Sparkle Toes

Conversation with Ashley:

Ashley - "Mom - I have sparkles in my toes"

"How did you get sparkles on your toes?"

Ashley - "No, I have sparkles IN my toes!"

"oohhhh!!"

Ashley had sat on her knees too long and her feet had fallen asleep. So she had sparkles in her toes! Makes perfect sense!

Piggy Tails

Hailey's hair is finally long enough to be put in piggy tails! Her hair is actually pretty long anyway but it is more long in the front then on the sides so I always have to put her hair up.

I am also happy to say that Hailey is now officially walking. She very rarely crawls anymore. Her balance is improving every day. Lots of times when she does fall she says "ohhhh". It's pretty cute - and of course she gets right back up and starts walking again. I will admit that most of the time she is walking to either Larry or I to pick her up. Hailey's favorite place is being held.

What's a Pine Cone??????

What in the world is wrong with us?? This past weekend I really felt I have failed as a good parent!
We had a brilliant idea to go up to Rampart, which is about 30min. from our house, it is a mountain area. We packed a picnic dinner and headed out. Larry was very excited to be able to take us on a dirt road in our car. Ashley couldn't figure out why the road was so bumpy.
We found a great picnic area and laid out a blanket for Hailey and had our little dinner. As we were walking Ashley saw a bunch of pine cones and thought it was animal poop?? I told her they were pine cones - "What is a pine cone?" WHAT??? Then it hit us - we have never taken Ashley or Hailey up into the mountains to explore. HELLO - We live in Colorado and our kids haven't played in the mountains??? Where have we gone so wrong in life?

We have taken Ashley to Breckenridge - but that was too shop.

Ashley had her first experience of peeing in the woods - she did great and was pretty happy about it. I saved her the embarrassment of not taking a picture of this great occasion.

We climbed on a bunch of big rocks and just explored a bit. We had to cut it short because of some bad clouds coming - but I promise that we will take our girls into the wilderness more!!

Water Fountain

It has been super hot here lately - I don't remember the last day it wasn't 90! We thought we would take the girls over to Southlands mall where they have a water fountain for the kids to play in. It's one of those that squirt up from a different place in the ground. Ashley was a little leery at first - which I don't blame her. Eventually she was soaked and shivering. Hailey was in no way going to stand next to that - but she did let us hold her so she could reach for it.

Next time we will take their swimsuits though!

A Day with Ashley

My friend Stacey was having her niece and nephew come into town and she invited us to go to the zoo. We decided to do a day with just Ashley and I - Larry had to work and it was going to be too hot for Hailey to be comfortable. We had a fun day - it was pretty hot but it was a fun break in the middle of the week. It was also the first time Ashley went to the zoo without a stroller! Of course towards the end I had to carry her but she did a great job.

On the way home Ashley took a nap in the car and woke up just in time for us to go see Wall-E. It was the first movie we have gone to in over a year. Ashley really liked the movie - and of course all the popcorn!!

I need to make sure to do these special days with her more often!

Happy 4th of July!!

We had the greatest 4th of July!!

It was a laid back day - we ran a few errands in the morning and went and had lunch. It was a really hot day - 97!! Around 6 we decided to head down to the park that Castle Rock was doing their fireworks show at - this is the 1st time at this park so we weren't sure what to expect. We had to park in the field across from the park and it was pretty busy when we got there. Decided to find a spot and then we would walk around. It worked out great - the park had artificial turf grass so it was nice and soft (especially with Hailey crashing every 5 min.). They had bouncy houses for the kids - Ashley actually jumped in one. She got a little freaked out when she was done because she didn't know how to get out - but she did great.

There was even a military flyover. Larry told Ashley to put her had across her heart. She put her hand across his heart. Larry looked at me and said "this is a moment isn't it?". Oh ya - it was a great moment.

We had hot dogs and chips and funnel cake. We got a spot off to the side so didn't have to worry about people running into the girls. Ashley even played baseball with a little boy - she has a pretty good arm!

We even had a celebrity at our fireworks display. Off on one of the hills was a little screened tent set up - nobody could go over there - there was security, and a couple of SUV's parked. It was Dog the Bounty hunter and his wife and kids???? They have a house by Colorado Springs - but not sure why they were at our display. I'm not sure if that is good or bad for our little town =)

Unfortunately our fireworks show was cut short due to a fire on top of the hill - but I think that was best. Hailey fell asleep right before they started and Ashley was asleep in the car pretty quick.

It was a great time!

Happy Birthday to Me

Yes I still admit to having those pesky birthdays! We like having birthdays in the house - it gives us a reason to have cake! It was sort of a birthday weekend plus a few days. Larry and I both had Friday and Monday off. We took the girls in to have their pictures done on Friday. Took Ashley in for a haircut before we went - they cut 3 inches off and her hair is still down to the middle of her back. They put sparkles in her hair so she was all excited. They both did a great job - will scan them soon and post.

On Monday we spent the day at the zoo. This is Ashley's absolute favorite place to go. Hailey is starting to pay attention to the animals - she is just happy if I have her in the front carrier. We did do something new though - we rode the train and did the carousel - both worked out great!

Hailey is 1!!!

Our little peanut is a whole finger now (sniffle, sniffle)! I know the normal comments, where has the time gone, she is growing so much, etc... But really where in the heck is time going!! I am happy to say that she really has started to do a little walking now. She doesn't go far but she is darn proud of herself and so are we. She will stand up and clap and look around to see if anyone is thinking she is as cool as she thinks she is - we do. She takes a few steps - tumbles, laughs and starts all over again. Hailey is always wanting to be held or she is going top speed, there is no in between. I am so proud of her though - she is a sweet girl who loves her family. One minute she is trying to rip apart a book and the next minute she is hugging her Elmo. She loves peek-a-boo and being tickled - and secretly I think she loves tyring to torment her sister already!

We had a party for her birthday - little princess turning 1 party. I am so mad at myself though - she had a great cake. It was Little People's Noah's Ark cake and I didn't even get a picture of it! ARGH!! Hailey of course had her own personal baby cake to dig into - and that she sure did - she loved it!

Happy Birthday Hailey!!!

Where oh where did my blogging go.....

For almost a month now I keep having this reoccurring thought...."You should really update the blog".......
And that is as far as I have gotten. I would love to say I had this wonderful wish come true where we won a bunch of money and went on vacation for a month - BUT - we all know that didn't happen. In my defense I would like to say it was a busy time, as usual - we have wrapped up the birthday marathon, everyone is healthy now, and it seems we don't have any more holidays to celebrate for awhile.
So let the blogging continue!