Sat. Hike

Snow & Sickness

We woke up this morning to a very heavy snow. It has lightened up but just as all our snow had melted away it is now fully covered in white again. I have to admit I am not as pleased or excited about this snowfall as say in December, but it's not terrible either. The good thing is we know that within hours to a day or two the sun will be out and it will be mostly melted away. Nothing stays too long. The worse part was last night. I stayed up til 12:30am trying to organize, clean, go through things- way too late, but at times those are the only hours I have to get anything done around here. Needless to say I headed to bed exhausted and with a headache. But...not for long... at a little after 1am I hear Zach coming up the stairs complaining and saying that Josh needs a drink of water. (If only that had been it) so I get a cup of water and head down to his room. It's dark so I can't see much but I am stepping on wet carpet and smell the awful aroma of throw up! When I flip on the light there is red throw up everywhere (he had had red jello and red licorice before going to bed). He had managed to get it on his sheets, comforter, the bunkbed and ladder, down on Zach's bottom bunk, all over the floor including stuffed animals and toys, books, etc. So I spent the next 45 minutes cleaning up finally went up stairs when Zach started to throw up- luckily he was in the kitchen gettting a drink at the time so it was contained to the sink and floor. After getting that cleaned and him settled I finally got back in bed around 2 am. Just as I was about out Lexi woke up seeming like she was going to throw up so I ran her to the bathroom and she did, but just a little bit. I was afraid that was just the beginning of a continuous night of throw up and clean up but thankfully we didn't hear from anyone the rest of the night- praise the Lord. This morning everyone seems ok- I don't know what hit last night, but I am glad it seems to be gone. It is now 12pm and I am still in my pj's, exhausted, with laundry going and more loads lined up, and we have to figure out how to get the red stains off the carpet. So with snow and sickness recovery and clean up it's definitely a stay at home day. Yesterday was a much better day we had beautiful weather and took a hike. I will get some of those photos on at some point.

Cute Girl

And not so cute girl (unfortunately common girl).....

The Best Thing to Happen Since we got here!

CARPOOLING!!!! I love it!! There is a lady who lives on the street behind us. She asked me a couple weeks ago if I wanted to start carpooling. I think she noticed that she and I were about the only ones showing up to kindergarten pick up late, pushing a double stroller (she has 3 younger than her kindergartener) then she noticed that her house backs up to ours and had a brainstorm- lets share the work, cutting the chaos in half- Amen! She has to drop her 4 year old off at preschool at the school and sign her in so she said it would work for her to take everyday if I didn't mind picking up every day. I think I got the better half - those mornings are brutal. So the past 2 weeks have been heaven. It does interfere with one or both of the younger ones naps sometimes, but small price to pay to ease those crazy mornings (especially with cold and de-icing)

Valentine's Recap

Josh signing his name on 28 valentines! (the day before valentines day)

We made biscotti and tea for Dave to take in to his coworkers. Or in Zach's words Dave took biscotti to his "students" at his "homework" (work).

Zach, Lexi and I headed to the mall for lunch, play time in the play area, & picking up dessert at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory- choc. covered strawberries, toffee (one of Dave's fave's), and choc/caramel apple- yum, yum!

After Lexi scaled the snow mountain, she was way more into all the shoes laying around- I tried to keep her more focused on Zach's boots than all the other kids shoes. They may not have appreciated her transporting them around.

Josh came home with lots of valentines and Lexi was very interested in that as well, especially the ones with candy attached.

Snack time- red jello hearts and red licorice (one of Josh's fave's).

Beautiful tulips (one of my fave's) from a wonderful husband!

The boys searched for and found their gifts- binoculars and more animals.

Heart shaped pizza for dinner.

And then a fire.... Great ending to a great day. We have had cool weather and small snow flurries throughout the day- nothing to accumulate yet though. Tomorrow could be more snow. I guess it is still Feb.

A White Valentines Day?

It has been very warm, sunny and nice lately- today about 60-however, I have heard the cold and snow are coming- we will see what tomorrow brings! Always an Adventure:)

While Josh Is Away....

Zach and Lexi will play:o)

Beautiful Backdrop

One more plus for Colorado Springs- the beautiful mountains, namely Pike's Peak- a 14,000 footer. It makes going to the grocery store a little more enjoyable. The above photos are of the grocery, our church and the library with the dinosaurs. I still drive around town thinking, "I can't believe we live here! It's so pretty and feels like a vacation spot." I am so grateful the Lord paved the way for us to be here.

Red Rock Canyon ADVENTURE

Adventure was the key word of the day. It has been a nice weekend- sunny and in the 50's maybe nearing 60 degrees so we went for a hike in Red Rock Canyon- near and similar to Garden of the Gods, but a little flatter hiking area and lots and lots of trails. It was like one of those 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books (if you are old enough to remember that) cause you could take all kinds of turns and end up on different trails. It will take us some time to explore that area- something the boys won't mind doing at all. We had a picnic lunch at the start and then when we were ready to start hiking I said, "ok boys time for our adventure!" Zach laughed and said, "I lOVE when you say adventure, mom!" I don't think Josh stopped running/ skipping the entire hour and a half. He walked way more than we did cause he would run up and come back to us, up and come back plus he would veer off to climb any rock or ledge he saw and didn't want to go home when it was time. Lexi loves being in the backpack- my back got a little tired at the end, but it was a good afternoon outside. One of the things we love about here- so many great areas to enjoy outdoors just minutes from home.