Christmas in July

The kids and I spent a day last week at "Santa's Workshop" - a great little amusement park outside of Colorado Springs. We went with two other moms and their kids and had such a blast! The place is totally geared for young kids and all our 4 year olds could ride just about every ride. Even the 1 and 2 year olds could do several and they all spent most of the day giggling and running from one thing to the next. We'll definitely be heading back there again in the future!

I was the only mom that could handle the spinning rides (I love 'em!) so I took the kids on this one. Our barrel got going so fast and we were all giggling like crazy!

Josiah, Lauren, and Brogan drove the taxi. Maddie, Rachel, and Gabby were in the bus in the back.

Elizabeth and her kiddos on the merry-go-round (or is it a carousel?)

Rachel and Maddie - they had to ride every ride together whenever possible!

Brogan is fearless - he went on every ride and had a look of complete glee all day!

The airplane ride

Playtime with Friends

We've enjoyed many a playdate this summer with a variety of friends. The kids love playing with so many different kids and the moms love it too!


Annie Crawford and Maddie

Maddie and Ethan Crawford at Central Park in Stapleton

Checking out the fire trucks at our community ice cream social

Maddie and Natalie Mosher in the fire engine

Roomie playdate - Brogan, Grace, Maddie, and Josh

Both kids are fish - they absolutely love the water in any shape or form!

Fountains at Civic Green Park in our neighborhood

Rachel, Maddie, Brogan, and Lauren in the sand "boat" at our house

More Summer Fun

As usual, we've been trying to make the most of our summer days and have found ourselves having all kinds of fun! Playdates with friends, family outings, and visits from out-of-town friends and family made for a crazy month of June, but we had such a great time!

An impromptu trip to Heritage Square on Father's Day - Maddie and Mommy on the Alpine Slide

Daddy and Brogan getting ready to head down the hill. B was so excited to "drive"!

I think this was Brogan's very first amusement park ride - he definitely enjoyed it.

Maddie was thrilled to be big enough to ride by herself on a few of the rides!

Our dear friends the Kucinskis came to visit in June. They left CO a year and a half ago to move to OK and this was the first time they've been back as a family. Little Courtney (above with Maddie) wasn't around yet when they left so it was so fun to meet her!

Aaron K., Maddie, Brogan, and Nathan K. - all in PJ's and watching cartoons upon waking.

We hosted a BBQ for the Kucinskis while they were here so they could see as many friends as possible. I think we had 11 families with 21 kids 5 and under - total madness but lots of fun!

Our annual summer trip to Tiny Town. Brogan is VERY into trains right now so he loved the ride!

Several of the kiddos checking out some of the buildings...

Smile! Isaac, Rachel, Lauren, Maddie, and Joey

Adventures in Alaska

We had the amazing opportunity to go to Alaska at the beginning of the month to visit Jon's sister Kate and her family. Kate, her hubby Travis and their 2 kids (Sarah - 7 yr and Austin - 3 yr) were the most amazing hosts we could have ever asked for! Not only did they put us up at their house for 8 nights, but they took us all over the place on a variety of modes of transportation. Our kids were super travelers and had so much fun playing with their cousins. The Lord blessed us with incredible weather for the entire trip ( NO RAIN!!!) so we were really able to play tourist and enjoy the unbelievable sites. And of course, with 20 hours of daylight there was plenty of time to play. :) Below are just a few of the 400+ pics we took. If you want to see a more full slideshow (about 100 pics), feel free to check out this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=86274&id=531524643&l=192cb64aea


Moms and daughters - on a bridge over a creek in the neighborhood

view of Seward harbor as we returned from the Kenai Fjords boat/wildlife trip - amazing!

At the Seward harbor before boarding our boat - it was an 8 hour ride and all in all, everyone did really well.

Meyers family and Lewis family

The 4 adults enjoyed an incredible day out (kids were home with a sitter). We rode 60 miles roundtrip on ATV's to the Knik glacier. We crossed rivers, rode through swamps, and even saw a mama and baby moose having a drink. It was so awesome!

The 8 of us did a 16-mile bike ride along a creek path in Anchorage that also followed along the bay. We started out around 7:30 pm and by the time we returned to the car to load up (with several stops to watch airplanes land at the airport, eat ice cream/play at the playground, and go potty) it was 11:00 pm! The kids were troopers and it was a really fun way to see some amazing sites.

Our first full day in AK included a 5 mile hike (roundtrip) along the Russian River to a sweet salmon fishing spot. Jon carried B in the pack and Maddie walked along with the rest of us. The kids were pooped by the time we got back to the cars but it was a very fun day.

The cousins at the start of the hike - Brogan, Maddie, Austin, and Sarah

En route to the Russian River

Sweet view from the airplane as we headed toward Anchorage