Christian Motherhood

Ashleigh's 5th Birthday

2009-11-16T17:40:00.002-07:00

Am I still considered to be a blogger, even though my last post before this one was Ethan's birthday back in June? Funny that the time since then has really flown by! I do have good intentions to continue blogging, but the Facebook pull is just too easy to write one or two sentences and post a few pictures and call it good.

So as an update on the last 5 or so months of our crazy life... Tyler's first tooth came in just two weeks ago and I think he's working on 3 others at the same time (you can see the top two and the other bottom one trying to poke through). He's a little guy in just the 10th percentile for weight and height. Some say they walk early when they have siblings to watch, but I think he's content just watching and won't pull up or crawl or walk for a while. He does a little army crawl on his stomach to move forward, but is happy just rolling around on the floor.

Ethan and Ashleigh are doing well. I started educating Ashleigh at home this year and just jumped in with a kindergarten curriculum in August. I didn't do a lot of research on the different types or even attend a curriculum fair as I've heard that's overwhelming. We're using A Beka Book kindergarten along with some supplement Bible reading and scripture memorization and I'd say God just fills in the rest. I just read this on why to choose homeschooling for my friends that are still undecided on the subject.

http://guiltfreehomeschooling.org/blog/2009/05/why-choose-homeschooling.html

Ethan's 2nd Birthday

2009-06-24T21:11:00.002-06:00

Is it possible my Ethan is already 2?!? Where does the time go? With traveling to Minnesota the weekend before Ethan's birthday, Rob and I decided to keep Ethan's birthday small and low-key compared to our usual, have 30 family and friends over to our house for lunch or dinner, cake, presents, and fun. To make it special, we decided two days before his birthday to go to Chuck E Cheese's, a suggestion that came from a certain 4-yr old who has undoubtedly been influenced by a commercial or two since she doesn't remember going there with mommy, daddy, Aunt Jen, and Uncle John when she was 2. It was a fun day though and the adults enjoyed the games more than the kids, I think! Rob even won the Skeeball jackpot and got 250 tickets from that one game alone. We got Ethan a toolkit with all our tickets, since it was his birthday, and had pizza, cupcakes, and lots of fun! Here are some pictures from the day.

Minnesota Adventures

2009-06-24T17:09:00.008-06:00

For Tyler's first vacation, I flew with my sister and her husband to Minneapolis, MN, where we rented a car and drove the rest of the way to International Falls (a 6 hour drive straight north to within a mile of Canada). He did great on his first flight, crying only a little bit during take-off and sleeping for nearly the entire drive - a great traveler! Once we got to International Falls on Saturday afternoon, we met up with my mom and brother at my grandma's house and I got to take a little break from baby Tyler while he had some bonding time with the grandmas and my siblings and I drove into Canada for a little sightseeing. We were only there a few hours, but enough time to walk through a beautiful park on the lake and drive the causeway north of Ft. Francis. Coming back into the country, my brother-in-law had an expired passport, driving a rental car with Texas plates that wasn't supposed to leave the country, and carrying a baby stroller in the trunk without a baby in the car, so we were asked a few questions. Thankfully, they let us back in the country without much delay.

The seven of us went to dinner together at the Chocolate Moose then headed back to the hotel. On Sunday, I attended my mom's old church with her in the morning, then went to City Beach at Rainy Lake with Jennifer, John, and my mom. We went to the visitor's center at Voyager's National Park, stopped for a moment on the lake shore, then went back to grandma's house for a wonderful roast dinner, complete with ice cream and cookies (and she said before we came out she wasn't going to cook for us, but insisted!). She said Tyler is the first great grandchild she has gotten to hold and I hope when my kids are a little older and better travelers, that they will be able to meet her too as she's an amazing woman. 88 years old and still going strong! I hadn't seen her since my sister's wedding 7 years ago and she's definitely gotten older in that time, but is still living in her own house (that my grandpa designed and they built 60 years ago) with help with the housecleaning and meals being delivered. I hope I can say the same when I'm that age!

Exciting family news! My dear sister Jennifer is pregnant with her first child, a girl, due October 15th. Her name is Kaitlyn and she's the first cousin for our family! I've heard cousins are such sweet friends for your kids and I'm very excited for Jennifer and John and the wonderful ride of parenting they are about to start.

Happy Easter 2009!

2009-04-18T19:18:00.010-06:00

For Tyler's first Easter, we attempted to go to an egg hunt in Parker, but were 15 minutes late and missed the whole egg hunt! Not that Tyler is old enough to hunt for eggs yet, but still a disappointment for mom and dad. There were crafts, bouncy castles, and the Easter Bunny for Ashleigh and Ethan though, and Tyler didn't even realize he was missing anything as he was too cold in the stroller to notice. We did enjoy dinner at our house with Rob's family and my family - 19 people if you count our growing family of 5!

We've had a lot of crazy snowy and rainy weather lately. It's been snowing non-stop for the last two days with a big storm that dumped 1 and 1/2 feet of snow! Rob wasn't thrilled to shovel all that heavy wet snow that'll be gone on Monday when we have 70 degree weather again, but the kids do enjoy playing in it. Ashleigh and Ethan just finished building a snow fort and snowman with Rob. Here are some fun snow pictures from today:

Wishing for Spring!

Tyler at 2 months!

2009-03-26T07:08:00.006-06:00

Wow! I can't believe how quickly these two months have passed! My apologies for not posting more pictures, but here are some cute ones. He's been smiling at me all the time lately and I finally caught one on the camera! His first smile came right around 5 weeks old. He also recently slept through the night for a 10 hour stretch about a week ago, but hasn't repeated it since, so he's still typically waking up one or two times in the night.

Being snuggly before leaving him with Grandma Debbie for our first date night alone. We went out last Saturday night to a great wine bar in Parker and had a great night of munching on Tapas, sipping wine, and having uninterrupted conversation - priceless!

Ashleigh's First Poker Game

So we aren't corrupting our little daughter just yet. We don't play serious poker, and this wasn't even with real money, but we do have quite the Maverick on our hands as she actually won the last hand when Rob and I were already down and our two friends had two pairs they were comparing, when Ashleigh pipes in with look what I have - 3 Jacks! Unbelievable! She was not happy about winning though as it was bedtime and she was crying because she wanted to keep playing!

Stuck, stuck, stuck

2009-03-11T07:45:00.008-06:00

You wouldn't think a pre-schooler's head would fit perfectly in this ring.

Yesterday, Ashleigh was playing with a toy that has two paddles and a ball you hit with the paddles and managed to get the paddle centered perfectly around her head and wouldn't come off. She panicked, and after trying for a bit to get it off without hurting her forehead or yanking too hard to injure her neck, I panicked a little and called Rob. Ahhh, my level-headed husband, already in problem-solving mode at work had some suggestions for how to cut it off (all I could think of was to saw it off - being made of hard plastic, but then had visions of the saw slipping and doing permanent damage to that cute rosy-cheeked face). His solution - cut off the net and use wire cutters to cut the plastic. Much safer! Well, after cutting off the net, the ring slipped down around her neck (again much safer than being right up against her head!) and the whole thing came off like a shirt, face first, and no cutting involved! Problem solved, whew!

My Hero!

Here are some pictures of the improvements Rob made to our bathroom last weekend - he's amazing! Problem-solving, level-headed, and great at starting and finishing home-improvement projects. I love my husband! In one weekend, he replaced the downstairs bathroom faucet, towel bar, toilet paper holder, light fixture and all the toilet seats in the house. Also, for you potty-training moms, Home Depot sells a toilet seat with a kid's seat that folds into the lid, which we also got for the upstairs kids' bathroom.

Before

During

After

My Poor Boys!

2009-02-20T15:29:00.008-07:00

Feeling better here than they are today!

Ashleigh holding Tyler (almost 1 mo)

Sad to report today that both my little guys are going through little illnesses. Ethan has a case of diarrhea and runny nose and our newborn has thrush right now. It's a yeast infection of the mouth where naturally-occurring bacteria grow at a rapid rate and is fairly common in newborns under 2 months. I started him on the antibiotic Nystatin last night, but he needs to be on it at least 7 days and for three days after the thrush clears up. Thankfully, we haven't been passing it back and forth yet, but I am treating myself as well, just to prevent that. Here's a picture of the little guy. We caught it just in time before it mushroomed into full mouth where it was just a few bumps when we started the antibiotic. If you Google Image search Thrush, it's pretty scary, so I'm glad we caught it early! It does explain the sporadic sleep pattern he's had the last few days and his inconsistent feedings! Last night was the hardest with him crying until midnight, then awake again at 4am, the alarm going off for Rob at 5:45, then Tyler waking up again at 6:15am. I know it'll get easier, it's just hard to see that in the midst of it.

Taken last night, before starting him on the antibiotic (see his upper right lip?)

Although I'm sleep-deprived, we are still getting into our routines a little bit, including pre-school with Ashleigh and going to a few activities with my moms' groups. I can't make it on time to anything and have trouble going out with the three kids right now, but that will also get easier with time, I'm sure! Rob and I were even able to go out for a date night while Rob's brother Jon watched the two older kids and we took Tyler with us to a movie. We saw the Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Tyler slept through the entire move (3 hours long!). So nice to get out though for a date night, even if Tyler was with us! New parents need them, for sure!

Listening to Uncle Jon's iPod and looking much older than she is!

Ashleigh making a block tower pattern

Life with Five!

2009-02-13T16:41:00.005-07:00

I must say it's been a busy time with the five of us! It has been quite an adjustment period and Rob and I are getting by with less sleep now. I think when you go from two to three kids, you've lost quite a bit of your selfishness and that makes the transition much easier than the zero to one transition. For instance, you gave up sleeping in on the weekends long ago and are definitely more used to a routine with young kids. It is nice not being pregnant anymore and while the sleep is for shorter periods, I think it is better sleep without the heartburn and going back to sleeping on my back.

Tyler is waking up about two or three times in the night right now, but Rob is such a great husband and helps out as much as he can with bringing Tyler to me in the night and sometimes burping and settling him down after nursing. Our other two kids are definitely going through an adjustment period since they don't have as much of our focused attention as they did before Tyler was born. We did start our preschool routine again this week and I noticed that Ethan is more interested in what we're doing now and enjoys learning too. We did our first science experiment today, complete with a hypothesis and actual results for what will float and sink in a sink filled with water, so that was fun. Ashleigh was correct with 8/10 of the items and has a great concept of what will happen already!

Here's an amusing story about life with the three kids. Yesterday, I wanted to take the three kids to the decorate Valentine's Day cookies and do crafts at Calvary's Moms' group. It started at 9:00am, so I made a special effort to get myself ready and showered as soon as Rob left for work (6:30am). I got Ethan and Ashleigh breakfast after that, got them dressed, hair combed, teeth brushed, then around 8, I got Tyler up to nurse before we left. Things were looking good until Tyler had a large diaper blowout right as we were headed out the door and I needed to change and wash both his clothes and my clothes! It went through his diaper, onesie, velvet outfit, and into my pants, so we were a half-hour late to the craft, but still had time to do everything, and so it did end up being a fun activity. Just stressful getting three kids and myself ready and out the door by a certain time! I'm sure that will also get easier with time and getting out won't be quite so much of a drawn-out process!

Tyler's Birth

2009-01-23T21:16:00.006-07:00

Wow! What a whirlwind two days it's been! Labor began Thursday around noon and it has been non-stop action since then. We're definitely looking forward to being home together as a family and are thinking Tyler and I will be released tomorrow (Saturday) around noon. I knew if I didn't post this blog now, while still in the hospital with the wonderful nurses waiting on me hand and foot and all my meals delivered, dishes taken away, no laundry to worry about, then it'll be a few weeks before I can post my thoughts. For those of you wondering, we were able to have a natural birth again as we did with Ethan and we appreciate all your thoughts and prayers for a safe and wonderful labor and healthy baby!

Rob and I are definitely tired, even though he came into the world at a decent hour, you just don't get much sleep between nursing every 3 hours and the nurses popping into your room through out the night taking vitals on you and the baby. Highlights of the birth though was that I started slowly. I went into the doctor the previous day and hadn't progressed any yet. The doctor's office checked me on Thursday around noon and I was at 3 cm dilated, but still too early to go in. After a great walk in the 68 degree beautiful weather from the hospital to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and back with Rob, my contractions finally started coming where we had to pause for a minute on the walk back. (Maybe it was their spicy Southwest Chicken salad that finally brought on my labor!) We checked into the hospital around 2 pm at 4 cm dilated. My mother-in-law arrived shortly after to take the kids and my sister also came soon after to support me and witness the miracle of birth. It was awesome having her there and Rob enjoyed being able to go get food or go to the bathroom without having to leave me alone.

It moved pretty slowly during the afternoon - walking the halls of the hospital, using the exercise ball, squatting, leaning, kneeling, massaging, shower time, whatever sounded comfortable to me at the time. It took 5 hours to go the next 2 cm, and I thought it was going to go well into the night! I reached 7 cm around 9:30 and stayed at a 7 for the next hour - doctor is now on her way... However, following the tradition of his older brother of going so fast at the end that the doctor just misses the birth, he's already copying Ethan! After transition, my water broke in the bathroom at 10:41pm and Tyler arrived just 7 minutes later, almost on the bathroom floor if it weren't for my great L&D nurse, Rob, and Jennifer helping me back. We did have the on-call OB nurse there to catch him (barely!), but yes, again, the doctor was in the parking lot. Funny how you pay them so much and my babies seem to deliver themselves! We are doing great though, minus Ethan throwing up this evening all over the hospital floor with yet another bug he's caught. Nice to be staying in the hospital tonight though, as I may be getting more rest than poor Rob taking care of sick Ethan! Enjoy the picts we took today of the whole family and Tyler with the grandparents.

New Baby Boy!

2009-01-23T10:10:00.005-07:00

Just a quick update to tell everyone that new baby Tyler was born on 1/22/09 at 10:48 PM. He weighed 8lbs, 0oz and is 20" long. Everyone is doing wonderful and we can't wait to get home.

Tyler's first bath

Tired mom, dad, and new baby

Ethan's First Haircut

2009-01-10T13:50:00.007-07:00

I took Ethan to Snip-Its earlier today for his first haircut and it came out great! Ashleigh even complemented him on how handsome he looked on the drive home. I love it when my kids are well mannered and considerate to one another! Here are some before, during, and after pictures.

Ethan in the chair before his first haircut

Ethan getting his haircut

All done! That wasn't so bad, right?

Ethan and I after the haircut

I'm slowly taking care of all the things I meant to do during the holidays, but let slide until after they were over. I guess it's a form of nesting, but I haven't gotten the big burst of energy that comes with it, so I'm still waiting and trying to be patient. This week, in addition to the haircut for Ethan, I also took Ashleigh into the dentist for her first real cleaning and X-rays appointment. She did fine, but we definitely need to do a better job of brushing her teeth and doing it twice a day!

