December/January Recap!

It's been ages since I updated - I don't really have an excuse. I suppose for the most part, our lives are pretty routine and there's not a ton to share!  But, the more I think about it? December was a bit crazy! So, here's a photo recap of our last two months!!

DECEMBER 2012

My sister was the Queen of her Madrigal Dinners at Wayne State! I got to ride up with my parents to watch the dinner, and it was a lot of fun! (I even got in a few of the photos!!)

Three days later? I drove up with my parents again to see her Senior Honors Colloquium. (See, I know big words!! More importantly? People in Wayne Nebraska know big words!)

 

Then? A few more days later? My dad, Skyler and I drove up to help her move out of her dorm. (Yep - are you keeping track of our time on the road? There will be a tally! I promise.) 

Then we drove back to Wayne (2 days later) for her Graduation! (CONGRATS KID SISTER!!)

 

Total driving time (from Lincoln to Wayne in December) approx 30 hours! 

Total driving time total in December (up until now?) 35 hours! 

But, we're not done! See, Skyler and I drove back to Colorado! Where we got home just in time for a big snow storm, where a tree fell on our house! 

And then, Ryan got home and we turned around to head BACK to Nebraska for Christmas!

Total Drive time now? (December 21?) 55 hours! BUT WAIT!! We have a trip to Iowa, a trip back to Lincoln and a trip back to Colorado still to come!! (Are you tired of my car yet? I am!!)

So, I mentioned Iowa? We spent 2 days with Ryan's sister and her kids! (Which was an absolute blast, and now I understand how horrible it was for my parents to drag Kate and I away from our family on trips to Chicago!)

Then back to Lincoln where we did the whole Christmas thing - which included this awesome cake ball tree!! (Drive time now? 62 hours.)

Then, we had Katie's birthday! (Geez, she's 23... that's like... old!)

Then back to Colorado - Drive time total? 73 hours. Yep - more than 3 full days in the car. THREE FULL DAYS!! (Ok, that's not a huge deal - I did drive a truck. So, it was actually enjoyable. But wow... just now totalling that up? EEEK!)

JANUARY 2013

After a quiet NYE at home (where I was asleep before Midnight - thank you very much!) Ryan hit the road and life returned to normal in Colorado!!

There were trips to the Children's Museum

And the Nature Center

And the Children's Museum Again

And some bike riding and picnics at the park

And of course we stayed busy at home...
We baked

And made silly Finger Puppets

We crocheted - Ok, I crocheted... while Skyler slept.

We played Dress Up

A lot of dress up...

We went for walks (when it snowed again!)

And we colored. A lot. (Because it's our favorite thing to do!)

I think you're caught up on our life now!! (Hopefully my next few entries aren't as photo heavy!!)

I'm going to teach you how to do this!

**My apologies for the shaky camera... It was such a cute video I couldn't pass up the chance to share it!!

Earth Keeper

I am a huge fan of exploring the world around where you live - and we're lucky here in Southern Colorado to have so many amazing places to explore. Pueblo Mountain Park and the Mountain Park Environmental Center are no exception to this rule.

The Environmental Center has a monthly Preschool Nature Hike" with Ranger Dave where the kiddos get some fun time in the beautiful mountains of Southern Colorado, and an educational hike to learn and have fun! (Plus some pretty fun music!)

This was our second time going, and Skyler and her friends had a TON of fun exploring, playing in the park and having a picnic afterward!

(I found this video of Skyler's favorite song from the event - it's the park's own youtube video and NOT from a time we were there - but fun to see, none the less!) 

What Have We Been Up To?

We've had a very busy two weeks!! I can't believe it's already July 14, but we've stayed so busy that it's just flown by! I thought I'd do a quick update with some photos of what we've been up to lately.

Skyler had her first Swimming Lesson at Pueblo County High School!   As expected, she loves the water and is just as fearless in water as on land! She's getting pretty good at the doggy paddle!

 

We had a pretty spectacular 4th of July! We started out at the Wet Parade in Pueblo West, which is basically just a city-wide Water Fight! And we came home soaking wet and ready for naps! After we refreshed, we headed down to the River Walk where we spent a good amount of time (2 hours!!) playing the fountains and then walked around a bit while we waited for the fireworks! 

 

We've spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen! Skyler helped make Pretzels - which were absolutely delicous!! (More info can be found on my 101 in 1001 blog - including the recipe!) 

 

For the first time since the Waldo Canyon Fire, we took a trip to Garden of the Gods! We met up with my good friend "Merica" (Erica, but Skyler prefers her version!) and hiked around the park snapping lots of photos. There are a few places from the park you can see the burn area, which is incredibly sad. But the park is just as beautiful as always.

 

We've made a few trips to the local splash parks! We've had a lot of 100*+ days, so we've had to find ways to stay cool! Luckily, the splash parks are a great way to kill a few hours!

We spent a morning in Beulah at Pueblo Mountain Park with Skyler's good friends (Mable, Avani and Abigail - in order pictured below from left to right) and went for a Preschool Nature Hike, then had a picnic and some good time playing at the park! 

 As you can tell, we've had a busy two weeks!! It's been a lot of fun and we've been keeping cool - despite the insanely hot weather here in Southern Colorado! Hopefully the second half of July is as full of adventures!

To Grandma's (& Grandpa's) House We Go....

While in Nebraska, a trip to Mazatlan is always a must for us! Skyler and I were able to join my parents and my Grandma at the Mexican Restaurant for a fun dinner!

Miss Skyler was also able to enjoy some fun in the sun! Earlier in the day we had a picnic lunch at Holmes Lake, followed by some time playing at the park!!

And when it was time to leave?? Well... it was not on Skyler's "To Do" list!

To be able to spend a lot of time with Grandma & Grandpa B on this most recent trip home has been absolutely wonderful!

A Rockstar, in a Tutu!

Tonight, Skyler told me that she's a rockstar. I'm not quite sure where this came from, but I love it!!

So, with nothing better to post? Here is my little rockstar in her tutu!

The Forgotten Fingers

Yesterday we spent the afternoon with Joe and his boys (Nathan and Taylor)! We went out to lunch, hung out at the park and then the boys came and played at our house for most of the evening. It's always fun to get together with Joe, and the kids get along so well! 

However, while we were at the park we had something happen that surprisingly has never really happened before. (With exception to the first time everyone met Skyler when she was a little baby!) 

Skyler and Taylor were running around playing. All of a sudden, he grabbed her left hand and started to study it. He was very curious about why it looked different. He asked where her fingers were, and then continued to hold her hand.

I know this will happen many more times in Skyler's life. And I am preparing myself for the days when kids are more than just curious. But for today, it was just a moment. 30 seconds later, the kids were playing. The fingers forgotten. 

Splish Splash

Hi Everyone!

It's Skyler again! Mommy is laying on the couch, because she said I wore her out this morning. It must be
tough to get old. All I wanted was to make sure everyone was playing while we were at the park.

This morning Mommy woke me up and told me to get ready right away! We were going to meet our friends from the Library at the Splash Park!! Mable and her Mommy, Avanie and her Mommy, Elisabeth and her parents! Everyone was there :)

It was so much fun! Especially when a bucket of water fell on Mommy's head and she wasn't expecting it.

But I wanted to show you some pictures!

Mommy helped me get used to the water first!

Then I stole her flippity flops

I spent a little while trying to spray Mommy and her friends with this spray gun! (They weren't being any fun - they should have played in the water more!)

Someone brought a ball, so I got to chase it around a bit too!

Mabel and Me played with this fountain for a long time!