Sydney's Birthday!

Can you believe this little girl turned 3 last week?  And how's that for an action shot?

Guess what we did on the big day? (I bet you can't guess!!)  Oh, wait, you guess it - the Zoo!  Look who was so incredibly proud of herself because she got a happy birthday button and some coupons for a free carousel ride and a free ice cream cone.  (She looks bigger doesn't she?)

 The new little tiger cubs were kind enough to frolick and play a lot in honor of Miss Bean's birthday.  She enjoyed them a lot, as did Mady who has been begging to go back and see the tigers for a month.

We went to the zoo with Sydney's good friend Kenzie.  I kept trying to get pictures of them together to show we all were there, but it never worked very well.  Here's what we ended up with:

Not really paying attention

Too much energy to sit still!  Must be goofy!

Why are Mady's shoes off you ask?  No idea.  Silly girls.

After the zoo we celebrated with our good friends, had brownies, ice cream, presents, and blew out candles!  It was great and Sydney was VERY into it.

Sydney's been excited about her birthday since May when her friend had a birthday party.  In typical Sydney fashion, she sucked as much out of her birthday as she could, so she got her little party on her birthday, a friend party, and presents from her birthmom, (who got married a few weeks ago!  Hooray for her!).  Let's just say, she's all about birthdays!  Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  We love you so much!

RMNP Part 2

On Sunday we woke up and checked out of our hotel.  We headed straight back to Rocky Mountain for a beautiful scenic drive.  We stopped a short way in to see the Alluvial Fan. 

A natural dam that had been around since the last Ice Age broke in July 1982, sending millions of tons of water rushing down to the valley.  It brought a lot of big boulders down too, creating a large alluvial fan and a pretty waterfall that is now just a short walk off the road!

Right after this lovely family picture, Mady fell and got hurt and was out of sorts all day.  Then we jumped on Trail Ridge Road (the highest continuously paved road in the US) and went for a drive!  First stop was called Many Parks Curve.  We got out and crawled all over the rocks and overlook.

Sydney and her good buddy Esther had a great time together!

We fought with these two monkeys for awhile to try to get a good one of them together, but eventually gave up.

After that Mady fell asleep and got a much needed nap.  We stopped near the top of Trail Ridge Road, which tops out at 12,183 feet, and Aaron and Sydney got out to explore the tundra a bit.  It was pretty cold, so they didn't stay long, but we sure had fun!

We had so much fun on this trip and really enjoyed ourselves!  We'll definitely be going back!  The girls loved seeing the animals (including 1 coyote, some deer, and some elk), and the mountains.

Rocky Mountain National Park

We're so lame!  We've lived here for 5 years and we've never gone to Rocky Mountain National Park, right in our backyard!  We decided to rectify that situation finally, and on Friday August 13, we drove up caravan style with some friends and found our hotel in Estes Park.  We hung out in Estes for the day and the next morning we headed up to RMNP.  The girls were excited about watching cartoons in bed while we packed up for a day of nature.

We found rock formations to climb, which everyone loved, and which made everyone a little goofy!

The best thing about traveling with friends (besides the company, playing games while drinking hot chocolate and eating popcorn while the kiddos are sleeping, etc.) is that there is always someone else to take a family picture!

We walked around Sprague Lake, played on logs, and had fun together!

After our walk and a picnic it was on to a real hike!  We borrowed some packs from some friends and used them to hike up to Alberta Falls.

It was almost 1 mile to the top, but it was very beautiful and everyone had lots of fun climbing everywhere and getting pictures of .

Sydney was laying down being very cute, until we realized that she was licking the rock.  What?

Mady found a rock "chair" and had a blast with it.

Sydney and Aaron climbed to the top of the falls and had so much fun.

On the way back Sydney fell and needed Daddy to carry her, so he got to be super man for awhile!  We  hd such a fun day!

One Lame Blogger and Two Cute Kids

To the 3 readers that are sticking with me through my excessively slow times (one of which is my husband), here I am!  I'm posting!  And it's Friday morning, so you should be extra impressed (I'm not out hitting the garage sales... yet!)  Enjoy the pictures.

Here's my little Mady Cakes!  She's our girly girl.  All of these outfits and poses are 100% her own.

Sydney does not take such initiative.  I put this hat on her. 

Just had to post my cuties.

Adoption - the second time around

Here's our big news people - we've adopted again!  I have to admit, the second time was much more simple and much quicker.  We got a little fuzzy black 2 month old...kitten!  We got him through the Dumb Friends League on Friday.  He's a very good little boy, litterbox trained, etc.  What should we name him?  The name votes are as follows: Aaron - eunuch, Sydney - Mickey Mouse, Sugar, or Tarzan, and Mady - Mouse, or Poopy.  So far we're leaning toward Frodo.  What do you think?

Mady loves the idea of animals, but is usually really nervous around the ones that aren't restrained behind 10 ft fences like at the zoo.  She's getting better with this little guy, so maybe she'll get over some of her fear and be able to enjoy animals a little more close up.

