Denver Zoo with friends!

On Monday we met my friend Dani and her two sweet kids at the Denver Zoo! Dani and I have known each other since junior high. We lost touch for many years through college, but reconnected through our blogs and motherhood a few years back. They lived in Colorado Springs last year so we got together for play-dates often. We sure miss those weekly play-dates! They moved to Greeley last August so the girls had not seen each other since then. We have talked about meeting up in Denver ever since and we finally made it happen! The girls didn't skip a beat. They are such sweet friends and so fun to watch them together now that they are getting older. It was also fun to watch Henry and Sophie smile and "flirt" with one another. So cute! It was such a beautiful day for the zoo; we enjoyed every minute of it! As you will see...in the MANY photos I captured!  Let's meet again soon, we miss you guys!

Dani and Henry

They loved watching the polar bear play.

Love how they both have their hands in their mouths!

Henry wanted Sophie closer! So cute!

Trying to get all 4 kids on the hippo!

Fun on the carousel! 

I still couldn't convince Avery to ride on an animal, maybe the next time we go.

The girls both fit on the bench of their stroller...the "choo choo stroller" as Avery calls it.

Henry is so cute in his hat!

Yummy ice cream!

The girls feet got all dirty, so as we were walking out of the zoo, they sat down together to clean them off! Too cute!

Kansas Fun

We made a quick trip back to Kansas this past weekend.  Since we can't stay the whole weekend because of Gabe working on Sundays, our trips are always quick, but we had a fun time as always. Avery is always devastated when it's time to go home.  She is such a country girl when we're out there. There must be something about running free, bare feet, getting dirty, and being outside that does something to her heart. It's fun to watch her and see how happy she is! It will be really fun when Sophie can run around with her. It won't be long!

As you will see, the red mustang was a hit!

We had a cupcake party up in the tree house.

It's always great to visit you Muttie and Pop Pop!
We love you!

Changes

We have a few changes going on around here...

Sophie is really getting a hang of pulling herself up! She is just precious standing up and in no time she will be walking! It's so hard to believe she is almost a year old. Here she is trying to color with her big sister.

Avery got her 2nd professional haircut last week and got her hair chopped into a cute little bob!

Here is the before photo:

 

 

And after...

Memories

Many years ago, Gabe's family started doing "Christmas Memories" instead of gifts. So, each year we try to add a family memory which encompasses a variety of things. It can be big or small, but something that will be memorable for all. It is fun to see what everyone comes up with! 

Gabe's parents took us to Breckenridge for a weekend after Thanksgiving which was their "memory" for the year. Our "memory" (very LATE) is this video of fun times spent with them in Breckenridge and over the Christmas season...

The video also includes time spent with Scott, Jayne and the cousins out in Kansas. They were able to come back last October from Germany (where they are stationed) for a couple of weeks so it was nice to spend time with them!

We love you all and hope you enjoy the video!

WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED!

29!

I started my last year in the twenties over the weekend. That is a bit scary, but at the same time I couldn't be more thankful with the life the Lord has given me.
Gabe took me out for a birthday date a couple of days early which was so nice and refreshing! I spent my actual birthday surrounded by family. My Dad and I went to the Rockies game together because Gabe had to work. So while the girls hung out with Grandma and Aunt Maddie, my Dad and I toughed out the cold weather and had a great time at the game. Gabe came up to Denver to join us all for a family dinner. It was so nice to see everyone! Thank you for the sweet gifts and for celebrating with me! I'm blessed!

 Snuggling with Grandpa

Avery helping Grandma

Keeping it fresh!

I can't tell you how giddy I am about our new curtains for our family room! Because we are renting our house and I originally didn't know if we would live here longer than a year and a half, I didn't touch the existing curtains for that entire amount of time. But, now that we will be continuing our lease, I decided we need to make this room look more like "us". And the first item to change was the curtains!

Here is the BEFORE:
These curtains make the room seem so dark and I never liked that they weren't floor length.

And now for the lovely curtains I had custom made from the shop Sew Devine on Etsy.com...

I absolutely love them, they make my heart happy!

I love this view from the front door now...so bright and cheery to me!

I just purchased some pillow covers to add to the freshness!
Now, I will continue selling our unused/unwanted items on Craigslist so I can continue the decorating fun! I get such a thrill out of a successful Craigslist sell!