October

October was the start of a 2 week Fall break for the kids.  I figured it was about time that I took Brooke to a hair salon to get an actual haircut.  I had no idea what she would want to do but offered her some suggestions.  Who knew that she would be up for chopping off 6 inches!  We all love it and it is so much easier to brush her hair now!  Yay!!

At the beginning of Fall break we headed to UT for a very quick weekend complete with golf cart rides.  Troy had a high school buddy pass away from bone cancer and we went to his funeral.  His friend, Clint, died 2 days before his 35th birthday leaving behind a wife and 3 kids.  The people that spoke at the funeral (including his wife) gave a beautiful tribute to a man who loved life, family, and the gospel.  Both Troy and I left the funeral feeling inspired and uplifted.

 

We made our paper chain counting down the days until Hong Kong/Tokyo.  Can't believe we're looking at less than 20 days from now.  Yikes!!!!  And Yahoo!!!!  We've been looking forward to this trip for so long that I can't believe it's here.

 The weather held up and friends invited Brooke and Connor to play at the reservoir.

I finally got a new pair of glasses.  The kids wanted to try some on for size.  I have a feeling that we're not too far away from seeing some specs on one of them.

Connor finished off another great soccer season.  The last game was a bit rainy and chilly but the kids did great.  I even think that his team went undefeated.  Go Monster Spiderbats!!!!

 

 

 

 

We also hit up the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  I love this zoo.  It was a beautiful day to go out and be amongst the animals.  Dylan was a little unsure of the giraffes and budgies. 

Troy's mom and Taylor came out the second week of Fall break and Troy and I headed south for a little getaway.  We hiked Manitou Springs Incline.  It was no joke.  About a 2000 ft inline made up of railroad ties in about less than 1 mile.  Then a nice 3 1/2 mile jog down the trail.  Our legs were screaming by the time we were done.

 

We also found a fun 1000 piece puzzle to do at the place we stayed at.  We were able to finish it and found that there's one piece missing.  Can you find where the piece should be?

Dylan has decided to show his independence starting with feeding himself.  On this particular morning I had an early piano lesson so I thought I'd try leaving him in the high chair and let him have at it.  I quickly discovered that he was more eager to feel the yogurt squish in his hand as opposed to eating it off the of the spoon.  Nevertheless he was a happy kid.

The kids made out like bandits this year especially at our ward trunk-or-treat.  I went through 3 bags of candy and still didn't have nearly enough for all the kids.  I even emptied out Dylan's basket into my bowl at one point.

I kept the donut tradition alive this year.  We had 2 fryers going and it made it so much faster to get them done. 

Tough Mudder X2

So Troy and I were crazy enough to sign up for the Tough Mudder again and somehow convinced friends, brothers, and even Mom to join in on the crazy fun.

This one was up in Aspen and it couldn't have been a more perfect day for it.  I was slightly concerned how the weather would be but it was gorgeous.  Somewhere in the high 60s maybe even low 70s.

The first half was pretty tame in regards to the obstacles.  I think we ran more than anything.  The big doozie in the first half was the Arctic Enema.  It was no joke.  Austin was a walk in the park compared to this one.  I think the container was completely filled with ice and some water.  No pics but here's an idea of what happened.  I went down with Troy and Brett.  We hit the water at the same time then someone (not mentioning any names) used my head as leverage to surface and scramble out leaving me in the dust.  It was freezing.  Luckily it was warm day.

 The back half was far more challenging and muddy.

Some guy, before the race, tried to psych us out of doing the Cry Baby.  It's a new obstacle this year where they fill an area with "tear gas".  The guy did a pretty good job in spooking us but we didn't let it stop us from completing the task.  It ended up being an area filled with a very eucalyptussy gas.  Quick short breaths made it manageable and we felt quite refreshed and tingling afterwards.

Troy commands attention when he's around.

The Funky Monkey bars was my nemesis.  I don't think I even made it past the first wrung in Austin and I was determined to push myself as far as I could go.  I was pretty proud of myself for making it as far as I did but that landing hurt.

