Grace in small things: A boy and his dog edition

1. Luke getting Newton to "sit" and "shake," so cute!
2. Mellow hang around the house day, which we all badly needed...
3. Baking muffins this morning...they were delicious with a cup of hot tea...
4. Reading to the kids on the porch this morning...
5. Luke's favorite joke at the moment: "Why did the cookie go to the doctor? Because he felt crummy!"

Happy weekend!

XO

Grace in small things: Kiddie date night edition

1. Spending the evening with Bubs and his fire truck (and Daddy got an evening with Sis). It's so important to them to have alone time with us and it's been a long time since either of them had any, as we've been doing lots of family stuff (mainly hiking) on the weekends. Luke's and my evening was kind of a comedy of errors...but still lovely to spend time with just him...
2. Kids getting to play with both Fletcher and John Rosh today...awesome to have their summer friends in town...
3. Zo coloring unicorns with me out on the deck...so fun to color with her, love it...
4. Work projects have been going so super smooth lately, and everything is taking less time than I think it will, knock on wood...
5. We're in a little mountain heat wave at the moment, and Jeff kept all the windows open last night and the shades down...the house was cold this morning but so much more comfortable this afternoon than it has been...

XOXO

Fourth of July, 2017

What a fun Fourth of July we had! Highlights include:

• Hosting my parents! Love having them here!
• Checking out what's happening on the mountain with my dad and husband
• A hike behind the house
• Early morning at the hot springs
• Fourth of July parade
• Lounging inside with high 80s heat (awfully hot with no A/C)...especially coloring bears and lions with Zo and Grammy while listening to Luke and Pap play "war"
• Traditional BBQ topped off by home-made mint chocolate chip ice cream (delicious!)
• A walk on the Core Trail/in the Botanic Gardens (with biking for Luke and Zo)
• Fireworks at home...so fun (although not sure how much our neighbors appreciated it) :)
• Kino Bay Rummy

Love the 4th...

XO

Grace in small things: My parents are here! edition

1. I so love spending time with my parents...they're up for the holiday...yay...
2. Checking out the progress at the hotel with my dad...
3. A hike with Grammy and Papa to Picnic Rock...
4. Charlotte helped me so much this morning...so appreciate her...
5. Kids and their Me-Ma making mint chocolate chip ice cream for tomorrow...

XO

Climbing Hahn's Peak

So we went Jeeping yesterday and decided to go on a little hike...which ended up being climbing Hahn's Peak...kids did amazing...the difference between hiking with 5-year-olds and all the years before is just amazing...great day...

XOXO

June 2017 highlights

• Kiddie pool
• Grammy & Papa's with Daddy
• Colorado road trip (Rocky Mountain National Park, Larimer in Boulder, Armstrongs in Colorado Springs, Poudre Canyon)
• "Girls" and "John Oliver"
• "Charlotte's Web" and "The Trumpet of the Swan"
• Playdates
• Hikes with Daddy
• Nights on the porch, Saturn in the sky
• Grilling
• Spicy jalapeno margaritas
• MOPS Sun Club
• Taking photos 
• 70K + steps/week
• Hot springs
• Fancy Freeze Tag
• "The Brothers Karamazov"
• War (the card game)
• "Wonder Woman"
• Date night with the kiddos

What a great month June was!

XO

Grace in small things, Zo tries to get Bubs to sleep over edition

Some happy and sweet things today:

1. Walks with this sweet pup...
2. Zo really wanted Luke to spend the night in her room tonight. She pulled out the trundle and decided she would sleep there and Luke could have her bed. Set her bed up with Tiny the bunny and Ducky the duck and Rainbow Dash (Luke's favorite My Little Pony because he's blue). Luke ended up deciding he'd rather sleep in his room, and Sis was OK with that...it was sweet to watch her get set up for him, though...
3. Zo doing pictures and crafts for Daddy...usually her and him, often with hearts...she loves her Daddy soooooo much...
4. Kids wanting to go to MOPS Friday morning playgroup this morning, even though I gave them the option of staying home with me...
5. Grover is already out in anticipation of Papa's arrival Monday...

Happy weekend!

XO

Grace in small things, food in the fridge edition

1. Went grocery shopping with the kids this morning and it's so satisfying to have a bunch of food in the fridge that's healthy and everyone likes...
2. Also washed the car...the bugs were so thick on the front license plate from our road trip you could barely see it. The kids pretended we were going through an animal's digestive system as we went through the car wash...ewwww...but clever...
3. New kid soap vs the old broken container...
4. Fancy Freeze Tag on the lawn...
5. Turning down the kids' beds and getting them fresh water before tuck-in...love taking care of them in little ways...

XOXO

Colorado road trip, summer 2017

Jeff had a business trip this week and instead of staying home and missing him the kids and I decided to do a little road trip. And what fun we had! Lunch Saturday at Grand Lake Lodge on the porch looking out over the lake and mountains and Rocky Mountain National Park with an elk with the biggest horns I'd ever seen and gosh Trail Ridge Road is scary but so, so beautiful and a nice hike with the kids in Beaver Meadow.

And then a couple days in Boulder with Dawn and Dwight Larimer who spoiled us rotten with their company and great food and lots of fun stuff for the kids to play with including Trouble and Perfection and Pearl Street Mall and baths in the jet tub ("best bath of my life!" Zo told Dawn after).

And then we headed down to Colorado Springs to see Autumn and Meri and Charlotte and the kids were just beside themselves to see their best friends and we spent an afternoon at America the Beautiful Park with the coolest fountain I've ever seen and had the best time and watched Trolls and we tried to let the big kids have a sleepover but by about 10 PM it was clear that there wasn't going to be any sleep lol so the kids slept with me. And the next day the Butterfly Museum and then the kids and I drove back through Poudre Canyon...I'd never been on that road and it's so incredibly lovely.

Such great memories we made! Nothing better than seeing great friends and some of the beauty Colorado has to offer...

XOXO

Grace in small things, day before a vacation edition

1. Beautiful hike this morning while the kids played with their MOPS friends...
2. Ultra-focused and productive afternoon of work...
3. We're packed for a short road trip...so excited!
4. Reggae from the Steamboat Free Concert Series drifting up faintly right now from Howelsen...
5. TGIF!

XO