Frontier Days 2009

We went to our family's 7th annual Frontier Days in Cheyenne last weekend. It was the most relaxing one we've had post-babies, I think, since we only had a few kids (The McArthurs were in Cali.) and they're an age where it's a little less chaotic. Once again we enjoyed being served an absurd amount of tasty food by my dad, watching 'world's best' blue-ray movies on the big screen with, again, the 'world's best' surround system. My dad has many of the 'world's best' things, and as I get older I realize he's actually right. He's a video/audio man as long as I've known him, so we get treated to all the world's best and greatest each time we go up there. He did inform us that since he realized he's getting older he may sell his house in a year or so to move closer to Denver. This does mean that frontier days will come to an end for us, which is certainly a sad thing.
Anyway, we had a great time this year! Thanks Cheyenne, thank you Dad, thank you tough men-in-chaps, thank you black truffle butter, blue cheese and port wine, thank you 007, thank you eccentricity to the extent that I will never fathom, thank you big sky, buffalo herd and predictable thunderstorm, and thank you Steven for somehow letting everything in my life make sense just by being in the same room with you.

Minnesota Trip

We went to Minnesota for my grandma's memorial service. I put a beautiful slideshow together for it, which I think was touching for everyone there. It was amazing to see cousins I hadn't seen for a decade and other friends and relatives all in one place at the same time. We stayed at my grandma's lake house where we were surprised by 50 and 60 degree weather. It was a blast watching all the kids collect shells and search for toads, and watch them engage in that place that has always been precious to me. With all the complications of inheritance, we're not sure if we'll ever have much time up there again, but all of us sisters are really hoping we can spend at least a little more time there before it disappears from our lives.
The kids traveled well. We decided Evelyn is pretty much now an adult according to how she acted on the plane. Poor little Ivy is super shy and had to meet new people nonstop. When we got home she was happily pointing at everything and running around in relief!
Part of our trip was spent with my childhood friend Sarah and her family. I always love being able to be with her and I appreciate how she's my last link to the area where I grew up. She lives about five minutes away from my childhood home. She and I (and our girls) stopped by my old house and the new owner actually welcomed us in! This is something I have envisioned and have had hundreds of dreams about over the last decade, so to actually step through the front door was truly remarkable. The house has been remodeled top to bottom and literally had only one or two small areas in it that had any resemblance to my memory of it. The only thing that really felt like "home" was when I stepped back out the front door and saw the familiar trees out across the dirt road, swaying in the breeze and creating their glorious canopy under country sky. That part made me want to cry. I miss living out in the woods like that and it was right there with those trees in that environment where I fell in love with nature as a child and where I was quite easily forever convinced of the sovereignty of a creative God. The experience of seeing my old home was entirely surreal, but I am so glad I got to do it and that the woman was so gracious about it. I also was so happy to have gone there with Sarah, since she really grew up there with me. Wild!

summer

I've fallen behind with my blog. The months have been passing by so quickly. I have loved Colorado's mild summer, with thunderstorms to cool the air every afternoon. We have kept busy with visiting friends, a little bit of traveling, starting projects on our home and a couple classes for Evelyn. Evelyn got a good black eye after slipping on some water and hitting a clay pot.
She took a clay/sculpture class at the Arvada Center and is finishing up her first set of swimming lessons. I gave her my giant box of barbies that I had been saving since I was a kid. It's been fun to see my old 'friends' and to see her imagination at work.
My dear friend Candice came out for a few days. It was so refreshing to catch-up with her after all these years. Evelyn adored her and was heartbroken when she left! I hope we'll see her again soon.
We spent some time in Minnesota for my grandma's memorial service and last weekend we enjoyed our annual time in Cheyenne for Frontier Days (aka Daddy of 'Em All rodeo).

Lola, la, la, la, la, Lola

We got a new cat friend! For some reason I began obsessing about getting a cat a week or so ago and just couldn't let the idea go. So I began browsing on craigslist and at the shelters to see if any specific cat sparked something in me. I came across a cat on c.l. that needed a new home, emailed the owner, etc. and after finding out that the cat was great with this family's 1 and 4 year old I took the kiddos and my mom to go meet her. Right away I knew I wanted this cat! Lola.
Lola. Lola. Lola.
Her old owner said she's more like a yellow lab and after a few days of having her here I couldn't agree more! She's only seven months old, but surprisingly easy-going. She is AMAZING with the children. Evelyn has never been around a cat before. I suppose she's met one here and there for five minutes, but that's all. So she's trying to learn all the "cat rules" and somehow during that intense process Lola doesn't mind a thing. Lola is fine and dandy with being carried around the house, wrapped in blankets, sitting mellowly by as I vacuum the carpet only inches from her, sitting on the narrow edge of the tub during a splashy kid's bath time, randomly being grabbed by the ear by Ivy....this cat is great. Not only is the cat putting up with the wild McKenzie clan, she actually follows Evelyn around the house all day and cuddles up next to her to sleep. We're loving her and I feel she's a total God-send. Now that she's here and I'm watching my kids try to learn how to properly treat a cat, I realize Lola is probably the only cat on Earth who would put up with such a task. We Love Lola!

