GO COLTS!!!

Colts vs. Saints in Super Bowl 44!!!! Here in Colorado we are SUPER excited!!! However, we do need to get Riley a new Colts T-shirt before the big game! We are thinking a 4T size because his previous one is 2T and he screamed bloody murder when we put it on him for the Colts/Broncos game last month. (That kid and his big head!!!) But maybe we can get away with that one for one more game, and then we can buy him a Super Bowl Champs T-shirt!!! Go Colts!!!

Last week was a much more fun week for everyone - no one was sick!! Friday we went over to Lacey and Greg's house to play and have lunch. It was a great time, Mommies got to catch up, and kiddo's played til they were pooped! Here's a great picture of Riley and Greg:

Right after lunch they sat down to watch TV and Greg put his arm around Riley - so adorable! I forget how good of friends they are until we find the time for them to hang out! Greg is getting a new brother in April, and so hopefully we can all hang out more since Lacey will be staying home with the new baby! Yay for good friends!

Saturday night we had a camp out in the living room, like we promised Riley. Naturally, he thought it was the greatest thing in the world!!! We set up the tent and sleeping bags, and then made brownies and watched Cars.

He was a little nervous at bedtime about not sleeping in his crib up in his bedroom, but once I laid down next to him he curled right up. He didn't actually sleep IN the sleeping bag, but then again he refuses to sleep under the covers in his bed usually too! He did very good at staying in the tent and not roaming around. But at around 6 am he had to move in with me in my sleeping bag. It seems that he had a little too much juice before bedtime, ok, a lot too much, and woke up completely soaked from armpits to knees!!! So we changed him, changed pj's and he slept the rest of the morning with Mommy because his sleeping bag needed a good washing too!

Not that Mommy got much sleep after that. It's hard enough to share a queen sized bed with Riley, much less a mummy bag on the living room floor!! We also learned that Mommy and Daddy aren't really cut out for this anymore!! Daddy moved to the couch early in the morning, and I probably would have too, if Riley wasn't so whiny in the morning (from being wet we later learned!) But we still had fun! And hopefully we can do more of it this summer (outside, where the ground is a little softer - yes I said SOFTER! - or at least on a little of a slant!)

Not much coming up for us, except a party of Feb 7th to root on the Colts!!! I have a Girls Night Out on the 4th to see a play in Denver - it should be a lot of fun! And I have decided to join the steering committee for my MOPS group. I will be planning the craft at each meeting for the next two years, starting this fall. It will be a challenge to come up with that many cheap, Mom-type crafts, but I'm really looking forward to the closeknit group of Moms that the steering committee will provide. MOPS has been such a blast for me, and I love it, so this is just the next logical step for me. Have a great week everyone, and GO COLTS!!!

Sickies

Hi there everybody! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but everyone here has been kinda sick. Daddy got a little bit of a cough and runny nose, he had it pretty easy - and missed 0 days of work. Mommy got it much worse though. She is still trying to get rid of her cough, and it's been over 2 weeks!! The first week she was sick too, and so we didn't do much. But she's better now, except for in the mornings - she sounds terrible!! Then there's me! I got sick last Thursday, not what Mommy and Daddy had, I just had a fever. But Boy was it a doosey!! When Mommy first took my temperature after lunch it was 102.4. So she gave me some Tylenol and put me down for a nap. I slept for 4 1/2 hours!!! And I probably would have slept more, but Mommy woke me up to take my temp again and give me more medicine. That was the battle for the next three days. My temperature stayed around 103 through Saturday, only coming down with the latest dose of Tylenol. It went down to around 101 each time I got medicine, so Mommy and Daddy didn't take me to the doctor. And I'm all better now!! Here's a picture of me curled up with Mommy. I don't really look sick in this picture because everytime I got Tylenol it brought my fever down enough that I could play and have fun again! (Mommy and Daddy didn't like that too much!)

And here's another picture of me (even though you can't see me!!) hehehe!!

Gran Wilson got me this blanket for Christmas - It's a Moose!! I have so much fun wearing it! Mommy has a blanket that zips up around her and she wears it around the house a lot (like in the first picture), so I like to wear mine too, and be like her!

Well, let's see . . . We haven't been doing much else. Mommy started back to work. Only on weekends though, so I get to spend all day Saturday and Sunday with Daddy. This Friday we are going to Greg's house to play! I'm so excited!! And I think I heard Mommy say that we can have a campout in the living room this weekend (since everyones all better now!!) YAY I'm excited for that!! I get to sleep in my new sleeping bag, in my new tent!!! So look for pictures to come! Talk to ya all later!

Happy New Year!!!