These last few pictures are from a birthday party we went to a week ago at an indoor bouncy castle place. The kids loved it and I even jumped a little, but it didn't do a thing for putting me into labor or moving the baby down, but that's alright because I got some good exercise in the process.

Ethan watching Ashleigh jump

Ashleigh on the obstacle course

Ashleigh looking so precious!

Me this morning at 38+ weeks
Rob was at work, but Ashleigh is getting really good with a camera now

Christmas and New Year's Celebrations

2009-01-02T06:38:00.007-07:00

The family on Christmas Eve

Four generations on Christmas Eve
Daddy, Ethan, Grandma Debbie, Great-grandma Jolene, and Ashleigh

Open Zeba! Ethan with his new Noah's Ark

Rob reading Brown Bear to Ethan

Daddy, Grandma Debbie, Grandpa Terry, and Great-Grandma Ethel on Christmas day

Me, Grandpa John, and Uncle Steven on Christmas morning

Brunch at our house on Christmas morning

Ashleigh and Uncle Steve playing Marbulous

Grandma Carole coloring with Ethan

Happy New Year! It's now 2009 and we're looking forward to the birth of our little one in just a few weeks. I've been feeling well with just some minor back soreness and heartburn at night, but this pregnancy has been the easiest of the three by far!

For Christmas, we went to Christmas Eve Services at our home church, Calvary Chapel Aurora and in addition to the worship band, they had an orchestra, adult choir, and kids choir on stage. I was thinking next year Ashleigh will be old enough to sing in the kids choir. We had a quiet evening at home after church watching Nativity Story with Ashleigh, then on Christmas morning, we had my family over for brunch and went to Rob's parents' house for Christmas dinner. A nice Christmas, especially with the Wii and Wii Fit for ourselves. We've had a lot of fun playing with friends and family already!

Our friends, Meg and Steve playing the Wii

New Year's Eve, we were home with the kids and I was resting, watching movies with my feet up and playing Uno with Ashleigh while we watched the East Coast bring in the new year. To be honest, I didn't even make it until midnight with a playdate in the morning, a doctor's appointment in the afternoon, and no nap that day. I did go until 11 pm, but the endless Uno game went a little later than I wanted to stay up, so Ashleigh and I went to bed at the same time!

I'm now packed for the hospital, the Christmas decorations are down, and the computer is set-up downstairs, making room for the crib in the office. Now we just need a baby! I really wouldn't mind if this one came early as my other two were late. Just a short time now to wait...

Merry Christmas Eve!

2008-12-24T10:37:00.004-07:00

Look Grandma, I dressed myself!

Rob playing the keyboard with Ethan watching

I have been so busy this time of year, I haven't been updating my website as often as I would like to! So updates on me for the last two weeks are that I celebrated my birthday with my loving husband and kids on my actual birthday, then just celebrated with my brother, sister, brother-in-law, mom, and dad with Chinese food, cake, presents, and games at my Dad's house last Saturday. It was the first time the entire family has been together for a special occasion in a LONG time! We also went to Rob's company Christmas party two weeks ago which was up in the mountains in Genesee with a beautiful view of the city. I also went to my good friend Karrie's annual Christmas brunch, two gift exchanges, and a cookie exchange (we're still working on those 9 dozen cookies!)

Ethan chipped his two front teeth last week slipping in the bathtub. They aren't too bad, but I still took him into the pediatric dentist who looked at them and filed the rough edges off. We've also been battling our share of flu and cold bugs this time of year, but it looks like everyone will be well for Christmas tomorrow (and the Christmas Eve service tonight)! I also just jumped on the Facebook bandwagon a few weeks ago, so if any of you reading this are on there and aren't yet on my friends list, please join it as I don't know who's on there yet and who isn't and don't have much time to search for people, although I have been able to update it pretty regularly. We'll see if I keep it up!

Show us those lovely chipped teeth!

Enjoy the very pregnant picture of me! Just 4 weeks to go until my due date and as of yesterday, I'm technically at full term, so it could be any day now! We can't wait to meet our new baby boy, and the kids are excited too. May the peace of Christ be with you during this Christmas season! We're celebrating the biggest gift ever given with God giving us his only son, the perfect sacrifice for our sins. What a joy it is to know we can't ever be perfect, but with Jesus as our Lord, that we are made perfect in his eyes and will spend eternity in heaven with Him.

Janice at 35 weeks along before Rob's company party

What a Week!

2008-12-07T14:50:00.006-07:00

Ethan and Ashleigh making a snowman on the deck

Putting on the finishing touches (mini-marshmallows!)

A little sibling rivalry in the snow

I can't believe it has only been a week since my last post. So much has happened and this time of year is crazy busy anyway. I'll start with the bad news. Someone tried to steal our truck while we were at breakfast a week ago, but luckily was unable to start it, probably because our keys have chips in them that the ignition has to detect before it starts. When we came out, the lock in the door had been busted out and the ignition was a mess so we couldn't even start it with the key and had to get the truck towed to the Ford dealership and a ride home. Good news is we have a low deductible and rental car coverage, so at least we aren't left with just one car for all this time! We think we'll get it back on Tuesday, fingers crossed! Also, the rental car place didn't have the car we had reserved and gave us a 2009 Chevy Silverado truck in the meantime for the car rate, so that's the silver lining in this lovely saga.

Not bad for a rental! (but I still miss our truck)

We've been Christmas shopping and working on Christmas cards this weekend. Ashleigh and I went to a Nutcracker performance on Friday with my friend Traci, her daughter Mackenzie, and new friends of ours, the Johnsons. It was pretty magical seeing the Nutcracker through Ashleigh's eyes and seeing how excited she was. It was her first time going to the Nutcracker and her first live performance of any kind.

Kenzie and Ashleigh before the show at our house

Ashleigh and I at the Aurora Dance Arts production of the Nutcracker

The kids and I have also been baking like crazy for a cookie exchange I have coming up on Thursday. When I signed up, I didn't realize the requirement would be 9 dozen cookies, or I probably would have said no. My friends think I'm crazy, being 8 mo pregnant and to inflict additional work on myself during this time of year, but I think it'll be really fun and nice to have a variety of cookies to share with friends, family, and neighbors. Here are some pictures from the kids and I baking fudge nut bars a few days ago. We're up to 70 bars - more than half-way there!

Ashleigh adding flour to the mixer

How does that flour taste, Ethan?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T14:34:00.003-07:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday at Rob's parents house and while I missed getting together with my family also, crazy as that is when we have two big dinners in one day, I don't think my brother-in-law and sister weren't too upset, as they were on their way to Hawaii for a vacation, with my brother meeting them there on Saturday. My mom was able to go with us to my in-laws as well and my dad wasn't feeling up to a large family get-together this year, so it worked out. Ashleigh helped me make a wonderful pumpkin cheesecake with caramel swirl to bring over that was a big hit and also our traditional pistachio salad. I love the wonderful foods that come with the holiday season. Can't wait to make my fudge nut bars next week! Joining us at Rob's parents' house were his grandma Ethel and his Aunt Penny, Uncle Rick, and cousins, Scott and Katie. So fun to see Katie, who's 9, playing great all day with Ashleigh and Ethan!

After not decorating last Christmas and realizing even though decorating is a lot of effort, it's well worth it, we got out all of our decorations this morning and were glad we did. Rob and I had a tradition of cutting our own Christmas tree in the mountains on the day after Thanksgiving for the first three years we were married, but with two little kids and me over 7 months pregnant, that's just not a feasible trip this year. So it was Ethan's first Christmas of decorating and he really got into hanging the ornaments and calling the glass balls 'Bubbles'. He has broken one of them already, but thankfully wasn't hurt.

The Election

2008-11-07T14:22:00.001-07:00

Other than being disappointed and discouraged this week about the election results, it's been a good week. I am so thankful that the traditional marriage amendments passed in the states where they were being voted upon. During my quiet time this morning, I read in 2 Timothy 3:1-5

3:1 But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 3:2 For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3:3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, 3:4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. 3:5 They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power.

Being the non-English/engineering person I am, I had to look up repudiated and it means to reject as having no authority or binding force. Sounds a lot like America today, but the fact that the majority still supports marriage in the traditional sense of God's definition for marriage give me hope for our nation. God's will happens through both godly and ungodly leaders alike and no powers of man or person will stand in the way of that!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-07T13:52:00.005-07:00

Ethan (16 mo) and Ashleigh (4 yrs) dressed up as Dragons for Halloween

For Halloween this year, both kids dressed up as dragons. It was fun seeing Ethan get excited about dressing up and the candy, his new favorite word. On Halloween, we went to the library for storytime and trick-or-treating and later went to our church's community harvest festival, which was huge! It's great to take the kids someplace safe and fun and safe with games, candy, food, jumpy castles, and a puppet show. We tried taking Ashleigh trick-or-treating when she was 1 around our neighborhood, but we don't know many of our neighbors and she doesn't do well with the scary decorations and costumes and I'm thankful our church offers an alternative to traditional Halloween activities. I left my camera in the car during the Harvest Festival, but luckily got a few pictures of the kids in costume at storytime with their friends.

Hanna (ballerina), Aurelia (Texas Cheerleeder), Tatum (poodle), Kenzie (princess), Ethan, and Ashleigh (both dragons)

Traditonally, Halloween in Colorado = snow, but this year, we had upper 70s for the high and a beautiful park day with friends after storytime. Ethan actually looks hot in shorts and a T-shirt!

Ashleigh's Fourth Birthday Party

2008-10-28T14:10:00.006-06:00

We celebrated Ashleigh's fourth birthday on Saturday with a fun party and lots of our friends and family came over to our house. The kids made party hats (and John too) out of construction paper, colored them, and put on stickers and ribbons. We also had a tacos and nachos for dinner and choice of chocolate cake or lemon cake with ice cream for dessert. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed on the day of the party and am so thankful for Rob's help with baking both cakes and making the glazes. He has quite a baking talent!

Ashleigh's friends Noah, Mackenzie, Savannah, (Ashleigh) and Brianna making party hats

The adults helping and watching the hat making

The kids having dinner

Yum! That's what I was waiting for!
Rob's chocolate cake with chocolate glaze and lemon cake with lemon glaze

Friends enjoying cake

Watching present opening

I realize I haven't blogged now in over a month and while not too much has happened in that month, I have gotten a little bit bigger. Here's a picture of me at 27 weeks (as some of you have been asking for one). I was so good about taking and posting pictures while I was pregnant with Ethan and however, with our new boy on the way and two little ones to take care of, I haven't had as much time, plus kids nap time almost always = my nap time too, so there isn't much free time in the day for blogging.

I also just had to post this video I took on September 18th, about 2 weeks after Ethan took his first step. He's 15 months old in this video. Can you imagine learning how to walk now as an adult? Looks pretty painful! But Ethan's having fun from the looks of it. He's gotten so much better over the past month and barely falls at all now, but I hope you're as amused as I was watching this!

Picking Berries

2008-09-22T20:26:00.004-06:00

Last week, some moms and I got together at Berry Patch Farm in Brighton to pick strawberries and raspberries. The kids had a great time! They had some farm animals there (ducks, chickens, and a little pot-bellied pig who stole one of the kids' lunches!) We got to ride a little tractor pulled wagon out to the fields, which all the kids loved, except for Ethan in the backpack who was getting pretty scared. I wasn't doing much bending down and picking as I had Ethan on my back, but I would find them and Ashleigh would pick them and we had a good system going at that point. Being 5 months pregnant, I was quite tired at the end of the day and noticed I was a bit sore from all the walking with the backpack and the few squats I did attempt. The kids and I were able to make a berry cobbler from the raspberries we had picked and topped it with vanilla ice cream for a scrumptious dessert.

We've also been doing some swimming (indoor, of course), meeting with my MOPS group, going to the park and enjoying the warm weather we've been having. I know today is the official first day of fall, but with these 80+ degree days, it feels like fall is a long way off still! There's much to do still before our new little guy arrives, but for now, we've been out playing and enjoying the beautiful weather. I can't believe my due date is just four months away!

Kenzie, Ashleigh, and Noah petting the pig

Loaded up for our ride out to the strawberry fields

Hanna, Ashleigh, and Kenzie riding in the wagon

Christie, Felicity, me, and Ethan in the backpack

The girls picking (and eating) strawberries

Six wonderful years!

2008-09-15T20:57:00.005-06:00

Rob and I just celebrated our six-year wedding anniversary this past weekend while Debbie and Terry took the kids for the night. I can't believe how quickly the time passes and just how different life is for us now than it was six years ago. We were reflecting on the past year during dinner together Saturday and God's tremendous faithfulness to us when we trust Him. A few years ago, I was terrified of staying home with Ashleigh and to live on one income, thinking about the sacrifices we'd have to make and lifestyle changes that would mean. Well, God has grown me to where I don't even miss most of those things (although an occasional week-long vacation to a warm beach would be nice, I guess we can settle for camping if that means me being able to stay home the rest of the year!) We truly are happy together and are blessed with two healthy, happy kids and another that will be here in just a few short months. We had a very happy anniversary close to home with dinner at Ted's Montana Grill and walking around our outdoor mall and finishing off a beautiful night watching the sunset while eating ice cream from Cold Stone.

Speaking of our wedding anniversary, on Monday night, a week ago, Ashleigh, Ethan, and I made the drive up to LaPorte, CO to go to my friend, Sara's wedding. It's just NW of Ft. Collins, but still a little under a two-hour drive. Rob has been working long days and getting home late, so he just came home and rested, rather than working a half day to make it to the wedding on time. What a great time with old friends from Action, a young-adult ministry group some friends and I started eight years ago in my living room Golden (and I'm glad to hear it's still going!). It morphed from a Bible study of new believers meeting on Friday nights instead of going to the bars (my old lifestyle), to the marriage hook-up group. I think we counted six couples over the years who met there and were later married. Rob and I met our freshman year of college at Mines, so we weren't one of the six, but he did drive up from the Springs every weekend while we were dating to come to Action. Fun memories and it was great seeing everyone again!

Friends Rachel and Brent

Friends from Action Ryan and Carrie (one of the six)

Dancing with Ashleigh and Ethan

Ashleigh and Rachel and Clint's son, Lucas (2 1/2 yrs) playing behind the curtains

My friend, Sara (what a gorgeous dress!!!)

The brick placement ceremony with Sara and Chris' names and wedding date

Took this one the next morning while doing laundry
(a little sleepy from the late night!)

We're having a Boy!

