Anniversary 2012

This year we celebrated our 7th anniversary, and we spent a wonderful day as a family. We took a beautiful drive up to the mountains, and we found a great little hiking area near Conifer. It really was the perfect trail for us. The weather was perfect, and we just had a fabulous day together.

We had to have some snacks before we started out, and Patrick found some big rocks to climb on, and he had fun throwing sticks. What more could a four-year old ask for?

Lauren was so happy the whole time. She ate that whole banana! She loved being outside with us.

Still working on that apple  . . .

Some family shots . . .

When we got home, we carved our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. It didn't take long for the squirrels to get to them though.

This Week

Please, don't be too jealous of my cleaning fairy . . . she is so helpful!

Just hangin' out . . .

The Pumpkin Patch

We went with some of our preschool friends, and our cousin Kellen, to the pumpkin patch again this year. I think this is a great free pumpkin patch, but all the construction in Boulder made it a real pain to get to this time. But I think the boys still had a pretty good time. Lauren didn't grumble too much from her stroller. Kellen loved the kittens, and Patrick loved the hay maze. They both loved picking out their pumpkins. We went on Friday, and I told him we would carve the pumpkins on Monday for FHE, but he had a hard time waiting. At one point he was ready to go after them with a fork.

My Little Stripling Warrior

For FHE one night, we went over the story of the stripling warriors. Then Patrick got to dress up as a stripling warrior with his "big muscles."

Most nights, I don't think Patrick remembers anything from the scriptures we read, but every once in awhile he surprises me. A few weeks after this, he was carrying a bag to the car for me, and he said,  "Ok mom, I will use my big muscles like a stripling warrior." So I guess it is true, they must listen more than you think they are. 

Silly Baby Girl

Lauren can be super silly and giggly, but most of the time, she just smiles a lot and will just give you small, coy, laughs. We don't get big belly laughs very often, and we usually have to work for them. A few weeks ago, Reed and I were going to bed a little later than usual, and Lauren woke up around midnight. I fed her a bottle, and then I gave her to Reed to say goodnight. She was in a really good mood, and all of a sudden she was wide awake and super giggly! So I took a quick video of her. Enjoy.

10 Months

Lauren is 10 months old today, and because I don't have a great camera, or great knowledge, or great amounts of time, I don't get beautiful photos of her every month. But tonight she was really happy during dinner, so I just grabbed the camera (with its battery light flashing at me) and took pictures until she got tired of it. Of course Patrick wanted to get in on the action too. Every time the flash would go off she would giggle, so I would take another picture, etc. Enjoy the cute, messy pictures of our baby girl!

Lauren has five teeth now (really close to six). She loves meal time, snack time, any time with food. She bounces when she is happy, or when she sees food, which makes her happy. She is always really happy when she wakes up. She is generous with her smiles and makes friends easily. Of course she is still tiny and petite. She doesn't like to leave socks or shoes on her feet, which is becoming a problem with the colder weather. The only word she says regularly right now is da-da.

A Day Out With Thomas

Every Fall, the Colorado Railroad Museum hosts a Day Out with Thomas, with lots of fun activities and a ride on a real life Thomas. I have wanted to take Patrick for several years, but the ticket price is a little out of my price range. So this year, when I heard they were giving away tickets on one of my favorite radio stations, I faithfully listened for two weeks so I could win some tickets. I was so excited to finally win some tickets, and we invited our nephew Kellen to com with us since we had an extra ticket. Patrick and Kellen are best buddies!

It was a little warm that day, and the kids were all a little tired, but they still had fun. The boys got some Thomas tattoos and then went to play with some trains. 

Then we climbed aboard the train for our ride. Lauren was really tired, and cried most of the time, but I think the boys enjoyed it.

There were lots of trains sitting around the museum yard, and many of them were available for climbing on! There were lots of knobs to touch and bells to ring, and the boys really enjoyed that part.

No kids' activity would be complete without a petting zoo. Patrick never gets tired of a petting zoo.  This one had the usual goats and bunnies, but they also had an alpaca and a baby kangaroo!

It was a HOT day, and all the kids crashed about 30 seconds after we got in the car. What a fun day! I don't  think I would pay $75 for all of us to go to the museum, but it was well worth the time I spend trying to win the tickets!