Work has begun...bleck!

Well, work has officially started for me and Jamie. Although we've been back a week, I have only been in twice because of my part-time schedule, so I'm still not feeling like it's official. Come next week, I think that will change. Isabelle had a great time wearing out Nana on Monday and Tuesday while I was at work. They did more things in two days than I think I do with her in a week. They went to the park, to the pool, to the library, on walks, to the playground, shopping, the list goes on. Nana sure shows her a good time. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of them. I'll have to make sure she takes the camera next time.

The next day, George came over while Anne worked. The two of them hadn't seen much of each other this summer so they had to do some reuniting which was beyond cute...
They were chatting it up and laughing hysterically on Belle's patio swing.

A few laughs and swings later, back to the hugging.


It was a pretty warm day, so we filled up the pool and the two had some fun splashing around in the water and making the hose spray all over the place.

They then watered the flowers for me which I really appreciated. Belle used to be into picking the flowers and bringing them to us...very sweet, but totally destroying my beautiful pots. So, I'm glad she has a new hobby of watering them now!!
These two will have so much fun hanging out with each other every Wednesday this year!

Last Summer Trip/Family Reunion

We just got back from a week trip out to Massachusetts and New Hampshire. I'll warn you now, there are a lot of pictures. I haven't posted anything in quite some time, so I figured it was fair game. Plus, I know Nana and Papa wanted to see pictures to go along with all the stories we told them the other night, and Grammy and Pepe would probably love to reminisce the trip. So here we go...

After flying into Boston and staying a night in Manchester, we headed to Colebrook, NH for a family reunion. On the way we stopped at a ski resort and rode the tram up the mountain. Belle loved riding the tram and pointed out the window and said "up, up, up" as we got higher and higher. We had a great view of the valley and the mountains in NH.
We also did a great hike that lead to more great views.

We then arrived in Colebrook at Jamie's aunt and uncle's lodge. They own a beautiful lodge in Northern NH that is on a pond, which really in Colorado terms is a lake. Apparently out there they consider enormously large lakes a pond?? Here is the whole gang, including Belle's other great grandma, Meme, whom she met for the first time! Get this, there were almost as many kids as adults! And all kids were under 6. It was a happening place for 4 days!

Our little outdoorsy Belle spent most the time outside in the beautiful weather. She loved being down by the lake.

She couldn't get enough of Murphy and Guinness (the dogs, that is. Not the beer).
Kayaking with mom.
If she wasn't on a boat, then you would most likely find her running around with one or two or three or nine of her second cousins. Here are 6 of the 9 kids who had MAJOR fun on the bouncing castle that Jamie's cousin brought. Yes, Belle loved this so much that Jamie and I are considering purchasing one. Hours of entertainment.

We spent a lot of time taking rides in the "paaatty" boat (i.e. "party" boat if you don't understand New England accents like me). I'm pretty sure I understood about half of what Jamie's family said. I really needed a New England accent dictionary. We managed to fit 6 of the kids on the boat for this ride.
Ali and Belle chatting it up. These two had so much fun together and were pretty much inseparable the entire trip.
Lollipop time.
Playing in the trees, collecting sticks, and rocks were some highlights.

Again, in the paaatty boat. Helping Pepe drive and honk the horn.

With Grammy, waving at other people who live around the lake.
Brennan chasing after Belle to give her a hug. This was a nightly thing. It was so cute, but Belle wanted nothing to do with hugging boys. Let's hope that continues well past the teen years :)
Some morning girl fun. Aunt Linda painting Belle's toes. Her very first pedicure! She also got a tattoo. Sweet and tough at the same time.
Our last day. You can see the lodge, the lake, and all the beauty around. We were sad to leave.
However, we moved on to some more fun! Here we are in Wolfboro, NH. We stayed in this little cabin right on a lake.

It was such a cute town. Belle really enjoyed walking along the water's edge and watching all the fancy boats come in.
We then ended our trip in Boston. Belle rode the subway for the first time and thought it was great fun. She considered it a train over a subway and loved to say "choo choo." Here is Belle at the Boston Aquarium . We have never seen Belle so excited in her life. The sea life was beyond amazing to her little eyes...
Now were back and sad. That's because our summer fun has come to an end and we both go back to work next week. Boohoo! We do admit that we have a great life. Nothing beats being able to be home together as a whole family in the summer!

At the Rodeo

One...
Two....

Three.....

Yeehaw.....

