Some random end-of-summer pictures

Miss Molly the cowgirl. She just loves Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl from Toy Story - and thinks it's awesome that she has a red cowgirl hat, just like Jessie.

Cuddling with my little lovies.

Splashin' in the rain!

On a really rainy day in Rhode Island ...











... sometimes you just have to get out and play in the puddles!

Fun times with Logan

The kids enjoyed several fun days playing with our cousin Logan during our trip. Elijah is only two weeks older than Logan, and he lives only a few minutes from Nana & Grandpa's house. Both kids really enjoyed going to over to play with Logan and his brothers and sister. Logan also came over a couple of times to play in the pool at Nana's, which was great fun!

Bundled up after swimming - so cute together! (At least until Logan spied the camera!)

Eating dinner together is so much more entertaining!

Rocky Mountain National Park

Another one of our favorite days from our Colorado trip was going to Rocky Mountain National Park with Nana and Uncle Stuart. We got to take the shuttle from the parking lot up to Bear Lake (where we hiked), to the great delight of both kiddos. We all loved the hike and looking at the lake and the mountains. What a fun day!

Makes my heart happy.

The kids didn't hike so much as run most of the way.

Snack break!

Climbing rocks with Uncle Stuart

Sometimes, even Elijah has to take a rest.

First day of school!

Wow! Yesterday was Elijah's first day of preschool!

On Wednesday we (Elijah, Molly, Mama and Daddy) went to school to meet Elijah's teachers and classmates and check everything out, and yesterday (Friday) was the first real day of school. Daddy came home from work for a special first-day breakfast and pictures and big hugs before we left. Elijah was a little concerned about the idea that Molly and I would actually being leaving him there by himself, which is understandable, since we've never done that before. He kept asking me why we couldn't wait for him in the waiting room like at gymnastics. On the way to school he said, "Mama, I am going to miss you while you're gone!" I knew he was going to love it once he got used to it, but I didn't know what to expect that first day.

I didn't need to worry, of course. When we got to school, he went charging in and found friends and blocks to play with, and hardly noticed me giving him hugs and kisses and leaving. Molly was very sad that she didn't get to stay and play, but we made it out of there without a complete meltdown, so I thought that first day went very well!

Elijah had a great time at school. He did tell me afterward that he missed me while I was gone, but I think he was really too busy having fun at school to miss me very much. His teachers said that he had a fun day, was a good listener, and that they never would have guessed that he hadn't ever been to school before. Yay, Elijah!

That night we went out to dinner with Daddy to Pizza Wave to celebrate. The kids got to make their own pizza, and Elijah loved the giant shark hanging from the ceiling. It was a great day!

Molly style

While we were in Colorado, Nana bought Molly some bows for her hair. Here she is modeling her new bows - 4 at once.

From the front - look, they match my shorts!

The view from the back.

Elijah thought I should take a picture of him, too.
Hello, blue-eyed boy!

The Denver Zoo

Of course we had to go to the Denver Zoo! The kids had fun seeing lots of animals and spending the morning with Nana and Uncle Stuart. Many of the animals were out and active, which was a lot of fun. We saw a serval, two types of african crowned crane, and even the maned wolf, which I have not seen awake ever in my whole lifetime of visiting the zoo!

The lions were not out, but we had to get a picture with the sign!

The baby giraffe was only a few weeks old.

The sea lion show

Looking for animals with Uncle Stuart

The map! Both of the kids LOVE zoo maps!

Snack break!

Both the black bears and the grizzlies were up and about - it was so fun to watch!

Playing in the pool!

While we were visiting John & Linde, the kids spent a lot of time playing in the backyard. One of their favorite activities was playing in the pool. So fun!

Water slide!

Little girls being silly together

Taking turns.

Snacks!

Uncle John adds some sprinkler fun.