2008-09-04T15:27:00.006-06:00

I thought I should write a post for the curious who have been periodically checking my blog that we found out we are having another boy in January. It was definitely a boy and an active one at that as he started out on his back and was on his stomach by the end of the appointment! Everything on the ultrasound measured normal, which was a relief from my last pregnancy with Ethan where the kidneys measured small on this ultrasound and I ended up having 5 ultrasounds during my pregnancy. I'm now 20 weeks along and half-way there. Unbelievable how the time is flying!

Last week, I got to go to a fun place called Tiny Town in the mountains near Morrison with my dear friend Karrie, her mom, and her son, Rusty. There are over 100 buildings that are 1/6th the size of their actual scale and are based on the real buildings. Some of them have dollhouse furniture inside, consistent with the little store's theme, and some of them are open so that the kids can actually crawl inside them. Very fun!

Rusty, Ethan, and Ashleigh inside the Denver firehouse

Ethan outside of the Denver Mint building
He just loved looking into all the windows!

Ashleigh and Ethan outside of a windmill

We also have seen some friends this week for playdates and I had my first MOPS meeting this morning. I met several really nice moms and a surprisingly large number of pregnant women too. They meet twice a month and have a great kids program. Rob painted our downstairs bathroom too last weekend over Labor Day and we attended the first block party for our neighborhood Sunday afternoon. On Saturday, it was the reunion of my high school friends, including one person we hadn't seen in 8 years because we all lost touch with him. I suppose if I joined Facebook or one of those other networking sites, I could reconnect with lots of people I've lost touch with, but then I barely have enough time in the day for my family and the friends I do keep in touch with, so I think I'll just go on like I have been.

The high school crew - Me, Chris, Laurie, and Josh

The kids and I saw my Dad for lunch on Saturday while Rob was at work and the four of us went swimming at my mom's pool for one last swim before closing on Labor Day. Ethan is so close to walking now and walks holding one hand. Here are some picts from Monday.

Ashleigh floating and kicking with the noodles

Ethan and I at the pool

Rob and Ethan walking in the baby pool

My Cousin's Wedding in Omaha

2008-08-27T15:10:00.007-06:00

We drove out to Omaha this past weekend for my cousin, Lisa's wedding. We weren't sure what to expect as the kids have never been on a road trip longer than the few hours it takes to drive to a campsite in the mountains, and this was 10 hours each way. Yes, some can do it in less time, but they don't have little ones with diaper changes and bathroom breaks and dinner stops that last an hour. We left on Friday afternoon and got to Kearney, NE for the night, stopping at 11:30 pm. It was very tempting to keep going once both kids were asleep, but we were glad we stopped when we did as Ethan was up at 6 the next morning.

We drove the last three hours on Saturday morning with plenty of time to check-in to our nice hotel and rest before changing for the wedding. It was held at the Embassy Suites in downtown Omaha and was very nice! They had a romantic carriage ride through the city after the ceremony and dinner was also wonderful. The dance was fun too, although you sure don't get much dancing in with your husband when you have two little ones! I did watch Ashleigh dance for the first time with a boy and it makes me think about how quickly she's growing up.

The best part of all though is seeing my extended family and catching up with all the family news. It was a quick trip, but we were glad we made it safely and even the trip back to Denver on Sunday was not bad either. I'm just glad I packed plenty of toys, coloring books, library books, and the Leap Pad to keep them entertained for hours, otherwise, it would have been a VERY long trip! We hardly ever travel and stay in hotels and the kids loved it. Ashleigh is still talking about it and pretending with her stuffed animals they're staying at the hotel.

Ethan riding in the car

Ashleigh riding in the car

Ethan, me, Rob, and Ashleigh at the wedding

My cousin, Lisa and Justin during the ceremony

Ashleigh watching the fish with her 2nd cousins, Garrison & Christian

Me, my Aunt Pat (and mother of the bride), and cousin Helen

My cousin with her son and ring-bearer Damien

My cousin Jay, on my right, and his kids, Cassie, Aaron, and wife Rosalyn

Ashleigh's first dance with a boy ever!

Camping at Eleven-mile Reservoir, day at Lakeside, and Dairy Tour

2008-08-15T11:22:00.006-06:00

Wow, we've been busy this past week! Rob, Ashleigh, Ethan, my sister, my brother-in-law and I went camping at Eleven-mile Reservoir last weekend. Overall, we had really good weather considering it was a torrential downpour here in Aurora on Friday and we just had sprinkles Friday night with steady rain from dinner until we went to bed on Saturday night. The days were great and we got a hike in with the kids on Saturday morning with a nice afternoon around the campsite playing games and reading during the afternoon. I think the camping trip was a little rough on Rob though as he had just gotten home from one business trip late Thursday night, thankfully had Friday off, but then flew out again for Michigan on Sunday afternoon for the week and gets back this evening. I sure miss him when he's gone, but am able to keep myself busy hanging out with friends while he is gone, so definitely not lonely! Ashleigh loved climbing the rocks around the campsite and now I know how my mom felt when I took risks climbing trees and going to high places. As a mom, you want to keep them under your wing and not let them do anything dangerous, but they also need to learn about the world through exploring on their own and as my dad advised, it's good to let them make mistakes sometimes, even when you know what the outcome will be, so they can learn from them.

Ashleigh climbing up high on the rocks

Ethan trying hard to keep up with his sister

Hummingbird stuck inside of our tent

The Fam in front of Eleven-mile on our hike

Beautiful purple butterfly on our hike

Hiking by the lake and Ethan catching a snooze

Our last morning at camp - a very cold morning!

Ethan bundled up waiting for breakfast

I also went to Lakeside on Tuesday with my friend, Amy, and our free passes from the summer reading program at the library, which was like a trip down memory lane for me since my mom took us to Lakeside when we were kids once a year with the summer reading coupons too. I have to say though that almost all the rides were identical to when I was a kid... I'll just leave it at that!

Yesterday, we went to a dairy for a tour with my moms' group from church and the kids and moms got to take a tour, see a movie, taste samples, witness the cows being milked, pet and feed the calves and goats, and learn how a dairy is run. You sure look at a cow being milked much differently after you've nursed and pumped for your own children! We also brought sack lunches and ate together after the tour and bought some homemade ice cream cones for dessert. It was a great day and fun getting to know some of the moms and their kids better. We definitely had great weather compared to today which is foggy, drizzly, and about 50F outside!

Can't wait to see Rob in just a few hours and to celebrate his birthday together after we pick him up. I know his trip has been long with 12-hour work days, plus dinner with his co-workers after they finish up work. I have probably talked with him a total of an hour this week (minus the camping trip), so it'll be nice having him home again for a long stretch!

Guess I should also mention that I'm pregnant now and almost half-way through my pregnancy. We will find out what we're having in just two short weeks and can't wait! It seems by your third pregnancy, you manage to tell most people the news, but I'm sure there are some readers out there who don't know yet and are noticing I'm putting on some weight in the pictures so I'll come right out and clear up that rumor! We are excited and also a little nervous about the age difference of Ethan and the new baby, but God's plans are perfect and we know what a gift children are from the Lord.

Our Evil HOA

2008-08-06T09:56:00.002-06:00

Normally I keep these pretty positive, but I have to vent about our evil homeowner's association. As I mentioned in the last post, we've had record-breaking consecutive days of 90+ degree heat. We're up to 24 days now with hardly any rain, but it is cooling off, thankfully. Reason I talk about the weather is our evil HOA just sent a second hate letter regarding our browning lawn giving us 10 days to fix it. I should also mention that our water company, ECCV, restricts our watering to three days/week and only 15 minutes/day, which we are doing. So we have a dilemma here to either be fined by ECCV for over-watering, or be fined by our lovely HOA for a brown lawn. I called ECCV this morning, hoping to get a little wisdom on who has the legal authority here, but they said they're working on it and that if I water more than the allocated time, I could be fined. ECCV also said I couldn't seed or re-sod until after Sept 15th as the letter from the HOA said we had to do within 10 days.

Well, I sent an email off to our HOA with the prior information and asked for an extension through fall, but am not very hopeful to hear a response as they failed to respond to my email two years ago regarding the siding direction on our shed not matching the direction of the siding on the house (which we also had 10 days to fix at the end of December, so Rob spent his Christmas vacation residing the shed in the cold). I seriously doubt our slightly brown lawn is hurting housing prices in the neighborhood and think it's probably more the nationwide falling housing market that's bringing down the home prices. I'll keep you posted on this one! It's frustrating, to say the least.

The Last Month

2008-08-04T09:24:00.006-06:00

I have to admit, it's been nearly a month since my last post, so it's time for the catch-up blog. I have good intentions, but never the time! Plus, it's been extremely hot in the office lately (23 days in a row of 90+ degree days will do that!) So unless I blog very late at night or early morning (which is what time it is now) it just doesn't happen. We put A/C in our house two summers ago, when I started staying home, but the A/C just isn't as effective upstairs as it is downstairs, so it's still 80+ degrees in the office, even though it's 75 downstairs.

We've been going to the reservoirs quite a bit with friends and had a family day there too. We also went hiking at Golden Gate Canyon State Park with the kids and am proud to say Ashleigh hiked 1.8 miles on her own while we carried Ethan. It's special going back there as Rob and I got married up Golden Gate Canyon near a friend's parents' house in the mountains. Ashleigh had two weeks in a row of swim lessons (Mon-Thurs) at the outdoor pool up the street, then last week, she had Vacation Bible School at a friends' church. We've also been swimming some at my mom's neighborhood pool and have been keeping cool by going to the spray parks near our house.

Rob and I got in a great date day at the Mile High Music Festival a few weeks ago and got to see various bands who were playing on five different stages at the same time, so it was fun walking around there getting a taste for different artists. My favorites were One Republic, Rodrigo y Gabriella, and of course, Dave Matthews Band who played for three hours up until about midnight. We didn't get much sleep that night as Rob worked Monday and I needed to pick up the kids before Rob's mom left for work, but definitely worth the lack of sleep and we had a great day and lunch of Chinese food at PF Changs after church before the concert. You really miss the uninterrupted conversations once you have kids and it was nice having time again to reconnect. We also had a date night Friday at Chili's while Ashleigh was in VBS, but Ethan was with us, so it wasn't quite the same even if he doesn't talk our ears off during dinner like Ashleigh does!

Here are some picts from the last month. Enjoy!

Ashleigh and Hanna playing in the kiddie pool on our deck

Janice, Ethan, and Ashleigh at Aurora Reservoir

Ethan playing in the sand at Aurora Reservoir

Jill, Stephanie, and Janice at the reservoir (with Ashleigh behind us)

Ashleigh at her swim lesson

Ethan playing in the baby pool during Ashleigh's lesson

Ashleigh on top of a rock at Panorama Point in Golden Gate Canyon State Park

Ethan having lunch before our hike

Hiking with Ethan in the backpack and Ashleigh with her walking stick

Ethan and Ashleigh in their pjs

Ashleigh and Hanna at the spray park

Ashleigh and Hanna keeping cool

Our Fourth of July weekend

2008-07-08T14:07:00.006-06:00

Ethan driving the new car we gave him for his birthday

What a great weekend we had over the Fourth of July! It was busy, but good. Rob even got a full three-day weekend, which I believe will be a thing of the past once their production plant comes on-line in a few months. On Friday, the fourth, our family went swimming with my mom at her neighborhood pool where they had lunch and activities for the kids. After a busy day with short naps, the kids were both asleep by 8, so we didn't go anywhere to watch fireworks, but were pleasantly surprised by the professional show going on a few blocks from our house at Southlands mall that we could watch from our backyard.

On Saturday, we went to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival and met my friend Amy and her family there at a performance of these flexible and acrobatic people from New Mexico. I can't really put into words what I saw, but it was artistic and fluid movement from the performers on stilts, from swings, and a two-story tower they turned into their own jungle gym. Ashleigh and Ethan also got to paint on a large wall in the kids' section and we walked around to most of the individual artist booths. Although it wasn't that hot (cloudy and 85-90F), both of our kids threw up that night from heat exhaustion (we're assuming, since it was the one and only time), so we made good use yet again of our new steam cleaner on the car's upholstery, car seat, and floor mats.

Flexion performance at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival

More of the swinging on stilts performance

Hanging from the top

Ashleigh, our little painter

We didn't give hime the paints, but Ethan did get to use the marker for a bit

Our exhausted kids at the art festival

Sunday, we took Ashleigh to her first Rockies game with our old small group (and left Ethan at home with a friend, as we didn't want him to get hot, bored and/or tired without a nap). It was a perfect day, including a free parking space a block and a half away from Coors Field. Great weather with just a little rain and wind. We had a huge thunderstorm at our house during the game, but nice weather where we were. The Rockies lost 10-5 and Tulo and Helton were out on injuries, but we enjoyed the company of our old friends and the other kids kept each other entertained as well, so Ashleigh wasn't bored until they left in the 8th inning.

Ashleigh's First baseball game at Coors Field

Janice, Ashleigh and Rob watching the game

Our old small group at the game

Happy 1st Birthday, Ethan!

2008-06-28T16:40:00.007-06:00

Ethan's Birthday Cake

We had a party last weekend for our little guy's first birthday. First birthdays are so fun and everything is brand new, so it's a blast to watch and sit back and enjoy your child during their party. We had a sun-catcher craft for the older kids (and adults) to paint and also a Finding Nemo pinata from our neighbors next door. We had several people over, both friends and family, and got to use our new, bigger, table too. The day was perfect weather, a little hot, but we put up our new shade awning on the back porch over the table, so that was great.

Just a little blogging tidbit, one of my first posts was Ashleigh's first birthday (the second, actually), and I didn't imagine I'd be still blogging three years later, but here I am! Enjoy the pictures and video of Ethan's first piece of cake! Although he was hesitant starting, you can see from the picture that he got into his cake and loved it once he realized what it was.

Ethan's Gray Blanket Pictures

2008-06-27T07:47:00.010-06:00

Starting with Ethan's first week, I've took a monthly picture of him in a diaper on our gray blanket to see the small changes that happen from month-to-month. I love how expressive he gets, the older he is. I saw this idea from my friend, Amy, who had a one-page collage layout of a random baby on an 81/2"x 11" sheet of paper at her house. If I were really photo savy, I'd find a way to overlap them on top of one another so they morph into one another, but as you parents know, we just don't have the time to devote to figuring that out, so here they are. Seems like I barely have time to blog anymore, but I will get a post up soon from Ethan's birthday party last weekend. It was a fun time and we're blessed with many friends and family who live close!

Ethan 1-week old!

