Codybration #5

This weekend, we celebrated our 5th annual Codybration! Five years ago, Cody had surgery to remove a brain tumor, and we celebrate that milestone every year because we are so grateful for his health and for how much our family learned and grew from the whole experience. 

In some ways, it is hard to believe five years have passed...it doesn't feel like it has been that long. On the other hand, Cody is SUCH a big kid now compared to the baby he was at the time of his surgery! Look how little he was!

We decided to do something REALLY exciting for this Codybration. Cody is obsessed with cars, just like his brothers and his daddy, and so we rented a bright yellow convertible Camaro.

Anthony, Luke and I picked up Jackson and Cody at school in the carpool line in the car. It was a complete surprise, and they LOVED it. Take a look at Cody's face. He couldn't even believe it! 

Look, the wink is back! 

We made a quick stop at Sonic for an after-school treat.

While we were waiting, Daddy demonstrated how to put the top up. Cody was in awe.

Once we got home, Cody decided to try out the driver's seat.

Here's Cody, posing with the car.

For dinner, we took the boys over to the Rainforest Cafe.  We had eaten there in San Antonio earlier in the summer, and the boys thought it was the best place ever.  They were so excited to try out another one!

While we were waiting for our food to arrive, a nice guy came over and made us some balloon animals. Jackson got a tree frog, Cody got an alligator, and Luke requested a sword.

After dinner, we made a stop at the Lego store. Score! 

For dessert, we ordered a special cookie cake. Yummo! 

And once we got home, the boys took turns taking the Camaro for a ride with Daddy. (Don't report us to CPS LOL...we were on our street which is a cul-de-sac, it was empty of cars and people, and they did little more than coast up and down.)

Codys' turn....

Jackson's...

And Lukey's...

But I guess he wasn't happy with his view. So he stood up! 

Even I got to take it for a spin. It was really fun to drive a convertible, even in 106 degrees. 

Then on Saturday morning, we met Grandad for breakfast at IHOP. Cody was so happy to get to share Codybration with his Grandad.

And Grandad was happy to share the Camaro with Cody! Ha! Looks good in there, doesn't he?

So here we are together, enjoying the Camaro! 

And here's my beautiful boy. 

I found this wonderful quote that I just love.

"When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold.  They believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful."  ~Barbara Bloom

Cody's history has made him stronger and more beautiful than ever, and we are so proud of him.  

Happy Codybration, Codes! We love you! 

Brown Bag Activity

Cody came home from the first day of school with a homework assignment.  He had to place 5 items in the brown bag that told about him. He said his teacher told them it should be "things that 'present (represent?) us and make us special."

So here's what he picked. First, a Hotwheels car, since he loves cars.

Then, a Lego minifig because he has recently discovered the fun of Legos.

He also included a marker (a green one, his favorite color), because he loves to draw and color.

He put in a drumstick, since he has set up his drums again and has been taking lessons with Daddy.

And finally, he attached a special bandanna to his littlest sock monkey. It represented his love of stuffed animals.

But the bandanna is from the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation, so it also tells something that makes Cody special.

He also decorated the bag a little bit...

First grade is osume (awesome)! 

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for Jackson and Cody. They've been looking forward to this day with equal parts excitement and dread for the last week. Cody was very nervous about how much harder 1st Grade might be, and Jackson was not looking forward to having even MORE homework in 4th Grade.

Well, Cody got in the car after school and said, "Mom, I've got 5 words for you: First. Grade. Is. The. Best!" I'll take that to mean he had a good day! And Jackson conceded that the first day of 4th Grade was better than he'd expected (he was very disappointed at Meet The Teacher on Friday when he learned that none of his friends were in his class), and from him that's a rousing endorsement. 

Of course, Cody told me that the reason 1st Grade is so awesome is that there were no "jobs." (In Kinder, they had "jobs" they did every day...little projects like cutting and gluing to put words together, etc. and Cody did NOT enjoy them. LOL) I tried to break it to him gently that there will be SOME work that he has to do in 1st Grade, but I don't want to ruin his great day. Reality will set in eventually. :)

Yay for a great first day!

Royal Gorge

We began our drive home to Texas today, but stopped for a visit to the Royal Gorge (just after passing through Penrose, CO!). The Royal Gorge Bridge is one of the highest suspension bridges in the world. You can drive across or walk across...and we decided to walk so we could really enjoy the views. 

Cody was pretty nervous at first. His depth perception and balance can still be a little off, so he really didn't like the fact that you could look through the wood slats and see 956 feet down. You can see him insisting on holding my hand here, and he almost never holds my hand. 

But once he got started walking across (and had Daddy to hold on to), Cody relaxed and started to have fun.

He got so comfortable that soon he was just exploring on his own.

Jackson and Luke thought it was pretty awesome being up so high.

And Luke, with his daredevil demeanor, decided he just couldn't see well enough from where he was, and that it might be a good idea to start climbing so he could look over the edge. ACK!

They have an aerial tram, which stretches 2, 200 feet across the gorge and flies 1, 178 feet over the Arkansas River. (See the little red dot in the next pic? That's it.)

Jackson and Luke really wanted to go on it. Cody...not so much. But you know what? He talked himself right into it. Even though Anthony and I were telling him it was absolutely up to him (and even though Anthony really hoped Cody wouldn't go so HE would have an excuse to skip it, too), Cody decided to conquer his fear. 

And I think he actually enjoyed it!

And our laugh for the day...

Have people actually tried that? The boys loved imagining how long their rod and reel would have to be to make that work!

Despite the lovely day, it was HOT out there. I think Lukey's favorite part of the whole day was the Slushee break. 

It is so much fun stopping at random spots on family road trips! I wonder what tomorrow will hold?

Last Night in Vail

Tonight was our last night in Vail. It has been a very different trip this year without Gramma and Grandad, but we had a wonderful time. It's always sad to say good-bye to Vail.

We decided to go up the mountain one last time for dinner (and to give Anthony a chance to get up there). But first, we stopped by a special family landmark.

When Kate and I were little, our Grandma Peg would come with our family to Vail. And she had a very favorite picnic spot by the creek that we would visit regularly. We'd eat lunch, we'd throw rocks in the creek, do a little wading, and just enjoy being outside and surrounded by beauty...like this:

So tonight, we stopped by there for a few moments to look around and take a few pictures.

Then, we hopped on the Gondola one last time. We had so much fun wandering around up on the mountain at such a different time of day (we usually go in the morning). It was colder, the sun was setting...and it was just gorgeous.

 Kate-Kate was nice enough to take a few family shots for us.

And we were able to get a nice couple to take this pic of all of us.

The boys all missed Daddy so much in these last 2 weeks. 

I kinda missed him a little, too. Just a little.

Jackson and Cody go back and forth between being best friends, bonding over Legos, and mortal enemies. Here, they acted out both extremes for me.

Cody took this one.

And Jacks took this one. :)

Luke found about 37,000 more dandelions to blow and took care of them during our brief visit.

And then, as our shadows grew longer, it was time to head home...

Farewell for another year, Vail. Thanks for a wonderful 2 weeks. Thanks to Gramma and Grandad for introducing us to Vail and for lettting us enjoy it for them this year. Thanks to our many visitors who went on adventures with us. We had an amazing time, and though we're glad to be heading home...we hate to say good-bye. 

But we hope to wander back your way again before too long.