The month of September

So besides confirming the creation of our third child, what else have we done this month?

All of the old college roommates joined Tracie and Robyn out here in beautiful Colorado. Naturally, since I was watching the kids all weekend, Tracie asked that I provide a recap, so here goes.

 Breckenridge is always picturesque, but especially this time of year. Cool temperatures, the start of fall colors turning, and this year, biblical floods along the Front Range. It took an extra day, but everyone eventually made it out.

 Robyn brought up a couple of bikes and the ladies rented a couple more. Not sure if actual riding was done, but there was a lot of posing by the lake wearing bike helmets...

 When working out at altitude, it is important to stay hydrated and well fueled. Bri and Robyn demonstrate proper form.

 Delicious.

 They stayed at my manager's place up in Breckenridge. Lots of fun, not a lot of pictures, and only the occasional pillow fight.

 It was a lot of fun to see everyone, and a great reminder of all the memories that they have shared. Looking forward to the next installment of this reunion.

 For Tracie's birthday, we turned back the clock to our college years and went to the Kelly Clarkson/Maroon 5 concert at Fiddler's Green. We had seats in the grass, which sounds quaint, but in reality turned out to be more standing on a hill. It was still a lot of fun.

 Kelly Clarkson was great. That girl can really sing. I think she can go places.

 Adam Levine and Maroon 5 were a lot of fun. The crowd was an interesting mix of people. There were obviously a lot of cool people in their young 30s like us. And of course, the young teens and college kids. Then randomly, a lot of 'older folks' including people in their 60s and 70s. Fans of American Idol? The Voice?

It was a lot of fun, but for the rest of the week we felt a lot like Connor. 

It was a fun month full of Soccer, dance, school, piano, work, church, friends, and fun. We are looking for more of the same in October (except that now Connor actually sleeps in his bed).

Spilled Beans

 There you have it...mark your calendars for March 24th.

 ...And always for good measure.

Quick Recap!

I realize that we've been M.I.A. for a couple weeks.  Yikes!!!! I wish we could say that we've been doing exciting things but it's the daily grind that's keeping us busy.  Here are the highlights of the past weeks:

 

Connor got his very first hair cut.  It took him so long to grow the hair he had that I didn't want to cut it but his grandpa hairs were getting way too long.  He did great sitting in the chair and walked away looking so handsome and grown up.

We also transitioned Connor into a big boy bed.  I'd like to say that he loves sleeping in it but for the past week we've found him fast asleep behind the door.  Kind of makes it hard to check on him but thankfully he doesn't wake up as we push the door open and he moves pretty easily.

Troy and I celebrated our 9th anniversary.  It's hard to believe that it's been 9 years already.  It's gone by so fast but I've loved every minute of it.  Thanks for all the fun, laughter, and adventures!!!!

 Brooke has been playing soccer twice a week.  Some of the time she's in the thick of things.

 Other times she's examining more interesting things.

 Troy has enjoyed coaching Brooke's team.  It's a challenge to coach a bunch of 5 year olds but they've done well so far.  They're 2-1 for the season.

 We've enjoyed having Taylor here for the summer. 

 The kids miss having him around.  Troy misses having the lawn miraculously mowed.

Other than that life is good!  Brooke loves school and doing fabulous.  Connor likes having more mommy time.  He's starting to talk a little more although you may need a translator to really understand what he's saying.  Troy's busy with work but loves to come home and spend time with us.  I'm busy with piano (12 kids) but still love what I do.

We've Got A...

 ...girl in kindergarten. Brooke had her first day of school on Tuesday. Both Mom and Daughter were excited, and both handled it with no hiccups, meltdowns or tears. She goes for full days, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other Friday.

She was still smiling when we picked her up in the afternoon, and we are looking forward to how she can grow this year and learn from her teacher Mrs. Clouthier.

 She also started soccer this week, with Dad being the coach. The games are 4 on 4, with no goalies or refs. So far the concept of soccer is more entertaining than the actual sport, but she did better in practice #2.

