Riley-Man & The Louie Clan

Bowling

2012-02-11T21:33:00.000-07:00

Hi There from Snowy Colorado - Finally! We are finally getting some snow around here. We got a few inches late last week (Denver and other areas got more than a Foot!! Boo), and then last night we got a few more inches. Nothing much to talk about, but Riley is surely loving playing in it. Jayce still isn't a big fan (I think he takes after me) so he and I stay inside while Riley takes the dogs in the backyard and has a blast!

This week we've just been hanging around the house mostly. Tuesday Lacey and I had a mini-girl's night to celebrate her birthday. I took her to Rasta Pasta (one of my favorite restaurants in old town) and then we just did some shopping. Yes, we spent our time away from kids walking around Bed Bath & Beyond and Target . . . and it was AWESOME!! We didn't have to yell 'sit down' or 'come here' every 30 sec., and we didn't have to hear 'I want this' every 10 sec. One of the best girl's nights I've had in a while. Just the two of us engaged in adult conversation for nearly 4 hours straight! Heaven!!!

So back to our uneventful week at home! Here's a few pics of the boys.

Sometimes it's easier to jump right in rather than drag all the toys out!

Jayce doesn't play Wii, but he has to pretend whenever big brother is playing!

Friday we went Bowling!! Real Bowling - not Wii Bowling! It was Riley's first time. We found out that Chippers lanes does really cheap pre-school bowling on weekday mornings so a bunch of us moms got together to let the kids play. Riley's friends Jack and MaKenna were there. He did really good. They used the racks to roll the balls instead of throwing them, but I made Riley roll it himself a couple times for photos. He was so cute - he got so excited when he got a spare!! No strikes for him, but he did pick up a few spares. Jayce had fun too. He kept trying to pick up the heavy balls off the rack, thankfully he couldn't! and his other favorite thing was the fan on the ball return! So cute!! Here's some pictures of the day.

Jack and Riley

First game scores - Riley got an 89 - not bad!!!

Riley and Makenna

Jayce Playing with the balls

Right before he picked up a spare

After picking up the spare!!


Second game score - 109!! Way to go Riley!!

Tonight our good friends Jackson, Tanner and Ryder are coming over. Riley has such a good time with them, and they love Riley and Jayce too. Now if we can just keep Jayce from tackling Ryder we'll be all set!! lol

MOPS bake sale is tomorrow, so I spent this afternoon baking away. 2 doz. cupcakes and 2 pies later, I'm all set. Man, I love Pinterest!! Got both these ideas from there.

Peppermint Swirl Pie

Red Velvet Kiss-cakes (surprise kiss in the middle!)

If you don't know what Pinterest is . . . you need to find out! But only if you have lots of free time because it's super addictive and time consuming! I could spend hours looking at all the cool things people pin!
Also tomorrow Daddy is taking Riley to the Monster truck show! Wow Fun!! We aren't doing anything special for Valentine's day though. We aren't much the Valentine's people. Plus Cameron took me to see Cirque du Soleil last weekend, so I kinda count that as a Valentine's present! It was so neat! The acrobatics those people can do is amazing!! I can't wait to see another show.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

New Business, New Car

2012-02-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

Well, things have certainly changed in the Louie household the last couple days! 2 exciting additions . . . no, I'm not pregnant!! But I did start my own business! It's Called Baby Bear Designs, and I'm selling crocheted hats, blankets, and more for babies and kids. I plan on expanding to other items, but I thought I would start simple and see how it goes. You can see more about what I'm selling on my business blog - babybeardesigns.wordpress.com and PLEASE like my facebook page here - www.facebook.com/twobabybears. I am taking "custom orders" for just about anything, so please don't feel limited to what I'm offering on the websites.

The other new addition is Cameron's new car! We've been talking for a while about getting him a new car, the Jeep is just not gonna make it much longer as a daily driver. And were planning on getting something this summer. But if you know Cameron you know he spends hours upon hours researching what he wants, and then once he decides he spends every spare moment searching for the best deal. (this trait can be a little annoying at times, but I have to admit - it has saved us money . . . sometimes lots of money!!) And this was the case too. I did have to put some limits on his car selection though (like has to fit the carseats, and be under a certain price - that one was kinda difficult for him to swallow), and again if you know Cam, you understand this!! ;) Anyways - he decided on the Subaru WRX STI for his choice vehicle and found a really good deal on one in Colorado Springs. So, it was fresh off the boat and we went to pick it up last night. I think he was giddy!! It is pretty nice, and it's been awhile since he had a new car, and I know he's been wanting a sports car for a while. So he deserved it! It would have been nice it we could afford to finish the basement first, since that may not be possible with another car payment now, but Oh Well!! Like I said, he's due, he deserves it, and it make me happy to see him so happy!! (silly boys!!) So here's some pics of Daddy's new car! It is a pretty shade of blue!!

Short week in indy

2012-01-29T22:35:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, Thought I should let you all know how the trip to Indy went. . . and well, very good. It was an emotional rollercoaster for me, but overall I think I got everything done that I needed to. Jayce was great for the flight to Indy - hardly any crying until the last 20 minutes or so. Pretty good considering he had horrible diarrhea and subsequently a horrible diaper rash. But overall the flight was fairly painless. However, Jayce did manage to pass the diarrhea germs to nearly everyone he came into contact with in those 24 hours! Apparently it was passed to Daddy before leaving, and Mommy (we both got it the next day) then Uncle Rodger and Kathie, Even Grandma Wilson got a dose of it! Yuck!!! So Aunt Janice - You were right to stay away!!! Wish we could have seen you, but we would rather have you healthy!!!

Other than that the boys had a great time! Cousins Maddie and Vanessa stayed the night at Grandma & Grandpa's Friday night and Riley couldn't have had more Fun!! They watched Tangled (in Vanessa's new Rapunzel hat) and pretty much just ran a muck through the house! Grandma and I discussed how nice it would be if they lived closer and could play more often . . . then I thought twice - Maybe limiting the time that Riley and Vanessa are in the same house (or same city for that matter) is a good thing!! They are probably the only ones who can wear each other out!!! ;)

We also got to see one of my very good friends from high school!!! She lives near Seattle now and it was a complete fluke that we were both in Indy at the same time!! Her oldest and Riley are only 4 months apart . . . and ironically her youngest and Jayce are only 4 months apart too!! Hahaha!! So the boys had a blast all playing together! It was so great to catch up with her, I wish it could have been for more than just a few hours. And I wish I would have gotten some pictures too! What was I thinking!! ugh!

Most of my time was spent at the house though. It was hard doing all this on a deadline. I could have spent months going through everything in detail. But I got the necessities done (I hope) and the rest is up to Mom and Anna (sorry guys!) If you haven't had to do this, consider yourself lucky. All of my memories from growing up are in that house . . . even if it was remodeled after I moved out and looked very different. And walking out of there for the last time Tuesday night was quite possibly the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I took as many things as I could to remind me of all the good times spent there, but there was so much more that I wanted to take that was impossible - like the fireplace my dad built with his own two hands, and the oak tree I planted in the front yard when I was in third grade. Even though it's been more than 10 years since I lived in that house, it will always be home, and it hurts to think that someone else will be living there and "possessing" my memories. But on the upside, Rodger's working hard to see if it can be purchased by a person or organization that truly needs a house equipped for someone with physical disabilities. The house was remodeled years ago to accomodate my mom and her wheelchair (wider doorways, lowered light switches, reversed sink faucets, not too mention all the ramps!) and it would be nice to know that all that is being utilized by someone in need of it.

And the flight back wasn't as pleasant and the flight going to Indy. The turbulance was the worst on any flight I have ever been on, Jayce was flat out refusing to sleep and therefore screamed nearly the entire flight, Riley was too tired to watch a movie, but not tired enough to sleep (so he resorted to kicking the seat in front of him for entertainment!), and to top it all off - my slight headache turned into a massive migraine upon boarding the plane!! I am not a great flyer, and have recently started wearing motion sickness bands to help, but this was by far the worst flight ever for me!!! (and that includes the flight when I was just a few weeks pregnant with Riley and puked at least three times during takeoff!!) So it will most likely be a while until I fly again with the boys by myself. Oh yeah - that was the best part - trying to get two sleeping children off the plane with all the carry-on bags too! I almost cried when I found out that they wouldn't give Cam a gate pass to meet me off the plane and I had to get the kids all the way to baggage claim on my own! I have never loved my Sit n Stand stroller more than at that moment right there!!! But we are home safe and sound now, trying to get back into the swing of things. Here's some more pictures from the trip:

Sleeping on the airplane

Gotta stop at Steak n Shake!

Gotta Stop at Don Pablos Too!!

Grandma Wilson & Riley

Jayce, Grandma Wilson & Riley

Riley and Eliza at Chicago's

Mom and Anna

Jayce and Aunt Anna

Riley playing with Unkie Rodgie's flashlight

Jayce messing up Unkie Rodgie's Bed

Playing in the snow at Unkie Rodgie's

In other news, I have finally decided to start selling some of my crochet items. I'm working on putting together an inventory for an online store (Etsy or Artfire or something), but in the meantime I'm just gonna start with taking orders via Facebook. I'm working on a store name and some pictures, but I should have that up and running by the end of the week. So feel free to email me if you would like something!! I'll post the link on here when I get everything all set up! This is kinda exciting for me! I've never done anything like this before, and I'm not sure how it will go, but I'm anxious to get it underway! Have a good week everyone!!

Fun With Friends

2012-01-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody! Riley here - Mom finally let me do a post again! I got so much to tell you! We had a really fun week this week. I got to play with so many of my friends! Monday we went to MOPS, so I got to play with all my buddies! Kenna and Jack especially. We had so much fun! Then we went to lunch with Jan and Cathy (Ryder, Tanner and Jackson's Mommy). And Guess where we went . . . CHICK-FIL-A!!!! My Favorite!!! I was so happy to get chicken nuggets and get to play!

Then on Wednesday Ryder came over to our house. His Mommy went to Denver to be with his Grandma for a surgery so we got to play with him the whole day! It was so much fun! We played in our cave, we played in the kitchen, we played with balls (Ryder likes balls like Jayce does), and we played with the slinky A LOT!! Ryder really likes the slinky! Oh, and we jumped on the trampoline - Ryder Really liked that too!

Go ahead . . . Make my Day!

Then on Thursday we went over to Greg's house. I haven't gotten to play with Greg in FOREVER!!! So we played a lot! He showed me all his cool toys he got from Santa. But he had to go to pre-school so we invited them over to play at our house on Friday. It was so much fun!! I got to show him all my toys that I got from Santa, and Mommy even let us play Wii for a little bit! I wish it was warmer so we could have played outside too. Oh well.

Then later yesterday Mommy finished mine and Jayce's Superhero Capes! They are so cool!!! Jayce has a Superman one and I have a Batman one (to go with my Batman Mask Mommy made for me with yarn). She painted them. She did Jayce's with regular craft paint, but she tried something new with mine. She called it screen-printing. Whatever that is. But she said that she didn't like it and doesn't think she'll do it again. It didn't work real well and she had to go back and brush paint it anyways. She said she doesn't like the special paint either, too many steps (paint, dry, iron, set, special wash, etc.) So I think she's just going to stick with the good ol' craft paint! I don't really care, I just want to fly around in my Batman cape!

Oh and Mommy says to show you my Colts Hat. She worked really hard on it, that horseshoe wasn't easy to get even! But I like it! I'll have to wear it next week when we go to Indiana.

I can't wait to go to Indy! I get to see Grandma and Grandpa Louie again, and Grandma Wilson!! And all my Aunts and Uncles and cousins, I hope!! It's going to be fun! Mommy says I might even get to see some of my friends that I hardly ever get to see, like Sophia and Drew! Well, that's about all for now, I have to go get dressed, Mommy's taking me to the Library today! YAY!! Just me and Mommy all by ourselves!! See you all later!

Fun in the snow

2012-01-08T21:51:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share with you guys some of the things we've been up to the last couple days! This week we have been cleaning out our basement, getting ready to finish it (one of my goals for 2012). It's been a big project. Our Basement (like I'm sure so many other people's is) has become "that place to put things that have no other place." Everything from storage for old toys, baby stuff and Christmas stuff, to food storage, misc. junk, camping stuff, summer stuff, and anything else that we don't know what to do with. Anyways, we've spend the last couple weeks organizing it, trying to consolidate boxes into same size plastic bins and in the process have made MANY trips to goodwill and the recycle center (for cardboard boxes). Well, all but one box. This one has become the boys "cave". It's so cute. Cam cut a door in one side and later I poked holes in the top and stuck in some old Christmas lights. They have had a blast playing in it. Once again I find myself baffled at why I spent so much on toys at Christmas, because I think they have played with this box more than anything else!

Another fun item - Ball Pit Balls from Aunt Anna, and a pack n play! They stay contained and entertained, I can shower in peace! It's Brilliant!!! Not too mention that my pack n play is getting use beyond the normal "baby" timespan.

Then today we headed up the Poudre Canyon to do some snowshoeing. We took sleds for the boys. Riley walked quite a bit, I was proud of him. But Jayce screamed for probably the first 20 min. straight. Then he figured that he wasn't getting out and stopped . . . as long as we kept moving. Which meant no stopping for Mommy. This is the same Mommy who is VERY out of shape and trying to hike in snowshoes while pulling a sled. Needless to say, we didn't go very far. Mommy couldn't cut it . . . time to get back in shape!! Riley had a good time though.

Eating snow

What did you stop for!

beautiful day

Moon rising on our way home

Beautiful sunset, our view of Long's Peak on the way home

Such a clear day we could see all the way to Pike's Peak!!

