Montana Adventures

Where do we begin with this long tale about our recent adventures in Montana?! The boys traveled the 10-hour trip each way without much complaint, especially on the way home when it was just the three of us. We had a wonderful visit with our family and each day was filled with time outside, special outings, and new activities with our loved ones. It was a great trip and we had a lovely time. I think the trip is best summarized in pictures so enjoy!

Morgan and Cousin Jax hanging out together

The cousins...there was no shortage of activity or sound in the house
while these 4 boys were together!

Jacoby quickly learned that anything he did (naughty or nice) was repeated/copied three times!

Painting pumpkins at Aunt Megan's house

The boys loved the playhouse at Aunt Megan's.
They found an old play kitchen and spent much of their time cooking spaghetti and being "bakers".

Grandpa Bill brought two pedal cars for the boys to play with and they were a big hit.
Here Jacoby is trying to drag his up the hill.

Grandpa Bill helping Morgan drive the car.

The little boys with their cups and spoons

Having so much fun!

We enjoyed a beautiful morning at Zoo Montana.

Grandpa Bill and Morgan

We spent a wonderful afternoon at the corn maze and pumpkin patch.
Here Jacoby is helping Jax through the corn maze.

Riding on a hay wagon pulled by a tractor.

The little boys busy again in Grandmanette's backyard.

Running to the fence with Grandmanette.

Playing under the tree in Grandmanette's backyard.

A Fun Weekend & The Lovely Lists

Grandma Pam arrived this weekend and the boys have been having lots of fun with her. We went to Sunflower Farm today and spent several hours feeding animals, playing in the pond, riding on the horse-drawn wagon, swinging and playing in the dirt. We're just about ready for our trip to Montana on Tuesday and I'll try and post updates on our adventures while we're there.


Since our blog is nearly one year old, I'm going to try something new and post a Lovely List sort of weekly listing a top 10 or so of something that is going on in our lives. Truthfully, I saw this idea on another blog and thought it might be fun to try out a version of our own. Justin's doctoral seminar class this fall is all about lists in antiquity. I personally really like lists. I usually have several of them going at one time--there's one at work for my projects and goals, there's one at home for projects and chores, there's a list of books I hope to read, there's the dreaded grocery list (the one list I dread every week), there's a list for future stuff, there's a list for our trip to Montana so I don't forget the really important things like pjs and the I-can't-possibly-live-without blankets. I've also used lists on this blog periodically. So, here's the first one:

Our Lovely List ~ The Top 10 Things We Enjoyed Best This Summer

1. Picnics -- I've lost track of how many picnics we had this summer, but there were a lot and they were so much fun!

2. Playing in the backyard -- We are so thankful for our shady backyard and all of the fun it provides year-around. The sand and water table was a big hit this summer once again.

3. Evening walks and sidewalk chalk -- Sometime during the summer our routine started to include going outside after dinner for a walk and then time with sidewalk chalk. We've done this almost every night for the past several months. The boys love sidewalk chalk and were recently introduced to hopscotch.

4. Time in the mountains -- One of the things we love about living in Colorado is the quick and easy access to the high country. We visited Mt. Evans this summer, took a drive to Rocky Mountain National Park and up Trail Ridge Road, and we visited lots of mountains via gondola and chair lift during our trip to Aspen including the Maroon Bells.

5. Our trip to Aspen and Snowmass -- This was a great trip for us and we got to spend lots of time outside in a beautiful part of Colorado. The gondolas and chair lifts were a big hit.

6. No medical appointments!

7. 100% potty trained -- Jacoby was technically potty trained before his 3rd birthday, but there were some details we had to work out in the months following (mostly at school), and sometime this summer we became 100% potty trained -- no accidents, dry over night and during naps. Hooray for Jacoby!

8. Growing, growing, growing! -- After being on growth hormone for 3 months, Jacoby has gained 2 pounds and grown 1.5 inches! He's back in the 50th percentile (up from the drop down to the 25th this spring) and we are thrilled that he's responding so well to his "magic medicine". He proudly proclaimed after his appointment that "I'm tall and growing really, really big!". Morgan is in the 98th percentile for height and head and 80th for weight, so he's still in the ginormous category too!

9. Special visitors -- We enjoyed visits from the cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents throughout the summer.

10. Special outings -- Our summer was filled with a lot of fun outings including the zoo, children's museum, Tiny Town, and trips to the swimming pool with countless trips down the water slide.

Start of Summer

End of Summer

Ready for Fall

We are excited for the change in seasons this week. Fall is my favorite time of year--we're looking forward to cooler weather, pumpkin patches, and colorful leaves!

It was a busy week for us. The boys are doing great in their classes. Justin is busy with his class, teaching, and studying. I'm already busy at work getting ready for our fall meeting. And we're busy getting ready for our upcoming trip to Montana.

We want to wish Grandmanette a very happy birthday today--we love you very much!

The review of this past week is best described with pictures. There is never a single dull moment around here!

Trying on Daddy's shoes

This was new...rocking out with his guitar while in the laundry basket

After I unbuckled Morgan I ran a load into the house and came out to find this...

Jacoby is very interested in washing Morgan right now...Morgan is a good sport about it especially when Jacoby "rinses" him with a flood of water over the head

Busy with the boys...

