Venture to Colorado

My ten year reunion was a couple of weeks ago and I decided I might as well try to go and see a couple of people I have seen since I graduated high school.  We didn't end up making it in time for the reunion but a trip to Colorado is ALWAYS a good idea and we had a wonderful time with my parents.

The kids did a wonderful job in the Bushmobile  car (yay for DVD players!) and the girls didn't make a peep until it was time to stop and eat.  We made pretty good time!

My dad met the girls for the first time and they got plenty of snuggles from Grandpa and Mimi.  Jonah got to go fishing with Grandpa on the boat and the kids loved being at the lake.  Mimi spoiled the kids, as usual, with various prizes. 

Eloise (left) and Pearl (right) with Grandpa Green

We enjoy the symmetry of two babies!

Thanksgiving in Colorado

It was our year to travel to Colorado for Thanksgiving which we were all very excited about.  The one thing that  put a damper on the fun was the miserable drive there.  The first 2 hours were through blizzards and over icy highways, and all the while we had Jonah throwing up in the back seat.  Jonah woke up sick the morning we were supposed to leave but we decided to go anyway, as he'd be throwing up no matter where we were and at least we could contain it in the car (thanks to the salad bowl and plenty of grocery bags--all fully inspected and hole-free).  He was a really good sport and made sure we were notified before each episode. Poor kid.

On Wednesday, we celebrated Sophie's birthday with the family.  I made my first batch of fondant which was even more difficult to work with than I suspected.  Those people on Ace of Cakes make it look so easy!  I was pleased with the final product despite all it's flaws.

Sophie loved her birthday presents which provided hours of entertainment through the week.  She loves baby dolls and feeding them, putting them to sleep, and even disciplining them!  I just hope her means of discipline will change before she's a real mom because I'm pretty sure DCFS won't let you keep your child after you throw it across the room or bang it on the table.

In spite of the frigid temperatures on Thanksgiving morning, we gathered the entire family for the Fort Collins Thanksgiving Day Run.  It was a 4 mile run which we all did eight years ago (before most spouses and any children came to the family).  This time we had three baby-joggers, 2 strollers, and twice as many people.  It was a great event and Jonah even got to run his first solo race.  He started out strong but tripped and skinned his nose on the asphalt so it took a little encouragement on my side to get him to finish.  It was about 1/3 mile and by the end, he was spent but so excited that he finished. (pictures to come)

Following the delicious meal, we broke out the karaoke machine and I opened the ceremonies with "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" and then forced the other adults to take part (no one was too willing).  The kids loved it, though.

Friday and Saturday were relaxing with just a little shopping, pedicures for the ladies, and the BYU vs Utah game for the boys (I'm glad I didn't watch that one).  Then we got the girls all dolled up in their Christmas outfits for some pictures (talk about break-down central).  We got a few good ones and mostly bad ones with someone crying and someone with their eyes closed.

This one just makes me laugh every time!  Can we say, "I'm tired and can't smile any more."

Beautiful girl.

The drive home was uneventful, thank goodness, and we were glad to settle back in to our usual habits.

How blessed I am to have such a wonderful family.  I have awesome brothers and a sister whom I love dearly and sisters-in-law that are basically blood.  My parents would do anything for us and often do.  I truly have much to be grateful for.

Colorado 2010 Part Deux

We decided to head out to Colorado last week as a last minute getaway before things start getting hectic again.  Jon starts school again in three weeks and so does Jonah!  He'll be going to preschool two days a week and he can't wait (neither can I!).

It was so nice to spend time with my parents and with Laura and Olive (I can't get enough of that little chunk).  We took it easy and mostly hung out at my parents house and ran a few errands around town.  My mom treated Laura and I to pedicures (tradition) and also to a micro-derm abrasion treatment (I'd like this to become a tradition ;) ).

Laura spent most of her time doing hair.  She's the best sport.  After finding my second gray hair (and I'm sure there were more), I decided it was OK to dye my hair again.  It was the natural color for about 3 months...that's a record. 

After days of afternoon thunderstorms typical of Colorado--which I LOVE--we decided to take our chances and head out on the boat for an afternoon of tubing and fishing.  Jonah was excited at the thought of wakeboarding but our wakeboard has long been broken and gone.  I was sad about this too.  Jonah had his plastic golf club positioned in such a way that mimicked the position of a rope used for wakeboarding and he talked about it our whole drive to CO.  Tubing was a blast though.  I can't help but giggle the whole time.

I love this sequence of "jammie" pictures.  Mimi bought the kids matching jammies and they looked so cute!

I did go faster than this...we were in the no wake zone, I promise.

 Uh-oh...she's losing her patience!!!

 Oh good, I remembered some candy.  This kept her happy for a long, long time.

 

I need to go to Colorado!

Once we told Jonah about our planned trip to Colorado on July 16th, we heard this phrase non-stop: "I need to go to Colorado!". Well, we've been back for about 2 weeks now and we're still hearing it occasionally. He loves to visit Mimi and Grandpa.

Jon's new shades reflect the highway

I-80, Wyoming style

The car ride was pretty good both ways. I'm grateful to have discovered that Jonah enjoys watching movies on my iPod. It keeps him nice and quiet when he's refusing to take a nap. He calls his headphones his "listens".


While we were there, we went to Water World for the afternoon. It was so much fun to have Mimi and Grandpa there with us and they were so wonderful and watched Jonah, Sophie, and Eva for us while we went on a few adult rides. We waited way too long for the toilet bowl ride but it was worth seeing Johnny and Jonathan go around in circles for 10 minutes before dropping into the pool below. On another note, thank goodness for people who know how to wear a swimsuit that fits.

We also got to celebrate little Eva's first birthday with a beautiful cake that Audra created. It was delicious! Happy Birthday, Eva!

Respite

After staying up until 4:30am, we were able to clean our entire apartment and get checked out. We left for Colorado the next day and had to switch drivers several times because we were both so tired. We had a wonderful time in Fort Collins, though. Josh and Lindsey were there with the boys. We hadn't see them since Thanksgiving, which means Sophie was only a week old and little Cooper (their 3rd boy) wasn't born yet. So we got to meet him and had a great time playing with everyone.

Mimi bought a pool and some water toys for the kids to play with, so after lunch with Grandpa and Mo, we got the kids in their suits and let them play for a while. It was Sophie's first time in a suity. She hated the water (ice-cold) but she loved being outside with everyone.

Josh having a water-fight with Chase and Lincoln.

Jonah and Lincoln

Sweet Sophie in her suity.

Smile!

It was a wonderful way to relax from our move and spend time with family.