Sisters

After church today, Regan insisted on a photo shoot with Lila. Regan is impossibly difficult to photograph. Very rarely does she make normal faces when the camera is pointed at her. She will regret it when she's older! Lila is becoming very animated. She has started laughing at her siblings' antics and is somewhat tolerant of the mauling she takes every time one of them wants to give her a kiss. Why do they think they have to hold her head still?
The last one is my favorite. I somehow managed to catch Regan in between ridiculous faces!

PBS Kids Fair

We once again attended the PBS Kids Fair. It was pretty much the same as last year, except the line for the bounce house was twice as long and my kids actually agreed to forgo it this year! The highlights were: Haden getting to sit in a REAL garbage truck and then both kids answered a question about garbage and got their own 6 inch tall garbage can. (Clint tore up a magazine to create "garbage" for them and they have spent hours dumping the garbage on the floor, loading it into their garbage cans, dumping the cans into Haden's dump truck which returns it to the box they keep the garbage in.)

Story time and a visit from Curious George. The story was the Emperor's New Clothes. I don't think either kid really comprehended the story because of the way the story was told, but the story teller was very animated and kept their attention. Haden was very excited to see Curious George and it was all he could do to wait his turn in line. Haden is a lot like Curious George. He doesn't mean to get into trouble, he's just curious. No wonder he likes him so much! Haden ran up and gave him a big hug; Regan hid behind me and refused to go near him claiming that he was not that big on TV. Sometimes she is too smart!
The tricycle course was fun. This year both kids were more than capable at pedaling the tricycles around the cones. Clint has a collection of cones at home and we have made several tricycle courses in our living room. The kids love it!
And finally the fossil dig. Regan would very carefully hammer away at the fossil. Haden wasn't quite as careful, but still had lots of fun!

Lila is 2 months!

Lila turned 2 months old! She fits into our family perfectly! She is very laid back and doesn't mind being squished by her affectionate older siblings. She doesn't cry much, but she will yell once or twice, wait to see if she gets what she wants, then yell again until she gets her way. Her carseat is not her favorite spot, but she is very good to put up with it while we shuttle Regan to and from kindergarten. Regan and Haden love to do things to get her to smile at them. At her 2 month visit she was 23 inches long (70%) and 11 lbs and 2 oz (53%). We all love her so much!

Rocky Mountain National Park

We took advantage of the free weekend for any national park at Rocky Mountain National Park. We have lived here nearly 5 years and this was the first time we made it there. We left early in the morning. Even though we fed them breakfast and had plenty of snacks in the car, both kids insisted on going to McDonald's in Estes Park. They were a little disappointed that it was too early for kid's meals, but settled on the ridiculously messy cinnamon rolls.
We were surprised that the park was not very crowded, considering it was a free day. (We have spent hours in bumper to bumper traffic in both Yellowstone and Smoky Mountain National Parks.) We were lucky enough to find a parking spot at Bear Lake. This was the perfect "hike" for my kids. Minimum elevation changes and plenty of rocks to throw into the water. The trail was very busy, but the scenery was spectacular!
Haden found an ant bed that he wanted to torment. We had to pull him away as the ants were climbing up his feet and ankles.
Next, we rode the shuttle bus to the Alberta Falls trail head, just down the road. Haden loved the bus and immediately ran to the back. The rest of us were sitting in the middle of the bus and Haden insisted on staying in the back even though the bus filled up and he was surrounded by strangers.
There was more complaining on the hike to the waterfall. Regan & Haden just wanted to throw rocks into the river, preferably causing a big enough splash that Clint got wet. Lila was perfectly content to sleep through everything in her sling. She is such a good baby!
We had the choice of crossing the river on rocks or using the bridge. Lila and I used the bridge while Regan insisted that everyone else take the rocks. She was so proud of herself for crossing with no help and not falling in!
The waterfall was impressive, considering it was late summer. I was nervous the kids were going to fall off the rocks, but they both seemed to have inherited Clint's sure-footedness.
On the way back home, we stopped at Estes Lake. Regan and I had seen these bikes online and she really wanted to ride one. Despite the wind picking up and dark clouds rolling in, we all loaded on the bike and headed off down the trail. These bikes are definitely not made for going up any kind of a hill! It was quite a workout for Clint and me! We pedaled past the golf course where a herd of elk was grazing. I don't think I will ever get used to seeing those huge animals roaming all over town, but both kids seemed unimpressed. I guess we have gone to the zoo too much!
Haden kept reaching around and grabbing the brake. Next time we need to find a bike where the kids can pedal too!