Well, another year has come and gone! I hope everyone had a happy and safe time celebrating the new year! We did! It was our first full day in Indy. We had a good visit, it was just so short!! Mommy and Daddy and I are exhausted from all the running around to see everyone in three days!
We spent most of the day Thursday with Gran Wilson, Aunt Anna, Unkie Rodgie and Auntie Kathie. We had Christmas again at their house! I go lots more cool toys, like a fire truck that makes LOTS of noise, and a Cars race track!! I also got a play tent and tunnel, and Mommy says that with that and my new sleeping bag we should have a camp out in the living room!!! That would be so much fun!! Mommy and Daddy got lots of stuff too, but nothing fun like I got - just some silly gift cards - I don't know why they are so excited about them! Then after that we went to play with my friend Elliot. New Years Day is Elliot's Birthday, he was turning 1, so we went to ring in the new year with him. Daddy and Elliot's Daddy, Tim, played the Wii most of the night, and even let me play a little - even though I didn't really understand. I just wanted to play with the steering wheel. Mommy and Elliot's Mommy Suzanne spent most of the night talking. BORING!! Then Mommy and Daddy both gave me a kiss at the new year at the same time - Yuck!! They said the only reason that I got to stay up for the new year was because we were in a different time zone and so it was really only 10:00 our time, which is only an hour after my real bedtime anyways. And I stayed up later than that the night before on the airplane.
Then on Friday we stayed at Grandma & Grandpa Louie's house all day and had lots of people come over! I got to play with my cousins a lot, and get MORE Presents!! But I didn't get a nap that day so after Mommy took Gran Wilson home I got really sleepy and Cranky.
Saturday was just as much fun! We went to Uncle Stan & Aunt Janice's house. Mommy did scrapbooking stuff, Daddy went shooting with Uncle Stan and I got to play with Maddie, Vanessa and Caleb some more. Well, Maddie and Vanessa wanted to help Mommy and Aunt Janice do Girl stuff, so mostly I just watched Cars and Alvin and the Chipmunks but that was just as much fun! Mommy got to play with Aunt Janice's Cricut, and now she wants one!! Daddy said "Maybe!" Then Saturday night Mommy and Daddy went on a date. They don't get too many of those, so they took advantage of all the free babysitters in Indy. They went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie, they said it was really good!! They liked it!
And then yesterday we came home. I had to get up at 5:00, that's 3:00 Colorado time!!! Needless to say, I slept some on the plane, and the whole way home from the airport (Mommy too), and then took another nap at my regular nap time!!! Mommy said it was good cuz it helped me get back on Colorado schedule some.
Mommy and Daddy say that our next visit to Indy will be in June, cuz Mommy has her 10 year reunion. I can't wait!! I miss my Grandmas and Grandpa already!!

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas!!! I know I did!!! We got quite a bit if snow last week, about a foot here!! It started snowing Tuesday night, and by Wednesday morning we had about 7 inches. Mommy and I went out to shovel the driveway and sidewalks, and then played in the snow with the doggies and kitty!! It was such a pretty snow! It snowed a little bit more after that, but on Christmas Day and that night it was so windy!! It blew the snow all over the place!! Some of our neighbors' fences were hidden by the GIANT drifts of snow that piled up. I guess that's what we get for living on the plains!! At least we got to have a White Christmas!!!

Christmas was great!! On Christmas Eve we braved the freezing temps and wind to go to church. Mommy and Daddy got to sing songs, and light candles, but I played in the nursery - I was the only kid there!!! Partly because of the weather, and partly because we went to the 7 pm service, and most of my friends went to the 5 pm service. But that's ok - I had three grown-ups to play with!!! Then we came home, and Mommy and Daddy made me go right to bed so Santa could come. I left him a big glass of milk and some Christmas Reese Cups, cuz Daddy said Santa would like those better than the cookies Mommy made (and I think it made Mommy mad!!) But Daddy was right!!! Those Reese's were all gone in the morning!!! And he left me a bunch of toys!!! I got lots of cars in my stocking (Doc Hudson, Mater, and Sarge from Cars), and a bunch of books too!! And even some candy - but I can only have 1 piece a day. Then I also got More Books from Mommy, and some big blocks from Daddy. Santa brought me more toys too!!! I got a Veggie Tales movie, more books, and a couple of big cars!!! You'll have to see the videos of these!! Daddy likes them too! They are made out of all recycled materials (including computer pieces) and take no batteries! But they light up, and talk and make car noises if I push them - isn't that cool!! I love pushing them around and making noises (and chasing the doggies!!) They're called Sprig toys. Mommy made breakfast casserole for breakfast - per tradition!! But we did something different for dinner this year. Rather than making a tukey or ham for just us and wasting the leftovers, Mommy and Daddy decided to have a different kind of Christmas dinner. So we had Enchiladas!! It was yummy!! It's a beef recipe, but Mommy made it with ground turkey, and it was so good. Daddy said that it made it a Feliz Navidad Christmas!!
Then on Saturday Mommy and Daddy took me to the Fort Collins Museum and Science Center. Mommy was boring - she just wanted to look at the stuff on the walls and read the captions, but Daddy and I spent the whole time in the Discovery Science Center for the kids. We rolled balls, and played with crash dummies, and made electricity on a bicycle, and played with dinosaurs, and even made wall art with our shadows!! It was a lot of fun! Then Mommy and Daddy took me to Chili's for lunch. Daddy got a HUGE burger - it was almost as big as his head!! I had such a fun week with Mommy and Daddy!! I wish they could stay home with me like that all the time!!
Anyways!! Today Mommy and I are packing! We leave for Indy Wednesday night. We spent all morning doing laundry, and then packing it up! We had to take the big suitcase cuz there's a couple of presents that we didn't ship home and Mommy had to fit them in. I hope they don't get too smooshed!! Mommy says we are spending Thursday with Gran Wilson, Aunt Anna, and Unckie Rodgie, and then Friday with Grammy and Grandpa Louie, Uncle Dale, Uncle Stan and Aunt Janice, and all my cousins!! I'm so excited!! See you all soon!!

Wheelin!

Hey everyone - I hope you are all staying nice and warm!! We are here! In Fact, yesterday was so nice, that we all took a walk around the neighborhood, even the doggies came! But it's suppose to get cold again, and snow this week before Christmas. Are you done with all your Christmas Shopping? We are!! Friday Daddy took all the presents to be sent to Grandma & Grandpa's house to FedEx. I think he was a little late to get them there for Christmas, but they will be there for New Years when we come!!

Then on Saturday we went Snow Bashin'!!! (that's 4-wheelin' in the snow) It was so much fun!! We went on an easy trail, Bunce School Road down by the St. Vrain River (where we went last year). But it was still snowy enough in some places to make it interesting! Here's some pics from the Trip, and you can see them all in the Kodak album.

