Jackson's first official haircut

Jackson's super fine hair was finally unruly enough for a cut. Jen, our favorite hair dresser came over for a cut but poor Jackson hated every minute of it. We bribed him with whoppers but I still had to hold his head still as he cried, poor little guy (do you love the chocolate I got all over me as I held him?).

Thanksgiving

The holidays have begun and we were blessed to have Joe's Mom and Dad come for Thanksgiving. The kids loved their decorating the ginger bread village, a trip to the zoo and of course making a pumpkin pie with their Nana. Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Time to play catch-up

Well, even here in good ol' Pueblo West the snow has started to fall. Jackson seems to be a lot like Emily and loves to be outside in the snow. Lizzy still only lasts a few minutes before heading inside. While Emily was at school we headed outside to enjoy some of the new powder. Winter is here!

Thanksgiving Fun

Last Friday was Emily's Thanksgiving Feast at school. It was great to go and see the kids sing and recite Pilgrim and Indian Poems.

After that Emily had her last basketball game on Saturday morning. Joe had to work so it was the kids and I. She really is improving a lot and it is so fun to watch her. Lizzy and Jackson and I hung out on the sidelines and entertained Jackson by taking pictures of him, he loved it :).

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday was crazy and fun and full of sugar! The kids had a blast though. The rec center put on a little Halloween carnival and so off we headed. The kids started their never ending collection of candy and sweets. Below is a shot of the girls doing a donut eating contest, too funny. Then it was off to our Church Trunk or Treat and then home for the real deal. What a fun night. We hope everyone had a great Halloween! I couldn't get a shot of all three looking at me for the life of me so here is a compilation of our Vampire, Witch and Frankenstein.

Snow in Pueblo West

Well we have had some crazy weather here! It is 70 ans then the next day it is 24 and not it is back to 60. Here are some shots of our little snow kids enjoying the little bit we had on the ground... Jackson is like Emily too, he loves the snow. Lizzy only lasts a few minutes, once she is wet she heads back inside. :)

A trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend Jaime and her family came down to share in some fall fun! We went over to the pumpkin patch in Pueblo. The kids had tons of fun on the bounce houses and petting zoo. Jackson was super cute trying to feed the animals. Poor Megan and Maddie were sick and their daddy too but all in all I think they had a good time.....

Fall is Here!

Well it has been a full month since I have posted but we are full swing into school and all the sicknesses that come with it! Right now we are all recovered from the last round of some awful stomach thing but here is to health!

We have been staying busy and adjusting to our new schedules. Emily amazes us everyday with her reading. It is so neat to sit and have her read a Judy Moody book, I didn't know she could read half those words! Lizzy also loves preschool and has the months of the year down and enjoys every minute of playtime while her sister is at school. Jackson is now a walking man and all over the place. He says Mama, Dada, Lizzy, Dog, Hot and is finally signing please and sometimes thank you. He is such a cutie and a terror :)! Here are some shots from a friend's house today. Kim was nice enough to come and let us ride their horse. The kids loved it! Thanks again Kim!













Here is the latest video of Jackson too...

Another weekend at Pam's

Last weekend we were able to go up to Aunt Pam's house again. What a great time!! The whole gang was there! Mom and Stcia came from North Carolina and we were even able to see Grandma Peterson, Bob, Jordan and his wife Brooke!

Saturday started out the weekend with a race. Stacia and I were finally able to run one together! We ran the 10k while Emily and Lizzy ran the 2k with Joe at their side. Emily decided to run the entire way for her race and got 2nd place. Too cool.

After that we spent the afternoon at Scott and Alli's house where we grilled out and celebrated Joe's birthday. Happy Birthday Joe! The kids all had a great time playing in Alli's new playroom too and she looked just beautiful with her two, dare I say TWO, little babies in her tummy.

Sunday was a relaxed day at the house with mule rides up the mountain and playing in the creek. Who could ask for more? We love you all and it is so nice to be able to spend time with you guys!

Back to School #2

Well, Lizzy is off! She started preschool at Miss Brenda's today! What a big girl, she was super excited and barely snuck a hug in before she was off and running. Have fun sweet girl!

First Grade!

Well, after a crazy few days, Emily started school. Lizzy and Emily were both sick the past few days but seem to have recovered (Lizzy still has some residual). She was so very excited this morning and even has 2 of her friends from church in her class. Lizzy wont start until the 2nd of September in preschool so we are having fun until then.

I also wanted to add in Jackson's one year pictures. We were a little late this time, he got them done when he was 13 months but that's ok, lol. He is still doing a crazy crawl with his legs straight in the air and refuses to walk. He walks along things no problem and has just started to stand up on his own in the middle of the floor from when he is sitting so I guess it is in his own due time.