Vail Pass

Our ward has an annual activity the Saturday of Labor Day weekend riding bikes from the top of Vail Pass approximately 15 miles mostly downhill into Frisco. This was the third time our family participated. A few of Clint's scouts always tag along with us. Haden loves Drew and Colin.
Lila was too little to ride in the trailer and Haden was being too big of a stinker, Clint and Regan rode down and we met them 5 miles down the trail in Copper. Since we had been out late the night before, we hadn't packed all the parts for Regan's bike's attachment so it wasn't as sturdy as it could have been. It was making both Regan and Clint a little nervous, so they swapped the bike for the trailer. Haden decided he was tired of being left out and wanted to finish the ride with them. They played musical bikes with some friends down the mountain-the kids kept switching places. I met them at the park for a picnic lunch and the kids had fun playing on the toys and throwing rocks into the lake.

These were totally candid!

It was a fun trip and once again, all three kids were sound asleep on the way home!

The Drive In

Clint and I went to the drive in a couple of times while we were dating. It was always a lot of fun, but then it closed. We were surprised to see an article in the paper on the 88th Avenue Drive In Theatre that was actually still open. That weekend they were showing "Despicable Me". Regan had asked several times to see the movie, but we hadn't gotten around to it yet. So, we loaded a bunch of blankets and chairs into our car and headed to Commerce City.
Regan loved it, Lila slept, and Haden kept asking to go home. It doesn't matter where we take him lately, he just wants to go home. He even asks to go home when we are home. The kid makes no sense sometimes, but he's pretty darn cute!
His fireman's hat goes almost everywhere with us. It can get rather noisy when the firetruck has to come too. Haden makes a wonderfully loud siren. All three kids fell asleep on the way home. Even if Haden didn't have have a good time, it will be a fun memory!

Mt. Sneffels Half Marathon

The Mt. Sneffels half marathon starts in Ouray, CO and finishes in Ridgway, CO. I think it is one of the most beautiful race courses. Clint ran it last year, but this year, my sister, Savannah, wanted to join him. Because life got crazy about a month before the race, neither of them were able to train much and just hoped that they would be able to finish.

Despite good intentions, we left late Friday morning for Ouray. Thanks to portable DVD players, all three kids travel remarkably well. We always stop at the same hamburger stand by the river in Buena Vista. The kids love running around at the park and throwing rocks into the river.

The kids and I dropped Clint and Savannah off for their 7:30 start time. And then my challenge started. I had to get all three kids to the hotel, feed them, pack up the room, and make it to the finish line in Ridgway before Clint. The breakfast room at the hotel was tiny, and full of older people. I think people cringed when they saw us coming. Lila was very cooperative, she slept through the entire ordeal. Regan and I were able to agree on something for her breakfast. Haden was a different story. No matter what I offered him, he loudly insisted that he didn't like it. I was ready to let him go without breakfast, but he finally agreed on a blueberry muffin. One lady noticed my situation (and Haden's fireman hat that HAD to come with us to breakfast) and asked to talk to Haden. Apparently her husband had been a firefighter and she was telling Haden all about it. He loved it and more importantly, became more cooperative. We made it to Ridgway with time to spare.

The kids were watching for Clint, saying he was running too slow!
Clint finished in 1:40:55, only 5 seconds slower than last year.

Savannah finished in 2:05:45 which was several minutes faster than she was even hoping to finish in.
They were both complaining about how miserable the last hill was and then tried to talk me into doing it next year. I don't think so.
Regan's race was next and due to some unfortunate events, she only got to run the last lap and they weren't timing it. She let me run with her, but kept telling me that she was going to beat me! She is a fast little runner!

We went to Maggie's for lunch where the kids signed their names on the walls several times and then we headed for home. It was a quick trip, but I think everyone had fun!

Regan starts kindergarten!

Regan started kindergarten this year! She has been eagerly anticipating this day for some time now. Every time we drove past the elementary school she would announce that there was her kindergarten. We had so much fun shopping for school supplies and school clothes together in preparation for her big day! Regan is rather opinionated about her wardrobe. I have not been able to pick her outfit out for her for a couple of years now.

She was so funny the night before, carefully selecting just the right ensemble for the first day of school. I tried to put a bow in her her hair, but she refused, saying that she is too old to wear bows anymore?!?

Regan, pretending to be nervous for the first day.

Walking from the car to the school. Haden was also very excited, but I think he really misses Regan very much.

She was lucky enough to have several friends from church in her class. This is her "put the camera away right now mom, you are embarrassing me!" facial expression. Little does she know that she has years to get used to being embarrassed by me! It's my right as her mom, right?

And coming out of school on the first day. Her teacher, Mrs. Appel, is the one in the pink shirt holding the door open. The school bus could drop Regan off right in front of our house. That is, if she agreed to ride the bus. I don't mind, though, I love listening to her talk about her day all the way home. I am so glad that she loves going to kindergarten!