Arches National Park

Last weekend we went to Arches National Park. We want to try and hit up as many parks as we can while we live out here and I am glad we visited Arches. We stayed at Red Cliffs Lodge and if any of my Utah friends are looking to visit here- I would highly recommend it. The place was the cutest and the restaurant on site was good. We had a river suite and the views from our room were amazing. We will be going back again for sure.  They also have a winery on site. We didn't get to do the wine tasting (not a kid friendly activity) but I did run in and grab a few bottles and what we have drank so far was really good. 

Views from our room patio. Quinn loved all the "rocks".

Since living in Utah we decided we would see the delicate arch before moving away. It is on all the license plates here and it was a must on our Utah Bucket List. Well... it was a longer hike than I thought but we made it! The weather was perfect the day we went and Quinn was a trooper. We had a backpack carrier for Dave to carry her in but she wasn't having it. She screamed "help, help" when we tried to put her in and we decided to just go without it. She made it the entire 1.5 miles there but fell asleep on the way back and Dave had to carry her the whole way without any carrier. 

Every vacation we go on we end up doing some crazy hike. We were taking about that as I about died walking to the Arch and we decided that we have hiked on every vacation we have been on together except Vegas. I argue that walking the strip is equivalent to a hike! I guess it is just a thing we do so there is no point changing it now! 

It was very windy up at the top. I was so tired by time we got to the top that we didn't go down and get our picture under the Arch (next time). We also took one bottle of water for all of us (great planning) so that made me not want to walk any more than I needed to! It made me nervous when we were there because there was a large cliff and I didn't like having Quinn walking around. She was clearly not interested in getting her picture taken that day. 

I just love this picture- she was having fun on another of our hikes. 

Standing with mommy and Leo. 

Landscape arch. 

Windows Arch- we didn't hike to this one. The parking lot was packed and we were all tired. Again, next time. 

We had a great weekend trip to Arches and do plan to go back. It was a very neat park and we still have to visit Moab and Dave really wants to take the jeep for some off-roading next time. 

Hikes are good, life is good. 

One month old Leo

Leo is now 2 months old but I still haven't put up his one month pictures. I can't wait to see how he grows into his chair. 

He is a good boy and is very easy. The only difficulty I have with him is that he enjoys being up all night which makes for one tired mama. 

Leo likes to: Eat, swing, be carried in the baby Bjorn and sleeping on mommy. 

He does not like: his head to be rubbed, his "neck cheese" to be cleaned out (gross but the boy has got some rolls), pacifiers or bottles. He will NOT take a pacifier which is weird. We can't get Quinn to get rid of hers and Leo gags when we try to give him one. 

I had to throw in a Charlie picture. The dogs don't get mentioned as much as they used to. We love him and he is amazing with the kids. He really loves to sleep on Leo's rug. 

Leo is good, life is good. 

Wyoming

We recently went on a week long vacation. We had already planned a trip to Arches National Park for the weekend. Then Dave got a TDY to FE Warren AFB in Wyoming the following week. We decided to keep our trip to Arches then we would drive up to Denver since it was on the way to Wyoming and then continue on to FE Warren. Since I am still not working I thought it would be a nice break and I got to see family and friends on the trip. 

We got to have a few delicious dinners with our friends who are stationed there and I got a few new recipes to make at home! It was very nice seeing them and getting to catch up. Quinn and their youngest daughter had a great time playing as well. 

One day Quinn and I went to the Cheyenne Frontier Days Museum. She LOVED the big boot in the front of the museum. They had a kids room there and we were the only ones so she got to play with everything as long as she wanted. The whole time she was coloring and sitting on the horse saddle she kept yelling "yee-haw." We had a fun time making "soup" in the kitchen area and seeing the pink horse. She got a puzzle and cowgirl hat from the gift shop and wore the hat for much of our trip there. 

 

Again with the hat. 

 

This guy turned 2 months old while we were there. He is a very easy baby (other than being up all night) and allows Quinn and I to go on adventures. He is happy in his car seat and just goes along for the ride. 

The last day we went bowling and had lunch while Dave finished up his work. She loves to bowl and it was a great ending to our week. If you notice in the picture, Quinn got some new kicks. They light up when she walks and she LOVES them. She actually wore them out of the shoe store and kept saying "new shoes, new shoes." 

Dave and I are always talking to each other about how much we love her and how amazing she is. I mean really- she is the best. On our drive home the sun was in her eyes and that is something she HATES. So we gave her some glasses (which always are worn upside down) and she continued on eating her breadstick. 

We had a great trip and it was nice to get away from normal life and catch up with family and friends. 

Family time is good, life is good. 

Quick stop in Denver

On our trip we stopped in Denver for a night and I stayed the next day while Dave went to work. We got to introduce Leo to Dave's sisters and nieces. We ate some yummy food and just relaxed. Julie and I got pedicures on Monday and it was the BEST. My poor feet needed it! 

Braxton and Quinn had so much fun playing together. It is going to be neat to watch them grow up and continue to build their relationship. Soon Leo will be right in there playing also. 

