Memorial Day Weekend Project

Before



After




Over the Memorial Day weekend we put in a fence. The west side of our yard was wide open. Tanner loves to explore! With not having a fence Tanner would roam into the neighbors yard and into the street.

This was a much bigger project then I thought. I am glad it was only one side of the yard and a wing that required a fence. Not only have we loved the privacy of a completely fenced yard but also the safety it offers the kids. Plus, I am rather pleased with our work. Its not perfect but its up.

Here are some pictures of us putting in the fence!




Sabrinna was not paying attention and stepped in the wet cement. It was so funny watching Tanners reaction.


Tanner was right there working along side Steve and I. He would hand us screws, try to pull the trigger on the screw driver, and of course would sneak to the other side when possible. He literately cried when he tried to get out when the last slats were going up and he realized he could not longer roam free.

The Royal Gorge!

We have been wanting to go camping for a long time now. We finally took a couple days and went over to see the Royal Gorge in Canon City. We camped at Prospectors RV Resort. We went last Wednesday in an effort to beat the holiday traffic. Which worked out perfect for us because we were the only tent campers of the 100 tent sights. They were super nice to us and gave us a lot of perks.



The Royal Gorge Bridge is the worlds highest suspension bridge. It is a little over 1,000 feet about the Arkansas river. It was built in the late 1800's. It was quite the sight to see. We got to drive across the bridge after hours and watch the sun set. It was beautiful! The following day we went back to the park, they have rides and some attractions.


We took the Incline Railway down to the river, the railway is at a 45degree angle. Its was pretty tight quarters to get down but what a great change in perspective. Seeing the bridge from above and below.



The resort had a fun playground, swimming pool, and then these peddle cars. Steve and I got a nice work out peddling us up the hill to our tent. It was a blast coming down and the kids just held on to the front bar with big smiles on there faces, at least that's what I saw when we got to the bottom. :)


They had a this jump pillow! It was a blast! We all had a great time jumping on the rainbow pillow.


The kids did pretty well camping. Sabrinna has been asking to go again and Tanner loves to walk on rocks when he see them. Camping is a new family tradition.

Blog Slacker!

I admit that I have been a MAJOR slacker when it comes to blogging over the last year. I hope to improve over the next few months. My slacking is not due to not doing anything its just the lack of time and desire to do it. So to those of you that read or were reading my blog I am committing to try harder!!

As Spring has sprung so has our desire to be outside. We have spent a lot of time outdoors playing, working, and just having a good time. The kids love the hose!!!! In fact they fight over it most the time. Tanner is one of those kids that likes to get you wet but doesn't want to be gotten wet. He is learning the hard way that's not how it works. Anyways,this is what happened one day when I left the kids to play....

There is something to be said about little bums covered in dirt... They are so CUTE!


By the end they were covered in mud!!! They loved it and have repeated the activity many times!

Reunited At Last!

For about a year now I have been missing this prized kitchen amenity! The Quick Stir Pitcher!!! When we moved my pitcher broke. I did not replace it until just recently when I hosted a Pampered Chef Party. To say the least I am super excited!!! If you have never used one of these your should try it. They are so convenient when it comes to mixing lemonade, kool-aid, or other fruit drinks from concentrate. Pour and Pump! Its that easy!! A blessed reunion!!! :)

A 4 Day!!

This weekend has been wonderful! Steve had Friday and Monday off for the Easter holiday. Hence the title a phrase taken from the Army, "A 4 day." It was way nice since he is leaving for some more training soon. We had a great time doing yard work, going for bike rides, playing at the park, listening to conference, going to Lowes and having the annual Easter egg roll. Its weekends like this that make you realize what a blessing families are.




We went over to a dirt hill by our house to roll our eggs down the hill. Its a family tradition that my family was introduced to when I was a teenager. We had a great time. This is not the best family picture, it does not help that my eyes are closed and we are all about to be blown away. We are learning that it is SUPER windy here in the Spring time!



I think over the weekend we went to Lowes everyday. Its so close and has everything we need for the house projects, plus lawn mowers for the kids to ride on and best of the all 'race cars'. Sabrinna and Tanner love riding in the race cars. They are so cute!!



Steve built me a garden box to plant some vegetables in. We have terrible soil so nothing will grow unless you have tons of compost and other things to help the soil. Anyways, the kids have been a big help in getting it all put together and ready to plant.

We had a wonderful weekend together. We created a lot of great memories!!!

Joys of a Wheel Barrow

This last weekend we had some decent spring weather. We spent some time outside which was a nice change for all of us. One night we were all outside playing with the neighbor friend. Steve put the kids in the wheel barrow and took them for a ride. They were laughing and having a great time. I remember my dad taking me and my siblings around in the wheel barrow like this. GOOD TIMES!


