Halloween (finally)

Here we are halfway through November, and I'm just now getting the Halloween pictures posted. So goes my life. We had a"twinkle" princess and her frog for Halloween this year. They were awfully cute. I found a princess dress with LED lights on the front of the dress, she was so excited and told everybody about it. Unfortunately, the batteries died on Halloween day, so the twinkle princess didn't twinkle. She didn't care though, she was focused on the candy. Sam did surprisingly well keeping his costume on also, he seemed to even enjoy it after a while.




Have you ever seen a frog eating a dog down by the bay........................ :)

Here are some other cute pictures. Enjoy!!

Fall

I love the fall. Except the wind, which is currently blowing garbage cans all over the neighborhood. But fall is just such a time of anticipation. We've had a very busy time. Thank goodness Brian is back from hunting. Even though he didn't get an elk, he's got two little animals around here he can help chase.

Ainsley is in full swing in preschool, dance class, and gymnastics. She's so darn cute in her little leotards. We had her birthday celebrations a few weeks ago. I can't believe she is four years old already. The weekend before her birthday, we went to pumpkin festival with some of her little friends then had food, cake, and presents at our house afterward. On her actual birthday, so chose to go out to Hong Kong's for her birthday dinner. She had cupcakes at preschool the next day. We went to the aquarium in Denver the day after that, then had another little party for her down in Laramie. So it was really more of a birthweek than a birthday.

Sam's been very tired but very patient through all Ainsley's activities. He had fun during her birthday week as well. He especially loved the aquarium. He run up and down the windows in the panoramic shark tank room, saying "WOW, WOW, WOW" over and over. Too cute. He's had a cold, is getting several teeth in, and is just getting over a little stomach flu, so he's had a very long autumn so far. We're hoping he gets to feeling better so he can enjoy the outdoors a little more.

As for me, I've been fighting tooth and nail to maintain the order of the house, but I'm loosing the battle. Oh well. It's clean enough I guess. :) It's just hectic around here with a sick kid.

Well, I suppose I should get back to my battle. Enjoy the pictures!

Busy time of year

Sorry about a delay in posting. It seems like this time of year is so busy I can't even think straight. Lots of thing have been going on. Ainsley has started preschool with Miss Christine, and also has started dance class and gymnastics lessons. It's keeping us busy, but better to be busy than bored.

Sam has been busy too. He started walking (finally), and is very proud of himself. He's such a big boy now. We're slowly transitioning from two naps to one also, but it is going to be a very, very slow transition. He loves his sleep (and I can't complain).

I've been a hunting widow for the majority of the month. And when he's not hunting we've been in Laramie for football, or he's been working. It's been a lonely month. Brian just left last night for his second ten-day stint in the wilderness of the Sierra Madres. I will be starved for adult interaction over the next week and a half, so give me a call. Fortunately, MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) has started up again, so I get some adult coversation there.

Anyway, no pictures this time because Brian has my camera. I'll post some over the next few weeks, and update you on his hunting results.

Yellowstone trip

I know, I know, it's been over a month since my last post. Let's just blame it on technical difficulties.

We just got back from our almost annual trek to Yellowstone yesterday. It was a ton of fun, but tiring at the same time. We stayed two nights in Silver Gate, MT and did our sightseeing around Yellowstone on the first two days. The kids loved Old Faithful (or "Old Fateful" as Ainsley calls it), and the Artist Paint Pots were also a crowd favorite. We saw lots of buffalo, a few elk, two black bears (both pretty much just black dots far, far away), and we were very close to seeing a wolf for the first time.




After Yellowstone, we worked our way south through Grand Teton NP (spotting a few moose along the way), and down to Jackson Hole, where we stayed with our friends Rob and Katie, and their daughter Kasey. Ainsley and Kasey had lots of fun playing on the trampoline, and swimming at the rec center. Rob and Brian took on a 14 mile hike up to Lake Solitude, and we're tired but triumphant when they returned. It was lots of fun, thanks again, you two, for letting us stay with you!!






Next on our trip, we took a quick detour back through YNP because of construction on Togwotee Pass, then made our way through Cody, and down to Thermopolis where we got to swim in the mineral spa at our hotel. It was a relaxing end to our trip.

WDA in Jackson

We made a trip to Jackson this past weekend for the Wyoming Dental Association meeting. Unfortunately, Brian spent most of his time in meetings and continuing education, but we still had a good time. The weather was beautiful in Jackson, and Jackson itself is always a beautiful place to visit. We stayed at Rob, Katie, and Kasey Carr's house and dog-sat for them while they took a trip to Vegas. We did a bit of shopping, a few luncheons and dinners, and mostly just jumped on "baby" Kasey's trampoline. We also got lucky to be there when the Japanese Fire festival and children's festival were in the town square of Jackson. Ainsley got picked during a Japanese drum performance to go beat on the "Sumo" drum. She did great, and it was really cute watching her smacking a drum that was quite a bit bigger than she was. Poor Sam was pretty much exhausted the entire trip, but he was a trooper.

Black Hills Weekend

We spent a fun weekend camping in the Black Hills. We packed in a lot of activities, and exhausted the kidlings. We went to see Thomas the Train in Hill City, drove through Custer state park, stuffed our faces with ice cream and home-made taffy in Keystone, and took another trip to Old McDonald's Farm. It was a really fun time and the weather held out, which was the icing on the cake. Here are some pictures of Sam's first ice cream cone, and Ainsley on the "train" at McD's farm.

My yoga buddy

Here are some pictures of Ainsley helping me do my yoga on the Wii Fit. She's pretty good, huh?? We're having a lot of fun with the Wii Fit, and let me tell you, it's a workout. Here's some pictures of the kids squishing their faces into the netting we have around the railing. They like the laugh they get from it.