Dinosaur Museum

Rylan has been dinosaur crazy lately, so I knew it would only be a matter of time before we would need to make a trip to Woodland Park to the dinosaur museum. I had wanted to go also, but when Charlton scheduled a massage for me on Tuesday morning and his mom was willing to help out, well, I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. I had a wonderful relaxing morning and they had some fun chasing kids and looking at dusty bones.

Rylan "digging" for fossils.

Cool dude meeting his favorite dinosaur, T-rex.

That's a lot of teeth and a little boy!

Rylan and Grammy investigate.

Hands-on Caroline sporting the natural hair look.

Zoo with Grammy

On Monday, July 5th, we took Grammy to Cheyenne Mtn. Zoo. It was a little crowded, but the weather was beautiful and we had a great time together.
I think my kids are more interested in the zoo rides than the actual animals.

Rylan has no worries about his train ride.

For once, my fearless Caroline looks worried. She wasn't sure what we had gotten her into! I was afraid she would try to bail, but she stayed on the train the whole time and seemed to relax.

Charlton and Rylan went on a detour to the petting zoo and Rylan came back looking like this. I was shocked that he would even be interested in having his face painted. Once the paint dried, he wanted us to wipe it off, but I got a few good pictures of my "grizzly bear."

Rylan, the not-so-scary grizzly bear. Good try, though!

Caroline the lion tamer.

Happy carousel riders. This is one of the kid's favorite parts of the zoo.

Rylan and Grammy on the carousel.



Caroline looks apprehensive, but she actually enjoyed her ride for the first time this trip.


Caroline looking for giraffes to feed.

Independence Day with Grammy

Grammy flew in last Saturday and we had a wonderful visit, going to parks, dinosaur museum, the zoo, mall, and house shopping. She and Charlton watched the kids on Tuesday so I could get a massage and have a morning out. It was wonderful!
She also stayed with them Thursday night so we could get dessert to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We are praying her house in Atlanta sells soon so she can move out here for good.

The kids cooperated for a picture with Grammy. I had to bribe Rylan with letting him water my flowers with the hose afterwords.





The kids had fun playing catch with Grammy in the calm before the storm. We could hear thunder while we were outside and it hailed an hour later.

July 4, 2010 Hailstorm

We were planning to go see fireworks on Sunday night, but the weather forced a change of plans. We usual get hail every time it rains here in CO, but normally it is just pea-sized. This time...more like quarter to ping-pong sized. The sound was deafening and it was really crazy watching these huge balls of ice come flying off the roofs. We had some damage to our grill cover, my rose bush, and our roof, but not bad enough that we have to replace the roof, thankfully. It was a storm we won't soon forget.

July 4 hailstorm video

Cousins

When I look at pictures of these precious children (albeit now that I am removed from all the noise and chaos :-), I couldn't help but get a bit teary. What a blessing they are to our family; all so healthy and beautiful with their unique personalities! We spend our last evening at Spindletop trying to take group pictures with all the kids in their 4th of July themed outfits. Here are a few of my favorites...

One of the best of all seven cousins.

Trying to get all seven on the picnic table.

And... this pose is over.

Cute 5 cousins on the lawn.

The four older cousins.

Being goofy on the grass.

Andrew Craig.

Andrew's fierce face.


Samuel's fierce face.

Love this one of the girls with my parent's summer home, Spindletop Hall in the background.

The girl cousins.


James Roland and Samuel share a silly moment.



Brothers, James Roland and Christopher John.



Caroline and Christopher.


Peek-a-boo Rylan.

Pretty Katherine.

Rylan and Caroline in Kentucky

I am finally getting to post some pictures of our Kentucky trip at the end of June. Between me and my dad, we got hundreds of great pictures. It was really hard to pick out just these favorites, but I think it gives you a good snapshot of our time together.

Nana took Rylan down to the creek on our first night. He returned muddy, soaking wet, and so happy. We capped off the evening with chocolate chip cookies.

Rylan sits on High Hopes! He was excited about "riding" her and I was proud of him for being so brave after he saw what big animals horses are in real life. I rode High Hopes when I was a little girl and she is just the best mare. It was really special to see Rylan get to meet our special horse.

Rylan patting High Hopes. He really liked hugging her leg, which she so patiently tolerated.

Nana introduces Caroline to the "neigh-neighs."

My crazy girl, just after she dunked her face in the horse's water bucket!

Little tractor driver.

Caroline is crazy about dogs and it was a special treat to play with Bethany's new great dane puppy, Gatsby. One day we will look at these pictures amazed he was ever that small!

What better place to spend a hot, humid day in June than the pool. Caroline was very confident and with her water wings on, it gave me a bit more peace of mind. She loved leaning back to float in the water.

Rylan stays cool in the pool.

Caroline's face says it all. The trampoline was a huge hit. We spent a good part of every day going "bounce, bounce" as Caroline would say.

Rylan loved jumping on the trampoline, too.

Our first day, Rylan went down to the creek with Nana and was a little uncertain. On our last day, the story was quite different. Charlton fished while Bethany, Rylan, the puppies, and I splashed in the creek.

Ry-man soaking in the creek and examining some interesting shells.

The one that didn't get away.

He wasn't so sure about checking out this fish up close, especially because it had some prickly spines on its fins.

Uncle Benjamin let Charlton and Rylan drive his mower.