After such a fantastic cross-country season, Peter decided to continue his training with some of his other teammates so that he could compete at Nike Cross Regionals in Casa Grande, AZ. He was extremely motivated at first, but then we were hit with a few really bad snowstorms which halted some of his training outside. Then he begged me to sign him up for swim club so that he could start swimming in prep for his HS season in February. Both of those became distractions which made it hard to the train the way he did during his HS cross-country season. Still, he managed to make it to the practices that his coach offered and did as much running as he could with his teammates on the off days to get prepared to run the same course he ran in September where he PR'd and broke 17 minutes. This time it was just Peter and I who traveled to Arizona for the race. We stayed at the Marriott in Chandler where some of the other runners from his team were staying. Sean, Josh, Peter, Hayden, Rodrigo, Dan, and Lauren all ran. They ran the same course from Desert Twilight but ran in the morning instead of the night. The weather was actually not too hot, but the sun was pretty bright. Even though Peter didn't PR at this race, he still ran extremely well, finishing the 5K in 17:01.50. Afterwards we all celebrated by going to eat at In-N-Out before heading to the airport to fly back to Colorado. 

This October has been way too cold already.  We got our first snow at the beginning of the month and our second snowstorm this week and it doesn't end there.  We are supposed to get another snowstorm next week. I was relieved and happy that I was on the ball about making sure that everyone had the clothes they needed for this coming ski season - especially Madeline.  After Abby got home from school she was so excited to go and play in the snow.  She kindly waited until Madeline got up from her nap and then went out back to play with her.  Madeline was so excited to wear her new boots and snow clothes. All of my kids are really good with Madeline, but there is something really special about the relationship that Abby and Madeline have together. I love that Abby has the patience and the imagination to play with a 3-year old.  It truly warms my heart.  They threw snowballs, built a very tiny snowman, and had races in the snow. Abby was cute and ran on her knees so it would be fair.  Those two are quite a pair.  I love watching Madeline play. She reminds me that everything in life can be so much fun. The smallest things like playing in the snow are exciting to her and that is pretty great! 

For Mike's birthday this year I booked a weekend away to Beaver Creek at the Park Hyatt for some relaxation and outdoor adventure.  Since the weather was a bit colder than we had anticipated, we left our mountain bikes at home and planned on doing some hiking instead.  We left on Thursday evening and got to the resort a little after 9pm.  The hotel was exactly like I had remembered it a year ago with some slight updates to the lobby.  We headed up to our room, which we got upgraded to a suite, and turned on a movie and ordered room service while Mike finished up some work from the day.  It was nice to just sit and watch TV together before drifting off to sleep.

The next day it was so incredibly cold and snowing and so we decided to sleep in.  We ate a very yummy breakfast in the hotel restaurant before walking over to the Allegria Spa to check out their services.  We booked a massage for the following day and then grabbed our coats from our room so we could head to the village to do some shopping.  We went into the various shops and didn't buy much except for a cute pair of ski socks for Madeline. We stopped at Rimini's for a warm ham and cheese sandwich and a Nutella and banana crepe.  It all tasted so good.  After a few more shops, and talking with some pretty great locals, we headed back in the hotel to grab our suits so we could spend some time in the outside jacuzzi.  We love sitting outside in the jacuzzi when its cold and snowy outside.  There is just something so magical about it all.  The rest of the day was spent napping and relaxing before heading to dinner at Hooked which is a seafood restaurant.  We ate the most delicious Japanese rolls.  They were like no other rolls we had ever eaten.  Then we headed out to find some yummy dessert.  We decided to drive down to Vail to grab some dessert at a local Ale House.  It wasn't quite up to par but that was ok because the fries we had were delicious.  Then we headed back to the hotel and grabbed our free s'mores kit and headed up to the room to eat the chocolate and go to bed. It was much too cold to actually go outside to the fire pit and roast s'mores. 

The next morning, we woke up to cold temperatures but sunny skies.  We ate another fabulous breakfast and then headed out on our hike up to Bear Lake.  We took the Bear Lake trail which followed the creek.  It was awesome to be able to hear the creek alongside the trail almost all the way up to the lake.  Most of the trail was snow covered with the snow that had fallen the day before.  It was actually really great to hike in the snow.  The hike up to the lake was relatively easy and we enjoyed being together.  It was super peaceful up at the lake and we enjoyed playing with two little birds who enjoyed our crumbs. We decided to head back a different way and took the Overlook trail which had us venture across the various slopes.  It was pretty spectacular hiking through dense forests before popping out on the open slopes only to cross and then hike once again through another set of trees.  This went on for quite some time and eventually we lost count of how many sections we went through.  As we looked at our watches it became clear that we needed to pick up the pace if we were going to make it back in time for our 3:00pm massages.  At one point we actually started running on the trail when we could.  With only 15 min before 3:00pm, we were getting desperate to find a short cut back. So, like idiots, we decided to get off the wooded trail, and just walk/run/slide down the last sloped mountain straight back to the hotel.  It was kind of crazy going straight down the mountain.  Mike used his hiking poles and glissaded down some of the snowier sections.  We just laughed and laughed all the way down.  We made it back to our room with only a few minutes to spare.  We spent the rest of the afternoon getting pampered and then relaxing in the 5-Step Aqua Sanitas Water Sanctuary.  It was the perfect way to unwind after our 8-mile hike.  After showering and getting ready for the evening, we headed down to the bar in the lobby area and ordered the most amazing appetizer while we killed time waiting for our dinner reservation at Mirabelle's.  We ordered the Cheese and Charcuterie Platter and it was DELICIOUS!!! Then it was off to Mirabelle's to eat some tasty French cuisine.  It was the perfect way to end a pretty perfect day and a pretty fantastic getaway to Beaver Creek!  Of course, it snowed throughout the night and when we woke up to go home it was all snow covered.  That was pretty magical!

