Welcome to our World

M had been begging for months to go ride a real train.  Not the one at the zoo and not the one at the RR museum in Golden.  A real one.  So, when Dan and I decided he would take off work to be with us on Friday during K and D's 3 day weekend, I decided we should all go ride the Georgetown Loop and then head into Denver to go to the aquarium with the great coupons I saw on Facebook.  The children watched Frozen on the way up into the mountains and we eventually rode the train.  It was 20 minutes late getting started and went so slowly my son almost went crazy.  It was pretty and it's a great thing to cross of the bucket list, but, as M summed it up, "I hate trains now."  lol.  I guess we won't be driving 2 hours to ride a train for 45 minutes anytime soon.  Ha.  Good thing there was a Mexican restaurant and a candy factory in the little tourist town to help us leave on a good note. (: The Aquarium was a huge hit.  I don't think w...

My youngest little girls are growing up way too fast. M loves her Waldorf preschool so much she begs and begs to go more and more. But I don't want her to be away from me that much!  I think 3 mornings a week as a 4 year old is enough prep for being gone 5 mornings as a kindergartener next year.  On the bright side, at least she is at a place she adores!  This seems to be a great environment for her sweet nature and for her to learn how to regularly interact with a certain group of individuals she hasn't known before now.  Whenever someone asks her about where she goes, she is always certain to mention the animals and the garden too. Who gave N permission to stop being a baby and start acting like a girl instead?  Here is a picture of her all ready to go run errands with mommy yesterday.  I put her shoes on for her and told her we were ready to get in the van and she grabbed K's purse & hat and started walking for the garage door. ...

It is always sad to hear a great friend is moving away.  In this case that bad news also came with the great idea to take advantage of terrific September weather and go camping and boating at the lake.  These pictures will do the talking for us.  We will miss this family so much when they move away to Boston! Doesn't it look like there is a hole in the picture beside Dan and behind Danny & Michelle?  I'm so sad I'm not there holding Natalie.  I would have much rather enjoyed all this fun than been home sick.

New hair cut:  6" and all the hair that had been dyed red gone. New bikes for K & D: thanks Craigslist.  And swimming gave M the confidence to begin riding a new bike too.  So now I get to see this cute sight when I take my children to school.  It makes my heart happy. We saw the transportation exhibit with the P family before it closed and met friends at the park.  It has been way too long!  And we've made Rockies fans out of our children.  Poor souls.  I was excited to take them and knew looking forward to awesome fireworks would help them sit through the game.  We bought overpriced hot dogs and loved the Rock pile for the freedom it provided and the opportunity to go down on the field.  Dan wanted to grab a picture before it got dark but N wouldn't join in.  Why?  Because when we set out the picnic blanket she assumed it was meal time and therefore we needed to pray first.  (:  I look fo...

After a great neighborhood potluck, complete with wagon parade, face painting, throwing kids around, and trying to make a dirt track on an empty lot, N couldn't contain her excitement at the thought of homemade cookies.  Recently she sticks out her tongue like that to signal when she really wants something.   M was absolutely delighted to start school after having to watch her siblings go off to school without her for a couple of weeks.  She loves loves loves her preschool.  M actually begged to begin going 3 days a week instead of 2, so we set it up for last week.  So far so good.  Makes me so sad she is happy to leave me, but I'm happy for her too.  For the next 3 weeks, swimming lessons consumed our lives.  4 lessons 4 times a week wore us out, but all of our children are doing great!  K, D, and M are finished with their private lessons and are taking group lessons once a week now.  So much easier.  My mornings are st...

Well, the anxiousness for the first day of school is over & done with.  Before our big first grader started us off, we had a s'more making camp fire at my parents house.  K started on Monday, D started on Wednesday, and M began the Wednesday after Labor Day and had a hard time waiting.  K is a totally different student than last year.  She feels so much more confident as a big first grader.  I think it helps her a lot to have Danny with her going to school every morning.  It's not a battle to get her out the door!  If you talked to me last year about this girl and kindergarten, you know this is huge!  I'm glad I got a picture of her at the back to school open house by the class lists because on the first day of school she was so afraid of being late she wouldn't let me take a picture.  She is loving having art, music, and pe everyday.  She likes eating lunch at school with her friends and coming home just in time for an afternoon sn...