Gran's House

We just got back from our yearly trip to Arkansas. Spent the last 9 days visiting with Jen's Gran and family and enjoying the nice warm weather.  =)

Noah seemed to have a blast no matter what we did - blowing bubbles, playing on the deck, feeding the ducks, playing at the park, roasting marshmallows, catching fireflies, playing in the pool, shopping, exploring the backyard, etc.  He also had a great time at the family reunion at our cousin's house - swimming, lounging, fishing, watching movies, playing, eating, etc.  The plane rides to and from thrilled his little soul to no end.  He talked almost non-stop about the big plane and the little plane he got to ride in to everyone who would listen.  Actually, the "little" plane was a new experience all around - an 8-seater..... yeah..... lol. 

A great time was had by all!  We love it there and hope we get to go back again next year!  =)

Yay! It's May!

We sure can't seem to get enough of all this warm weather we've been having lately.  Multiple zoo trips, nightly walks, playing basketball on the driveway, working on outside projects, working on inside projects..... my goodness!!  We also couldn't possibly have had any more fun than we had this past weekend.  Estes Park was absolutely gorgeous and we just couldn't get enough of its amazingness!  We love our tradition of going there every Memorial Day weekend!

The trip first started off with breakfast on the way up at the cutest little coffee and pastry shop in Castle Rock.  Here was the best family picture we could get.  (lol)

Our visit to Estes Park this time was a little bit different and we had THE best time!  Our second day there, we decided to visit one of the family fun centers there.

We rode the bumper boats......

 

Went down the HUGE slide...... 

 

Raced the go-karts...... 

 

And played 18 holes of mini golf! 

We think we'll make that a regular tradition as well.  We all had a blast and were definitely ready for lunch (at a new place!) after that little adventure!  ;)


Coffee (and chocolate milk) by the river was a traditional morning routine for us......

Sitting by the river outside of our cabin became an obsession......

Walking through town and watching the water wheel is a favorite pastime......

And we even bought a couple of new games to help make "cabin time" a little bit more fun!

What a great weekend!  =)

Mr. Noah Head

"MOM!!!!!  Will you picture me, please?  I'm SO silly!!!!!"

Dang, this kid is cute.....  =)

A Little Party and a Big Party

A Little Party
Our dear friends' little boy turned one last week and they threw a "little man" party for him.  It was above and beyond cute and WAY too much fun.  One of the best parts was a photo booth they had set up and took pictures with an old-school polaroid camera.  Here we are!!  This one goes in the memory books for sure!  =)

A Big Party
Our longtime friend, Kyle, who is pretty much like a Brother, got married in California a couple of weeks ago, and this weekend had his "Colorado reception."  We had the honors of helping with the dessert table and etc, but it seems the chocolate fountain was the biggest hit out of all the stations set up.  ;) 

What a Lovely Winter We're Having This Spring

The weather kinda toyed with us this past weekend.  It gave us a glorious day to play outside and even have a picnic!  But not just any picnic, a picnic in Denver with family!  We spent the late part of the morning and early afternoon with Greg's sister and her family up at their house, hanging out, catching up and having a little playdate if you will.  Then it was off to the park to eat and play!  It was too cute seeing the little cousins together.  =)

But..... this nice weather hasn't been the normal for us, and our week ahead is forecasted to have lots of snow as well.  So.... we'll just have to keep finding indoor activities to keep us occupied.

So far, Noah's practiced his cutting......

He's done a sensory activity......

We've watched movies, made cookies, read lots and lots of books, played many games, put together a few 100-piece puzzles, played with lots of "new" toys in the basement, cranked up the fireplace and had dinner picnics in front of it, colored in the giant coloring book, made milkshakes, colored on the windows, went swimming at the YMCA, went for fro-yo at our new yogurt place here in Monument, went shopping, tried new restaurants, had a few playdates with friends and etc.  We've done pretty much everything we could think of to pass the time since we've been stuck mostly inside waiting for the weather to turn warmer.  Shouldn't be too much longer though.  We can't wait to get out there!!!

Spring has sprung!

Easter 2013

Happy Easter!!!

Such a crazy fun weekend.  =)

Saturday afternoon, we dyed eggs at home.

Sunday morning started off with an Easter egg hunt that led to an Easter basket FULL of fun things.....

 

.....followed by the obligatory family pictures!

 

Then it was off to church - where a pretty big Easter egg hunt was waiting for all of the kids!

 

After church, we headed to our usual spot for a late breakfast (Einstein's), and then headed to Jen's Mom's house for lunch.  There, Noah dyed more eggs.....

..... got another Easter basket of goodies.....

..... went on another Easter egg hunt.....

..... and drank from the faucet after playing hard outside and enjoying the nice day.  ;)

Couldn't have asked for a better, more perfect day. 

 

 

Sunny San Fran

It's become part of our normal routine around here for Greg to leave Jen and Noah for a few days and travel for work.  Lucky for us, it's not that often. Lucky for us, Jen and Noah get to go with him whenever they want.  Lucky for us, his district is in California!  =)

So...... for the last few days, that's what we've been up to!  Greg decided to extend the end of his trip, Jen flew out and met him, and we made an actual mini vacation out of it! Sightseeing in San Fran, driving down the PCH, seeing the sights in Monterey and Carmel, having lunch and shopping in Santa Cruz, making the "17-mile drive" and spendng some time at Pebble Beach, stopping at random beaches to enjoy the sights/sounds, etc.

We had WAY too much fun getting away for a few days, being alone and just enjoying each other.   Next time we'll take Noah though. That boy loves the beach! :)

Here's a few pics from our adventure.......

 

 

Does this house look familiar?  =)

2 of the best lunches we had..... =)

We're already making our list for the next time we go out - there's just so much to see/do!