This little guy likes to play, and he loves to be in your business.  I can't tell you how many times he has come and sat on the keyboard while I'm typing as if to say, "hello! what's this thing?  I'm way more interesting!  Pet me?"  He's staking out a few favorite spots around the house.  If he sticks to those maybe I won't accidentally sit on him anymore.

Here's the main reason we got this particular kitty.  He loves to play, but he's docile enough to let this little munchkin drag him around the house most of the day.  No really, if she's awake, she is all over this little guy.  Poor kitten.  If only we could all be so adored.

She at least is in heaven.  She even told the cashier at the grocery store today that she had a kitty at her house.  Can you tell she's excited?

P.S. Just to clear up any rumors before they start, we're not currently adopting any children.  Just the cat!

Showing Some Love

Aaron was a little offended that I did not include his annual man-cation rafting trip in our travelogue, so I finally got my hands on some pictures and am now posting them.  Last year Aaron pulled my dad's arm hard enough that he came out to go on the trip with him, despite being 100% terrified of the entire experience.  From what the women were told later, it sounds like once they got past their first or second set of rapids, he was hooked.  This year my brother-in-law also came out (he loves rafting and did not need convincing) and the three of them plus a whole bunch of other guys they know went on a 2 day adventure.  Here are some great shots.

 This is JC (BIL) on the left and Aaron on the right.

 Click this one to make it bigger.  It's my favorite since it has a great shot of our friend posing for the camera.  See him in the back?

 In this picture you can see all of them.  On the left side of the boat, front to back, are our friend Todd, Aaron, my Dad, and the guide.  On the right side, front to back are Todd's brother, JC, and our friend James.

Look at these boys.  They were beat but excited when they got back.  So glad they all got to go and that I finally got some pictures to post!

Only Sisters...

They love to do this:

Travelogue

Time for a Travelogue.  Okay, it's actually way past time for it since most of this happened over a month ago, but we've been busy with traveling, summer, and potty training (again).  One day, that part might actually be over, I just can't see an end in sight yet.  On a more pleasant note though, here are pictures from our summer travels.  At the end of June Aaron's sister and her family came to visit.  They mostly just came to see the Red Sox get whupped by the Rockies, but they condescended to stay with us and let us play with Baby Jack.

We went to the zoo and had fun catching up.  Adrianne grew up with all brothers and now has 1 son.  I think she enjoyed her time in our girl house.

We were planning on going to Idaho to visit our families 1 week after Michael and Adrianne left, but the day after they left, Aaron called to say we couldn't go.  We hadn't been out there in almost a year, so we wanted to make it work, but he had to be there the following week for a big presentation.  Our only options were to wait, or go that day.  He called at 1:30.  By 2:00 I was racing home to pack.  At 6:15 we drove away and at 4:30 am we arrived at his parents' house in Idaho.  The whole thing had happened so fast that my family didn't even know we were coming, so I got to surprise them all, even my sister Jessica who was visiting from Boise!  (It was payback for her surprising me here).  While we were there we got to enjoy lots of time with family and friends, a stomach bug (our first time experiencing real vomit), the girls' first ever parade, and the BEST fireworks show ever.  Oh, I've missed those Idaho fireworks show.  Biggest show west of the Mississippi and totally worth the 10-12 hour drive.  The parade was in the town we went to college in, and in typical Rexburg fashion, we ran into some friends of ours at the parade!

The girls had a blast with their cousins (Ikey is above), and loved the fact that the people in the parade threw candy at them.  Best day ever in their lives.  This was Mady for the whole parade.  She's holding a taffy and a plastic spoon (the bag is actually on the ground).  They handed out chocolate milk, otter pops, candy and all sorts of fun stuff, but she just wanted to hold these 2 things.  She figured out that you have to fight for the candy a lot faster than Sydney, who stood next to it and expected it to jump in her bag.  I'm blaming that on birth order.

The girls had a great time playing with Uncle Garth and Aunt Kiery who drove Utah.  We had a blast at the fireworks with both families, did sparklers (provided by Garth & Kiery), made and at this yummy and beautiful cake - it looked just like the one in the picture!

Both girls did great at the fireworks.  Sydney decided halfway through the show that the boom booms were too bright and donned her sunglasses.  Problem Solved.

Mady watched for awhile with me (we were concerned she would get scared) then decided it wasn't interesting enough for her and she decided to run around and play.

The next day we had a very long ride home where we used our snazzy new dual screen DVD player A LOT.  I think I have The Aristocats memorized word for word (Mady's favorite).  They did a little of this too.

We're now home, planning a short vacation closer to home in a little while, and happy to be back in our routine.  To our families - we miss you and loved spending time with you!  Thanks for all the fun and hospitality!

Good Things to Come

I've watched this 3 times and cried every time. Watch it here (http://www.youtube.com/mormonmessages) if it won't work. The motherhood one is good too. Enjoy.