Celebrating the end of summer

The boys and I have fallen in love with the beach this year. And so, to celebrate the end of summer, we decided one more trip was in order. So we invited some friends, packed up the van and headed off for some sun and sand.

B's ready to jump in!

The boys have discovered how to dig really big holes...lets just hope I can keep from falling into them!

At one point, I looked over to see this. I have no idea how he got the sand up there, but once he discovered it, there was much whining until it was off.

It started raining while we were eating lunch, so what better way to stay dry?

Eating ICE CREAM!

And to finish the day off, we took a walk on the pier. A little heart stopping for this Mama, I will admit, but the boys loved it. They got to be really close to the boats and loved waving to all the captains.

And I saw this pic and love how it shows these 2 are definitely brothers. Maybe not from the front, but definitely from the back!:)

Adventures in Fruit

What do you do when you have an adventureous friend, 4 boys and a love of fresh fruit?

Go for an adventure, of course!

45 minutes north of us, we've discovered this great orchard filled with all kinds of fruits you can pick, primarily peaches and apples.

So, we decided to pack those cuties up and pick to our hearts content.

And boy did we pick! We came away with (ahem) 100 pounds of peaches. And 100 pounds of apples. Yes. You read that right. But in our defense, 4 big buckets and 3 little buckets definitely didn't appear to hold that much. And yes, we've made a note for next year so we'll know not to pick that much. Unless of course, we go through it and get a case of amnesia next summer.

And so, my brave friend and I got to work. How often can you go straight to the fields (or orchards in this case), pick the fruit, prepare the fruit and can the fruit all in one day!?!?!

We did make some rookie mistakes that we've learned upon for next year, but all in all, I'm pretty proud of our new knowledge! And I do have to give my her most of the credit, since she spent the entire evening canning them all for us.

Some how, all these...

Became all of these!!!

Don't they look gorgeous? If you're ever in the neighborhood, stop on by!

Preschool!

Today was the first day of preschool. Wow. It really feels like I was just announcing that we had him and here it is, time for school to start.

People kept asking if I was going to cry but you know what? I think Noah is more than ready for this next chapter (he's really ready to start driving, if he could have his way:)) and I'm excited for him. They said he had a moment when he got pushed and started asking for me, but she said it didn't last long and was back to lovin' every minute.

Look out world because I'm not quite sure you understand whats about to hit you!!:)

Photo ops gone wrong

There's just something about trying to get 2 ACTIVE boys stopped, looking at the camera and smiling all at the same time. Thought you might enjoy seeing all the silly things these 2 do when I point a camera in their direction. (I think they're starting to do it on purpose!!)

Hey, N! The camera's this way.

The camera isn't going to be loud, B. I promise!

We just need 2 other people and we can complete the looking in all directions...

This one made me laugh. I often say that taking care of little kids is like herding cats...ain't gonna happen! (and yes, that is a whoppi cushion on my child's head)

Atleast this shows them doing something together...singing. Uncle Danny-look familiar?!?!?

And well, I thought it was just my own kids, but perhaps its the age:)

Colorado part 4...4 wheeling trip

One of the highlights of our trip for the boys is our trip to the mountains for some 4 wheelings. The weather proved to be gorgeous as normal and it was a very relaxing trip.

Its quite the feat to get 4 4-wheelers and 2 dirtbikes up in one load. But clever as ever, all those boys figured it out.

Isn't she a cutie! I really enjoyed getting to spend some quality time with her.

These 2 were so proud to be sitting up there, waiting to get going to the trails.

I'm one cool dude.

N rode almost the entire time with Poppi and LOVED it. I couldn't believe that Poppi could ride with Noah on some of the rockiest trails, but the harness we use for the boys are very helpful!

We went out on the trails on Wednesday as a whole family (minus Flip who had to work) and that was something we've never had a chance to do before. E spent the whole trip sandwiched between her parents and slept through the better part of the ride. N rode with Poppi, B rode with me and Lolli had her own 4-wheeler (I've never seen her drive on the trails before). He wasn't too fond of spending the trip with a HEAVY helmet on, taking the brunt of the wind and bumps on the front of my 4-wheeler. I think he was actually screaming for a whole hour of the trip.

We finally took his helmet off and he rode with Poppi while N rode with Daddy and that did the trick. Poppi said their ride together was great.

"Yeah, my Dad's pretty awesome"

We rode the same trail we rode last year, but we were finally able to complete the whole loop, which included a quick side trip to the Alpine tunnel and turntable. Its quite amazing that these men were able to accomplish so much with the resources available to them. The boys had fun walking the tracks and even getting to switch the tracks.

Someone I was talking to said they couldn't imagine why riding rocky terrain without being able to talk to each other seemed boring, but I say...How could you pass up these views? Creation at its best!