Ethan 1-month

Ethan 2-months

Ethan 3-months

Ethan 4-months

Ethan 5-months

Ethan 6-months

Ethan 7-months

Ethan 8-months

Ethan 9-months

Ethan 10-months

Ethan 11-months

Ethan 12-months

Zoo Day and Time with Friends

2008-06-09T15:42:00.006-06:00

Watching the Gorilla have lunch

Ashleigh and Rob drumming

Ashleigh in front of the lorikeets

Once Rob and the kids got to feeling better, we went to the Denver Zoo on Rob's last vacation day last week. It was fun and the weather was cool, but pleasant. We packed a picnic lunch and ate by the gorillas after they had been fed. I was a little bummed that Rob had spent half of his vacation sick and not feeling much up to doing anything, but was thankful that I didn't catch what he and the kids had. I planned some daytrips in lieu of the San Diego trip we originally had in mind, but decided it would be too long of a trip driving with two little ones and that we could save a lot of money by planning local trips and going camping. Good thing we didn't end up going! Between stomach bugs and the fact that the friends we were going out there to visit have already moved back here, it wouldn't have been a good trip. Here's the full story - pretty crazy what our friends are going through right now! (May 9th posting)

Some good news is Rob got an unexpected 1-week bonus right before our vacation, so we had fun going furniture shopping together on his vacation and found a dining room table we liked on Saturday that can seat 8 people. Our current table is kind of laughable when we host because it's the smallest, cheapest table that American Furniture carries. Made to seat 4 and we sometimes squeeze 8 around it. Looking forward to getting that at the end of this week. We had 8 people over for dinner on Saturday, two families from our old small group, and put the kids out outside on the deck and 6 of us, plus Ethan's highchair, were crammed around the table. It's fun, and we make it work, but we're definitely looking forward to having more room. We also had dinner last night in Northglenn with my good friend from Seattle, Ann, and her 4-yr old daughter who were in town visiting her family.

Ethan is finally big enough to graduate from the blow-up tub and to take baths in the big tub with his big sister. He absolutely adores her and loves taking baths together (plus it saves Mom lots of time too!) He can also go all the way upstairs now, but can't get down. He has yet to take that first step, but Ashleigh was 15 mo before that happened. I think with your first, you want them to grow up and do the next thing and look forward to it so much, but with your second, you almost hold them back wanting them to stay as they are and not change yet!

My kids LOVE bath time together!

Making waves

Camping at the Sand Dunes

2008-06-01T21:01:00.007-06:00

Our campsite at the Sand Dunes - what a view!

Rob has some time off now and we decided to go camping at the sand dunes the day after Memorial Day through Friday - three nights. Let's just say camping with small kids is hard enough when everyone is feeling well, but when everyone is sick, camping becomes quite the challenge! I was the only one who stayed well during our trip. The bug started with Ethan who threw up about an hour after going to bed Tuesday night. We thought it was the India curry chicken we made for dinner - just a case of having weird foods he hadn't had before. But when Ethan threw up again Wednesday night, about an hour after going to bed again, we were thinking it was something else. When Rob got sick Thursday morning, we knew it wasn't just weird foods, but an actual virus. Between illnesses and the 30 mph wind we were dealing with Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon and evening, this trip ranked right up there as probably the worst camp-out we've ever had.

Our first night's dinner together - India curry chicken

We did have a good day of hiking on Wednesday and hiked the 1/2 mile to Zapata Falls. The last bit of the hike, you have to brave the cold water and hike on the submerged rocks upstream through the creek, but the foot numbness is worth the view of the falls from below (notice the giant icicle next to the falls). We also had a picnic lunch Wednesday at San Luis lake and saw a bunch of pelicans on the lake, but between Ethan's big blowout diaper and washing clothes out of our drinking water bottles and the constant wind blowing, we didn't get any pictures. Funny how my picture taking tapered off after the first day. Just didn't feel like taking too many pictures after Ethan and Rob were sick Thursday and Friday.

Janice at the base of Zapata Falls

Looking up Zapata Falls (giant icicle on the left and the falls are on the right)

Janice, Ashleigh, Rob, and Ethan hiking along the creek to the falls

On Thursday, Ashleigh and I hiked down to the dunes to play in the sand by the creek and wade through the water while Rob and Ethan rested and I did get some cute pictures from that trip. Ashleigh said later on the way home that her favorite part of the trip was hiking down to the dunes with mommy, and even though she was throwing up on Friday morning (3 times in all), she was still really sad to leave to go home, which almost makes it all worth it! I know we're developing a love of camping in our kids at an early age and it's always special taking your children camping to the same place where you loved to camp as a kid.

Ashleigh on our hike to the dunes

Ashleigh playing in the sand making sand castles along the path

Ashleigh took this picture of me by the creek - not bad for a 3-yr old!

Mother's Day and Family Fun Day

2008-05-19T19:31:00.006-06:00

Rob and Ethan on a perfect day

Pregnant Ashleigh running in the dress-up relay race

Rob and Ashleigh running the three-legged race

My sister, mom, Rob, Ethan, Me, Ashleigh, and my brother
In front of the fountain at Casa Bonita on Mother's Day

Ashleigh, Janice, and Ethan behind the waterfall at Casa Bonita

Rob, Ashleigh and Ethan watching the cliff diver from the dock

For Mother's Day this year, we went to church in the morning, then headed out to Rob's parents' house for a wonderful ham dinner with his grandmas and grandpa. After that, we met up with my family at Casa Bonita for dinner. Being a Colorado native, I have so many fond memories of Casa Bonita as a kid, and now it's exciting to be forming new memories with our children. While Guadalajara in Parker wins hands down in a quality of the food contest, you can't beat the entertaining atmosphere and yummy sopapillas (Ashleigh's favorite part!) at Casa Bonita.

We also had a Family Fun Day picnic with our new Homeschoolers group on Saturday and the games included relay races, three-legged races, obstacle course, a playground right next to us, and water balloon toss and watermelon seed spitting contest (which Ashleigh was too young to participate in, just yet). While I just joined the group in May for their last meeting before the summer break, I'm looking forward to getting to know the other moms better in the fall and learning all I can about homeschooling from these God-centered women.

Ethan standing by the kitchen chair
(right before this, he let go for a second!)

AWANA Grand Prix Racing and Botanic Gardens

2008-05-02T14:57:00.006-06:00

Ashleigh raced her car last Sunday at AWANAs and had a lot of fun at her first race! She enjoyed the quality time with Daddy working on "Slider". It starts out as a block of wood and you have to shape it, paint it, put on the wheels, and follow the rules on weight and dimensions. She wanted a car that looked like an ice cube and she and I decorated it with stickers before the race.

Ashleigh putting stickers on "Slider"

Video of Ashleigh's Car Race
(My apologies, it's dark and a little hard to see, her's is the 2nd from the left)

We also went to the Denver Botanic Gardens on Earth Day with my mom a week ago. I love going there at different times of the year and the spring flowers and trees were blossoming. We even have crocuses, daffodils, grape hyacinths, and grecian windflowers blooming in our front yard right now (well, coming through the snow, anyway). Yes, snow! We had about 6" yesterday and even some flurries today. I thought we were all done with the snow until next fall. I'm done with winter!

Ashleigh balancing on a rock at the Denver Botanic Gardens

Ashleigh (standing), Ethan, and Me watching the Koi

My mom, Ethan, and Ashleigh at the Botanic Gardens

On Tuesday, I started watching my friend's son, Rusty, for two days/week. He's great and well-behaved, so I don't mind doing childcare again. His age falls right between Ashleigh and Ethan too, so they enjoy having another kid in the house to play with. We also went to Rob's company's celebration dinner in Evergreen on Saturday night for making their big efficiency goals. It was nice, catered, and fun to meet and re-connect with his coworkers.

NREL Tour and Rob's Work

2008-04-18T14:32:00.006-06:00

I figure with Earth Day quickly approaching, these two subjects tie in nicely together. On Tuesday, Karrie and I took the kids to NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) for a tour given by Karrie's friend who works there. The kids enjoyed pushing buttons and playing with knobs and Ashleigh's favorite part was the solar-powered ski lift seen in the picture below. They also had a display there that featured advances in solar energy, so I could even teach Ashleigh a little bit about what Daddy does for a living (a hard concept for a 3-yr old!).

Solar-powered ski lift

Janice, Ethan, and Ashleigh in front of the Solar Cell Exhibit at NREL

Rob said things are going extremely well right now at his company and that just this week, they've blown past their efficiency goals for the month, which also means they will be able to start building their production line soon. We know all our knowledge and success comes from the Lord, but it truly is amazing how smart my dear husband is and how God is using him in the workplace. He feels like Joseph at the end of Genesis who, with God's favor in the workplace, goes from a slave to the second in command to the king.

We also had a picnic lunch with her friend outside and I reminisced of my engineering days when I worked at NREL, my very first engineering job out of school. I have never regretted my decision to stay home with my kids. Sure, there are days I long for adult interraction and I do miss some of the people I used to work with, but I know these years go so fast and I'm glad to spend these days together, seeing them learn and grow.

Ethan and Ashleigh in front of a display

Ashleigh and Rusty electrolizing the water to produce Hydrogen to run the car

Redo ski trip to Crested Butte

2008-04-14T16:46:00.005-06:00

Janice, John, Jennifer, Ashleigh (3 1/2) Rob, and Steven at Crested Butte

We were finally able to take our Crested Butte trip this weekend! Some of you who have been reading my blog for a while may remember we tried to take this trip in December, but Monarch Pass was closed while we waited 6 hours for it to re-open and we turned back to town at 10 pm. Well, we made it up this time and even though it was the last weekend of the season, there was still a TON of snow up there! Here's a picture of our ski-in/ski-out condo and the truck. (Keep in mind, this was mid-April!). Our original condo was one that we would have to take the shuttle to and from, but we were upgraded and could look right out our balcony onto the base of the ski area! God is good, even on weekend trips away from home!

The condo where we stayed in Crested Butte

The doorway to the condo

Ashleigh also got to come and go skiing for the first time. We put her into a lesson, so I don't have any pictures of her on skis, but I do have this picture from before she started in the morning. She did great and rode the magic carpet (instead of the lift), which for you non-skiers is similar to a really slow moving walkway you'd find at the airport. We got to spy on her lesson after lunch and watch her get off the magic carpet and ski down the gentle slope. No snowplow yet, but I imagine that takes some growing and leg strength to get good at. She loved it and was so sad to leave on Sunday, so I'm glad she didn't get frustrated and is excited about it. There is nothing quite like seeing your own child doing the activities you love and are passionate about! Highlight of my day!

Ashleigh and mommy on the steps getting ready to go

Dropping Ashleigh off at Ski School

My brother-in-law, John, my brother Steven, my sister Jennifer, and Rob at the top of the lift

Rob and I at the top of the mountain (above treeline)

This last picture was taken the day before we left for Crested Butte and I just had to throw in the cute Ethan picture. Grandma and Grandpa watched Ethan for the weekend while we went skiing. He climbed, by himself, onto the shelf under the coffee table and got stuck!

Ethan (9 mo) stuck under the coffee table

The Children's Museum with Grandma

2008-04-09T15:15:00.007-06:00

Ashleigh, Ethan, and Grandma Carole in the baby area of the Children's Museum

Janice and Ethan (9 mo) being served food in the play restaurant

Ashleigh and Grandma Carole grocery shopping

Ethan, Ashleigh and Grandma in front of the fire truck

Last week, Ashleigh, Ethan, my mom, and I went to the Children's Museum in Denver. It was a great day for it and Ethan's first time there. They actually have a little baby/crawling area too for the little guys, which he loved, but most of it is right up Ashleigh's alley. She got to garden, play with the toy gears (ahhh... a future engineer in the making!), paint, and go grocery shopping with the other kids there. My mom really enjoyed it too! Seems like we've been sick for so much of the winter with colds and flu bugs, so it was nice to get out when we were all feeling well.

Some other news for us is that after much prayer and discussion, we've decided to change churches and attended Calvary Chapel Aurora for the first time last Sunday. We had been going to their Wednesday night Bible study service since the first of the year and really enjoyed that and felt God leading us to make the change. We're both excited and sad, as we will dearly miss our church family at Pinecrest. Calvary Chapel is a much bigger church than what we're used to, but I saw they have a Moms' group and also a homeschoolers group that also meets at the church twice a month, so I'm looking forward to meeting some new people there too.

As promised on the last post,
here's Ashleigh in her Easter dress that Grandma Debbie sewed

Christ is Risen!

2008-03-24T09:19:00.010-06:00

We celebrated Resurrection Sunday yesterday by going to church with my dear husband, kids, mom, sister, 2 brother-in-laws, mother-in-law, and father-in-law. We took up an entire row, and it was great having most of the family there. Ray gave an excellent sermon and preached to the validity of Christ's resurrection, probably answering some questions for the skeptics in the audience, or at least challenging their position. I know I was there too and came to the realization during my search that the death and resurrection of Christ really is real, and I now know I will spend eternity with our Savior, Jesus. Ray challenged people yesterday to "Prove to him it isn't real!" Seek and you shall find the truth and the truth shall set you free. It also says in the Bible without the resurrection of Christ, our faith is futile (I Cor. 15:17).

It was Ethan's first Easter, and while he is too young to look for eggs like his sister, we filled a few eggs with Cheerios and animal crackers for his breakfast, which he loved! We also had an egg hunt and craft at the church on Saturday afternoon and went to brunch with a few of our friends from college on Saturday morning. I taught my last Sunday School class on Sunday and went out with a bang, complete with getting glue on my face and in my hair during the craft, but it was fun and I'll definitely miss those 1st and 2nd graders!

We also hosted Easter dinner after church for Rob's family and my family and we're so blessed to have both families in town. It was really fun and we pulled out my grandma's china set and tacked on three card tables to our little table to make seating for 12. But hey, it worked! Also, I forgot to take pictures of the kids dressed up for church, but will post a picture soon of Ashleigh in the beautiful dress her grandma sewed for her. I think between rushing off in the morning after looking for eggs and having the company over after church, I just plain forgot to get pictures of Ashleigh!

Ethan with his first Easter basket

Ashleigh looking for eggs

Ashleigh and her friend, Hanna, at the egg hunt at the church

Ashleigh and Kenzie working on their craft

Ethan loving the eggs and Easter grass

Hosting Easter Dinner with Rob's family and my family

Ashleigh and Ethan playing Play-Doh with Grandma Carole

Rob, Ethan (9 mo), Brian, and Andrew (2 1/2 mo)
What a resemblance these babies have to their daddies!

Ethan wearing his St. Patrick's Day green

Hiking at Castlewood Canyon

2008-03-10T13:27:00.003-06:00

We took the kids hiking at Castlewood Canyon on Saturday and had a great family day! I packed a picnic lunch and we went on a short 2 mile loop hike that went along the water. It was beautiful with the snow, but it wasn't too cold considering it's still March (a little to cold for a picnic though). We also had a wonderful steak dinner that night - the perfect end to the perfect day of hiking (well, 10 degrees warmer, then it would have been the perfect day). I was proud of Ashleigh too as she started the hike in the backpack, but wanted to walk half-way through the hike and ended up going the rest of the way on her own. She did great climbing up the big rock steps and keeping her balance. Rob also preferred carrying Ethan over Ashleigh as it was easier for him to keep his balance through the snowy and muddy trails.

