Kansas City

Two of our best friends, Camille and Neal Johnson, got married on 10/10/10. We were not only fortunate enough to be invited but we (all three of us ) were participants! Ethan was a handsome ring bearer, Michael, the studly best man, and I was a beaming bridesmaid. The wedding was to be held right outside of Kansas City, that means road trip!
A 9 hour (at least) road trip, through flat, brown Kansas
We figured since mapquest estimated 9 hours, and we have a 3 year old, we were looking at some amount of time over 9, but didn't want to guess in case it took longer. The trip out was fantastic, we had one breakdown, one nap, many pit stops and we finally made it in 11 hours.

The hotel was great, we swam every day
And enjoyed some dinners out

And there was a mall in the same parking lot with lots of activities for kids


We found a Steak & Shake and ate a yummy lunch
And had a mommy-Ethan date while Dad hosted the bachelor party
Then came the rehearsal, I was stressed. OK, Michael and I are both in the wedding, what if he won't sit, what if he's loud, what if he has to go to the bathroom, etc., etc.? The rehearsal was not great, more or less it confirmed my stress, but he was tired and overwhelmed. Afterwards we went for ice cream, to relax
Ethan got dirt and worms
And we went to bed to prepare for the wedding day. Michael was in charge of Ethan since I would be getting ready with the bride and fellow bridesmaids. They got there and got dressed in time for pictures (although Ethan only wanted to wear an undershirt) and then started practicing how to walk down the aisle. Did he want to do a robot walk? Ironman? Airplane? He decided on robot. Then it was time. Another scary part for me, Michael and I had to walk down the aisle and he had to wait. PERFECT! He did amazing! He made it down the aisle, stood by Michael for a few minutes and then sat with Neal's sis-in-law Elise (who was a wonderful blessing to have on this trip, I couldn't be more grateful for her). The wedding was beautiful, both Neal and Camille were happier then I have ever seen them and it was contagious.

The reception was a wonderful party, Ethan didn't leave the dance floor and found two girls to be his partners. He chased the lights the disco ball threw onto the floor and even told me he wanted to slow dance with me while Neal and his mom shared a dance.

After the seeing the bride and groom into there car, we left the party too. He crashed within minutes of leaving the reception. We all slept in the following morning and then packed back up and got back in the car. The ride home went even better then the way out and we found a cool place to hike when we stopped at a rest stop.

We made it home to discover fall had set in, it is chilly here! We had a good trip, not too relaxing but it was great to spend the time with some good friends. Congratulations again, Neal and Camille!!

Ring Bearer

I'm so behind on posting, here's a little video of Ethan being a ring bearer (it is actually after the fact but he did just as well during the wedding) more details to come.

This is Today

It is starting to feel like fall here. The air is a little more crisp, the nights a little more cool, the sun goes down a little bit earlier, and we have a bright orange pumpkin.
This is the second year we've grown a pumpkin, last year it got huge but we left it out over the first frost and it turned mushy and stayed green, so we are very excited to have gotten it right this year. We actually have 3 pumpkins but the other two are still green. The above picture is Ethan's "cheese" smile, below is the result of asking him to give me a really big smile.
This is Pikes Peak, or in Ethan's terminology "Pikes Peak Mountain", it is his favorite mountain, he enjoys spotting it wherever we go, even if it means taking Grandma on a walk around the block to find it. Someday we'll take him to the top, maybe even on the train.
Another "cheese" while posing with a dandelion

That's today so far, it's a good day.

Wordless Wednesday

#1 or #2?

We're still here. We are just very busy in the transition of potty training! YEAH no more diapers! Well, almost. Ethan has taken this new step with almost the same ease as the rest, he has been fantastic! The minute he told me he wanted to be a big boy I started telling him big boys use the potty, and now he's a big boy. I will spare you guys the details, just know I am very proud of him.

What else have we been up to? Hmm, Bri, Mom and I went to Vegas for a few days. And although we had a great time......but I'll share a few

(the view from the Eiffel Tower)

(One of many elevator rides)

(Oh yeah, I ate that (ok, not even like a 1/4 of it))

(and we split this one)

(Fountains at Bellagio)

(Love at the Mirage)

It was a good trip, just the girls. And while mom's away, believe me, the boys did play. They went to Chuck E Cheese, and Itz (better then Chuck E Cheese), and to Ethan's first movie in the theater (Toy Story 3)!

Once we got home, life settled quickly. Back to fishing, trying to enjoy what little we have left of summer in CO.

(the worms on our shoulders are our buddies)

and that pretty much gets us up to the present. Weather's still warm, Ethan still loves his Rescue Heroes and Planet Heroes, his memory is amazing and so is his hearing (we investigate every noise and take imaginary trips to Fisher-Price), his imagination grows everyday and he loves to swim. Have a good week.

Ethan Michael Photography

Prints now available for sale, please inquire below for pricing.

Colorado Springs Balloon Classic 2010

On our Saturday morning drive to Grandma's house we saw loads of hot air balloons, floating serenely through the blue sky. Is this enough to peak a 2.5 year old's curiosity? Yes, but not enough to satisfy it. "See em bigger Mommy, PPPLLLEEEAAASSSEEE!" Who can say no to that? (I'm sure a lot of people can, I am not one of them)
Sunday morning we were able to drag everyone except Daddy out of their nice warm beds to head over to Memorial Park (we parked on Foote, one of the minor details that stays locked in Ethan's brain) to watch the balloons fill up and then lift off.





That night, bringing Daddy this time (and again parking on Foote), we met a few friends for the balloon glow. Just as exciting as the lift off-and we got to try our first turkey leg (a favorite at the fairs out here)

Imagination

It is becoming ever more apparent that Ethan has one heck of an imagination. He makes up story lines for us to play or when he's playing with his Rescue Heroes. He is also starting to play with other kids rather then just next to them.
With the imagination comes a glimpse into the "boy" world. There are a lot of shoot em games. Thankfully, for Ethan, we all like to play along, even Papa.


No fair, Papa had a Milo shield as protection!