Sophia

Sophia has grown a lot in the past few months as well! She seems so much taller too me lately
and she is so loving and cuddly! She is doing really well at staying in her bed all night
(as well as the other 3-its been great to get good nights sleep!)
Sophia also loves school and her teacher.
She has been going to AWANA at church and is in the Sparks program.
Her favorite tv show is Dora.
I love my Soph!
Sophia asked me today, "Mom, do dads cook?" I said yes but not as good as mommys!

Arianna

Arianna really seems so much older to me since she has started school.
She likes to "take charge" a lot and help around the house, especially when it comes to food!
She still LOVES little pet toys- any type of animal as long as it is tiny!

Arianna loves school and tells me detailed accounts of her day - who went to the yellow light and who she played with at recess and what papers they colored and if she cried or not
and so on....

I miss her during the morning and am so happy to see
her smiling face when I pick her up at noon!

(can you tell she rarely looks at the camera for pictures?)

Daddy's Little Girl

Our Ella is also growing up so fast! If asked her age she will most likely say that she'll be 5 on her next birthday. We think she thinks she will catch up to the twins!
She really is so smart and and can even write her name at two and a half!
Ella, Elijah and I have been going to storytime at the library
and she seems to enjoy the time we spend together, just the three of us!
She does love her daddy and cries often during the day for daddy!

Her favorite tv shows are Dora and Go Diego~
She LOVES her pink glitter shoes and wants to wear them every day.

We do love our Ella Bella- she is a beautiful little girl with lots of spunk!

My Little Man

My little Elijah is growing up! He is now 15 months and so smart! He's already reading the newspaper:) Not quite, but he does have a very large vocabulary (I think:) He copies all the words we say and he can recognize TONS of objects and say their names too!
I think he takes after his daddy!
He still hasn't mastered walking but takes off on his own a few feet
and then realizes what he's doing and falls.
I do love him so....

This is his newest thing I say "Show me your silly face" and he does this....
Shuts his eyes and grits his teeth in a big smile- it cracks us up!

He Loves Me- Just because

It has been a while since flowers graced my table- just because:)
Saturday night, my husband gave me flowers- just because!
They were beautiful and I am blessed ...just because...
he loves me!

We may be on a roll....

My children (all 4 of them) have slept thru the entire evening for the past 2 nights- can you believe it? If you know me well at all, you know that my kids NEVER sleep all the way thru the night, even the 5 yr olds. You would also know I am yearning for a full nights rest with no interruptions! Well, I have gotten that for 2 nights in a row. I am shocked and holding my breath that it will continue. I dont think this phenomenon has happened in the last 5 yrs. seriously. Now that I posted this to the world, they will wake up tonight. I should have kept quite:)

Don't you just LOVE fall!

FALL is my favorite time of year, hands down.
Why do I love fall so much?
Let me list a few things...
1. Cooler weather and the smell of crispness in the air
2. sweaters
3. decorations- I am DYING to start putting all my fall things out!
4. pumpkins- pie, roll, carving, picking, seeds, candles,
5. the gorgeous colors- burnt orange, maroon, cream
6. leaves falling from trees
7. apple picking, hayrides, pumpkin picking (mostly from New England)
8. Halloween (harvest) parties
9. comfort foods- stews, breads, yum
10. endless photo ops. See below for my favorites

My twins in Massachusetts- beautiful!

My Ella Bella

My Elijah

Unfortunately this is the only pic of dear Elijah in the "fall" spirit.

I tend to remedy this by taking many picture this fall:)

St Mary's Galcier Hiking Trip

On Labor day, Marks parents called us up and wanted to see if we wanted to hike St. Mary's Glacier which is near Idaho Springs, CO. I had never heard of this place and Mark said he had gone there as a kid but had forgotten about it. I fell in LOVE with this place- The hike up there was a half a mile and took us probably about 45 minutes to hike up with 4 young children.
The kids did surprisingly well and did not complain or cry or anything.
(of course, Elijah was traded back and forth in our arms )
The twins were trying to find all kinds of wildlife animals in the woods.

We made it up the rocky trail and the view was breathtaking.

