14,110 ft.

Thank you Cog Railway for a memorable day!

3 hours and 10 minutes by train to go 14,110 ft to the top of Pikes Peak and down again. The boys were excited to ride their first train....... and up a huge mountain to top it off! The scenery was amazing and so was the weather luckily. Scott's brother and his wife requested this activity for the day and we are so glad they did. The view from the top was pretty amazing. Poor little Jade missed out today....... but holding her on my lap for that long would have killed me and all on board!

Here we are ready to go!

Isn't this little Red train cute...... I thought so.

You don't even know the work behind getting these boys to smile and hold still for a picture! I guess they were just sitting for the last 2 hours......

Never thought we'd see Shawn & Annette set foot in Colorado. We are so happy they came. It was Annette's very first time ever flying on a plane....... and it was all to come and get tortured by Scott in the dental chair! Sorry Annette.

The night ended with another first, eating at " The Melting Pot". Let's just say it did not disappoint!

Just a tip: don't ever take two naughty boys out to eat for 2 hours at this expensive Restaurant!

a real "Gem"

I really can't believe that next week our precious little Jade will turn 2. She is the most vibrant, funny, smart, sweet, sneaky, and loving little girl. I cannot imagine life without her. She is talking so much and doesn't miss a beat. She has even made it on the potty a few times this week so I am very proud of her ..... she'll do anything for candy! She still sleeps around 14 hours every night which is unreal. She is such a happy, bubbly little girl always giggling and hopping around the house. She will always be our precious Gem just like the stone she was named after. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of her.

Little Miss Jade Elaine.

A daddy's girl for sure.

I love this outfit. Bloomers and all.

Her "something's wrong " face......

So cute trying to wear Mommy's shoes.

So sneaky trying to dodge the camera....

Please stop growing so fast little girl!!

Montana Bound

So Grandma Joan had our two wild boys in Montana for 2 weeks this summer. Kael and Karson were so excited to go and didn't miss us one tiny bit. Sad. That just tells you how awesome their grandparents are and uncle Seth of course, they are so lucky to have them. We had quite the vacation here in Colorado with only little Jade around. She was pretty bored without those brothers of hers.

The boys were in farm heaven. I guess a farming lifestyle is inevitable for this little family of ours. It's just a matter of when?

These pictures are from Grandpa and would only download to this size. Darn it.

The boys with Uncle Seth.

Kael shot and killed 30 gophers........... who knew a Red Rider BB gun could do so much damage!

Karson rode Smokey as much a possible. He loves horses.

Here are the boys and their "Super Grandma"

I just had to show off this cute little dress that Joan made for Jade! It is so darling.

Trying to get a smiling picture of this little runt = impossible.

Thanks Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Seth for taking such good care of the little rascals. These boys sure can't wait to come see you all in 2 weeks!

1st Bank with Dad

The boys have been asking for a while if they can put their money in the bank like their dad does.

So Scott decided to take them in and open up savings accounts for them last month. Kael was so excited, he has earned quite a lot of money from his daily chores over the past few years! He loves to help clean. Karson was kind of sad when he looked in his treasure box where he keeps his money and only saw a few dollars. He is always opting out of doing chores and work. I kind of felt bad ...... but maybe this will be a good lesson for him and he will want to "earn it" like his brother.

Here they are so excited to go in and get started.

Karson had to bring in his treasure chest with fake coins in it also. Hilarious.

We decided to jump start the boys accounts by giving them these.....

They counted out every last penny and handed it over.....

They were so cute. Kael wants to save up $500 to buy a calf from grandpa Mike one day.

Karson wants a cat.....?

Red, white, and ...... blue.

Okay...... I didn't decorate with a ton of blue because then I can't count it as a Canadian celebration as well. Aren't I sneaky? I am actually very proud to call both countries my home. My little family is definitely more American then Canadian these days.

I am out numbered 4 to 1!

Our 4th was filled with yummy food, decadent desserts, great friends & family, a few tornado warnings, topped off with 100% rain, and some sad attempts at fireworks while hiding in cars!

So we had July 5th fireworks instead and everyone showed up for some fun. My camera died so I only have a few pics from the night. Hope everyone had a fun and safe weekend! We sure did.

Daddy's little American girl.

I'm pretty sure this little stud is an American too........

Some of the patriotic "decor" for the big party.

Did you guys know that Martha Stewart came to our party and delivered this cake made from scratch? Yep. We feel lucky to have our very own Martha around a.k.a. Regan. She doesn't mess around as you can tell. The cake was huge and delicious!