​I’m not sure whether we are just optimistic parents or just plain nuts because we decided to take Peter, Emma, Abby, and Madeline on a 14er up to the summit of Mt. Huron.  Mike and I hiked this last summer and thought it was one of the easiest 14er's so we figured our kids would have no problems.  Emma and Peter really didn’t struggle at all during our hike while Abby and Madeline definitely had their moments of dislike for us on the trail. The weather was a little cooler when we started and since it was the fall with no worry about afternoon thunderstorms, we knew we could leave later in the morning.  We were on the trail by 9:30am and started our adventure with Madeline out of the pack and walking right with us. We put her in the backpack to begin with but she was quick to tell us that she wanted to walk.  She hiked for the first ¾ of a mile up the trail and just had the best time.  We didn’t stop that much the first mile.  It was uphill, of course, but the trail was mostly straight. By the time we made it to the switchbacks we put Madeline in the backpack and Mike carried her through the 16+ switchbacks.  We did stop a few times for snacks and to remind the kids to be drinking plenty of water and to just rest our legs from the mildly rocky and steep switchbacks.  Mike was really good about letting Abby know when we would be done with the switchbacks. It was important to give her updates about the upcoming sections of the trail.  Up until this point most everyone was pretty happy and doing quite well on the trail.  Madeline had a few moments of sadness, but it was probably because she wasn’t used to sitting in the pack for long periods of time.  We tried to entertain her by singing songs and at one point I turned on some kid songs from my iPhone to keep her spirits up.  That lasted until we popped out up and onto the meadow area of the hike.  ​

The meadow section is such a fun part of the trail. It’s not steep and it levels out quite a bit.  We told Abby it was flat, to which she replied, “This is not flat AT ALL.”  I replied, “This is as flat as you get climbing up a mountain.” I’m not sure she loved that response, but it was true.  It was flat enough that you didn’t feel like you had to work very hard.  Peter, Emma, and Mike went ahead while I walked with Abby across the “flat” meadow trail.  We only stopped a few times to rest our legs for only a few seconds before continuing on.  We finally made it to the end of the meadow where we met the others at a large rock at the bottom of the next big push up the mountain.  We stopped there for a good 10-15 minutes to actually sit down and have some snacks and hunker down out of the wind.  We ate grapes, various cheeses and crackers.  It felt good to eat and to sit.  At this point it was either turn around and head back or push it to the top. We decided to keep on pushing. Mike continued to carry Madeline, for which I was super grateful.  The wind started to pick up and so we decided to grab the bigger blanket we had brought in our packs and put it over Madeline’s pack so we could cover up her legs.  Her pants kept riding up and so there was a small section of her leg that was exposed.  As strong as Mike is, I could tell that this was taking a toll on him.  With the extra weight from carrying her coupled with the ridiculous wind it made our journey quite hard.  Madeline was not a happy camper by this point.  We had her all bundled up in the pack, but I could tell she was tired and a bit cold. At one point we took her out of the pack and took turns just carrying her in our arms.  I could literally only do it for 20 ft at a time.  It became frustrating that we were not moving very fast. Where once our hands were nice and warm, the wind started to turn our hands numb and cold.  I’m not going to lie; this was a much harder ascent this time around.  Between Madeline and Abby, Mike and I were struggling to keep their spirits up and our own.  We let Peter climb ahead since he is such a fast hiker and Emma even took off. She ended up coming back down the trail several times because she didn’t want to get that far ahead.  Other travelers along the way told her, “You will have hiked more than anyone else as you go up and down and up and down the trail.”  She got a chuckle out of that.  Once we made it to the cathedral spires, it was the last rocky scramble to the summit. With only 400 ft of rocky scramble we were too close to quit.  I think we all cried a little bit as we made our way to the top.  Abby had several melt downs and Madeline had fallen somewhat asleep from all the trauma from the wind.  I kept checking on her and calling her name just to make sure she was conscious. She was ok; just tired and a little cold.  At one-point Abby refused to go any further.  Another hiker was making his way down and stopped to give her some of his oxygen. She immediately perked right up. She and Mike took turns getting some more oxygen in their lungs before continuing on.  That sweet traveler let Abby keep the remainder of the oxygen to use on her way up.  It was really sweet.  We all did make it to the top and stopped very quickly for a quick photo.  Peter had been sitting there for an hour by the time we arrived.  He was pretty cold, but he hunkered down behind some rocks to wait for us.  He is pretty experienced with climbing 14ers so we knew he would be ok.  The views from the top were pretty remarkable. It was too bad it was so windy because we really couldn’t spend very much time up there.  
 ​

