Turning 30

I wasn't looking forward to my birthday this year. In fact I was outright dreading it. Thirty has always seemed so old to me! Well, thanks to my family and amazing friends turning the dreaded thirty wasn't actually so bad. On my birthday we met my parents at the Melting Pot for some Fondue. When we came to our table my sweet husband had thirty roses waiting for me. What a wonderful surprise! The fondue was delicious and the company was even better. The following weekend my dear friend Rachel planned a fun evening for me. It was called my birthday crawl. It was a blast!! Thanks to you all for making my birthday one of the best I have ever had.



The little ones stayed with a sitter for the evening. The Melting Pot isn't quite their speed :0)


Making jewelry at Beazu
Tapas at Nosh

New School Year

As of today all of our boys are in school. Tyler started 5th grade last Friday and Nicholas and John started preschool today. Wow! This is Tyler's last year as an elementary school student and that has been a hard one for Mom. It's going to be a challenging year for him academically but I'm sure he's up for it. My preschoolers are just so happy to be in school. They are big kids now of course! John is in the AM class and Nicholas is PM. Their schedules keep me very busy! Fortunately they are able to ride the bus home. It's pretty cute to see a tiny little preschooler getting off a huge yellow bus. :0)

Beary Fun Birthday

Faith is 3!! For her special day we thought it would be fun to take her to the Build A Bear workshop. None of us had ever been there before so it was a fun adventure. Faith is the only one that actually left with a bear but all the kids were involved in "building" her bear. She picked out her own bear (they had so many to choose from!). It was pretty cute because she was so sure about the one she wanted. We tried talking her into another bear but she was not hearing any of it. She wanted the purple bear. Funny girl. We spent a good hour building her bear and afterwards the kids were able to go and play at the kids area in the mall. Our three little ones had never been in there before. They were in heaven! We met the Grandparents for pizza and presents in the evening. We all had fun celebrating her birthday.


Ready to put the stuffing in her bear

Giving her bear a bath


This is the shirt she wanted for her bear


The kids eagerly waiting to dress the bear

Making the bear a birth certificate



Introducing...Sophie




Blowing her candle out

Look what I got!!
Faith and Grandma Judy

Faith and her Poppy & Bammy

Happy Birthday Princess!!

Camping Trip

Jason and I took the kids on a two day camping trip. I was happily surprised at how well they all did. We have gone camping before but never for more than one night. Its kind of fun to all cram into a tent made for four people. Makes you feel cozy! We spent our days fishing, hiking, soaking our feet in the river and just taking it easy. Our camp site was way up in the mountains and it was so beautiful! When we roasted marshmellows we figured out that Nick and Tyler only like to cook them not eat them...more for Mom and Dad! Jason and Tyler both caught a trout. We cooked them up but Jason is the only one who would eat it. The kids all made the funniest faces. They are NOT fans of trout.




John and Nick fishing

Tyler napping while waiting for his big fish to come (now this is the life!)

Jason and Faith

They caught a fish and are getting it off the hook

Roller Coasters

It has been several years since we have taken a trip up to Elitch Gardens in Denver. Last time we went Tyler wasn't tall enough to ride ALL the rides. This year he was! I'm not sure he wanted to ride ALL the rides but with lots of talking to we got him on all but one of them. The water park was packed but we did get on a few rides and one in particular that none of us had ever been on. Scary! It was a nice time for the three of us to have together. We were there from the time they opened to the time they closed. It was a long and wonderful day. While we were gone my Mom stayed with our little ones. They always love hanging out with their Bammy. In a few years they will all get to go with us on those roller coasters! Or maybe hang out with Tyler on the ground :0)

Waiting in line for the Half Pipe

Jason and Tyler getting ready to go flying high

Tyler got a temporary "P" tattoo


Tyler and myself getting ready to take off on the Twister roller coaster (Tyler's Favorite!)

Jason on the climbing wall

Tyler and myself at the end of the day

Girl Time

My close friend Rachel and I were able to get together for a day. A Whole day! Without kids or any other distractions. This doesn't sound so amazing but believe me it is! We met for lunch , went to the penny arcade, enjoyed walking through Manitou Springs, and just overall had a great time. It was nothing big , but just having time to have "girl talk" was the best. Its the little things like this you take for granted until you have children. I'm so blessed to have such a special friend in my life . Thanks Rachel for a great day!

Fishing n Things

In the past month or so Jason has been working on his fly fishing skills. He has really improved but only because of the amount of practice that has been put in. We had our nephews over for the weekend and decided to take them fishing. Plus, this would give Jason some more time on the water :0) Our nephews and Tyler all caught a fish while out. That was exciting! Nicholas is a very patient little fisherman and although he never caught a fish he was content to just sit there in his chair and wait. John on the other hand could careless. He was more interested in the worms. Faith wasn't too interested either. This was good for me! I had a little buddy to walk around with and wait for the boys. We all had a nice time.


Jason giving a lesson in tying his line


John and his pet worm...


Jacob and Nicholas


Tyler showing off his fishing skills


Jon and the fish he caught

Faith and Mommy waiting for the boys