Video of Ethan Crawling

2008-03-10T12:58:00.005-06:00

Ethan has started crawling and does a little Army crawl on his elbows, pushing off with his legs. I was able to get this video of him one day after he started crawling. Enjoy! (FYI - There's no volume on our digital camera videos). He also just got his first tooth last week and is changing so fast! Before we know it, we will be celebrating his 1st birthday.

U23D Date Night

2008-03-02T16:09:00.007-07:00

Rob and I got to go out for a date night last night with Jennifer and John and went to dinner at Chili's together, then to the U23D movie. We got to wear these big black-frame geeky 50s glasses, but the 3D effect made it feel quite real and like you were on stage with the band or a part of the crowd. They filmed the concerts in South America and it's amazing to see how pumped up they get at their concerts, compared to Americans. Jennifer, John, and I saw the U2 Popmart tour in college when they came to Mile High Stadium (1996, I think) and while we had good seats, watching this 3D movie was nothing like that experience. The sound could have been louder in the theater to replicate that ear-ringing feeling when you're leaving a concert, but I guess as we get older, we appreciate things not quite as loud. U2 is definitely a favorite for music and concerts - it's a toss-up between Dave Matthews Band and U2.

Ethan got his first tooth today! So, he's back to being sad Ethan for the day, but we're otherwise good. He and Ashleigh got to spend the night at grandma and grandpa's house and we had a nice leisurely morning before they dropped the kids off and joined us for lunch. Felt a little guilty ditching church for a morning at home, but the crazy snow and wind this morning after a 75F day yesterday made for a great snuggle under a blanket and watch a movie morning! We get pretty run-down most Sundays and today was nice to slow down. Also, I won't be teaching Sunday School too much longer (just through the end of March), so that'll help with the burn-out as well.

Home & Garden Show

2008-02-29T20:57:00.005-07:00

We went to the Colorado Home and Garden Show last weekend in Denver. We decided to take the light-rail train into downtown since we didn't want to deal with Friday afternoon rush-hour. Ashleigh loved the train! She was so excited, even though everyone was tired on the way home and Rob was longing for our car. Makes you appreciate having your own car and the choice of whether to take public transportation or driving to get there.

We've also been battling colds and Ethan had a flu bug last week with a fever and throwing up, so I'm happy to say we're all well again this week. It's so hard when the little ones are sick! Ashleigh gets more whiny and Ethan was just obviously unhappy, so last week was one of the hardest I've had in a while. Luckily, I dodged both the cold and the flu bugs and Rob had some congestion, but was otherwise healthy. Because of illnesses around our house, the home and garden show was the first time Ethan, Ashleigh, and I left the house in four days. It was such a welcome outing - smelling all those fresh flowers and strolling the gardens in the middle of February!

Ethan and Janice on the light-rail train
(first train ride for Ethan and Ashleigh!)

Curious Bear outside of the Convention Center (Ashleigh loved this!)

Ethan touching the tulips

Garden at the Colorado Home & Garden Show

Ethan and Ashleigh playing in the tent
(happy kids before flu strikes)

Unhappy sick Ethan
"Can't you make this go away, Mommy?"

Every month, on the 20th, we do gray blanket pictures to document Ethan's growth every month. I took the above picture two days late and he was still feeling bad (on the 20th, he was throwing up and had a fever, so I wasn't even thinking about taking pictures then). I think when he's one year old, I'll post them all together as it's fun to look at the small changes that take place and I didn't do this with Ashleigh. Amy had a collage of 12 pictures all on one page of a baby growing and I thought it was a great idea. Now, if I can just remember to do it for the next four months!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T14:15:00.002-07:00

For Valentine's Day this year, Rob and I had Moroccan food last Saturday at Maatam Fez in Denver. They had pretty good food, 5-courses for one price and you got to take off your shoes and sit on pillows on the floor and eat only with your hands, so the cultural traditions were fun. They also had a belly dancer who was going around giving lessons to those who were willing to try. It was interesting, just not an atmosphere that's conducive to talking or as romantic as some date nights we've gone on. Still, we appreciate the opportunity to get away together for any stretch.

We also got a ski day in at Copper on Monday the week before, which was awesome! The mountains have been getting a ton of snow lately, so the conditions were great and going on a weekday, we didn't have to deal with skier traffic or lift lines, so we got a lot of runs in. It was our first ski day in two years, since I was pregnant with Ethan last season, and it came back to us pretty quickly. Our second run of the day, I accidentally led us down a black run with moguls, which was tough on a snowboard, but I did pretty well and think my husband was actually enjoying them. It snowed all day and we found powder pockets, even at the end of the day, so it ranks up there as one of my favorite ski days.

Family News

2008-02-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

Ethan trying to climb out of his carseat

Ethan has been more vocal lately, especially with the Ba-ba-bas and the Ma-ma-mas. It's just adorable when he tries to sing loudly too. No teeth for Ethan yet, but we sometimes think he's teething (it's hard to tell with such a happy baby!) Ashleigh has been good too, she had her last swim lesson on Wednesday and starts gymnastics at the rec center a week from Monday. Rob and I also get to go skiing together on Monday, and hopefully we won't have a repeat of the Crested Butte fiasco with a winter storm scheduled to hit Sunday evening. We'll still try to go, I think, as we haven't gone yet this season and my mother-in-law is also taking a vacation day on Monday to watch the kids, so babysitting is taken care of. We are so looking forward to it!

I never thought a washer and dryer could bring me such joy, but they do! Rob and his brother Jon moved the washer and dryer from the basement to the main floor last weekend (Ashleigh helped too with her toy drill) and with the money my dad gave us for Christmas, we were able to buy a new dryer that dries the clothes in half the time as the old one, giving me the gift of time (thanks, Dad!). It's also much less energy carrying clothes up and down one story now, rather than down to the basement and back (so thanks also Rob and Jon!)

Daddy's Lil Helper

So the family news I titled this blog after isn't just what we've been up to, but is actually pretty serious. My brother came over on Tuesday and told me that he and his wife have decided to get a divorce, and I can't stop thinking about what that means for us and them. For one, I'm really going to miss his wife as she is a wonderful person and has always been great with our kids. Thankfully, they don't have any kids themselves, but I will miss her and the fact that family gatherings will never be the same again. I'm really sad about the situation and don't think the kids or I will even get to say good-bye to her. They have their reasons that I won't elaborate on here, but I'm praying and hoping they can work things out and salvage what's left of their marriage.

Firsts for Ashleigh

2008-01-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

Ashleigh starting out on skates with Mommy and Rob's sister, Tina

Ashleigh with my brother, Steve, and Tina

Taking a break on the ice

In the last two weeks, Ashleigh has had several firsts. I took her ice skating for the first time with my brother and sister-in-law, who just so happens to be taking figure skating classes and was an excellent teacher. Ashleigh went three times around the rink holding our hands, before deciding she wanted to go home, but I was proud she lasted that long. I imagine that's hard having unsure footing in the first place, then balancing on two blades on a sheet of ice.

Ashleigh's First Swim Lesson with her teacher, Paige

She also started swim lessons last week. She had been in a parent-tot swim lesson with us, but this is the first time in a lesson with just the teacher and us observing. She's doing great and getting more comfortable with the water. One lesson we learned with Ashleigh that we won't repeat with Ethan is to build trust in the water and not dunk them or float them on their back before they're ready. Her teacher is great with that, but with Rob and I both being excellent swimmers on our high school swim teams, I think we were overly excited to teach Ashleigh how to swim.

Ethan sitting up with his buddy Aiden

Ethan has started eating Cheerios this week and is getting about half of them from the tray to his mouth now. He's also started this shriek/yelling thing for attention, or maybe he's just plain happy. We're not sure. But he does do it when we're sitting down to eat, or after his food is gone and he wants more. Guess he's just learning how to communicate with us using the tools he's got.

Happy New Year 2008!

2008-01-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ashleigh (3) and her friend, Abby (4)

OH NO! Ashleigh got eaten by a fish!

Ashleigh and Abby playing dress-up and tap dancing at the Children's Museum

My dear friend, Ann, with Ethan (6 months)

We had a quiet New Year's Eve. Stayed home, ordered pizza, watched a movie, played some games, and had a few mixed drinks. Little known fact: Rob attended bartending school during his senior year at Mines as a fall back career and for fun too, but that knowledge does come in handy when making drinks at home. We made Cosmopolitans as I had never had any drink close to a martini and usually prefer wine and beer to mixed drinks. Ashleigh's favorite part of the evening was playing Sequence with mommy and daddy. Rob also made her a special apple-cranberry drink and we let her stay up as late as she wanted (which was around 10, when she started getting cranky.) Thankfully, we are all well again with the exception of Ethan's minor cough.

We also got to spend some time with our friends from Seattle, Ann, Josh, and their 4 year old daughter, Abby, who were in town for Christmas. We took the girls to the World of Wonder Children's Museum in Lafayette (where her mom lives). There was a lot to do there, including a pirate ship and reading pirate stories, an Egyptian machines exhibit, a music room, a wind room, a pretend bank, store, playhouse, sandbox, and a dress-up and dance area. We also had them over to our house for an early dinner, went out for some girl time coffee, and celebrated Abby's birthday together too. On a side note, there was a great turn out from Rob's family on Christmas Eve, his grandma from Riverton, his parents, his two brothers, and sister.

Rob's Extended Family on Christmas Eve

White Christmas

2007-12-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

Our house on the morning after Christmas after Rob shoveled the driveway

We had a White Christmas this year, maybe a little too white. It was the biggest Christmas Day snowfall on record for Denver. The drifts in our driveway were about 2' high!

Typically on holidays, we cram in visits with both families since both of our families are in town. However, with the 6" of snow that came within two hours on Christmas morning and the fact that Ethan, Ashleigh, and I were all getting over colds, we opted out of the drive to the Springs. I missed seeing my family, but we did make it over to my dad's for a little while and that trip of 2 miles took 45 minutes, round-trip, with lots of sliding on icy roads, so you can see why we made the decision not to drive the 80 miles to my sister's in Colorado Springs. After coming back home to get the truck, we did make it to my in-laws' house in Elizabeth and it was nice spending the day in one place since it snowed all day.

Other than being sick, Ethan's first Christmas was wonderful! He loved the paper and bows more than the actual gifts inside, but had lots of help from his big sister in opening presents. We gave Ashleigh a rocking horse that neighs and gallops when you push his ear, which she just loves! Ethan got an activity triangle play toy and holds onto it tightly when big sister is around. It's only a matter of time before he'll be stronger than she is and taking toys away from her.

Dressed up for church on Christmas Eve

Ethan sitting up, just before falling over again!

Ethan and Ashleigh hanging Christmas stockings

Ashleigh's new Rocking Horse

Ethan and Daddy on Christmas morning

We also started Ethan on solid foods two weeks ago and so far, he has had rice cereal, oatmeal, applesauce, and squash. His favorite is oatmeal with applesauce and a little cinnamon. I'm also making my own baby food, going off of advice from several friends who have done it with their kids. Extra special moment last week when Ethan said his first ma-ma when we were out Christmas shopping and he was getting hungry and annoyed that I wasn't stopping everything to feed him. Since he was looking right at me, I count it as his first word. We'll work on the da-das next now!

The Crested Butte Trip (that didn't happen...)

2007-12-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

I know I promised pictures from our weekend ski trip and Ashleigh's first time on skis, however, after 15 hours in the car and 6 hours of waiting for Monarch pass to re-open after a multi-car accident and avalanche blasting, we decided to turn around. It was a hard choice, considering once we were up there, how awesome 40" of powder would be. That was the total over the past 24 hours and they had another foot and a half the day before. We're still hoping we can reschedule the trip for later in the season and not lose our money, but those are details to still work out.

We did make the most of our weekend by going back to the Springs and staying with my sister and her husband. We tried to go to Cave of the Winds on Saturday, but the road was closed due to icy conditions, so double 'doh! Third try was a charm and we took Ashleigh sledding in their driveway. She loved it and didn't care what we did, as long as it was with mom and dad. I even strapped on my board for a run down their driveway and over the jump we made, but it really wasn't the same as boarding on 3 feet of powder. Next time...

Is this road every going to open?!?

Leaving the Van Briggle Pottery factory in the Springs

Mommy, Daddy, and Ashleigh going sledding

Wheee!!!

Thanksgiving and Transitions

2007-11-30T15:31:00.001-07:00

This month has just flown by! For Thanksgiving, we went out to Rob's parents' house and had the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. My mom also came, along with Rob's brother Rick who flew in from Alberqueque and Rob's grandmother from Riverton, WY was also there. Nothing too eventful, which is good because on most holidays, we rush around to two houses and have two large dinners, so it was nice being in one place all day.

This week also marks the end of the Kenzie era as this was my last week of watching her. Her mom is having a baby at the end of December and is now done with her job also. It's both sad and happy as I know Ashleigh will miss her good friend coming over three days a week. It will be good to be able to give more time and attention to Ethan now that he's almost mobile and will be starting solid foods next month. It was a good 13 months with Kenzie, but I'm definitely looking forward to the break and hopefully, won't get too bored. I seriously doubt I will be as the kids keep me busy. The kids and I went to Open Gym on Kenzie's last day, so I posted some pictures from there and my first ever blog video is at the bottom (no sound as it is from our digital camera and our video camera is not digital).

Rob worked every Saturday of November, on top of his 5 days/week, so December is looking better in even more ways. He still works the 1st Saturday of December, but is then back to normal days and no weekends in December. We're also planning a fun weekend trip to Crested Butte in December to teach Ashleigh how to ski and get some skiing in ourselves with my sister and her husband, so we're definitely looking forward to the weekend away! Pictures to follow in a few weeks...

Ashleigh and Kenzie having a snowball fight

Ethan grabs his toes now!

Ashleigh helping Kenzie on the balance beam with Kellyn behind them

Kenzie and Ashleigh playing on the bar

Kids' Halloween Costumes

2007-11-02T08:40:00.000-06:00

Ethan's First Halloween at 4 mo

Kenzie (2 yrs) as Elmo and Ashleigh (3 yrs) as Cinderella

Janice, Ethan, and Ashleigh at the Harvest Festival

Ashleigh playing a duck game

Getting ready to trick-or-treat at the library

We celebrated Halloween this year at Pinecrest's Harvest Festival. I love that the kids have a safe and unscary place where they can go burn off some energy in the bouncy castles, playing games, and still come home with a bag of candy. They did a great job and had a walk-through-the-Bible theme to the games. Ashleigh went as Cinderella and my mother-in-law sewed her costume. For Ethan's first Halloween, he was a kangaroo. Although we only made it to the last half-hour of the festival as our new truck tires took longer than we expected, it was still fun and she got plenty of candy! We also did some trick-or-treating at library story time and the Denver aquarium last Saturday.