Some other notes on Jayce. He is growing up so fast!! I know big surprise!!! His new favorite thing to do is give kisses - which I just LOVE!!! He won't do it when you want him to, only on his own terms, but it's so cute when he does. He clicks his tongue and then mashes his face into yours! Sometimes he'll stick out his bottom lip, like he's pouting, other times he'll have his slobbery mouth hanging open ready to share all those germs with you! ;) It's a kiss only a mother could love, and boy do I!! Riley was never a "kisser" and still isn't, so I'm hoping that this will continue with Jayce. I also think he's hit a growth spurt the last few weeks, he's finally starting to fit into some of Riley's old 12 month clothes. Which makes sense, because this boy has been eating us out of house and home the last few weeks!!! I'm already dreading what my food bill is going to look like in 10 years. Time to start doing some extreme couponing!!! lol.

And I've got some Crochet Items to show off!!! I finished the Steelers hat . . . but don't worry, I'm working on a Colts one for Riley to even it out. And I guess I can root for the Steelers today since they are playing the Broncos, and I'm so sick of hearing about the broncos and Tim Tebow this season that I'm ready for their season to be over!!! So, Go Steelers!!! haha. I did a couple more gift items, but one is a birthday present for my mom, and I think the other two read my blog so I probably won't post up pics of those for a few more weeks.

I forgot to mention the changes to the blog - mostly the pictures. Kodak came out with a new "Sharing Site". So instead of me posting links to each and every one of the albums I want to share, I can just add them to the site and then anyone with the link can see it. So Check out the top if you want to see pictures! I have almost every album in Kodak that I've made on there, special events, monthly ones, etc. So you can see pictures all the way back before Riley was born! Enjoy!! I'm trying to figure something out like that for the videos, so look for that coming soon too. Have a great week everyone!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

Is everyone getting back in the routine yet! I hope so, we are struggling here! Daddy finally went back to work, it feels like forever since he worked a full week. It was nice to have him home and get to spend so much time together!

So who has already broken their New Year's Resolutions - Anyone? haha I've never been big into resolutions, mostly because I'm not too good at following through with those sort of things. But this year I'm making some Changes!! No, I didn't make a resolution, but I did sit down and make a list of goals for this year. I've started following this website Money Saving Mom, and no it's not one of those extreme couponing sites. There's that, but there's more too, other financial advise, activities to do with kids, free printable stuff, I love it! Anywho - She posted about her goals for 2012 and gave a tutorial on how she determines the goals and worksheets to get started yourself. (Here's the post if you want to see) And I thought "I could do this!!" There's so many things I want to incorporate into our lives, or my life, and this would be a good way to hold myself accountable. So I used the goals setting worksheet she offered and made a list of 6 priorities, broke those down further into focus areas, and then wrote 1-3 tangible, measurable goals for each focus area. It was really invigorating!! I know what your thinking, Man, that's a LOT of goals to accomplish in 2012! And when I look at my finished list of 37 goals it looks a bit daunting! But I can be anal about certain things (not that you would think by looking at my house!) so I got SUPER organized so that I can accomplish all these goals. Some of the bigger one I broke into smaller ones. For instance, one of my goals is to study 3 books of the Bible in depth this year. So instead of it coming to December 28th and me going "Crap - I haven't done this one!", I broke them into smaller goals: Get my list of books compiled by March 31, and then I gave myself 3 months for each book, Each with a deadline. Other goals are things to work into my life on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. Example: one goal is to do a craft with the boys once a week. So I organized a spreadsheet/checklist of all of those goals so that I can Check them off each Day/Week/ Month and it's hanging on the refrigerator. I also think I'm going to print off a new checklist each month so I can add the longer term goals in there too. I'm a visual person. So in short, some goals are small and easy once I get into the habit - like praying purposefully every day for my family, and others like Hike 4 14ers this year will take a bit more planning and practice to accomplish! So I'm really excited about my Goals for 2012. I thought about posting them all here for you to see like the blog lady did, but some of them are a little more personal than I would like to broadcast all over the internet. So Instead I'll tell you about the bigger ones when I accomplish them. Sorry!

Anyways - NEW YEAR!! I'll back up a little now and tell you how our new year went! We decided to let Riley stay up for the ball drop this year. (which we've done in the past when we were in Indy but that's actually 10:00 our time, so this was his first year staying up til Midnight.) I didn't realize they would show the ball drop live at 10 our time or I would have planned that a little better. Oh well. But he and Daddy played games to keep him awake, Sorry, Wii, even Trouble I think. And he was going strong until about 11:30 when he started fading. (I think the Cherry coke we gave him at dinner helped with that!) But he perked right up when we brought out the Silly String!! Yes, Mommy bought silly string to spray when the ball dropped. It was a nice alternative to noise makers with a sleeping 1 year old!! And it was a hit! We may do this every year - well, most likely outside next year - cleaning it up wasn't as much fun! Anyways, here's some pictures from Riley's first New Year's:

Things are going good here, not too much excitement! I have my first "paying customer" for a crochet project. I'm not too thrilled about the project (it's a steelers hat - I can't believe I'm making a hat for a team other than the Colts!!!) but she's paying so I guess I can't be too picky. I'll post pics when I'm finished - it's coming along nicely. Speaking of crochet projects, here's a pic of my niece that I think is Hilarious! You can see the shawl I made for her Mom (my sister-in-law) in the previous post, along with the way I thought it was supposed to be worn. However, Vanessa has discovered that it's actually Rapunzel's Hair! Too cute - and that's totally Vanessa!!!

Well, that's it for now. I'm heading to Indy in a few weeks to help out with some things for my mom, so those of you in Indy who want to meet up - Just give me a call or email and we'll try to work something out! See you all soon!!!

Crochet Christmas

2011-12-26T22:30:00.000-07:00

Now that everyone has opened their Christmas presents I can share pics of what I made for everyone. So here is my Crochet Christmas collection!

Hat for my sister

Scarf for my sister

Floor-sized Checkers set for my niece (complete with checkers and carrying bag)

Purse for my niece (apparently it's perfectly Kindle-shaped!)

Afghan for Rodger and Kathie

Shawl for my sis-in-law

matching placemats for my mother-in-law (I made 4 of these)

"Lacey" fingerless gloves for my niece (used crochet thread here - first and possibly LAST time!)

The only Christmas present I didn’t get a picture of was the legwarmers I made for my mom. So Mom: you have to take a picture of you wearing them and send it to me!

I also thought I would post some pics of a few other baby hats I made during this time too. I can’t remember it I have posted these already, so if I have you get to see them again.

Baby Charley in her zebra hat

Hat for Samuel

Hat for Brett

I finished most items in the week I allotted myself (or less). The afghan, placemats and gloves took the longest. It was nice to cluster them together - I did a lot of the smaller projects back to back, and then took a break. I don’t think I’ll be doing an entirely crocheted Christmas again. It was a lot of work. I will most likely continue to make SOME of the gifts I give, just because I enjoy the task and giving something personalized. Of course, I guess I could start now on next year’s gifts . . . ;)

Merry Christmas to all!

2011-12-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas Everyone! Hope you had a fun and safe holiday celebrating the birth of our Savior!! We had a great time! Here's some pics from our Christmas Weekend:

Sledding with Daddy on Friday

Jayce didn't like it too much

But Riley couldn't get enough

Our sad attempt at Cookies for Santa . . . FYI you can't substitute gummi bears for gum drops - It just doesn't work!!

Opened a present on Christmas Eve - Riley got Monster Slippers

Jayce just wanted to play with his balloon from Chili's at dinner that night

Christmas Morning after stockings . . . Jayce still with the balloon!

Pirate Ship from Santa

Jayce's toolbench from Santa

Rockstar!!

This is how he spent most of Christmas Morning!!

Building the pirate ship

Playing with the toolbench

Riley playing the new Wii from Santa

Cuddling watching Cars 2

Playing Wii again, this time in his new legwarmers (Daddy hates these)

Almost Christmas!

2011-12-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Sorry for the delay in posts, we've had a crazy couple weeks. On Jayce's actual birthday last week we headed to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. They have "Sue" the famous T-Rex and a T-Rex Exhibit right now and I really thought the boys (or at least Riley) would enjoy it. So we went. It was the perfect day to go. The T-Rex deal wasn't as huge as I thought it would be, I was a little disappointed. They had Sue and a couple of other "big" robotic dinosaurs, but that was about it! So we went through pretty quick and headed out to the rest of the museum. We did get our picture taken with a T-Rex though!

The boys enjoyed the regular fossil section more than the special dino exhibit so we spent quite a bit of time there looking at things. Last year they were doing some construction in Snowmass CO and found a huge Mammoth skeleton. So we got to see that. It was there with people still working to unearth it.

I also took a couple of comparison photos. Here's one of Riley when he was about 9 months old:

And Jayce in the same place!

This one is just Riley, at 9 mo and then at 4 1/2 years.

I wish I would have been able to get one of Jayce with the ears too, but as a Mom by myself it's hard to get some pictures.

The next day we went to see Santa! The elementary school in our neighborhood (the one Riley will go to next year for Kindergarten) had a community night and invited everyone for chili and cookies to see Santa. We've never actually taken Riley to see Santa, I was never brave enough to fight the lines at the mall (or the nurseries - that's the big place to do it around here) or the screaming child that might be scared of Santa. but with this free event with just the neighborhood (did I mention I like living in the boonies at times like this!!) I figured this was the best time to do it! So it was Jayce's first time sitting on Santa's lap, but it was also Riley's First Time! haha Does that make me a bad mother! lol

Then the sicknesses came. We think we picked it up at the museum. Jayce's started Saturday with a little bit of the "big D", and I didn't really think much of it. You know kids, with out a fever they still act and play normal so it's hard to tell. Sunday we drove up to Cheyenne to visit our good friends the Cazee's who were passing through on their way to Salt Lake. We hung out at McDonalds and Jayce didn't eat much of anything. After our visit we went to Sierra Trading Post Outlet and saved a BUNDLE on some hiking boots. Jayce still not eating much and not needing a diaper change either. Thinking he was just dehydrated from the diarrhea the day before we tried to get him to drink some juice and didn't think much of it. Then the next morning I woke up feeling a little puny. Went to get Jayce to discover he had thrown up sometime in the night and rolled and slept in it! Yummy! After cleaning that up, I was exhausted and thinking it was because I hadn't eaten breakfast yet started to get some ready. My stomach let me know right away that wasn't the issue!! Jayce seemed better at taht point though and I hesitated on whether or not to take him to the dr. I called and made the appointment anyways. But now I had to get him there. Time to call Daddy!! Cuz Mommy wasn't getting off the couch anytime soon! FAB DAD to the rescue!! Cam took off work at lunch to take Jayce to the doc, took Riley with him, and ran some errands for me - including getting sprite and pedialyte for the sickies! He was a champ . . . until around 4:00 that afternoon when he walked in the room and told me his stomach wasn't feeling too hot! Oh no!! Now we have a 4 year old who feels perfect, a 1 year old on the mend and two parents who are completely under the weather! Needless to say, no one got much for dinner that night. Poor kiddos! Cam stayed home from work the next day too, but by that evening we were both feeling much better. I thought Riley was starting to get it too yesterday when he "poo-d in his pants" but I think that was just from all the oranges he's been eating lately, cuz nothing since! So I'm happy to report that we are all back to normal!! Although I think Jayce has cought on the the whole refusing food thing to get what he wants. We're gonna have to nip that one!

Well, not much else to talk about now. I did finish one last Crochet Christmas project that wasn't on the original list. I didn't get Jayce a stocking last year, and just realized recently that I still hadn't gotten him one this year. So I made one for him.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I am still trying to decide if I want to put a J on it. And if I want to make a matching one for Riley (so Jayce isn't the odd man out since the 3 of us have matching ones). Maybe next year. Well, Cam has the rest of the week off for the holiday, and with all the fresh snow we got today maybe we'll go sledding or something tomorrow.

Have a Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Jayce Turns 1!!

2011-12-12T14:48:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Jayce! Well, almost! His actual birthday isn't until Wednesday, but we celebrated a little early so that Grandma and Grandpa could celebrate with us. Mommy made a Monkey Cake for Jayce, and Monkey Cupcakes for everyone else. They turned out so CUTE!!! Then we also had fruit (because Monkeys like fruit) banana splits and animal crackers. Party Favors were Monkeys in a Barrel, and I'll say - They were a HUGE Hit!! Jayce got a new truck from G&G, some books from Tanner and Jackson, a toy Camera from Ryder, and a new swing for the play set from Mommy and Daddy. He wasn't really into unwrapping the gifts, but all the older boys took care of that for him! We didn't really do anything special, but it was a lot of fun anyways! Here's some pictures from his Birthday Party.

Then that night we did an early Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa - it was a present filled day! Grandma made Pillow Mats for the boys, and they turned out super cute!!! Riley's is a "Space" theme which he thinks is awesome (he slept on it last night!!) and Jayce's is a cars and trucks theme. They already love bouncing and falling into their piles of pillows! These will be truly loved! And Mommy got some new Pots and Pans!!! YAY!! Daddy has been bugging her for a while since we have about used up our skillets beyond the point of usefulness! So now we have some!

Now that our trip is over and Jayce's birthday party we just have a few more things to get underway before Christmas. I will say it's been crazy up to this point, but it's almost nice to get it all out of the way. I really feel like I can just relax until Christmas. I did finish all my Crochet Christmas gifts! I'll have to wait to post pics until after Christmas, but I will do that! I must say I was very happy with the way they all turned out. Hopefully everyone enjoys them as much as I enjoyed picking out the patterns and making them!

