Winter fun!

Wow...time flies.  You can tell exactly how I have been feeling for the past 8 weeks due to the major time lapse on this blog!  For those of you who do not know, we are expecting baby #3 in early June!  This makes me 16 weeks pregnant and the past 8 weeks have been a blur of nausea and exhaustion.  I am starting to come out of it though and thankful to eat food again :)  So, here are a few pics to catch you up on our first winter in CO! 
We had our wonderful friends Melissa, Jack and baby Emerson visiting with us from Nashville for 10 days and Amelia got a taste of what it was going to be like to be a big sister again. I can't stress enough how helpful and into that baby she was. Here is Amelia holding her...

 We took the kids to the "electric safari" at the zoo.  They have millions of Christmas lights around the zoo and a chance to see some of the animals at night.  Here is Aliza feeding the giraffes...

 And the giraffe eating her glove :)  No worries.  We got it back.  But, not before Aliza was traumatized by her very favorite animal in the world.

Daddy and Aliza with some zoo lights

 Buddies snuggling on the couch and the girls modeling their absolutley adorable handmade hats and legwarmers lovingly made by mama Kane (Melissa's mother).

 Making snow angels

 ...and snow ladies

...and digging tunnels in the snow

There is much winter fun to be had here in CO...come and visit!

Merry Christmas and much love!

Trick or Treat!

I cannot seem to stay on top of blogging...I have so many pictures piling up that I want to share!  But, I had to get these in before too long.  Here are my Halloween beauties.  Amelia wanted to be a ballerina, but she wanted a full length tutu.  SO, she picked out shocking pink and lavendar tulle and I went to town and she looked like a doll :)  Aliza really had no preference for what she wanted to be so I took advantage of this probably being my last year to choose her costume for her.  I chose Alice in Wonderland because she fits the part so well!  Of course, I had to make her costume as well and appliqued  the apron so my little Alice would be unmistakeable.  They had school parties, trick or treating at the zoo, trick or treating with friends...and amelia just wears her tutu around for fun.  We have had lots of dressing up around here.  Enjoy!

boo at the zoo!

trick or treating with friends

I aint afraid of no cat!

It's Party Time!

Tea Party that is...
Today we celebrated Amelia's 5th birthday!  We typically celebrate outside at a park, but she chose to have a tea party because we have never spent an October in Colorado and were not sure of the weather.  I am glad we chose inside!  We woke up to snow!  Not just flurries, but snow that started around 7 am and lasted until 2pm and accumulated on the ground :)  It was very pretty though and the girls were in heaven watching from the window.  Then the sun came out at 2 and it melted.  Interesting weather.

Her tea party was a hit.  Nine little girls, face painting, cupcakes baked in tea cups, tea, accessories, new "tea party" dress, a pinata, crafts and screaming....lots of little girl happiness screaming :)

Visit from Grandma

Life has been so busy and full of excitement that I haven't updated in a month!  We had a visit from my mom (Grandma Lewis) who flew in from Nashville for a week.  And it was perfect timing!  We got to experience the Colorado Balloon Classic for the first time together :)  This meant waking up at 4:30am on Saturday, dressing kids at 5am, driving to the park, parking and walking to the field at 6am only to find out that the classic was CANCELLED due to high winds.  Well, that night we decided to check out the balloon glow where some of the balloons are inflated and their fires Glow and light up the balloons at night.  It was spectacular! 

We had so much fun and it was so impressive that we decided that it was worth it to get up at 5am the next moning and do it all over again.  This time we slept an extra 30 minutes and I put the girls to bed in their clothes :)  It did not disappoint.  This will definitely be an annual event for me!

My mom and I also got to go to dinner by ourselves and decided to dress up and go the the Broadmoor.  We had a fabulous gourmet meal and spectacular views of the mountains. We all had a great time and wish it was longer.

Amelia and Aliza also started at their new preschool!  Here they are on their first day.  And, if you are curious...it was cool that day but actually the temps here are still in the 70s and gorgeous (but the nights and mornings are COLD)!

stay tuned for some gorgeous pictures of the Royal Gorge where we went this past weekend!
love to all!

Camping, take 2

Cutty's Campground

While our first camping trip was a success, I couldn't help but remain a little sad that Aliza did not get to enjoy it because she was so sick and cranky.  The girl is such a free and independent spirit that I was really looking forward to seeing her out in nature where she could run wild and enjoy getting dirty...and then she stayed on my lap for an entire 24 hour period.  So, I was SO excited when some friends invited us to join them on an annual camping trip!  And this time there were about 13 other kids going along to heighten the fun :) Along with the fun company we also apparantly took along a gourmet chef who managed to cook chicken and beef fajitas and a fish fry in the woods.  I can't even explain the spread of food that we had.  It was more than I could do in my own kitchen and it was delicious!  The kids had a blast, we had a blast, the weather was amazing and I think we all officially LOVE Colorado camping.  Warm days, cool nights and amazing scenery.  I'm sold!

the girls played in the creek all afternoon despite the fact that it was ICE cold

Aliza and her new best friend Maggie the white lab.  I honestly think she rarely left her side all weekend.

go camping with a bunch of crafty men and they will rig a swing in a tree :)

seriously. loved. this. dog.

this is what happens when citronella meets fire.  who knew?

Amelia helping daddy cut some wood for the fire



Weekend with Friends

This weekend was full of fun with some old friends.  The Gustafson's came into town from Kansas and we visited the zoo, the park, the fountains, and topped off the weekend with an overnight camping trip in Woodland Park.  The camping trip rpoved to be an adventure when Aliza woke up with a fever that morning.  She slept most of the day on my chest and then was up most of the night crying :)  But, our first Colorado camping trip was a success overall!  The weather was gorgeous and the night was not too cold at all.  A much different experience from camping in the humidity in TN...and I only saw ONE mosquito all night :)  Thank you guys for being such wonderful friends!  Here is the weekend in photos...

these girls look like sisters!  they were born just a month apart :)

fun in the fountains

double rainbow after an afternoon thundershower...this is the 2nd double rainbow we have had this month!

the 4 muskateers

more facepainting at the zoo...madame butterfly :)

a loaded down daddy

the 3 ladies

i love this picture :)

checking out the lake

poor liza was sick with a fever and slept most of the camping trip away either in the tent or in my arms by the fire

amelia roasting her very own hotdog for dinner

2 princesses in jammies digging in the dirt :)

the Gus's

sweet boys

blast from the past...camping in 2007

can these be the same guys and gals today?


We got married within weeks of each other and it has been so fun to watch our families grow together. 4 years has added 3 more children and tons more fun! So great to see you all again.