all the pretty leaves

the year kennedie was born, we took our/my first drive over independence pass - yes, i've lived in colorado for, well basically all of my life (28/31 years) and yes, for the majority of those years i've lived less than 2 hrs away from either side of the pass & had never driven over the pass. i know, i know!! but it was an awesome trip & kennedie was so cute in her big puffy vest on the ascent (at almost 6 months old) & a fuzzy winter suit at the top - where we encountered snow!

october 10, 2010

 last weekend, we took another drive to the top of the pass. the colors seem to be at their peak a bit earlier than in 2010 & it was well worth the trip! the colors were amazing!! kennedie was napping on the way up, so we decided not to stop & just enjoy the beauty around us & the ride. when we got to the top, kennedie woke up & we ventured out to explore. it was a cool 64 degrees at the summit, no snow, a little breeze, a warm sun - a gorgeous day!! we snapped some picts & then headed back down (we decided not to go over & around b/c there were some spots i wanted to stop on the way down that we passed by on the way up!) we stopped to take a walk around the independence ghost town, then at a closed campground to try to get a family picture with the pretty trees - but by that time kennedie was done cooperating with the photo taking..so we got what we could!

 the beautiful colors on the way up - my photography skills by shooting out the window of the car :)

 had to have a pict of the bathroom w/the topographical map on the door :)

 being cute

 family picts

 the stop at the campground on the way down - it was so pretty

muddy water

we've been attempting family bike rides &/or hikes on sundays to get us out into the fresh air together as a family. saturdays have been taken up with volleyball tournaments, showers - you name it & we are super busy with me teaching after school & tommy's v-ball practices so sundays have been our day! 

 a few weeks ago, it was a beautiful afternoon & we set out for a bike ride through the canyon! when we got to the launch site :) we realized we had forgotten the pin thingy (pretty sure that's the technical term) to attach kennedie's trailer to one of our bikes :( bummer! so we settled for a walk down the canyon instead. 

after a short venture, kennedie decided she'd like to wade in the river. we found a shallow spot on what looked like a beachy area & a not too steep decent from the path to the river. kennedie & i took our shoes off & ventured in...to the knee deep muddy, delta-like, soft dirt - yuck. it just sucked us in!!

needless to say, our wading did not last long. although kennedie would have happily played in the mud all day long, i was not so inclined. i waded in a bit deeper, dangled kennedie into the river to attempt to wash her off & then we were back up to the path to venture back to the jeep, then home to hose off!! 

daddy was able to snap a few picts before he had to help pull us out then help us up the bank!

showering baby

a few weeks ago i got to co-host a baby shower for my sister!! it was so much fun! it was my first opportunity to throw a shower or party of any kind for my lil sis b/c when she got engaged & married she was living in pittsburgh, pa - hard to throw a bridal shower in pa from co - so i had to settle for merely attending. but thanks to their (tina & matt's) big move to co a few years ago & their getting pregnant, it was finally my turn to try my hand at hosting an event. and, thanks to pinterest & the help of two of tina's close friends (liz & katherine), i think it went rather well :)

i had so much fun making the decorations & coming up the games. i know, games are not usually one of my favorite activities at a shower - so i tried to make it fun. we just played a short candy naming game (i made a conception, pregnancy, birth, first days phrase sheet to match the name of a popular candy) & then played a bingo game while tina opened presents to keep the givers occupied (i numbered the presents as they arrived. i had premade blank bingo cards & each guest got to fill in the numbers of the gifts - 21 - & choose their 4 free spots. then while tina opened the gifts she would announce the number.  the first 3 to get a bingo won!). i also made a Tis baby pool - since they don't know the sex of their little bundle of joy, for guests to fill in when they had a free minute. the categories on the pool sheet were - sex, birth date, time of birth, weight, length, hair & eye color and first initial of the name - since they are not sharing that either.

liz & katherine did an awesome job on the food & favors! we had a great turn out & all had a pretty good time - or at least looked like they were enjoying themselves ;) 

 some of the pinterest inspired decorations :)

 diaper cake & baby pool

liz's cute ideas of using mason jars for the punch & making a notebook of thoughts for the baby - she was going to put the notes in the photo album along with photos from the shower

 katherine's darling favors - thank you for 'popping' by - in the bags were popcorn, poptarts & cakepops!!

 kennedie & i filling out our guesses for our baby niece/nephew/cousin

 kennedie loves touching the baby in t.t's belly - she often says she has a baby in her belly too...i tell her not to rush into that :) & my & my preggo sis - she's in heals :)

 

in the playhouse with daddy

although kennedie is becoming increasingly independent in her play - she can play pretend for hours, most often being mommy or doctor to her babies - she also enjoys & frequently asks for mommy or daddy to come play with her. and, since our wonderful friends chris & amy gave us an outdoor playhouse for the backyard - that has been her location of choice for her pretend play scenarios. sometimes it's a restaurant where you order at the window & give her money for your food, other times it's her house & she wants you to come in...and for anyone over 3 feet tall, it's not really all that comfortable of a space. but - what won't you do for your kids right? both tommy & i have been inside - once at the same time - which will probably never happen again - and continue to be asked on at least a weekly basis. on this night in particular, it was daddy's turn & kennedie told him exactly what to do, what to wear & where to be :) he was watching her baby while she went to work & for some reason had to wear a bib - not sure about the significance of that one. but they had a wonderful time & it was so fun for them & funny for me!!!

kennedie's getting ready to leave for work - covering up the baby, who is asleep :)

daddy home babysitting - note the bib ;)

kennedie getting home & greeting her baby w/hugs & kisses

just imagine the 3 of us in there together - crazy right?!

brownies :)

september has flown by!! these next couple posts are to catch everyone up :)

mommy had a craving for brownies a couple weeks ago - so glad my little helper was up for the challenge! we made a batch & then enjoyed brownie sundays after dinner that night :)

 being a big helper - adding the eggs & helping mix the batter

being silly w/mommy & enjoying the special treats only special helpers get

kennedie is so interested in the culinary arts! any time either tommy or i are in the kitchen she's at our feet asking what we're doing & 'can i help?' 'can i see?'  'can i get up?' - which means can i sit on the count or chair & watch :) pretty much the only reality tv tommy & i watch are shows having to do with cooking & kennedie's new favorite is the 'food truck show' - she asks for it all the time...

perhaps we have a future chef on our hands :)

a day at the park(s)

 on this labor day, after a very relaxing morning & a wonderful breakfast made by daddy, kennedie & i ventured out to the park (daddy wasn't feeling up to it, he's still battling a cold). we headed to the 2nd street park in gypsum, that we haven't been to in a really long time. we called it the 'new' park. kennedie had so much fun exploring the different attractions the 'new' park had to offer. and being the only ones at the park allowed us to go at our own pace & try everything out!

 just like at the library park - but this one is red!

 on the chicken.....my little monkey....& down the really big slide

after our adventures at the 'new' park, we decided to swing by the park by the library on our way home - it was a perfect day for 2 park visits :) when we got there, we saw that our friends melinda, mack & macy were there with some of their other friends - what a treat! although kennedie was content to play on her own, mommy enjoyed the other mommies company! brayden even let kennedie borrow his ball - she loves balls - and she got to practice her mad soccer skills ;) even more special, kennedie got to have an extra yogurt snack that melinda happened to have - lucky girl!!

 monkey :) - she was being a spider monkey on the ropes

enjoying a special treat with the boys