A most interesting neighborhood....

This weekend, our landlord stopped by. He happened to ask if we were enjoying the unique homes in the neighborhood that attracted "Sunday gawkers," as he called them. He said he often saw people stop at each home and take pictures... I thought that was a great idea so I could share this fun neighborhood with you!

After living in Arizona, where every 3rd house looked the same, this is a nice change. There's a lime green home with purple trim, pink homes and baby blue homes. Each one is unique and has interesting details. Most are Victorian or traditional in style and most have amazing yards. I hope you'll enjoy "gawking" as much as I have!

"Smash" turns 9!!!

It was Ashlyn's 9th birthday last week! I can't believe I have a 9 year old! How did that happen?

Ashlyn has been such an incredible blessing in our family! I tried to explain to her how I felt on the day she was born. I had a planned C-section because it had only been 15 months since I'd had my first c-section when we lost our son. Everything went so smoothly and my OB actually let me watch the surgery in a mirror. Weird, I know... but it helped me feel involved and it was more like watching the Discovery Channel! She cried right away and my doctor lifted her over the screen so I could see her.

To this day, remembering that moment still gives me crazy butterflies in my stomach! She was beautiful, perfect and healthy! I sang "Happy Birthday" to her the first time I got her to myself. Words cannot express how much love I felt for this tiny baby. Just knowing that Dan & I could have a healthy baby was such a relief!

Ashlyn continues to amaze me. Here are some things I adore about my first daughter:

*She's smart, creative and original

*She dives right into new experiences and loves to meet new people

*She sees beauty in little things

*She's sweet and girly, but also loves to run around and get dirty

*She's the BEST big sister

*She's a talented writer, singer and piano player

*She devours books

*She has her own style and knows what she likes

*She's endlessly curious and likes to learn

*She's a great friend

*She's a free spirit and isn't afraid to be who she is

I appreciate her patience with me as a Mother. I adore you, "Smash." Thank you for being such an amazing daughter!

For Ashlyn's birthday, she picked out a new bike, since hers was way too small for her, then we had dinner at Texas Roadhouse. My Dad, who hates it when waiters sing "Happy Birthday" in restaurants, would've been mortified! Our waitress had Ashlyn sit on a saddle, use a napkin as a "lasso" and the whole crew sang a very loud and roudy birthday song. Ashlyn LOVED it!---------->

Lots of little things...

Ashlyn and Corey started school on Wednesday! For me, this summer seemed endless and I admit, I'm glad the kids are back in school so they'll be busy and hopefully, make friends. The school is an older, small building, but I've learned that it's the teachers that really matter. We attended "Meet the Teacher" night on Tuesday and both kids' teachers seem like a perfect fit for them. Ashlyn misses her friends in Arizona so much and has been e-mailing and talking on the phone more than me lately. Surprisingly, she was not excited for school at all, but by Friday, she was all smiles. She came home with a friend's phone number and that made all the difference!

Corey has come back to life since school started. I think this move has been hardest on him because there are seriously no boys in our cul-de-sac. He's such a social bug and is so happy to be back in school.

In other news, by some small miracle, Ashlyn was able to teach Corey to ride his bike this week after months of frustration and failed attempts by yours truly. I had been out with him the day before and, after holding his bike upright while running down the street with him, I went to bed with a sore back. Ashlyn had an idea. She and Corey went to the top of my neighbor's slightly steep driveway and Ashlyn talked Corey into riding down the hill! It's certainly not something that I would've tried, but it worked! Now he wants to be outside riding his bike all day, every day.

Last night he wanted to go ride by himself while I made dinner. "I'd rather you go with Ashlyn. What if you fall?" I asked. He looked at me and said, "Mom, I'll just get up and get back on my bike."

Well, okay then! We were outside this morning and Corey was racing down the street on his bike, like he'd been doing it for years. I should remember for future reference that kids often do things on their own timetable, and not mine:-)

Up-to-date???

I guess we're a pretty "plugged in" family. I check e-mails several times a day and use the computer for scrapbooking, blogging and staying connected with the outside world. Last Saturday I saw there was an update for my Mac computer and so I installed the update and opted to restart. That was the last time that my computer was actually on because the update completely crashed my hard drive! Dan's been on the phone with Apple Care for hours and hasn't been able to get it running. This is when I'm glad I have a Mac! Thankfully, I have a backup for all my photos and documents, so I hope I won't lose anything. Dan took my computer to the Apple store today and I hope to be up and running again in a few days!

Word to the wise... If you have a Mac, run all updates through the Mac website and not through your updater. This supposedly eliminates most update issues.

Sunflowers to brighten your day!

Sometimes something beautiful in an unexpected place can just make your day!

This is what happened on Monday when I saw that the field of sunflowers about a mile from my home had bloomed. Driving up to it, you could just see never-ending yellow. It really is incredible. I felt kind of silly, pulling over on the side of the 2 lane highway to take some pictures.... Until I saw that there were already 2 other people there doing the same thing. Sunflowers have always been one of my favorite flowers, along with Columbine and Gerbera Daisies (none of which look great together, by the way). They are just so happy and bright!

Just outside my window...

Early this morning I was laying in bed, half asleep, listening to an unfamiliar noise. I was dreaming about sharks because I've been watching "Shark Week" on The Discovery Channel. This strange noise sounded just like... a hot air balloon... right outside my window. Next thing I know, Corey is jumping all over me telling me that I have to come see. We opened the doors on the patio and there was a big hot air balloon that had just landed in the field behind our home! We ran downstairs and watched from our bay window as the balloon was deflated and folded. The kids were thrilled!

