Horsetooth Tubing

We went tubing with our friends, David and Bethany, yesterday on Horsetooth Reservoir.  It was a lot of fun!  Aria and I didn't go tubing, but Cadence, Finn and Brad did.  Brad also tried kneeboarding, which he was a natural at.  Unfortunately, he forgot to put sunscreen on his torso, so he's a bit red.

The "Daddy of 'em All"!

Brad and I were blessed and fortunate enough to be invited by our friends, the Karbans, to see the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo yesterday.  It was amazing and SO much fun!  I absolutely loved it!  The Rodeo was 3 hours of high energy, high impact excitement.  There was never a lull or dull moment.  In addition to all the arena events, the USAF Thunderbirds were flying their airplanes overhead, doing all sorts of tricks.  

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so you will have to forgive the bad quality of my cell phone pictures....

Poudre River Picnic

We headed up the Poudre River this afternoon for a picnic and splash in the river.

Date Day

Today was a very special day...Cadence/Mommy Date Day!  Last week, Cadence asked if we could have a date day, so of course, I was flattered and thrilled!  Of course we can!  ...

Octodogs

Don't be scared, but we ate Octodogs tonight.  It sounds scarier than it is.  

First, I had to bring the Octodogs back to life (the opposite of what you would do with a real Octopus that you're going to eat.  Actually, they are still kind of alive when the Koreans eat them, but we won't get into that.)...

Cadence Picture

Works of Art

Homeschool Prep

I know it's early, like a whole year, but I LOVE to plan and prepare.  The kids and I ventured out to the dollar store today to get some classroom decorations for our future home-school classroom.  We found some fantastic wall decorations and workbooks.  I say fantastic because they are just like the public school decorations and they were cheap.  Woo-hoo!  There was so much stuff, too.  I had to restrain myself.

My first task will be to make a classroom calendar.  I'll post it once I make it.

I found these great workbooks at the dollar store, too.  I was excited to get these princess workbooks and a Spiderman one for Finn, once he's ready.   

 Yesterday, Cadence and I worked on writing the letter 'A,a', some sequencing exercises, and circles.  See Cadence's circle caterpillar?  She cut out all those circles by herself.

Also, this week, I found 3 more flip-top desks.  So, now I have 4!  The last one's in the garage, still.  I will have to clean up the basement before it transforms into our classroom.  Good thing I have time!

Buggie Bundles

In an effort to use up some leftovers, I created "Buggie Bundles"!  We had Shepherd's Pie the other night, so I took the leftover filling (minus the potatoes) and added taco seasoning.  Then, I put the filling inside some large Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, rolled them up, and baked them.  Once cooled, I added cucumber wheels (fastened with carrot spokes), carrot headlights and a pretzel steering wheel.  Aria ate it up!  Cadence displayed her usual resistance to any food outside her comfort zone of mac & cheese, chicken nuggets and hot dogs, but enjoyed that it was a car.  Finn, once he took a bite, really liked it.  He wanted the car to actually drive, though.  I find that taco seasoning, in moderation (you know what I'm talking about Brad), makes almost anything delicious and kid friendly!

On a side note, Cadence decided to be a bee today.  She and Finn are watching "Bee Movie".

A surprise for you!

Hewlitt Gulch

This past Saturday, we packed up some lunches and ventured up the Poudre Canyon to go on a little hike.  The river was beautiful!  So full and roaring along, full of rafters, canoes, and khakers.  I wish we had something to float down the river in.  Anyway, we pulled over at a nice little trail called "Hewlitt Gulch".  We're not sure what a gulch is, but it was a beautiful walk.



I bet you didn't know that Brad was a Sherpa.  Look at him go!  What an amazing man!

We walked along the trail which crossed over little creeks several times.  While Brad and I chose to cross over on the rocks, Cadence and Finn preferred to walk right through the water.  Finn doesn't seem to quite understand balance and speed, yet, so he had a few spills into the water, but he didn't seem to mind.  What a trooper!















We stopped under a tree to enjoy our picnic lunches.  I think Cadence and Finn were leaving messages in the dirt for those who followed.

 
What better way to spend a beautiful Saturday than in the great outdoors with my amazing family?!

Splash Park

The other day, I decided to take the kids to the nearby splash park to cool off.  The splash park has a plethora of great features:
1. The kids get to get wet!
2. Mommy doesn't have to put on a swimsuit and get in the water.
3. Mommy can cool off too, without getting drenched.
4. The kids don't drip all over the place track dirt into the house as the run in and out.
5. It's free!
6. It kills time, the kids are outside, mommy has an excuse to sit and relax and not get annoyed at the kids for bothering her while she's trying to get stuff done around the house.:)
7. The playground's right next to the splash park, so Cadence and Finn can run back and forth between the two while I stay with Aria.
8. Running burns energy, hot sun tires them out = nap/rest time is long and peaceful for all.

 Aria loved sitting in the water.  It took her a little time to work up the courage to venture out into the water, but once she did, she loved it!

Cadence and Finn loved playing on the playground and then running back to the water to cool off.

This may just look like a normal guy to you, but he was the hero of the day.  He was going around to every pole and piece of playground equipment to make sure it was all secure and safe.  What a guy!

Then, it was time for a goldfish snack break.

4th of July

This year, we had planned to lay low and spend the 4th of July at home.  Our plans changed, though, when we got a very welcomed invitation to spend the day with my parents!

The kids had fun playing in the pool and pretending my mom was the monster and spraying her with the water.  She was such a good sport playing with them out in the hot sun.  Her clothes were drenched.

We ate some delicious steaks and my mom made her very yummy brownies for dessert.  Yeah for no diet!

We set off a few fireworks, but it wasn't dark enough to get the full effect.  Still, the kids really liked throwing those pop-its on the ground, the fountain, and all the sparklers.

It was a fun day for all!