Our first adventure on our mountain getaway was going for a hike on the Willis Gulch Trail right next to Twin Lakes.  The trail was only a 10 min drive from the cabin. The weather was pretty great and although we started out with coats, we quickly shed those as we warmed up on the beginning of our hike.  The most amazing thing about this hike were the views of all the aspen trees and their brightly colored leaves.  It was like walking in a wonderland of yellow and orange.  We hiked along the Willis Gulch Cutoff trail until for about a mile until it ran right into the main part of the Big Willis Gulch Trail. Madeline walked a good portion of this trail and had the best time in her new hiking shoes. She was quite the chatterbox while she was hiking.  It really was quite impressive that she could hold a steady pace while hiking uphill.  Along the trail we had great views of the Twin Lakes, a sweet waterfall, and yellow line pathways full of fall aspen leaves. As we neared the junction where our trail met up with the main trail, we had a few options.  We could have kept on hiking upward towards Willis Lake, but it was another couple of miles and we thought it was better to keep today’s hike shorter since we planned on doing a bigger hike the next day.  That turned out to be the wise choice.  We cut down on the main Willis Gulch trail back down the mountain to make one big loop. We found a few good spots to stop and eat lunch but every time we sat down to eat our lunch, a few bees quickly smelled our sweet sandwiches and swarmed us.  To say that Madeline is scared of bees, flies and pretty much anything that buzzes is an understatement.  She literally freaked out, so we packed up our lunch and ate it on the move.  The last beautiful section was 100 yards long of the most beautiful yellow wooded area.  It was magical.  We could have spent all day playing there.  

​Sometimes it is quite necessary to get out of town and just go to the mountains.  Lucky for us we live relatively close to a plethora of mountain ranges.  We thought it would be fun to spend the long weekend at a cabin up near Twin Lakes, CO.  We rented the coolest cabin on VRBO that was tucked nicely up nicely along a mountainside and only a 5 min drive from Twin Lakes and 20 min from Leadville.  Since the kids didn’t have school on Friday, we headed up on Thursday evening and stopped at Rudy’s to eat dinner.  We drove the Sienna and the 4Runner so we could do some off roading in Mike’s car. We got to the cabin a little after 9pm and although it was dark, we could tell that this would be a ton of fun for the weekend.  It was an actual wood cabin with all the amenities for a comfortable stay. Peter got his own room on the main level while all the girls joined us up in the loft.  In the loft there was a bunkbed for the girls, a fun living area, a giant bed for me and Mike and a spacious bathroom area.  Madeline slept in her little pack-n-play.  The rest of the cabin was cozy and spacious.  In the basement was a pool table and a foosball table with another set of bunkbeds.  It wasn’t until morning that we saw how amazing the views were from the cabin.  We woke up to the most amazing sunset and we didn’t even have to get out of bed to enjoy it because we could see it from the tall windows outlining the back of the cabin. The girls had fun in the morning grabbing their coats and exploring outside the cabin.  There was a fun little firepit and lots of rocks to play on.  We had a lazy morning and enjoyed stuffing our faces full of Mike’s amazing French toast before heading off on our first adventure!

​Emma and Abby both had a great cross-country season and worked really hard to finish out this season stronger than they started.  Of the 5 meets that were scheduled, only one was canceled due to bad weather.  Abby choose to do cross country this year not because she loves to run but because she wanted to do something active with her friends.  She worked hard in her practices and never gave up even when it was hard for her.  Every race she ran she did it knowing that it would be hard, but she still finished strong. On the other hand, Emma was excited to run cross country this season because running is her best sport.  She really started to turn up the heat in her running during track season in the spring. After a good experience at BYU cross country camp this summer she was ready to take on the challenge of pushing herself a little harder than last year. 
 
