amandaspace1330

Early summer is the best of seasons. The weather is perfect, daily temperatures top off in the mid 70's, there is lots of sunshine and wildflowers. The grass is turning green along with all the trees. Days are getting longer. It's beautiful! Here are some photos of our Memorial Day hike to Mt. Herman, Colorado. Couldn't see Pikes peak, but it was wonderful, natural, Colorado.

This week the kids and I tagged along with Jason on a business trip to Omaha Nebraska. It was great! I don't know that I've ever been to Nebraska, much less the largest city in the state. I learned a lot, and I just love road trips! We had a great drive out there on Sunday. Nobody threw-up in the car and the kids, especially Ana, slept a lot of the way. The Colorado welcome center was a bit of a highlight and the day was georgeous! I did realize when we got into Denver that I forgot to pack the camera, otherwise, all was well. Monday morning, Jason reported in for work and the kids and I conquered Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. Soo cool. It was a zoo and aquarium combined. Both kiddos were free admission. The animals were all easy to see in their habitats and it was a georgeous day. We saw everything! Tristan even petted a couple of goats, an African millipede and rode on the carousel. Anastasia stole the heart of a friendly butterfly in the butterfly house. She's so cute wh...

I love the way little boys play. Instant friendships are formed, without a word of acknowlegement passing between them. Tristan made friends with 5 little boys at the park the other day. He just started following them around. The oldest one, the ring leader, was trying to catch fish in the pond/waterfall and he had a master plan. Tristan stuck to this kid like glue. I thought the others may not want to play with him, so I watched closely for signs that he was unwelcome, to my amazement, a little while into the play, Tristan tripped and dropped his sippy cup. One of the boys, about Tristan's age, stopped and picked up his cup and handed it to him! Instant friends. I continued to observe as the boys (all seeming to ignore one another) allowed Tristan to nudge his way into the middle of their pack sitting on the drain in the pond and sharing their cheese curls with him. I later learned they were using the cheese curls and twizzlers to bait the fish:) Boys are so cute!

As evening faded on my 3rd Mother's day, the last of the storm clouds huddled close around Pikes Peak. The mountain looked like Mt. Doom. It was fitting. I felt like a battered Frodo, clinging to something, but not quite sure what I was clinging to. It had been a rough day. Tristan started the day with a defiant rebellion that got me on my knees in Sunday service. Anastasia took a shorter afternoon nap after a loud clap of thunder woke both children and she continued to cry and fuss for a good hour after she awoke. Our Sunday routine went much as it always does. Crazy scramble for breakfast and getting on our nicest, buckling the kids in the car at the last minute only to realize Tristan doesn't have shoes and we forgot Anastasia's pacifier in her crib upstairs. Kids crying and fighting, not wanting to go to their classes and after church the hungry whining as I roll pizza dough and clean breakfast dishes. After naptime we were off to run some errands before the start of a...

Today we took a day trip to Ca&ntildeon City. Jason played a golf tournament and the children and I checked out the bridge, the town and took a ride on the Royal Gorge railroad. It was cool. Our day began with Anastasia throwing up all of her breakfast just as we reached town. It took us a few minutes to get her cleaned up and then Jason was off for his round. The kids and I were off to Wal-mart to get a new outfit for the, now naked (she had a hoodie and a diaper on,) Ana. Five dollars and 30 minutes later we were on our way. The drive to the bridge was windy and narrow, but the bridge was so cool and it was great to get out in the fresh air for a little scenic hike.This is the highest suspension bridge in the country and there is a charge to walk across it. One that I wasn't willing to pay, especially since I was at a one to two ratio with the little people. Like the New Outfit? See the tracks where our train went? After checking out the bridge, we drove to the tra...

This week has been all about getting back into the routine. We didn't keep the car one day this week. Tristan did have an evening appt. with the dentist to look at his chipped tooth, but otherwise we have been getting caught up on house work, yard work and play-time. The kids are learning to play together (at least when I am in the room) and that makes me very happy. Here's my picture of the day:)

What a week we have had! It has been amazing seeing Nana and Poppy. Great sightseeing with Nana during the day and doing Warrior games at night. Friday night, we took the night off from the warrior games to have dinner with my cousin Monica, her husband, Eli and their seven week old baby boy, Rilian. It was so great to see her and catch up. Rilian is the sweetest thing. He has a perfect little round head full of dark hair, beautiful olive skin and alert brown eyes. He just looked into my eyes, smiled and cooed. What a great baby! Today, we did warrior games in the morning and hung out with Poppy a bit. Then I got to work. One of my chores was mowing the lawn. We purchased a motorless push mower and I am very excited about it! My neighbors on the other hand seemed to think I was a nutcase out there. Two seperate neighbors came and offered me their lawn mowers. One couple came fully out of their house from inside to offer. I thanked them, but refused. I'll have to remember to mow whe...

It's been awesome this week to spend some time with my mom and dad and to get a glimpse into my dad's work. We have been attending the evening warrior games events, wheelchair basketball and sit down volleyball and then today we saw some races at the track and field. So cool to connect with the warriors and their families. I was very impressed by the races today. These guys run fast! One guy was a double amputee, sprinted faster than I can on two legs! Tristan was playing basketball with poppy last night, however and chipped his front tooth:( Poor guy. Pretty crazy stuff! I would like to post some pictures, but I can't find my camera cord. That's what ten days out of town and a busy week will get you. Next time I'll have some pics to upload.

Our trip to PA/VA was awesome! So good to see family and friends. Dan and Jordan's wedding was a blast and the trip was great! Since being home, we have not only caught up on sleep and laundry, but also we've made time to see Nana and Poppy. They got us tickets to the Warrior Games opening ceremonies at the Olympic training center complex and we got to see all the wounded warrior athletes, some dignitaries Michelle Obama speak. It was pretty cool. Today Anastasia has her one year well baby check up. I'm excited to see how much she weighs now and to get the doctor's feedback on how she's tracking developmentally. I can't believe she's one!