Mountain Fun

We spent the weekend of Father's Day in Vail with great friends, the Coghills (Annie, Jeff and Kailea).  Our plan was to go camping at Piney Lake at the base of Mt. Powell, but the weather didn't cooperate.  We tried to wait out the storm in the restaurant nearby, but it become very clear (or more and more foggy) that the rain was not going to let up.  So, it was back to Mountain House, where we did our best to simulate our camping experience...with the exception of the U.S. Open being on TV and drinking our wine out of actual wine glasses instead of paper cups. On Father's Day the sun was out so after a great breakfast (thanks Annie),  a hiking we went.  Muddy fun was had by all.  The best part of the weekend was the moose we saw as we were leaving our campsite.  All things have a happy ending.  Had we stayed and camped, we would've missed this rare sight.  Super cool I say.  I love those ugly beasts.

Summer Fun in Grand Junction

Last week the girls and I made our annual trek to Grand Jct. for "hometown" time with Gramma and Gramps.  Hailey participated in the Missoula Children's Theater production of Pinnocchio and we spent our days just toodleing around "happy valley".  The weather was beautiful.  It was nice to finally see the sun. We went to THE mall for mani/pedi's with Gramma, story time at the library, bike rides, hot tub fun, a morning at the Math and Science Center and a beautiful evening downtown for yummy pizza and the farmer's market.  The girls were pretty exhausted at the end of the day. The other reason for our visit was my 20 year high school reunion.  It was really fun to catch up with so many old friends. In all honesty, high school really wasn't my thing, but the weekend reminded me what great people I went to school with.  I am blessed to have had the experience I had.  I see that now.  At the time, I was too insecure and self absorbed to actually appreciate the time I had with such a wonderful group.  What I've learned now is that home, in the truest sense of the word, is where your heart is. Even if it did feel a little trampled on at times, it made me who I am.  Home transcends...it is the ultimate trump.  And I like that.  A lot.

Happy Birthday Hanna Mei!

Today marks Four Years Old for our little Hanna Mei!  She is growing so fast.  We had some fun celebrations yesterday.  There was the requisite birthday lunch at Red Robin complete with a serenade and an ice cream sundae. Then, family came over for dinner last night.  Today we are packing up for a weekend in the mountains.

Hanna is all over being four.  She has been waiting and waiting for her special day to arrive.  She finally "gets" the whole birthday thing.  The first couple of years she was a bit overwhelmed by the day, but now she is just soaking it up.  We love you Hanna Mei!  Wishing you a wonderful year ahead full of many amazing moments.  We are so blessed by you!

Ooooo, La, La....A Fancy Nancy Party

The other day our library hosted a "Fancy Nancy" Party.  For those of you without little girls under the age of about seven, you most likely have not met the ever charming "Fancy Nancy". She is a precocious character in a children's book series (self titled, of course) who loves all things fancy.  She especially likes fuschia, anything French, and very fancy words.  Unfortunately for Nancy, her family is not quite as fancy as she would like.  She has many fancy adventures in her infamous three books.  Now, enter our little lovie Hailey, who was introduced to Nancy a couple of years ago.  Yes, my little bundle of vocabulary words fell right in step with Nancy since she herself is quite the conisseur of all things fancy. I must say, she was fancy before Nancy.   Have I told you about the time Fancy Hailey asked for a grande milk? Well, for starters, she was two years old.  Fast forward to the now memorable "Fancy Nancy" Party in our little town this past Thursday.  

Hailey woke up in the morning so excited that she immediately put on the outfit that she had been putting together for the past week.  Unfortunately, the party didn't start until 4 o'clock.  With a big sigh, she changed her clothes and muddled through the day asking, only about every 4 minutes, if it was time yet.  Finally, the magic hour arrived and the girls doned their fanciest fancy clothes.  Along with all of their finest accessories, the girls climbed into their carriage (aka, a Saturn Outlook) as the chauffeur(aka, Mommy) held open the door.  We arrived at the party where little girls of all ages were dressed to the nine's. Most noteably were their fair cousins, Eme and Sutton who ventured to the Southland for the festivities. 

The party commenced with the decorating of crowns, and then the stories began to unfold.  





Everyone was mesmerized, riveted, and completely taken in by Fancy Nancy, her fabulous French words, her lessons on being fancy, and her not so fabulous stumble at the ice cream parlor. The girls laughed, giggled, and shrieked with delight.  

The grand hour was rounded out by the serving of ice cream sundaes (with sprinkles, of course, because fancy sprinkles make ice cream taste better).  However, the line at the library was much too long for our lovely ladies so the carriages whisked them across the street to our local ice cream parlor (aka, Baskin-Robbins) where bubble gum ice cream was enjoyed by all.  

It was a truly fabulous way to spend and afternoon.  

Ooo, la, la!  We love our fancy girls!

Steamboat Springs

We had a great trip to Steamboat Springs this past weekend. It was completely spontaneous and so worthwhile. A friend of my sisters was planning to run the 1/2 marathon up there but then her little guy was sick so Gary ran in her spot. I don't think he was really up for running 13 miles, but he hadn't ever been to Steamboat so he decided it was a trade off.

