being aunt katie in the summer

i don't think michael or his kids realized just how much we (nick, kelli and myself) love the water...ponds, creeks or pools. we are water bugs. we spent a few evenings in the pool. michael is not so much a water bug. he is much bigger and stronger than i am, so often times, he has the upper hand. however, that is NOT the case when it comes to being in the water. see, michael is not much of a swimmer, and well, i am. the first night we went down to the pool, all the kids had already jumped in and he was standing by the ledge talking to them. and me, in my innocent and sneaky ways, gave him a not so small shove and landed him in the middle of the pool---clothese, shoes, keys, glasses, towel... I relished in my triumphant victory!!! i am in trouble if he learns to swim too well!!!!

this is nick.

relaxing.

floating.

an innocent water bug

alone in his waterworld.

nick and kelli took a liking to michael...we went to church the first sunday. they were both cuddled with me in the pew.......until michael came in. they both wiggled over to sit on his lap, share the hymnal and cuddle with him. i have no pictures of that, but i thought this was a cute one to share.

Nick and Kelli missed everyone at home...grandma, grandpa, austin, karina, their dad...but they missed nobody as much as they missed their mom!!! we were at michel's after one of our trips to cheynne canyon. kelli found the dominos and was quietly playing with them. i looked over her shoulder and saw this...she looked up at me with the sweetest smile and said she missed her mommy.

Last summer Austin stayed with me for about three weeks. We also visited Garden of the Gods. Austin found this hole...When I told him I'd taken Nick and Kelli to GOG, the first thing he asked was if they had found his hole...Austin, here is your hole filled with Nick!!

Me with the beans at the Royal Gorge and the beans and the Royal Gorge Bridge.

Nick was always so serious in the photos, so I told him to holler "yeah Colorado" and here you have it.

Nick and Kelli squishing their faces togehter, and one of Kelli's many "I am so pretty" posese (at Garden of the Gods).

Everytime we went to Garden of the Gods, they got so excited to climb the rocks. Often times Nick would run and climb ahead of us, then I would watch him just standing there taking in the wonders. Kelli jabbered on and on about how beautiful it was and what a beautiful creation God had made for us. Precious. I will try to upload a few videos of them climbing the rocks.

Other stories from their trip...Michael drove out to Nebraska with m to meet mom and the kids. We pulled into Valentino's and Nick jumped out of the van and ran to introduce himself to Michael. He held out his hand to shake Michael's and said something along the lines of: "I am Nicholas Omer McVey. You are are going to marry my aunt Katie." Kelli got out of the van in her darling little green and white sundress and "glided" over to us with one of her charming princess smiles ad then jumped into my arms.

Driving back from Colorado, Nick would fall asleep for a while then suddenly wake up and tell m that I needed to fuel up---he slept through several fueling stops. Really, he just wanted to stop so he could get a snack at a gas station....Oh, and we stayed at Michael's one night and Nick woke up early in the morning asking if we could go to a gas station to get doughnuts. Saturday morning tradition at our house is Casey's doughnuts...So, of course there must be a Casey's gas station or general store here. I knew Michael would be amused and confused by this request, so I told Nick to as him...Michael looked at me with a rather confused expression and I translated Nick's request. Michael took Nick to Dunkin' Donuts.

Please stay tuned for fabulous pictures and videos from our trip wading down the creek at Cheyenne Canyon....