"Sometimes Life Changes"

So, it turns out I have a ridiculous amount of pictures from Red Feather Lakes and no ability to pare down which ones I will post. Each time I try to take a few out of the mix I feel too guilty for the child who's picture is getting eliminated from the post.

Instead of putting myself throught that mental anguish, I will just resort to having a couple of separate posts and loading up on more pictures than anyone could possibly care to see of my lovely littles.

Starting here with Jack's first horse ride. He had to wait and wait until all of us aged 6 and up riders got back from our hour long trek through the woods on a trail.

{Sitting in the rustic waiting room, donning the helmet patiently}

{A little anxiety set in when it was actually time to ride, but nothing Cowboy Connor couldn't help him get over}

{Then finally all smiles...}

{And happy to ride around and even exclaim, "I want to go again" when it was time to get off}

When I talked with Jack about his experience on the horse after we were home, he hit me with the profound statement in reference to getting over his fear, saying

"sometimes life changes."

{This kid is smart (and cute)!}

Oh, and I wouldn't dare leave you hanging -- this horse that Bryan rode:

...the one we were told was a "noodler"...

His name is "Bob".

And between his noodling and my horses' desire to stop and eat grass at every chance, we were quite the pair out there!

As seen in {the mountains}

I had fun with my camera this weekend in Red Feather Lakes with the family.

[what kind of bug is this?]

[every little boy needs a spongebob fishing pole, right?]
[colorful canoes]
[hmmm, never seen this kind of plant before.]
[the greenest clover ever but no luck finding a 4 leafed one.]
[pretty blue flower]
[lovely white blossoms]
[fields and fields of these.]
[handsome horse that Bryan rode, you'll have to wait for the next post to find out his name.]
[all of us "horseriders" heading out, Warren in the lead.]]
[iron fence just begging to be climbed on and photographed.]

More to come of the actual people on the trip AND the recovered pictures from when my mom was here recently!

Just as soon as we recover from our weekend and get some sleep!

{Enriching}

Dads definitely enrich little boys' lives.

They are not Moms.

Not nurturers in the same way, not tuned into the same things that we Moms fret over.

Yet Warren, Jack, and Nolan's lives are so much richer and fuller with a Dad who cares.

{'Cause Lord knows, there's no way I could build it!}

Officially Official

It's officially official:

Bryan has been promoted!

He is now a Regional Sales Director with many direct reports and a travel schedule that makes my head spin. I am so proud of how hard he is working and advancing in his career. And happy to be here at home, cheering him on and making our little home.

I have the best baby-daddy ever!

Building elaborate Lego ships (or are they planes/jets/spaceships?) with the boys, doing this hilarious and remarkably effective horse race voice-over while the boys get dressed in the morning, turning something usually frustrating and slow into a quick fun chore, reading that extra page/chapter/book when the boys ask each night, planning horse back riding and fishing this weekend in the mountains with the boys. I am more impressed than ever!

I can be a dunce!

I accidentally deleted all the pictures I had on my camera from when my Mom was here last week. Ugh! Luckily she tooks lots more than me on her great little camera and can send me a CD of them, right Mom?!

I can also be a control freak!

I am LOVING this whole packing of the school lunch thing. I feel so... in control of how healthy and in what portions Warren is eating. And much more relaxed when he comes home and has a huge bowl of sugary cereal, knowing he has eaten so well. That said, I am letting go of some control and having the boys make their own beds in the morning and moving towards having them do more and more of their own personal grooming. Eek! Toothpaste... everywhere!

I am getting back in shape!

I am actually feeling sore from walking to and from the school THREE times per day now with Jack in morning preschool and Warren in full day first grade. That hadn't occured to me until yesterday. On the bright side, getting lots of exercise and sunshine. And I was just complaining about feeling a little less than 100% with my level of fitness. Perfect!

Fall is coming!

The mornings are getting cooler and the days just a tad shorter. Whoohoo! Can't wait to wear the new clothes my mom and sister helped me pick out. I have been wanting to do the whole "tall boots and skinny jeans" look for several years. So, we'll see, usually right about the time I figures something out the trend is over. :)

I am ready...

For our fourth and final baby. Now I just have to be patient and know that we are not in control of everything. Nolan is still nursing with much enthusiasm, so all in good time I suppose!

Jump right in!

{After a quick stop on our walk...}

{Jack jumped right back into the swing of school.}

{Love the concentration tongue here...}

{And was "one of those cool guys that wear their back pack only wif one strap, mommy."}

Jack had an awesome first day. He is such a buddy to everyone he meets and has such nice things to say about his teachers and his classroom. What a sweet, sweet boy!

Jack, your Daddy and I love you somethin' aweful, you precious little man!

TROUBLE {Part II}

Should you see any strobe light-like activity coming from my house, do not be alarmed. No, I am not turning the downstairs into a disco since the older boys are back in school. It's just Nolan turning lights on and off. On and off.
On and off. On and off.

But, it's fine, really. Just as soon as you tell him kindly to stop with the light switch shenanigans, he quickly obeys...



...and moves right along to much riskier behavior like using his toes as grappling hooks to hang off the side of the bench and reach the garage door.