It was a beautiful drive Friday evening passing by Green Mtn. Res. and the Gore Range and made it over Rabbit Ears pass just before the sun went down. Saturday morning everyone woke up early. We had a yummy breakfast thanks to Becca and Drew and then I headed off for a quick walk before we started the day. I huffed and puffed up the slopes of Mt. Werner and the Steamboat ski area. The skies were clear and beautiful blue and with the smells of pine trees and wild lilacs I remembered why I love being outside in the mountains so much. I got a little sidetracked in my wandering and was gone a bit too long.

Everyone was ready to hit the trails when I got back so off we went to Mad Creek.

All of the girls were super hikers. Nobody complained and everyone ran along from one exciting discovery to the next. There were 'fools gold' flakes, caterpillars, rollie-pollies, cool rocks, wildflowers, birds, and lizards. So much to see. It was a two mile hike up to a restored barn from the 1800's. The girls were propelled along by a steady stream of marshmallows from my bag. It was open and safe to climb around, even up into the hay loft.
We had snacks and rested and then headed back down after giving each of the girls a 'power stick' (i.e. bubble gum) to keep them moving.   There were a couple of stumbles on the way back, but all in all, it was perfect.  The cutest thing was little Hanna lead the way on most of the hike.  Her little legs never gave up.  Of course, she always has to be first because she likes to be the one 'winning'.  But impressive, none the less.

In the afternoon we had lunch, took everyone swimming, and then had some dear friends from Vail over for dinner.  Sarah and Andy and their two little girls have lived in Steamboat for the past 4 years and we just kept missing each other.  It was fun to catch up and meet their little ones.

Gary and Drew were up early for the race.  It was cool and kind of rainy but descent race weather.  Becca and I headed down to the courthouse for the finish with all of the little ones in tow.  Both guys finished just before it started to really rain so we didn't stay too long for the festivities.  They both ran well and were exhausted.  After packing up back at the condo, it was a quick lunch and then goodbye.  We headed to Vail for the night and the Damiano clan drove back to Denver. 

We are already talking about when we can go back.  Such a beautiful place that still has that certain  Colorado charm.  Thanks Damianos for a great weekend!

Tennis Anyone?

So our sport for the season is Tennis. Hailey got a Wii for her birthday back in January and has confidently expressed on several occasions that she is "awesome" at the Tennis game. So, after her continued encouragement, I signed her up for tennis lessons with the Rec. Dept. Real tennis. Real racquet. Real tennis balls.

At the time of this post she has had 4 lessons and has hit the ball over the net a grand total of 6 times.  However, it's all about having fun, right?  She really does like to go.  The instructors do a great job and make it all really fun.

 And, of course, she looks stinkin' cute in her little tennis outfits. (Between you and me, she looks most forward to her 'tennis wear' than the lesson itself.  Sigh.). 

    It is fun to watch and I am learning a lot about being a "backseat coach".  This summer it is my goal to keep my mouth shut, me ego in check, and just watch Hailey have fun.  She is a doll.  And hey, did Kournikova really play all that well?

Happy Summer!

Springtime in the Backyard!

Thanks, Gary for all of your hard work. We love our backyard! You've made it such a special place for so many special memories. Love you!

Cutie-pa-tootie in front of the gorgeous tulips!

If you could only smell these lilacs...YUM!

Where we spend our afternoons

This phlox is like carpet. It is so lush and pretty.

Oasis

The Retreat! Great for napping

Ahhh!

Toothless Wonder!

Our little girl is growing up. Quite the milestone this past week. Hailey lost her top two front teeth. She is just too cute. Her little smile and adorable "ethheths". She is so very proud. So are we!

Happy Family Day!

Two years ago we were in China meeting our little Hanna for the very first time. Hailey became a big sister...Jie Jie and Mei Mei helds hands for the very first time. And Mommy and Daddy, we were complete. We've come quite a long way.
"All good and perfect things come from God."

Mexico!

Gary and I just returned from our first "Mommy/Daddy" vacation in about 7 years. Gramma and Grampa Maynard agreed to kid duty, so we packed up and flew to Cancun for our friends wedding and 6 days of sun, sand, sea, and cocktails. What a great idea it was. We are so glad that Mike and Sara decided to get married in Mexico so we enjoy some grown up time. Of course with the media frenzy surrounding Swine Flu, we had moments of second thoughts, but Gary being the eternal optomist was not going to let a little thing like and epidemic stand in his way of some R & R. Thinking about it now, it was probably safer and more cleanly than it normally is since Mexico is working hard to polish up it's reputation right now. Out of the 24 people in our group, nobody got sick at all. Travel was super easy and our resort was gorgeous. With our wonderful guides, the bride and groom, we discovered a quaint little Mexican beach village, Akumal. Wonderful little places to eat and enjoy the ocean. Our favorite, and the site of the wedding, was called 'La Buena Vida' (The Good Life). The beach was beautiful, amazing sunset, great music, the bar stools were all swings, and they had 2 palm tree "treehouses" complete with a bucket to haul up your beer. Gary and Dr. Kevin found this to be the highlight of the entire trip! Gary got in a day of fishing of the guys and although three of them caught some amazing fish, Gary came up short. But, he loved being out on the water with his friends.
It is good to be home and back with the girls. Being away was good for Gary and I, but we started to feel a little out of sorts without our sidekicks. Thanks again G & G Maynard for taking care of H & H while we away. We can't thank you enough. What a gift!