Colorado Trip - Summer 2012

We invited ourselves up to Colorado while Mimi and Grandpa had their timeshare condo in Dillon. Our condo was a few doors down and Mimi and Grandpa let Alivia and Will sleep with them, while Matt and I had the littles with us. Overall, the trip was so fun. It was wonderful to just spend time as a family away from all of life's distractions. The mountains are so beautiful this time of year - I just wanted to be outside all day long. Thank you, Mimi and Grandpa for helping make our summer vacation so fun and memorable. I appreciate you so much.

I'll try to give a recap through the pictures that I took.

We spent the first morning at a nearby park

Next we headed to Breckenridge

So beautiful!

We picnicked by the water

Of course John wanted to get in the water!

Will eating his lunch

Lunch by the river

Poor baby Matthew had to lie on a rock for awhile! He didn't seem to mind

The next day we rode a gondola in Breckenridge - John was unsure about the whole thing

Alivia thought it was awesome!

Such a cute shot in the gondola

In the gondola

The following day we headed to the nearby Country Boy Mine for a tour

They had old mining equipment that the kids loved to climb on

Overview of the mining area

They had burrows that roamed the grounds - hilarious!

John absolutely refused to go into the mine, so Daddy had to entertain him while I took A and W inside

We learned how to pan for gold afterwards - it was really fun! We found quite a bit of fools gold.

Begging burrows - I had fed it a few goldfish crackers and it was begging for more!

View from our condo

Another view from our condo

Another day we headed for the Georgetown Steam Train ride

On the train - it lasted about an hour - perfect amount of time

View of the train rounding the bend

John and Daddy

There were beautiful views from the train of the valley

Afterwards we had a picnic lunch in Georgetown and then got some incredible homemade ice cream in town

The next day we returned to the awesome nearby park  - I wish this was in Austin!

Check out the cool stuff in this park!

Taking a break from the sun

Picnic snack in the shade

Baby Matthew being his sweet self

After naps we headed to the nearby stream that runs through Dillon

We had a picnic lunch with Mimi and Grandpa

The kids loved exploring the river and skipping rocks

There were beautiful rainbow trout in the river! Can you see it?

We walked to a nearby shop for ice cream - John had just about had it at this point.

We managed to fit in a hike around Sapphire Lake

John made my heart race as he climbed the rocks along the cliff

Sweet Will, beautiful mountains

Sweet Sister loved to feed the numerous chipmunks around the area

Our awesome guides - Mimi and Grandpa!

John had an absolute fit when we placed him in this carrier - but later on the hike said "I want my chair!" and climbed back in again!

We had a great snack along the way

The clouds started rolling in and we made it back to the car just as the rain started - whew!

Stuck in the airport after we MISSED OUR FLIGH HOME! AHHHH! 

I just had to capture the amount of stuff that we had with us - it made people stop and stare

Out of order shot from my iPhone - we ate a the best Cajun restaurant one night called "The Lost Cajun"

Probably the only pic I will ever have of Matthew in a hat - he looks adorable

Leaving the restaurant - can you believe I was wearing a FLEECE jacket in July?! I love the mountains!

Fourth of July at the Lakehouse

Fourth of July fell on a Wednesday this year so we were able to head out to Lake LBJ on Wednesday morning and stay through the weekend. It was so fun to be out there for several days in a row and the kids just had a blast playing with their cousins. This year there is a new tube and Alivia LOVES riding on it. We can pull it with the jet ski or the boat and Alivia wanted to be out on the water all the time. It is fun to watch how much her confidence has grown since learning how to swim well.

Happy Birthday America!

We set up this pool for John John but all the kids enjoyed it. Note that Will and Alivia still has their life vests on! Their Mama is a little overzealous about safety at the lake. :-)

John John wants to be in on the action all the time

We celebrated Em's birthday 2 weeks early since we would be gone on the 15th. I think it is cute that the Alivia and Avery are blowing the candles with her.

Aunt Emily and her beautiful girls (Avery 5, Paige 3)

Blonde beauties!

My precious girl

Uncle Peyton and his girls

All the cousins (except Matthew) John 2, Avery 5, Alivia 6, Paige 3, Will 4

Attempt to get Mimi a photo with the grands. . . 

John was LONG gone at this point, but we at least got 4 of the 6

The Risingers - Mimi bought all the kids matching outfits - even Matthew had a matching shirt

Great shot of PT and Em

Proof that Matthew (4 1/2 months) was really there

Emily saw this cute idea for ice cream bars on a stick that you pressed in sprinkles - the kids loved them

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Emily braved the tube a time or two. . . I have yet to do it

Matt and Paige

Will loved riding on the jet ski with Matt and lowering and raising the lifts

Look Who's Talkin'!

Matthew is about 4 1/2 months in this video.

Special Bond

Will has a special bond with Matthew. I often catch Will down on the ground stroking Matthew's head and talking to him quietly. It has really surprised me how much Will notices Matthew and helps to care for him. I think a 4 year age difference makes it easier - there is less competition and Matthew can't stand up to Will yet! :-) I hope their relationship continues to grow through the years. I pray that all of my children will remain close into adulthood. I pray that God will help me to know how to foster that.

Attempt at Family Pictures

As if getting to church on time is not stressful enough, I thought this time in the morning would be a perfect time to try and get a family picture. I got all the kids dressed in coordinating outfits. I seriously turn into a crazy lady when we try to take pictures. And of course the more I push the children, the more they rebel. . .

Of course Will decides this is the perfect time to gag himself.

John, I was feeling the same way at this point

At this point we had given up on including John and had turned into a family of 5 again

John is still having a tantrum in the driveway during these shots

This is about as good as it gets - we took these after we got home from church

All the kids at 4 months

People always ask me who I think Matthew looks like. . . I'll let you decide.

Alivia

Will

John

Matthew

Matthew is 4 months old!

Matthew got a clean bill of health at his 4-month appointment. Here are his stats:
Height: 24.74 inches (30%)
Weight: 15.8 pounds (55%)
Head: 42.3 (97%)

He just rolled over for the first time a day or two ago! Yay! We are putting him down for the night between 7-8 pm. (YAY!) But now he is getting up every night around 3 am to nurse (BOO!) I was so hopeful he would continue sleeping through the night, but I think he will join the others and start that around 7-8 months.

He rewards any attention with beautiful smiles and gurgles.

This is one of my favorite outfits that he has worn.