Cabin Trip #2

Before leaving for Cabin Trip #2 we attempted to go watch fireworks with Isabelle. It started out great:
1. Made a yummy picnic dinner to eat in the park while we watched the fireworks
2. Packed the bikes and all our yummy food/drinks
3. Buckled up Isabelle in her bike trailer
4. Started out on the bikes
5. Rode 2 blocks before getting DUMPED on due to the one major rainstorm all week
6. Turned around
7. Drove and sat in our car in a parking lot and watched the fireworks in the distance (which started way too late in my mind).

All this = BORING to Isabelle.

Oh well, we attempted to make her first firework show a hit.
So, Cabin Trip #2 was WAY better than the fireworks. We went with our good friends, Joe and Victoria and their daughter, Olivia. We had so much fun! We took many exciting trips in the Mule. This was a total hit for Olivia. She would have rode in this all day long if we let her. Here is the gang coming back from what I imagine to be a wild trip since Jamie is driving.
The two of them playing "we're driving to the hotel and picking people up in the Mule" (Olivia's words). Hours of fun.


Ready for a hike.Off to play some frisbee golf with a short stop, (turned into a long stop) at the playground.

Showing off our frisbee golf talent.

Olivia learning from the PE teacher. Notice Belle listening very carefully.

Words can't explain the amount of fun Sierra has at the cabin.


Resting with Mr. Moose.
Bedtime reading where both of them really wanted to read a book on their own. Nice try, Jamie. I'm pretty sure he never read a story to them.

We had a great time with the Seiler's! Belle loved Olivia and cannot wait to play chef, mule driver, and watch Mamma Mia with her again!

Cabin Trip #1

We decided to escape the Denver heat and make our way to the cabin for a few days!! Jamie and I are so grateful that we both have the summer off to be with Isabelle. You can tell she really loves having both of us around and she especially loves exploring up at the cabin. It will be so hard for both of us when we have to go back to work (although Belle will probably still be happy as ever because she will get to stay busy with Nana and Grammy and they definitely know how to provide her with a good time).

We've been taking advantage of our summer and taking many "mini" trips :)
Here are some shots from cabin trip #1.

Belle loves to hike around the cabin so we spend most of our time checking out wildlife (birds being the favorite), airplanes, and getting plenty of "owies" and "uh oh's" on our knees. These three things are Belle's favorite things to talk about (allllll day long).

Here you can see how much she loves to hike.
We learned all about the aspen trees.
And the aspen leaves.

We can't forget the sudden stops every 20 minutes to show off our "bee bo" also known as belly button. She reeeally loves "bee bo's." In fact, she even stops in stores to share her "bee bo" to others. So, if you happen to go to Home Depot or Lowe's you will most likely find Belle showing of her belly button. That's pretty much where we spend most our time when we aren't at the cabin. Fun for Belle, not so much for mom and dad. Thank you to the race car shopping carts for allowing Belle (and us) to survive our many trips there.
Glamour pose...
Getting ready for a bike ride. A bumpy, dusty one when at the cabin, much like a roller coaster for her, but clearly relaxing because she falls asleep every time.


What we see/hear most of the day...

Little Miss Tumbler

Belle has been in tumbling class for a few weeks now and absolutely loves it! She is so fun to watch. She is a real go-getter and can already do a forward somersault, hang from the bar and swing her legs up, and walk on the beam with some help :)

Here she is heading up the mats, through the hole, and into a somersault.....
Walking the beam, then through the cave....
Rolling in some sort of cool ball. (Jamie and I totally wanted to get in and roll across the gym, but we held back. We didn't want her to get kicked out because of unruly parents)...
Climbing in and out of the "pool," as we called it.

Showing off her stuff on the bar. She can swing, then pull her legs up. With some help, she loved to spin around the bar.Belle and her instructor. She climbed up this huge tower of mats and then her instructor had her point out all the things in the gym. She felt so cool being bigger than everyone and she really studied hard to find everything he pointed out! She was even looking for birds! Then he worked on getting her to jump down. We still don't have the jumping thing figured out. It's more of a sudden step off, than a jump.
We have been so busy, that I didn't even get to post anything for Father's Day. So, here is a video of Jamie and Belle at tumbling class. You can see how wonderful of a father Jamie is to Belle. He is by far the best father she could have. Watching the two of them interact melts my heart because they have so much fun together and he ALWAYS gets her to laugh. He definitely wins the award for giving the best baths, reading books in the most enthusiastic way, making her laugh hysterically, making some yummy, creative meals, and teaching her how to do a somersault, among many other fitness related activities!! Belle definitely loves her daddy and it is not hard to see why! I have to agree with her!