip!

We are going on a family bike ride today on a nearby trail--so hopefully I'll have a few more pictures to add after that happens. We got a bike trailer for Owen to attach to our bikes and are excited for the family fun! There are some great paths around us, and we are eager to check them out.

Upcoming this week: friends from GC are visiting us (Jason and Tonya) and then on Thursday we are attempting our first road trip to Camp Amigo in southern Michigan for a Schrock family reunion (Shawn's mom's side).

We're back!

We made it! These last few weeks have been a bit crazy and chaotic! On June 28th, Owen and I headed to San Jose, CA for the Mennonite Convention where I was worship leading for the youth. We were out there 5 days early (officially began July 2-7th) for a leaders retreat where we did some intensive planning to get ready to lead 4,000 incoming youth from around the nation. Shawn joined us on Sunday, July 1. We were so blessed to have my mom with us to help with Owen...as it turns out, it was a double blessing because Shawn's Crohn's Disease flared up that week, sending him to the hospital and leaving him feeling pretty miserable all week. Overall, the convention was intense, exhausting, but very meaningful (despite the additional stressors Shawn's illness caused). It is quite humbling to have been asked to worship lead in this capacity. I learned a lot about myself and understood in a new and deeper way about my call to ministry. It was also fantastic catching up with friends--missed all of you! As good as it was, I am glad it is over! :) I am starting to feel a little "over exposed"--so I think I need to lay low to the Mennonites for awhile!

Anyways, we got back last Saturday and Owen was met by his Uncle Troy and Aunt Catie who were here from Pittsburgh! We were thrilled that they stopped in and spent the weekend with us before heading down to Catie's family in Cheraw, CO. We had a fun weekend with them: watching movies, went on a picnic, and visited the Denver Zoo. The picture of the zoo shows Catie jumping as far as a jack rabbit! Troy did a polar bear jump, and Rachel did a penguin (yes, I know I only have a "credit card" jump!) Anyhow, Owen had a great time and absolutely LOVED all the attention!

Now that we are back in town and it looks like our lives will be pretty low-key for while, I hope to post something every week. Update: Shawn is now (finally) feeling better--his steorids have kicked in and he isn't in so much pain. So, I think we are on the up-and-up. Until next time...

Father's Day and a little bit more...

Father's Day is all about celebrating everything, manly, right? What's more manly than baseball, a hot dog, and teaching your son "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch? We had a great afternoon at the Colorado Rockies game, despite it being close to 100 degrees that day. Owen was such a trooper--we had a wet bandanna around his neck that kept him cool as a cucumber and he even fell asleep between the 4th and 6th inning (almost along with his mom). :) Just kidding, Shawn! I actually, surprisingly, enjoyed myself as well. You have to do a ball game in the summer--it just isn't summer unless you do!

On the O-man front, he continues to put smiles on our faces! He absolutely LOVES climbing the stairs (now we need to teach him how to go down safely), especially when you "chase" him. He just giggles and squeals. This is a favorite tradition of Owen and Shawn before bedtime (as captured above). If you look closely of the one picture of Owen turning around on the stairs, you get a good view of his newest accomplishment--3 teeth! And with those new teeth, he loves eating watermelon! He will seriously gobble up 2 huge whole slices of it--no problem! And as you can see, he loves sharing it as well!

Well, we are off to San Jose, CA for the Mennonite Convention this week. As worship leader for the Youth Convention, Owen and I are going out on Thursday and Shawn will join us on Sunday. You can keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I enter into this role--it seems a bit daunting...I'll let you know how it goes. We'll be back home on the 7th of July. I am looking forward to having my mom out there to help with childcare--so, until next time...

Cutie Patootie

Think Owen looks like Shawn? Perhaps, but here are a few other celebs that he resembles...

Friend visits!

We were so thrilled to have Colleen Rhodes here with us a few days this past week! Colleen is one of my best friends from Harrisonburg, VA who has just recently moved to Carlsbad, NM. We had a great time together doing things like: shopping, watching the Cavs lose, shopping, eating out, shopping, going to Starbucks, shopping, watching a movie, and shopping. It was fantastic...(and so nice to have a second opinion when clothes shopping!) I had to do some serious shopping to get ready for the San Jose Convention which is coming up in 2 weeks! AHHH! Anyhow, great friends are just like riding a bike---you just jump back on and take off right where you left off. Come back soon, Coco!

Owen is doing well, despite being drug around from places here and there these last few days, which cut into his afternoon nap time pretty severely. He absolutely loves climbing up the stairs now--always makes a bee line for them whenever in sight. He actually crawled up our 14 stairs 3 times tonight. And he could have gone more...that has to be like climbing a 10,000' mountain for a regular person! He also has a mouth full of teeth now--4 finally came down on top, to round out his bottom two. Hopefully he'll be a bit happier now. :)

We are looking forward to celebrating Shawn's first father's day tomorrow. I am taking him to a Rockies baseball game in the afternoon. So, I'll have to have him post his thoughts about his day tomorrow. So, until next time...

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

What a day! Shawn surprised me this week by making reservations at the Brown Palace Hotel for a high tea this afternoon. Yes, you heard correctly. Bless his heart, he did it for me (alas to say, he'd never go on his own accord)! However, I think I heard correctly that somewhere between his delicious buttermilk scone with Devonshire cream and strawberry preserves he said, "Wow--I think there is more to this tea thing than I first thought!" Needless to say, we had a great afternoon together, while Owen was with a babysitter.

Owen on the other hand, has had quite a week. Somewhere between a complete refusal of baby food, working on 3 teeth, and sleeping erratically for anyone other than me, has been fun. His new tricks include clapping (see new video) and "talking on the phone." Whenever you say, "Hello..." he puts whatever he has up to his ear and pretends he's talking. So funny. Dad, I took that picture just for you--from one "pilot" to another! :-) He has also begun repeating a few words---"duck," "light," "nigh-night," "nana" (for banana). And today, he just started crawling doing that 'tripod' thing...which most likely means walking isn't too far off.

I can hardly believe I am 29 years old. This year has been full of so many joys and new challenges. One of the better years, for sure. Shawn continues to enjoy his new work, and we are thankful for the opportunities that provides. I preached last Sunday, which is always such a "birthing process" all on its own. If you want to read it, you can go to: http://fmcdenver.org/sermons1/current.html and they should be posting it sometime soon. It's titled, "The song of the village." Thanks to all of you who wished me well for this new 29th year of life. I truly am thankful. It was a good day. Now that Owen is in bed, Shawn and I will retire to our newly finished patio and enjoy this beautiful evening...