The Newest Addition

Piper Mae arrived Saturday night at 10:30 weighing 6 lbs 7 ozs and looking absolutely beautiful!!

We are swimming in thankfulness and joy for the amazing gift that God has given us in another child. We've been home two days and Jason has already cried his way through every country song he knows about fathers and daughters. We are LOVING our new baby!!!

The Dandelion Pictures

Picking Dandelions

Who knew picking dandelions could be so much fun. There is an empty lot on our block that must look like a field of exotic wild flowers to the kids. They would have stayed there all day had there not been an art project for their dandelions to get back to. We decorated vases for their bouquets. Unfortunately dandelions don't hold up so well once they've been plucked from the ground. 

The Reed Wedding is Coming!

We spent the morning in Estes Park checking out the outrageous back drop for Rachel and Brandt's wedding. It may well be covered in snow in two weeks, but we got to see it at its best.

More and more and more snow

A month or so of pleasant spring like weather and we thought we had seen the end of the snow. But now it seems as if we wake up to a new blanket nearly every morning. Sean is most disappointed, as he is always hoping to wear shorts. He usually asks Jason to check the weather first thing in the morning and then promptly goes for the shorts if the report shows a sunshine, regardless of the temperature. These pictures are from the first of the current round of snow... it seemed light at first and we let all the kids out to shovel. When tired of that, they left the shovels on the ground, not to be rediscovered for 48 hours or so. Sean was on his hands and knees looking for a while, but to no avail, we had to deal with out shoveled side walks.

More snow...

Jason and Sean were throwing snowballs at me in the kitchen. Thankfully I had a large piece of glass as protection. They also played snowball baseball and threw shovels full of snow at one another. Oh the fun a father and son can have together!

SNOW!

Excited is an understatement... These kids were outside eating snow before breakfast. I think they'll enjoy their new life in Colorado. 

A few photos

So we haven't taken many pictures lately.. but here are a few.

Long Overdue!

It has been way too long! Grandma has made a second trip since our last post... I will post a few pictures from the past weeks, but our most exciting development is the new addition we're expecting! A baby in late May and Sean will finally have his long awaited baby brother or sister. We are thrilled! (And obviously putting adoption on hold for the time being.... to be revisited in a few years.)

Grandma and Grandpa Came to Town

Some pics from Grandma and Grandpa Jones' first visit to our new home in Denver. Among the group are pictures of the dragon boat races and our day in the mountains, particularly Echo Lake.

Playing with Uncle Jason

Molly decked out in her princess gear and "Sally" the bear in a matching "Cinderbella" dress. And Hays... who challenged Jason to a sword fight. Although Jason won, Hays deserves an award for theatrics! 

More Swimming Pictures

Swimming, Swimming, in the Swimming Pool

The pool is WAY more fun than it was this time last year! Three years old must be the time kids begins to love the water AND have the balance and assertiveness to keep their head out of it! I just remember the constant panic feeling when a two year old is wobbling through wasted deep water. Well we are past that now, with the help of floatation devises ($4 well spent). They had a great time, even Carson, once Jenny conceded and allowed her to wear her shoes into the water. 

Rock Band in the Front Yard

Hays and Sean thought the neighborhood needed to hear a little of their original music. Hays gets the prize for best expressions and Sean for most noise! They are a riot! They take themselves very seriously. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Jones for the drums... the favorite present of all time (or at least of all three years).

The Conquering of Mt. Bierstadt

Jason, Brandt and Brian set out for the summit of Mt. Bierstadt from our campsite near Guenella Pass last weekend. It proved more challenging and more rewarding than Jason expected. It seems to be a bit of an addictive thing, these 14ers. We're planning another for August 9 with hopes of securing childcare so that all who desire might climb.

The First of Many Smores

Our first attempt at camping as a family went great... until we laid down to sleep and realized I had forgotten pillows and then woke up to a very chilly morning without warm clothes. So we've improved our packing since then and had more successful trips.

More Hiking

Beth and Shelby were visiting a couple of weeks ago and to further encourage their move to Denver, we went hiking in the mountains. I think the hike was supposed to be about 3 miles... but we added at least another mile by parking at the bottom of a hill rather than the base of the trail. The dads paid the price when the boys were ready to be carried a few hundred yards into the trip down. At least they made it up, which was quite an accomplishment. We climbed over 1000 feet in the 2 miles up... the view was worth it. 

More

A View Well Worth the Hike

About two and half miles in we were wandering if this Panorama Point would be worth the tough hike. (The challenging part we knew lie ahead when Sean would want to be carried... the last half mile was a steep incline) The hike was mostly through the forest, down one mountain and up the next. I probably told Sean a dozen times, just a little bit farther, we're almost to the top where you can have your snack. Well the top finally came, and it was well worth the work! An exceptionally wide and clear view of the Continental Divide from two well placed nice wooden decks (that Sean proceeded to run around until we began the descent... at which point of course he was ready to be carried!) We had the zoom lens on the camera so even though a picture can't do it justice, this one doesn't even come close because you can only see three peaks. We did end up carrying Sean the last half mile... up hill... but it was worth it, and I'm sure we'll do it again!

An Almost Hike

We set off for a trail outside of Boulder yesterday. It turns out that we parked in overflow parking of sorts  (a mile or so from the trail head). The kids were ready to turn back when we reached the actual trail, which I'm sure does require overflow parking at times as it was a beautiful site! The trail it self is actually over 7.5 miles long... I guess we'll have to come back and do that one without the kids (or with overambitious attitudes ready to carry them 1/3 of the way or more). It was fun anyway and Sean got a chance to wear his new Camelpack and share it with his friends.