One more thing. Please Pray for my Mom again! This week she made another trip to the hospital for some DANGEROUSLY low blood pressure, and the decision (from everyone, including her) was that she needs round the clock nursing care. So she has moved from her home to Manor Care Nursing Facility. This is not an easy transition, but one that everyone knew was coming and was already in the works. So pray for her peace, her caretakers healing touch and watchful eye, and comfort for those that this is the right choice. She seems to really like it at Manor Care (after being at the waters for a month) so that is a positive note! I'm hoping to travel to Indy sometime in the coming months to help get all the remaining affairs in order, so prayers that that goes smoothly as well (especially since I will most likely be traveling with 2 small children on my own!) If you have the chance to please take the time to visit my mom, it has to be lonely and unnerving being in that situation. I can give you contact info if you need it, just email or FB me. Thanks everyone!

Have a Happy Holiday season!

Much Needed Beach Vacation!

2011-12-12T08:11:00.000-07:00

We are back from the beach! Hawaii is so beautiful and so interesting! I can't wait to go back!!! And yes, we are already planning ideas for our next trip!

I took SO many Pictures, it's taking a while to pick just the good ones and upload them all, but I'll have a kodak album up when I get done. For now here's a few just to make your mouth water! hahaha!

We spent all day Friday on the plane, and got to our place (wonderful vacation rental - if you ever need a place to stay in Hawaii let me know, I highly recommend this place!!) after dark. We were so tired, so sorry I didn't get any pictures of the place, but it was great. We ate dinner (at a wonderful little hole-in-the-wall place) at the end of the street and crashed. But with the time change we were up the next morning at 3 am. So we got ready and went out to watch the sunrise. It was cloudy (as was most of the week) but we got some snipits of color through the clouds. We spent the day sightseeing and just driving around the southern half of the island.

Sunday was Cameron's race. He did GREAT!!! It was 13.5 miles, and quite the bear (according to him) with all the climbing. A lot of ups and downs, around 3,000 feet of elevation changes. For comparison, that's about the same amount of climbing the Blue Sky Marathon has, but it is twice the distance. Cam still finished strong at 3 hours and 8 minutes. The winner came in at 1 hour 21 minutes, and it was his 4th time winning the thing. Some other interesting things: they had a group of 3 guys called the X-Treme Team. These guys go around running races and triathlons to raise awareness and honor wounded veterans. In order to do that they "disable" themselves by starting at the back of the pack and doing the entire race wearing gas-masks. They were an impressive group to say the least. So there was a lot of media attention on them. Also, the valley and surrounding mountains were the race took place is called Kualoa Ranch. It's so beautiful that Hollywood spends a lot of time filming there. Some of the movies filmed there include Jurassic Park, Pearl Harbor, 50 First Dates, Godzilla, Mighty Joe Young, and LOST. After the race we hung out at the beach, it was a little sunnier, and just relaxed.

Monday morning we got up early again and hiked to the Makapu'u Point lighthouse to watch the sunrise. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! We are so glad we did this for sunrise! You can't actually get to the lighthouse, but I got a few good pictures of it. Then we went back to the beach. Our rental was only 2 houses away from the beach. Monday was supposed to have the best weather at "our" beach so we decided to spend the day there rather than driving around chasing the sun. It started out a little cloudy, but by 11 it cleared out and was just gorgeous. We did a little boogie-boarding (or attempted to at least - it's a good thing our beach was nearly deserted, we probably looked pretty funny to any locals!)

The next morning we did a couple more hikes. We started out at Diamond Head Point. A must do with some beautiful views, but a little crowded for my taste. Then moved on to a nicer more quiet and beautiful hike to Manoa Falls. It's through the rainforest (truely a jungle!) and ends at a beautiful waterfall that just seems to go on forever! It was a muddy hike, but worth it none-the-less! Then after that . . . back to the beach!! This time we ventured north again to the North Shore (famous for the huge waves and surfers). After a stop to view the Temple, and do some shopping in a locals market (and get some great deals!) we parked ourselves on Sunset beach to watch the surfers and . . . what else- The Sunset!! We got chased out by a quick downpour, but the clouds cleared enough just before sunset to make it a extravagant sight! One of my favorite sunsets by far!! We ate dinner that night at a great little mexican place with some great Fish Tacos! The food on this vacation did not disappoint that's for sure!

Wednesday was December 7, 2011, the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. So again we got up really early, and went to the ceremonies for the day of remembrance. WOW!!! That's all I can say . . . WOW!!! It was so emotional, humbling, and just inspiring to be in the presence of the survivors of that infamous day. We were near the stage for the ceremonies themselves, so we could see the survivors faces as they watched the ceremonies. Then afterwards they stationed the survivors around the area for others to chat with, take pictures with or sign autographs. It kinda felt like a spectacle, so we didn't get to close, but we did listen a little as we passed by. again, WOW!! Just hearing some of the snipits makes you realize that even with all that has been recorded and all the stories that have been told about that day, there is still so much that will be lost when these survivors finally meet their comrades. We were fortunate enough to get a place on a boat to go out to the Arizona Memorial. Again, emotional and humbling! I didn't realize that when the survivors of the Arizona die they have the option of having their ashes placed in the Arizona with their shipmates. Apparently most have chosen that option. One wife even had her husband exhumed to do this when they put this alternative in place. They even had a service that very evening for one soldier. So amazing! I could talk about that place all day. Cam and I both feel so blessed to have gotten to experience that. But, the day soon came to an end . . . so we again headed to the beach to watch the sunset!

Thursday was another busy day! Another early morning, this time to Hanauma Bay to watch the sunrise and do some snorkeling. I could have spent all day there!! We got to see a turtle!! That was exciting! And some very colorful fish! I really enjoyed snorkeling, and Cam even started to enjoy it . . .after he got over his fear of thinking he was going to drown! ;) The afternoon and evening was spent at the Polynesian Cultural Center. There is a TON to see there, and we rushed around to see as much as we could before our scheduled Luau and Show. The luau was lacking a little (good food, bad show) but that may be because the show after, HA, the Breathe of Life, was incredible!! The cultural dancing, fire twirling, you name it! So cool!!

Friday we wrapped things up with another day at the beach! Lunch at another fabulous local place, and soaking up the sun for as long as we could! We were both very sad to leave. There was so much that we wanted to do that we didn't get to. Guess that means we will just have to make a return trip!! ;) And we are home now, happy to see our boys and spend the holidays like they should be - with cold weather and snow!

Thanksgiving, Christmas Trees and Black Friday - Yes, I said Black Friday!

2011-11-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

Did everyone have a good Thanksgiving? We did! Cam cooked our Yummy Turkey, and I made the rest. Since it's just 4 of us we don't make a lot. One of our favorite dishes to make is a sweet potato and stuffing casserole-ish dish. We make it often, but not often enough we can't have it on Thanksgiving too! Then just some other basics that you can't have Thanksgiving without - green bean casserole, cresent rolls, and apple pie! MMM, MMM!! I also got a Pumpkin Cheesecake from my friend Emily. She make some for the MOPS bake sale and then took orders for Thanksgiving as an additional fundraiser. Apparently it was a big hit, she had 20 cheesecakes to make for Thanksgiving this year!!! Anyways, here's some pictures from Jayce's First Thanksgiving!!

We also went to cut down our Christmas Tree. We went to Beaver Meadows Resort Ranch to do it this year. Let's just say it's nice to have an alternative to the limited dates of the Forest Service . . . but I think they will our first choice. Beaver Meadows was just lacking in tree selection. It's been picked over pretty clean, and it's a small cutting area, so it didn't take long to grab one and go! I will say that's a plus though. I think we had the thing picked out, dragged back and on top the car in a little over an hour! That may be a record! It's also the smallest one we have ever chosen! We were going for a smaller tree this year. With Jayce walking now and grabby hands all over the place, we thought it best to stick with around 8-10 ft tall. I think we got one a little over 8 feet. It's perfect though! Nice and full and round. I love it! And so does Riley! After we got it put up and decorated he kept saying "I love my new Christmas Tree!" (of course everything is "new" now - "I love my new pillow pet" (that he got last year for Christmas), "I love my new bed" (after I change and wash his sheets), I love my new Fill In The Blank!") Although it was hilarious the next morning when I came downstairs and he looked at me with the most pitiful face and said in the saddest voice "There's no presents under the tree!" It was so hard not to laugh while trying to explain to him that it's not Christmas YET. Guess I should have started the Advent Calendar before putting up the Christmas Tree!!

Oh yeah, one more thing I wanted to tell you about. I love my boys. I want them to have the best Christmas, but I also want to save some money. So...I did it. I went out Black Friday Shopping. AND I WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN!!! I worked retail for 5 years and HATED working black friday. So I swore I would never go out and be one of those psychos on the other side of the counter! Well, like I said, I love my boys . . . so much that I caved . . . and went out. Not only that, but I went to TOYS R US!!! I have to be NUTS!! They opened at 9 pm Thursday night. So I put the boys in bed and headed out. Got there a little before 9 and walked to the store to find a line at the entrance. Expected. So I went searching for the end of the line. And I walked, and walked, and walked, and walked. The line went all the way to Target (four stores over) and then crossed into the parking lot, went all the way to the back of the lot and then turned back west towards the Toys R Us! It was NUTS! So I waited. This part wasn't so bad. It was a little after 9:30 when I made it in the store. Not too shabby. (I was expecting that part) So I went searching for the things on my list (1 in particular) which they didn't have. Dag-nab-it!! So I FINALLY found the other items I had scouted out and got in line to pay (at the back of the store). It is now 10:00. And I waited, and waited and waited and waited. And then . . . waited some more!! It was about 10 minutes to MIDNIGHT before I finally made it to the front of the line!! It was Ridiculous!! (thankfully I had my trusty Twilight Books app on my phone to keep me entertained!!) So all that waiting in line, to save $40 and change on toys (since I didn't get the big item I was shooting for). Oh well. Like I said, I love my boys. I just hope they love me too!!! ;)

Cameron scored big though. My Christmas present this year (and probably fir the next 5 years) is a new camera!! And with our trip coming up he gave it to me early!!! I'm so excited to play with it on the plane! I got a new camera, 2 lenses, and a polarized filter (so that the sun, sand, and water in Hawaii doesn't glare too much in the photos!!) Thanks Cam! I love you! I promise to take beautiful pictures for you!

Speaking of pictures . . . we got some taken of the boys last week. Some of Jayce for his birthday, and some Christmas ones of the boys in their matching Christmas sweaters. The lady was really sweet, and she took a LOT of shots. You can see all that she took HERE. You can even order them right off the website . . . sorry we aren't sending any out of these - our deal on the photoshoot doesn't include enough copies. So enjoy looking at them, oh yeah, the password is Nov232011.

Well, that's all for now! G & G Louie get here this week, and then Cam and I are off to HAWAII!! So my next update will be about that trip when we get back. Also coming up, Jayce's Birthday!!! Look for lots more to come!!

New Playset

2011-11-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

Hi All! Hope you are enjoying your exciting November! We are! Fall finally showed up (not too cold, not too hot!) and we are taking full advantage! Last weekend we went to a friend's house to help them dismantle a play structure. Jan and Tim's boys are now in college and they decided they wanted to remove the play set the boys played on for years and put in a more "adult friendly" bench and water feature. But thankfully they didn't want to just throw out the play set. SO. . . they gave it to us - FREE!!! Not only that, but they helped us take it apart and move it to our house! We are so blessed to have such generous friends! So anyways, last Sunday we spent the afternoon (and a good part of the evening) taking apart the playset and moving it to our house. Riley was so excited . . . everyday last week he would ask me "is Daddy going to build my playset today?" So Finally Saturday he set aside the time to do it.

Disassembling at Jan's House

Reassembling at our house (this is quite a ways into it already)

Riley can't get enough, and it's not even finished yet!

Yay! All Done: "treehouse", slide, rope swing, swing, climbing net, monkey bars, room for sandbox underneath, and more!

It took awhile with just the two of us (ok, mostly Cam on his own). And some very nice neighbors stopped over to help us stand the thing upright. But he finished it all in one day! Riley couldn't be happier! He has played on it nearly non-stop since it was put together. It's supposed to be nice all week this week, so I'm sure he'll be out there everyday!

In other news, Jayce is getting more steady on his feet. He's walking 3 and 4 steps confidently now (away from the couch) and standing for just about everything. My guess is by his birthday (which is only a month away now - sheesh!) he will be walking almost everywhere! Ugh!

Yes, it's only a month until Jayce turns 1 year old! I can't believe it. And I know this month is going to go fast! Next week is pretty busy for us, MOPS, pictures, a Girl's Night Out for me, and Breaking Dawn comes out (SO EXCITED FOR THAT ONE!!! - I may spend the entire weekend in the movie theater!!) Then the next week is Thanksgiving. Once again a quiet Holiday at home with just us. Then on Friday we are going to go cut our Christmas Tree. Cam has some work shutdown days on Saturday and Sunday, so we are going to skip black friday (not that I care to venture out in it anyways - 5 years working retail cured me of that!!) and go Christmas Tree cutting instead.

Then the week after Thanksgiving is another busy week - The Week Before HAWAII!!! All our last minute prepping and Grandma & Grandpa Louie are coming! They are going to stay with the boys while Cam and I take a MUCH NEEDED vacation to the beach! I can't wait! Cam's running in the Xterra Challenge Race there and so we are taking some extra time to relax. 2 or so days of sightseeing, 1 day of hiking, and the rest it's just laying on the beach!!! Now that's MY kind of Vacation!

Then we get back and it's Jayce's Birthday Party, early Christmas with G&G Louie before they leave, and then just another week until Christmas! Wow, the rest of this year is gonna go fast!

Look out world!!

2011-11-03T10:15:00.000-06:00

Well, Halloween was a great day for us! Riley let me paint his face, and LOVED it!! He got so many comments and I think he really liked the attention. We went trick-or-treating around Old Town in the morning, got a TON of candy and lots of complements.

