Fall Drive

A couple of weeks ago Dave had the day off and we took the opportunity to take a scenic drive. It was a beautiful fall day and we picked the perfect place to go. It was about 45 minutes south of our house and we did the Alpine Loop Scenic drive and went to Sundance Ski Resort. 

The drive was one of the prettiest drives I have even been on. The colors were amazing and the trees made a tunnel over parts of the road and it was very pretty. On the drive we saw the summit had a little park area and there was a family having a picnic so we stole their idea. We went to Sundance which was just pass the drive. It had gorgeous grounds that we walked and Quinn loved the bridges and the water. There was a deli there so we grabbed some sandwiches and we loved the drive so much that we did it again but the opposite way! We stopped at the top for lunch and it was great. Quinn loved running around and looking at "Elsa's Mountain" in the distance. 

We had a great day and I love this beautiful state we are living in. Be prepared for a lot of pictures!

 

 Our view for lunch. 

Fall is good, life is good. 

Aviary trip

Last weekend Dave was out of town so the kids and I headed downtown to the Tracey Aviary on Saturday. I didn't even know what an aviary was but our friends told us about this place and I am so glad we found it. It is a park with a lot of different birds. They have really cool exhibits and the grounds are beautiful. The weather has been amazing here this Fall and Saturday was no different. There were halloween activities and crafts that day and Quinn loved it. She made a sun catcher, an owl mask, a bird feeder, got her face painted and painted a pumpkin. She loves getting her face painted and told the woman that she wanted her face done like Elsa from Frozen. Then when we got to the car she just kept saying "Hi, I'm princess Ana.  Hi, I'm princess Elsa." That was then followed by some belting out of "Let it go" in the car. She is such an amazing little girl and I am so glad that she is mine. 

Leo loves riding in the stroller and just smiles and holds on. He is such a good baby and it makes it very easy for me to take both kids out for an enjoyable time by myself. 

Getting her to smile at the camera these days is torture. Some of the faces she makes are hilarious. 

 

Right now Leo loves holding things. He loves his drumstick toy and any of Quinn's magical wands. He currently loves this cupcake toy and shakes it around everywhere. 

This is my favorite face that he makes. I have been trying to get a picture of it for weeks now but he never makes it when I have my camera out. I can't wait to see how his personality continues to develop. He does some of the funniest things. 

We had a good weekend while Dave was gone and kept ourselves busy. 

Weekends are good, life is good. 

30 before 30

I saw a friend post a 30 before 30 list and I decided I wanted to do it too! It was much harder than I thought it would be which made me realize I needed to do it even more. Some of these items on the list are things I have wanted to do for a while, some will make me do things I wouldn't normally do and others will challenge me. I am so busy being a mom and working and keeping up all the house needs that I don't have much time for me at all. I was making my list and I started thinking things like "well that is too expensive", "I don't know if we are moving so we might not be living here next summer", "that will take up too much time", "I won't be able to do it." All of this made me realize I NEED to do more for me. So here is my 30 before 30 list. These 30 things I will try and complete before my birthday in August, try and encourage me because some of these are way outside of my comfort zone.

1. Take Golf Lessons
2. Run a race (even just a 5K)
3. Read and FINISH 10 books
4. Go to a "Paint Night" event
5. See a movie alone
6. Take a "pole dancing" exercise class
7. Go to Glacier National Park
8. Finish Q and L's baby books
9. Travel to visit a friend
10. Do a "spa day" (not just a massage, a whole day!)
11. Start saving in my 401K
12. Ski in Utah (It's the best snow on earth!)
13. Send a card to a different person each month letting them know what they mean to me
14. Take some sort of make up class (find a color of lipstick I  like?)
15. "Unplug" for a week
16. Go on an overnight trip with just Q
17. Do stand up paddle boarding
18. Do something new to my hair
19. Stop doing laundry on Sundays
20. Learn to knit or crochet (I don't even know the difference)
21. Read 5 Catholic Books
22. Go camping
23. Grow something (flower, vegetable, herb)
24. Do 5 things on my Pinterest Page
25. See Garth Brooks in Concert
26. Be on time to things (this one is very general but I need to work on this)
27. Go on a 5-year anniversary trip
28. Volunteer more
29. Have a 30th Birthday Party
30. Write a blog for each activity completed on this list

New adventures are good, life is good

Leo 8 months old

Leo is now 8 months old and on the move. He is SO busy, I can't keep up with him! He is climbing up the stairs every chance he gets and pushing tables and toys across the floor. He likes to eat bananas and anything else he can get his hands on. The other night Quinn was eating tacos and rice in the living room on her table (it was Sunday Night Football so dinner was in the living room in front of the TV....) and Leo crawled right over and knocked her plate on the floor. Before I could get to him he was shoving taco meat and rice in his face with both hands. He gets very upset when his food is gone. He will sit in his highchair for a very long time as long as you keep giving him food. I weighed him the other day and per my really accurate weighing strategy of holding him on the scale with me, he was up almost 2 pounds. 

He is such a mommy's boy. He loves to snuggle me and is the sweetest little boy ever. Leo has recently started saying "mama." The SLP in me knows this is early for him to use a first word but I swear sometimes there is intent behind it! He is much more active than Quinn was but he does not make as many sounds as her. 

He currently loves to play with a drum stick. It is part of a toy music set but he just likes to crawl around holding it and then start hitting random things. He is a wild animal. The baby gate we used to keep Quinn corralled doesn't do the same job with Leo. He just shoves it and pushes on it until it falls over and he smacks on his stomach. Then he gets up and crawls right over top of it and onto whatever he wants. 

He loves Quinn. He has started getting up at 5am and I will take him into my room to feed him. Then he will start smiling and crawl over to Quinn (because she is almost always in our bed....) and try to wake her up. He wants to play and blows raspberries and is so full of smiles. I then take him back to his bed and he gets so mad but he needs to learn that we do not wake up at that hour in our house! 

I love bath time with these little people. Leo wants all the toys and is always chewing mermaid Cinderella's head off. 

 

This picture makes me laugh. He is looking at her like "what in the world." If I hold him after I get out of the shower and still have a towel on my head, he is confused. Then I take my hair down and he starts smiling so big. 

 

It may look like she is sharing in this picture but I am almost positive she is about to take it away from him because it is "hers." 

This might be the best picture I have of the two of them together. Trying to get a picture of them both looking at the camera is a nightmare. 

Poor Sammy. He is such a good dog. Both of our dogs put up with so much and are super loving to our kids. Quinn has started yelling at Dave and I when we are mean to Charlie. She will say "he a good boy. Be nice to him!" 

This boy loves to pull hair! 

The last 8 months are a complete blur. I feel like it was just yesterday and I was pregnant with Leo. He is a perfect addition to our family and Dave and I always talk about how lucky we feel to have 2 great and healthy kids. 

Smiles are good, life is good.