Glenwood Springs!

A Memorial Day Weekend is just not right without a little bit of WATER around!  I was so thankful when Shawn came up with the idea to drive over to Glenwood for the day!  It's about 2hrs west of us, on the way to Aspen/SnowMass.

As always... Elsie Anne had a ball in the water!

Shawn and I enjoyed ourselves too:)

A lovely little day trip... just what we all needed!!

Random Phone Pics...

We could never upload our phone pics until we got iPhones.  Unfortunately, my screen on my old phone was broken, so they couldn't transfer the pics over, but Shawn had over 200 pics on his old phone that transferred:)  I thought I'd share a few silly ones!

May 2010 - Elsie Anne sitting on Memoo & BigDaddy's pool table. 

Reds Baseball Season 2010 - EA around 18mo!

2007ish - poor quality pic, but I'm thinking I might chop my hair off to a pixie cut again?!!

Elsie Anne 2009: 6mo-ish

EA in a 'beer-club house' @ the Liquor Store with Daddy.  May 2011

On a jog with Daddy, they stopped to check out this huge excavator in action!  May 2011

Chilling with Henry!  May 2011

Me teaching 'Tumbling Tots'!  EA in polka-dots, and Lilly to the left!  April 2011

Lilly's Birthday Party May 2011.  This is EA's first time on a 'Balance Bike' and she wouldn't get off!!

EA in the scarves @ dance class!  May 2011

Beautiful Sun rays on a gorgeous afternoon in May 2011!

EA & Daddy went to 'Daylight Donuts' @ 6:30am!  Didn't know they were going to sit & eat or I would've put some clothes on this child!  She loved her morning breakfast date in PJ's with Daddy!

This is what EA loves doing with our phones... creating silly pics of herself w/ the CamWow app:)

Not Quite Done...

We were prepared for this being the last day of Dance, but we were happy to find out they would hold one more class for us, since there technically IS another Tuesday in May!!!  Adeline & Elsie Anne doing 'Wheels on the Bus'!

 Twirling and Spinning with scarves!!

EA started a 'Super-Girl' epidemic, and before we new it, all the girls were twirling around with their Capes!

Storytime.  What a good little listener!!

Some of our Dance friends... Sade, Acadia, Adeline, EA!  Missing... Luke, Emmie, Nadia! 

Playing outside of Dance...She is being a 'Tree Moster' like Daddy:)

GL7!

Snowy Saturday called for some Pool Time @ Grand Lodge on Peak 7!!  Thanks to the Dudick's we get to enjoy all the amenities of this gorgeous Hotel!  We ate a delicious breakfast, loaded up the kids & were at the Pool by 9:30am!!  I've got to say this is THE best indoor pool area I've ever seen!  The temperature is perfectly warm, it is Salt Water (so it doesn't dry your skin out), has tons of water fountains, and its the perfect depth for the kids!!  Elsie Anne, Henry & Shawn love to make big splashes & create a 'Wave Pool'!!

Having fun in the Fountains!

Tumbling Tots!

Our last 'Tumbling Tots' class.  It was very bitter-sweet.  We've absolutely LOVED having this activity on our schedule - we've met wonderful families & children, learned new tricks on the gymnastics equipment, and have worked with incredible people at the Gym!  Its been such a blessing to be a part of these activities & also have Elsie Anne right by my side:)

You see some of our obstacle course set-up in this pic... the bar (back rt), cheese mate, tunnel & bus, spring board, block, landing mat (lft), and our carpet squares for circle time & stretching!

Elsie Anne & Lilly being goof balls in the bus!

EA scooting on the balance beam?!  She got really good walking on it all by herself, and now turns any curb or crack on the ground into a "ballance beeeam"!!

Ms.Jill and Lilly doing the 'Vault' exercise!!  This became one of EA's favorite activities - bouncing on the spring board, jumping up to her knees on the block (vault), standing up & jumping to the X on the landing mat, then with a big "TAA-DAA" hands-above-her-head-FINISH!!

For the last 8months, we've 'coached' this class almost every Friday (a few breaks in between sessions)!  We've made new friends through this experience, and will always cherish these fun memories!!  Thanks Breckenridge Rec Center for this wonderful opportunity!

Daddy's Turn!

Stunt-Master, Dare-Devil, Adrenalin Junky... explains Elsie Anne & Shawn's personalities to a 'T'!!  That's why, when I take her on a wagon ride, she says, "Splash in Watuu Momma - In da Big Bumps Momma - Climb da Hill Momma" I reply, "Daddy will be home soon & he'll be crazy with you!"  Her response to that, "Lets Go Home and Play!"  That's right, my wagon rides are just not cool enough!!

Just a little glimpse...

They also go 'off-roading' in the ditch, which is 4in deep in water!!!  Just not my style:)

Choo-Choo!

Tuesdays are always fun since it's our Dance Day, but this one was extra-special!  Daddy met us at the Historic Breckenridge Train Station to play!  The girls were ecstatic to run around these enormous pieces of machinery!!

The trains had giant snow blowers on the front, so they could blast through any blizzard weather!

Once the girls had enough 'learning' about the trains, we went on a nature hike - our first of the year!!  They loved crossing the streams on bridges & throwing rocks into the river!

Harmonica!!

