Colorful Colorado

We have been enjoying our time in Colorado, and I can't believe that it is almost time to move on. Jamie and her boys are also here and enjoying visiting her mom and family. One day we went to 'Grandma Kim's' for some slip'n'slide fun with all the Snyder cousins.



Here, Jamie poses with our little Jude.



Our two big kids and Peter all attended VBS with Mimi. They had a blast and are still singing all the songs.



My roomate Sherri and I got to have brunch in Denver with all the girls in her family. They had come out for a Women of Faith conference.


Titus has enjoyed Colorado immensely. He is an outdoor boy, and there are few places where you can have so much outdoor fun year round! Here he and Papa were going on an errand, both wearing their Texas best.


One of my best friends since gradeschool, Sarah and her son Cooper came to visit us. Jude and Coop were born within one day of each other. It's fun to think they could go to kindergarten together!



This is Titus' way to wear a ball cap. I think that he likes it like this because it sticks firm to his head, and he can still see!


We spent as much time outside as possible. Here we are in Red Rock Canyon, a beautiful place they just opened to the public 2 years ago. There were red rocks all around, and people were rock climbing from either side of the cliffs. There were also some Ft. Carson soldiers training to hunt snipers there so we came across fake blood on different rock formations. Papa took us through a pass where they had blown dynamite to mine the rocks. It was a beautiful day and a fantastic hike. The kids kept pretending they were archeologists. Here Elise takes a breath from the hiking and blows a dandylion.


Papa, Mimi and Titus smile for a shot.


Here are the big 3 in the canyon...can't look any better than this!

Four Bears, Fourth of July

While enjoying making cupcakes for Titus' second birthday, Mimi discovered a little family of bears in the backyard. The mama bear is two years old, from a bear that had triplets. She herself then had triplets, which you see below. They were so cute, toddling around the yard. A couple times one would fall and startle the other two up the closest tree. I had never seen so much. The new mommy just hung around and kept an ear out for their safety. When she heard me open the screen door to get these shots, she stood on her hind legs and looked at me as if to remind me they were not teddy bears. Point taken!



That is not a rock, but the momma. She is a cinnamon color compared to the little black cubs.






Also thought I would include our fourth of July family picture. This was shot at the infamous Broadmoor Hotel.



Here is Jude dressed in red, white and blue. Look how bright his little eyes have become!

Baby Jude's Blog Debut

Born April 30th, it is time to reveal our sweet baby to the blogging world. We love him and know you will too! So without further ado, here is our little boy.

March and April

From a Lion to a Lamb, this Spring proved a delightful one for us. We definitely took part in our share of Easter Egg Hunts this year, but in my opinion, better to do many now while the opportunity remains. (Why do they put age limits on Easter Egg Hunts? This is another reason I really love Halloween...there are no rules that I am too old to collect candy from strangers!) Our first hunt of the year was at Paul's college. They had a petting zoo as well as a "Hare in the Air" ie. an Easter Bunny that was helicoptered into the scene of kids to deliver the delectable eggs. In Titus' age group, there were so many eggs the kids couldn't help but step on them every way they turned. Unfortunately, the parents were not allowed to go into the grassy area with their children and therefore could not coach these children on what the point of their baskets were. Result: Children looking confused as to why their parents sent them in the middle of this field with many other children their age.


Note all the eggs on the ground around the slightly dazed toddlers. It wasn't until I told Titus, "Pick up, clean up the eggs and put them in your basket." That he moved forward. This taught me two things. 1. Gone are the days when I spent afternoons 'training' my child on how to egg hunt. (Yes, I did do multiple drills with Josiah on egg hunting around our house...but he really did enjoy it...it wasn't just the crazy competitive mom's agenda.) 2. I must spend a lot of time teaching how to clean up now as that is what I promoted to Titus, and he readily understood!



Here Elise takes part in a definitely more advanced hunt. My hint to her...Dash to the middle and let the other little ones get bogged in the front lines of eggs. (Is this competitive?)

After a week of warm weather, this day was unreasonably cold...but we persevered for the golden eggs!