Eggs!

Well the chickens have started a lay'n! We are getting about 1 a day from each. We started out with 3 chicks, 2 turned out to be roosters and we gave them away. A friend gave us one and now we are at 2 pretty little hens. Emily's chicken lays brown eggs and Lizzy's chicken lays light green with little speckles. They are yummy!

Little Runners

So the girls ran in a local race (Florence), it was a kids 1/2 mile run. They were so cute and so excited. We practiced during the week and come race day they were ready to go! They ran with their friend Eden and they all did so wonderful, way to go girls! They were all smiles as they crossed the finish line.

Two front teeth!

I just had to post that when we got home Emily lost her other front tooth! I get so squimish about it and so she took it upon herself to pull it out in the bathroom instead of waiting for Dad to get home. What a brave girl!

Family Vacation Time!

We are sure getting the good life here in Colorado. I don't think we have ever been able to spend so much time with family, it is just wonderful! I just have to warn you it is major picture overload, I even had to make them into a movie because I just didn't want to miss anything.

So it all started 2 weeks ago when my Dad, mom and sister Stacia came out to visit. We started things off here in Pueblo West with a day on the lake. We rented one of the patio boats for a few hours and had a blast. There was a snake swimming across the top which totally creeped us all out but what great sight to see! The afternoon was spent running and jumping off the boat with a few flips that ended up back flops. What a day!
After a few days here with lots of swimming and even some fishing (Emily is now quite the fisherman) we headed up to Aunt Pam's in Evergreen. Dad had to go home and Joe stayed in Pueblo West but the girls still had fun :).There was so much we did! Jackson got to play with his cousins Maisie and Colten. We also got to see Allie and her hubby Scott, only to find out they are expecting!! Congrads you guys, we are so excited for you!!

One day we went over to Lakeside Amusement park and had as Emily says "the BEST day ever". The afternoon was spent on the kids rides and then we took a break and had a picnic at a local park only to head back for some serious night rides. Emily even went on that spaceship looking one that spins around like crazy while the music rocks out. I was so amazed and she loved it! Lizzy held her own on all the rides. She is so awesome!

We also spent an afternoon playing in the creek and at the park, another day at the outlets and the Gold Mine and Stacia and I even went on a little outing while the adults watched the kiddos. Uncle George even taught the girls how to play the harmonica. It was so cute how focused Emily was and how Lizzy just lets the music flow through her ;)Then on Saturday Aunt Pam hosted a joint birthday party for Jackson and Stacia. Jaime and Jered and Jenny were able to come up with their kids and everyone had a great day. Happy Birthday Stac! Then Scott coordinated a rafting trip for us! What fun! There were 7 of us so unfortunately we had to split boats but we did the intermediate run and I think we all loved every minute of it, even with the rain! I guess Jered almost fell out but kept his feet wedged tightly in and we almost lost Joe once but he is so quick to react, it was only a split second. On the little movie our boat is first with Joe, Stacia and I. The other boat had Uncle George, Jaime, Jered and Scott. Anyways, we couldn't have asked for a better vacation. Thank you all for such a great week!

Catch-up Time Again

Well, the girls finished swim lessons. We only did one round this time, we are trying to keep our schedules simple this summer. The girls both did amazing. What little fish they are! Lizzy is now in level 3, the same as Emily. She has her freestyle swim down and the two of them are just too awesome. I love that they are so comfortable in the water now and can have so much fun.

We had a surprise visitor too! Uncle Ron and Aunt Cheralyn stopped by! It was so nice to visit with them, it has been so long! Lizzy got her Mom's nickname of "giggles" while she and Uncle Ron played. Hopefully we didn't scare them off :). The girls got to tour their RV and just loved it! Thanks for stopping by you guys!!!

The 4th was amazing as well. We started the morning with the local 5k. Then we got to see the "wet" parade. We sat with some friends who got extra wet and the kids loved every minute of it! The parade would go by and they would spray everyone with water or throw candy. I didn't bring the camera, my phone barely made it through it! The rest of the afternoon was spent over at the litle fair, dinner with friends and then Joe took the girls to watch the fireworks. We hope you had a happy 4th too!

Jackson turns 1!

The time has flown by so fast, can you believe it??? We celebrated Jackson's first birthday on Saturday. We just did a quiet celebration and he sue enjoyed it. He dug right into his presents and even got a little drum from his sisters so he can now be a part of their band. It was too cute, he started banging on them right away. As for the cake, he was a little tentative at first but by the end he was love'n it, though he wanted nothing to do with his birthday hat. Happy Birthday Jackson!