We have come Full Circle!

Cedar driving the boat with Grandpa

Orien all passed out after a swim in the lake

The kiddos sleeping after a 2 day road trip....

swimming in the lake


Truth all smiles...

The Boys at Lake Superior..she is beautiful...

Avery, Orien, and Cedar relaxing at Amanda and Matts house

ahhh, we made it...2 weeks of play, travel, good food, plenty of family and friend time and we are now back in the great west. Was the perfect trip..i felt the heat, sweated more then I have in years, watched the kiddos get spoiled and fall in love with all that they meet. Cedar the kind guy that he is was so thankful for everyone that came to visit from old neighbors who played hide and seek to endless summer fun with his cousin AZ! It was hard to leave..and I filled with tears when I saw Cedars red eyes at the first stop on the trio saying he missed mimi and grandpa......he is getting big, really involved with the human touch...and to that i am thankful..what a full heart he carries. so here are the photos that tell the tale of boating, beachplay, kid time, etc.....

Top Ten Trip Moments through the eyes of the kids!

One week of traveling in MN = One week of kids being in awe and excited over things only kids are sometimes excited about! I love watching there eyes light up and there giggles all from such simple things!So here it is the Top 10 things Cedar, Orien and at times Truth enjoy in Minnesota in no particular order!! Wish I could get my photos to download..plenty to show later. We ahve decided to stay until Saturday and have Jody fly out to help co-pilot the trip back!

1. The Laundry shoot at Mimi and Grandpas house..EVERYTHING is now being sent to the basement many time a day!! Until today they had no clue where it went just that it was gone..lets keep bodies clear!
2.Riding bikes with Grandpa. Yes Grandpa dusted off his seat, filled the tires and now cruises with Cedar on the bike paths..too cute!
3.Visiting Sara and Tim (old girl friend from Junior high-College and husband) Cedar as we left said " I Love Sara" can we come back here..simply because she played with them!
4.Reading extra looong book from Mommy's book shelves from Mimi and Grandpa.
5. Feeding the ducks EVERYTHING in the front yard.
6. Watching the neighbor boy sell lemonade on a hot day. Cedar was so excited that he got out a drum, symbols,flag,,anything to help stir up business from across the way! Says he wants to sell peaches at our house when he gets back..might be aloooong wait between customers!
7.Watching milk carton boat races at Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis.
8.Having someone ride in the back of the van with them.
9.Swimming in the pool with Auntie Malia and AZ..chasing each other around. And playing in the basement of old toys with AZ(cousin) as well.
10. Eating pancakes every morning that Grandpa will cook them.

The Road Trip Itch!!

So here I am writing my blog from MN...land of hot (104), humid, sunny, green, Maple Grove. Sunday the itch began, the get in the van on a whim, visit MN family and friends...and have that feeling of open road Freedom! Must have been in the air as Cedar began begging to visit Mimi and Grandpa...and I kept saying maybe tomorrow..well see...Monday mornin came I asked Cedar what he wanted to do an yet again said "Can we visit mimi today" so with a Cedar phone call,,,Mimi excited and surprised we packed 1 random duffel bag of clothes..a cooler full of snacks, 2 bikes and Oriens scooter and said goodbye to the chickens and daddy who is working and having his own relaxing week!!

The open road..Nebraska being the most open road EVER!! Witnessed the closest funnel cloud (tornado) sirens and all from good ol' Flyin J's gas..just as the kids were dripping sweat, filling water bottles to look up and see this random twister in what seemed to be calm every where else. Cedar later asked if a tornado was an animal! (didn't point it out to them at the time) Then ahhhh a billboard for Starbucks..stop STORM HITS poor Orien scared of rain..so we watch and listen to the drums pounding in the sky to make light of the weather out there hoping that I won't loose a bike like years before when Jody and I traveled to Colorado...sipped a cold latte and juices, and headed for the road again...after of course playing smile games with Truth and coooing her way through the day...Fireflies amazing lights filling the highway all they way till the pit stop in Lincoln Nebraska where all 3 kid landed in the tub together to scrub away the sweat and food...

Wake, eat to do it all again...I realize now why someone out there invented Air Conditioning! Something we didn't realize the VW didn't have until months after buying her..but non the less a true breeze in my hair, that sweaty back...the feeling of sticking to Truth as she sips her milkies..all for hours to MN! Another call for a sbux stop..boys relaxed with wind, cold water and the secret to travel DVD's!! we made it to MN...excited to hit rush hour..sit and wait..what a lesson of patience..funny to get sunburned from sitting in the VW in 104 degree weather. we made it the kiddos are happy, already sweam in mimi and grandpa pool, played with cousin Aislin, and finally after books from Grandpa are sleeping..shhhh wish i had photos along the way but are all on the cell phone! gotta love looking back at Orien with chocolate head to toe from a smoothie that he decided to slim his body!
And now time to just enjoy MN...boating, lakes, pools, family, friends..and again head for the open road to Colorado in a few!!

Fourth Of July and everything in between..

summer summer summer,,,in love with the heat,sun, bike rides, farmers market, everything outside..makes me want to live somewhere warm all year!!so here it is the photo gallery of the last week!! Sometimes i have nothing to tell of but love to show the kiddos in there week! Truth already 7 weeks..is grinning when i come to find her from naps and after sweet milkies, but darn it cant ever get the photo!!!! And check out that strong chick lifting herself up take focus!! Daddy is hoping she keep her beautiful blue eyes....We did what we now consider a mini tradition of watching the fireworks in Estes and then touring via bikes around town until it is way too late for all..with our other friends Lina.Dave and Alissa/john plus lots of chariots with little ones !!! You cant beat biking in the dark. Something about that endless energy and freedom under the stars and hugged by mountains. Orien officially moved into a "big boy bed" after the crib got recalled! So yes still in our room..but now in a cute little toddler bed that Cedar squishes into in the AM as well....

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

So here you have it a week that equalled all 3....lets start with the good...our growing chickens have let us some surprises..EGGS!! we truly thought we had at least another month or so before the brown eggs would arrive!! And so a coop half done...the nests to be built and I have found the first 2 eggs..let the cooking begin!!

But before the good came the bad....last week we heard the infamous cock-a-doodle-do....yes one of these things just isn't the same...the most beautiful chicken...the one i pointed out daily was a rooster all along! so we were in the midst of getting ready to find him a home when the ugly....

We meaning the 3 kiddos and I arrived home after a day in town to feathers...my gut wrenched as I grabbed the keys to the coop,,,running over I realize the coop door is open and NO chickens to be found,,,and then the UGLY I found 2 dead chickens by good ole' Nesta...Yes it seems the chickens took advantage of a door not latching correctly to "free range" and well 2 got in the line of dog fire...and lost..not how i ever wanted to see them..so there went the rooster and one other ..and now we have 7...

time to build nests, better roosts, and keep our little ladies safe and sound...