Me Driving the Jeep (while waiting for Daddy to come back)

Chad finally had to put his chains on!

Daddy Stuck in a drift (the only time he got stuck!!)

Mommy took lots of video on this trip, so you can see those on the Photobucket account (link on the right).

Well, it's almost time for Christmas!!! Mommy and Daddy are excited, but I'm not quite sure what for. We already have the tree and lights up - and so far that's my favorite part! They keep talking about this Santa guy, and Baby Jesus, but I don't see them anywhere, so I don't get what the big deal is! Oh well, I'm still having fun! Trevor, my babysitter's little boy gave me a little stuffed toy for Christmas. It's a Baby Elk!! (but Mommy keeps calling it a Reindeer, and says his name is Rudolph - but I don't know who that is, and he looks like a Baby Elk to me - so that's what I call him!)

In other news - Mommy and Daddy keep making me sit on the potty. I HATE IT!!! I don't understand why they make me sit there, nothing happens when I do, it's so boring! I would rather be up playing and running around. but since they take my diaper off to sit on it, they won't let me run around. Oh well!

Have a Merry Christmas Everyone!!

I love this time of year!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! I know it's not Christmas yet, but I'm just so excited I can barely stand it!!! Mommy and I have been listening to Christmas music almost everyday, and I love to plug in the Christmas lights every night, Mommy said who needs a timer - we've got Riley!! hahaha Last weekend we went to cut down our Christmas tree up by Red Feather Lakes. We got a really BIG one this year!! See

Daddy had to cut it almost in half to fit it in our house, but don't worry we cut up the rest to use for firewood next year. It was just so full and pretty on top that we couldn't pass it up. Daddy was such a trooper to lug it up the hill to the car. I spent most of the time eating snow. That was my favorite part. And I even rode on the sled on the way back up. Mommy was happy about that cuz then she didn't have to carry me!!

This was the first year we took the Xterra to get our tree. Mostly cuz Daddy sold the Rack for the top of the Jeep, and we didn't have anything on top to tie the tree to. It did a good job!! Although it was a little more difficult to tie it down since we were so worried about scratches. Good thing we brought a tarp.

Here it is all finished up nicely!! Mommy let me help put on some ornaments. It looks so pretty! Now we just need some presents under there!!

This year we picked the perfect day to go get the tree. It was chilly, but not too cold. There was snow, but not waist-deep! The big storm came on Sunday, and we have been Freezing ever since!! We got about 4 inches of snow Satuday night into Sunday, and another couple of inches yesterday. The mountains got a lot more though. Also, the temperature has been so cold. This week so far highs have only been in the single digits!! Yesterday the high was only 3 degrees!!! It was 13 below 0 when Mommy and I got up this morning. Needless to say, we haven't got out to make a snowman yet!

Tomorrow Mommy has a Cookie exchange with her friends from MOPS. I don't know what that is, but she has been baking like crazy!!! And won't let me eat any of the cookies!!! She said she had to make 8 dozen of them, and we can't have any!! But she will bring some home too, and we can have those! YUMMMY! Then this weekend the Colts get the chance to Kick the Broncos Butts!! We are having some of Mommy and Daddy's friends over to rub it in their faces when the Broncos lose!! GO COLTS!!!! I hope that my Colt's t-shirt still fits me. . .

Have a good week everyone, and Stay Warm!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!! I know we did!! We just spent the day being lazy, and cooking and eating!! Daddy was the most productive! He went on a bike ride, and cleaned the cars!! Thanks Daddy! Mommy spent the afternoon cooking, and Daddy did the turkey. It was Yummy!!! My favorite was the Turkey and the "Burgers" (which Mommy and Daddy called biscuits - I don't know why, they look like burgers to me!!) I'm very thankful for my Mommy and Daddy, and my Grandpa and Grandma Louie, and Gran Wilson, and my Aunts and Uncles and cousins, and Mo-Mo and Piper, and Raider (cuz who else can I lay on and pull their tail!!) and everyone else!!
Then Mommy had to work on Friday and Saturday. Friday was a crazy busy day for her!! She was the only person working for the ENTIRE Larimer County Parks system!!! And on top of that, it was almost 70 degrees outside!! That made for quite an exciting day!! It started not long after she got to work with some people hunting at Fossil Creek Reservoir (illegally!). But by the time she got numbers of people to call for backup they were gone. Then she went to the two busiest places in the county - Devil's Backbone and Horsetooth Mountain. She spent the rest of the day running back and forth from these places. Thy were both full to capacity, and she spent two hours cleaning out the money vault at Horsetooth mountain because there were too many people putting money in there for it to hold it all!!! Thankfully she had Saturday (a much cooler and less busy day) to recooperate!
Then yesterday we went up the Poudre Canyon to take some pictures for our Christmas cards, like we always do. I don't know why Mommy makes us do this!! I hate it!! I can't stand sitting still for a picture, so Mommy got very mad at me. We didn't get very many pictures taken, so Mommy says we will try again next weekend. (hehehe we'll see about that!!) Here's one she took that shows just how grumpy I was during this trip.

Next weekend we are going up to Red Feather Lakes to cut down our Christmas tree. Daddy was also trying to plan a Jeep trip with some friends to go "Snow Bashing", but there's not a lot of snow up in the mountains yet, so that might have to wait. Then the next weekend we've got a couple of parties going. One with Daddy's friend from work, and one we are having for the Colts vs. Broncos game (haha Colts are gonna kick butt!!) Mommy only has one more day of work left, on Wendesday, then she's done until January!! She's only going to work part time when she goes back, just on Saturdays and Sundays. I'm happy that she will be able to spend time with me all week, but Daddy's sad cuz he won't get to see her much, or do anything as a Family during that time. At least it's only until March, then Mommy will start back full-time.

