Red Rocks & Artist Friends

Morning coffee on the porch <3 p="">

The mountains were cold, but things were warming up near Denver, so we went to Red Rocks Ampitheatre. I have been looking forward to going to this mecca of exercise for quite some time. It did NOT disappoint. This place is AWESOME!

I knew Ryan and I would love it, and I knew Parker would love it, but we were blown away by how dedicated Adley was to working out the entire time we were there! I didn't expect her to try and tackle these stairs. They're half her size! But she sure did!

We couldn't get her to stop!  After she climbed them, she started running back and forth in the rows. After about 15 minutes, I asked her if she was almost done with her workout, to which she replied, "No, I have to do some burpees and pushups and then some more running." We literally had to drag her out of that place. Way to work, Adley!

Parker dominated, too. We got there and he went right to the bottom and worked his way back up. He also ran until we told him he needed to stop =) 

Before & After

Ouch.

We dominated Red Rocks!!

Oh these guys are just the best. <3 p="">

 That was awesome! We met Nancy at this great restaurant called Mod Market.  YUM! Then we headed back to her house, but met up with Ryan's old buddy, Ed for a few minutes. We regrouped and went over to the McNeil's for dinner. They were a big part of the Fellows program that Ryan did after college. We had a wonderful dinner, Dan forged Parker a knife right in front of his eyes, we got to see their amazing art studio, and left feeling super encouraged and uplifted.  What a blessing to visit with friends we met nearly 10 years ago. 

My SBF Is Getting Hitched!!

We have been looking forward to April 19 for SO long! That's the day we leave for Colorado for a week for my SBF, Stephanie's wedding celebration! Yippee!

So, my incredible husband has some serious skills on getting great flights. We were able to fly our entire family to and from Chicago for under $300! We had to leave 6:30am, but it's worth it when you save that much money.

The kids consider themselves airplane pro's now that they've flown once before. Adley really was excited, she just likes to make silly faces that happen to look sassy when I'm trying to get her to smile ;)

We had a great flight. We rented our truck, and then headed into downtown Denver to the Firefighter's Museum. The kids conked out pretty quick, so we just relaxed in the truck until they woke up =)

The Firefighter Museum was really neat! Especially when your daddy is also a fireman.

Time to head west! Boy are those mountains ever beautiful!

We stopped at Ben's parent's house to see the bride and groom! We shared lunch together, gathered some eggs (Adley dropped hers), and helped with a few minor wedding details. 

We are horrible at pictures. We were trying to get the mountains in the background. No such luck.

Then we headed up the "hill," to Evergreen where we stayed with the Judges. They had 50 inches of snow just days before, so this was the snowiest I'd ever seen the mountains.

Somehow snow in April isn't as frustrating in Colorado as it in in Illinois!

We spent the night visiting with Nancy, John and Ty. We also spent some time in the hot tub which was wonderful! Vacation has officially begun!

Sunny Saturday ;)

You know, April is supposed to be so rainy, but so far it really hasn't been. I just wake up every morning assuming it'll be yucky out, and then when it's not, I'm pleasantly surprised! It's a win-win.

We stopped by some friends' in Downers Grove and then went to this really pretty park. This picture does not do it justice AT ALL, but when I was looking at the view, it felt like a real life, modern version of this famous painting.

Sunday Afternoon On The Island of La Grande Jatte - George Seurat

Can you see the resemblance? Kids playing, people fishing, ducks on the water. It was beautiful!

 Okay seriously those pictures just don't show it at all, but it was great.

Then we went to Wheaton College for a track meet. That's pretty much the best thing ever on a calm saturday evening, right? The kids enjoyed watching the races. Of course Ryan and I were reliving the glory days in our minds the whole time. It was sure fun =)

I hope there will still be May flowers =)

Playing Doctor

The Doctors Are (real) In!

Sunny Sunday in April

One sunny Sunday, we decided to take a walk. A long, slow, leisurely Sunday walk. It was so special. We walked, talked, flew a kite, sang songs, got a special treat and finally made it to the park about 3 hours later.  Then we went home and ordered pizza ;)

What more could I possible ask for? For some reason this picture just absolutely fills my heart!

It's always funny when a 5 year old rides in a babydoll stroller. He can get himself going pretty fast!

 What a great, great Sunday =)