Snow in SEPTEMBER?

After getting back home amidst all the smoke and ash covering the sky we were surprised to see snow falling the next morning. No it was not ash. It was actual snow. The temperature dropped and it snowed. It sure cleaned the air out which was nice. I was mostly surprised that it was snowing in early September!! I have never seen it snow that early in the 7 years we have lived here. It must have just been a blessing for the area and the firefighters that were working so hard to contain the fire. Sadly, it wasn't enough precipitation to really get a handle on the fire but it sure did help. At least it helped so that it wasn't raining ash after that. It still smelled smokey when the snow went away and the sun came out but at least it wasn't as bad as it was when we got home. 

Enjoying my first Hot Chocolate protein drink of the.. Season?? 

Not too much snow but it sure did snow in September! Which is still super weird!!

We had 2 days of some snow and colder weather and then it jumped right back up to nice warm weather. I was sure glad to see the sun again and feel the warmth. I am not ready for winter yet!

Enjoying being outside after being stuck in door for 2 days! 

This kid makes such a mess with his pancakes and nutella! haha 

We turned the fire on when it was cold and Kayden was very interested in it. Kayden kept trying to blow out the fire. So eventually the kids started to trick him and would turn off the fire when he would blow on it. Then they got him to clap and then they would turn it back on. After doing that a couple of times he started to blow on it and then clap when it was off to turn it back on. The next day he even went up to the fire and clapped in front of it like it was going to turn it on. haha 

Kayden is loving all of these big kid things around the house! 

Ever since getting back from Tyrel and Vandy's house Kayden has been climbing up on the chairs and table every second he can. He would climb up onto the chair and then very happily look at us and say, "Hi!!" haha So hard to be mad at that cute little face! 

He was so proud of himself every time he climbed up. haha 

Doing some school work with Emmett since he can't go to actual preschool yet. 

He also has been wanting to sit at the table to eat. He kept climbing up to the table that I finally just grabbed some avocado to have him eat while he was sitting at the table. He was so proud of himself using his fork and everything! 

We sure love this cute little kid! 

Yet another time he climbed on the table. I looked away for a minute and then turned around to find Kayden on the table getting into the mini wheats! Little stinker! 

This was a morning that the kids were not behaving. They were fighting and had broken 2 toys and could not get along and someone got hurt once or twice. So I finally made them all sit in different spots on the couch and read or do something quietly on their own. I needed the break and so did they! 

Even Kayden sat down for a couple of minutes and played with this start toy! Which was a miracle! 

All 4 of my boys sitting together at the dinner table! Kayden looks so cute sitting at the table with his brothers! 

Kayden was so happy to be sitting at the table with his brothers! He just wants to be part of the crew! He also likes to make silly noises and then the kids laugh and he thinks he is so funny so he will do it again and then laugh too. It is pretty fun to have him joining up and acting like a big boy!! 

Got a little cold again. He looks so cute in this little coat! 

He is growing up so fast!! 

Donating some baby stuff to Goodwill! It feels nice to get rid of some baby clothes and other things!

 

Finishing up Papa and Gigi's closet! 

After we put on the finishing touches to the closet we made our mark with the kids hand prints! We think it turned out pretty cute!

We bought these fresca's for my Dad and figured it would be a great way to tell them to look in their pantry! We couldn't wait to show them their Pantry and Closet! 

Using utensils like a pro!! 

This kid was so proud of himself! He carried the animal cracker container into the family room and then got it open and got some out to eat them. 

We also had another movie night with some friends. Kayden had so much fun walking around saying "Hi" to everyone over and over again throughout the movie. haha That and getting licorise and snacks. He was all over the place. Emmett watched some of the movie and then took off to play on the swing set. The older boys liked watching the movie even though they have seen it many many times. It was "Space Jam" and they watch it all the time. They didn't seem to mind and still enjoyed watching it. 

Kayden enjoying Sunday movie night! 

And lastly, Kayden has been getting really into dirt lately! He found this little spot of dirt in the grass and had to grab as much of it as he could! Such a silly kid!! He is such a little boy always trying to get into dirt. 

A fun start to September- Labor Day Weekend in Colorado Springs

 The start of September was spent enjoying time with Kayden and Emmett while the boys did their online schooling and getting ready to go to Colorado Springs. 

Kayden looked so cute in this little starwars sweatshirt!! 

Enjoying the nice weather! 

Our only good sized carrot! haha 

Kayden was loving eating watermelon. He is just so happy!! 