Well, that's about it going on here. Mommy didn't get a lot of pictures taken this month, cuz we were so busy. But there will be a lot more from next month!! See you all later!

Skinny, nakey boy!

Well, I don't have a whole lot to talk about this week. Mommy and Daddy have been busy working, and I've been busy playing!! A couple of things I wanted to tell you about though -

1. Our New TV!!! Mommy and Daddy have been meaning to get a new TV, recently our old one was flickering to black & white a lot, so we knew it was only a matter of time. So we got a 46 in. LCD Sony something or other! But Daddy found a great deal on it, so we pretty much got a FREE surround sound system AND BlueRay player!!! (And I got Disney's Cars on Blue Ray - we watch it almost daily!!) Which means we also got HDTV now!! Merry Christmas Mommy and Daddy!!

2. I hate wearing clothes now!! Once I get to the babysitters, I usually take my shoes and socks off first thing. But if I'm at home . . . it's only a matter of time before everything else comes off too!! I'm usually pretty good at keeping a diaper on (most of the time), cuz then Mommy and Daddy don't fight me as much, but this is how I run around the house most of the time:

I'm really growing up, but not out - as you can see!! Mommy and Daddy can't believe how skinny I am, and say it makes it really hard to find clothes for me. Mommy teases that she will never be able to potty train me, cuz diapers are the only thing keeping my pants up!!!

3. Mommy's almost done with work!! Her last day for the year is December 2. She can come back in January, after she takes a month off. She's just trying to decide if she wants to go back fulltime, or parttime. She likes spending time with me, but she also likes her job a lot, and the little extra money is nice too.

4. MORE SNOW!! We had another snow storm yesterday and today! about 8 inches!! But with my new no clothes policy, I didn't want to go play in it! Daddy went out and let the doggies play in the snow, but Mommy and I stayed inside. It sounds like we are going to get alot of snow this year!! YAY!!

Well that's about it. not a lot going on right now! Things will pick up a little bit after Thanksgiving towards Christmas. Oh yeah - and we get to go visit everyone in Indy for New Year's this year!! It's going to be a short trip, only a few days, but at least I'll get to see everyone again!! And the good news is Daddy only has to take one vacation day for the Trip!! YAY, that means more time next year!! See ya all later!

SNOW FOR HALLOWEEN!!!

So this year our first "blizzard" came early!! BEFORE Halloween!!! It wasn't acutally a blizzard - but we did get a heck of a lot of snow!! Fort Collins (nearby) got 19 inches, and places that Mommy works in got 27 inches!!! Here's some pictures that Mommy took at work the day of all the snow. And here's a picture of some cookies Mommy made for Halloween. They are Owls!! Isn't that fun!!

Mommy got a new cookbook of all cookies and cookie stuff. In fact Mommy made a fruit pizza from it for MOPS (it was her tables' turn to bring food) and she won the best dish prize!! YAY Mommy!!

Anyways, all of the snow is pretty much melted now, but we thought we were going to have to build snowmen instead of scarecrows for halloween this year!! In fact, we didn't even get to carve our pumpkins because they were buried under about 9 inches of snow and frozen!! Oh well! We did go to a halloween party at one of Daddy's co-workers house. I got to tag along cuz Mommy and Daddy couldn't find a babysitter. I had fun! I got to dress up in my costume and eat popcorn and witches finger cookies!! yum!! Here's a picture of me in my costume

Aren't I just the cutest little vampire you've ever seen!!! Mommy was Shawn Johnson (the gymnast), and Daddy was a "Ghost Rider" - he dressed up in a sheet and his mountain biking gear! This is the only pictures we have of me dressed up though, because I didn't get dressed up last night for halloween. I woke up cranky from my nap and was just being a party-pooper the whole rest of the night. Mommy and Daddy tried to trick me into getting my costume on by telling me we were playing dress-up, and going outside to "play" for candy. Italizied words are usually the key words to get me to do something, but I was smarter than them this time!! I wasn't gonna go!! They almost had me tricked when the first group of trick-or-treaters came to the door, and I saw Mommy give them candy. But I resisted!! And went candy free last night. So now the only candy we have is what is left over from the Trick-or-Treaters.

So I missed out on Trick-or-Treating? Who cares - There's always next year!! And maybe then I'll understand this crazy facination everyone has with Dressing up to play outside for candy!!!

From Pumpkin patches to Jeeping

Hey everyone!! You are not going to believe all the fun I’ve had lately!! Let’s see, last time we talked was the when we were playing in the snow. . . Golly!! That was 2 weeks ago!! Well, Mommy had that week off work, so we did a lot!! On Monday we went to MOPS, and Tuesday we went to Mommy’s new Bible Study. I got to go to Mommy’s Friend Tami’s house and play with my new friend Harrison (Tami is Harrison’s Mommy). And Jack and Joy were there too – other friends from MOPS. Then on Wednesday we went to the Pumpkin Patch!! It was so much fun!! They had a hayride out to the pumpkin patch and a hay maze – if you wanted! But Mommy said that I was too little for the hay maze, and she didn’t have enough hands to take me on a hayride by herself, so we just picked out pumpkins from the front. The lady Loved me!! I kept showing her all my pumpkins, and telling her they were pumpkins of course, and she thought it was the cutest thing in the world!! (little does she know that I am!!) hehe!! Anyways, we got SIX Pumpkins, a big one for Mommy, and a big one for Daddy, a medium sized one for me, and a couple of smaller ones for decoration. And we got some of the teeny tiny ones to put on our dining room table!! Aren’t we festive!! Mommy forgot to bring her camera to the pumpkin patch though, so we didn’t get any pictures. But I went again with Greg and his Mommy this past Friday, so maybe she’ll give her pictures to Mommy!

