Lucy's Potraits and Family Pictures

 Have you ever hired a photographer only to immediately regret it once you see the pictures? Well, that is an experience I never hope to repeat now that we go through Samantha Kelly with Megan Hardre Photography. Sam's been taking our family pictures since Ethan was about 10 months old, and each time they are just more and more stunning. She will also be photographing my sister's beautiful wedding next year!!

 They're a little late but these are Lucy's 1 year portraits. I mean, seriously, look at this baby, gorgeous.

 And then some family ones

Sam's son Archer in the wagon, we're totally cool adding other kids into our family pictures, well, as long as they're cute

Love this guy

Arts & Crafts

Our summer has been a mixture of extremely busy and extremely boring.
I think the boring comes in because we're going from on go-go-go trip and then waiting for another. It's hard to adjust back to the slow pace in between. Then there were the smokey days when the Waldo Canyon fire was burning full force; then there's the heat. Normally in Colorado there's about a week or 2 when all you want is air conditioning, the rest of the time is bearable. This summer, we're still waiting for the bearable period (we don't have ac).
So, back to my story, between smoke and heat we have not been outside as much as normal. plus, factor in that one child doesn't take a nap and wants to be non stop all day, while the other takes 2 naps; we don't have much time.
This is where the boredom, stir craziness seeps into our day. I am in love with pinterest (don't know what it is? You should). That site has given me so many out of the box ideas for arts, crafts, science projects, home decor, food recipes, etc. We've done volcanoes, painting with straws,



exploding a snack bag, sticking pencils through bags of water without having them leak, and the ever famous play dough. This was all in one day (just kidding, kind of)

My new favorite picture of him

Oh, and dress up


Another break from the boredom is Ethan's karate. They had an awards banquet last week where my dude got an award for courtesy and for being the youngest student at the school!

Wish me luck, we have a little over a week till our next big adventure. I need it to go slow so that I can be ready with all our gear, but fast so that the kids don't send me to the nut house.

His Coolness is Reconfirmed

As we're driving, Ethan was asking me what different things are made of. Tires, signs, cars. He asked about houses, I went through a list of materials, then told him some people even make their houses out of mud. That stopped him

"Mud?" He asked.

"Yes, mud" I answered


silence (I could see the gears spinning as he processed this)

then,

"Awkward"

Questions resume

 Love that kid

Heat

I'm not sure where to begin. First, I've been slacking in my posting lately so I'm sure there's a lot I need to fill you in on, but then, second, Lucy's been sick the past few days so I haven't gotten much sleep so there's no way I will remember what to tell you.
I guess we can start by cheering for our local firefighters!! The Waldo Canyon fire, the most destructive (property wise) in Colorado, is 98% contained. First comes containment, then control, then out. The day that it crossed over the ridge and came into town was scary. Neal and Camille were here visiting, we were grateful for the company but we were all glued to the tv. Well, except for a slip n' slide break. 

 The kids made sure to show Neal some love. He's weeks away from becoming a father for the first time, so they showed him the ropes.

 And then Ethan showed us his best side

 Ethan's still in karate, he has fast tracked through his white belt, his high white belt and is now a yellow belt!!

Our summer is and has been very full, so the down times seem so boring, like we're just waiting for the next adventure. The kids get a little stir crazy and drive the parents a little crazy, and then they end up like this

Don't worry he caught them

Lucy got some new bling for her birthday

and when it's not too hot we go over to the park

Some experimenting with blowing bubbles

Lucy has had a nasty fever for the past 3 days, all she wants to do is cuddle. So add a 103 degree baby to the over 90 degree weather, with no air conditioning, it's been hot. This kid:

was so awesome and patient while I cuddled Lucy, when we heard the ice cream truck, we ran out a snagged a batman creamsicle. She finally turned a corner yesterday afternoon and has gained most of her crazy energy back, and fortunately I have the most amazing parents and they've kept Ethan entertained, while exhausting themselves, for the last 2 days. Wow, that was some rambling, but again, I haven't slept much, now you're a little filled in if not more bored in the process.