Julys Random Ramblings

• Abby and I have had a lot of conversations about the fact that we are not going back to Florida. For the most part she has been fine with this until she found out that Nolan was heading back to Florida from a long stay in St. Louis. She then informed that she wanted to go back to Florida and move in with Ms. Sam and Nolan. I told her that Daddy and I would miss her too much and she said don't worry, I will write you a card every night!
• Most mornings Olivia and I are up before Abby and if Abby hears Olivia while she is coming down from upstairs then she announces, "Don't worry Olivia, your big sister is on her way!"
• While Abby was getting her haircut she was chatting up the gal cutting her hair. Abby was telling her a story about Olivia and the lady jokingly said "aw come one, you are pulling my leg". Abby turned and looked at her and in all seriousness said "I'm not pulling your leg, I can't even reach it!"
• One day my friend Josie and I met for lunch and some shopping with the girls. Abby went to the bathroom at one of the stores and informed me that I should wait outside, so I stood by the door till she finished her business. Later in the day she had to go again and I told her to go ahead as I was sitting right next to the restroom. She asked me to come with her and I mentioned that she had gone by herself earlier in the day. She then said, "that's because you weren't sitting down before!!" No rest for the Mommy!!!

Ice Skating with Uncle Duke

A few weeks ago while my brother Duke was in town visiting from New Hampshire, he took Abby ice skating. Duke is an awesome hockey player (he is living in New Hampshire to play hockey) and obviously a natural on the ice. Abby had a blast ice skating with him!

Duke, Ashley, Abby and Greta

The rink had these really cool walker type things for the kids to hold onto while skating. I guess it helped a bit. I know Dukes back was killing him when he was done from bending over.

Uncle Duke, Olivia, Abigail

Tiny Town

A few weeks ago we headed up to Tiny Town. Its an awesome place for kids, and one of the places we try to go to whenever we visit. It is a unique, one-sixth-size town with more than 100 colorful buildings and a train ride powered by authentic steam locomotive, all nestled into a scenic mountain canyon 30 minutes outside of Denver. There is also a nice little playground and picnic tables so bringing lunch is a must! We went on a very nice day, it was sunny but cool and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We had a very good time and Abby enjoyed all of it.

She love everything; she loved the little houses, she had tons of fun at the playground, she enjoyed eating lunch at the kid-sized picnic tables, she had a blast on the train, and then she got to have ice cream before we left!

The only thing that put a damper on the day was Olivia. It wasn't that she was being a pill or anything but I was growing increasingly concerned about her throughout the day. Two days before I had taken her to the doctor and found out she had an ear infection. I thought that we were on the mend since we had been treating with ear drops and Tylenol, but while we were at Tiny Town she became increasingly more sick. She was not acting like herself and was being very lethargic. I finally decided it was time to go and she was burning up. On the drive home I asked my sister Ana to crawl in the back seat with her because on top of the symptoms listed above, her breathing became very labored. I decided on the way home that I was going to take her to the ER. For some reason I decided to call the doctor before we went and he asked that we hold off on the ER because they would only put her on antibiotics and he could call them into our pharmacy for us and save us a step. He said if that didn't help in the next few hours then we should take her in. I gave her the antibiotics and things seemed to be getting better. Over the next week we visited the doctor 4 or 5 times dealing with the ear infection and making sure things were getting better. Finally, this past Monday we got the all clear. Olivia is still pulling at her ears but things seem to be better, finally!

Abby kept calling the school house "Apple Tree School" which was the preschool she went to in Florida!

Peek a boo

Eating some lunch on the kid-size picnic tables in front of the playground

I love this picture....obviously something caught their eye!

On the train

Olivia fell asleep in Ana's arm during the train ride

yumm, icecream!

4th of July

I know this post is late but, better late than never! Our 4th of July was pretty low key, mostly due to the weather that was not cooperating. Andrew was in town and we headed over to a family friends house for an afternoon BBQ. Abby really liked the swing they had out on the deck and also playing with the other kids down in the basement. Olivia kept herself busy by crawling after all the little doggies that were there. The afternoon brought the rain and we were debating whether or not to even bother going to see any fireworks. At the last minute the weather cleared up enough and Andrew, my mom and I decided to take Abby and my Dad, Jane and Olivia stayed at home. While it wasn't raining, it was COLD. We parked the van and stopped by the Corner Bakery for some hot chocolate, that's right hot chocolate on the 4th of July!!! It was fun watching the fireworks in the cold with our hot chocolate though and Abby enjoyed the show after she decided she wasn't scared. Even though it was a pretty low key holiday it was great because it was spent with people we love and Andrew got to be there with us!