The weather was just so nice outside and we were enjoying the non smoky weather out in our backyard. 

Then we were off to Colorado Springs. 

The future site of IN N OUT in Colorado Springs. 

Zoo Day!!

The first day after arriving in Colorado Springs we headed to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. We had to wear our masks at the zoo but the kids were super excited to go and see the animals! 

The kids thought the hippos were so cool!

All three of our boys got to have a turn trying to throw these bags of food over to the warthogs. 

Ethan was so excited to see the silver back gorillas. He was reading the book "The One and Only Ivan" for school and was so excited to see a real live gorilla! 

Kayden enjoyed seeing the animals too! 

Kayden was not afraid at all to touch the goats. I think it would have been different if they were up and walking around trying to get food from people. 

The only sloth we saw. haha Looked like it was dead! 

The kids also saw a baby peacock and thought it was so cute! 

Dip n Dots break! 

The kids loved having a break and eating some yummy ice cream!

We ended our zoo day with feeding the Giraffes! 

Even Kayden was brave enough to feed them. Although, after a tongue got his arm he did not care to feed them anymore. I was just surprised that he was brave enough to hold out the lettuce for the Giraffe! I mean  Giraffes are huge and he is so tiny! haha

It was a good way to end the day! 

Even with masks on it was a fun day at the Zoo. 

Look at that happy boy!!

Kayden was so happy to not be in his stroller when we left. He was also super tired! We got back to the cars and cranked the A/C. It was so hot in our car! 

Playing at the house and a little bit of Mini Golf!

Kayden loved their sand box! He only tried to eat the sand a couple of times. haha 

Saturday morning the kids were up early and I decided to get up and go jogging before Kayden got up. I figured I needed to get a little bit of exercise before I started eating all the sweets that day. haha 

While I was out I saw some hot air balloons in the sky. It was pretty cool!! 

Then we got ready and went to play some mini golf with the kids. 

We played for ice cream. It was me and Brandon vs. Tyrel and Vandy. Brandon and I won so Tyren and Vandy had to pay for our ice cream later that day. haha I like it when we win stuff like that! 

The kids had a lot of fun....

Emmett however decided he needed to be grumpy because he didn't get something he wanted. So typical!! After having fun and letting them play mini golf he lets one things ruin his experience. 

These two were so funny. They were sitting on the counter playing music and singing to it.

And this kid can't get enough of this piano! :-) It is pretty cute how much he likes the piano. 

Kayden's personality it shinning through more and more. It is so fun!! 

The kids had so much fun playing outside and just being with their cousins. 

Then Tyrel set up his projetcor outside to watch a movie that night. 

After many complaints about when the sun was going to be down enough to watch the movie it was finally time. We got blankets, pillows, popcorn and candy out and enjoyed watching the new "Mulan" movie. The kids loved it! It was a nice night and they don't have bad mosquitos like we do so we actually enjoyed being outside without getting eaten alive.

Paint Mines

Sunday morning we got up and had breakfast and then made our way to the Paint Mines to do a little Sunday morning hike. It was a fun morning walk and we got it in before it got really hot and windy. 

Kayden really loved our hike because of the sand on the ground. He kept wanting to sit down and play with the sand. haha 

The kids were so stoked to find this cave! 

These boys are so strong they are holding up the rocks. haha 

Kayden just kills me with his cuteness!! His little smile in the picture!! I just love it so much!! 

We had a great time at the Paint Mines. Next time we will have to do a hike in the mountains and maybe go to a waterfall if they have any. The kids loved exploring and climbing on things that they were not supposed to! haha 

The rest of Sunday was spent playing in the backyard again and just hanging out. Then Monday we played for a little bit and then took off right after lunch to let Kayden nap in the car on the way home. 

Kayden could not get enough of the sandbox. haha 

I think Emmett was just a little tired. He fell asleep like 10 minutes after we left with a bite of hamburger in his mouth! haha 

As we got closer to home there were super dark clouds over us. We were not sure if it was going to be stormy or what it was. As we drove under it we realized that it was smoke!! The Cameron Peak fire that is burning not too far from here just exploded over Labor Day weekend. We could see big flakes of ash falling the farther under the clouds we got. 

It was only 3 in the afternoon when we got home and it felt like 8 in the evening. It smelled so bad outside it was terrible. As you can tell from the picture there was ash everywhere. We still couldn't believe how bad it had gotten while we were gone. It was sad to come back to this. It made me want to turn around and go back to Colorado Springs so we could enjoy being outside!