Grandma LaVonna's Visit...

What a treat! After having Grandma out in March when we attended WPPI, she got to bum a ride with friends from church out to Colorado to see us again! We (of course) took her to The Royal Gorge with our family pass! It was great for Natalie and Tyler to have some great time with Grandma again.

-L

Getting ready to ride the kids' train at Royal Gorge...




Natalie could not get enough of the carousel on this visit (the zebra is her favorite)...






Mom and Grandma think this is a fun picture, but the kids don't...but maybe that's a good thing!




Beautiful view heading down into the gorge on the incline railway...


Okay, this was such a cool part of our trip back. We finally checked out Skyline Drive (a road Jon has been wanting to check out). It is crazy cool...at the top, it's just slightly wider than the one-way road...big drop offs on both sides...only in Colorado would they think to make a road here!! And this picture just does not do it justice, so come out and we'll take you there so you can see it and experience it for yourself!

Walking our "Friends"

Natalie has so many "friends" (stuffed animals, dolls) and LOVES the doll stroller from Aunt Jenny and Uncle Jeremy. This is a precious picture of her walking with her stroller on our sidewalks...

-L

Need a Laugh Today... ?

Natalie all of a sudden just LOVES her sunglasses, and while often upside down, puts them on herself. These pictures were from a day in June when Jon was just out having fun with her and taking some pictures. We think you'll agree that they are just hilarious!

-L

Okay, this is one that is just cute and a little "movie-star"ish...


This is the one that is SO FUNNY and may be used in the future to deter dating in later years...




This one cracks me up since it looks like some fashion model shoot with a wind machine...

Natalie and Katie

This video is TOO FUNNY of Natalie and Katie while waiting to ride the Incline Railway at The Royal Gorge. Oh to have this much energy!!

Great Sand Dunes & The Royal Gorge

Okay, so get ready for UPDATES! This one takes us back to Memorial Day weekend and Josh, Koren, and Katie's trip out here! We had a great time with them, and Katie and Natalie are at very fun ages to play together. I was so hoping that Katie's amazing potty abilities would rub off more permanently on Natalie, but for now, it seems we should give it a break and then revisit...

Natalie was rather enamored as well of Katie's "big girl bed" (Koren brought her MATTRESS with them...but hey, it worked awesome, and it fit in the car, so maybe it's not a crazy notion!). They were too funny together.

While with us, we camped for a night at The Great Sand Dunes National Park. It was our second time to go, but since we were visiting during the spring this time, the water was flowing, so that was great. Natalie got braver and braver by the minute with the sand and water, and while timid at first, was running by herself through the sand and water by the end! And then the next day, we went to the Royal Gorge. We ended up buying the family pass, so EVERYONE who visits us this summer will be treated with a trip there!!

-L

Our campsite...what a view!


Natalie took these pics of Mom (with Dad's help, of course!)...




We are dirty, but still cute...




Night Star trails...it's always awesome to get away from the city and realize just how many stars are out there!


At the Dunes and "beach"...






The whole group at the Royal Gorge!






On the bridge over the gorge...


Katie riding the incline railway...

Happy 4th of July!!

We hope everyone takes time today for a moment of appreciation for the freedom we have in America. It's truly amazing. We are so blessed to live here and experience freedom on a daily basis. And we thank all of you who serve our country to continue to fight for our freedom and safety. THANK YOU!!

Our 4th of July was fairly quiet. We contemplated whether we would attempt to go out to The Broadmoor, The Air Force Academy, or Palmer Lake for an evening fireworks show, but at around 7 pm when Tyler was clearly ready for bed and Natalie was looking rather tired herself, we realized that as parents of little ones, it'll likely be a couple years before keeping the kids out past 10 pm makes sense! Anyway, this is actually the very first year (since moving to Colorado) that we have not worked a wedding on the 4th of July, so little did we know that leaving our house just was not even necessary to enjoy some pretty amazing displays in our own neighborhood! So...we enjoyed quite a great show simply sitting out on the corner and snuggled under blankets! And not only did we have great fireworks, but the lightning was also all around us. It ended up being just perfect since Tyler slept peacefully through it all, Natalie got to watch some, and then we watched more once she was happily asleep. So it is possible to have a great 4th of July, complete with impressive fireworks, without leaving your home and with two little kids!






P.S. We PROMISE that we will soon get you updated on all the pics from June! It's been pretty busy with lots of visitors and just parenting, not to mention the business!