End of Summer

August and the first part of September has been a busy time for us! This IS the longest blog yet! It always seems like we try to squeeze the last part of summer out even though the kids have started back to school. It's our own little case of denial, I guess.

I won't post much here about Joseph. He's crawling, pulling up and into everything! He's starting to play with/explore his toys rather than just chew on them. He's dancing when he hears music, imitating sounds we make (dude, uh oh, motor noises) and giving kisses. He picks out his bedtime book every night before bed. He's snugly and very attached to his momma right now (which I love, love, love). He was sleeping through the night, but we've hit a period of wakening again. He's eating more regular foods. He loves sandwiches, tuna on celery and spaghetti. If you want to see his album I keep updated on facebook you can visit it here (whether you belong to facebook or not): JT (Part 2)

Jud had his 14th birthday on Aug 18th. He got his first testosterone shot at the Endocrine Dr's office (he's due for his second one this week), attended band practice, attended the band ice cream social with Ruggs and Syd and then had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings with Ruggs, Syd, Grandma Shirley, Darren and Julia. It was also Julia's 20th birthday so we celebrate a little with her as well. (I stayed home with Joseph as he was very sick and I felt it was asking too much of him to stay up late.) They did come back to the house for cake and presents and then Jud had to call it an early night since he had his first day of 9th grade the next morning.

Jud has also had a lot of fun in band so far! He's marched in a parade and marched in a couple of games. He will be marching in the Broomfield Days parade this coming Saturday (9/17) at 10am if you want to come see him!

We took another impromptu trip to the mountains and ended up at Estes Park. The kids had never been inside the Standley Hotel so we took a little self-guided tour.

We also went through a small petting zoo in the park in Estes.

We walked up the riverwalk. JT got to touch the water. It was still VERY cold even though it was late August!

We went up to Boyd Lake in Loveland a few times and tried our hand at Stand Up Paddleboarding. The kids and I found it to be really fun!

Amy shows Syd how to get up.

Jud is a natural!

JT sleeps at the lake!

Leslie Paddling Jud

Sydney & cousin Zach

He also really loves watermelon!

Dad gets to have a little swim and hang time with Baby Joe.

We were lucky enough to have a little picnic this summer with the Kochevars! :)

Our view at the park.

Ruggs and I took Joe to a little evening picnic at El Dorado. We love it there. It's easy to just get away for a couple of hours.

Sydney had her senior pictures done. We met our friend, Jeff Weber, who took our wedding and family photos at Cherry Creek State Park. We took some cute ones, some fun ones and some experimental ones. I even got to shoot the camera a little. ;)

We took a family "Camping" trip to Colorado Springs and stayed in a nice cabin at Mountaindale Campground.

We went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo where we saw lots of great animals and got to feed giraffes and pet a joey.

JT really liked the birds!

Great view from the top of the zoo!

We visited a couple of waterfalls. Both were gorgeous in their own way.

Seven Falls

Seven Falls gets lit up in different colors at night. It's really pretty!

Helen Hunt Falls

Helen Hunt Falls

We toured Cave of the Winds.

We visited the Manitou Cliff Dwellings.

We also stopped in on Garden of the Gods.

We had JT's baptism on 9.10.11. It was a blessed day!

We were happy to have Ruggs' brother, Mark and his wife, Kim as the Godparents.

Ruggs, Leslie, JT & Godparents Mark & Kim

Deacon Jim, Ruggs, Leslie, Grandma Bev, JT and Great Grandma Muriel.

Phew! We crammed a lot into 6 weeks! We were sad to see summer go, but we're looking forward to upcoming football games, parades, homecomings, birthdays (Joe will be 1 year old in 5 weeks!), vacations and the holidays. 

I start RCIA classes next week so that I may join Immaculate Conception Church in Lafayette. It's 2 hours a week until Easter. It's a big commitment, but we have been talking about it too long and I felt it was time. I'm also considering my first 5k run in October. I figured starting small was a good idea! We have lots to keep us busy and look forward to this fall!