Camping

We went camping near the Piedra River with my sister Amy and her family. They had a camper, we had a tent. They made us breakfast, we slept in the tent. It was fun, but I definitely want a camper so I don't have to sleep on the ground. There was a lot of 4wheeler riding, some hiking, and some swimming. It was a great weekend, but we were glad to get back and take a shower.

Charlie liked to watch the person behind him.

'Swimming'

The Whole Crew

A 4Wheeler trail. I didn't want to go up. It was way rougher than it looks in the picture.

More Gymnastics

Jonah on bars.

VAULT!

Swinging on the rope.

Summer Time

When it's hot, (which isn't really that often in Colorado) the kids play in the creek. As you can see it's obvviously not THAT hot, Alaina is in long sleeves.

Rainy Days

We LOVE our summer rainstorms. The kids usually end up getting soaking wet everytime we get a good storm. They love to run around and yell and scream and just enjoy the rain.

Dance

Alaina took a beginner Jazz class this year. They had a HUGE recital at the end of the year. (and by HUGE I mean tons of people, big concert hall, and expensive for the costume, tickets, fee, etc.) Anyway, it was lots of fun and totally worth it. She had a blast and was so so brave. There is NO WAY I would have done something like this voluntarily when I was little. She performed in front of a few hundred people. I'm so proud of her.This is part of her dance, I know, she looks THRILLED. They were supposed to be clowns.

 This is coming out onto the stage.

And this is heading home, holding her flowers. All in All, it was a great way to spend Mother's Day.

Gymnastics

The kids are in gymnastics and they LOVE it! It's so fun to see them progress with stuff. They aren't going to the olympics anytime soon, but its so fun. I wish I could take a gymnastics class!

Charlie at 18 months



I don't know when this was taken, somewhere aroud 18 months old. Love the expression.

I love the back of his head. It's so cute.

He's holding my lens cap.

Playing on the playground.



Happy Shoes. He loves shoes. Especially his new rain boots.

Charlie turned 18 monnths old the day before Jonah turned 4. He is still a happy toddler. He definitely makes his wants known and might bite out of frustration. :) That is happening less and less though. He's starting to say more and more words everyday. He got some good news at the audiologist: She did a 'pressure test' on his ear (not painful at all) and got some movement from the ear drum. That means that his ear canal has opened up some. Which means that he can possibly hear a little better out of that ear. We will find out more once we can get a comprehensive test, hopefully at his next appointment. It's a little hard at this age!

Jonah's Birthday Part 2

Super Jonah and Super Cooper

The request was made at least a month or two before the party that it be a 'Super-Hero Dinosaur Party'  I think I delivered. I made capes and dinosaur masks and dinosaur hats and superhero arm cuffs.. There was a 'super hero training center' in my hallway, that kinda fell apart. Balloons hanging and yarn crisscrossing like lasers, then a punch bopper at the end with those giant blow up bopper hands for them to put on. A good idea in theory, but I needed more....tape.or glue.  maybe thumbtacks?  I don't know. They still thought it was fun. Here's the cake: I am going to add that this is the COOLEST cake I've ever made.

The Birthday boy was quite satisfied with the cake. and the party.

 Here's my 4 year old: On the day he turned 4. He's so handsome.

and TOUGH!!!!:

Jonah's Birthday Part 1

On Jonah's actual birthday we took him to the REC center. We went swimming (his favorite thing) then played on the climbing wall. He also got a new little car thing. One of those ones that moves when you turn the handles. Very cool. He loved it. We played with that a little in town before we went to Uncle Jason's birthday party. He and Jonah share a birthday. More pictures to come.

Snow Fort

We built a snow fort on the back deck. The snow was about 3 feet deep and we dug a Big hole. We left the outside rim as a wall. Then we dug a tunnel to the outside. When we came in we had rosie cheeks and hot chocolate.

And He Eats...

Graham Crackers and Milk

and Pudding

Once upon a time...

in a town not so far away. A little girl wanted to go on a walk with her family.

We all excitedly took off down the path, some faster than others.

We stopped along the way to look at things.

and happily ended up at a park.

And the little girl and her family played

Happily Ever After.

8. 8? 8!!!!!

My beautiful little baby preemie girl turned 8 on December 28th, at 8:28 am.  Don't quite understand where the time has gone, but I am so thankful to have been a part of it. We had 2 parties again this year and a portrait session. (by me) The first party was for her friends on the 18th. It was a kitty party. They painted ceramic kitties, chased some yarn, and went on a scavenger hunt to find a mouse. The mouse ended up being on the cake, don't think you can see him in the picture. They also had kitty tails made of yarn. It was so much fun. The second party was for family. Since her birthday is so close to Christmas we usually have a lot of family here. We had the party at Nana's house. Alaina had a blast.

Too Long...

It's been far too long since I blogged. Wow. We had Thanksgiving, Christmas, and two birthday parties for Alaina. (one for her friends and one for family) We just celebrated Jesse's birthday, o and mine was in December too. Cleaning the house and homeschooling and the holidays have kept me pretty busy over the last few months! In fact, I shoud be cleaning my desk off right now.... I'll leave you with a picture, for now, if I can find one...

Now, I'm off to make some beds. My desk will have to wait.