ELIZABETH HS - MEET #1 
1.5 miles, trail with hills
Abby - 19:30
Emma - 10:30 (2nd place)
 
Emma had a fantastic race at Elizabeth HS.  It was an unusually hot day and the meet was about an hour away.  I got there about 15 min before her race started and tried to look for the best spot to take photos.  After walking off the beaten path Madeline and I found a spot right off the trail.  As we watched the start of the race Emma had already pushed herself to the front of the pack and was sitting nicely in 3rdplace behind Bethany and Jade.  As we waited for the girls to make their loop and come back, I was shocked when I saw Emma and Jade running down the trail not too far behind Bethany.  Emma looked strong and I knew that she could grab 2ndplace if she pushed it at the end of the race.  We cheered her on and I could see her starting to pass Jade and pick up the pace. I handed Madeline to a nice man over the chain link fence while I climbed up and over to hurry and make my way to the finish.  Sure enough, Emma had pushed it hard enough to not only beat Jade by a sec or two but by 10-15 sec.  Emma came in 2ndplace for 7thand 8thgrade girls.  
 
Abby had a pretty good race considering the extremely unpleasant conditions.  With her recent growth spurt and maturity, it has become harder for Abby to run fast like she was able to do in ES.  However, there is nothing I like to see more than a kid who pushes themselves to their limit just to prove that they can do hard things. This was exactly what Abby did at this meet.  She wasn’t in the front or even the middle of the pack when we saw her on the trail but was closer to the back of the pack of 6thgraders.  As Madeline and I waited at the finish area for Abby, I was getting a little nervous when I didn’t see her come in.  Eventually she made her way into the stadium and pushed hard that last 100m.  She may not have had a top finishing time but in my book, she was a top finisher in how she persevered through a tough race. She was a bit emotional at the end because it was so hard for her.  I couldn’t have been prouder of her for not stopping and just finishing the race.  
​

CHINOOK MS – MEET #2
Just shy of 1.5 miles, flat and downhill paved course
Abby - 14:10
Emma - 8:40 (2nd place)
 
This was probably Emma’s most exciting race of the season.  Since this was the first time the teams were running up near the new Chinook MS, no one really knew the course.  Luckily, one of the coaches showed me a map of the course so I knew where to stand and cheer on the kids.  I first saw Emma about halfway through the race.  She was sitting in 4thplace behind Bethany, Jade, and some other blond-haired girl.  I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but she looked strong.  As I made my way to the finish on the track, I was shocked to see Emma come into the track in 4thplace and slowly pick off the girls in front of her.  By the first curve she made her way into 3rdplace and by the last 100m she battled for 2ndplace and won.  Unfortunately, Jade also thought she had won and there was some debate for a bit about it. In the end, Emma’s name was moved to the 2ndplace finish.  It was quite the finish.  It was the first time I realized how awesome of a kick Emma has at the end of her races. She is very similar to her brother Peter.  
 
Abby had a much better race running on the pavement and slightly downhill than she did on the hilly trail during the first meet.  She was in much better spirits when she started the race.  I saw her at the beginning of the run and at the end. She happily ran along near the last half of the pack and when she came into the track at the end, I could see how much she was struggling to keep running.  I could see her stop for a few seconds on the track and then she started back up again.  By the time she rounded the last corner something overtook her, and she turned up the heat and sprinted to the finish.  It was pretty amazing to watch.   ​

BLACK FOREST – MEET #3
1.5 miles, trail and hilly
Emma – 9:58 (3rd place)
 
Only the 7th and 8th graders ran in this race so Abby was off the hook for today’s race.  Today was another unfamiliar course as this was the first time the kids were running at this venue.  The race wasn’t well marked and not even the coaches really understood the course. That being said, Emma had a decent race today.  She ran out and made her way right behind Jade.  She kept a pretty close distance to Jade and I thought for sure that she would pick it up on the downhill so she could overtake her.  However, she wasn’t quite sure how much further she had to run and so it was hard to know when to start picking up the pace.  The moment she realized the finish was up ahead it was too late.  There was no way she could catch up.  She still ended up with a great time and a 3rdplace finish 10 sec behind Jade. ​

UTE VALLEY PARK – MEET #4
1.5 miles, trail and hilly
Abby – 16:05
Emma – 9:40 (3rd place)
 
It was hotter than expected at this meet and both girls were excited to run in the last meet of the season.  Emma had been complaining of shin splints so I was a little unsure of how fast she could run today.  All she wanted to do was beat Jade, but I told her to just run her best and that would be good enough.  She started out so well.  Halfway through the race I cheered her on the uphill portion.  She looked strong and was right behind Jade.  It was anyone’s game.  After getting up and over the hill, she started to pick up the pace and actually passed Jade.  Then, she tripped but luckily caught herself instead of falling on the ground.  It threw her off her game a bit and she struggled to maintain a lead over Jade.  As she came into the track for the finish, I could see that she was done.  There was no strong kick at the end like she normally has.  It was then I just hoped that she would be happy with her efforts and not disappointed in herself.  When I saw her after the finish, she had a smile on her face.  It was such a relief to me.  She said she ran her best and that she was happy with her 3rdplace finish. I couldn’t have been prouder of her for being a good sport about not beating Jade.  Afterall, not every race can be your best race.  All that matters is that you do your very best under the circumstances.  
 