Thanks to all who have called or e-mailed to

see how we're adjusting to our new place! It's been a tough adjustment for me and it really brightens my day to hear from friends and family that I miss so much!

I'd have to say that my favorite thing about living here is that my kids can be outside and play. We love our backyard! I took this picture this week as the sun was setting. I am working on taking some pictures of the inside of our home so you can see. It really is a nice home and the space works well for our family. Of course, there are always some things that don't quite fit, but I like the way it's come together, especially for a rental. I will post pictures very soon, so check back!

What a Zoo!

On Wednesday, I took the kids to the Denver Zoo. Claire just about turned inside out when she saw the elephants and Corey enjoyed being picked to participate in the "Wildlife" show. It was a hot day, for Colorado, and we lasted about 3 1/2 hours and only saw about half of the zoo. We bought memberships, so the kids are looking forward to going back to see the rest. There were some cool animals I'd never seen before. Who knew a Giant Elephant Shrew would steal Ashlyn's heart?

Zoo signs courtesy of Marie Stones @ http://www.freedigitalscrapbooking.com

Escape to Estes...

By the end of last week, I was feeling trapped and a little sad. I finished unpacking (give a little HOORAY!) and tried to keep 3 kids busy and happy in a new city where we know almost no one. By Thursday, I was a mess. I miss my friends in Arizona and am lonely. Poor Corey hasn't met any friends in our neighborhood yet, our ward members live 20+ minutes away and I suspect that school starting soon may be a welcome event!

To escape from it all, we drove up to Estes Park, the "gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park," which is about an hour away. It's a little town crawling with tourists and outdoor enthusiasts that reminds me a bit of Park City, Utah or Sun Valley, Idaho. First, we had lunch at The Egg & I, then we hopped on the Aerial Tram that overlooked the city. The view was amazing! We soon found that, with a little patience, the hundreds of chipmunks and ground squirrels would eat peanuts right out of our hands. I've never seen these animals so comfortable around people. After a few hours of feeding rodents, we headed down the mountain for some homemade dessert at Haley's Ice Cream. The older kids both bought geodes at Dick's Rock Shop and museum and got to crack them open. The mountain air and change of scenery was so good for me and I know we'll go back and visit Estes again soon.

The masked bandit makes an appearance...

I'm enjoying taking care of the new flower garden that my Mom and I planted a few weeks ago. With all the rain we've been getting, we've also had a lot of weeds pop up. Last Friday I spent the morning outside planting a few more flowers and picking weeds. The kids were still inside sleeping, but the weather was nice and I enjoyed getting out. When I finished, I threw a big bag of weeds and some flower pots into the garbage and heard a strange noise as the lid slammed down. Hesitantly, I lifted the lid again to find a raccoon trapped in the bottom of the can! I had just thrown my garbage right on top of him. From the looks of my shredded bags and scattered garbage in the can, it looked like he might have been there for a while. I shouldn't be surprised because I've heard a creature digging around in our garbage this week. I called Animal Control and within 20 minutes, a Police officer was at my door. Get this.....He goes out to the garbage, dumps the can over and the raccoon runs off into my backyard. The Policeman tells me, "He probably has some friends back there" and that I might want to keep a brick on the lid of my garbage can. Gee, thanks! Needless to say, I'm now a little nervous to take the garbage out in the dark. I think this may not be the last I see of this little "masked bandit!"

"A monkey's birthday"

I heard on the news that Colorado had the 2nd wettest July on record and I believe it. It feels like it's rained almost non-stop since we arrived, which is actually a welcome change since I know my friends in Arizona are dealing with triple-digit heat. No one loves the rain more than Ashlyn, who insists on running around in it and getting absolutely drenched!----------->

The cool thing is that it's often sunny and raining at the same time. My brother C.J. calls this phenomenon "A Monkey's Birthday." (NO idea why, but I like it!)

Pictures in a cornfield...

Living here in Colorado reminds me a little of when I lived in Iowa City because of all the farmland and cornfields. I was in 3rd grade, so a year younger than Ashlyn is now. I remember my Mom asking us how tall we thought the corn was. Feeling rather grown-up, my sisters and I answered that it couldn't be much taller than we were. To our surprise, it towered over us and made us feel small in comparison. Last week while running on errands, we pulled over by the cornfield near our neighborhood and snapped some pictures. Like me, my kids were surprised to see how tall the corn actually is when you're standing next to it. I also took some shots of the cornfield, with our neighborhood in the background. It really is beautiful!

"Summer of the frogs"

Yes, this is another post about FROGS! If you knew how much time my kids have been spending catching and playing with frogs lately, you might not be surprised. They are all over our garden and backyard and they get caught in our neighbors' deep window wells. Even Claire has no fear. I worry more about the frog that she's holding than I do about her! Last week, Ashlyn and our neighbor Shay found the biggest of these frogs I've seen. The little ones are cute, but this big one kind of gave me the heebie-jeebies! Ashlyn & Corey like to keep them for a few hours in our old hermit crab aquarium so Claire can see them. All this frog catching has been great, but I was doing the dishes a few nights ago and found that someone had put a frog in a drinking glass by the kitchen sink. It made me jump...then laugh! This will go down in my memory as the "Summer of the frogs."