Sunday, September 23, 2007

Dinosaurs at our house!

The whole gang out dino egg hunting.

Dinosaur excavation site.


Hannah, Gabby and Hannah admire their finds.


Justin watches as Jessica carefully unearths her dino.


Ian prepares to extinguish the "volcano"on his Jurassic cake.

Ian's 4th birthday party was this evening. We invited a few prehistoric guests as well as some of his friend's and we all had a wonderful time...digging for dinosaurs, hunting down a dino nest filled with eggs, making dinosaur magnets and especially, eating volcanic cake! ...and after all that, when we asked Ian what his favorite part of the party was, he said "jumping on the trampoline"...aaaahhh now that's why mommy and daddy stayed up all night planning activities and burying dinosaurs and eggs. :)

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Happy Birthday, Ian!






4 years old

and here are some of Ian's favorite things:




* green



*dinosaurs



*pirates



*legos



*his castle that daddy built for him in the playroom



*cars--especially monster trucks



*marbles



*making things "go"



*dirt



*digging



*rocks



*"shooter things" (his words, not mommy's)



*life cereal



*yelling



*singing



*counting



*writing his name



*finding "I" "A" and "N" in signs and labels



*snuggling (especially with mommy, which mommy loves!)


Happy Birthday, Little Man!!!!

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

First Day of the Last Year


Today Shell took her first steps in the halls of Heritage High School as a Senior.


The beginning of the end of the high school chapter.


She is off to an amazing start as captain of her varsity volleyball team and we attended the team's first tournament today, where they won 4 of their 5 matches. What an amazing start to the season!


We are so excited for her this year as she readies herself for life beyond high school...

Colorado Springs Getaway

Our feet at the pool.

self portrait before dinner.


me and romadin.

a night shot of the hotel that blurred, but you have to see the beautiful sky.


me, in the pool.



Jeff had a conference in Colorado Springs this past week, and, with the help of Shell (the super sister, and wonderful daughter who did both mornings and evenings with the kiddos!-wow! what a wonderful treat for us--we love you!), Gramma Lee (who sacrificed her birthday retreat for the sake of helping with the grandkids--much love!!), and 2 dear friends (I love you Heather and Vanessa!)...I, Annaliese went with him! We stayed at the Broadmoor Resort, a five-star (oh my) hotel and spa.


Oh! It was lovely! Five days (ok, so two of those had some travel in them, but almost 5 days) of he and me time :) I have to admit here that it was mainly me time, since Jeff was actually working most of the trip. I was able to spend time at the gym, to walk around the beautiful grounds of the resort looking at the ducks, swans, squirrels and various birds. I also went horse-back riding one morning. It was really amazing; riding trails around Pike's Peak.



In the evenings, my hubby and I were able to relax together. We even went two nights in a row to an old-fashioned bar called the Golden Bee where a rag-time piano man played songs and everyone in the bar sang with him. It was such fun...and yes, Jeff did sing along.


We were also able to spend an evening with my step-sister, Kelsey. She works for a home builder in Colorado Springs, and she took us around to many of the beautiful models in the area. A dinner at the Elephant Bar, a really unique restaurant, topped off the evening. It was great seeing her again, and we agreed that it cannot be this long between visits next time!


Our final day at the Broadmoor was spent relaxing at the pool. It has two water slides to the side and the main part is a "zero-entry" pool, which means it is like walking into the ocean...no steps, just a gradual slope. The pool looks like it flows right into the lake behind, it is just gorgeous. I am actually jealous of us now...ah...back to reality this week!