It was fun watching Abby get ready for her race with her friends.  They warmed up and stretched together.  Even Madeline sat and stretched with them.  As the 6thgraders were getting ready to line up I could tell she was not that excited to run.  Bless her heart for finishing out this season.  I was pleasantly surprised after the race started to see that Abby was not at the back of the pack coming up the hill like she normally is.  She looked really strong.  It made me excited for her.  As I made my way towards the finish on the track, I was excited to see her finish.  As she made her way into the track, she finished that race as strong as she had started.  Her time compared to the first meet was 3 minutes quicker.  With both courses similar in terrain, I was so proud of her for improving from the beginning to the end of the season.  After the race she told me that she would not be running next year.  I am totally ok with that.  ​

It's that time of year again when the fall weather is just starting, and the leaves look like they might be thinking about changing colors.  We had a pretty warm summer and that seemed to last through most of this month.  The colors in town haven't really changed at all but up in the mountains some of the leaves have just started turning colors.  We knew that we wouldn't really see the fall colors this weekend, but we decided to head back up to Mueller State Park anyways for our yearly fall hike with the kids.  We did our usual easy hike/walk to our favorite lookout spot where we spread out our blanket and had a lunch of sandwiches, brie cheese, crackers, grapes, capri suns, and cookies.  The weather couldn't have been better.  It was warm enough to play with a slight breeze.  Of course, the kids found great walking sticks along the way just like last year.  We noticed that our teepee from last year was no longer there and so we decided to rebuild it but in a different location.  The kids had fun exploring down from the lookout before grabbing big tree branches from the ground to help build the teepee.  I'm not sure if the kids or Mike had more fun.  Mike seemed to work the hardest on it.  He found a dead tree and used that as a base for all the other branches.  Mike is seriously the coolest dad ever.  Peter and Emma played real life Minecraft and tried to mine for diamonds by hitting sticks against a big rock.  Funny thing is Madeline went over and started copying them.  It was too funny.  It felt a little weird to do our annual hike without Andrew but we know that he is where he is supposed to be.  We still miss him though.

After a great deal of time playing and just being in nature and away from life, we headed back to Woodland Park and over to the same spot we went last time to go shooting.  The girls were especially excited this time, knowing a bit more how the rifles worked.  We were a bit more prepared this time with headgear for everyone, so no one had to share.  We even got pink ear protection for Madeline.  The entire car ride over she kept telling us that she wanted to shoot because she is 3 years old.  It was really kind of cute.  As we were setting everything up, I got Madeline out of the car and gave her the pink headgear and we listened to the other shooters nearby.  I'm not sure she liked that, or she was just plain tired from hiking, and asked to go back in the car.  All three of the kids loved shooting today. The girls loaded their own guns today and only had some help when they couldn't quite cock the gun.  It was pretty fun to see the girls have so much fun.  Abby blew off the stem of a mini pumpkin and Emma actually got a bullseye.  Peter, of course, had no problems hitting all the targets we set up.  I was even able to shoot some targets.  I'm so grateful Mike invested in some fun rifles and shotguns this summer so we could spend time together doing something pretty exhilarating.  ​

Every year at the beginning of the school year the youth program at our church has a combined activity where they go ice blocking down the grassy hill at Cottonwood Creek Park.  I decided to surprise Peter and Emma this year and snap a few photos.  I loved watching their expressions as they flew down the hill on a tiny block of ice.  They were both so excited to have their own block of ice this year.  According to Peter and Emma, Andrew hogged the block of ice last year.  It was easy enough to get them their own this year.  The thing I loved most about watching Peter and Emma was their interactions with their friends.  I love that they are two social butterflies. I hope this year brings them good friendships and good memories with their friends.

When I told Madeline that her birthday was coming up and asked her if she was excited to get presents, she said, "Is Santa coming to bring me presents?" I just chuckled because last Christmas she was finally old enough to understand that Santa equals presents.  I had to tell her that presents this time would only be from mom and dad.  Either way, it was pretty darn cute.  

I decided to not do a full fondant cake this year and to simplify things a bit and just do cupcakes. I found the cutest examples of unicorn cupcakes and went in that direction for Madeline's 3rd birthday.  Since the week was kind of busy we somehow managed to pull of a little party for Madeline with very little preparation.  With some simple decorations and a few fun balloons and gifts, we had a very fun and exciting party for Madeline the day after her real birthday.  This year she wasn't quite as scared of the candles but still wanted Peter to sit with her while we lit her candles on the cupcakes.  She even piped in and sang Happy Birthday to herself while we were singing it to her.  The cupcakes turned out really cute and they were actually really yummy.  I tried a different fondant than I normally use and everyone gave it a thumbs up.  Even Madeline loved eating the cupcakes.  She also loved her chocolate dipped strawberries and lemonade.  

