Family Photo Shoot

For Mark's mom's birthday this year, we wanted to get an updated photo frame of all of the kids/grandkids/spouses. We met at various times to get everyone together. The pics turned out awesome and Lina loved her gift! I am blessed to be a part of this family!

 Love these pics of sweet little Natalia! She is a doll! 

Hop-A-Thon Fun!

Our school's largest fundraiser happened last Saturday. It was a gorgeous day and the kids and adults had a great time running laps around the field. Sarah did an awesome job organizing the event. And it was awesome to see a lot of the staff come out and support the PTO! 

 Elijah won one of the drawings:) 

 The twins ran 65 laps around the field! Elijah had around 45 and Ella around 55! I ran once and then collapsed. (I had a HORRIBLE cold- I should have been in bed! lol) 

Hopkins Elementary Field Day 2013

 A yearly favorite tradition at Hopkins is Field Day! 

(this is more like a fun day rather then a track event) 

The kids LOVE it! 

 The twins favorite game by far:) 

 Elijah and Ella's field day is on a separate day then the big kids and we couldn't stay for it. We caught the Chicken Dance and 2 activities then we had to go to a wedding rehearsal (Mark was the pastor) 

 We love our Hopkins community!! 

{I love this man}

Somewhere I Have Never Traveled
e. e. cummings

somewhere I have never traveled, gladly beyond
any experience, your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which I cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me
though I have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, I and
my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(I do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

The Rainy Day

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,

But at every gust the dead leaves fall,

And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,

But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,

And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all,

Into each life some rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary.

~Longfellow

I like this poem. (Just so you know, I don't think my life is dark and dreary right now.) It's just a cool poem by a classic author. If you have been watching the news, we have been having the most bizarre weather lately. It has rained everyday since Monday night. (with only a very few burst of sun) That is VERY unusual for Denver. There is widespread flooding. It is sad. My prayers are with all who have lost homes, cars, loved ones. Dams are filled to the brink and ready to burst. Towns are being evacuated. We are safe here in Centennial. Its wet and that's about it. The canal right by our house is filled but not overflowing. Some friends have flooding in their basement... others have leaky ceilings. Quite a mess. 
Looking forward to seeing the sun soon. 

Come along inside…. We’ll see if tea and buns can make the world a better place {The Wind in the Willows}

The twins attended a tea party today for a friend's birthday. It was beautiful and cozy and flowery- everything a Victorian tea party should be. The guests played "manner games", dressed up in frilly dresses, used real tea cups, saucers and plates and got their picture taken with the birthday girl. They ate tiny jam sandwiches and little petit fours. Adorable.

It got my mind racing about starting a business doing the same thing but here in Littleton. (this place was in castle rock)  I have a hundred ideas... someday maybe my dreams will become a reality.

"So, what are you doing with your time?"

I get asked this question a lot now that I am a stay at home mom with no kids at home during the day:) But, don't you worry- I keep myself busy! Although I must say that I am in a much more relaxed mood when the children come home from school. Laundry is usually caught up on, the house picked up, dishes are done and dinner is usually in place. (all things that never seemed to happen when I had kids at home with me) I feel very blessed! 

I have started this year as the PTO President and this does require a lot of planning, corresponding, meetings, and work at the school. So I spend my fair share of time at Hopkins. And I LOVE it! 

I have not yet started volunteering in the classrooms (as the teachers haven't made schedules yet) but I look forward to spending time doing that as well. I love the teachers and staff and cherish the relationships I have made with other parents, as well. I have found such good friends among them. 

I haven't seen my kids much around the school yet. But the other week, I was at the school around lunch time and saw Elijah eating lunch with a bunch of his little boy friends. I walked over and gave him a big hug and kiss and he was SOOOO indifferent! He wouldn't look at me or talk to me and pushed me away! I couldn't believe it! I was laughing so hard on the way home about how different it is with boys. Elijah has always been my cuddly one. Full of hugs and kisses for me. But at school, it's another story! I asked him about it when he came home and he said he was embarresed that I kissed him in front of Connor. Of course, Daddy gave him a hard time (in jest) and told him he should always kiss his mommy:) It's just so cute to me how he is maturing and getting older. 

Mark and I were also able to get away a few weeks ago while the kids were in school. We went hiking all day and it was AWESOME! His job is very busy but flexible, for which I am grateful. He really needed a day away and we were able to spend the whole day together reconnecting in the great outdoors! Pretty awesome stuff! He wants to be able to take one day off a month for us to be able to spend the day together. Something that's much easier to do now that the kids are all in school. 

I have also enjoyed spending time reading. I have a ton of books on my list and its been great knocking them off one by one. The quiet time in the mornings that I get to spend in the Word has been SO refreshing:) There never seemed to be "quiet" when the kids were around and I find myself really enjoying the quiet to think and meditate on Biblical truths and just "Be Still".

I know that this time at home by myself will quickly come to an end and I will reenter the work force. I look forward to that day and the interactions and relationships I will build with coworkers. But for now, I will dive into the kids school and enjoy those relationships and relish and savor those quiet times that I get to enjoy now that I am home alone:) 

Hiking Maxwell Falls in Evergreen,CO

 This Labor Day we wanted to do a family Hike and 

after some internet browsing, 

decided on Maxwell Falls in Evergreen, CO 

(about an hour from our place) 

 We couldn't find the Upper Falls Parking lot at first so we started out on the lower trail, but lightning and thunder quickly started and other hikers were saying how long the trail was to the falls, so we decided to sit in the car and eat lunch and wait out the rain. 

We found the upper lot and it was the perfect amount of time. 

 We hiked about 1 mile on the cliff loop trail and it boasted some awesome views and 

great boulders to scramble around on. We stopped a lot to play on the rocks:) 

 We had to wait out some pretty heavy showers under a big pine tree, 

 We LOVED this "lion rock". 

The kids were giving us heart attacks near the cliffs:) 

 Sophie is honestly so sweet and loving. Ella was crying about scraping her back so Sophia offered to carry her on her back for a while. Seriously so sweet. 

 It was pretty chilly until the sun came out. 

 The Cliff Loop met up with the Maxwell Falls trail and we hiked another mile or so on that trail...

stopping to play in the small waterfalls along the way.

 Super cool surfing wave rock

 The bigger falls were cool but the water level wasn't very high so they weren't that spectacular. 

 We did have to do some rock climbing to get down to the falls and then back up to the trail again. Elijah was "rocking" it! (Quite literally) He really was amazing us with his rock climbing skills. 

 Love that this kid LOVES adventure and is bold in trying things that are hard. 

 We saw a small little snake and Ari picked it up! EEWWW! Pretty sure it was a baby garter snake. 

 We ended our hike with some daring acts of bravery crossing a large fallen tree. 

It was fun! The kids did great on this balance beam found in nature! 

We spent about 3 hours out in the wild and it was wonderful!