Quick Temple Trip with Austin

I had to run some errands in Littleton so I figured we might as well stop by the temple since we were in the neighborhood.  Austin and I meandered the temple grounds for a few minutes before heading back home.  He loved finding the different 'paths' in the landscaping.

Fifth Anniversary

Jeff and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary this month and spent the weekend in Glenwood Springs!  We went back to a bed and breakfast (The Bed and Breakfast on Mitchell Creek) that we spent one day at as newly weds.

 Jeff found a Groupon for an Adventure Park in Glenwood so we spent a day on top of a mountain going on rides and touring the caves.

 This swing was our favorite ride.  It hung you out over the cliff and turned you nearly upside down.  We rode it 3 times during our day trip and I was feeling rather queezy by the time we left.  It was a lot of fun - definitely a ride that was unlike anything else I've been on.

 Beautiful caves.  It was crazy for me to think that these stalactites and stalagmites were 25,000-30,000 years old!

On our way back down the mountain we stopped for a hike to Hanging Lake.  It was a short, yet heart-pounding hike as it was a steep climb almost the entire time.  It was beautiful and nice to get into nature!

 The lake looks very shallow from this angle, but out on that log it looks much deeper. :)

 Spouting Rock

Austin played with my parents and lots of cousins over the weekend.  He seemed to have a good time - Most of the time I don't think he realized we were gone. :)

Overall, it was a great break and much-needed get-away.  Happy 5th, Sweets!

I can't... because it's fun.

On Sundays we do our best to only watch church films/shows and family videos if we want to watch TV.  We do let Austin watch "Baby Einstein" videos because they are short, musical, and educational.  His most favorite 'week day' show is "Little Einsteins."  He knows the difference between 'Baby' and 'Little' when it comes to the Einstein shows and he knows that he can only watch the 'Baby' ones on Sunday. 

As we climbed into the car after church yesterday he said, "It's Sunday and I can't watch a Little Einstein... because it's fun."  Ha!  Jeff and I thought this was pretty funny and we hope that he's not deciding to dislike Sundays because he can't watch his 'fun' show.  He actually loves church and can't wait for nursery each week.  What a goofball.

(No, he did not kill this butterfly with a screwdriver...)

Angry Birds

Austin says some really funny things, most of which I post on the side of our blog.  This one is a bit too long for the side post.

Earlier today, playing in Austin's room:

Austin:  I'm sad.
Me:  Why are you sad?
Austin:  I'm angry.
Me:  Why are you angry?
Austin:  I'm not an angry bird, I'm Austin!

This kid makes me chuckle...

Misc Pictures from Jan-March

Austin came up with this pose on his own.

How did I get so lucky?

 My two favorite blue-eyed boys

Jeff gave Austin a ball and glove for Valentine's Day

 I bought a Groupon to an indoor kids' amusement park before Austin's birthday.  We finally used it at the end of February.

 Austin and his best friend, James.

My college roommate, Kimee, and her son, Thomas, stayed with us for 6 days in March.  We went to the zoo on the most perfect day!  The weather was amazing, and no one was at the zoo... it was almost too good to be true.  We were able to get through the entire zoo in about 3 hours - that will likely never happen again.  Unfortunatley, the only picture I got of the two of them was really blurry...

Austin went to lots of birthday parties in March.  There was a balloon artist and one party.  He asked Austin what he wanted and he replied, "A blue bug."  Apparently this guy had never made a bug before, but was up for the challenge.  He made this HUGE blue ant that looked a lot like "Flick" off of A Bug's Life.

 Austin loves to show people his belly

 Chest-bumping the wall

 There was a big wild fire in the mountains earlier this month that made the sun look red from our area.  It was the most intense red I've ever seen from a smoke/sun combination.  The picture does not do it justice.  It was an incredibly windy day and we lost one of our trash can lids.  Austin still tells me that our "lid flew far far away into the red sun."

Just playing outside  :)

Recipe Posts Moved to Side Bar

I have been enjoying trying new recipes more regularly this year (even though it's not been weekly as intended).  However, I realized that if I ever want to have our blog printed into a memory book I don't really want to have all these recipes and my reviews of them interspersed with our family goings on.  The recipe links will now be on the right side of the blog should you happen to keep up with them.

Toddler Playtime (video)

It's been so fun to watch Austin learn to use his imagination and become more independent. He will wander down to the basement and play alone for 30-60 minutes at a time. We get together with friends regularly and he is getting much better at sharing and interacting with them in the way a friend should!

Today we watched Lillie (3 months younger than Austin) for a couple hours. These two seem to either play really well together, or they both end up upset and crying. I've discovered that the more I just let them be, the better they play. While they played I did dishes and laundry. I'd check on them periodically and I just had to pull out the camera when I saw them reading stories together. What cute kids! 
(Sorry for the poor videography at the beginning... I was hiding behind a wall so they wouldn't see me. The candidness goes down the drain once a camera is spotted!)

http://youtu.be/pFQB3kT3ry8

(I can't upload any of my videos directly to the blog anymore... not sure why.  So, check out the YouTube link instead)