Madeline loved her balloons and all the gifts she received.  This year the kids gave her two new Little Blue Truck books.  She was so happy to see her new books.  Grandma and Grandpa Kelsch gave her the cutest castle card that lights up to go along with her fun gift.  They gave her a pretend wooden makeup kit with a mirror, comb, two shades of lipstick, two shades of nail polish, eyeshadow, an eyeliner pencil, and a perfume bottle.  She spent a good 10-20 minutes just playing with it on the couch before we gave her the last present to open.  We gave her a pretend cash register and she just loved that too.  We loved pushing the buttons, swiping her pretend credit card and playing with the pretend money in the cash drawer.  It was definitely a perfect little party for our sweet little 3 year old Madeline!
​

Madeline weighs 27 lbs and is 37 inches (3 ft 1 inch) tall.  Madeline is our spunky curly haired angel.  She talks non-stop and we just love it.  She definitely prefers to be outside playing and spent the remainder of the winter and most of the summer riding the moped with me or one of the girls. She LOVES going for rides on the moped or just taking walks around the neighborhood.  She especially loves it when the kids will jump with her on the trampoline.  She loves to draw with chalk on the sidewalk and play with the sparkly rocks out in front of our house.  

Madeline loves to play with her toys just as much as she likes to be outside.  Her favorite toys are her Little people, Little Einsteins, kitchen toys, and the Sylvania family animal people with the house and all the fun accessories.  She is constantly asking Emma and Abby if they can get the Sylvania family out for her to play with.  Since Abby still loves to play with those she is often seen playing with Madeline.  Madeline also loves to play dress up and will usually ask us to help her put on one of her pretty dress up dresses.

When we let her Madeline LOVES to watch cartoons on the iPad.  She loves being able to wear her pink wireless headphones when she listens to her movies.  It's amazing how well she can maneuver around the different apps on the iPad.  Her favorite movies are Mr. Incredibles 1 &2, Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Returns, Kung Fu Panda 3, and the Croods.

Madeline's favorite books are the Berenstain Bear books.  Her favorite one of those is the Spooky Tree book.  She also loves the Little Blue Truck books.  Her favorite one of those is Little Blue Truck Christmas.  She also likes Cat in the Hat, the Mother Goose book, and Go Dog Go.   

Madeline is super smart.  She can count all the way to 20 by herself and recognizes 95% of the letters in the alphabet.  There are only a few she gets stuck on.  She knows all of her colors and she can recognize most objects on our learning cards.  Madeline can also sing really well and knows the words to so many songs...both primary songs and popular songs.  The other day we were in the car driving to Denver and a song came on and she just started singing it. I couldn't believe she knew the words so well.  

Madeline says a lot of cute things.  She loves to copy the things we say to her.  When I say things like, "I love you sweetheart," she will say the same thing back. She also calls us honey when we call her honey.  Without a doubt she always tells me she loves me too after I have told her that I love her.  We love it when she calls the elevator the "alligator." It cracks us up every time. She usually calls Peter Pete and sometimes she has called him boy.  We laugh when she does that.  She also loves to say, "what the heck..." If she hears a bad word she will be quick to say, "Don't say that word." She is such a good example to her older siblings. 

When she wants to tell someone that it is hers she will say, "That is mines" or "Is that mines?" It is too cute so we don't try and correct her.  

Madeline loves to do things by herself.  If she is really adamant about not wanting help she will say, "Let me do it."  She usually likes to try and take off her clothes by herself before her bath.  She has learned how to put on her own pull up diaper.  She can usually put on shorts or pants by herself but she still has trouble with shirts.  We still help her with her shoes but she loves to do the velcro straps by herself.  

Madeline loves all kinds of foods, especially chocolate chips which she has been known to sneak into in the pantry.  Occasionally we stumble upon something she just doesn't want to eat.  After taking one bite she will say, "No thank you," when I try and feed it to her.  She just keeps repeating that until I can convince her to eat just three more bites.  At least she is polite about it!

A month before she turned 3 we converted her crib into a toddler bed.  She didn't have any problems staying in bed at night but will occasionally wake up a little too early.  She has been known to go in and wake up the girls which they don't love.  

Madeline started a ballet/tap class right before she turned 3 years old.  She has only been to 2 classes but she already seems to love it.  She is really good at following directions and being friendly with the other two girls in the class.  

It's amazing how time flies so fast when the kids are little.  It was almost like I woke up one day and Madeline was a little girl and not really a toddler anymore.  Madeline had lots of FIRSTS this month.  At the beginning of the month she had her very first dentist appointment. She did really well sitting in the chair at first.  Then she wanted me to sit with her so I held her on my lap.  She let Dr. Patterson count all of her teeth and she let the tech brush her teeth.  

