Oh Colorado....

I feel so lucky to live in the beautiful state of Colorado!! After living in Georgia for 2 years, I have learned to not take the beauty and all of the wonderful things Colorado has to offer for granted. This is a view that you never get sick of.......

A wonderful Family Saturday!

It seems like we are always running from one thing to the next.... this weekend was different. We as a family of 4 headed to Longmont to help my mom with a few things, and then the 4 of us headed to the pool! Joe and I were so impressed by how well both of the kids were swimming. Jack is swimming with no water wings!! He also is able to swim underwater for a long period of time! Emma who is our little fish, can swim 3 lengths of the pool without stopping!! I love that they love being in the pool, maybe it's because both Joe and I have such a love for the water and for swimming!! After spending several hours at the pool, it was time to come home and close up our Saturday. After showers and some cuddle time we ended our perfect family Saturday!!

Tires, necessary evils...

I had such a wonderful Thursday planned.... Randy & Bev got both Jamie and I pedicures to essentials for Mother's day. Since we hadn't all gotten together to do them, we scheduled to do it Thursday. I was so excited, for my pedicure but mostly to spend some kid free time with Bev and Jamie. I walked out of the house to get into my car to find a flat tire. Which meant I wasn't going to make my appointment. After talking to Jamie and Bev, I rescheduled my appt for this coming Tuesday. Which will still be nice, but not the same with out them! Once I got my car to Big O tires, I quickly learned what it was that made my tire so flat, a huge bolt! Big O, put my spare on and I headed to Discount tires, where one of our good friends Ed works! If you need tires, go see him! He fixed my tire, and then told me I needed to get 4 new tires in the next few months. All in all everything turned out fine, but I was so bummed I missed the fun day with two of my favorite people!!!

Host Family....

After hosting 3 of the challenger soccer coaches last year, we decided to do it again this year! This year we were lucky enough to have Sam and Josh stay with us. Sam was Emma's soccer coach during the camp, so they had fun practicing at home too! We lucked out with two really great guys, they were a lot of fun to have here! Hope to see them again soon!!

Soccer Camp

This week Emma and Jack both started the challenger soccer camp. They both did an amazing job, not only with their soccer skills, but also with staying out in the heat all day!! I was hugely impressed by both of them! Mimi was so sweet to come and support both Emma and Jack at their last day of camp, thanks Mimi!!

FAC!

Jamie and I met at the VRCC pool and spent the whole afternoon there! The kids had a blast, swimming and playing together. After the pool, we stopped to get Slurpee's, everyone got the pina colada flavor. Jamie & I however had plans to put Malibu rum in ours! Yum!! Then we had Uncle Chad, Mimi & Poppa, and our good friends the Weitzel's join us for a Friday evening pizza party! It was a perfect day, followed by a perfect evening! When I think of summer, this is what comes to my mind!!

Love Mimi & Poppa

If I could use one word to describe Randy and Bev it would be LOVING! However, choosing just one is so very hard to do. The love they have for their children, family and their grandchildren is amazing!

After spending the night with Mimi & Poppa last night, Emma was crying for them when we put her to bed. She said she missed them, and she legitimately did. Of course she loves me and Joe, but there is nothing like the love from a grandma and grandpa, especially Mimi & Poppa. When I went to check on her, I saw on her desk a Kleenex with Mimi & Poppa on it complete with little red hearts all over it! This little girl adores her grandparents! How lucky is she, to have 2 people who love and care for her so deeply?

Perfect Pearl St. Sunday

Joe and I took the kids over to have lunch in Boulder and then to walk around on Pearl St. After enjoying lunch on the patio at the Rio, we walked around for a bit. The kids got to play on the rocks, play in the fountains (even though we didn't have their suits), each got some balloon characters, and probably the thing they like the best was the pop rocks candy Joe bought them. I think he enjoyed the candy as much as they did! He said it reminded him of when he was little! Although I have lived in Colorado almost my whole life, and Joe has been here his whole life, walking Pearl St. never gets boring or dull. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place with so many fun things to do! After a wonderful family day on Pearl, we got home and all took naps. What a perfect Sunday!!

BBQ...with a flood on the side

On Saturday Joe and I had over my Aunt Kate, Uncle John, Clare, Grant, Aunt Emily & soon to be Uncle Tim. We had been such a long time since we were all together to just hang out. The night was great, good food, and great company! Right about the time Joe started grilling it started raining, and hard! Joe has been working to stop this flooding problem we have had on the side of our house that then goes into the basement. It was raining so hard and so fast, it started pooling in the same spot it always does. All the guys headed out to get the flooding under control, Kate took over the grill. Phew! No damage was done, and the guys were able to fix it! After dinner, the boys sang karaoke, as did the kids on the upstairs TV. We played charades and enjoyed each others company! Looking forward to doing it again, and doing it sooner next time!!

An ordinary trip to the store....

I think not! Emma and Jack love riding the horse by the check out stand when we finish grocery shopping. We do it all the time, it's the highlight of the trip for them for sure. However, today both Emma and Jack were acting like they were in some sort of a western film. It was hilarious! Even the other people checking out were laughing at the two of them. I love watching their little imaginations hard at work!

A perfect ending!

What a perfect ending to a perfect 4th of July weekend! We BBQ at the Smiley's house, with the Crowders, Sarah, Uncle Joel. It wasn't your typical BBQ though, they had the most wonderful food! James prepared his amazing flank steak for the big kids and hamburgers for the little kids, orzo salad, beet salad, potato salad and to finish it off a dairy queen ice cream cake! Yum!! The kids got to do the slip and slide, while the adults sipped on some cold adult beverages. After dinner, we did a few firecrackers that Joe and the kids got. Poor Oliver stepped on a sparkler, and burnt his foot pretty bad.

Once we got home, Joe and I put the kids in their jammies and walked over the park. We thought we might be able to see some of the other towns fireworks. Before they even could start, Jack looked at us and said he was tired and wanted to go home. Priceless, especially coming from our 110 Jackie Bear!

We had such a wonderful weekend with each other and some great friends!

3rd of July at Colorado National

This has been a tradition that Joe and I have done since before Emma was a year old, and have done it for every year since. It is one of our most favorite things Erie does. Colorado National golf course puts on not only the best fireworks (all to music) but they also make it an enormous party. It started with fishing at the pond (the kids didn't get anything), bouncy castles, face painting, wonderful BBQ dinner at the club, glow sticks, ice cream, running and playing with friends. It was such a wonderful night, as it always is. We were lucky enough to get to spend it with some of our closest friends! I already can't wait for next year!

Cody & Crystal's annual party

Every year Cody and Crystal put on a 4th of July party. Some years it falls right on the 4th and other years it might be the day before. This year happen to fall on the 3rd. Every year Crystal and Cody are nice enough to let the kids ride their horses. This year it was so hot out there, I don't know how the kids wanted to be out there and ride. But of course, there was a line for hours. Finally Cody said it was time to give the horses a break. It's always such a fun party, catch up with friends we haven't seen in a long time. Thanks Cod and Crystal for doing this fun party every year!!