Then we stopped at McDonald's for lunch (a REAL treat in our house!), which may have been a bad choice on Mommy's part. There are a couple of McDonald's in Fort Collins, but instead of going to the one in the middle of town with the playplace (a kid friendly one) I thought it would be easiest to go to the one on the way home, at the intersection of Highway 14 and I-25. Sounds reasonable right? Well, We had the time, and it would be easier to go inside to eat rather than go through the drive-through so in we went. FORGETTING that I had dressed up for Halloween with the boys! Needless to say the McDonald's at 14 and I-25 doesn't see too many kids (clean floors and tables, not much room for strollers, smaller tables, etc.) mostly truckers, construction workers and farmers from the east side of 25. At least that's how I saw it when in I walked dressed like a black cat (face paint and ears, and even a tail!) and two equally costumed children and received stares from EVERYONE in the restaurant!! Ok, maybe the lady behind the counter wearing the devil horns wasn't staring, but everyone else in the very crowded restaurant took a double take at us. I learned my lesson: If you are going to dress up with the kids, pick a lunch place where there are other moms who understand and appreciate the effort, or at least utilize the drive-up window!!

Anyways, back to our eventful day! After the dreaded McDonald's incident, we went home and exhausted Jayce took a nice long nap. When Jayce is napping I try to have one-on-one time with Riley, and I had some Halloween activities lined up that I wanted to do. First was Cookies! I had gotten some cute spooky cookie cutters and so we tried them out! After making the cookies I wanted to add a few spooky decorations to the front porch for trick-or-treaters. I found this great bat idea (good ol' Martha!) using clothespins. So Riley helped me paint the clothespins black, I cut out the bats, and we glued them on. When they were all dry we hung them outside in our "cob-web fabric". Riley thought it was SO Spooky!

By then it was time for dinner. So we scarfed down our homemade calzones, touched up our make-up and headed out for Trick-or-Treating! Riley had a blast running from house to house. But by about halfway through Mommy had to hold the candy bag between houses. I will admit, he did have a lot of candy! This kid made out like a bandit!

Jayce stayed home with Daddy to pass out candy. He was pretty trick-or-treated out after a full weekend of it. But he did get his own time to shine that day! He discovered he can walk! He had been taking a few onesie twosie steps and falling into the couch to cut corners, but this was the first time he had taken more than just a step. I was finally able to catch it on video last night!

He is such a big boy (in a little boy's body!) He's still wearing 6-9 mo. clothes so it's funny to see this tiny little thing walking! Well, we are off to Oshkosh for some additional winter clothes! We got even more snow yesterday, and even more coming on Saturday. Sounds like we skipped fall this year and went straight to winter!!

Pumpkins and . . . Snow?

2011-10-30T13:48:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween Everyone! The spooky festivities are underway here! This week we carved our pumpkins and started making the trick-or-treat rounds! With LOTS of pumpkins this year - thanks to the always great prices at Anderson's - we did LOTS of carving, even some unconventional kind! Once again Riley was a little cautious about sticking his hand into the pumpkin goo, but we finally convinced him it was ok and he could wash his hands afterwards. Daddy went for the typical scary jack-o-lantern, and Mommy decided to try something new. It started out as "etching" not carving all the way through, however, since she chose a white pumpkin (with thicker flesh) it wasn't working to were you could see the light through the flesh. So she just ended up carving it like all the rest. Jayce's resembles him slightly: happy 2-toothed grin, and then we also made some extras!

Mommy was really excited to try some "vampire" pumpkins, but her Favorite thing she saw was this baby pumpkin!!

The one she originally picked out for herself to carve ended up being the perfect size to put Jayce in! He didn't even seem to mind it too much and started trying to eat the pumpkin a little bit into the photoshoot. But this was just too cute to pass up!

We had to bring all our pumpkins inside last Tuesday night so that we could carve them. Otherwise it would have been very difficult to do. See, that's because Northern Colorado got a HUGE snowstorm last Tuesday and Wednesday. We got around 10 inches of snow, wet heavy snow. It did a number on all the trees around here. Thankfully none of ours were heavily damaged - the perk of having all saplings! Our Aspen tree had a few broken branches, and we definitely won't be using our russian sage for "winter landscape" this year, but other than that we made it out nearly unscathed.

It was Jayce's first time to "play" in the snow - and he wasn't too thrilled about it. I tried to keep him contained Wed. morning so I could shovel some of the 9 inches off the driveway. I put him in the sled, which was fine for a while. Then he decided he wanted to climb out of sled. That didn't go so well, considering the sled was "floating" on 9 inches of soft snow. As soon as he put one hand down it plunged through and face-first he went into the snow!!!

He was done after that!! So back into the house we went. We tried again later with better success. Greg came over and the boys (well, mostly Daddy) made a snowman. It was great snowman snow!

The snow is already starting to melt away, but it sounds like we are supposed to get more again this week. Two more storms are coming (wed. and Sat.) and those combined will give us more snow than this last one. Guess it's time to buy some snowpants for the boys!

Friday Night we had our first Halloween Outing. It was Trunk-or-Treat at Cam's church so we had a good time dressing up and practicing our "trick-or-treats". Riley got a lot of candy, and had a blast dancing to all the halloween music. And Jayce the tiger won best costume for the 0-5 age group! YAY!! He did look SO ADORABLE!!

Then yesterday we went trick-or-treating around Windsor businesses. That was a little crowded, but still fun. Jayce was matching Riley in his skeleton costume this time, and they looked so cute! I may have to do matching or "themed" costumes more often - too cute! Today we took a break from the Halloween activities, although we were planning to go to a carnival type event at Centerra. But it's back at it again tomorrow for Trick-or-Treat in Old Town, and then the Real Trick-or-Treating around the neighborhood. Hopefully Riley will let me paint on his skeleton face for those events! So look for more pics next week!!!

One more thing - Most of you have probably been watching Facebook, but I thought I would mention it anyways. My Mom had major surgery last week and is in the hospital for a few weeks recovering. Things went really well with the surgery, but she now has MRSA, a sometimes difficult to treat staph infection. So she's in an isolated room - she can still have visitors, they just have to wear a robe and gloves. But Recovery is long for her so it will be at least another week that she's in the hospital. So please pray for her, and visit if you can, I know she gets bored easily in the hospital! Thanks! Have a Happy Halloween Everyone!!

Another Pumpkin Patch and Costumes

2011-10-19T15:31:00.000-06:00

Well, fall is in the air! It has been very chilly and windy this week. But we still went to ANOTHER pumpkin patch yesterday. Some friends from MOPS invited us, and we thought it would be a good chance to get together and hang out. This one had a lot of fun activities, but with the wind it was very cold so we didn't stay very long. We did manage to find a couple more small pumpkins though. And Riley had a blast climbing on the hay like at Anderson's. Here's some pictures from that trip.

Also, I have been crocheting again! I got about 3 weeks ahead of schedule on my Christmas list (YAY) so I took a week off. Then a friend of mine wanted her baby girl to be a Zebra for Halloween (to go with the Monkey and Giraffe that her older kids were going as, so I told her I would help her make the costume. So we are going to paint a onsie and pants with black stripes and I made her a hat. It's pink and black because we decided that a pink and black zebra is much cuter than a white and black one!! I hope it fits her.

And I was originally thinking about making Jayce a Tiger for Halloween this year, but decided against it after seeing everything else we had going on this month. I had a Skeleton outfit for him like Riley's pj's so I thought it would be easier (and pretty darn cute) if they went as matching skeletons. Well, after finishing the Zebra hat for Charley in an afternoon . . . it really took no time at all!! I changed my mind again and decided to go with the Tiger costume for Jayce. So, I made him a Tiger hat!! It is SO ADORABLE!!! He will definitely be wearing this one all winter!! I love it! My friend that does tie-dye is making him a onsie with orange and black stripes and I've already got the tiger babylegs. So we're all set now! I can't wait for Halloween this year! I've got some really cute ideas for pumpkins, and pictures, and I'm just happy for an excuse to spoil my boys! lol

Speaking of Jayce, he's still not walking . . . which is surprising, but fine with me!! He could if he wanted to - he stands by himself forever and has even taken a step before. But I think he's just decided that crawling gets him where he wants to go so he's content. It's hard to believe he's 10 months old already! This year has flown by! He still only has two teeth, but the top ones aren't far behind. Riley is growing up fast too. He can sing the ABC song now, although he usually leaves out E and K and the end he says "Next time you won't sing with me". It's cute! He really likes playing with Jayce, especially roughhousing (Ugh! - Already?) but Jayce seems to enjoy it too - most of the time! We are working on getting a playstructure/swingset from a friend (for free - yay!!) and I'm excited to have something for him to play on in the back yard. He always wants to play outside, but with the weather changing I'm not always up for going out (or taking Jayce out) to ride bikes, walk to the playground, or do sidewalk chalk for hours on end like we did in the summer. This will keep him in the backyard and keep him entertained so I can stay inside with Jayce if I want to.

Well, not much else to talk about right now. I've got a MOPS bake sale this weekend (and some yummy recipes I want to try out!) and then a long week until Halloween. Happy Haunting Everyone!

Anderson's Patchwork Pumpkins

2011-10-15T15:26:00.000-06:00

Fall is Finally here!! After such a hot summer, and hot start to the fall the cooler weather is starting to arrive. I've been cooking comfort food all week: Sausage & Shrimp Gumbo, Chili, Meatloaf, green bean Casseroles, and tonight I'm thinking good ole' chicken pot pie!! Yum!! Although today was another warm day, in the 80's, I think this may be the end of the warm weather. So, we took advantage of it today and headed to the pumpkin patch!! There's a great one just down the road from us (one advantage of living out in BFE!!) called Anderson's Patchwork Pumpkins. We've gone there just about every year since we've lived here and we love it! This year Daddy went with us so we went out to the patches and picked our own pumpkins. Riley loved seeing all the different kinds!

Anderson's does have a patchwork of pumpkins: orange ones of all different sizes and shapes, but also more differnt kinds of gourds than you can imagine along with green pumpkins, and red ones, and white ones, and yellow ones! It's so cool to see the variety in the patches. I actually bought a white one this year. I've wanted to for a long time, just haven't had the gumption to do it! So with Cam's extra hands to help this year, I said I'm doing it!!! And I'm so glad I did! I can't wait to carve it!!

Here's some pictures from our trip today:

This week has been another busy week for us. A few playdates, lots of errands, and some Fun Mommy Time for ME!! Yesterday we went to city park again with Kelty, Keen and my friend Mollie. Riley and Kelty get along pretty well (for being 4 year old first borns of opposite gender!) and Riley loves having a buddy to play with on the playground! Keen is so cute! He's only 22 mo. and complete opposite personalities from Kelty and Riley so he's really good at doing his own thing. I think he and Jayce will get along well as they get older. Baby Charley didn't come with us though :(, she stayed home with her Daddy to give Mommy a break. I got to see her though and she is so beautiful! Just over a month old. So precious.

On Tuesday I took Riley to a Mother's Day Out daycare at the local United Methodist Church. He had a blast!! He keeps calling it "4-year-old school" and I know it make him feel special to take a lunch and have a hook for his jacket, etc. I think I'm going to be taking advantage of that more often - expecially after Jayce turns one and can go too!!! Then on Wednesday Night I had a book club at church, so Cam watched the boys, and also on Thursday night while I ran some errands, and again on Friday Night so I could go to a 31 party!! So the boys had LOTS of Daddy time this week, and Mommy got LOTS of "me" time. It was great!! I certainly won't be doing this every week, but it was nice to get some time to myself. Thank you Daddy!!

Next week is kinda a relaxed week (at least so far) so I'm hoping we'll get to stay home and work on cleaning out the basement. We are trying to clean it up (and eventually out) so that we can finish it. We aren't sure if we are going to do it slowly by ourselves (well, Cameron mostly) or hire someone to do it and just get it done. but either way we want to have it cleaned up so that we can at least get started soon and utilize the space this winter. We've got some ideas on what we want to do, and if it works it will be a great play area for the boys (and Mommy!!) Guess I better get some "before pictures" before we get too far on it! hahaha

Daddy - You Da Man!!

2011-10-03T16:17:00.000-06:00

What a Finish! Yesterday Cameron completed his SECOND Marathon - this time on the trails!! We are so Proud of him for this huge accomplishment! Especially given the horrible running conditions yesterday! We are having a awful indian summer, and yesterdays high reached 92 degrees. Yes, 90's in October!

The morning started out cool, but not cold enough. it was probably already near 60 when the race started at 7 am. By 9:30 it was quickly creeping near 80. By the time Cam came through the start finish line (9 miles in) he had already rolled his ankle which was slowing his progress. (Click here for a full course description and map) But, being the trooper he is he pushed through the pain and kept going where so many people would have given up at that point.

Heading south towards Devil's Backbone he was still running close enough to his pace time that he wasn't worried, but then the heat of the day pushed temperatures on Devil's Backbone into the extremes! For those of you not familiar with Devil's Backbone, it's an oven in any sort of warm temperatures! The red clay hogbacks and exposed rocks cook you from the bottom while the sun is cooking you from the top. There is perhaps 2 shade trees in the ENTIRE open space, and the rolling hills don't provide any relief except in the early morning hours. Cameron said that in the heat it took him 40 minutes longer to finish Devil's Backbone than it did last year when he was near crawling up the rocks from his bum knees. That's when you know you're in trouble. He had drank nearly 7 liters of water and another at least 2 liters of energy drinks provided at the aid stations, but he still stopped sweating sometime in the middle last half of the race.

But He FINISHED!!! It took him 7 hours and 8 minutes, but he DID IT!! And that's what counts. After the results were posted we found out that he was 1 of 88 people who finished the marathon, when 123 people were registered. So nearly 30% of the people running didn't finish. Which is why we are so proud of him for Finishing!!!

He's not very happy with his finish time, so he's still debating whether he wants to try and better it next year. But for now, the next races he has to focus on are the Xterra Challenge in Hawaii in Dec., and the Mini-Marathon next May in Indy. You Rock Cam!!!!!

