Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Texas Cousins

The Stinsons came to visit us a couple weeks before we moved.  We did lots of fun stuff together.

We made pizzas together!

We read stories with Uncle Jason.

We played piano and read books with cousin Kiera.

We visited Chuck e Cheese together!

Uncle Jason dominated the hammer game.  The kids were impressed.

And we visited the Air Force Academy!


Falcons

We walked down to the Chapel.  Sylvia hitched a ride.

It was a beautiful sunny day.

Inside the chapel. The stained glass was cool.

The campus was picturesque- we had never been to visit in all our years of living in Colorado.

 Playing in a fort the kids made.  Uncle Tyler may have helped.

Andrew and Sylvia love their cousins!  This was the beginning of Andrew's fascination with his cousin's fidget spinners.

Spending time together

Having lots of fun

We love our cousins!

Dinner at Culvers- a perfect way to end a fun visit.

Springtime

We love springtime in Colorado!  It's fun to play outside, even if its just in our front yard.  Here are some pictures from the springtime.

Andrew and Sylvia love to make (and eat) popsicles in the cool Popsicle molds from Daddy. 


We are lucky to have so many fun playgrounds nearby.  Andrew likes playing Octonauts and pirates at this one.

Big sister girl

Playtime at the library.  My what a big mouth you have!

Sylvia loves to play with her best friend Lily Heywood.  They were going around and gathering all the toys into the mini shopping cart.

Speaking of the Heywoods, we went to the zoo with them too!  It was perfect because both Andrew and Sylvia had a buddy.

Gorillas at the zoo

Our family went to Chuck e Cheese for the first time and we had a blast.  The kids loved to play all the games and eat pizza and get a prize with the tickets we won.

These were the prizes Andrew won- a bat and an ant.  He goes through cycles of his favorite toys and the favorite toys of the moment get taken with him everywhere he goes.

Tyler and the kids at the river's edge during one of our family walks.  Pretty as a picture.

A chip off the ol' block

This is the first recognizable drawing Andrew has ever done.  It's a happy face.  How cute!


We started packing up in May because Mommy knew it would be a lot of work and wanted to get a head start.  Here Daddy used the boxes to build Castle Carson.

Best Buds

Another day at the playground

On a day Tyler had off work we went to Garden of the Gods visitor center.

The visitor center had been re-done recently and had lots of cool stuff to see!  This was a mural that played with depth perception, it looks like Andrew is riding the dinosaur!

Another cool dinosaur exhibit inside the visitors center.

This part of the exhibit talks about different animals that live in Colorado.  It was very visually impressive!

We also browsed the gift shop.  Cool helmet, Andrew!

Then we walked around a new path at Garden of the Gods because it was a popular place that day and we almost couldn't find parking.  


But because it was so busy we were able to go off the beaten path and explore somewhere we had never been!

Hello up there!  Can you spot the kids and Tyler?

It was a perfect day for an impromptu outdoor adventure.

Another new thing we started doing is visiting playgrounds on post.  This one was fun because it mimicked the bow of a ship.


Tyler is enjoying his calling as 11 year old Scout leader.  Here they are cooking over the fire in the parking lot.  Since Rachel has a calling with the Young Women, we both are at the church Thursday evenings and bring the kids with us.  Andrew especially loved spending time with the older boys and sometimes even joining in their projects.

As it started getting hot outside we visited the splash pad! Here we met one of Mommy's friends for a picnic at the splash pad.  Sylvia looks so cute in her new swimsuit.

One weekend Grandma Judd came to visit on a spur of the moment trip.  Tyler was gone for a week for work and Grandma didn't have to travel for work so she spent a couple of days with us.  Baking with Grandma is fun to do!

Andrew discovered he loves to do puzzles on Grandma's iPad.  Thanks for coming to visit us!

Story time with Mommy

Just being kids

Sylvia is on the Wake-up Mommy committee.

Our morning family selfie