Right before the kids went back to school, we decided to transition Madeline from a crib to a toddler bed.  I knew that she could stay in bed all night since she slept in a toddler bed during our family reunion over the summer.  Mike and Andrew worked together to take the front railing off and replace it with a toddle rail.  Madeline was so excited.  She actually did really well transitioning to a bed with more freedom.  At night she never got out of her bed but during nap time she will still occasionally play in and around her bed before she finally falls asleep.  I feel like it's a win because she doesn't come out of her room when it's time to sleep.  

One of the things we are trying to focus on more is potty time.  Madeline really doesn't have any desire to potty train but that is not to say we aren't trying.  I bought her some pull up diapers so that she could learn how to take them on and off by herself.  That was step number one.  Step two was learning how to get on and off the potty by herself.  She can actually do it without using a stool.  I'm not sure how she swings her leg all the way around but she somehow manages to get on toilet by herself.  Finally, she learned how to wash her hands by herself.  The most important piece now was actually sitting on the potty long enough to actually go.  We tried reading books, singing songs, and eating snacks but none of those things really helped.  The only thing that got her to sit on the potty by herself was knowing that she had to go and not having her pull up or diaper on. I let her roam around naked and I went about my business in the kitchen.  I noticed that she walked back in the bathroom and got on the potty and was bracing herself against the wall.  Oh boy...she was doing something.  She did actually go in the potty but it kind of scared her and she started to cry.  I'm not sure if I will be able to convince her to do it again but at least she did it once.  

Since Madeline is almost 3 years old, we figured it was time to give her an activity that she could participate in.  Since I did ballet and tap with the other girls it seemed like the natural thing to do for Madeline.  I found out from a friend about a good ballet/tap program and we did a trial class to see how she would respond.  I was so surprised at how well she listened to her teacher and how well behaved she was in the class.  When the class was finished, she was so happy.

Even though Madeline had lots of FIRSTS this month, she also had lots of repeated cuteness from things she does all the time.  Some of my favorite moments this month from her was her love of playing in the grass, mopping the floor with me, talking on her pretend phone and actually pausing as if she were actually talking to someone, using her own resistant band when I was doing my PT exercises, playing with puzzles and telling me the numbers as she put them in the puzzle, and having a blast during bath time.  There is never a dull moment when Madeline is around.

I really do think there is nothing quite like doing something fun with your spouse.  Mike and I both love many of the same things.  One of the things we love to do that is easy and pretty accessible from home is biking together.  We have really tried to take advantage of this great weather to be outside together.  We decided to head out on our road bikes to bike from our house all the way to Costco via the Cottonwood Creek trail and the Santa Fe trail.  The only major roads we had to cross were Briargate and Union Blvd.  We road Royal Pine from our house across Briargate and once we popped out onto Austin Bluffs, we got right onto the wide sidewalk which turned into the trail at Woodmen.  We biked all the way through the new section (which is AWESOME) and stopped at the Crit Café at the Criterium bike store.  It was so amazing to sit outside on the patio sharing a burger together.  I couldn’t think of anywhere I would rather be than spending quality time with Mike.  Thank you, Mike, for lighting up my life with adventure and your amazing presence.  

Ever since the last high school swim season, Peter has had some workouts that put his heart rate over 200 and sometimes as close as 210.  Although it never seemed to effect his performance, it was a little concerning going into this year's cross-country season.  His pediatrician ordered a exercise stress test and echo cardio exam.  Everything looked good on his EKG and his ultrasound.  The next piece was the exercise stress test which he passed with flying colors.  It was pretty spectacular watching him run his heart out on that treadmill as the speed and incline increased.  Turns out his VO2 max is 65!!! That is at the superior level for someone his age.  The only thing the doctor noticed was his oxygen output was a little restricted when blowing out which meant that he could benefit from an inhaler before racing or swimming really hard.  We are so grateful that there was nothing wrong with his heart and comforted to know that his HR going above 200 is ok.

We took the kids shooting up in Woodland Park this evening.  We left later than we wanted and so we only had about an hour to shoot before the sun went down.  We went to the Pikes Peak public range and found a great spot to set up. This was the first time the girls had been shooting and they were both really excited. I didn't grow up with guns so this would be my first-time shooting rifles and shotguns.  Peter and Mike set everything up while the girls and I hung out in the car eating our fabulous Sonic burgers.  Mike took each of the girls and taught them about the parts of the gun they were shooting and gave them some safety advice.  Emma wasn't all that nervous and had Mike help her with the first shot.  After that she did it on her own.  She LOVED it.  Emma mostly shot grandma Candace's 22 bolt action rifle.  She only needed a little bit of help pulling back the bolt.  After shooting that a bunch she tried the over under 410-22 rifle/shotgun.  She was a bit shocked with the kick she got from the shotgun setting but she still loved it.  Abby, on the other hand, was extremely nervous when Mike finally put the gun in her hand.  She actually put the gun down and ran away until I convinced her to just try it once.  At first Mike helped her hold the gun and shoot.  Eventually she was comfortable enough to try it on her own.  The thrill put a smile on her face, and she was no longer scared to hold the gun by herself. 