If you follow this blog, you know that Elsie Anne only had ONE paci to 'out-grow'!  Well, last night was the night - she walked into her room after brushing her teeth and found this...

She was a little weary of being excited this time, since she knew it was her last one, but she conjured up a big smile and did a happy dance!!  We promised her that after church in the morning we would make a special trip to 'Peek-A-Boo Toy Store' and she could choose a Big Kid toy!!

This is what she chose... a Harmonica, just like her Great-GrandDaddy plays!!

Practicing a tune for GrandDaddy!



Lilly's Big Day!

A little Ladybug Birthday Party!!  These girls are the cutest!  Daddy is helping Elsie Anne decorate her Flower Pot - love his concentration!

EA loving Lilly's new sand table:)  

Happy Birthday Sweet Friend!  You girls are such big 2 year olds now:)

Caught One!!

Elsie Anne saw this picture of Big Daddy, Tullen, and Thatcher fishing...

...and decided she had to "catch some fish" like her cousins!  She was able to catch a "SNOW FISH!!"

I keep promising her there will be a day when SHE will get to go fishing on a BOAT with them:)

River Walk Mother's Day:)

Such a gorgeous day to call 'mine'!!  We started the day off with a wonderful sermon at Church.  With a smile on our faces, and full & thankful hearts, we walked into town.  We stopped at Clint's Bakery to get coffee and banana bread, and continued our stroll to the River Walk! 

I've often thought Shawn needs a little boy for his outdoor excursions, but watching these two, and the delight they both got from throwing rocks in the river, I take that thought back!  Elsie Anne is the perfect mix of 'girly-girl' and 'tom-boy'...just thought of a new phrase...Elsie Anne is a 'TOM-GIRL'!!

On to the Rock Slide!!  A few rounds of this and we were off to...

...the Bridge over the River! 

I love this shot of us!  In so many ways, it reminds me of what I am so thankful for.  This little creature made me a MOTHER, something I've always dreamt of becoming!  Thank you my Sweet Angel for being ours, for changing mine and Daddy's worlds forever, for showing us all that we have to be thankful for... YOU absolutely make Daddy & I WHOLE!  We love you Princess:)

Chillin' & Grillin'

...with our best buddy, Donnie!!  Seriously, he is MY best friend, SHAWN's best friend, & EA's best uncle (since she knows him more than her real uncles)!  His joke is that he is 'dating a married couple'!!  Love this guy:)

There are really only a few friends we KNOW we will see again, once we move, and DONNIE is for sure!!  He may even move to FLA when the time is right, woohoo:)

'Hen'

As I've requested, we are spending a lot of time with our buddy, Henry!  While our move date approaches, I am having Henry breakdowns more often:(  I can't imagine our lives, especially Elsie Anne's, without him in it!!  He is the big brother she wishes she had, and the closest thing to a cousin relationship she's ever experienced!!

These silly goof-balls are sharing a deck chair and enjoying the nice evening:)  He never gets upset with how close she always wants to be to him, and he's never come close to being aggressive with her.  He just takes all her crazy girl antics with stride:)  Maybe because they've played together since she was 2mo old!!

Splish-Splash in the melting snow puddle!

Sweet girl loving the warm weather & all our outdoor time!

Dillon Marina Park

It was kind of hard explaining what a "MAWIINA" is when the Lake is still frozen and the boats are all wrapped up, but I gave it my best shot & told EA she would see plenty of boats in the water in FLA!!

We met up with our buddies Lilly & Ms. Jill for some Sunshine at the Park!!  It was awesome that the sand was dry enough to play in! 

It was a while before the girls even ventured over to the slides!!

This was our first time back to this park, since last Summer, and it was incredible to watch Elsie Anne do things that weren't even possible back then!  What a crazy transformation Winter brought this Big Girl!!

Too Big...

...FOR HER 'PACI'!! 

I had been racking my brain for the last few weeks, on how to get rid of Elsie Anne's paci, in a way she would understand, and not have anxiety about it!  One night, as I lay awake in bed, it dawned on me that she needed to 'grow out of it'! 

The next morning I showed her all the bags of clothes she had 'outgrown'.  The whole day we talked about what she did as a baby, and how she has grown and changed into a big girl!  This was the lead-in, haha!  After her nap, I slyly snipped off the end of two of her pacis (she has 4 in her crib, that never leave her room, & one in her car seat!)  While we played in her room later, I let her discover them on her own.  She turned around and said, "Uh-Oh Momma, my paci's boken?!!"  I made a huge production and told her, "no Princess, its not broken, you've outgrown it!  It doesn't fit you anymore, just like your clothes when you were a baby!"  She started jumping around and squealing, she was so excited!  It was all she could do to wait for Daddy to get home and tell him!

This is EA after she had 'outgrown' three crib pacis AND her car paci!!!  This is the only ONE she has to outgrow & then she gets to pick out a BIG GIRL toy!!  Can you see the complete excitement & true pride in this child's smile! 

Shawn made sure to take a few 'paci pics' since we don't have very many of them.  Of course, Momma & Daddy are a little sentimental because it just shows us how big our Little Love is getting:)  She now gets such a kick out of telling people "I out-go my pacis! I a big kid!!"

We are so happy and proud of you Elsie Anne!  We love that you truly enjoy learning and growing, and can't wait to see your changes in the next 6 months:)