More Pictures

Wheelin Trip #2

2011-09-24T22:25:00.000-06:00

Well, another busy week for the Louie's! This week I FINALLY got Jayce's 9 month pictures taken! They turned out so cute!! I took his blanket I crocheted for him and got some really good shots with that, then I dressed he and Riley in Colts attire for some Brother shots! So adorable to see Jayce in his Peyton Manning Jersey and Football legwarmers. If you want to see them all or order some you can go to www.jcpportraits.com and type in the access code LTPP0348117139JCP. Immediate family- check with us before you order . . . we have already ordered some for you.

Then today we went wheeling again! Fall is such a great time to head out in the Jeep! The aspen leaves are turning gold, the air is cooler with a nice breeze, mountains are starting to get some new snow - It's just so beautiful! This time we went to Kelly Flats up the Poudre Canyon. It's been a few years since I've been up that trail (Cam and Riley have been more recently) and I've forgotten how much I love that trail. I think that it may have to become an annual "aspen viewing" trail! We went with some of the guys (and their wives) from Cameron's work. Apparently when he goes to work in the morning half the parking lot is Jeeps!! So they put together a trip and it was a blast! Jayce did great again, and so did Riley . . . they both had fun playing in the dirt (outside the Jeep) while Daddy played in the dirt (in the Jeep!) and were FILTHY by the time we got home!! Needless to say it was Straight to the Bathtub for both of them when we got home! Here are some pics from the trip:

Heading up "Heart-Attack Hill"

Mummy in the background

Mark took the easy Route

Gary's ready to go over

Try again! With some help

So exciting!

Beautiful Aspen

Gary in the Chutes

Going up!

Passenger Russ enjoying the ride

Riley showing us how Spiderman climbs rocks! ;)

Well, so much for that door handle!

S-t-r-e-t-c-h

Bumper in the wall

Back it up and try again

That's better!

Going down

All the guys!

Tonight Daddy took Riley to a Major League Soccer Game in Denver, so it's just me and Jayce. Busy day!! So more pics to come of that next time. In other news . . . I have now finished 3 crochet projects for Christmas!! I'm 1 week ahead of schedule - YAY!! Which is good because I've got another baby gift I wanna make! hehe Also, Cam only has 1 more week until his Marathon!!! Yay for my hard working husband!! He's been training so hard, I'm so proud of him and I know he's gonna do great! So look for more to come on that too. I can't believe it's almost October! Where has this year gone!! Well, have a good week everyone!

9 Months

2011-09-19T22:18:00.000-06:00

Wow Time Flies!!! This past week Jayce turned 9 months old! I can't believe it!

Here's a few things about our 9 mo. old boy: Jabbers constantly, Cruising and even standing on his own for a few seconds, 2 Teeth Now, FAST crawler, crawling up stairs, shakes his head when you say No, Eats everything on the floor but very picky about his food, weighs just over 15 lbs (tiny thing!) and is almost 28 inches tall/long.

His 9 mo checkup went really well last week and he's still growing appropriately - for a tiny little man! He's now wearing a lot of 6-9 month clothes, with only a few of his 3-6 mo onsies still fitting. But pants are still mostly 3-6 months (even with cloth diapers!) This is turning out to be great because all of Riley's old 6-9 month clothes were getting into fall/winter clothes - which is what we are needing!! I'm excited that I won't have to buy a whole lot of new stuff to keep him warm this winter! Here's a few pictures of him at 9 months old - what a ham!

New haircut . . . again!

Happy Baby - You can see my new bottom teeth in this one!

Silly boy!!

I also want to ask for prayers for my mom today. Saturday night she was taken to the hospital with multiple infections, pneumonia, and a few other issues. It's looking like this might be a longer stay than she is wanting, and there are other things that need to change with her home health situation before she can go home. She was already scheduled for a surgery to remove and replace her bladder (in an attempt to solve some of these problems with infections), and I'm not sure if they are going to move that up now, or keep her in the hospital until the scheduled surgery at the end of Oct. Please pray for her, for healing and peace with the doctors decisions, for me for peace with being so far from her now, and for her doctors for guidance and healing. My sister, Rodger and Linda have been putting in a lot of extra hours over the last few days and even weeks, and I want to express my thanks to them and ask that you pray for them as well during these tiring times. Thank you all for your love and support! She is at St. Francis in Beech Grove if you would like to go and visit her - I know she would love visitors (it can get really boring in there!)

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-08T13:15:00.000-06:00

Wow! Did we have a great weekend! So much fun together as a family! Saturday we spent the day with our good friends the Felkers! We got to hang out with them almost the whole day! It was a lot of fun, I know Riley had a blast.

Also, that day I finished Jayce's Baby Blanket!!! YAY!!! He's only 8 1/2 months old! Oh well! It turned out really cute, I'm very happy. And I have plans to use it as a prop for his 9 mo. pictures. I can't believe he's almost 9 months!!!

He's growing more and more everyday! He got his first tooth last Friday . . . and the second one is coming in close behind it! I think he'll have two in at least another week. And because of that tooth sticking out, his new favorite thing is sticking his tongue out to feel it. So this is how he looks most of the time now:

Another milestone is standing on his own!!! He will pull himself up on the couch (or wherever) and then let go and stand there for a few seconds before he falls on his butt. That's new to me, Riley never did that. I guess he never had the patience to stand there and get his balance. But then again Riley learned to walk by falling and moving his feet fast enough to catch himself (yes this kid literally was running before he would walk!)

Ok, back to our weekend! Sunday we took a wheeling trip. It was Jayce's first trip and he did VERY well...maybe better than Riley! Riley wanted to watch a movie on the dvd player, but you can't really do that while bouncing around in the Jeep so we told him he would have to wait until we got back on pavement. He didn't like that and kept whining "are we there yet!" ugh! We went to the Middle St. Vrain and Coney Flats trails. We did those a couple years ago with Cam's friend Shane (brand new truck that got brand new dents on the trail). There were about 10 Jeeps in the group, and we moved along at a pretty quick pace. So the day went really well. Until we got off the trail and found our break. Apparently sometime in the last few months one of the bolts holding the rear shock in place broke off, and so during the trip the constant rubbing wore a hole in one of the rubber fuel hoses causing a fuel leak!! In Cam's words "no wonder we were burning through so much gas on the trail!" lol! But Thankfully my handyman of a husband was able to fix the leak with limited resources in about 20 minutes so that we could drive home!! Yay Daddy!! Overall, it was a fun trip, and I'm glad that we did it. I can't wait for the next one!

Starting out kinda Fussy

Coney Creek Crossing

Jayce slept through the whole water crossing

Checking out the fuel leak

Monday was the fabulous Labor Day Parade in Windsor! We got to sit with our friends Cathy and Ryder, while Tanner, Jackson and Seth walked in the parade with the boy scouts. Riley was excited to see his friends in a parade, and even more excited about the candy!! We were at the end of the parade so we didn't get a lot, but we still got enough to share with Tanner and Jackson! (oh and Riley ate the last of ours for breakfast this morning before I got up so it's gone as well!)

Ryder and Jayce watching the parade

boy scouts

Jackson and Tanner

I've really gotten into crocheting lately, and I'm really enjoying it. I've made numerous gifts for moms and friends. I like having a goal and a finished product to see that I've accomplished something at the end of the day (other than doing dishes or laundry or picking up the pillows and putting them back on the couch for the ga-zillionth time!) So, This year for Christmas I've decided I'm going to crochet the majority of my gifts to people in our large family. Well, the girls at least (and Rodger - Sorry Rodg - you get lumped in with Kathie!!) I've decided what I'm making everyone, and have purchased the yarn for almost every project already too. It comes out to 13 projects. Wow . . . I'd better get busy!! There's a little over 15 weeks until Christmas (Yes, I'm counting already - gotta plan ahead!) and I have to give myself some time to ship them all back. So I'm making my deadline December 11. That's a little over 13 weeks. 13 Projects in 13 Weeks. That's one project a week, but some are easier than others so I'm sure it will take 2 days for some and 2 weeks for others. I'm really excited about this goal, and even more so the gifts! I've been able to search the internet (ok, just ravelry.com) for some really great items that I feel suit each of the recipients' personality perfectly! I won't be posting pictures of each project as I finish (since everyone getting a gift reads this blog and I don't want them seeing there Christmas gift early!) but I will take pictures and then to a big post after Christmas showing all I made. I will also give periodic updates when I finish a project. So help me keep track so that I don't get behind!!!

Well, that's it for now. Jackson, Tanner and Ryder are coming over to play tomorrow while their parents go to Denver so it's going to be a FULL HOUSE!!! Next week MOPS starts (YAY!!!!) I'm so excited for this year!! There's a ton of fun stuff planned.

August comes to an end

2011-08-31T15:28:00.001-06:00

WOW, where did this month go! Time is just flying by so fast! I know that it's only going to get worse as the boys get older but WOW!!

Well, let's see, where did I leave off last. . . Last week and this week have been kinda lazy weeks (comparatively). We haven't been up to much, a few trips to the pool (still in heat wave mode here - it's been high 90's almost all month), one to Rocky Mountain National Park, and some other fun stuff thrown in.

Cam had a Maintenance Day at work last week, so that means a long day for him . . . and us! He went in at his usual 5 am but didn't get home until after the boys were in bed (8:30ish)!! YUCK!! It's a good thing he loves his job and his bosses, because that will burn you out real quick! So, I took the boys to the pool in Fort Collins. It was super hot outside and I knew it would wear them both out, and that's what I needed - a way to entertain them for as long as possible but also wear them out to sleep for as long as possible so they don't drive me insane come 8 at night! It worked brilliantly! The City Park Pool in Fort Collins has a wonderful play structure and water slide for Riley that he just LOVES! And it's Zero Entry so I can just set Jayce in as shallow as I want and he can crawl around. It's great! It wore them both out, and me! Being by myself I didn't get any pictures, but we are going again tomorrow with some friends so hopefully I can get some then.

We also took a trip to RMNP for a hike and to see my "cousin" Justine. She got an internship up there working at the visitor centers and hiking to talk with the visitors so she got to join us on our hike! We hiked to Dream lake, about 2.2 miles round trip and Riley did great! I was so proud of him! He even completed the Junior Ranger Program (with a LOT of help from Justine) and got a Junior Ranger Badge.

Saturday I had a VIP Pampering Party I got to go to. It was wonderful! They had it at a CupCakery so we got SPECIAL cupcakes (I had a Black Forest one - YUMMM), a $20 gift certificate, a free gift package, and pedicures! Woo-Hoo!! It was some much needed ME time! If you are at all curious just check out www.pinkpapayaparties.com - I am quickly falling in love with their spa products!

Sunday we had a fundraiser at MOPS in the form of a church picnic. It was a lot of work, and we made some money, so that's a plus, but not as much as we had hoped. I helped serve pulled pork, and filled 100 water balloons for the water balloon toss. Cameron helped with the water balloons, and thank goodness he did! I wish you could have seen us the night before standing outside at our faucet in the dark filling water balloons! The neighbors probably thought we were nuts!

This week has been pretty lazy too. Just the usual grocery store trips, dishes, laundry, etc. . . The monotonous tasks of being a stay at home mom! I did get to give my friend the things I crocheted for her new baby!! They are so cute! I made headbands, a hat and some booties. I think they turned out really good!

I'm still working on a blanket for Jayce, and then I have a whole list of items I want to make for other people. So I'm going to be crocheting in my spare time for a while!!! I may even crochet Jayce's Halloween Costume! Well, at least part of it!

That's about it for now. There's a lot of fun things going on this weekend in Windsor, and I think we are still planning to go wheeling sometime soon, so look for more pics to come! Have a great Labor Day Weekend everyone!

Severance Days

2011-08-22T12:32:00.000-06:00

This weekend was Severance Days here in our Tiny Town! And you know what that means - Parade Candy!! Yummy! Mommy and Daddy took us to the parade Saturday, and the Felkers came too! We had so much fun watching our miniature version of a parade. Then we went to the festival at the park. This year they had a Garden Tractor Pull, and one of the guys Daddy works with was in it. He has some really cool tractors, and he pulled them really far! It was fun to watch, but kinda noisy.

Waiting for the parade

Daddy's friend and his tractors in the parade

Watching the tractor pull

Daddy's friend, and his fancy tractor!

Then Mommy and Daddy went out on a Date, while I got a new friend to play with. Her name is Samantha, and she's really nice! We did a lot while she was playing over here. We played outside, we watched Scooby-Doo, we ate popcorn and read stories! She was so much fun, I can't wait for her to come back. Oh yeah, Mommy & Daddy's date . . . they went out to dinner - to Red Lobster (Mommy loves her Crab Legs!!) and then went to see the last Harry Potter Movie. I'm really sad that Mommy won't let me watch it. She says the last couple ones are too scary for me and I have to wait until I'm older to see them. Boo!! But she liked it! She read the books and said that now we just have to wait for them to put together a box set so we can get all the movies! Speaking of favorite movies - she got to see the trailer for the new Twilight movie too! She is super excited for that one! But she'll have to wait until November to see it.

Well, not much else going on right now. Things are starting to slow down a little bit. It's still really hot though, so maybe Mommy will take me to the pool again this week! Have a good week everyone!

Growing Boy . . . and First Zoo Trip

2011-08-16T22:58:00.000-06:00

Wow, after a few days away and a few more days sick, It is proving to be awful playing catch-up!! Remind me never to do that again!! lol So this last week has been spent trying to catch-up on everything: laundry, dishes, house cleaning, groceries, and quite a few other things! I've been crocheting in every spare moment I have lately (Thank you Cameron for putting up with it!!) because I promised myself I would make some things for a very good friend of mine's new baby. My goal is to have them done before the little girl arrives . . . and all I can say is THANK GOODNESS she isn't 3 weeks early like her previous two were! I'm just so excited to be able to crochet some girlie things like headbands and use some pink yarn I think I'm going a bit overboard! oh well!! I'll have to put up some pictures when I'm all finished and have given them to the new Mommy.

