Pizza Personality?

Okay, so I don't normally take these tests, but this one caught my eye! Who doesn't love pizza? I am not sure if I really want to be known as a cheese pizza. Kinda boring....

Take the test and see, what kind of pizza personality you have?

Cheese Pizza

Traditional and comforting. You focus on living a quality life. You're not easily impressed with novelty. Yet, you easily impress others.

What's" Your Pizza Personality?

Paige: Mom, when I get big as you, I am going to drive a pink mommy missile!

Hiking

This morning was a bit cooler so we made our way up to Blogett Open Space to hike around. We knew that we wouldn't make it to the peak, partly due the ominous black clouds peaking over the mountains and the three sets of little legs moving up the trail, so we just set out, unsure of how far or where we might end up. Usually the kids are pretty excited for hiking but today they all woke up a bit moody so our hike started out rough. The whine. Once we made our way further into the hike and under the shade of the pines, their moods seemed to brighten. Whew!

I had a funny realization as I was snapping away pictures this morning. I was taking a picture of the view out over Colorado Springs and Alice said "Mommy, why are you taking a picture, I don't see anything beautiful?". realized that for her, Colorado is just the place she lives. Not until she is older, will she understand the beauty of our natural surroundings. When Scott and I moved here we made a promise to each other that we would not take these views for granted. I do not believe that we ever have. The nature all around us gives us peace.

After making it back down to the car, we decided to skip lunch at home and head to our favorite restaurant, Salsa Brava. Yum....This gives our bellies peace :)

As I am writing, Scott and Paige are sleeping very soundly, the sign of a good hike.

Have a great weekend.

Jennifer

Home Sweet Home

Sam's campmates all dressed up as super heroes!

We all drove to Woodland Park to pick Sam up from camp last night. He was beaming when he saw us and looked great! The first thing he said was "Camp was fun!!!". That is the entire reason that we wanted him to go away to camp; to realize that he can go away, have fun and then come back. Here is a short video of his camp skit.

off to camp

Sam left for camp yesterday afternoon. If you hadn't heard, he is going to Templed Hills bible camp for 3 days, 2 nights. The theme of camp this summer is SuperHeroes Unlimited. We felt that a couple days away from us (mainly mom) would be really good for him. We decided that Scott should probably take him since I started crying when I was packing his bags. He was a little nervous but overall excited for the adventure. He didn't even shed a tear when Scott left the camp. I am so proud of him for being a big boy! I know that this experience will be great and he is going to have so much fun! He loves adventure!! We are so happy that he is having this experience with his friend Griffin. I can't wait to hear about all the fun he had!

See you on Friday!!!!!

Sky Sox

Sox the Fox getting the crowd revved up!

For Sam's end of the season party, we joined most of his teammates and their families for a Sky Sox baseball game last night. The Sky Sox are our local minor league team here in the Springs. The weather was beautiful and we had a blast. The kids loaded up on hot dogs, lemonade, popcorn, pretzels and cotton candy. Last night may have been only the second time that they have had cotton candy and you can tell by the pictures that they couldn't get enough. Thanks to all the junk food and late hour, we decided to bug out during the 7th inning stretch. We were just impressed that they had made it to the 7th inning without any major melt downs. It was a great end to a fun t-ball season. Now on to soccer!!!!!!

BTW, last Tuesday night, Sam's t-ball game was picked by our local news station as the Game of the Week. It aired last night. Here is the link if you are interested. Sam is the little guy in grey shorts (number 3) fielding the ball with about 5 other kids. Enjoy! http://www.krdo.com/Global/category.asp?C=93323&nav=menu552_3

Just getting a snack...

I think this deer is laughing at me! I opened my bathroom window to take their picture and then shoo them away from my already sparse lilac bushes. Must be very tasty!

She did not want to be disturbed!

He's Alive!!!

Scott ran his first 50 mile race Sunday. We are so proud of him! The race was in Leadville about 2 1/2 hours from our house. He finished well in 12 hours. I will let him update later on the specifics. Here are some pictures I hijacked from his camera. Gorgeous views!!!!

Last Batter Up

Sam's last t-ball game was on Thursday night. He had his best game of the season with a couple catches and a great hit (without the tee). He was also excited because he was able to be last batter. That means that he bats last in the lineup and that after he hits, he gets to run all the bases to home. T-ball was a fun change from soccer and much warmer for the spectators :). Next week we are going to a Sky Sox game for their team party!

Paige and her baby taking a walk during the game.

hey, mom! I am too cool to get my picture taken!

Check out my Slide Show!

I am still working on how to make a slide show without the pictures being fuzzy. Let me know what you think! These are the pictures from our week in Breckenridge.