Since Troy and I were Tough Mudders x2 we got to bypass the electroshock therapy which was a good thing.  We spent waaaayyy too long on the mountain (due a small medical emergency-we had a diabetic on our team and his numbers were sky high and he needed insulin) and I was DONE.  We did have an extra obstacle to complete.  A trampoline jump onto a zip line.  Troy did it with such ease.  I ended up with a cold bath.

Despite it being a long day it was so much fun.  Having a great team really does make it that much more fun.  Until next year Muddy Rockers!!!!!

August

Two posts in 2 weeks!  Woot woot!!!

The start of August brought the start of school.  Seriously, this summer flew by in a flash.

Brooke started her second year in the 1/2 combo and thankfully we have the same teacher.  There was absolutely no stress or nerves going into this year because we knew the teacher and already knew a handful of kids in her class.  I've already know the rough outline of her year and it looks to be another great year.

Connor started preschool a week after Brooke started school.  He is in the afternoon and at first I was a bit nervous about it but a few weeks in...I'm loving the real quiet time.  He loves going and he's one of only 4 or 5 boys in the class.

 

Brooke and Connor finished up tennis.  I think they had a lot of fun and I loved watching them.  Dylan on the other hand was not content being on the other side of the fence.

 

We've enjoyed the last days of summer playing outside and relaxing.  Connor found a grasshopper and I somehow convinced him to pet it.

Dylan is a natural when it comes to anything ball related.  He loves kicking around a soccer and ball and it's hard to contain him on the sidelines during Connor's practice/games.  He also loves the bat.

 

 

We were invited by some old friends to go boating.  It was a BLAST!!!!!!!  Makes me wish the summers spent at Lake Mead.  It took a run or two for the kids to warm but they loved it.  I guess I should mention that we left Dylan with some friends.  I'm not sure if he would have liked it as much.

 

 We were so lucky to meet up with Auntie Robyn and the girls.  We got to hang out with them all day.  First the Denver Nature and Science Museum then followed up with an afternoon at the Rec Center.  The kids were spend and the adults were able to catch up.  Can't wait until next year when she'll be a little closer!

At the end of August we had to say good bye to our roommate for the past 4 months.  It was a ton of fun having Taylor around and kinda nice having a built in babysitter.  Thanks Tay! 

July

I had good intentions of posting at the end of July but once again life happened.  So now that I have a spare, quiet moment I thought I'd take advantage of it. 

We started the month off with our annual camping trip out in the the backyard with our friends, the Cowans.  I opted to sleep inside with Dylan and their little one and still managed to not sleep in.  I actually think the older kids slept longer than any of us expected considering that the sun comes up so early.

 

The big highlight of July was Troy's family vacation to Bear Lake.  Bummed that we weren't able to see Jer & Kenz's family.  

We started the vacation off with a family birthday party.  We have about 5 birthdays in July so we decided to celebrate it all at once with a pinata.

 Dylan knew immediately what to do with a bat in hand.

 

 Poor Olaf didn't stand a chance with 7 kids attacking him with a whiffle bat.

The beach was awesome.  I had some anxiety with the thought of Dylan being so close to open water and showing no fear but thankfully Bear Lake was the perfect place for us.  No waves and the water was super shallow.  We rented a paddle boat, waverunners, and stand up paddle boards.  So much fun for all!

 

 

We also did some hiking and spelunking.  Although the weather wasn't super cooperative we still managed to find fun to do.

Including wrestling with the uncles.  It's a good thing we've got college age guys who don't mind rough housing.

 

The kids loved spending time with their cousins and got them even more excited for our trip at the end of the year to go see them.  (stay tuned...)

 

We also celebrated Brooke's big 7 birthday (complete with birthday waffles).  It's still hard to believe how fast time has gone.  She is a great big sister, fun, silly, smart, beautiful, kind, thoughtful, inquisitive, adventurous girl and we love her!