As for Peter, well he was a pro at shooting.  It was fun to watch him shoot the 12-gauge semi auto.  Both Peter and Mike spent most of their turns shooting the semi auto gun.  I tried both the 22-bolt action and the over under 410-22.  I actually managed to shoot down a can and the cardboard wall with the shotgun setting.  It was such a thrill.  We all can't wait to go back and shoot together again.  Next time I will try the 12-gauge semi auto!!

ABBY
Abby was excited to finally join the ranks of the older kids by joining Emma at Challenger Middle School.  She was the most excited to be starting this adventure with her A-team friends: Addy, Avery, August, Anna, and Olivia and to be on a team with some pretty great teachers.  On the first day of school she was not interested in Mike and I walking her to the bus stop.  She quickly sped down the sidewalk and waved without looking back.  Abby started school the day before the other kids.  

6th grade, Team 614, Cross-Country Team, Rapids Swim Team, Voice Lessons, Piano, Make-up wearer, Social Butterfly, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Pre-Algebra A, PE, Gateway I, Drama, World Language, and Music.  

​Excited about going on High Trails.        
Most concerned about doing math and having Ms. Murray.         
Favorite class is PE.

​EMMA
Emma was excited to finally be at the top of her school as an 8th grader, get straight A’s, and to gear up for cross-country season.  

8th grade, Team 814, Cross-Country Team, Kokopelli JOXC, Rapids Swim Team, Violin, Piano, Saxophone, HS Orchestra, Silver Tones Choir Group, Advanced Art, Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Algebra 1, and PE.  
 
Excited about her science class and participating in the HS Orchestra.  
Most concerned about getting straight A’s.        
Favorite class is social studies and language arts because the teachers are great.

PETER
Peter was excited to see his friends and be on the cross-country team again but he wasn’t that thrilled for his hardest year at Pine Creek HS.  As a Junior, Peter will be taking tough classes and preparing himself for the ACT and SAT.  

11th grade, Cross-Country Team, State Running Team, Rapids Swim Team, Varsity Swim Team, Advanced Jazz Ensemble, Seminary, H Pre-Calculs, US History, AP Physics, American Lit & Comp, Weights & Fitness, H German 4, and Programming 2.
 
Excited about Cross-Country and Swim Seasons       
Most concerned about doing well on the ACT and SAT and his AP Physics class         
Favorite class is H German 4

​There are several reasons to live in Colorado.  Most all of them involve being outside in this great state enjoying the activities that the mountains offer.  This year, we had epic amounts of snowfall, which translates directly into great white water rafting in the Spring and Summer.  We departed on a Friday afternoon to Canon City and camped in a Red Rock enclave that was secluded and beautiful.  The boys enjoyed climbing up on the red rock bluffs that encircled our camp. We had a fire, food, fireside and all the usual good stuff that makes a camping trip excellent.  
 
In the morning, we embarked for our white-water adventure.  As we waited for our bus to be ready to take us to the boats, we played Volleyball in the sand.  All I could think about was that I hoped the boys would be better at rafting than they were at playing Volleyball. The older boys went down the crown jewel of Southern Colorado: The Royal Gorge.  The Royal Gorge is an impressive site any way you see it.  However, being on the water is a whole different experience: terrifying, exhilarating, and memorable.  We separated into two rafts of 6 boys each and headed down the Arkansas River.  The white water was plentiful and fun.  It bounced us around, soaked us to the bone, and made for some great memories.  The River goes up to Class V rapids when it goes through the Gorge, so it was some serious white water with memorable names like Boat Eater, Wall Smasher, and Sunshine Falls.  The boys loved it and the leaders loved it too.  Certainly, a memorable and fun experience.  

written by Mike

​Back in the spring I found out that Billy Joel was coming to Denver to perform in August. There was no way I was going to miss out on this opportunity to see one of my favorite singer/songwriters of all time. I grew up listening to Billy Joel and watching his incredibly fun and entertaining music videos on laser disc. I remember sitting with my brother, Greg, watching those laser discs over and over again.  Since I didn’t delay in getting tickets I was able to get some pretty great seats on the floor.  Mike and I ended up making a date getaway to Denver and spent the evening at the concert and then stayed at the Ritz Carlton for the night.  We got upgraded to a suite which was awesome.  Thank you Platinum American Express card! We ate dinner at Elway’s at the hotel and then headed on over to the concert at Coors Field.  We were pleasantly surprised at how cool it was to be so close on the field with the floor seating.  We walked around and got a closer look at the stage before the concert started.  We’ve both been to many concerts, but I think this was probably one of my favorites.  Everything about the concert was perfect from the stage set up, to the great set list of songs, to the hilarious comments made by Billy Joel, and of course being there with Mike.  I couldn’t think of a better way to spend our anniversary this year than to watch Billy Joel and stay the night in Denver together.