This past weekend we went to the zoo in Denver. It's not our favorite zoo (Indy is!!!) but we haven't been to one all summer, or last summer, or even the summer before that I think . . . so it was time to go. it was Jayce's first time (obviously), and he really seemed to enjoy it! At least it went over better than the pigs at the fair! Of course we took lots of Monkey pictures, with the Monkey theme we have with him.

But I think the best part was giving Riley a camera of his own and letting him take pictures of the animals. We had a disposable camera leftover from when Jayce was born (you know . . . when Daddy forgot the camera and our doula had to run home to get it arriving only seconds before Jayce was born!) so we decided to let Riley take it to the zoo and take some pictures. We made the rule that he could only take 1 picture of each animal, but with a roll of only 24 pics, it still didn't last more that 20 minutes or so! Needless to say he was disappointed and continued to try to take pictures until we had to physically take it from him and hide it in the diaper bag! I think we have a budding photographer on our hands! So now we just have to get them developed (do stores even do that anymore? haha) so we can see how they turn out - this should be funny!

I also wanted to update you all on Jayce lately. This boy is growing so fast that I can hardly keep up with him! I'm not sure what I have told you all already, so I may repeat myself in an attempt to not miss anything. He is crawling now, and getting pretty fast too! He is also pulling him self up on things, the couch, tables, chairs, your legs, even Riley's sit n spin! Not only that but he's also starting to cruise around things, and just recently he's getting braver at letting go and trying to balance. This one is DEFINITELY going to be walking way before his 1st birthday! He hasn't figured out the stairs yet (which I'm happy about - since Riley was crawling up the stairs 2 days after crawling on the floor). But he is starting to gabber away at some words. I'm pretty sure his first unofficial word was Hi, since he says that all the time. but now Da-Da is in the mix as well as some other consonants. Did I say it was hard to keep up!! He's about ready to cut a tooth, I can feel it getting closer, and he's loving to chew on ANYTHING!! I even caught him with a paci the other day - chewing on it though...not sucking it (boo)! He's now 8 months old, and I can't believe how big he's getting! he doesn't seem to weigh much more (those numbers on the scale sure aren't moving!) but he's definitely getting longer. I've got a really cute idea for some 9 month pictures for him . . . so I'm really excited about that! Otherwise he is just growing up too fast! He already loves playing with his big brother, he is almost always watching and smiling at Riley. They scream at each other constantly (thanks for teaching that to him Riley!!) and even wrestle already! Yay fun - boys! But Jayce is definitely my sensitive one! He loves to cuddle when he's tired or cranky (which is often), and gets upset easily when he can't do something or something doesn't go his way. Riley was always very independent, even at this age, whereas Jayce is going to be a follower, and one who needs others around for support. It's so great to see how different my two babies are, and I feel so blessed to be able to spend so much time with them so that I can get to know them each individually.

Well, hopefully you are all caught up now on us. Nothing major coming up . . . we're trying to plan a wheelin' trip for Labor Day Weekend (another First for Jayce) but that's the next big thing I think. Have a good rest of the week everyone - and good luck to those of you with school starting!! Wow, that will be us next year . . . Ugh!! ;)

MOPS Convention and MORE

2011-08-12T15:24:00.001-06:00

Wow . . . has it really been 2 weeks since I update this! Ugh . . . it's so easy to get behind!! So, Last week was SUPER busy, getting ready for and leaving for Convention. And this week was the exact opposite! (Apparently some fabulously nice person on the airplane decided to share their sickness with me so I've been down and out since I got back on Sunday.)

Anyways, last Tuesday we went to another free day for kids at Centerra. Riley had a blast as usual. This time he got a spider painted on his face.

Riding the "mini" train

I want a spider and webs

Wednesday I left for Convention, so the boys went to my friend Cathy's house to spend the night. Riley had a great time playing with Jackson and Tanner, and thankfully Jayce was a little angel for her! It was my first time leaving him over night, and I'm proud to say we both did very well!

Ryder and Jayce (only 2 mo. apart)

The "gang" that showed up at the park on Thursday

Tanner, Riley and Jackson - Visiting the Clydesdales

Tanner giving Jayce a bottle

Seth, Jackson and Riley reading bedtime stories

Then on Friday Daddy picked them up and hung out over the rest of the weekend. On Saturday they went to the Larimer County Fair. And rumor has it that Jayce wasn't to fond of the animals!! I was so glad to see them on Sunday when I got home!

This little piggie went wee, wee, wee, all the way home!

My trip to Convention this year was as fantastic as it was last year. I am so blessed to have such a supportive group of people around me (Cathy and Cameron!!) to allow me to take advantage of this opportunity! I'm definitely going to take advantage for as long as I can! I learn so much about being a woman of God . . . but also how to be a better wife, mother, friend, leader, encourager, and more! I just can't get enough of the things they offer! And, of course, God knows exactly what guidance I need at that time and that is the workshops that call out to me! Thank you Lord, for knowing what I need to hear more than I do! But just as important as all that is going with the group of girls I get to go with. 4 of us went again this year, and none of them were ones I went with last year. Which was great!! Spending 4 straight days bonding and getting to know these wonderful women is something I wouldn't trade for anything in the world! I feel so much closer to these girls now, even though one of them I have known for 3 years now and thought I was already close to!

Jan, Me, Bonnie, Tilan

Some of the highlights from my trip included (but are not limited to): The Beautiful Gaylord Hotel, MANDISA CONCERT, Kathi Lipp (hillarious speaker), Max Lucado, Stephen Curtis Chapman & his wife Mary Beth, Dancing at the Wildhorse Saloon, Cooter's the Dukes of Hazzard Museum, and Dinner with one of my long lost best friends from middle/high school! Who'd of thunk! My very good friend Camie is in the process of moving to Nashville and just happened to be signing on her house that very weekend!! So we were able to have dinner and catch up! YAY FUN!!

Me, Camie!

But now it's back to the real world! After a long weekend away, and being cooped up on the couch since returning home, the chores have really been piling up! Time to tackle them!

Holy Moley, that's a Lot of Pictures!!

2011-07-31T15:55:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note today! If you want to see a BUNCH of pictures from this month Check out July's album up top and the Dragon Boat Festival on the right under Kodak Albums. Mommy took almost 675 pictures in this month alone!!! (Don't worry, she edited so you don't have to look at all of them!) But there are still a TON to look at! Enjoy!!

Firsts for Everyone!

2011-07-28T08:49:00.000-06:00

Hey Everybody! Guess what I did this week! I went to the dentist for the first time! Yup! They cleaned my teeth and everything. Daddy said I was really brave, cuz i just hopped right up and let them go to work. I even got to wear sunglasses!! Don't I look cool!!!

Daddy went too. But he had to get a cavity filled. He was brave too!! Especially to go home and eat dinner with his mouth still numbed, hehehe!

And one more new thing - Jayce can pull himself up on things now! Three days ago Mommy went to get him in the morning and he was standing up in his crib. She was so surprised! Then he did it again yesterday, and started pulling up on other things too - like the couch and my sit n spin. He's growing so fast! Mommy is always reminding me to keep my big boy toys (like little cars and things with small parts) picked up so that Jayce can't get them. Pretty soon she's gonna limit them to my room, since Jayce can get just about everywhere else now!

Next week Mommy is going to Nashville, and I get to stay at my friends Jackson and Tanner's house. Ryder lives there too, but he's a baby like Jayce so I don't play with him as much as Jayce does. We get to have a sleepover there and I can't wait!! It will be so much fun! I hope we get to make a water slide like we did last time I played at their house. Well, that's all for now. Mommy will probably tell you all about her trip when she gets back. Have a good weekend everyone!

Heat, Water, and SNAKES - OH MY!!

2011-07-23T23:22:00.000-06:00

Oh My, Updates Overload!!! Either I'm way behind on letting you all know everything we've been up to, or we have just been way too busy the past couple weeks!! lol So, let's see . . . I'll try not to give too many pictures, but there's just so many to share!

So last week we had another MOPS park play date - only this one wasn't actually at a park. One of the Moms, Audrey owns a bunch of land in Wellington (farming community just north of Fort Collins) and has her own private lake! So we all went to Audrey's house to play on the beach and in the lake! It was so awesome - I'm totally jealous! It was Jayce's first time to play in the sand and he wasn't quite sure what to think of it. But Riley found some water guns and had a BLAST!! We also got a surprise visit from a VERY LONG water snake! All the boys were completely fascinated, and all the girls went screaming from the water! hahaha!

Later that week I gave Jayce another Haircut! He was starting to get "stringy" and I was fighting tangles all the time. So we gave him a little trim on top just to cut off the scraggly ends. It looks so much better, and it's still long. Other info on Jayce in the last couple weeks: He's crawling now!! It's kinda a Froggie-hop, but it's on hands and knees instead of his belly and elbows. It goes, hand, hand, hop with both knees - and it's so cute! He can also blow raspberries and get to a sitting position on his own. We introduced finger foods this week - "puffs" and he's not quite sure about those yet. I think he's gonna be my picky eater! He already shows a preference for tastes and textures.

Pre-haircut

Blowing Raspberries

Post Haircut

ok, moving on! We made a trip to Walmart for some new folding chairs (we finally blew ours out over the 4th) and got the boys some kid sized ones - so cute!! And a baby pool (it's just been so dag-gone hot around here!!) So we've also been spending a lot of time outside in our Mini-pool and Homemade Water slide! I love how easy they are to entertain at this age!

This week we did a lot of running around too. Tuesday I found out that one of the outdoor malls in Loveland has a Free Kids Day on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays. They have games, balloon makers, face painting and more - all for free. So we went to check it out! IT WAS SO HOT THOUGH!!! I'm glad they have these little random squirt fountains! Riley LOVED it - once he figured out that it was ok to get his clothes wet. (I figured after about an hour in the 98+ degree heat even his thick canvas shorts would be dry for the drive home!!) So we played in the fountains, got balloons made (Riley a sword, Jayce a Monkey), rode in a horse drawn carriage, and got face paintings. Riley wanted a scorpion . . . OK!!

Then on Thursday we went on a hike with some friends to our favorite waterfall! And luckily there was still a LOT of water falling, cuz it was super hot again! But the main event - a Rattlesnake! It was laying right in the middle of the trail and after stomping on the ground near it, tossing stones at the ground and beating the ground with a stick (because snakes feel the vibrations) I had assumed that the snake was dead. There was absolutely NO movement at all through this including no flicking tongue. So, I proceeded to poke the snake before attempting to flip it off the trail with the stick. After about the third or forth poke, the snake decided it was time to wake up from it's deep slumber!!! And turned to coil, rattle and strike! Thankfully it was a baby snake (I only counted about four buttons on its rattle and it was about 20 inches long max) and my ranger training has taught me that rattlesnakes can only "jump" half the length of their body, so I got a stick that was at least as long as the snake knowing he wouldn't be able to reach me. So after that wake up call (for both the snake and the onlookers on the trail) he packed up and moved on . . . and so did we - rather quickly! I think the kids learned an important lesson that day - Let a trained professional handle a snake - even if you think it's dead!

Justin, Riley and Makenna cooling off after the hike

And then, ANOTHER hike today!! This time with Daddy too! We went to Red Mountain open space and hiked the Bent Rock trail. There were a ton of biting flies and mosquitoes, but it was so beautiful and there was a nice breeze, so it was a fabulous time.

Overall we've had a great couple of weeks. It's hard to think that July has gone by so quickly! But I'm looking forward to August! At least the first week of it! The first weekend I'm off to a kid-free weekend with about 4000 other Christian Moms. Yep, it's time for MOPS Convention again!! This year it's in Nashville, TN. I can't wait for my mini-vacation and rejuvenation opportunity! And I have to say how grateful I am to have such wonderful MOPS Moms as friends! One of my friends is going to watch Jayce and Riley for us while Cameron is working and I'm gone . . . all so that Cam can save his vacation days and we can take a trip to Hawaii later this year!! Yes, I said HAWAII!!! I'm stoked!!! I finally get a beach vacation!!! More info to come about that later as details unfold. But that's all for now . . . have a great rest of July everyone - and stay cool out there!

Happy Birthday Daddy

2011-07-10T12:40:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to Cameron! Yesterday was his 31st Birthday, and we had a full day of activities planned! First, Laurel our wonderful babysitter came to play with the boys while Cam and I took a trip down to Denver. He has been wanting to go skydiving for a while, and since I have no desire to do that, I thought taking him Indoor Skydiving would be a good compromise. He gets the thrill, and I will do it too! So here is a video of our Skydiving Experience.

Let me just say - Even I enjoyed it! Cameron was beyond thrilled!! And I get to experience it, and say that I've done it. I like the idea of a controlled environment. Although I may have awakened a sleeping giant in Cameron . . . he's now itching for the real thing! So much as to get recommendations from our instructor! Oh, Boy! I may be posting video and pictures of that soon!

After Skydiving we stopped at Cheesecake Factory for lunch - can I say YUM!! Food was Excellent, and cheesecake was even better! Man, I wish there was one of those up in Fort Collins - but maybe with the prices it's better there isn't one! lol

Afternoon was quite relaxing, and dinner was steak and chicken on the grill. Cameron wanted steak for dinner . . . and since I don't eat it he made chicken for Riley and I. I think it made his more special for him, since he's the only one who got one . . . at least I hope that's how he sees it! Of course we were still pretty full from lunch, so lots of leftovers for today!

Cam's special request for "cake" was a lemon dessert from his mom's recipe. I almost never make it because I'm horrible at separating egg whites and yolks and you have to do it 3 times in this recipe. So another Special Treat! That's where we stuck his candles and sang Happy Birthday!

