Weekend of July 25, 2009

Thursday: Karri's in Hawaii visiting Alana right now so it's just Aaron and the girls. We had shrimp kabobs for dinner, played with the hose outside, and watched a family movie in bed.

Friday: We had a fun day outside at the rec center playground and swimming in the pool. Sometimes it's good to not do too much!

Saturday: The Wildlife Experience again! It's always a fun time. Abram loves watching the fish!

Weekend of July 18, 2009

Thursday: The girls played outside with the hose and had a blast (get it?). We had a delicious roast that Karri made for dinner and then we watched a movie together before bed.

Friday: The girls helped make pancakes for breakfast. Aaron really makes the best pancakes. That's why we request it so much. We hiked at "Pixie Hollow" today and saw a rattlesnake! Ani and Aina spotted it first and then we all heard it. It was curled up under a ledge and while we were so excited to see this natural wildlife, we were a little wary of what might be under the other ledges! We're going to wait until summer's over before we head back to that spot.

Saturday: We went to Uncle Wayne's house today and played in his new treehouse that he built with Aaron and Uncle Sam. It's actually more of a tree deck. We BBQ'ed and the kids played with their cousins. Aaron took everyone around on a tractor ride too! These days always end too soon as we need to be back in Castle Rock by 5. One day we'll be able to spend more time with family.

Look closely behind the branches, under the ledge. There's our rattler.

Weekend of July 11, 2009

Thursday: Aaron's sister Jayna is visiting from Oklahoma and she came with Grandma to visit us this evening. It was so great spending time with her and Gilbert, her fiance. We went shopping on Main Street for a little while. Then we went home and had fried chicken for dinner and played board games all night. We had so much fun!

Friday: Today we went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo again (thanks to Karri's mom again for the great gift of a season pass). When we came home Karri taught the girls how to make homemade candy. We watched a movie together in the bedroom, eating popcorn and candy.

Saturday: We got up early and went to Krispy Kreme for breakfast. Yum! On the way home we stopped at The Wildlife Experience for a little while. When we got home the girls put on their swimsuits and helped us wash those dirty, dirty cars. It's amazing how putting on a swimsuit and turning on the hose can make anything seem fun. Since we already had swimsuits on we finished off the day at the rec center.

Aaron and Abram dressing up at the cowboy store.

Being Eskimos at The Wildlife Experience

Watch out! Aina's driving!

"Is that polar bear going to eat me?"

Weekend of July 5, 2009

Friday: This is our last weekend with Alana for the next six months. We are all really sad. Tonight we had homemade hamburgers for dinner, grilled outside, and fresh fruit for dessert. The girls rode their bikes for a while outside and afterwards everyone climbed into the back of the truck and Karri drove around the neighborhood.

Saturday: Happy Fourth of July! We went swimming at the Founder's Pool before the rain started to fall. In the evening we went to the Castle Rock Rockin' the Fourth. Karri entered the apple pie bake-off and we don't care what those judges say - her pie was the best! It was raining pretty hard so we came home early and watched a movie together.

Karri's apple pie

Sunday: This morning Aaron made special pancakes for Alana's last breakfast with us. The girls loved them. Everyone was really sad as we drove to the airport to see her off. We all went to the gate with her and watched as she boarded the plane and flew away. :( We'll miss you Alana!!!!