Colorado - Days One and Two

It's finally here - the recap of our summer vacation with my parents. I know you have all been waiting and waiting for this exciting blog post. Well, even if you didn't know you have been waiting, here it is.

We left on Saturday the 27th and drove to Santa Fe, NM. It was a fairly easy drive. Not too long and we were pretty relaxed because we weren't in any hurry. The next day was Sunday so we were planning on eating breakfast and then going to church. Well, the hotel we were at was supposed to have a decent breakfast so we thought we would just stick around there and eat. This was not the case however. Apparently the hotel had just been bought the week or so before and the breakfast was toast and oatmeal that you have to make yourself. Needless to say, we decided to go somewhere else for breakfast. McDonald's is always a winner. Then instead of staying in Santa Fe for worship for drove to Espinolla (sorry, I don't remember how to spell it). Another adventure because the church was not located where it said it was. I will let Robert tell you about the church there. He loved it! After church we ate lunch and headed out once again for Pagosa Springs, CO.

Here is the back of the van. Too bad you can't see how horribly scrunched up they were back there. But Mimi did a wonderful job of keeping Lindsey company and I am so thankful for that!

This is when we were stopped for gas and Papa was looking in on Reagan. Doesn't he look happy here?

Now we start the real part of the vacation. Our first excursion was to Reservoir Hill Recreation Area. Now we had all talked about it and decided we would take an easy hike because of the ages of the kids. We all had a map of the trails in that area and thought that we were doing good. Except, the further we went up, the more we noticed, "Wow, this is kinda burning". Maybe it was just me but my legs were hurting and it was getting difficult to breathe. Then we all kinda stopped at an almost level spot and looked at the maps. We had been going up the "most difficult" trail on the hill. Yep, pretty much straight up.

Part of the gang - Blake, Dad, Mom, Andrew and Lindsey. I love how the kids are holding hands.

Reagan and Robert surveying the land, aka Pagosa Springs.

Lindsey was the trail blazer. She was way up ahead of all of us. See how steep it is?

Luckily, once we got to the reservoir, there was this "natural" sitting area. Great for pictures, too.

We really did make it all the way up there. And we all still have smiles!

Lianne, Blake and Andrew made it too!

Mom is smiling but she wasn't really feeling it.

On the way down, the easy way, there was this little cabin. Not sure what it was used for but it had "Registration" painted on the front. Made another great place for taking pictures.

Reagan had it easy. Riding on Daddy's back is always the best way to go.

Here is Andrew at the window in the cabin. You should have seen us trying to get him to stand still long enough to take this picture.

I just thought this made a cute picture and I love how blue the sky is.

Reagan loved feeling all the trees on our hike. She also loved looking up at the tall, tall trees. If you would say, "Reagan, where are the trees?" She would just start laughing and looking around to find one that she could touch.

The horses left some lovely smelling gifts for us to find. Lindsey learned how to watch out for them and avoid stepping in them.

We also found some huge dandelions on the hike. We tried really hard to blow them all away but they were stubborn and wouldn't budge.

After lunch and a nap, we headed to the Putt-Putt area at the resort. Lindsey had fun for the first half of the course.

Reagan was really tired but you couldn't tell that in this picture. She had fun watching us. Next time, Reagan, you can play with us!

Lindsey made an amazing shot and Robert was so excited for her.

Coming soon...Days Three and Four!

It's Coming, I Promise!

Yes, we got back from Colorado and our family vacation last Thursday. But no, I have not posted pictures or anything from it yet. So sorry. Truth be told, I think I still have some laundry from that trip to finish. Horrible, I know. And our regular schedule of swimming and hanging with friends is keeping us pretty busy. But, as soon as I make it to Wal-Mart (no I haven't been there to do our shopping yet either) I will be back on here and posting away. So just be prepared!

Reagan is Eleven Months Old

The day after Barbara's wedding, Reagan turned 11 months. I kept telling myself not to forget with everything else going on. And I am so glad that I didn't. I think the pictures turned out great.

We also had Robert's uncle and his family staying with us for the weekend. I wanted to make sure and get some pictures of the two youngest, Reagan and Brennon. He is only five days older than Reagan. You know what? It is kinda hard to get two 11 month olds to both stay still and both look at the camera and both smile. Oh, well. I get points for trying, right?

Barbara's Wedding (and Manny's too, I guess!)