We also found a newer used car this week to replace the Daewoo we sold last week, a Kia Spectra. We got a great deal on it and it only has 21k miles, so it'll be a long time before that car is miled-out and we need to replace it with something else. With Rob's commute, he puts 28k miles/year on a car, so it doesn't make any sense to buy new. Hopefully, the Kia will be better than the Daewoo and it'll be easier to find parts as they are more common. One plus is that the A/C works on the Kia and just went out a few months ago on the Daewoo.

Rob's grandma and grandpa were in town last weekend, so we took a four-generation photo with Ethan - very special! They went with us to the aquarium to help celebrate Ashleigh's birthday with us too.

Four Generations!
Terry, Rob, Grandpa Don, and Ethan (4 mo)

Happy kid! I love this age with his shrieks and laughs

Ashleigh's Third Birthday!

2007-10-26T14:11:00.001-06:00

I can't believe my little girl is already 3! The speaker at this month's Mom's R&R brunch was speaking on Sanity Savers for Moms yesterday and said that "the days last forever, but the years fly by!" Isn't that the truth with so many of my days?!? Especially this past week, between sanding our deck, the Mom's brunch, selling our car, trying (unsuccessfully) to get World Series tickets, watching the games, and Ashleigh's birthday, it's been a long week and I'm very thankful today is Friday.

We had a great birthday party for Ashleigh on Wednesday with the neighborhood kids. We did a little painting/stamping fall centerpiece craft and then took all the kids outside for a picnic lunch in our backyard. We also had cupcakes and ice cream, which was Ashleigh's favorite part! It was a fun, low-key party, which is just what Ashleigh needed with her shy personality. We are also taking her to the Denver aquarium tomorrow with a few other people, which I'm sure she will also enjoy.

Frosting and decorating cupcakes for the party

Making Fall Centerpieces with Luke and Kellyn

Picnic lunch in the backyard

Kenzie and Ashleigh waiting for cupcakes

(I know this is Ashleigh's birthday post, but I took this adorable picture of Ethan yesterday (4 mo) and couldn't resist!)

Anniversaries and Fall Fun

2007-10-05T20:56:00.000-06:00

Ashleigh at our neighbor, Chase's birthday party

Ethan (3 mo) in his carseat

Ashleigh (almost 3) and Jonas (4) watching the Broncos

Laina (5 mo), Ethan, and Ashleigh

I can't believe Rob and I have been married for five years! The time goes so fast and I guess having kids makes it speed up even more than when it was just the two of us. Ethan is already three months and 14.5 pounds, so he also is growing quickly. During the past few weeks, we've been mainly hanging out with friends, going to the park, and enjoying the last bit of summer. They're predicting snow and a cold and rainy weekend, so we have been taking advantage of the warm weather. We even went to Cold Stone for ice cream after dinner tonight and Ashleigh just loved it! Ethan watched us with his big eyes the whole time (just like in the second picture up above) and can't wait to eat what we're eating. He gets hungry just watching us eat dinner, even if he just ate.

Earlier today, we went to storytime at the library down the street and after the books on firefighters, we took a tour of the fire station next door. That was great and my first time in a firehouse. Ashleigh was quite nervous and scared of the man in his firefighting gear and mask, but loved their pet salamander and touched it and told daddy all about it when he got home.

I can't believe our Rockies are doing so well in the playoffs! They're up two games and play their third tomorrow night, so GO ROCKIES! Wouldn't that be crazy if they win tomorrow and the division playoffs and make it into the World Series?!? Broncos on the other hand... not doing so well, but it's still fun to watch the games.

Cell phone mishaps

2007-09-12T17:38:00.000-06:00

For the record, cell phones do not survive being submerged in hot chocolate. We've been having cooler weather this week as fall is quickly approaching. What better way to bring in fall than with a nice mug of hot chocolate. I don't even know how I managed to drop it in, but I did with a big splash all over the carpet, and now it no longer works. Even with my engineering husband's wonderful talent to fix things, he couldn't get it to work again after taking it apart and cleaning every piece, it still didn't come back to life. So now, we have 1 1/2 months to go on our current contract and are hoping we can get new phones before then.

I also just realized Ethan is 12 weeks old today. He's doing great and converses with me in baby babble talk. His smiles and coos are the cutest! Here are a few pictures of the little guy. Also, potty training is going much better since my last post.

Four Generations on Rob's Dad's side

Four Generations on Rob's Mom's side

My sister, Jen, and Ethan celebrating her birthday

Potty Training Accidents

2007-08-28T20:41:00.000-06:00

Ugh! Just when I thought Ashleigh was potty trained, now come the accidents. We were 11 days without any incidents, but we had a pee accident on the floor in the bathroom this morning (no big deal, just throw the floor rugs into the washer and some 409 on the floor and it's cleaned up). She was also very cranky and when she refused to eat anything for lunch, I thought maybe she wasn't feeling well. After a short nap, she felt warm, so I took her temperature. I found out she had a fever of 100.6 F and was a little relieved that her crankiness was sick related.

Kenzie, Ashleigh, and I played Play-doh for a while, and I put Ashleigh back to bed. While Tracy was over to pick up Kenzie, Ashleigh woke up again after another short nap, cranky and waiting for me at the top of the stairs. I picked her up to bring her downstairs and when I was setting her down on the couch, noticed her lumpy bottom. She had her first poop accident without a diaper since we started potty training three weeks ago and it really was awful. I don't think it would have been so bad, if not for Tracy waiting for me to finish cleaning up Ashleigh and her clothes (more laundry). She did help me out by holding Ethan and keeping Kenzie out of the bathroom. However, when I made the comment, "that's the fun of potty training", after everything was cleaned up, she said "I want to have Kenzie potty trained by the time the new baby comes." Now Kenzie just turned 2 and is showing great promise by going on the potty and is very interested right now, but I really don't want to have two potty-training toddlers plus a newborn. We would never leave the house! After a day like today, I'm almost ready to put Ashleigh back in diapers (well, not quite because she did have a fever), but I'd definitely say it was a discouraging and very challenging day, to say the least.

Ethan's First Camping Trip

2007-08-26T16:27:00.000-06:00

Rob, Ashleigh, Ethan, and Janice at the falls

Ethan in the Snugli dazed by the trees

Meadow where we saw a moose on our hike

Hanging out at the campsite

Rob making s'mores with the kids

A few weeks ago, we took little Ethan camping with three other families from our small group near Grand Lake. At just 5 1/2 weeks old, he did amazing! He's definitely a trooper and babies seem so adaptable to different surroundings. He woke up once in the night the first night, then the second night was colder, so he did sleep half the night in Rob's sleeping bag and the second half in mine so that he'd be warm. He also performed an amazing feat after we got home from the trip and he was laying on the floor, he rolled over for the first time! Rob and I missed it as our backs were turned, but Ashleigh saw it and said "Ethan's doing something!"

Speaking of Ashleigh, she fell in the creek by the campsite and was drenched from head to toe. Actually quite scary as a parent as it was waist-deep water. At least it wasn't fast moving, or our little girl may have been swept away. Although she is still scared of water, but maybe that's a good thing. Here's the after picture:

We've been doing well and are getting some sleep now. Ethan started sleeping through the night a week ago, but now, Ashleigh is waking us up to use the potty. We started potty training with Ashleigh a few weeks ago and she's definitely getting the hang of it. No accidents for over a week now! Yea, Ashleigh! We're so proud of her. I'd say potty training has been THE most challenging thing I've done as a parent so far. Some parents have said potty training is the pits of parenting and others say that's as hard as parenting gets, but I'm not getting my hopes up just yet...

Family Reunion Weekend

2007-07-27T08:57:00.001-06:00

Ashleigh feeding the giraffe at the Cheyenne Mtn. Zoo

My cousins walking around at the zoo

Hanging out at the hotel pool with the family

Jennifer, Ethan, and Me dressed alike

Ventriloquism act during a talent show

We just had a family reunion last weekend in Colorado Springs and Woodland Park for my dad's side. We went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo together on Friday, which was my first outing with both kids and without Rob. I was quite proud of myself for getting all of us ready and at the zoo in Colorado Springs by 11 am. Ashleigh's favorite part of the zoo was feeding the giraffes crackers. She just loved it! They have these long black tongues that grab the crackers right out of your hands. She also loved the alligators. Even though Rob wasn't with me, my sister and her husband helped me out and pushed the double stroller up the hills.

After the zoo, we got ice cream together, then drove out to the hotel and went swimming in their pool. We also had dinner together as a group and watched the talent show for anyone who wanted to perform. It was lots of fun and the kids are adorable with their singing acts. My sister also hosted a BBQ at their house as part of the reunion on Saturday and we enjoyed that as well as Rob was able to meet some of my family that couldn't make it for the wedding or the young kids who weren't around yet. On the way to the BBQ, Ashleigh did get car sick about two houses away from my sister's house, and while I didn't have an extra outfit for Ashleigh in the diaper bag, my sister's neighbors were holding a garage sale and happened to have 4T outfits that were very cute. Goes to show God always provides, even in the midst of a parental crisis.

Chris & Ashley's Wedding

2007-07-23T16:33:00.000-06:00

Janice, Laurie, Ethan (2 1/2 wks), and Ruby (2 1/2 yrs) waiting for the rain to stop

Ethan, Janice, and Rob before the ceremony

Beautiful Wedding!

The happy couple enjoying dinner together

Our friends, Chris and Ashley were married on July 14th in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. They had a beautiful outdoor wedding and reception in the mountains of southwest Colorado. There was a two-hour rain delay on the ceremony, but it did let up long enough to still have the wedding outside and it was very touching. My friend, Mike, performed the ceremony and did an excellent job. We had a wonderful time and got to see friends from high school I hadn't seen in years! It's like the 10-year reunion we never had. (Not quite, but probably the closest we'll have since one was never planned).

Ethan did well too for his first road trip and we took a detour through Albuquerque to visit with Rob's brother on Friday night and so he could see baby Ethan. He's the only one of both Rob's and my family (parents and siblings) that doesn't live in Colorado and we're blessed to have everyone so close. Ashleigh got to stay in Denver with Grandma and enjoyed the one-on-one attention she could give her that Rob and I can't right now, so she also had fun.

Rob's Brother Rick with Ethan

Fourth of July and Welcome Home Ethan Party

2007-07-09T15:37:00.000-06:00

Spending some quality time with Dad

After Ethan's first tub bath holding Dad's hand

Ethan, Ashleigh, Hanna, and Amy watching a band at the Cherry Creek Art Festival

Sway Pole performers at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival

Mom and Baby Ethan at our party (18 days old)

Kenzie, Eden, Ashleigh, Grace, Carson, and Josh playing backyard games at our party

Ethan is almost three weeks old now and doing well. For his first fourth of July, we watched fireworks in Parker with Rob's parents and brother. It was Ashleigh's first fourth where we were close to the fireworks and she kept saying 'I want to go home!' Rob ended up covering her ears and she seemed to settle down once we told her they weren't going to land on her or hurt her. Ethan slept through the entire show. We also went to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival with Amy and Hanna on Friday as part of our fourth of July tradition during the last three years. I had my five seconds of fame when the Channel 2 news interviewed me and showed Ashleigh, Ethan, and Hanna in strollers and me behind them on the 9:00 news.

On Saturday, we had our Welcome Home Ethan party with 35 people who came over to help us celebrate (our largest party yet!). It was a great time and Rob grilled burgers, hot dogs, and brats for everyone. We feel so richly blessed to have both our families in the area and so many wonderful friends. Relationships are what really matter in this life as it doesn't matter at the end what you have, but it's the people who's lives you affected and were a part of. It's how God used you to reach others and I believe he gave us the gift of relationships and the ability to love others so that we wouldn't have to do it alone.

It's a Boy!

2007-06-28T18:08:00.000-06:00

Ashleigh's First time holding her little brother

Janice and baby Ethan (1 day old)

Mom and Dad looking a little ragged from a lack of sleep

Happy Family!

Ethan ready to go home from the hospital

After 9+ months of waiting, we welcomed little Ethan James into the world last Wednesday. What a wonderful miracle and example of God's awesome power. Birth makes you just stand back in awe at how this little guy can go from being completely dependent on me for everything (food, oxygen, circulation) to completely independent in a matter of seconds - breathing on his own, being able to nurse immediately, even producing waste. Knowing we as women were designed by God to give birth also allowed me to have a natural, drug-free birth and the natural endorphins and pain-killers work just as well, once you get past the hump, which was definitely not easy, but Rob was wonderful in helping me to breathe and focus during the strong contractions. The nurses also were great and gave us a lot of support and help with breathing during the final stages before pushing. I don't know if it's because it was my second child, or a natural birth, but pushing was easy and he was out after just two pushes - one for the head and one for the body. With Ashleigh, it took about 1 1/2 hours of pushing before she decided to make an appearance. Ethan was 9 pounds 8 oz, where Ashleigh was a little under 9, so I know it wasn't a weight difference, plus I was also three days late with Ethan and six days late with Ashleigh. Labor was longer with Ethan - about 8 1/2 hours vs just 3 1/2 with Ashleigh, so it goes to show you your labor with the second isn't necessarily faster than the first. We feel so blessed to have a healthy happy baby boy, especially after having so many ultrasounds and possible problems along the way. He's doing well, gaining weight already, and sleeping for 3 hour stretches through the night.

Waiting...

2007-06-10T18:08:00.000-06:00

Ashleigh at 2 1/2 posing before church (5/13/07)

Ashleigh and me (at 36 weeks)

Ashleigh, Kenzie, and Hanna looking for eggs and feeding horses in the country (5/30)

Memorial Day at my sister's (37 weeks)

Ashleigh and me (at 38 weeks)

I'm sure many of you have been checking the website wondering whether I've had the baby yet. Well, we're still waiting with one week to go before the due date. The baby is due on Father's Day, which would be a great Father's Day gift! I've been pretty bad about updating the website, but will definitely post new baby pictures when he/she arrives.

I've been feeling well with minimal swelling, which is better than when I was pregnant with Ashleigh and had huge ankles. I feel like it could be any day now, especially as things are starting to progress and the baby is starting to make its way down to where it needs to go eventually. I'd like to have a natural birth without pain medications as we were designed to give birth, but we'll see how that goes. I've been reading up on natural childbirth and Rob and I have been practicing relaxation techniques and taking it much more seriously than we did with Ashleigh. Seems with her, I spent most of my time reading about pregnancy and just the time in our short childbirth class on the labor.

