First Day of School 2011!

Hayden had his first day of his THIRD year of pre-school this week! He was such a little guy here :-) This year he went right in, no tears. He even asked me at 'meet the teacher' to just drop him off! He was a little sad that some of his best school buddies would not be in his class. A few of his girl friends are in his class and one little guy from last year. We requested his teacher this year...that's a teacher for ya! So far she seems really great personality wise for Hayden, and he still loves school!

Checking out the trucks and such at 'meet the teacher'.

Official first day photo!

Heading into class!


The tradition of the first day surprise continues...my apple cake is getting better :-)

And no day is compete without matching brothers!!

Parker: Month Seven!

We have reach beyond the half way point to seven months! Parker went on his first big vacation, and is really beginning to understand what is going on around him. He still loves to smile at people but also grabs at faces now too!

Stats: 20 lbs. 5 oz. (85%) 28 in. (80%)

A few things from this month:
* he decided that eating was alright but nothing unless it is smooth, no chunks or thick things
* he can gum down puffs and mum-mums
* he can pretty much roll but would rather sit up
* no, he still doesn't sleep through the night

First ride on a swing while in Vail! Looks like he enjoys it!

The two teeth from last month are fully out :-)

Just because!!!

Enjoying the cool Colorado weather.

Sitting up like a big boy!

Eating...sort of!

Someone LOVES to jump! He literally cannot stop jumping unless we remove him from it...he fell asleep jumping the other day!!

Parker has started chatting again...he discovered a new voice! He thinks the Exersaucer is also for jumping.

Colorado...The Rest

One night we took the gondola up the Vail Mountain from the Lionshead Village area. This was as close a winter activity they had, since there were no alpine slides close by to ride on! Hayden thought it was great, and had it been free we would have been doing it every day!

Going up!

Someone felt chilly :-)

Our one photo at the top of the mountain...yes my eyes are slightly closed, the air there was horrible for my eye allergies!

Mimi and Hayden hiking with some hiking poles!

Going back down the gondola.

We have squirrels, they have chipmunks!

Hayden and Greg.

Turquoise Lake.

One night we drove out to a ranch that did a family night...think dude ranch and cowboy fun!

Complete with an old wooden playset.

Some cattle roping and horseshoes were in order.

Of course no ranch outing is complete without roasted marshmallows!

Just because!!

No trip is complete without a round of mini golf for the crowd. Don't be jealous but I was the winner by several strokes!!

Hayden was very serious but very quick...he played four rounds of 9 holes!

Greg, Bean and Albert...he and his bench are for sale in case anyone is interested!

Colorado...The Boys

Colorado is such a fun place in the summer because everything is done outside. Hayden has not played outside here at home really since June. It's sad! Hayden rarely naps when we travel but he did every day in Vail! Vail had some of the best parks I have ever seen, and you can literally play outside all day, every day.

The stream was a source of constant amusement and fun! Even Parker was into digging in the dirt :-)

The pirate ship park was amazing...it was right in the middle of the village and surrounded by resorts. There is always time for a swing in the mountains, too! We hit up 3 of the 5 city parks while we were there.

The Betty Ford Botanical Gardens...the highest botanical gardens in the world. Hayden had so much fun running around the bridges, looking for orange things, and watching the water features. There was of course a huge park here as well!


Hiking around Turquoise Lake.

Vail Village and Lionshead Village fun times!

Pony ride up on the mountain top!

Hayden became Caitlin's official photographer...actually took a lot of good pics once he got the hang of the camera!

Colorado..The Scenery

Of course I have a ton of pictures and one post would be a bit ridiculous, so they will split among a few! Vail was just beautiful, like you would expect. We had never been to this middle section before. We have been all around the perimeter multiple time though. The town itself was so cute, just how a little mountain town should be. I really, really want to see it in the winter now!!

This was the stream, Gore Creek, that ran along our resort and pretty much everywhere we went along I-70! The water was crystal clear but COLD!

Vail Village area.

I am standing on our balcony right now...that's how close he was. The resort was pretty much built into/on the side of the mountain.

All the slopes are missing is the snow for ski season!

We drove about 2,000 feet up the mountain to Lake Turquoise (elevation 10, 200'). It was so much cooler even than Vail was up there. It is apparently turquoise do to "stuff" left over from mining back in the day.

Looking down into the valley as we made our way back down the mountain road!