I really don't know how Hasbro and Mattel have missed the ball so drastically on this one. I need a toy with a door handle, a light switch, a climbing wall, and wheels. And I am prepared to offer up enough plastic in the form of "educational" battery operated toys to melt down to make this new said toy too! I'll just sit back now and wait for the offers to roll in... in the comfort of my blinking home! :)

Maybe, First.

{I love how he buttoned the top button of his shirt! And if I might add, I think he will be one of the best dressed 1st graders around, courtesy of his Mama's thrift store shopping prowess.}

Maybe it's because he's my first born.

Maybe it's because he's a 1st-grader.

Maybe it's because he's our first grader.

Whatever it is...

Maybe that's why I wrote him a note on his napkin tucked into his lunch using only words of encouragement and love that I know he can read and is too young to be embarrassed by.


Or maybe that's why I said "goodbye, honey, have fun" so many times while sending him off that I could see other parents looking my way to make sure I didn't have Tourette's or something.
::
Or maybe that's why my pooling eyes steamed up the inside of my sunglasses when he walked away with his class, totally confident and happy to be in the presence of his classmates. None of the looking-back-at-mom-as-he-walked-away like Kindergarten.
::
Or maybe that's why I left the house 30 minutes before school finally let out, caving into the anxiousness to go see my boy and find out all the details of his first day of first grade.
::
Or maybe that's why I laughed out loud when he limited my question-asking to "only three more questions, mommy, 'cause I'm exhausted."
::
Or maybe that's why I went ahead and poured him a huge bowl of cereal per his request when we got home.
::
Or maybe I just LOVE this kid, this first kid of mine!

little updates

there will be no pictures in this post since my camera is in the room with the sleeping babe, but probably lots of type-o's since I am going fast to ensure I can finish this before Nolan wakes up. Here goes...

Nolan is walking! He has been dappling for some time but as of today he is walking more than he is crawling. Hello, toddler! On the top of my to do list this week is to get some video of him on my new flip video camera and figure out how to post video here.

Bryan got a new car. It is a sports sedan, specifically a bmw 3 series or something like that. I glazed over when he was giving me all the details but it sounds fancy and I recall hearing 3D navigation system. It is being shipped from Chicago and will be here soon! He is soooo excited, so much so that when I got home from dinner downtown with my mom and sister last night he was all "hey, I cleaned up the kids' dinner mess, helped them clean their room, vacuumed downstairs and bought a bmw." Cute. I love a happy husband!

My sister is all set now to attend college here in Colorado! Yay! Her classes start Monday, same as Warren and Jack. Oh, the paper chain is getting small and I feel giddy.

My mom gave me the most spectacular gift of another glass ball, this time with a tree inside. It is beautiful and I will certainly be hanging it along with the other one now! We have been having a great visit -- went to Boulder and walked the Pearl Street mall, Golden and walked along Clear Creek trail, lots of yummy restaurants, shopping, awesome weather... it will be sad when she leaves on Saturday!

Bryan and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on Monday. It was great that we actually remembered it this year, as opposed to last year! Ha! We had a nice dinner and lots of kid free conversation most about... kids! Well, that and how happy we are. Remarkably happy at this juncture in our life together. Cheers to many more years to come!

We have major construction going on next to our house that is fun to watch out of the windows. The builder is finally putting up another model home/sales office to complete up our neighborhood. Yay! Icing on the happiness cake :)

Next post will be heavy on the pictures from the last week, promise!

TROUBLE

I really have no words

to describe

this kind of trouble.

but, I'm pretty sure he looked my way and said "bye bye mama" and all I could think was how perfectly the sun was shining through the curls over his left ear and how much I love this little hooligan.

Hop! 55

Earlier today...

hopping in your jammies -- the ones that match your eyes exactly--while eating a delicious frozen yogurt bar,

makes for a very happy boy.

What fun! Even from the sidelines...

{we love Costco jammies!}

Summer is winding down, so days like these when I get to see big happy frozen treat laden smiles are food for my soul.

And yes, I did take the Hop! 55 for a ride down the sidewalk!

How could you resist?

{Treasures}

::the perfect "new" toy that all three boys are enjoying::

::the latest little addition to my milk glass obsession::
(along with the frame next to it for Jack's portrait I took)

::and this frame too, to compliment another Jack picture::

::and the perfect Quinoa pan, for all three boys' favorite food::

ALL courtesy of my favorite local thrift store yesterday!

We also bought some awesome tupperware bowls, some pyrex sauce pans with lids, and a few other things that didn't make it onto my camera this morning.

We love thrifting! Can't decide if I love my finds there more because of how little they cost or if they are true treasures, or if it is a combination of both. At any rate, I have never loved anything I have bought new for $2. And I LOVE my little milk glass piece!

Wrestle-mania

Just as soon as Warren finished "tuning up his bike",

wearing a plastic lei and his too small snow boots from last winter, it happened...

...it was a text book face off...

...initially with little brother, Nolan, ref'ing...

...but then he quickly joined in...

...or was dragged in...

...or maybe crawled in...

Whatever the case, he knew when to make his escape.

And the show went on!