We have been so busy having a fabulous summer that I'm pretty behind. I realize that I usually only post once a month but this month has been filled to the brim with good times. This post is packed with pictures, so prepare yourself.
BABY SHOWERS FOR LAURIE-ANNE AND CHIYO!
I threw two baby showers this month. My two great friends, Laurie-Anne and Chiyo, both are due (or past due - poor Laurie-Anne is now a week over due) with their babies this month and both of them moved here internationally so they have very few baby clothes. So, I decided that showers were in order.
These pictures are of Laurie-Anne's shower. My great friend, Emily Rampton, had the idea of puff painting onesies, so we hung the onesies as decoration and then puff painted them at the end of the shower. I thought they turned out really well and it was awesome to see the creative juices flow!
L to R - Marisa, Chiyo, and Laurie-Anne. I love these girls! We are all work together as Resident Managers and are in the same ward. I am blessed with such great friends here!
My new job as the Program Coordinator for Family Housing involves planning all the major Family Housing events. The first big event of the summer is the Children's Festival and man, is it intense! It is a full-fledged children's fair with a face painting/tattoo/hair spray color station, water games station, toddler area, kids' games area, field races, cupcake walk, photo booth, arts and craft station, breakfast, and entertainment. We also had the CUPD there with their cars and Smokey the Don made an appearance.
When I was planning the event, I was trying to get McGruff the Crime Dog and the Fire Department to come and Don asked, "What about Smokey the Bear?" So, I called the Forest Service and they said I could borrow the costume, but I had to find someone to wear it. They told me it was so hot and miserable, it was absolutely intolerable to wear for more than 20 minutes. Despite having told Don all this, he said he'd always wanted to be Smokey and happily volunteered. 
Most of the kids were pretty frightened of Smokey, but it was the highlight of the festival for me seeing Don walk around and dance in the costume. Sam wasn't very fond of Smokey, as you can tell in the picture above. Can't blame him really...an enormous, hairy bear? Definitely causes a serious case of stranger danger.
Just a pic to show what the festival looked like. Here is the water games station. There ended up being about 100 kids there and 300 parents. Everything went really well and we all had a great time. It was stressful, but successful. Hopefully next year it will be easier to plan. 
Here is the RM team and our boss, Clancy. I love these girls!
My friend Maggie took these awesome pictures for us. She's a great photographer.
I love my Smokey the Don!
PEARL STREET AND A ROCKIES GAME WITH THE SHAWS:
Don's cousins, Rob, Erin, and Hannah Shaw, came into town to visit us the day of the Children's Festival. After I got home, we ate some lunch and headed to Pearl Street to check out the awesome Boulder people and such.
The contortionist - A Pearl Street must see. I love this guy.
A little headbutt of love from Sam
Erin telling us about the bacon flavored mints she bought for her dad for Father's Day. Her face says it all...
The cousins! L to R - Erin, Hannah, Rob, and Don. 
Trying on a little classy head gear.
Then, we headed to the Rockies v. Brewers game. Hannah finds the Brewers ball players rather attractive, so they planned the trip specifically to see the game. It was hands down the best baseball game I've ever been to. There were a bunch of home runs in the 8th and 9th innings and the Rockies pulled out the win in the end. We had a great time!
Don just couldn't get enough of being Smokey the Bear. In fact, that late that night, long after the festival was over, he donned the costume and went outside with Rob and threw a frisbee around. He thought it was so hilarious for Smokey to be running around throwing a disk. One of my friend's husbands saw Don in the costume around midnight and I got a text the next day saying that there had been a frisbee throwing Smokey sighting. Don was thrilled that someone saw him because he thought he was being so hilarious. It really was pretty funny.
After the baseball game, Erin had gone into Denver to see a friend and wasn't coming back 'til late, so we tucked the Smokey costume in her bed so she'd have a friendly bedfellow when she came home. We laughed and laughed about it... She did think it was pretty funny when she came in.
Getting attacked by Smokey during a Smokey the Bear bedfellow test run...
Rob gave it a go too...
We had a great time with the Shaws. We are excited to be with them next week in South Carolina!
FAMILY HOME EVENING PICNIC AND HIKE:
For Family Home Evening, we got together with Ben and Stephanie Fairbanks and their two boys and Sadie and Scott Goddard and their two boys for a picnic and hike at the Gregory Canyon Trailhead. Sadie and I then went trail running. It was another great night outdoors...
A cool lizard we happened upon.
Running buddies...
