Nonnie is 70!

While we were in Denver, our dear Nonnie turned 70! We celebrated with fabulous barbecue and molten chocolate cakes w/ raspberry whipped cream. Here are our attempts at some group pictures.

Nonnie thinks she has squinty eyes, so to try and counteract it, sometimes she opens her eyes really wide! Which do you prefer?

Hammonds Candy Factory

One day we toured Hammond's Candy Factory in Denver. It was so fun to see the candy being made. We tried cranberry, cinammon, and egg nog candy canes.

The kids getting their goodies from Nonnie.

Around the Oswald House

The cousins were in school all week, so we kept ourselves busy during the day, and the played, played, played when the cousins came home.

My sister Dee made homemade marshmallows that we roasted.

The girls had fun watching their cousins play on the computer.

The girls had a fairy party and watched Tinkerbell.

And lots of jumping on the trampoline.

Bear Creek Lake park

Mike left us on Friday to fly down to TX to see an Aggie Football game and then to fly back home to STL.

On Saturday we went to Bear Creek Lake Park and let the kids wade in this lake. It was warm outside but the water was pretty cold! The kids also had fun playing on a nearby playground.

Rocky Mountain National Park

On our way to Denver we drove through Rocky Mountain National Park. Kathryn became a Junior Park Ranger by recording things she saw, heard, & smelled in a booklet. We enjoyed the drive through and took a short hike down to the Colorado River.

Steamboat Lake & Hahn's Peak

This day we drove up to Steamboat Lake and explored the area by car and foot. We saw cows, some pretty trees and lots of dead trees (dang pine beetle), an old cemetary, and lots of pretty scenery.

Sydney peed in the river.

We let our children climb a ridiculously large rock.

Fish Creek Falls

One day we hiked a short way to Fish Creek Falls. We had to constantly remind the girls to walk on the mountain side of the trail, and not the cliff side.

While we were at the bottom of the falls, it rained pretty heavily for 10 minutes or so. We took shelter under a large pine tree (I know that is not recommended, but it seemed safe at the time.) It protected us from a majority of the rain and we got to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the rainy forest.

Gondola up Steamboat

On Sunday we rode a gondola up the ski mountain, hiked, and had a picnic.

We also opened our baby-sex envelope! We are having another GIRL! I won't lie...I cried a few sad tears, but got it out of my system. The girls asked my why I was making 'that face' (crying). And Sydney told me, "It's okay mom, you can have another girl! I don't care." (Because she wanted a boy baby, too.) We are excited to welcome another girl into our family. We can't wait to see what she looks like!

Alpine Slide

On Saturday, we first browsed a farmer's market, and then Mike and the girls rode an Alpine slide.

Our digs

We stayed in a really nice condo in Steamboat Springs. The girls loved their big beds. We had a nice balcony that overlooked one of the hot tubs. The girls loved to stare at people sitting in it and we had to keep reminding them to come inside. We enjoyed sleeping in, doing puzzles, and watching tv while we were at "home". We each had a tv to ourselves. It was fun to have cable!

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

The girls and I just got back from two weeks in Colorado. The first week we spent together as a family in Steamboat Springs, and the second week the girls and I spent with my sister, her family, and my mom in Denver.

Here are a couple of our favorite pics from the first week. We did lots of fun things, so be prepared for lots of posts! In addition to lots of fun things, we also relaxed a lot! It was so nice to spend so much time with Mike and not be in a rush to get things done.