Blog Design

Help. I tried to update my blog but I'm not digging it... not the fonts... not my header not being centered... not my green plaid not showing up...

What else are you guys using these days? Who has templates that I can put a photo in and stuff for free? What happened to the good ole days?

Bunk Room

The bunk room is ready for visitors!!! It just needs a few finishing touches... maybe some bears or meese (according to Brian). Who's first??? Josh? Mathew? We can't wait to see you and have you stay in our tree house bunk beds! Emily and Ryan are testing it out for you!

Moving on up!

And we're up... Ryan's been standing on his own a lot this week... usually because he doesn't know he's doing it! Don't focus on those sad eyes... this is after all a picture of Ryan and he does spend over 50% of his life fussing so it's nearly impossible to get a happy picture.... we won't say how much over 50%... He also has discovered his ability to walk behind his toy... usually worth a few smiles ;)

Picnic at 11 mile Canyon

Last weekend we took a drive to 11 mile canyon to explore some fishing spots for daddy and stopped to have a picnic and make some furry friends!

Views from our picnic.

Big Boy

Ryan has really been growing up this week! I've been trying to teach him the signs for "more" and "all done" the last few days which he refuses to do, instead he looks at me as if to say, "I'm not stupid you know" and says "a duh"... okay, I'll take it! You don't want to sign because you'd rather just tell me you're done! So, now we have about 4 words: mama, which often means more, dada, which only means dada ;), ball, and all done. Such a big boy.

Last night, Ryan sat down with Daddy to help put together his John Deere tractor we've been waiting to see him ride that his Aunt Christina got him at birth! 11 months later and we're finally ready! Riding a John Deere requires you have no shirt on!

He can climb off easily, but getting on is a bit trickier.

Also, lately we've been having trouble finding Ryan... he's figured out how to climb the stairs really fast when we're not looking.... uh oh. And tonight I found him sitting on top of the ledge by the fireplace... not quite sure how he got up there.

He is also getting very good at opening the screen door and letting himself outside to the second floor deck! not good. Notice his expression... "what? I didn't do it..." He's a sneaky little ninja...

HUH?

And now for a rousing game of name what's wrong with that picture...

Tonight's treasure

Tonight we went on a hike to our park and they have the biggest dandilions.
Make a wish. And blow.

And blow... and blow, and huff, and puff...

And scoop them off!

Mom and Dad's Visit

They came, they saw, they conquered. My mom and dad just left after we had a great time (too short) with them. We hope they want to come back even though we put them to work while they were here! Mom helped me paint and finish Ryan's room, and Dad helped move furniture and watch the baby! It was so nice having help and the kiddos loved being the center of attention. We tried to cram in a few activities too.... but missed out on driving the Garden of the Gods- sorry Dad! Plenty left to do next time! Here's a sample of our adventures...

This picture is for Christina since she sent us the link to akward family photos... Here we are in Pikes National Forest... Brian is our very own Pikes Peak! (Emily was the photog)

Mom and I took the kids to the zoo and we rode the chair lift to the top... Mom LOVED it... notice there's no picture of Mom...hmmm...
The coolest thing about this zoo is that you can feed and touch the giraffes! There were over a dozen of them- just watch out for long tongues :)

This morning, after our hike, we all went to Cave of the Winds. Em had been asking to go. This is my favorite photo.

Outside Cave of Winds.

Mom and Dad taking a stroll in Fox Run Park. It was very chilly today... we had rain off and on all week it was cloudy and cool out but we weren't scared!

Brian and Dad went exploring/fishing on the other side of the range and this is the shot Dad took of all the 14ers you could see from where they were.... pretty.

Here they are, all suited up.

We even made sure to hit the mexican cantina!

Having someone else around sure is nice... we had some good family shots of all of us for once!

And, Emily got to go on a special date to Chili's with Maya and Poppy... chocolate cake anyone?

I think the only thing we missed having photos of was the 4th of July fireworks at the Air Force Academy... The weather was on the verge of raining and hailing so we parked accross from the Academy where we could see all the action from the comfort of our SUV... The fireworks were amazing mostly because God kept outdoing them! The lighting flashes were on the backside of the mountain making the sky light up and emphazing the dark range line with the fireworks bursting in the front - very cool - wish I had taken a picture!

We were so blessed to share time with them, we can't wait until they come back! And, a certain card score (which shall go unsaid) needs to be vindicated!