Henry moves to a big boy bed!!

We truly didn't want to part with the crib...and soon realized we didn't have to, the crib became Henry's bed! 

Henry was beyond excited to move to his big boy bed, and he did it without a hiccup I might add.  He didn't like the covers/sheets at first but i can now say (a week and a half later) that he now can remain under the covers all night.  It took him many nights of sleeping on top of the bed/covers (...as in a crib), falling out of the bed once (and yes, we DO have a bed rail...Henry just managed to find the one 12 inch space to fall through) but he has come out on the other side of things and LOVES his new big bed!!  

40 years!!

Happy Birthday to You!!! It was a regular day for Dad at work BUT it was not a regular day at home...  Preparing some birthday breakfast followed by cake baking and sprinkling...and we topped it off with a birthday dinner at the Cricket!!

A little birthday getaway...

A little 40th birthday parent getaway to Half Moon Bay...2 days packed full of sun, fun, amazing scenery, breathtaking views, fabulous meals and some Ocean Course golf to top it all off.  

A day of birthday fun for everyone...

Well we had 2 back to back birthday parties today, they do seem to happen in clumps I must say...

Our first party was bright and early this morning at Pump It Up for our good friend Channing Walter.  Sophia and Henry had great fun jumping around in the bouncy castles as well as sliding down the slides.  I wish I had a picture but I do not...

After the first party, Dad and Henry went home so Henry could nap.  Sophia and I went on to a bowling party.  I wasn't sure at ALL how this would go over since we have never bowled.  I shouldn't have been surprised though, Sophia tries hard and tries new things without much complaint. 

I must say that the girl LOVED it and dove right in!  It was so much fun for me to watch.  Not only did Sophia have fun but she was GREAT!  Now mind you, the kids just rolled the balls down a ramp onto the lane and they roll at almost a snails pace BUT given the circumstances, many balls were just skimming the rails.  (yes, they put up rails so none of the balls would actually go in the gutter)  Sophia's balls went right down the middle of the lane and she even had 2 strikes!!  I loved it and I loved seeing a little gleam of competitiveness.  

Hmmm, she looks cute but I am not sure how I feel about this picture at ALL

I didn't catch the strike on video (darn!) but here is the clip...

It was a long day today...When I was growing up, Heidi used to say, "Home again, home again jiggidy jig!" (and then slap me on the leg which i can assure you NEVER felt good but Heidi found amusing :) )

I have tried to keep the tradition alive, minus the slapping of the leg of course, but Henry has a new version that I find adorable...

"Home again home again Bajiggy BaJig!"

Our neighborhood friend...

Now who would have thought that during our (almost) daily walk around the neighborhood, we would find THIS little friend walking along.  

 Where does a turtle this size come from? At first we thought perhaps he was a pet, but, does a turtle this size just walk out the front door and starting walking down the sidewalk?  It was a little odd I must say but loads of fun for the kids!

Like Mother Like Daughter

My beautiful girls!

Sent and written by Dad... :)

Aspen, here we come!

We try to take the kiddies to Aspen at least once, if not twice, a year.  We love everything about Aspen...except how expensive it is :)  It is worth it though...the fresh crisp mountain air, the beautiful Aspens, the old mountain town feel...we just love love love.

This year was slightly different though in the fact that we were ALL sick and all sick with some variation of what the other had...despite the fact that we all could have felt a LOT better, we had fun and it was great to spend time together in an area we love.

Henry getting ready for a 'ride'

Just too funny to pass up a pic...so serious aren't they?

Henry testing out his little bed at the hotel, and seemingly not knowing what to do?

Wishing, wanting that darned gondola to be working!

Isn't this nice?

Relaxing...

Eating some fabulous pancakes...

Cecil and I both came to the conclusion that our girl looks great in camel!  She was turning the heads of many ladies walking around with my wrap, wrapped up around her and her 'you would never know i am wearing target boots that look like Uggs...'  Love it.

Tea of course during the boys' nap time...hot water, honey and lemon

Oh, he figured it out!

The big bed all to myself!

The amazing scenery...

And of course, it is always amusing to drive through the mountains!

A glimpse of what life will be like as a teenager?

I took Henry to swimming this morning with Mr. Victor...  Mr. Victor is an amazing teacher, he really pushes the kids hard but you can also tell that he truly enjoys teaching these little children.  

After class, with a great big smile, Mr. Victor said to me with regards to Henry, "...too much talking, not enough listening but the swimming...is coming along great!" 

I think I can see where this is going....

Some of the little joys of fall...

Heidi always makes applesauce in the fall, and she was taught by her mother, Naomi (Gram).  Now it is time for me to pass along this fun, easy and delicious tradition.  I have made it for the past few years and I must admit that this year's version was our absolute favorite.

I think it was our favorite because of the color!  I have always used Macintosh apples and this year we used Jonathon apples I think?  They were organic, on sale and grown here in Colorado. I have NEVER seen or made applesauce that turned out this pink!  It was the color of watermelon sorbet...beautiful and perfectly sweet as well as perfectly tart.

And the Halloween Season begins...

We had a fun start to the say (albeit HOT) at the Four Mile Historic Park.  Lots of horses, pumpkins, gold mining and history...  We will have to go back soon.

A 40 mile bike ride for Dad later in the day with a good-by hug from Sophia...

And some Halloween decorations to round out the day.  Yes, it is a tad early but doesn't it look cute? Kudos to Heidi for the great ideas!