On a smaller scale... The kids have taken a liking to riding around the house in this little wagon. They take turns getting in and out and even pushing each other around the house. Amazingly enough they don't fight TO much over it.

Fun in the Snow!

I while ago we had a snow storm. This is the most snow I have seen in Fountain all winter... a whole 2 inches!!! Winter is definitely not like what I am use to in Utah. Anyways, we decided to capitalize on the winter weather. I got the kids all bundled up and we headed outside. Tanner went down the drive way on his belly, Sabrinna made her first snow angel, and I pushed the kids around the back yard on Sabrinna's bike. The kids had a great time and by later that afternoon most of the snow was gone. It was a blast to get out for a few minutes and the kids really enjoyed it!

Family Picture!

We have needed to get an updated family picture for a some time now. I was very pleased with how well the pictures turned out...especially where Steve took the pictures for us. We went over to Garden of the Gods and found what I think was a beautiful spot of a picture!

Air Assault! Air Assault!!

Steve just spent the last couple of weeks going through the Air Assault Coarse at Fort Benning, Georgia. While there he did obstacle courses, sling load training (which is connecting loads of supplies to helicopters) and then rappelling out of helicopters.
,
Steve rappelling from one of the obstacle courses.


This is a 64 foot wall that the soldiers were required to rappel from.


It would have been pretty neat to watch everyone drop from the helicopters!


This is Steve and his battle buddy watching everyone take their turn rappelling from the helicopters.


It was a VERY VERY physically demanding training. When Steve would call home at night he would tell me how "they smoked us.... again". One of the last things that a soldiers must do to pass the training was a 12 mile ruck march. Unfortunately, for Steve and the others they woke up the morning of the march to pouring rain!!! So with ruck sacks that weigh about 40 pounds strapped to their back, jogging in the rain for 2-3 hours, and holding a weapon ...this is what Steve's hands looked like at the end. A little pruned.

To say the least I am so proud of Steve for his hard work to push through things when they were beyond difficult. The pressure of people yelling at you, trying to learn everything needed for the tests given, and staying strong when you are being worked so hard physically. It really was a mental, physical, and emotional training which Steve passed! Congratulations!!!

What no Picture?

I thought I would update our blog. So I went to upload the pictures off my camera and there is not a single one on it. I feel like this last month has just flown by and I have done so many things. I guess I just don't have documentation for it. Oh well. As for an update the kids have gone back to sleeping in till later and I am doing well with exercising.

I have been working on finishing projects that I started years ago. I have gotten a couple done but have hit a road block with the current project. Its a sewing project and I feel like throwing it away at this point. To say the least I am a little frustrated!!!!

The kids are doing good. Tanner is trying to feed himself and makes a mess every time. He is getting better at it. He finds his mouth every bit now. Its just a matter of if the food stays on the spoon. He is Sabrinna's shadow. He likes to do what ever she is: brushing teeth, coloring, dancing, reading stories or running like a crazy man around the house. It makes me smile every time the play together. :)

Sabrinna is starting to try and negotiate with me to either stay up later, get an extra cookie or what ever it is she wants. She continues to love her dance class and gets very excited about class. She loves roll playing and pretending she is a mom. Its fun to listen to her talk to her toys!! She also likes primary and looks forward to going each week.

Steve is very busy with work!!! He is training right now and getting 'worked' as he put it. Their unit is preparing for deployment some time later in the year. Its not something we are looking forward to but we will deal with it as best we can.

Hopefully I will better documenting next months activities!

Try Again!

With it being a new year I have set some goals. One of my goals is to exercise 3 times a week. Last week things were going pretty well... kind of. My plan was to get up before the kids wake up in the morning. Of coarse Sabrinna woke up at the same time I did two of the three days and come down stairs asking for breakfast, a blanket, or help with something. Today I decided to get up even earlier...6:30 which is rather early for me!!! So today Tanner woke up at 6:30. AHHHHH!!! He never wakes up that early.

I am really trying not to loose motivation already. In an effort to keep at it. I decided that my motto will be TRY AGAIN. I am constantly telling Sabbrinna to 'try again' when she is whining or not talking like a big girl. I feel like I need to take some of my own advice and TRY AGAIN!!!

I hope that those of you who have set goals are having better luck then me two weeks into the new year!

Merry Christmas!

My recent track record for posting lately has been rather lacking. So I felt like I would post about our Christmas and hope to get some pictures up later.

We had a wonderful Christmas! We traveled back to Utah and spent time with family. We moved to Colorado almost 9 months ago and the time has flown by! It was wonderful to see everyone and be together to celebrate the holiday. We went to temple Square to see the lights, we played games, watched some movies, went to family parties, and relaxed. It was simple delightful.

Sabrinna and Tanner really got into Christmas, Santa, and opening gifts. It was nice for them to see their grandparents and for Steve and I to get a little break.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and Have a great New Year!