We LOVE this park! There are soooo many sculptures (132 to be exact) and it makes for a nice walk going from one to another. Nathan had his soccer ball with him as usual. When he said, “mom get a picture of this…” I of course didn’t hesitate!
Then all of the kids got in on the posing with the statues….
I told Stephen how much I was enjoying the day. He said that we better top it off with Cafe Rio to make it a perfect day. Oh how we enjoy Cafe Rio!
I REALLY wanted to make it to Denver’s Botanic Gardens before everything was frozen and dead. Thanks to a warm Fall we made it! The bright flowers, various textures, and scents scattered around the gardens made me jealous that my yard is not a botanic garden. :(
“Bread feeds the body, but flowers feed the soul.” ~The Koran
We took a little rest in a shady area. Kaylee told me it was her turn to take a picture and snapped a couple of Stephen and I. We are sure getting older!
We had a lot of friends in and out this week. Cari was one of them! She’s always ready to craft and came to help me with the little girls. We decided to make these pumpkins from Better Homes and Gardens. Here is their LINK, and here is our rendition of them…
You fill the bottom with beans so that it can sit up, and then fill the rest of the way with cotton. I dumped all of the ribbon, beads, and buttons out on the counter so that everyone could create their own unique pumpkin.
Kaylee got carried away and made TWO. She and her friend, Morgan had each made one the night before and also made little rock spiders. She requested a picture of HER creations…
I love little quick and easy sewing projects to get the girls comfortable sewing. A big thanks to Cari for coming and helping!
My kids are on Fall Break this week. We spent Monday and Tuesday up in Denver. Stephen worked from there and we were all together, soaking up every minute of family time.
We went to some really beautiful places. At one park there were leaves all over. The kids were throwing and playing in them. I snapped this picture of Rebecca enjoying the moment. Her expression is exactly how I felt that day.
The weather was perfect and as always, I just LOVE being with my family! Now the friends are sneaking into the week. There are two spending the night right now. I’m just glad that I was able to steal my family away for a couple of days.
Tonight I made hot apple cobbler topped with ice cream for dessert. Now as I sit here going through all of these Fall pictures with the beautiful warm colors, I’m thinking that Fall might be my favorite season.
Just think of all that comes with Fall - harvesting, holidays, pumpkins, parties, pies, mild temperatures, bright colored leaves, soups, baked desserts…..
Fall is a busy time for photo shoots. I really do enjoy doing them and meeting people. Two of the families this week had A LOT of boys. Each session made me sad that my boys are older. Why do kids have to grow up?!?!
Stephen and I had a couple of dates this week, since we didn’t have the little girls at home. One of which was to see “Money Ball”. I’m always a sucker for a sports movie.
I think it would be sad to be traded and switched around on teams in a blink of an eye. I would be so sad to leave teammates, and to change cities. I guess it’s all of that money that makes it easier for them to be traded around.
My parents came up during the week and brought the little girls. As always they did a ton of little projects around my yard and house that made such a difference. I always get sad when they leave. Sure wish they lived even closer. Thanks for all of the help mom and dad!
I’m loving Fall with all of the decor and warm foods. It’s the time of year that soups are simmering and desserts are baking. The girls and I tried this recipe this week. The entire family declared the cookies as divine, and thus we added it to our family recipes.
HERE is the recipe for the cookies.
We also had to bring in all of our harvest because snow fell on Saturday. It's fun to see how much we have grown in our garden. We grew five nice pumpkins this year, and my mom brought up a couple more from her garden.
I like planting them around my big rock in the backyard mixed in with my flowers. Then in the Fall we can see them out our big window, growing and turning orange. This one was our biggest pumpkin that we grew this year. It really is a pretty pumpkin.
Ash is claiming it, since she “watered and talked to it this summer”.
And that sums up last week, on to a new week…..
The four older kids did a basketball camp Saturday. I reminded them what a wonderful sport basketball is because even though it is blizzarding outside, you are STILL able to play basketball. The camp was fun, according to the kids. The boys enjoyed being with their friends.
Kaylee won the shooting game for the 5th and 6th graders. I thought it was just out of the girls, but Rebecca quickly filled me in that Kaylee had beat out all of the boys as well. She is such a good little basketball player. Why can’t she like basketball more, so that we can quit this soccer thing?!?
I did get her to take a picture for me with the little ball she won. The girl can’t pose without talking, and she just can’t hold still. She makes me laugh as she is doing her “THING”, and I can’t hold the camera still, thus total Kaylee pictures….
Coaches and parents praised her on Saturday. She IS really good, and basketball being MY favorite sport, I could only hope that she too would enjoy it. I asked Kaylee this afternoon, “Don’t you like basketball more than soccer?” She replied, “If I had a choice between going to a soccer game or a basketball game, I would choose soccer, EVEN if the game was in a blizzard like today” :(
I guess I will have to start working on basketball with my three youngest!
We have a family tradition that we decorate the living room with streamers and balloons the night before the birthday. That way, the birthday person awakes to their special day! Last night we decorated even though Jerrica wasn’t here. I told the kids tradition is tradition, and we have no idea when she will be coming tomorrow.
Well, someone got home just in time to celebrate this afternoon. Oh how I have missed this girl!
Ashley had made quite a fancy poster at grandma’s to help decorate for her birthday. It was complete with streamers AND the ladybug cake that had been requested.
She received a lot of fun presents. Her two requests though, were sticker books and more “Peely Pockets”. She has always called them “Peely”, and when her older sisters try to correct her, she corrects THEM by saying “their clothes PEEL off”.
She also requested a Ladybug birthday cake. I did another “Shauna cake” using Oreos and a big 12 inch pan. I couldn’t figure out what to do for a nose, until I saw the bowl of candy corns sitting there. We do have fun making the birthday cakes!
I can’t believe my baby is FOUR! She is such a sweet girl with those huge, innocent eyes. She loves to read and tell stories. She loves doing projects. Cereal is a must for her EVERY morning, even before hot breakfasts. She is getting good on her bike, and loves to practice tricks on the tramp. She also loves the kitty. Hours are spent outside holding it, while repeating a story to it. She is just such a SWEET girl!
Happy Birthday Jerrica! We LOVE you!
What a beautiful weekend! We went down to my parents to enjoy the fall colors of Conejos Canyon.
Oh how beautiful the Fall colors were! I love hiking with my family and the sweet conversations.