So let’s see, what else! On Thursday Mommy had some girlfriends over to watch a movie, so Daddy and I played with the Jeep some (oh yeah I’ll tell you all about the Jeep in a little bit!!) They watched Steel Magnolias, and cried a lot – silly girls!! Then on Friday, Mommy and I did a whole lotta nothing!!! Well, until the Fall Festival at Church!! Greg and his Mommy and Daddy went with us. We played in a jump castle, in a hay maze, got our faces painted, went fishing for bible stories, petted farm animals, and ate yummy hot dogs!! They had a costume parade too, but Greg and I didn't dress up for it. It was so much fun!!

Then this week, Jamie was still on vacation, so I got to stay with lots of different people while Mommy was at work. On Wednesday, I stayed with Mommy’s friend Amanda, then on Thursday I stayed with Kelli, Marcus, and Liam. And on Friday I stayed with Greg and Lacey. It was so much fun!! I got to play with all sorts of different toys!!

Then yesterday Daddy and I went Jeeping!! So all that week when Mommy was off work, she and I still had to get up early and take Daddy to work because the Jeep was in pieces. He’s been working on it a lot, but it’s all fixed now!! And so after all that work Daddy wanted to take it off-roading to make sure that everything worked. We went to Rock creek, and also did Bunce School Road. There were about 11 Jeeps total (and one truck). We had a lot of fun – it was snowing!! Daddy’s Friend Shane went too. Here’s some pictures from the trip. Mommy had to work, so we only have a few pictures.

Tomorrow is MOPS again!! I love playing with all my friends there!! And then Comes HALLOWEEN!!! I am so excited to go trick-or-treating!! I'm going to be a Vampire this year!! Mommy says it's a cute costume, but that's not what I want - I wanna be SCARY!!!

Oh yeah - and Mommy wants me to ask everyone to pray for some of our friends. We have a couple "couples" of friends that need your thoughts and prayers, and Mommy's boss too is going through a rough spot and needs some support and encouragement!! I hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!! Look for pictures coming up!

SNOW DAY!!!

Saturday Morning we woke up to about 3 inches of snow!!! The first snow of the season!! (at least at our house!) I wanted to go out and play in it right away, but Mommy and Daddy said we had to have breakfast first. Daddy made Waffles, and that's the only way they could get me away from the window!! I ate as fast as I could, and then Mommy bundled me all up and went outside!! The doggies came too, but only Mowgli played in the snow - Piper doesn't like it too much. But Mowgli LOVES it!!

Daddy taught me how to throw Snowballs at Mommy (only mine aren't very big), and throw snow up in the air!! I had a lot of fun doing that - and throwing it on the doggies!!

Then I went on a sled ride around the back yard. We had to use my baby sled, cuz we haven't gotten me a bigger one yet. But I didn't mind - I was giggling the whole way around the yard!!

We played outside for about a half an hour, and then Me and Daddy walked around in the snow for a while longer while Mommy went in and made pumpkin bread. Sounds yummy huh - except we didn't get to eat any!! Mommy made it for the MOPS bake sale (it was today), and said that we couldn't have any. Oh well. Today Daddy's working on the Jeep again. I'll be glad when he's all done and we can go for a ride in it!! This week is busy for Me and Mommy. MOPS is tomorrow, and Tuesday is a new MOPS bible study. Then Thursday is Mommy's Girls Night Out she has been planning every month, and Friday is the Fall Festival at Church!! What a busy time - guess it's good that Mommy took the week off from work!

Oh yeah - And Mommy says to tell everyone that she put together an album of pictures from her work this year. It's listed in with the Kodak Albums and is called Ranger Season 09 - Check them out!! There's a lot of ones from Devil's Backbone because she spent a lot of time there this year, along with Red Mountain (but those pictures are in a separate album - Check it out too if you haven't seen them yet!)

Mommy Notes

Hello everyone! I thought I would put my two cents worth in this time! ;) Once again we have managed to keep ourselves busy the last couple of weeks. Last week I was down and out with somekinda bug - and no it wasn't the Swine Flu!! I didn't have a fever at all, just horrible congestion, and a sore throat to go with it. Riley got a little snotty about the same time, but not near what I went through. I ended up missing a couple of days of work including Greg's birthday party, and am just now getting over my cough. However, that didn't stop us from going to Rocky Mountain National Park last Sunday to enjoy Elk rut. The first weekend in October is usually "Elk Fest" in Estes Park. So after driving through the park we stopped there. We had missed most of the day's activities, but we did stop and listen to a talk from a Wolf Sanctuary. They brought wolves with them and it was very interesting to learn about them. Wolves are much bigger than I had imagined. I guess I just always assumed they were about the same size as Huskies (from what you see in movies). But they are much bigger!! These were females and they were about as tall as Mowgli and much thicker!! I would say close to the size of a St. Bernard, or Burmese Mtn Dog. HUGE!!!

Anyways, we went to the park and got to listen to the elk bugle. We got some video of it, but you can't really hear the elk, just Riley saying "Look, Elk", after everytime they made a noise! He was very intrigued by them, and really seemed to enjoy himself! And he can definately pick an elk out of a crowd now!!