First Haircut

2007-04-06T16:07:00.000-06:00

This was so fun today! I took Ashleigh to Lollilocks for her first haircut. She did great and sat very still while they cut her hair (no crying either and a sucker afterwards). They even made up a certificate for her with a picture and locks of hair in a clear envelope with her name and the date. Very cute! Here are the before, during, and after pictures:

Before the haircut in the play area

Are we done yet?!?

Yea! Now we're done!

What an improvement!

On a side note, my back and siatic nerve are feeling much better now! Seems those physical therapists know what they're talking about. I'm watching my posture when picking up the kids and doing chores around the house. I've also been wearing one of those maternity support belts that she recommended since Tuesday, which also helps, especially when I'm using the treadmill.
Before, I was feeling like 10 weeks was an eternity before I'd get to feeling better, and now feel a renewed energy. Don't think it's the spring weather as it's 30F here today with icy rainy drizzle. I do love this time of year, even if it is cold now and then, spring is my favorite season.

Healthy baby (Praise God!)

2007-04-03T19:38:00.000-06:00

I had my ultrasound on Friday and found out that the baby's kidneys are back within a normal range and were around the same size as my previous ultrasound four weeks prior! No more monitoring or ultrasounds and we also don't need to visit with a specialist. I truly believe God hears and answers prayers, so thank you all for your prayers and kind words during this uncertain time!

As for my pregnancy, I'm definitely feeling like it's the last trimester. My lower back is sore sometimes and my siatic nerve is pinched too. Not to the point where I can't do things, but definitely where I feel it when I do certain things. Walking on the treadmill and various stretches help. I started my weekly physical therapy appointments with a pre-natal specialist yesterday who gave me several tips on how to lift kids, get out of bed, and do chores around the house. It is really amazing how your body changes when you're pregnant! From reduced range of motion to the loose ligaments and joints. Eleven weeks to go now! I think this last trimester will probably go by the slowest, even though the pregnancy really has flown by.

On a side note, we got Ashleigh's spring pictures taken last week and I am taking her in this Friday for her first haircut and Easter pictures. I pasted in the low resolution pictures from the photographer's website above and if you want to see the other three or order pictures, click on the link in the space below, but I warn you that they're expensive...

Growing, growing, growing

2007-03-28T20:46:00.000-06:00

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed (Mackenzie and Ashleigh)

Me in February (5 months)

Me in March (6 1/2 months)

Rob and Ashleigh hanging out 03/25/07

It has been a while since my last posting and I guess between the nice spring-time weather we're having and watching another toddler in addition to my own keeps me really busy. As you can see from the two pictures I posted, the first taken February 18th and the second taken March 25th, I've grown quite a bit in the last month. I'm now almost 29 weeks along in my pregnancy and pretty convinced I'm having a boy, even though we aren't finding out. I have another ultrasound this Friday, so I'll also post an update after the appointment. We're praying that all goes well and that the kidneys are back to normal size. Thank you for all your prayers!

I'm going through the book of Psalms and happened upon my posted verse on Tuesday and was reminded that everyday with our children is a gift from the Lord. It's up to him how long he gives us with them. I got Ashleigh's picture taken on Monday by a Christian girl who is ex-military and had twin girls that were born a day before Ashleigh. They were taken away to be with the Lord after 4 hours and 9 hours and I asked her if it's hard to work with kids or twins Ashleigh's age. She said she learned a lot about life in Iraq and has peace about it - that everything happens for a reason. Amazing! It was the next day I re-read my verse and it spoke to me in a different kind of way.

Doctors and Ultrasounds

2007-03-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

I am now almost 25 weeks along in my pregnancy, had my third ultrasound this morning, and am scheduled for a fourth one in four weeks. We aren't finding out the sex of the baby before it's born, and for now we're calling it Jr. Good news is that the placenta is moving away from the cervix, so no more risk of placenta previa. Bad news is that Jr's kidneys are showing that they're dilated, which could either mean an obstruction and/or a Downs indicator. I declined the triple screen in the beginning to determine whether the baby has Down Syndrome as we would have this baby regardless of the outcome of that test. Sometimes I wonder if we really need to know this much to have a healthy and successful birth. There isn't much that can be done in the meantime while they're in the womb, other than worry about things that we may not need to worry about at all! I declined the doctor's suggestion to go see a maternal specialist and opted for another ultrasound to check it again at the next appointment instead.

Here are two pictures from the first ultrasound at my 20-week appointment. We have printed 3D pictures of the face, but not electronically. That was a goof-up on the office's part as they didn't make it onto the CD. They promised to have them at my 28-week appointment, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Things are good with us, otherwise. Busy, but that's the life of a mom. I am getting my rest during Ashleigh's nap time and exercise about 3x a week on our treadmill (walking). Enjoy the picts!

Christmas, Sledding, and Snow

2007-01-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. January has nearly passed and I have yet to post a blog for the month or Christmas pictures, for that matter. As an update to the last month, we have gotten snow every week for the last six weeks and I'm getting pretty tired of the snow and cold. They never came by to plow or streets either so now we have six inch high ice ruts that several cars and even minivans and trucks have gotten stuck in while getting into or out of their driveways on our street. Typical Colorado winters have snow and cold, but then it's 60 F for a week and all the snow is gone. I'd say with all these snow storms and our north-facing yard, that the pile in front of our house is about the same as it was when I took the blizzard pictures in December.

I've been feeling well and am now half-way through my pregnancy. I have my ultrasound appointment this Friday, but we're waiting until the delivery this time to find out whether we're having a boy or a girl. It'll probably drive me nuts since I'm a planner type, but these last 20 weeks have flown by, so we don't have too much longer to wait and see. I find this pregnancy to be easier than when I was pregnant with Ashleigh and I think it's the extra rest and not working full-time that's helped.

Our Christmas was good, even though the three of us were sick with colds. We went sledding and to church on Christmas Eve and to my brother's house for brunch Christmas day and to my in-laws parents' house for Christmas dinner. Here are a few pictures from Christmas.

Rob and Ashleigh decorating a gingerbread house

Bundled up in our front yard in front of our 'sledding hill'

Ashleigh sledding on Christmas Eve at our house

Jacob, Mackenzie, Ashleigh, and Ashley at church

The family after church on Christmas Eve

Opening gifts on Christmas Eve

My brother and Ashleigh on Christmas Day

Christmas Day at Rob's parents'

Grandma and Ashleigh on Christmas

December Blizzard

2006-12-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

Out our front door

Out the back door

Passing time with our neighbor Chase

I haven't posted in a while. Maybe it's the busyness of the Christmas season or the distractions that come with the family spending Thanksgiving weekend very ill and my 30th birthday. I've been quite inspired today though to tell the tale of Rob trying to get home from work (remember it's 50 miles) in a blizzard. It starts with a forecasted 2' of snow in Denver and 16" of that in Boulder by 3 pm yesterday. Rob drove the Daewoo into work as usual and not the truck, but even four-wheel drive won't save you in 2' of drifting and blowing snow. As some of you know who live in Denver, they closed the Boulder Turnpike from noon through most of the day Wednesday, so Rob had to find an alternate route home. He spent about five hours going 10 miles. The problem with traffic at a standstill is running out of gas, so he probably would have been OK if he could have found gas, but with 1/4 tank left, he asked me to find a gas station between him and tollway, without having to backtrack. I found one on Mapquest using their gas station pin-pointer, and gave him directions. I called since from the map, it looked like a neighborhood and the cashier said it was their corporate office (no gas). Calling him back, he was already there realizing the same thing and made a U-turn. He ended up getting stuck in the neighborhood and trying to dig out for an hour and a half. We are grateful for the good samaritan that gave him a shovel and took him in for the night in Lafayette. In the morning, he was still stuck with no sign of the snow stopping. I called for a towtruck, but they were either busy helping the Broomfield Police get to work or taking their downtime from working until 4 am. Rob ended up making it out on his own. Did he head for home after all this?!? No, he went back into work for two hours, showered and had lunch there, then came home, finally arriving around 4 pm (of course, not before getting stuck in our neighborhood once more). Meanwhile, at home, Ashleigh and I hunkered down for the storm and went out today in the snow gear and carrying Ashleigh in the backpack over to our neighbors' house down the street. I fell once in a big drift and it was impossible to get back up in the powder with 30 lbs on your back and pregnant! So I ended up taking the backpack off to stand up again. I'm sure many others will have tales to tell of the blizzard of 2006, but this one is pretty good.

Pooh Bear Halloween

2006-11-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

Ashleigh dressed up as Pooh bear for Halloween and we celebrated at our church's Fall Harvest Festival complete with games, horse and carriage rides, a bouncy castle, and lots of candy. She's a little young for the bouncy castle and they scare her right now. She did have fun with the games and candy though. It's great having a safe and fun environment that's indoors (it was 25F here on Halloween night) for celebrating Halloween. Last year, we tried door to door trick or treating and went to the neighbors we knew, but this year was much more fun seeing our friends and their kids dressed up in costume too.

On a side note, I started watching our neighbor's daughter on Halloween. Here's a picture of she and Ashleigh at the Harvest Festival. She's about 10 months younger than Ashleigh is and so far, they're getting along really well. There are some jealousy issues, but it's good for Ashleigh to realize she isn't the center of the universe.

Ashleigh's Two!

2006-10-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Ashleigh's birthday this weekend with a big party, food, presents, and of course, birthday cake. It was such a difference from the previous year's birthday party. She understood the present thing this year too and can now chant 'We want cake!' thanks to my brother and sister. It was a fun party with a butterfly theme to it. More kids than adults, but that's what happens when you're the only grandchild on both sides of the family. Thanks to all our family and friends who made it such a special day. We love you all!

Rob, Hanna, Ashleigh and me opening gifts

Pretty in purple opening cards

Butterfly cake

Waiting for cake (Ashley, Ashleigh, and Eden)

Trying hard to blow out candles - she got a few of them!

Fall Playtime and Snow Storms

2006-10-26T19:50:00.000-06:00

Ashleigh and I had a fun day trip with Amy and Hanna at Washington Park on Tuesday to see the fall colors and just play with our kids at the playground and have a picnic. It was awesome. We fed the ducks in the lake and stopped to play in the leaves and made a big pile for the girls to sit in and throw leaves up in the air.

Feeding the Ducks at Washington Park

Ashleigh and Hanna Throwing Leaves

Ashleigh and Mom after feeding the geese

We also got around 8" of snow today at our house and these pictures were taken after I spent an hour shoveling the walk and driveway. It took Rob a good three hours to get into work this morning and it always amazes me just how patient he is. The only thing he was complaining about after three hours when I called was that he may need to pull off and find a bathroom.

Ashleigh in the driveway where the snow from the driveway was piled up

Ashleigh on our front porch

Our deck and patio furniture

Other than that, this past month has been busy. Rob and I celebrated a late anniversary after he got back from China just last weekend. We also celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday, sister-in-law's birthday, my mom's 60th birthday, and Ashleigh's actual birthday this month (the big party's on Sunday with pictures to follow). We've also been shopping for a mattress and bedroom set which takes up our time on most weekends. We finally decided on a mattress last weekend and think we have the furniture almost nailed down.

More Wedding Fun

2006-09-30T15:49:00.000-06:00

Andrew and Becky's Wedding Ceremony

Janice, Rob, and Ashleigh waiting outside the church

Leaving the Church

We got to see our friends, Andrew and Becky get married last Saturday in Golden. I've known Andrew for several years now and he is the brother of one of my roommates I had after college. Their ceremony was beautiful and done by the same pastor that officiated at Rob's and my wedding at the same church we attended while dating. They also had a fun reception at a Mariott hotel and I never knew Andrew could be so romatic with his singing and serenading his new wife in front of 150 people. Rob and I sang a duet together at our own wedding and while I was used to singing in front of people, and it was still nerve-wracking to add that to your wedding day. Kudos to you, Andrew (and Adam)!

I love weddings, as they're so fun and happy and makes you remember all the things you love about your own marriage and spouse. The day-to-day living can drag you down at times, but it's fun to celebrate with old friends and reminisce. Becky was just overflowing with happiness and the new married life she and Andrew were about to embark upon. Even Andrew who doesn't show a lot of emotion most of the time was happy as well with stars in his eyes. May God bless you both in your new life together!

The newlyweds, Ryan and Carrie

Sarah with Lucas (9 mo) and Ashleigh (23 mo)

Rachel, Lucas, Janice, and Ashleigh

Andrew and Becky's First Dance

Daddy and Ashleigh on the dance floor

China Adventures

2006-09-15T23:28:00.000-06:00

Rob's two-week trip to China turned into a three-week trip as his work had no one else to send and his last day with his current job is rapidly approaching. No pictures on this post as the digital camera is in Xiamen for another few days. Luckily typhoon Shenshen curved to the north, so it looks like he'll be OK and back at the regularly scheduled time.

So far, he's worked six days/week so he's really only had Sundays to sightsee. He's visited the local Walmart and also toured the city where he's staying and the neighboring island. Xiamen is straight west of Taiwan and about 800 miles south of Shanghai, so no going to the actual tourist areas while he's there. The food is mostly seafood with rice, but he has eaten at McDonalds twice and also KFC.

He's doing pretty well, but ready to be home again. We have discussions on whether it's harder being away from home and the family or being with all that's familiar in the comfort of your home, but having everything around to remind you of that person. I think being on the road is easier since you have less around you to take your mind off of missing your family and there are things like work and sightseeing that distract you. The hard part about Rob being away is that I don't really get a break from watching Ashleigh. Especially with being at home all of the time now. There are nap times and sleep times, but if I want to go run an errand or do something for myself, it's much harder now.

Ashleigh and I went camping at the Sand Dunes with my sister and her husband last weekend and to Albuquerque with my in-laws over Labor day weekend, so this weekend is the first weekend where we've actually been home in a month. I'm looking forward to the down time and time to get the house back in order before Rob gets back. There are still a few projects too that I need to work on as well. It's been a long few weeks, and we're definitely excited to have life back to normal again shortly, including Rob working normal days.

Seattle Vacation

2006-08-31T09:00:00.000-06:00

Janice, Rob, and Ashleigh in Everett, WA watching the sunset

Playing at the park in Everett with our friends

Ashleigh and Abby modeling their raincoats
(we never used them - yea dry season!)

We visited our friends, Ann and Josh, in Seattle last week and had a great vacation. It was Ashleigh's first time on an airplane and she did great! She got a little bored at times, but used her 'inside voice' quite well. Here are some pictures or her going to the airport and in the cockpit of the plane.

Waiting for the train at DIA

Ashleigh and I inside the cockpit

I think the best parts of our trip were getting to walk to floor at Boeing, where Josh works (no cameras allowed) and our overnight trip to Vancouver where we went to the Vancouver Aquarium. Anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE dolphins! They had a show with dolphins at the aquarium where we were only 10 feet away from where the trainers were standing, so front row seats. They also had a whale show and shark feeding show, but the dolphins were definitely the best.

