SCHOOL'S COOL

The kids have been back in school for a month now and they are really loving it. Olivia is adjusting to her very early start time of 7:25am.....nearly an hour and a half earlier than last year! She is doing really well with all the new responsibilities of middle school and the homework that goes with it. She loves her friends and lunch. She just got back from a three day outdoor education trip that the entire 6th grade class attends at Snow Mountain Ranch. It was her first time away from home and she had a blast!

  Nick is loving third grade, too. He is in one of two all-boy classes this year so that has been a little different for him but he likes it. (He just likes the ladies, too....) His teacher is absolutely amazing and has "her guys" as she calls them doing all kinds of really cool projects. They play "Reading Bingo" each week and the boys fill in a bingo card as they read in different places. In the photo above, he had to read in a bathtub with socks on in order to fill in his bingo spot for the day.

Kindergarten is treating this little fella well....look at that smile! He is ready to go with his handprint name tag on every single day. He is very serious about school and most days, reports back to me what he worked on in very good detail. He his learning quickly and loves homework. This picture was taken the morning before "Crazy Hair and Sock Day" when nothing but a mohawk would do.

While the big kids are in school, this little girl and I are buddies. I love it. She is so fun to haul around to the gym, grocery store and where ever else we need to go. She is happy and chatty and says hello to everyone she sees. On the days when we are at home, she just wanders around in her jammies, looking for snacks and things to get in to. Lola Pig and Charlie are her best friends.

ESTES PARK

On Saturday morning, three days after all the kids have been quaranteened for Whooping Cough, we were getting a little stir crazy. With nothing going on and no church assignments, we decided to hit the road. Chris booked a hotel room for us in Estes Park, we threw some clothes in backpacks and were outta here.

 The drive was a beautiful and one we hadn't taken before. We knew it was going to be a good time when we saw this little black bear on the side of the road. We also realized Chris really is the Wildlife Specialiest he claims to be since he spotted this guy. Too bad our car startled him and he took off!

 After we checked in at the YMCA of the Rockies, we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park. We found this beautiful lake and spent an hour of so walking around it. Little Kitty was the biggest hiker in the family. She wouldn't ride in the backpack for anything and those little legs walked miles by the time the weekend was over.

 It was getting close to sun down as we left the lake and the Wildlife Specialist was sure there were elk to be found. We came to this strange little unmarked dirt road and he said, "Right here. I need to turn here." I was thinking he was a nut case until we came around a bend and there was a little coyote near the road. The van exploded with excitement. And just past the coyote was a huge heard of elk. Seriously. He didn't need encouragement. Now the kids think he is magical.....

 We had dinner in town at a great little place. We were starved after hiking and all ordered cheeseburgers. The lady brought us a brand new bottle of ketchup when our food arrived and it wasn't even ten minutes later and the bottle was empty. These guys eat ketchup on their ketchup! After dinner we found an ice cream shop and then headed back to hit the hay for the night. The next morning we were up early for breakfast and the kids signed up for all kinds of adventure classes. That is what is so great about the Y...all these fun things are included with your room! Ben is crazy for crafts and loved his rock class and an animal tracks class, Nick and Liv did Archery and a compass orienteering class and then they all met up for a survival basics class.

 In between classes, we grabbed lunch and played a round of mini golf. Nick was in heaven.

 After wailing that tiny little ball several times, Dad stepped in to help Livi with her swing.

 And Kitty just hopped from rock to rock, swung her plastic baby golf club all over and picked up our balls a million times.

 Later on we spent some time at the playground, where mom amazed the family with her skillz on the playground bars. Still cameras were not allowed at the performance.

 We found out Kate loves beavers. Especially ones that don't move and let her rub her hands all over their fur. And eyes.

The happy camper crafter let me know early in the day that he would need a picture by this thing.

It was amazing....we were only gone 24 hours but it felt like a week-long vacation. Everyone was happy. It was adventurous and relaxing and just what this crew needed. We drove home through the park and saw some amazing views at nearly 13,00 feet! The mountains were absolutely breath-taking and we can't wait to get back up there soon!

SEVENTEEN MONTHS

Little miss Kitty is 17 months tomorrow. She is SUCH a doll! She has found her sassiness and isn't afraid to let it show. She has figured out that a high-pitched scream gets everyone's attention really quick so often times she just lets it rip for fun. She knows a little sign language but as of late has decided she likes to scream for whatever she needs instead.;)

She wanders all over the house, getting into the Tupperware drawer, the bathroom sink, Charlie's water dish and mom's make up several times a day.

She just started crawling up on things... The kids aren't too thrilled that she can now make her way up onto the computer bench to sit/bother the heck out of them while they're playing!

She loves her Charlie and Lola pig and even started singing the "Lola" song this week. She gasps at things that make her happy- which is pretty much everything-and it is the cutest thing ever! It makes my day if I walk into a room and she gasps with excitement like, "Oh, there you are! What a surprise!"

Just today I was doing laundry and she was trying on clothes.... But ONLY the underwear and bras! At one point she had Chris' undies around her waist and was toddling around the house. Later she had two of Olivia's bras on and was getting mad that they were all tangled around her. I have no idea how she finds the undergarments like she does but almost daily she is wearing someones's unmentionables!

This week Olivia got out one of her old baby dolls and Kate has been playing with it almost nonstop. The baby is almost as big as her and she gets SO huffy when that baby won't sit in the stroller the right way. It is absolutely hilarious to watch her play and fuss over that little doll. Yesterday I tried to move the stroller out of the way and she got upset me with for touching her baby! Goofy girl.

For as sassy as she is, she is just as sweet. She is very cuddly and sweet and gives away kisses to just about everyone. Everyone except Nick, that is. It's a rare day when she will give him a kiss!

LOVES: bananas, books and climbing stairs.

HATES: getting her diaper changed, getting out of the tub, and going down for naps.

WORDS: dada, momma, Lola, "numa numa" (drink or sippy). She talks all the time, we just don't know what she's saying!!