May in Moab

We had a great time this week in Moab! We love visiting because Auntie Nellie always has some sort of crazy adventure that we get to do. It was so great to see the cousins play, laugh, and become inseparable. Noah and Belle have such a special bond and it is a joy to watch them interact. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Hiking Moonshine Canyon (I think that's the name). These two, of course, were the leaders the whole way and never stopped talking the entire time.

 

 

At the end of the trail there was a water hole where the kids enjoyed trying to skip rocks like Papa can do.

Mark trying to keep up with the gang. He preferred to take his time, stop, and check out some of the Moab earth. Very much his style.

Or be carried and get some love along the trail. Again, very much his style. 

 

 

The adventures didn't end with the hiking. Climbing trees was next in line. Then sliding down the sand hills on your bottom. Just imagine tons of soft, red sand. If you've ever been to Moab you know what I'm talking about. It can be quite a mess, especially when sliding down it in a dress as in Isabelle's case.

There are some really great parks we went to with the kids. This park had an area with tons of musical instruments. One of the greatest park ideas ever. I'm not sure why there isn't one in Denver because every kid was fascinated. Who am I kidding, so was I.

Mark tried almost all of them. He kept getting a little confused as to why they would attach the mallets to the musical instrument. He kept getting tied up and was tripping over the wires. In his mind, it would have been much easier to carry and use the same one on each xylophone. This became frustrating and he soon went off to play in the playground.

 Belle, on the other hand, thought she was in a band and played each and every one, twice.

 

 Then went off for some fun at the playground with her brother.

 The slide has become one of Mark's new favorite things.

 

Here we are on our Auntie Nellie adventure of the week. She took us out on what Noah and Belle referred to as a "jungle" hike (I had to agree) to an estuary where we took two small rafts and paddled around. After hiking through weeds, overgrown trees, and bushes we came to a small entrance to an estuary. To get out on the water we had to dodge these huge water plants with our rafts, step in some serious mud, and get a little wet. It was all worth it though. It was beautiful when we were rafting around and we saw some Great Blue Herons and other beautiful birds. Isabelle and Noah thought we were straight out of one of Diego and Dora's great adventures.

We brought Isabelle's strider bike because we are trying to get her comfortable on it. This is literally the only thing I can think of that Belle has just a smidget bit of fear with. Noah is a complete wild and crazy expert, so we thought he might give her some encouragement.

 

 She started to get the hang of it, but in the distance was something much more enticing for her. A playground.

 

We had a great time in Moab. Everyday Isabelle talks about wanting to play with Noah. We sure wish they lived closer, but not being able to see them often just makes our visits that much more special for the two of them. Soon enough, Will and Mark will have this special bond. We already started to see it on this trip.

 

 

This is the only pictured I could capture of the "binkie boys" together. Neither can sit together long enough for a photo. Next time :)

Montview Preschool Carnival

Today we went to Montview Preschool's yearly carnival. Isabelle is going to be attending preschool here in the fall and we are so excited! We feel so fortunate that she got into such a great preschool. We were invited to the carnival and I have to say I was greatly impressed! They had so many wonderful, well organized events going on. In fact, so many that we couldn't make it to all of them.  Here a just a few of the things we did and next year we'll hit all the things we missed.

Checking out the fire truck.

Playing with bubbles after getting her fly tattoo. 

 Waiting in line for the train ride.

 Mark loved the train. Once it started moving he was holding on with both hands with the biggest smile ever.

 Horse carriage ride (we didn't have time to do this), but you can see the train coming in the back.

  

Tricycle obstacle course.

 

 Cookie making station, just before she licked their frosting knife clean. Whoops.

 Dancing, which Isabelle was 100% into. Mark spent his time trying to suck Jamba Juice out of the cup.

 

 

Way to go Montview! We are totally impressed and can't wait for Belle to start school there!

We have also spent some time at Grammy and Pepe's house the past week. 

They both wanted to ride in the car at the same time. I tried to explain that it was going to be really tough to fit two people, but they insisted on doing it. Trying to figure out a way to get both of them in there took about 5 minutes of some serious strategizing. I just sat backed and laughed.

 And this is pretty much how the ride turned out.

We walked the long bridge over to the light rail and watched the trains go by. Mark enjoyed the stroller while Belle walked Sierra. The best part was taking Sierra in the elevator up to the bridge. I wish I took a picture of her legs sprawled with a death grip on the ground. Needless to say, Sierra does not like elevators.

Chasing the bunny rabbits that are all over the place.

Finding all the holes where the bunny lives.

13 Months

Mark at 13 Months.

Mark loves everything about being outside. He could stay outside and play all day long and be completely content. He is loves to get as dirty as possible and explore every little thing he can find.

 He always makes us laugh. He scrunches his little nose up all the time, like in this picture, and then just laughs. We also find it totally hilarious that every time he burbs, he looks at us and lets out this big laugh.

 Sierra and Mark are becoming best buddies. Mark just loves to play with her, climb on her, and pet her. I love to see Mark and Belle play with Sierra and watch how gentle Sierra is with them. She is such a perfect dog! Playing "sticks" with Sierra is an all time favorite for both.

 Just before going in for the kiss. Sierra usually beats Mark at it and unfortunately Sierra's tongue often enters Mark's mouth. Yes, disgusting, but sweet. I do my best to stop it, but Sierra is extra fast.

 Mark absolutely loves everything about Isabelle. He loves to play with her. Climbing and rolling around on her are some of his favorite things to do with her.

Mark loves to play "peek a boo." He'll put most anything in front of his face, then pull it down and laugh. We do this a lot while changing his diaper because he has become quite the rolly polly and would prefer you finish changing his diaper in record time. Little does he know that when you roll around and try to escape, it takes longer to change his diaper. So, "peek a boo" is a helpful little game most of the time.

And the walking games have begun! I'm not sure if I'm excited or sad about this. It means he is growing up and I kind of want my little baby to stay a baby forever! Luckily, he is still totally attached to us and doesn't get far without turning around to make sure we are still close by. He thinks walking is about the best thing ever and has the biggest grin on his face as he 'frankenstein' walks around. He has become much better since this video was taken. This was one of the first days he got enough guts to take more than two steps. Happy 13 Months Mark!! Love you.