I Am Thankful For...

My beautiful kids who make me truly happy and proud.

My husband who loves me best. He is an amazing man who will do anything to support our family and to make me happy. (This picture was taken at Jason's Mom's after a whipped cream pie in the face moment that Declan didn't so much appreciate!)

My parents who always listen to me and also- you know- love me unconditionally. Jason's parents- who I didn't take any pictures of- for being there for us and for the example that they set.

My sister. I knew I missed her (she's away at school) but I had kind of forgotten just how much I missed her until she showed up unexpectedly last Sunday at my Mom's just in time for Thanksgiving dinner with my Grandparents.

All of my blessings. All of my family and friends. My life and health. My freedom. The gospel. I think the more I think about what I am grateful for the more things I can come up with.

We had three separate Thanksgiving dinners this year. One with my Dad's side of the family, one with Jason's family and one in Grand Junction the day after Thanksgiving with my Mom's side of the family. It's funny that each family has their "traditional" dinner. For my Dad's side they have a cold sweet potato with marshmallow casserole. With Jason's side of the family we don't have mashed potatoes and gravy we have Sour Cream Potato casserole. And with my Granny every Thanksgiving morning she makes homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Also, she makes every one's favorites- there are usually two different types of several things so that everyone is pleased! And I can't leave out my Mom's made from scratch pies. I definitely have the most memories of this kind of Thanksgiving.

Anyway, I am so grateful for all of our wonderful family and the opportunity that I had to see them all this past week!! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Has it already been 6 months?

I just can't believe how fast the time has gone by!! Can't they just stay babies for a little longer!! We weren't supposed to have her 6 month until next week but Little Miss came down with croup so we had to go into the doctor the day before Thanksgiving. Lucky for her they held off on the shots for a few days! Delaney weighs 16lbs. 7oz. (53%) and is 27" long (85%)!! She is sitting up independently and rocking up onto her knees. No doubt crawling is just around the corner! She also loves her little piggies!! She likes them bare- if she has socks on she will try to pull them off and she plays with her little toes whenever possible! She started eating baby food and I think she kind of prefers carrots and peas! She just adores Declan and will smile at anything that he does. Declan has really started to adore her too. Lately when she starts to fuss he says, "I think she just needs me." So cute!! She is still quite the mama's girl but I can't say that I mind too much!!

Californ-i-a!

This last weekend I had the privilege of going with Jason (and Delaney and Todd and Ramie!) to California for a few days. He had a work conference on Mon and Tues so Delaney, Ramie and I just went for the weekend. It was the first time Delaney had ever been on a plane and also the first time she had ever "seen/been in" the ocean. We had awesome weather...I think it was low 90's one day- apparently the "norm" this time of year is like mid to high 60's. We didn't have any plans when we got there which is very out of character for me. Todd surprised us all with a sweet hotel- about 30 steps from the beach. We were in Laguna Beach so it was gorgeous!! I forgot to pack flip-flops so we made and emergency Wal-Mart run for some cheap ones. I also thought I wouldn't miss my camera and regretted that almost as soon as we left the house!! Anyway, while we were there we had some good food (one of my favorite parts about vacation- I didn't have to wait on anyone except Delaney). We tried the Golden Spoon which I have heard so much about- it was pretty good. We also tried the Salt Creek Grille, El Pollo Loco, and Gina's Pizza and Pasteria. We spent all of Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning boogie boarding in wetsuits!! Yes- you read right- wetsuits!! The dude we rented the boards from said we wouldn't last ten minutes without them so Jason and Ramie talked me into it and despite my feelings about being in a wetsuit it was so much fun and I never even got cold!! I really can't believe that we forgot to take a picture of all of us in our suits!! I also forgot to catch a pic of Delaney in her little swim suit!! It was so much fun!! While we were gone Declan got to hang out with Drew and Brinley on Friday and then Grammy and Gramps for the weekend!! Thanks Amy and Mom and Dad for making it so easy for us to go!! I think he probably wore Grammy and Gramps out. Sounds like they had a pretty busy schedule! Anyway, back to real life now!!

Isn't this amazing!! It's a picture of a giant starfish that Jason found stuck to a rock!!

Loved this picture of Todd and Ramie watching the sunset...I can't help but wonder what it would have looked like if I had my camera to play with!!

Eldorado Springs

I have seriously been slacking in the blogging world lately. Since Lil Miss was born and our computer's new home is in our closet (as if it wasn't crowded enough) it is so hard/boring/uncomfortable to blog. Anyway, I've been meaning to post for over a week now- better late than never, right?

Last weekend Jason had to work so the kids and I tagged along with my parents up to Eldorado Springs for a "walk". This "walk" was 2.5 miles straight up a mountain- with the double jogger (thanks Annie) adding an extra 50+ pounds of resistance! It was a lot of fun and was actually a great workout- just super hard. We even saw a rattlesnake, click on the last picture and look right in the middle of the picture. It was rattling like crazy and ready to strike!! Needless to say we wore the kids out- they both conked out on the way back down.