Messy Man!

Beck is, quite possibly, one of the messiest eaters on the face of the planet.

However, in my (completely unbiased) opinion, he is also one of the cutest!



L5 S1

Shortly after moving into our new house, Brandon had surgery for a herniated disk.  It included a day and night in the hospital; followed by 6 weeks of lifting, twisting, and bending restrictions.  He's really ready for the 6 weeks to be over so he can stop wearing his back brace and get back to more normal activity.  The kids and I are also ready for the 6 weeks to be over because he is not allowed to lift anything over 10 pounds, which means he can't pick them up, which means I cannot leave him at home alone with the kids unless Beck is asleep and is definitely going to stay asleep until I get home.  My mom has been over a lot to "babysit" everyone, so she will probably also be glad when the 6 weeks is over.  Hope has also been a huge help and if she is going to be home she can handle Beck and I can get out if I need to.  Big Pappy, I'm sure, is also ready for the 6 weeks to be over because he's been mowing our lawn every Wednesday.  This is a very kind gesture, as he hasn't even mowed his own lawn for the past 20 years!

Here are a few pics of the hospital stay. Brandon's going to love me for this! :)

 Pre-Op

 1st time up after surgery

 Testing out the stairs

"Will you stop taking pictures already?"

(or something not quite that nice)



Snow Mountain Ranch

Cabin, Horseback Riding, Swimming, Hiking, Scavenger Hunt, Trike Games, Mini-Golf, Alpine Slide

All squeezed in to one fun filled weekend in July!

Happy Birthday America!

Our 4th of July started with a bike parade with Big Pappy, GT and the boys, continued with a BBQ with jumpy castles and cornhole, and ended with fireworks at home with Grandmom. A great day!

Hope was loving doing our own fireworks. EJ was a little nervous at first, but then got into it. Beck LOVED the city firework show. Daddy was a little worn out by the end of the day!

Colorado Springs

I had posted about Brandon's "Rookie of the Year" award, but never included pics of the rest of our trip.  Here they are:

Hope and "the other Hope" in the pool!

EJ and her hippo

Cutie!

The hotel robes are the greatest!

THe Cheyenne Mountain Zoo brough animals into the lobby one day - here's a turtle!

Hope and Hope relaxing

Daddy and Beck relaxing

Awards Night

Paddle Boating!

Beck slept for the paddleboat ride

Fun trip! :)

My Girls!

These days when I talk about "my girls", I'm usually referring to Hope and EJ.  Back in college and in my "pre-kid" days, it was these two:

Me, Amee, and Brandi

I got to see my girls again in June when Amee came out from Kansas and Brandi came from Korea.  It has been SO LONG since the 3 of us have been together, but it was like no time had passed at all.  The visit was way too short, and since Brandi should be moving back to the states next year, we are (once again) planning yearly trips to get together.  Miss you girls!

The Carni

Ever since reading a Dora book about a Carnival, EJ had been requesting to go to one.  Luckily, in June, a carnival came to an outdoor mall near us.  We met some friends there and everyone had a great time!

 EJ and Paige

 Beck liked watching the big kids on the rides!

 Daddy and Hope off to find a "big ride"!

 Roller Coaster!

 Trying to win a fish!

 Spinny elephants!

 Sisters!

The mall play area was almost as much fun as the carnival.

Peek-A-Boo!