Then after dark - MORE FIREWORKS!!! Riley thought this was great, and I like the tradition of saving some of the 4th Fireworks for Cameron's Birthday as well. We did all the big fountains, and our neighbors joined in with some of theirs too. But he saved the best for last. A string of 5000 (yes THOUSAND) firecrackers!! It reminded me of some that we did in China (on a MUCH smaller scale of course) and everyone enjoyed it, except maybe Jayce who was sleeping up until that point!! Definitely have to find more of those for next year!

4th Fun

2011-07-05T15:07:00.000-06:00

Another great Forth of July Weekend for the Louie's! We had a blast! Saturday we spent the evening with our friends the Felkers! They had a BBQ, Felker style (all out smoker!!) and it was yummy!! The boys had so much fun playing together in the sprinklers with all the kids (wish I would have gotten some pictures!) and Mom and Dad had fun having some adult conversations! We don't spend enough time hanging out with our friends! Also, I made a yummy Flag Cheesecake for the occasion. It's wasn't nearly as good as some of the other food (pulled pork, chocolate pie and 24-hr salad to be specific) but it was festive and I was proud of it!

Setting up the tent

Sunday we went "Camping" . . . in the backyard! I have been wanting to do a campout for a while, and with Jayce as touchy as he is about change I didn't want to experiment in a campground full of people, so we did a "test run" in the backyard. And I'm glad we did!! He was not a Happy Camper - pun intended! He only woke up twice during the night, but that's a lot for him since he usually will sleep 10 hours straight, and he was rather difficult to get back to sleep once he woke up. But Riley LOVED IT!! We set up the tent about 5:30 and he kept bugging us to go to bed (a first for him!) We finally went out to hang out in the tent around 8 when it cooled down enough to stand it (temps here have been horribly high). Then around 9 we went back in side to get ready for bed . . . I love being able to go inside to my own bathroom to brush my teeth or get a drink of water! We will be camping in the backyard a lot more often! Jayce feel asleep on the living room floor while we were getting ready for bed, and Riley wasn't far behind when we got in the tent. Come to think of it . . . neither were Mommy and Daddy! Cam had run a horribly long 20 mile trail run that morning and nearly passed out on trail from the heat. he made it back to the trailhead and called me withing minutes of me calling my Ranger buddies to go find him!

We woke up the next morning, had cinnamon rolls and went out for a hike! We hiked Devil's Backbone . . . the Wild Loop via the Keyhole. Riley Loved the Keyhole, and climbing on all the rocks! He didn't love all the other hiking as much, but he was a trooper and made it the whole way, almost 3 miles, by himself as temperatures rose to 90 degrees at 11 am. I'm so proud of him!!! Jayce did good too. This was his first hike in the backpack carrier instead of the sling. He didn't like it at first, but soon realized that he wasn't going to get out and learned to deal with it. Other than the heat, we did great!

Riley and Daddy at the Keyhole

Riley became obsessed with Cacti during this hike!!

Later in the evening we had our own version of a bar-b-que - brats, dogs and corn-on-the-cob!!! Yum Yum!! We love our corn-on-the-cob in this house!!

Then it was time for fireworks!! We did a few in the driveway: sparklers, smoke bombs, snap pops, etc. with the Felkers, then we all took a trip to Windsor Lake to watch the big show!! Minus a small shower just before showtime that sent us all running for the cars . . . it was a Great 4th of July!!

Smoke bomb

Yes, that would be my husband lighting a sparkler with a blowtorch!

Greg was great at passing out the snap pops!

Jayce Liked watching the big fireworks

Riley, Lacey and Jax

I'm So Thankful to live in a Country were we can celebrate the freedoms that we have, and remember those who have given their lives to keep it that way. God Bless America!!

One more thing to share - both Riley and Jayce had checkups last week. Both are healthy and growing! Riley has slowed down a bit since his 3 year checkup. He now weighs 35 lbs and is 42 inches tall. It's a good thing we bought that booster seat! Jayce is growing as well! He's still in the 1% for his weight gain at 13 lbs 15 oz., but he skyrocketed from the 45% to the 72% in his height!!! He's now 27 inches, and the doctor doesn't seem at all concerned about his growth anymore, she said "he's just putting all his effort in to getting taller!" That's how we Louie's grow 'em - Long and Lean!!! Jayce loves eating baby food too. I've been making it myself, and he eats it almost faster than I can make it!! I spent the last couple days making a few more batches. So we've added squash to the menu and some pomegranate pears, along with a couple more batches of the favorites sweet potatoes, apples and bananas.

This weekend is another Jam-Packed weekend of Fun! Cam's Birthday is Saturday and I have quite a surprise planned for him (at least I hope it's still a surprise! He has a tendency to guess my surprises long beforehand!) And if this heat keeps up we'll be making many more trips to the pool! Hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th, have a good week!

Fun in the Sun!

2011-06-27T17:16:00.000-06:00

I had a great weekend this weekend with Mommy Daddy and Jayce! We did so many fun things!! On Friday Night we went to the Drive-In to see Cars 2!! Yes, there's a Drive-In in Fort Collins, and we LOVE it! You can watch 2 movies for less than the price of one in the theaters! And Jayce and I are Free!! Plus I can run around and make all the noise I want without Mommy and Daddy shushing me all the time. I get to stay up Really Late too!! Cuz we have to wait until dark for the movie to start . . . and that's a LONG Time! Anyways, we went to see Cars 2, it was a good movie! I like getting to see Lightning McQueen and Mater again! Mater is so funny! Jayce was a good boy and slept most of the movie . . . In fact Daddy slept most of the movie too! Silly Daddy!! But I guess that's what happens when your used to going to bed so early all the time.

Then on Saturday we went to the pool with Daddy! It was so much fun! I got to use my new goggles and dive rings, but I liked playing football the best! Oh, and the WATER SLIDE!! Since Daddy was there to help I got to go down the water slide with somebody. I wanted to do it again and again and again and again!!!

Then Yesterday we got to go to Rocky Mountain National Park. Daddy friend Derek and his wife Jen were visiting from California so we took them to Rocky to show them around. There was still snow up on top the mountains!! Can you believe that!! I got to play in the snow! It was Jayce's First time to Rocky, so we took a lot of pictures. It was nice to have someone else to help take pictures of all of us. I really liked Jen, she was nice. I was sad when they left because I wanted them to come home with us so I could show her my room, but Mommy said I would have to wait until they come and visit our house another time.

Today we had another park play date for MOPS. So I got to play outside all morning! It's really hot here. Today was cooler, but it's supposed to be really hot all week again. Maybe Mommy will take me and Jayce to the pool again! Or even the Sprinkler park!! Stay Cool everyone!

Summer in Full Swing!

2011-06-21T21:19:00.000-06:00

Wow, where has June Gone! One minute it was Riley's Birthday, now it's almost Cameron's!! This has been quite a busy Month for us. Riley told you all about his Vacation Bible School. He had a blast at that. It was one busy week! Then that weekend Cam ran in another race. This was just a short "Training Run." However, it was up a mountain, steep in many areas, and over 7 miles. His finishing time was 1 hour, 30 min, 53 sec. AWESOME!!! My fastest time hiking it (back when I hiked this trail almost daily) was 1 hour 15 minutes - Just to the top - Not including back down on alternate connecting longer trails! We are so proud of him! He's feeling really good, and says it seems like he has shaved about 2 minutes off his trail run times from last year. So he should be in prime condition to finish the Blue Sky Marathon this year!!! Yay!! Here's a few pics from the Horsetooth Race:

The the week after was the beginning of swim lessons for the boys and I. Riley's confidence has improved greatly since last year. He's holding his nose and putting his face in the water of his own accord - no bribing required!! So I went to the store and got some goggles (water glasses according to him) and some dive rings for the next time we go to the pool. He is super excited to use them! Jayce is going to be my little fish! I don't know if it's because he's so young and is getting used to the water earlier than Riley did - but he LOVES it! By the end of the first class he was splashing the water in his face and had no problems with being wet! His favorite thing is "jumping" off the side (Mommy stands him up and lifts him into the water). He is already kicking when he floats on his tummy, which may have something to do with how badly he wants to crawl when he's on dry land! Today was the first time we've gone under (just a quick dunk about to the eyebrows) with the class and he handled it like a champ!! No tears, no sputtering! We may have the next Michael Phelps on our hands!! Just two more days of lessons. Then we'll spend the hot days at the public pool!!

Last weekend I went up to Red Feather Lakes for a planning retreat with the rest of my MOPS Steering Committee. It was a nice girls' weekend and we got a lot accomplished! I'm really excited for the changes taking place this year. I hope they all go over smoothly with the other Moms!! Jayce had a bit of a rough time though. We think he's teething (again or still?) so between that and being in an unfamiliar place, he made sure that everyone got as little sleep as he did! It was not a fun night for anyone . . . except maybe Jan, who was smart enough to bring earplugs!! Good Thinking Jan! Riley stayed at home with Cameron while Jayce and I were gone. On Saturday Cameron went shooting with a friend and tried to teach Riley. Much to my relief, Riley wasn't really interested in shooting . . . even the little pellet gun Cam was using to teach him. He told Cam he wasn't big enough - Good Boy!!! hehehe!!

Sunday was our anniversary. We've been married for 10 years now. WOW, 10 years! Time sure does fly!!! On one hand it seems like yesterday that we were standing in that Garden saying our vows, but when I look back at all we've been through in the last 10 years . . . all the ups and downs, highs and lows, new beginnings and do overs, it seems like forever!! I've been so blessed to have a husband that has supported me through all we've been through. He is the best husband I could ever have imagined, and an even better father to our boys! I love you Cameron, and I'm looking forward to all the 10's of years we have together to come.

We didn't really do anything for our anniversary. We had planned on just simply going out to dinner, but babysitters seemed hard to find that weekend so we decided to postpone it! (probably a good idea in hindsight given how extremely exhausted I was after getting only a couple hours sleep the night before!) And since Sunday was also Father's Day I just made a simple dinner at home and we lounged around the house with the boys! Don't worry though . . . I'm planning on holding Cameron to our "beach vacation" coming up (hopefully this winter) to celebrate our tenth year together!

Well, not much else to talk about. Riley and Jayce have check-ups next week, it will be interesting to see how they are each growing! And I've got something special planned for Cameron for his 31st birthday coming up too! hehehe, I hope he likes it! We're also trying to put together a camping trip, but it takes a little more planning with our big family now. So we'll keep you updated best we can in the coming weeks. Enjoy your summer everyone!!

VBS and Jayce Update

2011-06-11T14:02:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone! How’s your summer going? Ours is going good! We have been having a blast lately!! It’s been so hot here! But we’ve been keeping cool in lots of ways! We’ve been to the pool, played in the sprinkler, and Mommy has become an expert Smoothie maker!

Her favorite to make is a strawberry banana, but sometimes she adds some mango too. And she has a bunch more recipes that she's itchin' to try . . . keep 'em coming Mommy!!

This week I went to Vacation Bible School at church ... It was PANDAMANIA!!! I had so much fun! we learned a lot about how much "God is WILD about Us". I made a lot of cool crafts too, like this panda pillow, and a Chinese dragon out of my handprints. We also raised money as a service project for a 3rd grade class. They study China in 3rd grade and this class needed some books on China and Chinese culture. So we raised money to help them buy these things, and also adopt a Real Panda in China!! Isn't that cool!

Well, Mommy wants me to tell you all about Jayce now. He's really growing fast! He can do so much more than he could just a couple weeks ago!!

1. He can sit up all by himself . . . just not for very long

2. He eats baby food made by Mommy. He can eat lots of Fruits, like bananas, apples and pears. And so now he's started veggies too, like Sweet potatoes (yuck!) Mommy likes making the baby food. She says it's really easy, cheaper, and great because she knows exactly what's in it. Jayce seems happy with it either way!

3. He can MOVE!!! He started out rolling around while we were at Grandma and Grandpa Louie's house, but now he inches along on his belly. Daddy nicknamed him the Inchworm. Sometimes he inches with his toes (first video), but recently he's figured out he can go further if he pulls his legs under him. That means I have to keep all my toys picked up more, so that Jayce doesn't get them. He likes all my toys and papers, so those things he goes for all the time!

Tomorrow Daddy is running in ANOTHER race!! This one is a short run though. It's only 7 miles and so Daddy is using it as a "Training Run". (Mommy laughs whenever she hears that) But it's still a tough run . . . it's up to Horsetooth Rock and back down again. That's on the trails Mommy used to work at. So it's 2 1/2 miles almost straight up the mountain (1700 ft of elevation gain) and then zig-zag the trails back down. We're gonna go and watch him finish again! I can't wait to see him do such a good job! And then he has another race like this next month up at Red Mountain (another place Mommy used to work) and it's 15 miles. All leading up to the BIG Trail Marathon that Daddy did last year. He wants to do so good at that one this year, so he's got to train hard!! Go, Daddy, GO!!

We start swim lessons again next week! I say "We" because Jayce is taking them too! Mommy found a class for him (if she helps) that meets at the same time my class is. So he can go too! I LOVE Swimming! It's everyday for two whole weeks!! Well, that's about it for now. Stay Cool everyone!!

Birthday Trip to Indiana

2011-06-02T11:30:00.000-06:00

Hey Everybody! I just got home from a trip to Indiana to see all my family that lives there. It was so much fun! I got to see my Grandmas and Grandpa and Aunts and Uncles and LOTS of Cousins! So Here's a play by play of the week!

Unkie Rodgie and Kathie picked us up from the airport . . .and then it was straight to Steak N Shake for Lunch! Yum!! Mommy's Favorite place for Milkshakes!! It was yummy! Then we went to Unkie Rodgie's house and got settled in. Aunt Anna and Grandma Wilson came the next day, and got to meet Jayce for the first time. I like playing with Aunt Anna, she's a lot of fun!