GOOD MORNING BOULDER!
One morning, Sam woke up at 5 am because he was cutting his first top front tooth. I finally got him back to sleep at 6 am, but it was such a beautiful morning, I decided to hop on my bike and go ride out to my favorite trail (Bobolink) and take some photos. Here are a few of my favorites. Boulder is such a beautiful place to live. I absolutely love it!
Red-wing blackbirds have the most beautiful song. They also have these amazing red spots on their wings that flash when they fly. 
Aren't the Flatiron's stunning? TEETHING SAM:
Sam was having a rough day with his front teeth coming in so I took a couple pictures of him. Doesn't his sad face just break your heart? They both just finally broke through so hopefully he'll feel better. Such a sweet boy.
He was happier when I put him in the bath.
I love this little face.
Got to love the towel shot.
CRATER LAKE HIKE:
Don and I got up really early on a Saturday and drove to the East Portal. We hiked up to Crater Lake and had a great time. Sam was fabulous as we carried him along. It was a perfect morning to be up in the high mountains.
A little pond we ran across.
Our first snow sighting. We thought this was a lot of snow until...
We saw this! The snow was probably 20 feet deep here still. It was beautiful and slippery. I slipped once but luckily Don was more sure on his feet. It was a good thing he was carrying Sam. 
Our attempt at taking our own picture with the timer.
Here is the Crater Lake. I wish I had a wide angle lens so I could have captures the true beauty of the panoramic view. It was breathtaking!
I love being up so high! What a beautiful view!
We ran across some bear tracks in the snow. They looked several days old, but it made me slightly nervous. The paw marks were huge!
Such a great hike!
SAM DOESN'T LIKE CUCUMBERS:
I tried to give Sam a cucumber and he took it out of his mouth and stuck it on his head. I guess that means he didn't love it.
WARD LUAU:
Our ward had a luau, which was a great time. They had sumo wrestling and those huge blow up water slides and fabulous food. It started pouring rain so everyone got under the trees and hung out and ate together. We enjoyed ourselves despite the weather!
Sadie showing Scott who's in charge...
Sam didn't appreciate us trying to keep him out of the rain, so he stood on the sidewalk like this for a really long time. He also took his first steps that day. He is slowly and steadily improving his walking skills, but he just tries to walk as fast as he can and falls down and crawls because he is such an efficient crawler. Because he crawls so well, he hasn't been very motivated to start walking, but I think he will be running around in no time now that he is getting the hang of things. He took 10 steps today, which is the most he's taken.
POOL PLAY DATES:
Sam and I got together with some friends for two pool dates this last week. The first ended up being a grass date because the pool was closed for cleaning, but we had a great time. I love these girls and Sam loves his little girlfriends (he's the only boy. Lucky guy...)
Our second pool date was Sam's first time swimming in a real pool. He loved it and splashed maniacally. He also enjoyed using his friend Leah's hot pink floatie. 
CAMPING AT CAMP DICK:
We went camping Thursday night to Friday morning at Camp Dick with some of our friends in the ward. We had such a great time despite having some crazy wind and rain. Sam didn't sleep well at all (was up every 2 hours) but despite that, I loved every minute of it and am eager to get out camping again. We had hobo dinners, cobbler, and doughboys (biscuit dough cooked and filled with pie filling and whipped cream) for dinner and then a fabulous pancake, egg, and bacon breakfast. Then, we went on a nice hike before heading home. What a great time!
A classic mom picture...chasing the little pantless boy who peed in the chair whilst getting his diaper changed. Priceless.
Sam playing with rocks and gravel in true boy form.
Me and Necia - feeding the kiddos spaghettios out a can. That's right - we are that classy.
Sammy and Bryce. Sam was practicing his stepping skills.
Who knew pounding on rocks could be this fun!
The girls! L to R - Me, Necia, Sadie, and Michelle.
Cooking the hobo dinners in the fire. Isn't hanging around the campfire the best?
I love this picture of Sadie and Scott and their boys. The boys' faces just crack me up!
A little family meal shot before it started pouring and we had to run to the tents for cover. Don and I ended up eating our dinner on the floor of our tent while the wind nearly knocked the entire tent over. Luckily the wind didn't last very long. It did rain off and on all night, but it was pretty warm, so it wasn't too bad at all.The rain slowed down and eventually stopped so I got Sam to bed and the Necia and Claine Snow and Don and I got out and made some doughboys. When we got back in our tents to go to bed, Sam started screaming and was inconsolable for quite some time. It was raining and windy again at this point and I heard Necia yelling something to me. With Sam screaming, the rain, and the wind, I couldn't hear what she was saying at all. It ended up being a conversation like this. N: "I have apple juice!" Me: Sam screaming, wind howling, rain pounding"WHAT!?" N: "Apple JUIIICCCEEE!" Me: "What!?" Don: "She said apple juice." N: Something something undistinguishable, "yes?" Me: "Yes"...
