Mara Driving

Labor Day

The Girls had an exciting weekend camping in Illinois at Lake Ladonna for Labor Day weekend. We stayed in Christiana and Nicks Trailer and also tented for three nights. Nono, Bestamor, Mormor, Grandpa Ed, Oma Sue and Opa Ray and of course Christiana, Nick and Anthony attended the campout. Aunt Cheryl, Uncle John and Jeanine were also right next door, making for a wonderful family get-together. The kids had an amazing time getting to play all day and almost all night long. They collected acorns, went on many wagon rides, walks, played at the park and also enjoyed some good old fashioned running around! The 2 year olds became very creative in their requests for wagon rides. They would climb in, buckle up then yell that they were stuck! A wagon ride was the only remedy! The beach was also a hot spot and we all enjoyed soaking up some sun, building sandcastles and wading in the lake to keep cool. Megan was able to enjoy the cool breeze with Bestamor in the shade of the acorn trees. Mara convinced mom to slide down the water slide with her, and Aunt Cheryl to push her on the water swing, which Mara really enjoyed. Mara and Anthony also enjoyed floating in the lake on rafts. The nights were spent wrapped in blankets and sweatshirts taking in the spectacular starry skies and enjoying the warm (or cold for some!) campfire. A band of the Milky way, shooting stars and many constellations twinkled in the night. We roasted marshmellows and made some smores as we took in the outdoors. On the last night we all enjoyed the lighted golf cart parade, and Mara attended her first concert. Mara was the life of the party dancing and singing! The girls had a great time and look forward to some more camping!

Milestones

We have had a busy weekend and wonderful start to our week. Many milestones have been accomplished. Megan is perfecting her roll and scootching. She is also moving on to veggies and fruit and is really enjoying eatting real food! Megan is also sleeping through the night in long stretches, she slept 8 hours last night! Mara is practicing her guitar playing and was singing a wonderful rendition of 'twinkle twinkle.'

Rocking and Rolling

It's official! Megan is mobile and rolling! She is even starting to scootch after things too! It won't be long before we have two kids running around after each other. Megan performed her first roll about a week ago, but now is consistently rolling and has the happiest smile on her face when she completes her new trick!

Guitar

Aaron has finally started on his mission to learn to play the guitar. Right now he is borrowing his friends guitar to get a feel for it. He is doing pretty well for being self taught at the moment. Soon he will be singing and strumming 'Rocky Mountain High' among other songs. Mara has also shown some interest in the guitar although that seems to change daily.

Eldorado Canyon

Our latest Adventure takes us north of Denver to the quaint town of Eldorado Springs, just outside of Boulder. We had a fun filled day of picnicking and hiking in Eldorado Canyon. The hot days of summer had finally subsided and cool mountain air welcomed us on our first venture as a family in the mountains of Colorado.We found a lovely spot for a picnic along South Boulder Creek. We could view the water rushing by as well as the rock climbers scaling the towering walls of the canyon. The bees unfortunately cut our lunch a little shorter than we would have liked. We made our way with the girls strapped into our stroller to Fowler trail. There we encountered a snake just at the trailhead. A little nervous of what this creature might do Julia hesitated passing by it. Aaron bravely walked past and soon discovered it was just a bronze cast and was nothing to worry about. Julia felt a little foolish and much relieved to discover there was nothing to worry about! The Hike was along a path that offered breathtaking views of the canyon below. We could hear the rushing of the creek below as well as calls from the birds flying along the canyon wall. While enjoying the beauty of the canyon sides, we could spot various rock climbers making their way up the walls...it was quite a spectacular site. Next, we packed the girls into backpacks and hiked up Rattlesnake Gulch Trail. It was quite a bit more rocky and rugged of a trail and the sun started to beat down on us. Since we wanted to keep the girls safe from the sun we headed back to the car. It was a lot of fun to finally venture out into the wilderness of Colorado. We can't wait to share our next adventure!

Vegas!

Aaron and Julia spent a night in Vegas after Julia followed Aaron on one of his trips. Julia learned that flying was a bit more exhausting than she thought it would be, but enjoyed all the scenery flying into Salt lake City, San Jose, and Las Vegas. They enjoyed the fountain show at the Bellagio and Aaron tried his luck at the blackjack tables at Paris (and did very well!).