Sunday we also decided it was time to try to break Riley of his Pacifier. We have gotten him down to just nap time and night time, but we knew that we needed to get him off of it completely before we started working hard at potty training (coming soon!) So Sunday night before bed I went in his room and gathered all the paci's off the shelf where they are usully kept, and hid them away in our room. I couldn't find one of the yellow ones, but it had been missing for a little while and I figured it might be at the sitters or somewhere lost. I put Riley to bed that night, and we brushed his teeth, got dressed, and read a story as usual. When it came time for the paci, I took him to the shelf and showed him they were all gone. He seemed a little bummed, but not heart broken, and went to bed easily, with no tears about the paci! I'm a little concerned as to how easy it was, but went to bed as usual. Cam wakes me up Monday morning to say goodbye for work, and all I can think is WOW we made it through the night with no paci!! Then after I hear Mr. Chatty in his crib, I go in to get him up. What do I find when I open the door . . . Riley laying playing in his crib, with a YELLOW PACI in his mouth!!! Apparently he had hidden it in his crib for just such an occasion!! Little Stinker!! Needless to say I hid that one as soon as possible and we have been Paci-Free ever since!!! YAY!!! and only one crying episode on the second night!! Guess this means we should move on to potty training now . . .

This week the weather has really taken a turn towards fall, and even winter!! Last weekend at Elk Fest it was really cold, and it was even snowing when we were hiking around Bear Lake. Trail Ridge Road is already closed for the season. But this week it got even worse! Yesterday it snowed most of the day (at least for me it did - I was at work in the mountains). The foothills and plains got some rain, but mostly just a cold and dreary day. I was at work and spent the day at Red Mountain (because going up there has become an all day event!). I hiked the big loop, about 10 miles, checking mileage and looking for stray cattle (we've had some problems with escape artists). It was snowing the whole time I was up there, and it was beautiful!!! There was only about 2 inches on the ground, but it had already drifted to about 10 inches in some places up on the Cheyenne Rim. I should have brought my snowshoes along! Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but I was able to get a couple of panoramic shots with my phone.

Today was a little warmer. Once again this year I got to be in the CSU homecoming parade. Cameron had to work, so Riley got to come with me. I rode a bike this year, and pulled him in the trailer!! He was a HIT!! Everyone loved him, in his Rams sweatshirt and my Ranger hat. By the time we got to campus (the oval), he was waving at everyone! Not to mention he loved the CANDY!! The guys I work with thought it would be great to give him all the suckers he could eat!! So everytime I turned around he had one in his mouth! (And yes, he was running around on a sugar high til WAY past bedtime!!) Anyways, By the time we got back to the car the wind had really picked up, and before we got home it was snowing. There is now close to an inch on the ground!! I'll have to get some pictures tomorrow morning of the snow, and Riley playing in it. And I'm definately taking my snowshoes to work tomorrow!!

In other news - Cam's been messing with the Jeep again!! We decided to put some more money into it so that it will last us for a few more years . . . and to Cameron that means what ever is being replaced is being replaced with the biggest and best I can find!!! ;) He's spent the last couple of weekends tinkering with it, and even sending me to the far corners of the state (and beyond) to fetch parts! But now he has bigger tires, we're up to 33's now - That's 33 inches high, new leaf springs in the rear, adding 1 inch in total height, new longarm kit for the front (coming this weekend), and new steering and brakes. Although it seems like more than that. Thankfully he says there's only a few more things he wants to do to it, but one of those includes entirely caging the body (good for safety - bad for wallets!) Hopefully when he gets everything all done we can still go on one wheelin' trip before the year is out. He hasn't made it to any this year, between broken Jeep parts and timing of summer events. Maybe we'll make a trip to Moab for some fun next year (just ssshhhhh . . . don't tell him I said that!!) ;)

Well, this has become way longer than I expected. I won't say much more. Just that Riley is getting so big!! And growing up!! He's quite the little talker now. He picks up new words everyday (yes, words - plural!!). He's also putting together phrases - not quite sentences, but you definately get the point he wants to make. And he's absolutely in the terrible (I mean TERRIFIC) two's phase!!! When he gets into a crying fit it takes forever to get him calmed down enough to figure out what he wants. One second is the paci he started out crying about, then it's the book he sees on the floor, then it's going downstairs, but he wants to walk, no carry, no don't touch me . . . you get the idea!! What FUN!!

I hope everyone in Indy is staying warm for the time being - we have already transitioned into down comforters and warmer sheet sets!! (and footed pj's for Riley) Now I just have to figure out how to make the cute little Halloween costume Colorado Weather-Proof . . .

Thomas the Train, and Fall Colors

I got to ride on Thomas the Tank Engine this weekend!!! Sunday we took Greg and his Mommy and Daddy to Golden to see Thomas the Train. They had so much to do, but we didn't do it all, cuz there were a TON of people there. But we did ride on Thomas and play with the toy trains, and get Thomas Tattoos, and sit in the giant Lego Thomas, and . . . Eat Yummy Ice Cream!! (it's Dole Whip Ice Cream and they have yummy flavors!!) We also saw Sir Topum Hat, but the line was too long to get our picture taken with him, same with the big Thomas that pulled us around. But It was still fun. I hope Greg had fun too, it's his birthday in another week. We are going to his party this weekend. Wanna know what else we did this weekend? We did a lot again. On Saturday was the Birding Fair at Mommy's work. So Daddy and I went to check it out and hang out with Mommy a little. They had some live birds there (raptors - like Hawks and Owls and Eagles!) and I got there just in time to watch a Red-tailed Hawk Flying Demonstration. It was pretty cool! I'm still a little too young for all the activities they have for Kids, so we'll have to go back next year and do them. They have a lot for kids to do. Then after Thomas on Sunday Mommy and Daddy and I took the back roads home from Golden. We found a great little State Park to see the Fall colors out here (just green and gold, not all the reds and oranges like in Indy). But it was still really pretty!