Abby on the swing

Grammy Jane and Olivia on the deck before the rain!

The best picture I got of the girls together in their 4th of July outfits

Abby plugging her ears in anticipation of the loud booms!

Oh wait, she like it! And she has the best seat in the house, on top of Daddy's shoulders

Notice the hot chocolate in Abby's hands!!

Abby's new 'do

I did it. I broke down and chopped Abby's hair off. I had been debating doing this for a while, and I had been threatening it even longer (during morning tears while brushing the knots). I knew Abby needed at least a trim and I left it up to her and the hairdresser how short to go. They decided on a short bob type cut with some layers was the way to go. I LOVE it, and more importantly Abby loves it. The first morning she looked at me with a huge grin and said, "Mommy it doesn't hurt when you brush my hair anymore!" That was all I needed to know we had made the right decision!

Abby and her hairdresser. Abby chatted her up the entire time she was there!

All done....and she loved sitting in the pink Barbie jeep!

The salon had a slide. Abby didn't have time to play before her haircut so she played for a bit afterward! Such a cute salon for kids!

Abby's golden locks. A few tears were shed for the golden curls...but like I said, we made the right choice and its the perfect haircut for her age and for the hot summer days!

Air Force Academy

On our way back from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo we stopped at Andrew's Alma mater, the United States Air Force Academy. We showed Abby where Daddy went to school and live for 4 years and also the chapel where Mommy and Daddy got married, of course we made a quick stop at the visitors center as well for a few Academy souvenirs. Its always fun visiting the Academy when we are home, it brings back lots of memories for us!!

Abby standing in front of the chapel where Andrew and I got married over 7 years ago!

Abby "running the strips" just like the freshmen!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

While Susan and Andrew were in town visiting we decided to take a trip down to Colorado Springs for the day. We went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo which I insisted I had never been to but stand corrected as my Dad took me there when I was very young. Never the less, I didn't remember the zoo and we ended up absolutely LOVING it! It has such a beautiful, natural setting and you get in quite a workout walking up the side of the mountain visiting all the different animals. They have a wonderful giraffe exhibit where you can feed them "animal crackers", and an awesome bird house where the kiddos get up close and personal with the birds. There are a ton of little places just for kids where they can play, there is a spray hose, a petting zoo, and free face painting! I am a huge fan of the Denver Zoo, but this zoo is awesome too and I am glad we decided to go. I think it will be a place we visit for years to come!

Abby and Daddy by the giraffes

Our hatching baby owl

Olivia was tuckered out!

The next 2 shoots (and the one above) were taken by our budding photographer Abby!

All the benches were in shapes of different animals, it was really cool!

Abby and Daddy in the bird exhibit feeding the birds. Abby LOVED it!!!

Playing in the children's area

Mmm, yummy!!

Enjoy the video, nothing special...just cute!

Olivia's bottom teeth

In late June I finally got a good picture of Olivia's bottom teeth. She started teething early, about 4 1/2 months. When this picture was taken (June 22) she was getting all 4 top teeth at the same time, not cool! On top of that, instead of getting the front teeth first, the right fang tooth came in first. We called her fang or snaggle tooth for a while!

Wildlife Experience

A few weeks ago my Dad and I took Abby to the Wildlife Experience while Grammy Jane watched Olivia. Wildlife Experience is "an educational and entertaining museum that connects visitors with wildlife and habitats in a fun learning environment." Abby was a bit apprehensive at first but she ended up really enjoying the museum. They had a few different rooms for the kids to interact with the exhibits and she really enjoyed those. If we lived in Colorado we would definitely have a yearly pass so we could drop in whenever we felt like it!!

Abby dressed up as a Flamingo in one of the interactive kids exhibits!

Papi and Abby in front of the "buffaloes"

Getting used to the dessert landscape

Where are we going now??

Outside the museum!