New House - Skeleton!

**WARNING: all pics are from iphone & many are blurry**

Elsie Anne in her new room.  There is a guest room opposite hers, with a linen closet in between.

Looking from the end of the hallway (EA's room, guest room & 2nd bathroom) to kitchen. Folding doors store full-size washer/dryer with great storage above.

Kitchen.  I'm so excited the walls are orange - similar to the color I chose for our Breck kitchen!!

This overlooks the open dining & living rooms.  So much cabinet space!!

The Enrtyway.  Door on left goes into 2car garage.  

Looking the other way.  Kitchen on left, hallway to EA's room on right, dining/living ahead to french doors & fenced in backyard.  Our room is to right of french doors.

Dining/Living Room.

Teeny Patio.  Small fenced in yard.  Plenty for our first yard to up-keep:)

On the right, our room.  Its a grey/green color that I love!!

Into our HUGE bathroom.  Walk-in closet ahead.

We don't have enough clothes to fill up this closet!!

Looking the other way at the 'throne' & shower:)  Natural light in the shower is awesome!!

Best for last... EA and I loved picking out her new bathroom accessorize - so girly!!

And the Princess herself!  Dressed up in all her bracelets and running around our empty house, on the first night we stayed!!

Sunset!

This time of night is always gorgeous at my parent's house!  Elsie Anne has discovered the SUNSET, and always wants to watch the sun fall behind the trees in the distance.  It's a pretty amazing thing to watch how quickly it sets, but then, to watch it through her eyes, blows us away:)  "Good Night Sunshine, See you in the Morning!!"

Her new squinty eye smile is hilarious!  I don't know if we'll ever see her pretty green eyes in a picture again?!

Buena Vista Camping!!

We finally got the courage to go camping as a family!  Buena Vista became our target spot, as it is not quite 2hrs away, but is WARM!!!  It is southwest of Breck, and home to some of the best rafting on the Colorado River - not that we got to go rafting on this trip:)

The perfect potty stop!!  This is at the top of Hoosier Pass, right down the road from 'Elk Ridge Ranch', our wedding location!!  We shared this incredible view with our family and friends on one of the best days of my life, second only to the birth of Elsie Anne!

Dinner at a delicious restaraunt before setting up 'Camp'!!  This was the perfect spot to run around and even get to climb some rocks!!

The first stages of set up...

...and VOALA... the campsite at its finest!!  First time our family roasted marshmellows together, and definitely won't be the last!  There's just something about that outdoor bonding time:)

I had to let go on trying to keep this Princess clean:)  She loved the dusty dirt, and was soon covered from head to toe!!

Climbing in the trees!

Not too many pics, but plenty of memories from our first Fraser Camping trip!!  We all enjoyed ourselves, the outdoors, and the time we got to spend together:)

STRIDER Balance Bike!

This time, last summer, while we were at the Mountain Bike Nationals in Granby, we saw this little boy on a 'Balance Bike'... his dad told us he had just turned 2 and he was obsessed with this thing!  We couldn't believe our eyes at what this miniature person was doing!!  We decided we'd HAVE to get one for Elsie Anne when the time comes!!

Well, that time came in FULL FORCE, when her friend Lilly got one for her birthday!  Lilly didn't want anything to do with it at her party, so EA hopped on & rode all around the neighborhood!  Then a few days later, we played at Henry's house & he had just gotten one... thank goodness he also had a scooter that he was more interested in, because once EA got a hold of his bike, there was NO turn taking!  She absolutely melted into a puddle when I forced her off the bike to let Henry ride it - H saw the trauma it caused & quickly returned it to her:)  Our little buddy is such a LOVER!!

We had one more experience like the previous story & came to the conclusion: this purchase can NOT wait until we move to Florida, we have to get her a Balance Bike of her own, before she takes one of her friends' bikes home:)

We found a great deal at a Bike Shop in town, and she RODE out of the store with HER OWN STRIDER!!  She didN't get off that bike until an hour & a half later, when we were both starving for lunch!  She rode all around town... on the sidewalks, over the river on bridges, in the bumpy gravel parking lots, on the handicap ramps, up & down the curbs, in all the pot holes we could find...

She was a natural... I couldn't believe that MY 2YR OLD was doing the same thing the boy in Granby had done!!  This is in the first 5min of purchasing her STRIDER - up a steep hill on the bike path:)

I had to PROMISE her, to get her to nap, that we would go to the Bike Track when Daddy got home... and that is just what we did - packed up a bucket of beer, her bike & we were off!!

So proud of herself and the independence she has on her own Strider Bike!!

This video is her 3rd lap on the 'whoops' in the track!  She blows our mind with the control she has at all times!!

Yes, We should be a spokeswomen for this product!  We think every child should have one:)

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:)

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:)

Spring?!

COLORADO SPRING TIME...

Not what this Florida-Girl is craving @ the moment!

"Slide Water Park"

After being SICK, and I mean as sick as Elsie Anne has ever been... our first outing was the Silverthorne Rec Center, which has an amazing water area!!  We all deserved this little getaway:)

Elsie Anne & Daddy getting ready for the HUGE water slide!  Who do you think was more excited??

WAY UP at the THREE STORY top:)

In the middle of the slide!  It was so fun to see all her expressions on the way down!

SPLASH!  EA liked this part the best!!

We are so happy that fever, cough & snotty-ness are GONE:)