Ivy Bug

Ivy is 10 months old! And oh so cute and sweet and smart and funny and lovable. She is growing up so fast, I can't believe it. I really feel like she was just born not too long ago and now she's only 2 months away from her 1st birthday. She's got two teeth, she is starting to stand unassisted here and there throughout the day, she's getting her own opinions on life, and she's starting to talk. She says (or at least gets very close to the words) Hi, Dada, Dad, Dog, and Baby. There are a thousand times a day where she makes my heart flip with happiness. Just like I sing to her, " i do believe that she's the best part of me and this world's better now that she is here".

Letting Go of Grandma

Right around my birthday my grandma was taken to the hospital with severe back pain. They couldn't find out what was causing it, but they did discover a small amount of pneumonia developing. She had to wait to get treatment for her pain until her antibiotics round was finished. In waiting, she got weaker and further problems developed. After awhile my mom and uncle decided that they shouldn't do further testing, because it was too painful for her. My sisters and I then rushed to get out to Minnesota as quickly as we could, taking only the infants with us. Before we left I was able to say goodbye to my grandma over the phone and although I couldn't understand most of what she was trying to say to me I did hear a few things and they will forever be seared on my heart. Planning travel with three women who have three different ideas of how to do things was a little challenging. We were the baby brigade at the airport and trying to keep three babies peaceful at the same time in one car was almost impossible. When we were able to first visit Grandma at the hospital she was alert just enough for us to sing her hymns and talk to her of heaven, to put her fears at ease that we girls and our families are fine and that she can go. She was so ready to leave at that point and perhaps had been ready for some time. She then was transfered to a peaceful and comfortable hospice out in the country where wild turkeys and deer roamed the snowy woods. It was beautiful to be with her while she was dying. To love her and cherish her as her breathing got more shallow and her soul readied itself for its soon passage into eternity. The time I spent there is unforgettable and I am so thankful for all the tender moments of being with my aunt and uncle, cousins, sisters and my aching mother as she mustered up her strength to let go of her own mom. We left on sunday and my grandma took her last breath on tuesday, with my mom at her side. Grandma would have turned 91 this July. She was very much herself right up until the end. And although she lived to an age where she'd had to say her own goodbyes to so many of her own friends and family, I'd always had this naive notion that she'd be here forever, which isn't something to easily change. Evelyn so matter-of-factly came up with on her own, "It's not sad that Great-grandma died. It's great! Now she can be with God". And so when I begin to let that loss well up in me, I remember the assured words of my little girl and bid Grandma farewell as she rejoices at the throne of God.
Loraine Julia Eckstein Dalzell Dickinson
July 7th, 1918 - February 24th, 2009

Suzie is 30

I turned thirty this year. I always thought it cliche' to get caught up in thinking 30 was a big deal, but it really became that way. My gosh, I am thirty. My 20's are gone. In actuality I lived out the typical 20's lifestyle in a condensed age 16-20 and got it out of my system in time to be married at 21, a mother at 26. I realized I've been feeling like a kid this whole time who is pretending to be an adult and now I have to face the fact that I really am an adult. And the only reason that concept is scary is that this whole time I thought people in their thirties actually had it together. Now I realize maybe we're all just pretending in one way or another. Yikes. Who's in charge around here?
It was a nice rite of passage to go through, considering Steven planned a surprise getaway at the Broadmoor for three days. It was extravagant and lovely. It was the perfect thing for me at a perfect time. I'd been feeling overwhelmed by motherhood, bored by the same surroundings and was in desperate need of a refreshed outlook on things. I loved having everything be over-the-top as if we were royalty. The grounds of the Broadmoor are gorgeous. Adjoining a huge gold course with mature trees, backing up to the mountains, swans gliding over the placid lake, sculptures, fountains, church bells ringing in the distance, quiet and serene, just perfect. Most of our time spent there we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We left right in time, checking out on Valentine's day, right when the place suddenly was bustling. Room service, ahh. We had a lot of fun swimming with the kiddos and relaxing. I then got to have a few hours to myself at the spa which was SO refreshing. It was a perfect weekend. Thank you, Steven. Your thoughtfulness overwhelmed me and put me back in place.