We had to take our annual stop for pie. Having all three kids along this time made it so much more fun.

The second day, Chicku decided she had had enough and would be staying back with Esha. BUt much to her chagrin, Esha insisted on riding again! Uncle Flip was able to join us and we had a great 1/2 day trip with the entire family. One of the highlights for the kids was being able to throw rocks into the lake. And man were there a lot of rocks right on hand!

Our second full day of riding was even better after making some much needed changes. We moved B in between Aaron and Lolli and he was so much happier. He slept more than 3/4 of the trip, but he was happy when he was awake. And I think Lolli enjoyed all the snuggle time:) And N even took a nap with Poppi on the dirt bike! I thought just riding with N was hard enough, but apparently, N wanted to test Poppi's skills!

Our last day is our relaxing day. We have to get out of the cabin, but after all the work of packing up, we get to spend some time in the pool. And the pool has a slide...kid paradise.

The rest of our trip was spent in a blur, trying to see everyone we could and packing up. But we were able to spend some couple time with our friends J & Mary. And let me tell you...if you ever have a chance to check out the Broadmoor's Sunday Brunch, I highly recommend it!

The trip home was uneventful (thankfully!!) and B even slept through most of the second flight. Which was a nice break for me to rest a bit before jumping back in to normal life.

Colorado is definitely a love our family shares. It helps that all of our family is there, we have tons of friends and extended family there, the mountains are there, the 4 wheelers are there, the dry air is there...

But we are also very thankful for the home God has provided for us here. While we LOVED our time visiting, we are thankful to be home.

And it took them all of 5 minutes home to fully acquaint themselves with their toys again!

Colorado part 3

I love that the boys have cousins now. And that they are getting to ages where they can really interact and play together. We spent a great morning at the zoo with some of Aaron's family and had a ball. Have I mentioned how much I love that zoo yet?!?:)

I can't explain why, but this picture just cracked me up...

The kids got a chance to see a couple of Hippos up close and personal. And man are they bigger than Gloria from Madagascar!

Lolli treated everyone to a couple of rides on the carousel and the kids loved it. After 2 rounds, we had 2 more punches left on our card to use up and since we couldn't let just 2 of the three kids go, Lolli made an executive decision...

...the 2 Mama's would ride. And man, did it feel weird to ride without holding onto a child. I loved the little audience we had in our kids and the love we felt as with each rotation of the carousel, we heard many "Hi, Mama!"'s and "I love you!"'s coming from our audience.

The Lolli makes a much more comfortable seat than any other.

Noah enjoyed having his face painted (as an elephant) but sadly, it didn't last long as shortly after this picture, he got lost. I've never experienced a 'lost child' episode before and I'd rather not go through it again.

He loves to exercise his independence and will often go ahead of us with me having to call him back and remind him to stay close. After one such time of having him walk ahead, I stopped for a few minutes to get a drink. As I turned around, I heard my mom-in-love say "Hey, where's Noah" at the same time as I'm thinking it.

I make a quick scan of the area and start to back track through the zoo. And sure enough, there's Noah, fat crocodile tears ruining his face painting with a large crowd surrounding him. (That kid knows how to draw a crowd!) Sufficed to say, he stayed pretty close to me for the rest of our trip!

Another day, the boys got to experience a whole land of bounce houses with our friends Steph and Beau. N was in heaven, B not so much. As I watched B spend a minute or two in the bounce house, and then spend the next 10 minutes next to me, I realized that I have a true introvert in B. He'd rather be away from the crowd and explore when no one else is around. After having Mr. Social himself, having an introvert is a whole new mindset. Just another way in which my boys are COMPLETE opposites.:)

Noah couldn't get enough. I couldn't keep track of him for all the running between bouncers.

B found a friend in Beau. I love that they are only a couple months apart. Here's hoping their friendship will blossom in the years ahead!

We had these boys running, but thankfully, alot of it was fun stuff they enjoyed doing:) Nonni took Noah and I to Whit's End for a morning of exploring. We've just discovered Adventures in Odyssey and Noah can't get enough. So he loved exploring where they make the episodes.

"Look Uncle Danny. I can play the harmonica just like you. Too bad you couldn't be here too, we could have had a harmonica band!"

I'm bummed this is the only picture of my friend Steph, but I'm glad that she enjoyed spending time with the boys. I love that my friends in CO can have a relationship with my kids.

We had a couple of days with a sick N. Thankfully, they happened during a break in our schedule, but being sick on vacation is such a bummer!

I have really enjoyed watching my brother and his wife as they take on the role of parents. There is no doubt this little girl is loved!

And a cuddle moment with my boy!