Then Yesterday Mommy and I went to MOPS, and the Gourmet Godmother came to talk to the Moms. She gave Mommy some good recipes that I can help cook! I'm so excited to help Mommy in the kitchen!! (even though Mommy's a little nervous!) And then today Mommy and I went to Cheyenne. We had to pick up some Jeep parts for Daddy, and then we went to the Sierra Trading Post Outlet Store. It was so Big!! I wasn't a very good boy for Mommy, but she attributes that to the long car ride! We bought a bunch of Smartwool socks for winter, and snowpants for me, and a sleeping bag/Doggie Bed for the Doggies to fight over!! (But they're gonna have to fight me for it first!!!)

I have had so much fun these last couple of weeks!! And Next weekend is Greg's party, and maybe we will go to Estes Park for Elk Fest, and listen to the Elk Bugling!! Mommy says I have to figure out what I wanna be for Halloween soon. Anybody got any ideas?

Busy Month!

Hi Everyone!! Sorry for the delay in updates again! It has been a busy couple of weeks!! Let's see whre did I leave off . . .

Mommy and I started going to MOPS again!! And I'm in the 2 year old class now, not the nursery!! We get to do crafts and have a Bible lesson!! And Mommy is a Discussion Group Leader for her table. The theme this year is "Planet Mom", and Mommy says that's perfect, because sometimes as a mom she feels like she's living on another planet!! Then we went to Mommy's work party for the end of the year. It was at Hermit Park Open Space, in Estes Park. It was such a pretty night, and cool. But that didn't slow me down at all!! Mommy's co-workers gave me a new nickname - Velociraptor!! Which I think is cool cuz it's a dinosaur, but I guess they gave me that name cuz of the high pitched screams I always make. Mommy says it fits me!

Then we went to the annual Sustainable living fair in Fort Collins. I got to see some cool stuff. This week I am spending the entire week at Jamie's house during the day. That's because on Monday and Tuesday, when I usually stay with Mommy, she wasn't here. She got to go to a Ranger Conference in Breckenridge. She said it was so pretty up there. All the aspen are changing, and it was snowing!!! Yes, SNOWING!! Here's a picture from when they were driving up.

She learned a lot at the conference, and even got to meet Aron Ralston - the guy who went hiking alone in Utah and had to cut off his arm!! He's a "Inspirational" Speaker now, and he came to talk to them and sign books. Mommy got one for Daddy.

This weekend is going to be busy too. Saturday is the Birding Fair at Mommy's work. Daddy and I are going to go visit her cuz it's fun for kids too. And then Sunday we are going to see THOMAS THE TRAIN!!! I'm so excited!! He's at the Colorado Railroad Museum, and Mommy and Daddy got tickets so we can ride on him!!! And guess what - Greg is coming too!!! It's almost his Birthday, so Mommy and Daddy got tickets for his Mommy and Daddy so we can all go ride Thomas together!! So look for more pictures to come after that. But for now here's a few pictures of me lately. I am trying to swim in the bathtub in the first one, and I'm coloring in my Madagascar book in the second. I love coloring!!

Visitors!!

I love having people come and visit us!! Mommy's Friend Camie, and her boyfriend Patrick came to visit us this weekend. We had so much fun together!! Friday Mommy had to work, so they rode along with her. They went to see Devil's Backbone, and climbed all the way to the top of Horsetooth Rock!! Mommy was so proud of them!! Not bad for flying from near sea level only 7 hrs before!!

After that we took them to Old Town, and got Rasta Pasta and Ice cream. They are really good at playing 1, 2, 3, Swing!! On Saturday they went to Rocky Mountain National Park and Drove up Trail Ridge Road. It sounds like they had a lot of fun there too! Then on Sunday Daddy took them Mountain Biking!! They had Mountain biked in Indiana, but this was their first time in actual Mountains!! They did really good!! We took them to Hewlett's Gulch, a fairly easy trail (for the mountains).

While they were biking Mommy and I played in the Poudre, and hiked a little down the trail!

After biking we drove up the Poudre Canyon a little ways so that they could see the sites. Then we came back home and had a BBQ on our new patio!! We don't have any furniture yet though, so everyone was huddled around my picnic table!! It was fun!! Yesterday they left to do an overnight backpacking trip. They went up to Emmaline Lake, and the Mummy Pass, where Mommy went when she did her Pingree Park class. I hope they are having fun, and not getting to wet, (it rained a little yesterday). Yesterday Mommy and Daddy worked in the yard again. They got some flowers pretty cheap at the Fort Collins Nursery Sale, and planted them in Mommy's new Flower bed, and the border around the fence. Daddy says no more landscaping this year!! hehe Now it's back to the routine! I hope everyone had a fun Labor Day weekend!!

And if you wanna come visit us like Camie and Patrick did, just let us know!! WE LOVE HAVING VISITORS!!! (not enough people take advantage of our spare bedroom!!)

I MADE IT!!!!

Long's Peak: 14,255 Ft above sea level. And I made it to the top!!! I am calling it a Horrendously Wonderful experience, because it was both horrendous, and wonderful!! I told Cameron when I got home that I'm very glad I did it, because now I don't ever have to do it again!!