We made it! To the wedding and most importantly, through the wedding and all the parties! It was great and we all loved every part of it. But we were so ready for it all to be over, too. I took lots of pictures so I will just post my favorites and tell a little about the day through them. Here it goes...brace yourselves!

We began the morning bright and early at the salon to get hair done. Lindsey and Brielle had stickers to occupy their waiting time. They also enjoyed going back again and again for more food.Lindsey was so excited to get her hair done like Cinderella's. I don't think she ever let go of the arms of the chair though.Her hair could have been left like this and it would have been fine with me.Lindsey with her Cinderella hair.Sweet cousins with beautiful hair (and tiaras, too).

The cute flower girls waiting for pictures to be done with. I love their shoes poking out from under their dresses.The bride with my girls - all three beautiful!Couldn't resist taking this picture.On their way to the reception at the church building.Yummy and gorgeous cakes!

Maybe a minute after we drove away from the church building, this is what I saw when I turned around. Adorable!Once we got inside, Lindsey was out once again. This time with a better pillow, daddy!Tired baby - she missed her nap during the wedding.Manny and Barbara arriving at the dinner and party.There was this great mirror at the dinner that I again couldn't resist taking pictures with.This was after the girls woke up and were both happy again. Yea for short naps!The "Chicken Dance". One of Lindsey's favorites.Trying to "teach" Reagan to do the "Chicken Dance" was interesting but funny. Not real sure she remembers how to do it now. Maybe I should put the music on and see what happens?!?The newlyweds dancing with their favorite Lindsey.Reagan and Barbara saying goodbye to each other. Reagan went home with my parents so she could have a somewhat normal night. And some quiet - have I mentioned that the room was really, really loud?Lindsey and Brielle loving every minute of it!Lindsey was admiring the dancing that our friends, Chris and Ashleigh, were doing so I asked Chris to dance with Lindsey. Here she is having a ball and giggling so hard.All that dancing is hard work. Lindsey taking a break but still joining in the fun by clapping with the music.

Lindsey helping our friends, Chandra and Doug, pick out the songs for the dancing.Dancing to "I Like to Move It, Move It". Lindsey requested it at least twice during the night. All she did for the dancing is jump around - funny to watch.Robert and Lindsey during "Kiss the Girl" from Little Mermaid. Lindsey did not want daddy to sing the words.The three of us dancing together. It was a bit awkward but it worked.Lindsey and Barbara saying goodbye to each other. Good thing we snapped this picture before the crying started.

The day after the wedding - Sunday night. We went to the hotel where Manny's family was staying and the kids got to play in the pool. We ordered pizza and said our goodbyes because the family was flying out the next morning.

Reagan with "Daddy" Manny and a nice, big cowboy hat. We would say "Big" Manny but Lindsey calls Barbara's Manny "Big" Manny because he is maybe an inch taller than his dad.Lindsey found a new friend in Manny's cousin, Cody. He was great playing with her in the pool.Reagan's first time in a pool. She loved it!After swimming, you need a snack, right? Yummy fingers!

Hope you enjoyed my short recap. It may not have seemed short to you but believe me, I was very selective of the pictures to put on here. I have about 100 others so if you ever want to see more, just ask!

Cleaning out the Pantry

This week, with Barbara's wedding on Saturday and family coming to stay with us, I decided to focus on two rooms/things to work on cleaning each day. Today I am working on the kitchen and table areas. The kitchen is done but while I was working in there, I decided I was tired of seeing my chips on the counter and needed a new home for them. That led me to the pantry. Great! What was I thinking? That place is a disaster area at best. Such a mess of stuff that is hard to get to when it is needed. I wanted to put a stop to that. That led me to reorganizing each shelf. I had already attacked the second shelf when I thought that I should document this momentous occasion. So here are the pictures of the before state of chaos. From top shelf to bottom shelf...

Here are the contents of shelf #2. Like I said, I had already emptied that shelf before deciding to take the pictures. But just imagine all that stuff on one shelf and you should get a pretty good idea about how horrible it was.

I still have some work to do. My mom has these great little wire shelves that I would love to get. That way the stuff at the back will still be able to be seen so that I know exactly what I have and don't have.

Here is the finished product - again from top shelf to bottom.
Meal items - veggies, mac and cheese, mixes, etc.
Snacks - I know, way too many!
Breakfast stuff - cereal and fruit bars
Baking items - flour, sugar, vanilla, etc.

What do you think? Any suggestions?