I eventually got Sam back to sleep so I was relieved. I was worried I was going to have to drive home because he was so upset.
Good morning! Don didn't even know Sam had woken up several times in the night. He slept right through and didn't even remember when I'd had him hold Sam at 2:30 am while I dug around in the bags looking for Sam's binky. Man, I wish I could sleep through things like him!
Throwing rocks in the stream! We had a great campsite next to the stream and the rushing Creek.
Playing in the gravel.
Tired boy napping on our hike.
Don showing Ariah and Xion where we were.
The Snows: fellow adventurers and awesome friends!
Taking a break at the meadow.
Snack time!
What a cute face! He's starting to lose that baby fat. He's growing up way too fast!
NATALIE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY:
I met my friend Nicole in my prenatal yoga class and I still get together with her and several other girls and their little ones. Nicole's little girl, Natalie, just turned one and they had a luau in celebration. They went all out and it was an amazing party!
Sam really enjoyed the kiddie pool.
He and Miss Natalie had fun splashing around together.
They roasted a pig! Talk about going all out! The food was seriously amazing!
FOURTH OF JULY BBQ WITH AT THE COONS':
Amy and Dan Coon had a bunch of us over for a 4th of July BBQ. We had hamburgers and brats and then it started pouring rain and hailing. Despite the ridiculous cold and wet weather, we had a great time and played games 'til really late. It was a perfect way to celebrate the 4th!
Watching the hailstorm. It was the coldest 4th I've ever experienced. Such strange weather! I'm glad we hadn't planned on being out to watch the fireworks at Folsom Field. It would have been miserable!
The girls! Amy, Em R, and me! I bought this nerdy hat on the dollar rack at Target and proudly sported it. 
Adelaide is the cutest girl. She was so festive in her red, white and blue, I had to take a picture.
Trying to keep the kids warm was a challenge.
Lighting fireworks in the street.
Don stole my hat because it kept blowing off my head
.
Sparkler time! They aren't allowed in Boulder so we had to get our fill of sparklers while in Superior.
SWIMMING LESSON WITH NECIA:
My friend, Necia, is a great swimmer and is helping me learn to swim more effectively. I'd eventually like to do a triathlon, but I am pretty terrible in the pool. Don, Sam and I made a party of my swimming lesson, and although Sam doesn't look happy in this picture, he did have a good time.
Necia and Claine also had us over for homemade pizza and we had a great time. They are such great friends!
This picture just cracks me up. Classic family moment.
SADDLE ROCK RIDGE HIKE:
Don and I went on a really steep hike yesterday morning on the Saddle Rock Ridge Trail. We gained about 1200 feet in one mile and it was really tough, but fun. Here is a charming picture of us. It made me laugh and laugh when I saw it.
At the top. We were both so sweaty! It was hard work!
Don and Sam in the cool, mossy, fern-covered valley. It was a beautiful trail.
JAYCEE'S 3RD BIRTHDAY PARTY:
Yesterday, we went to Amy and Dan Coons' daughter, Jaycee's birthday party. We had fun hanging out with friends and Sam got to eat his first piece of watermelon big boy style.
Sam is turning in to a little boy! Look at that backwards hat! He's so big!
5 comments:
Congratsulations! You offically won the award for longest post of the year! ha ha. Loved all the pic though.
man, you guys have been up to a lot. so much fun. i know what you mean about don sleeping through anything. that is how brian is. it is so frustrating sometimes.
Dang girl, you guys have had a jam-packed summer! Boulder is so beautiful...I love all of those morning pictures that you took. We love where we live, but it sure would've been fun if we would've moved to Colorado and been close to you guys. I also love the picture where Sam is giving you the headbutt of love. :) Such a cutie, and I hope those mean old teeth have come through so he isn't in pain anymore. Teething is quite possible the worst thing ever.
You have been busy. Boulder is beautiful- you've captured it well.
Don, will you please please be a frisbee tossing Smokey the Bear for your talent at the family reunion? Please?...
Yay it's our hat!! I wore mine on the 4th. :)
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