Field Day in the Fall

In an effort to catch nicer weather for Field Day this year, our school district decided to try Field Day in the Fall. It kind of worked, even though they had to move from their originally planned day of Thursday to Friday, due to the forecast. The sun was definitely shining but the wind was also blowing, making for a bit of a chilly one. The children all managed to have fun, regardless!

It was fun for me to be there with both girls. Emma's class was only two stations behind Camryn's on the field, making it very easy to bounce back and forth between the two. Camryn showed off her mad kicking skills, that she has been working on at Lil' Kickers and Emma finished first in round one of the potato sack race.

I have to say the best part of the day, though, was when Emma's teacher paid her a very big compliment. She told me that Emma is so very caring and compassionate in their classroom, always helping out her friends and looking out for them. She is usually the one that puts her hand around their back and walks them to the teacher when they get hurt. One of their Paras was standing there and told me that Emma is especially helpful with their special needs classmate. Of course, this just made me so very proud of our sweet little girl.

We have lots more planned for this month, with a visit to the pumpkin patch next week while the girls are out of school, ballet costume fittings for their December performance of the Nutcracker, Mad Scientist carnival at school, Boo at the Zoo, and, of course, trick-or-treating.

Snow Bunnies

Good thing Picabo Street is retired, otherwise Emma might give her a run for her money! She's the one in head to toe pink, with black gloves.

We took the girls skiing this past weekend, and they both loved it SO much. Little Cam had a private lesson, where she quickly took to the pizza and french fry moves. She even got to ride the t-bar up a few times, very exciting! Emma took a full day group lesson and turned out to be quite the competitive little one! She was racing around all the other children, in a very controlled manner, to ensure she got to the finish line first. We had so much fun watching them and can't wait to take them again soon!

Pumpkins and Papas

I love October. Fall is in the air. Activities with the kids are aplenty. Holidays are right around the corner. It's just a great month. Ours started out busy and is going to end on that note.

Emma and I had a special Mommy/Daughter event last Sunday, we went to see the Olympic Gymnastic Stars Show here in town. We had so much fun watching the gymnastic events during the games, and it was great to see the amazing athletes again up close.

Last week was also Emma's annual pumpkin patch field trip. This year they visited the Colorado Pumpkin Patch, which is very close to our 'hood. Her and her classmates had the best time! There was a fun slide for them to go down, it was very fast too - as I found out when I rode down with Emma! They found their way through the maze, played on tractors and picked out their very own special pumpkins to take home.

To finish off the week, the girls and I took a trip to see my 91 year old grandpa in Kansas. Brian had planned to go with us, but with the craziness at work, he couldn't afford to be away on Friday. His phone is literally ringing off the hook. So - girl trip! We headed out Friday morning, driving across the lovely state of Kansas. Could there be a more boring drive? I shouldn't say that, because I had two wonderful little girls in the backseat keeping me entertained. I think they quite enjoyed getting to overload on movies since they don't get to do that at home! My grandpa was so excited to see us, you could see his face light up. He's not getting around so well anymore and we are thankful for every moment that we have with him.

And as I sat here today looking through my calendar, there are is so much more fun planned for the remainder of the month. Tomorrow night is Family Night at the club - spaghetti dinner and Ratatouille showing. My mom is coming down this weekend for Boo at the Zoo, we are taking Camryn back to the pumpkin patch (she was a little sad she didn't get to go with Emma), Emma has a classmate birthday party and we are planning to take my girlfriend that finished the Kona Ironman competition last Saturday out for brunch to celebrate! Next week is book club, a Bar Mitzvah, adult Halloween party, kids Halloween party, and a wedding that Nanna and Pappa will be coming from Las Vegas for. I'll post more pictures as we celebrate our way through October.

Happy Fall!

Sunny Sunday

Go Emma Go! Beautiful day on Sunday to get the girls to the park for some bike/trike riding. Emma got her new bike for her birthday and is having a great time with it! The hockey rink at the park is perfect flat riding space, she sped in circles trying to get Camryn to chase her.

Getting outside with the family was a breath of fresh air this weekend. I feel like we've been cooped up all winter and can't wait to spend more time outside. The girls are at the perfect age this summer for really playing together, it is such a pleasure to watch them entertain each other in the sandbox out back or put their personal chalk art all over the patio.

Thanks to the sunshine, it was perfect grilling weather on Sunday. So, of course, that meant having our neighbors over for the season kick-off BBQ. Brian fired up some steaks (thanks Nanna & Pappa!) and I made my most favorite cucumber salad that screams summer at me. It's super easy to make if anyone wants to give it a try, I'll put the recipe below.

Emma starts back up with swimming lessons tomorrow night. She'll be taking a few lessons at the local Y before our neighborhood club starts their lessons back up.

I also got another ray of sunshine on Sunday when I checked the mail that had been piling up for days. The sweetest handwritten note (love these!) was waiting on me from Jennifer! Can't wait to see you in May and hoping we can get out for that social run.

Cucumber Salad:

2 english cucumbers, peeled, seeded & thinly sliced

2/3 c. plain fat-free yogurt
2-3 TBS. Dill
1/2 tsp. salt and ground cumin
1/8 tsp. pepper

*So refreshing and tasty!

Two Princesses Turning Two

Happy 2nd Birthday to our sweet baby girl!

Camryn had a wonderful birthday celebration yesterday. We had a joint birthday party for her and one of her best little buddies. They got to play, eat and exchange books with all of their friends. I think we hosted 15 children total, so there was lots of running around and giggling going on. Most of the girls were dressed up in some sort of princess attire from Emma and Cam's collection. The boys didn't seem to mind this so much, they were too busy jumping on the trampoline. The cake, made by one of my co-workers, turned out beautiful and tasted delicious as well.

As you can see, Daddy got Camryn some new wheels for her birthday, so she was zooming (2mph max) around the house last night. Camryn also celebrated at school on Friday with Sesame Street cupcakes for all of her classmates. Emma made a visit from across the hall as well. The children were painted in blue icing before long, which made for great birthday photos!

Grammy knitted a beautiful new sweater for Camryn, I'll post pictures soon. It's a little too big right now, but she'll grow into it. Lots more pictures in our January 2008 album. Enjoy!

Fun in the Sun

Here is Emma, our "Bubble Girl" :)! I wasn't sure if she would wear this floaty suit when I bought it, but she actually loved it. Brian and I couldn't help but laugh, though, when she put it on. It's quite silly looking.

What a beautiful weekend here in sunny (usually) Colorado! I was able to get in my long run on Saturday morning with Jennifer (go girl! - she was 1st in the double stroller division at her race Sunday) before the rest of the weekend fun began.

We took the girls to the Sky Sox game on Saturday evening with about twenty friends. It was their first baseball game, so we figured we'd be leaving early but they actually made it to the 8th. Emma loved Sox the Fox and Camryn enjoyed all the ballpark grub.

Couldn't have asked for a better Mother's Day! Brian and the girls let me sleep in, which meant 7:30 (I wish I had it in me to sleep later), and we all headed out for a Mother's Day breakfast. Next, it was off to the pool. That wore the girls out good, we all got in long afternoon naps.

One of my favorite things about being a Mom is watching my children develop and figure out new things. Camryn's latest thing - "Where it go"? She will take things, anything, and try to hide it. Then she walks around with her arms out wide, asking - "Where it go"? Too cute.