Aggies

We went to the Aggie game last weekend. Apparently it was "the crappiest game of the year" so we scored some cheap tickets for the boys. We met up with Oma and Grandad, had a picnic (they spoil us!) and then walked to the stadium. The weather was warm but we were in the shade and then the sun set - it was a perfect game for the boys to attend. We had a great time with family watching the game.

 throwing the football around

 walking by the stadium

watching the band pass by

 Walking up, up and up. Kurt used to hold my hand walking up these ramps :)

It's late, they all made it to the car before they crashed.

Truitt starts Kindergarten tomorrow...wow. With the older 2 at school my house will be functioning on a lower decibel level...nice! Truitt is my game player, begs me to create masterpiece lego creations without instructions or pieces, is the king of headstands in our house and he saves me from all things crawly. I will miss him during the day BUT I know he will do well and enjoy school.....at least for a little while as Braden keeps reminding him it is ALL day, EVERYday :) Love, love, love this boy.

11 years later

Yesterday was our 11th anniversary...this is us, 11 years later. I must say I like what I see :)  Marriage isn't always easy but I am thankful I made a promise to my man on that special day. Feeling blessed.

Before and After

This surgery was much easier on Reese - thankfully! She is doing well and we are pleased with what the doctors did for her :)

A car and a baby doll :) Can you tell she has brothers??

Surgery - Part 2

Reese had her lip/nose surgery on Tuesday the 17th. We had a preop appointment on Monday and it was terrible. They were over 2 hours late then we had to pre-register. Our appointment was at 1:15 and We got home at 7....what a day! I was hoping this was not indicative of what was to come! On Tuesday we woke her up - straight out of bed, sip of water and straight into the car. We got there right at 8 (on time) they however were running 30 minutes behind. This was better than 2 hours which is what happened with her first surgery. Once we dressed her in her scrubs she just played, so content. Kurt and I decided that she either didn't remember the trama that happened to her last time she was in this predicament or she just didn't care! We said goodbye, I kissed her and told her bye and off she went....no drama, so good. Everything went smoothly and we met her in the recovery room. She slowly woke up, no crying with this surgery, she had some water, sat in my lap and after an hour and a half we were able to go home. It went about a smoothly as possible. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement friends!

 When Reese got home the boys were very sweet to her, bringing her pretend food and playing with her.  Truitt kept saying "Reese you look so different!"

Feelign better the next day...wearing random hats and shoes :)

Last Day in CO

On our last full day we went to Black Hawk, wondered around a bit and had lunch. After lunch we took a tour of the Hidee mine, the boys had fun.

Everyone had to pick a hard hat...love this photo

They each got to mine a bit of gold for themselves to take home. Braden was disappointed that he couldn't trade his gold for a Lego pack :)

      

 Blake with the big chunk he chipped out of the wall

 Truitt really enjoyed panning for gold, the man explained it to him and showed him how it was done. He must have stayed there doing it for about 10-15 minutes while the other boys had no interest.

 Reese LOVES watermelon....can you tell?!

Reese finally decided she would feed the ground squirrels on her own....feeling brave!

One day drove out fairly close to the cabin and found what was left of a very small town. The boys had fun climbing and running around. We also did a hike at the end of the road, very pretty.

Truitt with his ground squirrel, that was 'pick' from the souviner shop at Rocky Mountain National Park. He was only lost once on this adventure but thankfully found.

There were lots of wildflowers everywhere - so pretty. Just wonderful scenery....so thankful God has given us such beauty.

Blake is getting a ride from Dad

Blake finally felt brave enough to feed the critters

This was the Boulder fire we could see from our cabin. Fortunately the winds (and the Lord) were in our favor. This cabin has been in the family for so long, it would have been so sad to see anything happen to it. We are very thankful for them letting us use it for almost a whole week!

Kurt and the boys were busy building a dam, Reese and I sat on the side and cheered them on....and played with flowers.

We drove out to Estes Park and went into Rocky Mountain National Park. We did a small hike, had a picnic, played hide and go seek in the rocks.....just had good fun outdoors. The higher up we got the cooler it became, the more snow we saw - very nice!

 We started the morning out like each morning - feeding the ground squirrels. They got more brave as the days went on :)

 Truitt put the peanut on his shoulder...he found it!

 There were tons of kiddos in the water here - it was cold!

 Crossing the stream via rocks

 Feeling a little left out...throwing rocks on his own

 We saw 2 elk. They crossed the street and we watched them eat some snow and just be pretty. That is volcanic overflow in the background :)

This is how we ate most days....loved it! Clean up was easy....

CO continued.....

We went up to Rollins Pass on our second day. We all piled into the 4WDR vehicle and bounced up to the very top :)  The road ends and you can hike the rest of the way to the tunnel (it's close to traffic now). Surprisingly Reese and Blake fell asleep on the way back down - maybe they were rocked to sleep!

 We found some snow patches and had some fun.

 Braden and Reese walking to the top of the pass.

 LOVE this photo! They laugh together so easily, typically about nothing - just out of happiness :)

The crew

Colorado

Last Friday we left for Colorado - drove through the night and arrived at the cabin, just outside Nederland. It is so nice and quiet there - just the sound of birds and the occasional train...much to Blake's delight! The first day we settled in and when Oma and Grandad arrived we took the older 2 and went hiking up to Lion's Head (there on their property). It is pretty much all uphill, the boys did great. We climbed lots of rocks and explored and made it to the base of Lion's Head. Here are some photos below...more to come too!

 safe in the cabin....Blake liked this bear :)

 Lion's Head is there on the left - see it? That's a profile view just beyond the tree

We made it to the top! Although Braden told me "you might not be able to climb everything we climb mom"...cute. One day....but I can hang for now :)

This was our view of the cabin from Lion's Head