 Despite her being on the young end of the age bracket, she holds her own physically. We'll still work on the competitive fire, since 5 minutes into our scrimmage this week she asked, "Can we play something else now?"

And We're Marching...Here we go...

I've been back for 3 days from Girls' Camp and the chants are still running through my head.  Luckily the kids don't look at me as if I'm too crazy when I'm singing them...I think they quite enjoy it. 

I wasn't the camp director this year (which in all honesty, was kinda nice) but I headed up to camp the day after Brooke's birthday.  We really do have a great group of girls and I'm constantly impressed by them.  They really are great!

Camp is never complete if you don't have:

 Skits.  (I missed the actual night of it but the girls were ready to re-enact it for me)

 Archery/sling shot. 

 

My favorite part of camp: watching the 4th years hike in.  They had spent the past 4 days hiking in the mountains and it's a huge celebration to see them come in.  What made it even more special was that I had these girls when I was in Activity Days about 4 years ago.  Can't believe how much they've grown.

 

We just had a change in our bishopric that effects our YW president. I really, really hope that I'll be able to go to camp next year.

B-I-G girl

I can't believe it!  We have a 5 year old.  Where has the time gone?  Seriously?!  I still remember being very large and pregnant with her.  I still remember heading to the hospital on a wet, summer night.  I remember what I thought when she was finally here.  And I can't believe that it was all 5 years ago!!

We celebrated her birthday a day early with having some friends over and digging into a Barbie cake that my friend, Sarah, made.  Sarah asked to borrow a doll.  Brooke wanted to make sure she'd get it back.  She was thrilled to see it in cake form wearing a princess dress.

The actual day of her birthday started with banana chocolate chip pancakes.  Brooke wasn't thrilled that Connor tried to get in on the action.  Good thing she blew it out first.

Later in the evening we headed to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory and then to a Rockies game with our friends, the Cowans and Hutchings.

I think we did a pretty good job stretching out/celebrating Brooke's birthday.  Hopefully she felt very loved and special.

It's A Party!!!

I decided to bite the bullet and throw Brooke her first birthday party.  With the help of Troy everything went off without a hitch!

Instead of a cake, I decided on cupcakes...box cupcakes.  You could smell the sugar that was emanating from them.

 We had a double slip n' slide

 Water balloon toss/fight

 And finished off with a punch board and prizes.

 Brooke was thrilled to be able to spend the afternoon with friends, running around, and playing in the water.

Camping Fun

So after three years, we decided it was high time to do some camping again. Given the fire bans in most of the state, we had to head to the mountains to be able to have a camp fire, because, let's face it, camping with out a fire is just pointless.

We drove through a downpour in Georgetown before getting to our camp spot near Lake Dillon. It rained heavy, then light, then stopped, then it repeated the cycle before the finally clearing for the night. Luckily we didn't get too wet.

The Cowan's are such good friends, and the kids get along so well. It was nice to have the kids keep themselves entertained for most of the trip.

Stacie and Tracie took care of all the details, including some delicious dutch oven meals. Teriyaki chicken and bacon potatoes for dinner. Peach cobbler and ice cream for dessert. Scrambled eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast.

The coals made for a nice start to this no-match fire. It was nice to sit around and chat while Connor learned how to climb out of his pack and play. We'll see if he starts daring to do the same thing in the crib...

Maybe I should have added a jacket to the gear that we packed, but a Tough Mudder shirt and some cuddly kids kept me warm all night.

We didn't finish the ice cream on Friday night, so the Saturday morning menu also included some 'shakes'. I think the mustaches were better than the drinks.

Jon, got milk?

Connor, got scowl?

Glenn brought up his gun, and on Saturday morning we went shooting. Tracie had a lot of fun.

Great shooting the first time.

Even better the second round. Just another reason that I'll never spurn this woman! Love you!!!

Looking forward to our next trip in 2016!!