Gwen Doll

Ms. Marie's (Paige's) little girl turned 2 this week and she had asked me to make a doll for Gwen.  Of course, I was more than happy to do it.  I love making the dolls and it's always fun when someone asks you to make something.  She picked the colors and hairstyle and I knit it up!   

I also love when the mom sends you a picture of their kid playing with the doll (even if it is just for the first day.  Kelli sent me one of Sophie sleeping with her doll.).  That is all the payment I need.  It's wonderful!

I dropped Gwen's doll off yesterday and Marie already sent me these pictures of her playing with her doll.  Here, they are having a little rest together.

Then, they had a tea party.  Cute!

First Day of School

This week, Cadence and Finn had their first days of preschool.  Cadence returned on Monday for her last year of preschool.  She slipped right back into the routine, no problem.  I'm going to be helping in her class every Monday, so it was fun and helpful to see what she learns and how her teacher runs the class, since the kids tend to leave a lot out when you ask them to tell you about their day.  I think it will be useful for me to see how her teacher runs the classroom to give me tips and ideas for when we start homeschool next year.

Just for laughs

Aria loves to take out the pots and pans while I cook dinner.  Thankfully, she found this tin pan to hit against her head.  I don't think she would have been laughing had she used a real pan.  I love how she neatly and matter of factly puts the pan away at the end.  Always clean up your mess! (I wish they lived by that motto):)

Happy Birthday Finn!

Guess who turned 3 today....Finnegan!  Such a sweet boy and a sweet day.

Mermaid Mania

The kids and I decided to go on a spur of the moment trip to the Denver Aquarium.  I wanted to take them before next week, when they go back to preschool and we don't have time for these kinds of day trips and before Finn turned 3 (tomorrow!) because 2 and under was free.:)  Also, they had a live mermaid show that I wanted the kids, especially Cadence, to be able to see before it was gone.  Cadence thought it was totally awesome that we got to see real live mermaids!  Finn liked them too, but he wanted to see some boy ones.

Camping

Our first family camping trip was a success!  We drove through beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park to get to Snow Mountain Ranch YMCA in Granby.  My biggest fear was that the kids wouldn't sleep and then that would ruin the rest of the trip (tired, cranky kids and parents = no fun).  Fortunately, they slept great!

Happy Anniversary!

Last week was our 9th anniversary!  What a man the Lord gave me.  He is wonderful in so many ways.  We decided to forego gifts this year, but Brad still got me some very happy flowers and a delicious peach Odwalla drink.  Yum!  I am definitely a drink person.  I love yummy drinks.

My lovely mother offered to come up and watch the kids so that we could spend a special day together!  So, Brad came home at lunch time and our anniversary date began!

First, we ate lunch at a quaint little Italian place near campus.  From there, we went to Old Town to walk around a bit and then spent some time at Happy Lucky's tea house drinking delicious tea and playing our own made up version of scrabble (very loose rules).  It was so refreshing to be able to sit together in a calm atmosphere, talking and playing and not feeling exhausted.  What a luxury.

After wandering around a bit more we headed to Odell Brewery to see if we could catch a beer tour.  Unfortunately, it was all full, but it seemed to turn out for the best because we decided to hang out on the patio and enjoy a glass of beer (for Brad) and a coke (for April).  There were quite a number of people hanging out, drinking beer.  Many of them rode their bikes to the brewery.  Where they were riding from, I'm still not sure, but it was a popular place for bikers to come.  It was a very nice brewery and a fun atmosphere to hang out in with good company.

 Next, we went to Mexicali for a cheap, but oh so delicious, Mexican dinner.  Then, we got to end the night by going to a movie...after 7pm and not a cartoon.  Can you believe it?  I didn't know people were out at that time of night.  It was a bit scary and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to stay up for the movie, but we did it!  In fact, we made it home before 10pm.  It's the little things in life that excite you.:)  We saw the new X-men movie and it was very entertaining.  Great fun!

So, another year of marriage and they just keep getting better and better, just like my wonderful Brad!