Then on Friday we met Mommy's friend Kate who took our pictures. Mommy went to high school with Kate. She did a good job, I can't wait to see the pictures!! (look for those to come later!) And then we went to see Grandma and Grandpa Louie! We stayed with them the rest of the time. I got to play with Vanessa, my cousin before her Mommy and Daddy came to pick her up. I like running around with Vanessa. She has as much energy as I do . . . and that's not always easy to find! Saturday we went to the 500 Festival parade with BOTH my Grandmas!! I liked that parade! It was really hot, but it was worth it! I got to see all the racecar drivers up close, and even some other people - Like Scooby-Doo!! Saturday night we had a picnic with all my cousins. I had a LOT of kids to play with. And there were a LOT of people holding Jayce. Then we did birthday cake and I got to blow out my candles.

On Sunday we went to the 500 Race!!! It was the 100th Anniversary, so it was really special. I can't wait to go to that again! The racecars were really loud, and really fast.

Monday was a relaxing day. We just laid around the house mostly. We went to play at Daddy's friend Tim's house. I got to play with Elliot. He's a little smaller than me, but he's got lots of cool toys!! Then Jayce and I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa so Mommy and Daddy could go out on a Date. They went to see the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

On Tuesday we went to Grandma Wilson's house again. I got to do birthday candles again, and get some more presents. But my favorite thing was playing with Aunt Anna's new kitten, Diamond!! She's really small, but a lot of fun! Then that night we went to Mommy's friend Adrianne's house. I got to play with lots of new friends there! Sophia was there, but also Mommy's Friend Amy brought here kids, Hannah and Elijah. We had so much fun!!

But then we had to come home. We got to fly on the airplane again. I can't wait to go back!! Mommy says that we can go back next year cuz Daddy wants to run in a Mini-Marathon with Grandpa. Next week, VBS and after that...Swimming Lessons!!! Jayce gets to do swim lessons too!

100 years of Indy 500's, Riley's 1st

2011-05-30T07:11:00.000-06:00

It's hard to imagine that the very first Indianapolis 500 was 100 years ago, expecially when you are 4 years old, and going to your very first Indianapolis 500. Yesterday we took Riley to THE Race, his first, and hopefully not his last! He Loved It!! I was pleasantly surprised how well he did. 90 degrees, lots of walking, and lots of sitting in loud cramped bleachers. But he did great! Daddy had to carry him the majority of the way in and out of the track (which we expected), and we started hearing the "I wanna go home" around lap 80, but we upped the number of times to get up and walk around and let him play on the stairs (thank goodness we bought aisle seats) and he made it through the rest ofthe race fairly complaint-free! Not bad for a 4 year old who naps for appx. 2 hours a day during that time frame! And we couldn't have picked a better race to take him too! With all the 100th anniversary hoopla, old race cars and history, but also what an exciting race! 3 of the 7 crashes right in front of us, seats to see the very first double wide restarts and a finish that will go down in history as "the one Hildebrand Lost!" I'm so happy that we decided to do this, and I'm looking forward to taking him again on his birthday in 5 years, for his 9th, and the 100th running of the 500! What a weekend!

Another post and more pictures to come of our entire trip in Indiana . . . Too much for right now!

A week without Daddy

2011-05-21T09:04:00.000-06:00

Daddy is back home! And boy are we happy to see him (maybe Mommy most of all!!!) ;) This time I will say we very nearly thrived, instead of just "surviving"!! As rough as it was, the boys and I had a blast this week! Monday and Tuesday were the only nice weather days, so we spent most of the time around the house hanging outside. Monday Jayce took a long nap (about 3 hours - nearly unheard of for him!) so Riley and I got some flowers planted outside.

And I got a nice sunburn to go with it! I was wearing a tank top, and my last three years of working outside in t-shirts has me out of practice. I had sunscreen on my arms and shoulders, but not my back. I'll remember that next time! Tuesday was another play outside day. Riley spent hours on end riding his bike! He's getting really good at it. He's getting more confident, and also figured out how to brake and make "lines" on the sidewalk. So most of the time is spent getting up to speed and braking fast to make black marks up and down in front of the house. That's my little daredevil for ya!

Wednesday was another Super Fun Day!! We were planning a trip to the Denver Zoo with our wonderful friends the Felkers . . . But the weather had other plans in mind. (it has been raining nearly nonstop here since Tuesday evening.) So instead we took a trip to an Indoor Pool in Greeley. It's called the Family Funplex. And It Was Fun!! Jayce had his first time 'swimming', and seemed to enjoy it! They had a little play feature for toddlers with water spouts and sprays to play with. And a perfectly sized Water Slide!!! Greg and Riley spent at least 95% of their time on this water slide! Everyone was exhausted at the end of the 3 hours, definitely money well spent!

Thursday was another quiet day at home. After a Skype date with Grandma Wilson I spent most of the day cleaning up (for the first time all week!) for the babysitter that came later. Yes, I said babysitter! I help plan a Girl's Night Out on the Third Thursday of every month, and this month it fell on the week Cam was gone. I considered cancelling it, or at least not going . . . but then thought better to get a babysitter and take advantage! We were planning a Hike to the waterfall at Horsetooth, but again the rain had other plans! (in fact they ended up closing the trails that day because of the muddy conditions). So we did the typical dinner and a movie. It was well worth it! I was ready for some time to myself, and really enjoyed the night out! I'll have to remember that for the next time Cameron's gone!

Yesterday was another day spent with the Felkers. They can over for the usual Friday Playdate. Again it was raining. Gabe, one of Greg's friends, came over too, so we had 5 boys under the age of 5 in the house at once! And surprisingly no major mishaps!!! One incident involving Mack (the truck and trailer from Cars) and some stamp ink that ended up all over Riley and his bedroom walls, but it washed off easy enough.

And then Daddy came home!!! Boy were we all glad to see him! I hope he was glad to see us. At the very least he was happy to have a home cooked meal! (sorry it's not Ruth's Chris!) He said he had a good week and learned a lot, so that's good. It was well worth it.

Jayce started eating bananas this week too! He hasn't been eating the rice cereal very well, so the Dr. said he was old enough to start mixing in some fruits with it, and see if that helps. Well, it does!!! The first day was a total success, and by the second he had figured out that he liked eating 'dinner' and wanted more! Boy, does he like those bananas!! Guess it's time to get out the Ninja and make some babyfood!! I've been looking forward to this for a while.

Coming up next: Trip to INDIANA, and the INDY 500!!! Riley has been talking about going to see everyone for a while, he's so excited, and now he's starting to talk about going to see the racecars! I can't wait to take him, this is going to be so much fun!! We are also getting some family pictures taken while we're there. One of my friends from highschool has started her own photography business. So I can't wait to get some beautiful pictures of our family of four! I just hope Riley's black eye is healed by then! Yep, we went to get the mail this week and he tripped walking up our concrete steps out front. Poor thing Cried horribly - I know it had to hurt. Scraped up his left eye pretty bad, and there's a hint of blue black color to it too. I'm just hoping it doesn't get any worse and that it starts to heal soon! Can't wait to see all our Indiana Friends soon!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

2011-05-10T15:00:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone! How are you doing! We're doing great! Have I got a lot to tell you!! Guess what! I can ride my bike now!! I ride it really good, I pedal and everything! Greg has a bike too, and we love riding our bikes up and down the sidewalk. Today we even rode them all the way to the playground!! It was so much fun!

Jayce is taking a bottle like a big boy now. Mommy is happy that he will take a bottle. He won't take the ones with Formula in them yet though, so Mommy and Daddy are trying to mix it in so that he'll take it. Mommy is taking Jayce to the Doctor tomorrow to check his weight to see if he's gaining any faster. He's been eating Rice Cereal, but there are even days that he doesn't like to eat that. So Mommy's not sure if he's gaining enough weight.

Heres a picture of me and Jayce. Aunt Anna got us these outfits last summer when she and Grandma Wilson were visiting. Mine is a Jr. Park Ranger Uniform (just like Mommy used to wear!!) and Jayce's says "I'm the One the Park Ranger Warned You About!" Isn't that funny!! I LOVE wearing my Park Ranger Vest, and I LOVE putting candy in all the pockets. But I can't anymore, because Mommy took away all my Easter Candy and hid it. That's because one morning I got up before she did and climbed up on top of the cabinets (above the refrigerator) to get it and hid it all in my vest pockets. Well, I didn't hide all of it, just about half, the other half I ate before Mommy woke up. She wasn't very happy, and I had to sit in time-out for that one. :(

I hope all the Mommies and Grandmas had a happy Mother's Day! Daddy and I tried really hard to make it nice for Mommy. She organized a Flower sale at Church for MOPS, so she took Jayce and I to church in the morning (all morning - all 3 services . . . whew, that's a long time!!) and Daddy stayed home to clean up the house. He picked up everything, did dishes, vacuumed, and made lunch!! (oh and he made breakfast for us in the morning too!) The we played together so that Mommy could take a nap. Silly Mommy, I don't think Mommy's need naps!! But she took one anyways! Then we went on a walk around the neighborhood. Mommy said it was a nice relaxing day, exactly what she needed. I hope she liked it!

Speaking of Flowers, Mommy wants me to show you all her Tulips. They have bloomed finally and are so pretty!! She loves them!

Yesterday was our last day of MOPS. Well, kinda!! We still have park playdates over the summer, and we go back in the fall, but for now, no more regular MOPS. They had a Spa Day (whatever that is!) Mommy said she got a foot soak and massage and did paraffin hand dips. All I know is that she came to pick me up smiling! But I think her favorite part was when we came to sing! All us kids went down and sang songs to the Mommies. Mommy took a Video of it. You can watch it by clicking on videos up above by the monthly albums. Then the video is at the end of the list. Well, that's about it for now. Daddy leaves next week for some training in St. Louis. He's gonna be gone all week again! I'm gonna miss him! But then he comes back and we get to go to Indiana to see Grandma & Grandpa Louie, Grandma Wilson, and Aunt Anna. Mommy said we even get to go and stay with Unkie Rodgie for a little while!! I Can't Wait!! See you all Later!!

Daddy's Marathon

2011-05-01T15:20:00.000-06:00

CONGRATS TO CAMERON!!! He finished his Marathon!!! We are so proud of him!!!

He started this morning by leaving the house at 4 am! Wow, That's Early! But the last shuttle to the top of the course left at 4:45. He then spent forever waiting in the cold pre-dawn Mountains because the race didn't actually start until 6:15. Then they were off! Down the Canyon they went.

We met him at Ted's Place, just outside the canyon. He was looking good and passed off some spare layers of clothes! Going Strong!!

Then we went a little further down the road and stopped at 287 where they turned off. I got some better pictures here, (no collecting things from the middle of the road!) and he even stopped to give us some High Fives!! Yay Daddy!

Then we headed to old town to wait for him to Finish!! And Finish He DID!!! His official time was 4 hours, 48 minutes and 12 seconds. His goal was to finish in under 5 hours, and he did!! We are so proud of him!! He said his quads were getting really tired around mile 23, but other than that no real problems like last time. He did so Excellent!!

26.2 miles . . . I don't think I could even run the .2!! There were many couples that ran and finished together . . . I told Cam not to expect that from me . . . it's NOT happening!! Now he just has to make it through his shutdown day (very long workday) on Tuesday without collapsing!! Day 2 is usually when things catch up to him, so it's going to be a rough day at work with all the extra stuff going on!

We are so proud of you Cameron! Good Luck at your next one - I think the trails will be a little easier now!!

Easter and More

2011-04-27T19:31:00.000-06:00

Hey Guys, I hope everyone is having a good spring . . . And I hope that Nobody in Indy is getting washed away in all that rain! We had a Fabulous Easter! It was so much fun! I found my Easter Basket right away! The Easter Bunny hid it behind the curtains, but it was so full it stick out pretty far! I was a good big brother and helped Jayce find his. That one was a little harder, it was behind the TV. I got SO much Candy, and some really cool toys! Then we went to church, and then we went to Greg's house for an Egg Hunt. Greg had lots of cousins over visiting and so Mommy and Daddy hid the eggs and we all went looking for them! I found LOTS!! And they ALL had Candy in them!! YUM! Then we went home and Mommy and Daddy made dinner. After that it was just a nice relaxing night at home. The perfect end to a nice family weekend.

Also, the night before Easter Mommy and Daddy gave Jayce Rice Cereal for the first time. He didn't like it too much, but he likes in better now. I don't know why they give him breakfast at dinner time, but oh well! He's so messy when he eats it! and he spits a lot out, so Mommy has to keep scooping it up and shoving it back in. Mommy says that's because he's still learning how to swallow.

Well, this weekend is Daddy's Marathon! We are all so excited to go and watch him! He's been working so hard for so long to accomplish this! I'm so proud of my Daddy for running so much to train! He was sick last week, so he didn't run as much as he was scheduled. But I think he'll be ok, since he was off a week in his schedule and he's feeling much better now. Mommy says we are going to go to Ted's Place to wait for him, cuz they won't let us drive up the canyon with all the runners coming down. So we'll wait there for him to pass, then drive to the finish line in Old Town and watch him finish! I just KNOW he's gonna do it this time! He's such a fast runner!!

That's about it for now! May is gonna be a super busy month for us! Mommy's doing a Flower sale for MOPS on Mother's Day, Daddy's got some long days at work scheduled and a training in St. Louis (so it'll just be me Mommy and Jayce for a week), and then we are Coming to Indy for my BIRTHDAY!!! Can you believe I'm gonna be 4!! Mommy and Daddy say we get to go to the RACE!!! I'm so excited, I LOVE RACE CARS!!! So Lot's to look for for a while! Oh, and Check out the Photo albums Mommy posted under Kodak Albums from this weekend! See ya later!