Updating my Blog

I dared Rich to stick a whole piece of cake in his mouth at once, so he did. He only agreed to me taking this picture if it meant that would update our blog. I think it worked out pretty well! (Yep, ladies, I picked him out myself!)

Daddy's Boy

Random Cuteness

The Aunties Visit

My Auntie Ei (Eileen) and Auntie M (Mary Ellen) visited all the way from Northern Indiana. This was their first time meeting my kids, and of course everyone loved each other tons. They only stayed for about 24 hours but it was a great visit. We took them to Garden of the gods park, and hopefully they got a taste of how great it is out here and will want to come back soon and stay longer!

Paige is wearing her night gown (it's her first...isn't she cute?!) from Auntie M and Jack's "cowboy" hat. She's a rugged princes!

Reuiniting with old friends

When I was pregnant with Jack, Rich and I met Esther and Jason in our birthing class. Esther's daughter, Ava, was born a few weeks before Jack. After the babies were born, we continued getting together at each others homes, and it was so great to have a friend who was going through the exact same thing as me. The socialization was great for the kids, as well. Anyway, Jason got a job in Texas, and since that time we've been keeping up with each other via our blogs. Not too long ago, they came to Colorado for a family reunion, and we had the fortune of being able to meet up for lunch. Since they moved, each of our families has grown by an additional person: Paige for us, and they have Oliver, now. Actually, they are expecting a third one now--hope it's ok that I announce that, Esther! We're so happy for you guys and wish you the best!!!

Grandma Donna and Grandpa Smith's visit

A couple of weeks ago my Dad and Donna took a road trip from their home in Ocala, FL all the way to Colorado Springs. We had a wonderful visit and the kids warmed up to them in no time (as you can see from the above picture). We went to the zoo, Jack and Dad hit some balls at the golfing range, and went to some parks. The only bad thing was that the kids were a little sick while they were here, so we had to stay kind of close to home for a couple days. After witnessing their "lovely" restaurant manners, I'm sure my parents were a little relieved to go back home!

Deni's Quilt

This is the 5th quilt I made, and I made it for my baby sister's 16th birthday (I still can't believe she is 16!) She had a lot of input when I designed it (yes, I also designed the whole thing myself!). She came with me to the quilt shop and picked out the fabrics, and she also chose the the quilt block itself, and decided she wanted it placed randomly to make it a little more funky. I appliqued the D as a surprise to her, which was much harder than it looks. I have to say, I LOVE my quilting--it's floral and spirals meandering in no particular order. It was probably the hardest thing I've done so far, but very worth it!