We hiked and explored all around the lake and we found a cave!
I was dying to climb in and explore like my high school spelunking days.
The girls were intrigued.

While Grandpa tried his hand at fishing in the chilly water, we climbed up the hill to touch the glacier. The scenery and mountains in the distance were beautiful!

After a few hours, we climbed back down and started for home.
It was a wonderful trip and I am SO thankful for wonderful in-laws who
enjoy taking us on exciting adventures to see new places.
I must say that I have the BEST inlaws ever.
I really mean that.
They are kind, loving, giving, patient, interesting and very easy to talk too.
I feel comfortable and at home when I am with them.
I feel very blessed and constantly remind my children that they have wonderful grandparents who care very deeply for them and to never take that for granted-
The way they love my children is so special.
They enjoy watching them, reading to them
and making them special things to eat:)
They want to create memories with them and that means so much.
I have VERY fond memories with my grandparents and I want my children to have a special relationship with their grandma and grandpa which I know they do.
It was a good day and good memories were made...

Please pray

I went to Walmart today to grab a few small things and I forgot my wallet in the cart- I am 99% positive I left in the front seat next to Ella. I got all the way home and the sinking realization hit me. I searched the car to no avail. I went back to Walmart and it was not in the cart I had used. I checked the customer service- no black Coach wallet had been turned in.( I got it as a gift when I was a preschool teacher at Twin City and I LOVE it) The sinking feeling continued to grow. I gave them my info and went home feeling defeated. It held all my library cards, medical cards, license, one debit card (that has not much at all in it) and a gospel tract as well as the last $20 that was to get me thru the weekend. Maybe the thief will read the tract and be saved. I am trying to remember that God is sovereign and this has not caught Him off guard. It happened for a reason and I can trust that is was for my good, even though I may never understand. "All things work together for good to them that are called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28- But pray that maybe it will be found...

A Little Too Late

We finally used our pool! Two days before it closed that is. My mom was visiting and we decided to go for a swim. It was delightful.
The water was nice and warm.
There were only 2 people there.
It was clean and sparkly blue.
The girls had a blast!
Elijah screamed and held on for dear life.
We went back Sunday afternoon and the next day it closed. Bummer- I cant wait till next Memorial Day! We will definitely be frequent visitors then.

Do I Still Date?

It had been a LONG time since I went on a "date" with my husband- just us.
No obligations, no one else that we knew:)
My mom watched the kids while we went to our favorite coffee shop- Solid Grounds-
and grabbed a cup of joe and a good hour of conversation.
(after which we went to Target and walked around since nothing else was open)
I LOVE talking with my husband with no children around!
He is so wise and I learn so much from him.
I admire him more than any man I know.
I love him more and more:)
We need to make more of these "breaks" just for us
Life can get so crazy and busy and the kids often wear us out
and test our patience with each other.
We NEED time to refocus and catch up on each others lives!
Thanks mom, for giving us that opportunity!

It had been a while

My mom was able to come visit from Wed- Sunday and it was such a refreshing visit:) The last time she was in Colorado was over a year ago! The kids were very excited to see
"Grandma from Pennsylvania"
and the babies warmed up to her by the end of her visit.
I so wish we lived closer so my kids could really know their grandma.

We visited Daniels Park at sunset and it was beautiful!

We swam in our pool...


Mom and I got to spend all day Saturday visiting all the neat little shops I have found around here. We went to the Parisian Market, shopped Historic Littleton, ate at Saj Mediterranean Grill (amazing food) , got a latte from Peets Coffee and fell in love with all the deals at Hobby Lobby!!!
It was a full day but much needed by me
(did I mention Mark watched the kids all day? What a wonderful husband!)
Mom left early Sunday morning and I think we all felt this way when the trip came to an end!
It was wonderful...

My new haircut

I have not touched my hair in about a year. I know that is so pathetic. I should take care of my hair but I get so busy and never can justify spending money to cut it. Well, my mom visited this week and she insisted that I get it cut! So, I listened and went downtown to my favorite salon and got a short hair cut. I LOVE it! I think I have always been meant for short hair.
now, I just need to KEEP IT cute and short...