Wow, it has been a really busy weekend...and I can't believe my day job starts up again tomorrow already. This stint as a single parent is a lot of work but I'm sure enjoying the extra one-on-one time with my boys, and I'm happy to say that I may have moved up a few levels on Morgan's list of parental favorites. Instead of being solidly at the "chopped liver" level or the "I'm-only-coming-to-you-because-Daddy-is-no-where-to-be-found" level, I think I'm pretty well in at an average, "well, I guess Mommy isn't so bad after all" level. Anyways, we spent over an hour at the park on Saturday before traipsing off to the library for new books. Some nice person donated a whole bunch of sand toys to the sand pit, so Jacoby was in heaven digging, scooping, dumping, etc. I think he would have stayed their all day if I'd let him. We then went to the zoo today to visit the new tiger cubs. They were very fun to watch and super cute. Jacoby and Morgan saw all of their favorites. The crocodiles were especially creepy, so even though they were a top priority to see the boys kept a good distance back from the glass. (:

The biggest news of last week of course was the Fourmile Canyon fire right in the foothills outside of Boulder. It was quite an intense couple of days and we were very sad to hear about the loss of so many homes (around 169). It was really smokey for most of the week so the Public Health department advised inside recess for all of the school districts in the area. I know it was challenging for the teachers at our school to go that many days without any outside time for the kids. We talked a lot about the fire throughout the week and when it rained one afternoon, Jacoby made sure to ask if it would help the fire. The boys have been watching the pictures and watching the bombers and helicopters fly overhead and we've been talking about the families who have lost their homes. Thursday evening was particularly scary when high winds were predicted for the fire area. They actually put the west side of Boulder on notice for possible evacuation because they weren't sure if they could keep the fire in the foothills if the wind started up. Thankfully, the wind bypassed the fire area and they hope to have it fully contained in the next day or two. I do have to say that for all of the notoriety Boulder gets for being a very "liberal", "independent" place, I have been proud to be part of its community and to see all the ways in which people have rallied around the evacuees. There are tons of events and donation stations all over town, all of the grocery stores are collecting donations, and many retail places are donating proceeds of sales. I stopped for gas on Friday and pulled my little Subaru in next to some huge BLM and Forest Service fire trucks, and while I filled up I watched several customers stop and shake hands with the firemen and offer words of thanks and encouragement. Its been heart warming to see the community come together in the face of tragedy to take care of its neighbors.

Creepy crocodile...his friend was under water with his mouth open wide...probably waiting for small visitors under 3'1" to accidentally stumble into their habitat

Two of the four new siblings wrestling...not unlike what happens at our house

1.5 Years Old and Nine Years

Well, in the name of fairness I get to give a shout out for Morgan's half birthday since he turned 1.5 years old this week. He's a sweet, happy little soul and can definitely be (and is) our firecracker. Morgan is talking a whole bunch, walking down the stairs by himself, and learning to kick the soccer ball like his brother. He loves greek yogurt, reading, Sesame Street, trucks, and playing with Jacoby in any capacity. When all is not right between the siblings, Morgan has taken to tackling Jacoby. And since the brother's are not far off each other in weight, he's found this technique to be quite effective in getting his brother's attention. He's the keeper of our routines and knows how we do things, when, what order, and what things belong to whom in the family. He gets very sad when he's in trouble or if Jacoby isn't being nice. We love both boys to pieces and are really amazed at how big they're getting! I might even go so far as to say that things might be getting slightly easier around here as they get more and more independent...but it definitely depends on the day. (:

I should also mention that Justin and I marked our 9th anniversary this last week...what a whirlwind life it has been together so far! Graduate school, a couple of interstate moves, more school for Justin, career diversion, more school for Justin, Jacoby, parenting, working, more school for Justin, Morgan, parenting, working, more school for Justin. I guess I would insert in between all of these things joy, some heartache, lots of excitement and adventure, more joy, and lots of anticipation for the future. We're probably very different people now compared to the two youngins' that stood in front of our family and friends at Rock Creek 9 years ago but the one thing that remains the constant is that we somehow still belong together through better and worse.

We've had a very busy weekend. Jacoby finished up his soccer class on Saturday, so now we have to decide if we should do another session and whether or not to stick Morgan in his own class too. Morgan finally got to go out on the field and kick the ball with one of the coaches and play with hula hoops. He was so happy! We stopped by one of many ski sales going on this weekend to check out the deals. The term "sale" was completely lost on the boys, especially when Jacoby found out he couldn't go skiing right now, so we didn't stay long. The boys and I headed to Tiny Town (near Morrison, CO) for an outing with some friends. This is a great little place for kids and everyone had a fun time. The Tiny Town Railroad was a big hit and we had to ride it twice to make sure there wasn't a big difference between the steam engine and the diesel engine. (: Today we've been home catching up on chores, playing with some "new" puzzles, and those under 3'1" have been especially busy trying to be nice to one another.

Justin is reading and studying for his exam during every spare moment. We don't see much of him these days. We'll probably find out when the date of his exam is sometime this week. He's keeping up a blog on his readings here http://justins3comps.wordpress.com/. You can also see what his bibliography is like. We'll be glad when this month is over since this will be the biggest and toughest of the three exams he has to take.

I had Friday off so I ran errands and caught up on some projects around the house. I sorted the boys' clothes to make way for fall...I'll be sad to see their scuffed and bruised shins and knees get covered up in pants, but we're definitely ready for a new season. I'm also working on a few travel activities for the boys for when we make our trip to MT at the end of the month. My small group starts up in a week so I'm looking forward to meeting with the ladies again. A couple of us went out for dinner a few weeks ago, and I'll just have to say that what happened at the restaurant stays at the restaurant. (: We had a great time and I haven't laughed that hard in a really, really, long time.

Have a great week everyone!

Riding on the Tiny Town Railroad...the boys are not sure what they think about the conductor as he took our picture since he had just told them that we'd be going past "Dinosaur Ridge" and that the dinos were really hungry.

Jacoby, our friend M., and Morgan checking out one of the Tiny Town Buildings

Tiny Town Railroad

M. and Jacoby checking out the library

Morgan very pleased with himself for commandeering Jacoby's seat on the buggy

Our 1.5 year old, sweet as can be