I met my fellow climbers (Jacob, Zack, and Mike) at my Fossil Creek Office at 12:45 am. We then drove the hour and 15 minutes to the trailhead at 9,504 ft. We were on the trail by about 2:20 am and hiked in near pitch dark until sunrise about 6:30 am. In that amount of time we reached the Boulderfield, a camping area 6 miles up the trail, just below the Keyhole. It was a beautiful sunrise over Mt. Lady Washington. Then came the treacherous climb over all the rocks. The last nearly 2 miles is all rock scrambles, separated into about 4 distinct sections: the Ledges, the Trough, the Narrows, and the Homestretch before reaching the summit! It took us nearly the same amount of time to traverse these sections as it did the first 6 miles!!! That's how difficult they can be!! The Trough is indeed the worst of them, because there are MANY loose rocks in this steep section. In fact after reaching the summit Mike severely sprained his ankle, and I learned today that another gentleman who also summited yesterday with us was hurt in this section and had to spend the night in the Trough and be helicoptered out this morning. You can read that story here. Mike was a trooper though and after Zack (an EMT and Army Medic) wrapped it well he continued down with only hiking poles to help him!! So Long's Peak is not a mountain to be taken lightly!

We reached the summit around 11:15, after taking a 20 minute nap in the sun before the Homestretch section. We then spent about an hour and half on the summit taking pictures, enjoying the beautiful views, calling loved ones (Yes, I had Cell Service!!), signing the registry, and listening to Zack play the bagpipes!! That was the best, and everyone else loved it as well!! He did say it was very difficult to play the bagpipes at 14,000 ft, but he did it, and it was something I will never forget - definately check out the video of this! The decent was just as difficult, and especially hard on my knees!! By the time we reached the boulderfield again I was traveling at the same pace as the injured Mike (did I mention he was a Trooper!) And the 6 miles from the boulderfield were just horrendous: we thought we would never reach the trailhead again!! But we did finally, around 6:30 pm, after many false signs of hope (waterfalls and signs we remembered from the way up, and a false "sighting" by Jacob!!) We then went to Subway for dinner in Estes Park, scarfed our food in complete silence, and drove home!!

All in all it was something I was so happy to experience, but am content with only 1 of these experiences!! We had beautiful weather!! Minus the "smoke haze" (visible in the photos) from the California wildfires (and the cause of my sorethroat, wheezing and coughing). And came away with only many very sore muscles, and one sprained ankle!! Check out the pictures and videos, which I hope to have posted soon (tomorrow at the latest).

New Walkway!!!

So we finished the patio last weekend, this weekend we finished the walkway from the garage to the patio!! It slopes nicely so that Gran Wilson can come and visit, and get inside easy (no more muddy tires!!) Daddy did a really nice job on it! Thanks so much Daddy.

Also this week we went to Spring Canyon Park with MOPS. It is such a COOL playground!!! There's a water area with spontaneous geysers, and a little kids playground, and a big kids playground, and GIANT rocks with caves and stuff!!! And it's all accessible!! Mommy says we won't go there to often, cuz it's too hard to keep track of me! But I loved it!! I got to play with my friends and run through the water!! But my favorite part was when I figured out how to climb on the rocks!!!

Mommy kept looking for me on the ground, and got scared cuz she couldn't find me, then looked up!! I told her she should know better than to look on the ground for me!! She just called me a monkey and made me get down.

Mommy gets to hike Long's Peak!! She going on this Tuesday, so look soon after for an update!! She's so excited!! It looks like it's going to be good weather too! Then on Friday Mommy's friend Camie is coming to visit!! Yay!! More visitors!! September is going to be a busy month for us!! Mommy's really busy with work, she gets to go to a conference in Breckenridge, and they do a big Birding Fair. Also, we get to go to the Colorado Railroad Museum and ride on Thomas the Train!!! I can't wait for that!!! And Greg might come too!! SO much going on!! Have a good Labor day weekend everyone!! and look for updates soon from Mommy's hike!

New Patio!!!

Sorry for the delay in updates everyone! We have just been so busy!! Let's see what all has happened in the last week . . . I got a haircut!! Finally!! But I haven't sat still long enough for Mommy to get a picture yet, so you'll have to wait for it! Hopefully we can get one before I need another haircut!! Ummm . . . what else . . . we went to Mommy's work party, and I got to ride on a boat!!! It was my first time, and I had so much Fun!! I didn't even mind the life jacket I had to wear! But Mommy forgot her camera, so we don't have pictures of that either! Today we went to dinner with Mommy's friend Ashley from high school. She came out to visit for a wedding reception and we got to see her. Mommy said it was fun to catch up since they haven't seen each other in almost ten years!! I just like having people visit, especially new ones who I can show off for!

Also this week Mommy and Daddy have been working hard to get our new patio put in. There's a gap between the deck off the dining room, and the concrete pad off the family room, and Mommy and Daddy always wanted to connect the two to make a big patio, and they finally did it!! Here's what it looked like before:

They worked REALLY HARD on it, well, Mostly Daddy - cuz Mommy spent most of the time keeping me out of Daddy's way!! First they had to dig out a bunch of dirt, 7 inches Daddy said. I got to help a little with that part. Then they had to put down a bunch of rock and use a big machine to flatten it out. Then came the sand, I really wanted to play with that, but they still wouldn't let me help!! Last night Mommy and Daddy worked late into the night to get most of the stones laid, cuz we could only rent the machine for a certain amount of time. But it's all finished now!!! Mommy even got a new Flower bed by the stairs!! Here's the finished product:

Next weekend Daddy's going to do the walkway from the patio to the garage. He says that won't take as long cuz he won't have to cut as many stones!

Well, Mommy doesn't know if she'll get to hike up to Long's Peak this year! She planned the trip this week with her co-workers, but now no one can go. And this isn't really a hike that you do alone!! But there is a possibility that she can go next week. so we will have to wait and see!! She really wants to do it this year!! Tomorrow I get to see my friends from MOPS!!! We have another play date at the park. Oh yeah - and I almost forgot!! Mommy got a raise at work!!! And she gets to stay Full-Time until the end of NOVEMBER!!! Yeah Mommy!! Well, have a good week everyone!!