We attempted to do a cousin picture but Quinn was not having it. Maybe next time we will get a better photo. 

Family is good, life is good. 

Buffalo Train Ride

One day while in Wyoming Quinn and I (and Leo) went on a train ride at Terry's Bison Ranch to see some buffalo. It is their down time so I didn't think it would be busy but I also didn't think we would be alone on the train! We ended up getting our very own personal train ride which was pretty cool. Quinn had to wear the hat on the train. Maybe she is a true Western girl and not a Midwestern girl like her momma. 

The ride was very fun. We got to see horses, camels, ostriches, other trains and of course, buffalo. Since we were the only ones we got to do whatever we wanted (the driver told us to). He opened the door and the buffalo came right up. He let us feed them and take pictures. James (the train driver/farm worker) was great and gave a lot of information about the farm and the buffalo. 

This guys name was "Dave" so I had to take a picture. He was one of the two males that was in the herd we were able to feed. 

Quinn wanted to feed them but wasn't sure also. She was cute and excited. She danced and screamed and did her "oh my gosh!" quite a bit. After the train ride she said "train, fun". 

I love this video of her feeding the buffalo the treats. 

Leo was not impressed with the train ride as much. But really, he just slept the entire time and Quinn and I got to share a lot of special memories together. He is an easy baby and I love him so much. 

Train rides are good, life is good. 

Makeup in the mail

I am behind in posting but I will post the most recent things first and then work backwards.
Quinn loves to copy everything I do in the morning when I am getting ready. She requests to do "eyes" and "lips". It is the sweetest thing and I try to stop and savor the moments but sometimes (many times) we are running late and it is hard to always let her do her makeup like mommy. I looked to find her fake makeup so she could get ready when I do but was not successful. I try to trick her and pretend to give her an eye brush with makeup on it but she is too smart. She wants to "dip" her brush into the eye makeup and then put it on- she always, ALWAYS goes for the purple (I can't wait to see how she wears makeup when she is older).
 My mom sent a package in the mail with a few things in it (because she is the best) and it included a princess case with hair accessories and makeup. I wasn't ready to give it to Quinn yet because we just got home last night and the house was crazy. I had it "hiding" on the kitchen table but she is just too smart. She pushed a chair over to the table and climbed up, reached to the princess box and came running to me screaming "princess." I was pretty amazed that she 1. Saw the box on the table, 2. Climbed up to get it, and 3. Knew it was a princess box (it says princess and has a crown on it).
Well Quinn LOVED the makeup. This box will be hidden and only played with in the kitchen when we have a lot of time. The aftermath resulted in a bath which left the tub with a ring of pink, it was very cute. She had a ball and kept saying "lips, I did lips." Her smile cracks me up.

Pink is good, Life is good.

These days

Being a family of 4 hasn't been as big of an adjustment as I thought except for when we have to leave the house. It is safe to say we will never be on time again. The biggest adjustment has been for the poor dogs. They just keep getting moved down the ladder and I feel awful. I really think they both are in complete shock about the little amount of attention they are now getting. My mom recently came to visit (more about that in another post) and Charlie was so excited because she paid attention to him and threw his frisbee. You know it is bad when Quinn is yelling at the dogs to "move" and "get". 

After Leo was born we were so lucky to have friends bring us meals. It was very helpful!! My friend Ashlee brought over these amazing cupcakes that she makes with this vanilla icing that I can eat by the spoonful. They are really good frozen so I put them in the freezer to eat later and Quinn saw me. She wanted me to get her one and when I wouldn't she decided to try and get them herself. Yes, she was hanging from the freezer door in an attempt to get to the cupcakes- they are that good! 

Lately our weekends include lots of Mickey Mouse clubhouse, being lazy and catching up on sleep. Leo has not been the best sleeper at night and Quinn is waking up a lot also. It makes for a very tired mom and dad. He is getting better (fingers crossed it continues) and only eating 3 times a night. 

Quinn is so good with him. She turns on his music in his chair when he cries and will try to share her toys with him. There are some times when I am feeding him and she wants me to play with her. She will point to his bouncer or the pack-n-play and say "Leo down". She is very observant these days and will copy pretty much anything we do: including pumping. She says "milk, Leo milk." (It is actually "milT"  which is the cutest thing ever). 

The kids (which is weird to say "kids" with a plural) took their first of many baths together. Quinn loved having him in the bathtub with her. He actually really likes being in the water and doesn't cry at all. He is going to have to get used to rocking the girl colors because we have a lot of pink things around this house. 

I just love this smile of hers. 

Sharing toys. 

He still isn't sleeping in his crib because he is eating so much it is easier to keep him in our room for now but we will put him in there for a little bit now and then. He loves his mobile and will lay there and watch it for about 15-20 minutes before he is over it. 

Quinn and I made chocolate chip cookies the other day. I found an amazing recipe on Pinterest that I think I will keep. It was not okay the number of cookies Dave and I ate in a matter of days. Quinn loved helping make the cookies- she is getting so big, so fast! 

Hope you enjoyed a quick recap of our days lately. 

Cookies are good, Life is good.