I was impressed, a two week old camel. I had never even seen one before!

Here Titus is discovering the fruits of the plastic eggs.

A few days later we had dinner as a family and everyone brought their baskets for a little hunt in our backyard.

Oliver discovers one beneath the bush.

Titus is proud of his assortment.

He now fully understands what should be in the eggs.

In fact, when asked if he wanted eggs for breakfast one morning, he started jumping up and down in celebration and saying, "Please, please, please." At first I took pride in the fact that my child was making wise food decisions in opting for the protein based egg over a sugary cereal....then I realized the misunderstanding as he gripped the candy filled basket with his chubby little hands.

To reintroduce the true egg, we also dyed some with a variety of colors.

Each of the children came out with a very different look to their eggs. I love watching them each think creatively, and yet so differently given the same materials.

A very happy Peter.

To further celebrate spring, we visited the butterfly house.

Josiah reads about the many species at the dome that we were about to step into.

A Preggo picture for all of you wanting them...it was so hot in here! I guess they do make it the temperature of a rain forest, but really, did my feet have to swell even more?

I thought the flowers were so beautiful.

The four boys viewing the water fall, and all wishing they could jump into the water!

Very sweaty, mostly happy children.

The seminary hosted an egg hunt as well, this one the week after Easter. For those of you who may believe that enough is enough...we truly like to celebrate the joy of Easter year round. Therefore, one more egg hunt was well celebrated. I thought this shot was beautiful of the campus bell tower and the amazing tree below.

What a spring, and yet, we were waiting for our little baby boy to spring out and come be a part of our lives.

January and February Celebrations!!!

We have many things to celebrate in January and February, and so here are some of our party times! First, a great friend of mine sent me this fun shirt dress for my birthday...thank you for keeping me stylish! That is celebration enough!


Titus loves the snow, and he has been enjoying every minute of the cold weather, and when he is inside he is wistfully looking outside. I don't typically let him suck his thumb out of bed, but this was just too cute.


Elise liked my outfit this day and so she asked to take my picture... on seeing it, I realized I don't have many pictures of this new little baby on the way!



The little boys are quickly coming on age two. There are so many things that they are learning together every day. I love having them as a pair, to see how they approach certain circumstances. Even in a task of building blocks, their personalities shine through. They are a good balance to each other, a perfect pair of cousins.



Oliver is proud of his tower.



And what is a tower worth, if you can't make it come crashing down?

Last week we had a special teacher come to our classroom every day to teach us about the Chinese New Year celebrations. Here, Miss Mary is teaching the kids the Dragon Dance...or at least our rendition of it! Praise the Lord for some warmer weather! We also flew kites that afternoon.

Elise and Peter enjoyed our lesson on using chop-sticks! I was impressed by their success in eating with them. (However we did have forks available for bailout.)

Elise had a 'show day' in which we were welcomed to watch her practice ballet. Most days the studio is closed to parents and friends so the girls will keep focused, however they allowed us to come and watch this day. She is so coordinated and loves dancing, she gets that from my mother!

Her teacher Miss Marilyn has been teaching dance for many years here, in fact a lot of the parents of the girls in Elise's class were also taught by her! She has ultimate control of her classroom, and the girls enjoy their time with her. That says a lot for a class of 40 girls all age 5 and 6!

Our good friends at the sem learned that they will be going to Texas for the first church to pastor. As they are from Montana and Pennsylvania, they have a lot to learn about the Lone Star State. They invited us to Texas Day at their home to learn a little bit of Texas trivia. It was a great time, here the kids are enjoying a Texas treat of brisket and tater-tots! (note the hook-em horns signs the kids are attempting, and their longhorn apparel.)

This school year we hosted a Valentine party, a lot of fun and love was shared.

Miss Mary tells the kids a story with felt pictures....a huge success.

The Girls get their own table:)

Who wants juice?

Titus and Oliver enjoy their cupcakes.

This is at the Sem's Valentines dance. I can't believe that I didn't get a picture of Michael and I, so here is the one I did get...of Miss Mary and I. Sorry Valentine!