By the way...

Happy birthday to me! 28 years old today... and Britta will be 29 on Monday (which is also Talk Like a Pirate Day, just sayin')

Where has the time gone?  Anybody? Anybody?

Isaac in Moab

Well, we've done it! Isaac has now been on his first tent-camping trip, and let me tell you (all five of you ;D) that he was not a very "happy camper"... literally.  In all actuality, it wasn't horrible, but he had a little virus, a rash, and some diaper problems- aside from the fact that he was in a strange place, had to sit in the car for three hours to get there and back, and while we were there he was forced to sleep on the ground and hike all day... 

Anyway, Dad invited the family to spend the weekend in Moab (one of his favorite places).  Enoch couldn't go because of school, so Amber was my "plus one."  It was also her first time being at Arches National Park and Moab, so all-in-all we hit a couple more milestones than the average camping trip!  And now what you've all been waiting for: PICTURES!!! 

 Isaac was almost more interested in playing in the car than all the dirt and rocks surrounding us... what a typical boy, right?

Waiting patiently for eggs, bacon, hash browns, and hot cocoa, mmmm! 

Thanks Dad, for putting the trip together... and cooking breakfast! 

Isaac must have let Amber play with her IPhone for a few minutes 

The Delicate Arch from one of the viewpoints, the trail is actually on the other side of the arch 

Here we are hiking in Devil's Garden (thanks for the backpack Kris- it's been amazing!) 

"I'm ready for my closeup!" 

 

Tunnel Arch in Devil's Garden

Pine Tree Arch in Devil's Garden (it's called Pine Tree Arch because there are pine trees growing in the center of it... right Amber :) 

Isaac loved sitting on this giant rock in front of the campsite, it was adorable 

Balanced Rock 

Er... what a happy family? 

Amber wanted a picture of her on top of something big- this is what she was able to do without giving my dad a heart attack 

The cool tree in our campsite, a couple photographers actually came over to take pictures of it 

One of the views from our tents 

This is Devil's Garden Campground- gorgeous right? 

This was how Isaac felt at least half of the time, poor guy 

Kyle and Isaac playing at the beginning of the Delicate Arch trail 

Here are the petroglyphs on the Delicate Arch trail 

Ugh, I do not like this picture of me, but it was quite an accomplishment to make it up the trail, that I feel compelled to post all the pictures I can :s 

Amber and Kyle walked across the bowl to stand under the arch 

Isaac, Dad, and I stayed closer to the trail; it was pretty precarious! 

 Isaac was pretty bored/tired of the car by the end of the weekend, as evidenced by this picture

We passed these buildings in Helper.  I have no idea what they are, but they were weird enough to get pictures of...

Thanks Dad, Kyle, and Amber for a wonderful trip and all your help with Isaac over the weekend!!

Live Feed from the Butterfly Pavilion!

Okay, not really "live" in the sense that it's happening right now, although how do you know it's not? I promised to upload some video from our trip to the Butterfly Pavilion in CO, but I can only upload one video per post, so expect to see more sprinkled about when I can't think of anything to write about, er um, when old video of butterflies is more interesting than our daily lives, er I mean... oh just enjoy the pretty colors!! ;)

Ahem... (embarrassed cough)

Yup... back in the old habit of promising I'll keep my blog updated and then not keeping my blog updated... It's true, I still work grave shifts every Friday, but I've become pretty apathetic about being even an ounce more productive than I need to be throughout the night. Also, I haven't been very good at taking pictures of what's been going on so I don't have much to share right now anyway.

Isaac's growing and learning so quickly it's astonishing; he's really into Baby Signing Time, dogs, and throwing balls and food. Enoch just started his first semester at the U, and (keep your fingers crossed) is interviewing for a new job at L3 on Monday. I just got hired on full time at work which means I'm benefits eligible (wouldn't ya know it: just when I can get great prices on health insurance, Enoch may be getting a job with possibly better prices on health insurance!)

I'll remember to pack our camera in the diaper bag more often and get pictures of our adventures for more posts too! Also, for anyone reading, if you have pictures of our family please send them to me so I can post them! Love you all!

And some random summer photos to, um... make up for "not-random" summer photos...?

Frankie and Isaac playing at the park at Johnny's birthday party

Annie, Amber, and me at the Kiss Me Dirty Race at Wheeler Farm

Isaac playing with bouncy balls in the pools at Britta's house with Abi

Isaac running around during playgroup in his swimwear- so cute!!

I just posted this video on Facebook, but it's so friggin' cute I'm going to put it here too for your enjoyment.

Summer Adventure 2011

I've fallen in love again... with Denver, CO. Maybe it was the gorgeous weather, the abundance of trees, or the intoxicating energy of the city. Maybe it was the glistening sheen that being on vacation puts on everything. Or maybe it was simply spending so much time with Dan, Jen, Jonah, and Kris (all of whom we miss soooo much!). Actually, come to think of it, it was mostly seeing our close - and yet still so far - friends again that made me swoon for the Mile High City. Denver also has a lot of memories tied to it, including our honeymoon exactly five years ago (awww, how romantic ;)) Either way, it was very difficult to board the train to come home last Sunday, but we did it! And now I'm back at work in the middle of the night uploading the pictures I promised everyone (because we left our extra camera battery and charger back in "Wonderland"). Before the main attraction I would like to say thanks to Dan & Jen for being so hospitable, to Kris for carving out so much time for us, to Nancy & Mac for taking time out of their busy schedules to have dinner, to Katie & Bennett for opening our eyes to the exotic world of African Cats, and (last but not least) to Skip for taking us to and picking us up from the train station in the freaking middle of the night (did that equal three or four pies, I can't remember).

Here's Isaac at the train station at 3:30am... not quite awake

We had two seats in coach for the three of us, but it was still pretty comfy! Isaac's diving into some "train snacks" on the way to Denver

Here's Enoch in the "Sightseer/Lounge Car". There were booth-style tables and single chairs facing the huge windows. This was where most passengers went to be noisy and hear the CO volunteers give fun facts about the trip.

We let Isaac chill on top of the table... nice view!

Told you the seats were comfy!

Isaac and Jonah played pretty well together considering neither of them are used to having other kids around a lot. There was this cool park across the street from Dan & Jen's apt where we took the boys while we waited for Jen to get home from work. Disclaimer: I know it looks like Isaac is crying but he's actually right in the middle of making a very happy squeal.

Isaac loved being pushed in the swing

Jonah wasn't so sure about it

Here are the boys playing in the dirt (Enoch's just out of frame... also playing in the dirt)

We also went to The Tattered Cover, an awesome new & used bookstore near the 16th Mall in "LoDo". Here Isaac is contemplating which title to present at his next book club meeting.

Terrorizing the poor used books! Btw, the first section he went to was the Fantasy/Sci-Fi section... like father like son?

Kris, Jen, the kids, and I went to the Butterfly Pavilion on our last day. My still pictures didn't turn out very good so I'll share some videos later. It was amazing though, to see butterflies of so many colors and sizes just flying around our heads freely!

We also talked Dan into going out for Indian food. Now Jen and Kris have something in common to bond over.

Dan and Jonah... probably saying something law-related (Dan, not Jonah... although you can never be absolutely sure...)

Isaac really wanted the camera...

Kris also took us to the Real Pirates exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Photography wasn't allowed, otherwise I'd have to do a whole separate post for it, it was so fascinating!

This trip was sooo much fun, and there's so much more to write about (including dinner with Nancy and Mac) but I'm running out of time tonight. I'll upload my videos and post more later this week.