Ann and Josh have a daughter, Abby, who is 2 and 1/2 and the girls played great together. Ann watched Ashleigh for the day while Rob and I took a ferry to Friday Harbor (about an hour and a half ride each way). Our friends laughed when we told them we took 20 pictures on the ferry ride, but for a land-locked Coloradan, it was quite an experience. We walked to a beach about a mile away and found some large jellyfish along the shore line.

We also had fun driving around seeing views of the sound, spending time on the beach, and going to the Pike Place Market where they throw around large fish and yell a lot. We visited the first Starbucks, which is also there. I took lots more pictures, but am having computer issues posting the rest, so I'll leave it at this and if you are so inclined to see the other 350 pictures I took, just let me know. I won't subject you to it though - you'll have to ask. On a side note, Rob left for China the morning after we got back from Seattle and will be there for a little over two weeks. I'm sure he'll have some good stories and pictures when he gets back...

Playing on the beach in their dresses

Ashleigh in front of a lighthouse on Whidby Island

Ann, Abby, Ashleigh, and Rob at Pike Place Market in Seattle

I was able to post a few more pictures from our camping trip with Ann and Josh's small group from church. We went for one night northeast of Seattle and camping in Washington is much warmer and softer ground than in Colorado. We didn't even need sleeping pads there and we slept fine without them (except Ann). We also went wading in the lake and boating the next day where Rob, Ashleigh, and I did a little tubing. I was sore for two days afterwards and I wouldn't exactly call it fun - guess I'm starting to feel my age. I think 10-15 years ago, it would have been a lot of fun, but trying it for the first time now probably wasn't a great idea.

Ashleigh carrying the cooler to the tent

Sunrise at the campsite

Daddy and Ashleigh wading at Lake Roesinger

Rob's Birthday

2006-08-15T13:04:00.000-06:00

The birthday kids - Carissa, John, and Rob

Today is Rob's birthday! To celebrate, we had his family and my family over for a lasagna dinner on Sunday and also celebrated my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's birthdays too. We also went to Chili's for lunch today before he left for work. It was too early for them to sing, but he did get a free piece of strawberry cheesecake out of the deal. I imagine you get pretty tired of singing Happy Birthday working at places that sing to people on their birthdays. I bought him a new lawn mower for his birthday since we inherited our current lawn mower with the house, it sometimes takes a half hour to start, and sounds like it's choking when it runs.

Our old mower - notice the pair of vice grips on the handle...

These pictures are from hiking a week ago at Castlewood Canyon. We stopped by the creek to wade in the water with Ashleigh and saw a crawdad. Speaking of crawdads, we went to Aurora Reservoir last Thursday and saw a few kids playing with one and had built his own crawdad castle complete with a pool inside of this big mound of sand and a feather to top off the dome. Do you know how hard it is keeping a toddler from knocking over other people's sandcastles?!? It survived the day, but it was difficult.

As an update on Rob's job search, he found a job and actually got an offer from the first company he interviewed with (praise God!). He found out in June that his company is closing the Colorado office at the end of the year, so we had the option of moving to Michigan or finding something else here. With both of our families here, and our beautiful state, we found it difficult to consider the move and are now glad we don't have to! He starts at the end of September after he travels to China for two weeks with his current company.

Playing at the park!

Camping at Eleven-mile Reservoir

2006-07-31T14:12:00.000-06:00

Our campsites, tents, vehicles, and hill the kids were climbing all day

Ashleigh sitting at the campfire

Sunset from our campsite the first night

We went camping for two nights at Eleven-mile reservoir this past weekend with four other families in our small group. We had three sites together at the end of a loop with just a huge hill behind the campsite with a short walk to the reservoir. Rob and I are definitely camper-type personalities and hope that Ashleigh will also enjoy it as she gets older. We both camped with our families and scouts growing up and we hope to pass that on to her.

We got there Friday afternoon, set up camp, and roasted hot dogs over the fire. The kids were getting worn out going up and down the hill back behind the campsites (not Ashleigh just yet as it was a steep hill and she's just not old enough). On Saturday, we had a huge breakfast together with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage. Ashleigh had her first canoe ride that morning, but was very scared right after leaving shore and said 'All done boat!', so Stephanie and I had to turn the canoe around to drop her off on the shore. After lunch, Rob and I got to go for a hike together while Ashleigh napped back at camp and when we got back, Ashleigh got her first ride on a motorboat that someone in our group had rented to take the kids for rides.

Stephanie and I canoing with Ashleigh, Grace, and Joshua on Eleven-mile Reservoir

Rob on top of a rock on our hike along the shore

Crevasse between two rocks where we had some wild raspberries - yum!

Rob and I on our hike

Meanwhile back at camp...

On Sunday, after packing up camp, we took Ashleigh fishing for the first time. She got bored pretty quickly, but it was still fun to use the new fishing pole we bought for the trip. I hadn't been fishing since college, but it seemed more fun back in the drinking days. We didn't catch anything and it was really too windy to fish, but we did see some huge fish from the canoe the day before, so they're definitely out there.

Ashleigh helping Dad fish

Getting the pole ready for fishing

Beautiful sunsets both nights, no rain, and hot weather. Those sun shade canopies were a life saver, especially since there weren't any trees at our campsites. It was definitely hot (about 80), but not as hot as Denver was over the weekend. Too bad there's no swimming in that reservoir. But after canoeing over some gross water with lots of plants and algae and seeing a dead impaled fish with its tail sticking out of the water, our desires to swim in the water dropped ten-fold.

Ashleigh and Ashley listening to Paula's iPod in the shade

BBQ, Picnic, and Baptism (oh my!)

2006-07-25T21:44:00.000-06:00

My family got together on Saturday for a BBQ at my sister's house in the Springs to celebrate the successful completion of finishing their basement. They also added new couches and a pool table once it was complete, turning their unfinished basement into an excellent gameroom.

(R-L) Me, Rob, Ashleigh, John, Jen, Mom, Steven, Carissa, and Dad

On Sunday, we went to church then we had a big church picnic and baptism celebration at Cherry Creek Reservoir. Rob had only been baptized in the Mormon church when he was 8, not really understanding what baptism was all about. We believe it's a profession of your faith and symbol of our relationship with Jesus Christ, similiar to wearing a wedding ring as a symbol of marriage. Baptism is not required for a Christian to be in heaven, but is an act of obedience in the Bible. Look at the thief on the cross next to Jesus. He believed Jesus is Lord just prior to his death and was promised paradise with Jesus. Rob has been a Christian since July of 2001, strangely about the same time we started dating - but that's a whole different story for another day. After the baptism, we had a big potluck/picnic/BBQ and played in the sand and in the reservoir with the other kids. Very fun! My mom also ended up coming as well.

Rob and Pastor Ray in Cherry Creek Reservoir

Rob getting baptized by Pastor Ray

Rob afterwards and Ashleigh playing in the sand

Me, Rob, and Ashleigh on the shore after the baptism

We also had Hanna over today while Amy did some planning at school and the girls played at the park and at our house. They play together so well and I had to take a picture of them as they were in similiar outfits.

Hanna and Ashleigh in their matching pink outfits

Ashleigh very excited and dancing

Pool Time

2006-07-19T21:15:00.000-06:00

These are some pictures I took last week from our back yard of Chase and Ashleigh playing in the new kiddie pool we bought. Like I said, it's been hot! We could only stay outside for about an hour before needing to go back inside because of the heat. On a side note... I can't believe that every year, you hear on the news that some infant died because their parents left them in the car on a hot day. It really comes down to common sense - you never leave your kid alone in the car in the first place, even if it is just a few minutes.

Ashleigh playing in the pool with her friend, Chase

Cool water drop effect

One of the rare times where Ashleigh is actually looking and smiling at the camera!

Ashleigh and Daddy playing with our old train set we had when we were kids

Summer Fun

2006-07-19T20:41:00.000-06:00

You could say we've been busy, but in a good, fun way. Last Saturday, Rob and I went to Water World with some of my high school friends and had a blast. There's nothing quite like acting like a kid again, especially after having kids yourself and going without your own kid around that requires acting responsibly. My dad watched Ashleigh while we had our day of fun and Ashleigh nearly choked on a quarter, but threw it up and was fine after that. It was his first time watching her for the day since January and she's gotten more mobile and ambitious since then, so I'll cut him some slack on that. We're just greatful that we have family close by who are willing to babysit and can get away for the occasional date or fun day of skiing or swimming.

This week, Rob is in Holland, Michigan on a business trip, so it's Ashleigh and I holding down the fort. I used to travel about once/month for work when I was teaching training classes, but this is Rob's first business trip and our first time where he's away and I'm here for the week. Even though we miss him lots, Ashleigh and I have had a lot of fun. We went to a BBQ at a friends house where Ashleigh got a little crazy with the sidewalk chalk. We also went to the zoo on Tuesday and to the pool today. It's been hot, hot, hot for the last week! It was great having the 102 high temp at Water World, but now I'm beginning to tire of the heat.

Ashleigh and Ashley

Mom and Ashleigh all chalked up

War-Paint Baby

Joshua, Ashleigh, and Jacob coloring the sidewalk

Weddings, Fourth of July, and various other stuff

2006-07-06T20:39:00.000-06:00

I’ve been slacking off with blogging, but here are some pictures from our friends’ wedding a few weeks ago. We know Carrie and Ryan from Action, the young adult ministry in Golden that we were a part of before we got married. Ryan was also Rob’s quasi-roommate while we were dating when Rob would drive up from the Springs every weekend.

Last weekend, we moved Rob's sister into her new apartment and a few weeks ago, Rob and his dad moved his brother to Albequerque, NM and Ashleigh and I went to 'the beach' together (really a reservoir as the closest beach is 1,000 miles away in California). Here are a few pictures of Ashleigh playing at Aurora Reservoir, which is pretty close to our house.

Last week, I volunteered to teach 1st and 2nd graders at our church's vacation bible school and it completely wiped me out! About everyday, I came home, put Ashleigh down for a nap, then put myself down for a long nap as well. I don't know how teachers do it! I had the help of two other people with a class of 24 kids and it was only from 9:00-noon. I had lots of respect for teachers before, but Wow! pay those teachers more money because they definitely deserve it!

I didn’t take any pictures over the fourth of July weekend, but we had a good time nonetheless. Four-day weekends are wonderful (even for someone who stays at home because I get to see Rob everyday and that’s great!). We ended up spending the evening over at Matt and Sarah’s house doing traditional Fourth of July activities (swimming at their pool, having a BBQ, and watching fireworks from their 2^nd story window during a rain storm). We’ve been getting a ton of rain here! Over four inches over three days, and if you know Colorado, it’s a desert here with around an inch a month. We were going to go camping

Rob’s job has taken quite the roller coaster ride lately! He found out he’s going to travel to Shanghai, China for two weeks out of the month for three months in a row to startup a new process. A week later, he found out his company is closing the Colorado office and we now have the option to move to Holland, MI with the company or to stay here in Colorado and begin the job search… (decisions, decisions).

Today, Amy and I took our kids to the Children’s Museum and had a blast! Ashleigh is quite the artist and their whole first floor is a dedicated toddler area, so she and Hanna had a great time. It's really enjoyable just watching them learn and looking at the world through a toddler's eyes. I'm blessed to be home with her and to be able to go to these places on off days, otherwise, it'd be a zoo on the weekend, I'm sure!

Parker Days

2006-06-11T09:09:00.000-06:00

We went to the Parker Days parade yesterday and the little annual festival they have with rides and booths. Her little body got a bit overheated during the parade, and she was not very happy during that time. We had a picnic in the shade and played on the playground. That helped cheer her up!

Ashleigh is still pretty young for almost all the rides and slides there, but she got to ride on a horse for the first time yesterday, which was her favorite part. She kept saying 'ride horse' the entire time she was on it and just loves horses. She also enjoyed the petting zoo with the large turtle, camel, and kangaroo. Imagine that! (and they live out in the same neighborhood as my in-laws do.)

Going down the inflatable slide together,
I think mom enjoyed it a lot more than Ashleigh

Her first encounter with a turtle.

Riding Cheyenne, her first ride on a horse

Wheee! Gedyup!

These were taken the night before in our backyard with our friends Danny and Suzanne's son, Evan. They came over for dinner on Friday as they were in town for a short time and have been living in Chicago on a year-long job assignment since January. It's a less than ideal situation for them with Danny working 12+ hour days and weekends and never seeing his son, so we're praying for them that they can find something more local and live a normal life again.

Evan (1-yr on 6/30), Suzanne, and Danny

This last picture is Ashleigh's friend, Chase, who lives down the street from us and who's mom is also a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom). It's nice having a friend who lives close to hang out with during the day and it's fun also to get the kids together to play frequently. Their family just moved here 2 months ago from Kansas and I met her on my first day of my new job as a domestic engineer (ha, ha).

Ashleigh and Chase, our neighbor

Black Canyon of the Gunnison Camping Trip

2006-05-29T16:52:00.000-06:00

We spent Memorial Day weekend camping at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park with our friends Laurie and Zach. Beautiful scenery and the canyon was breathtaking. Unlike at the Grand Canyon, at the Black Canyon you can see all the way down to the river from the rim and the sides are really steep. At a half mile down, it's not as deep as the Grand Canyon, but the walls of the canyon are black in color.

The trip out there made Rob and I want to turn around and go back home several times. What should have been a 5-hour trip turned into an 8-hour trip when you counted all the stops, one for a diaper blow-out and another to clean up after a carsick toddler (not fun!). Once we were there, though, the weather was perfect, warm nights and fairly hot days with good star gazing conditions.

We did a five mile hike on Saturday morning and rested during the hot part of the afternoon. On Sunday, we hiked to several of the overlooks around the rim, had a picnic, and left Sunday night as the cold weather and rain was moving in. Ashleigh did well with two nights, but was definitely getting cranky by the third day and asking to go 'back inside,' which we interpreted as she really wanted to be home. The trip home was uneventful, thank God, and she slept almost the entire way home minus our stop for Chinese food for supper.

When she awoke the next morning, she was thrilled to be back at home. Ahhh... it's the little things when you get back from camping - running water (and warm too), flushing toilets, and most important is the soft bed. We don't rough it too bad when we're camping with our camp chairs, pillows, and Thermarest pads, but we're still sleeping on the floor in a tent and the ground is pretty hard. I love that about camping - how you appreciate the little things when you get back and see how blessed we are with all our comforts of life.

Warner Point Lookout using our new backpack

Old Juniper tree at the Canyon Rim

Rob, Janice, and Ashleigh at Sunset View Lookout

"I just love playing in the dirt and sitting in my new camping chair"

Warner Point Lookout (1.5 mile round trip hike)

Playing in the tent in a diaper

Our little blonde Eskimo