Big Race Day

Just pictures for now...too tired to blog something clever...more weekend and race details to follow. Jen
Update: I am definitely feeling more awake and less sore today. Thanks to everyone who cheered me on at the race and from afar. I feel great about my finish. Since I had never done this race, I was not sure what to expect. We ran 6 miles up from the bottom of Pike's Peak to the halfway point at Barr Camp and then turned around and ran back down. Scott says that it is about 4000 ft elevation gain. There was a 3 1/2 hour cutoff and I wanted to beat that. I did with a 2:57 finish. We got lucky with the weather and it wasn't nearly as hot as some of the weekends preceding the race. Boy am I glad that is done. Now on to Scott's big race next weekend....50 mile trail run...Sam would say this..."Daddy is a little crazy in the hair, he should go to the loopy bin!".

Our childhood friend, Kent Young, also ran the race. He finished in just over 2 hours. Way to go!

When we got home from the race, she was resting in the shade.
I think she was hungry too because she ate all my flowers.
Oh well, they lasted longer than I had expected anyway.

Every once in a while...

My kids like what I cook...or so it seems. Tonight I made chicken nuggets and Sam said "Mommy, these taste way better than McDonald's!". The last time that I made them he wondered aloud if I had borrowed the McDonald's nugget recipe. The recipe comes from Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. You can find the recipe at www.deceptivelydelicious.com. I think there are tons of great recipes in this book. I am not bragging (well, maybe a little) but my kids love veggies so I don't have to be quite so deceptive. You honestly cannot taste the spinach puree in the nuggets. Yes, I did say spinach.
If you are looking for a great mommy gift, this is a good one. Wow, and I am not even getting paid for this...

jen

Scott snapped this photo off the deck one evening this week, double rainbow, beautiful!



Hi all,



Life has been pretty crazy around here. Jesse has run away 5 times this week , so that alone has kept me busy, chasing her around the neighborhood. The kids have found it very amusing, so I am glad that someone is happy :)! Invisible Fence has been here and laid the cable. Hopefully, next week, the cable with be turned on and she will no longer roam free. I am sure the neighbors will be almost as happy as I.


Our friends are still staying with us. The kids love it and are having so much fun with their friends, Ellie and Brendan. They have pretty much lived on the swing set for the last two weeks. I know we will all miss the company next week! Boy, will it be quiet around here! I took these pictures of the kids this afternoon. Once again, they were enjoying the warm morning on the swing set. Alice didn't feel like having her picture taken (I am taking her temp right now).

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

It has been a while since my last post! We have been very busy. Since last Sunday we have had some friends staying with us. They are moving back down into the Springs from Monument and needed to crash somewhere while work was being done on their new house. We are thrilled because their new home is only 1 1/2 miles down the hill from our house. The kids have been having a blast from morning until night!

On Tuesday, I had Lasik surgery on my eyes. I was laid up for one day and have been feeling and seeing great since! I originally had my first Lasik in college because my eyesight was really horrible, so bad that I was legally blind in one eye. I do not miss those contacts and glasses one bit, so when the doctor told me that I needed them to drive, I decided to forgo the glasses and get enhanced, by the laser, of course!

Friday the 4th, we spent most of the day at the pool. The weather was beautiful, a perfect Colorado day. We sat next to the sand box and playground mainly because there was no other place to squeeze in. The kids had fun in between swimming and eating to play and get super sandy! After the pool we cleaned ourselves up and went out for a yummy dinner. After dinner we headed back to our house for bocce ball fun. We were planning on watching the fireworks at the Air Force Academy but decided to wait and see what we could see from the yard. Our house is up on a ridge so we can see pretty far. Thankfully, after lots of crossed fingers and toes, we were able to see the downtown fireworks from our neighbors driveway. They were pretty spectacular and we definitely know where we will be next year for the holiday!! After the pool and fireworks, all the kids fell into bed. The adults enjoyed the rest of the evening with cocktails and more bocce ball.

Victoria, Brendan and Scott hanging out on the deck waiting for those fireworks.

Ahhh, Saturday. Scott and I got up bright and early to hit Barr Trail. My big race (Barr Trail Mountain Race- 12 miles) is next weekend and I wanted to make sure that I could easily beat the 3 1/2 hour cutoff. I started off really slow, thanks to the cocktails and the heat (not a good combo) but sped up as we got closer to Barr Camp. I am pretty sure that I can make it but I am also pretty sure it isn't going to feel good:) After 4 Advil and a shower, I was feeling much better. In the afternoon, we drove to a friends cabin on the backside of Pike's Peak. We relaxed and had a great dinner. The kids spent the entire time jumping from rock to rock and exploring around the cabin.

Headed to Barr Camp.

I love this sign....almost there....

Ellie and Sam wrapped up in the hammock, relaxing at the cabin

We hope that you had a fantastic holiday weekend!

Jennifer