Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Day trip to Estes

Needing to get out of the house and enjoy the day, we headed up to Estes Park on a Sunday afternoon. They were having a Western heritage days which Cooper liked. He got to see a shootout reenactment and check out some animal skins and various heritage type items. And then we followed that up with lunch and some putt putt, just like our frontier forefathers....

Cooper tackles a tricky hole
From Estes Park


Lauren is all smiles
From Estes Park


The ever elusive photo of trying to get 3 children to look at the camera simultaneously
From Estes Park


Nice day to be out
From Estes Park


From Estes Park


From Estes Park


From Estes Park


From Estes Park


From Estes Park



Monday, August 27, 2012

More birthday pics

Here are a few more pictures I took from Cooper and Reese's joint birthday party at Monkey Business in Denver.

Cooper enjoying the slides
From Monkey Business Bday Parties (Coop 4 - Reese 3)


Cooper chasing Riley all around
From Monkey Business Bday Parties (Coop 4 - Reese 3)


Lauren overseeing things
From Monkey Business Bday Parties (Coop 4 - Reese 3)


All the kids sitting very well as pizza is served
From Monkey Business Bday Parties (Coop 4 - Reese 3)


Lauren and a party guest engaging in some deep conversation
From Monkey Business Bday Parties (Coop 4 - Reese 3)


Until Lauren decides pizza is more interesting
From Monkey Business Bday Parties (Coop 4 - Reese 3)


Cooper and Reese head to blow out the candles
From Monkey Business Bday Parties (Coop 4 - Reese 3)


Sarah got them a really sweet (pun intended) Curious George cake
From Monkey Business Bday Parties (Coop 4 - Reese 3)


The birthday girl glowing
From Monkey Business Bday Parties (Coop 4 - Reese 3)


Madeline and Cooper enjoying some cake
From Monkey Business Bday Parties (Coop 4 - Reese 3)



Saturday, August 25, 2012

Some days you should just blow off work

I work too much. Monday morning I fly out to Arizona and begin a cycle that takes days off my life every week. I work till 7ish on Monday night, eat dinner, get to the hotel about 9:00pm with just enough time to call Jill and chat for a bit before doing my ironing for the week and heading to bed. The next morning the alarm goes off at 4:45 and I drag myself out of bed into the 90 degree darkness and go ride my bike. Back to the hotel to shower then off to work till 7pm and repeat the cycle for three days before coming home.

So on Fridays I've usually put in my hours for the week and some times take that opportunity to just check out from work and enjoy some family time. A few weeks back we did just that and headed to the Denver zoo to have some fun and enjoy the CO Summer weather.

Lauren knows she has to hydrate to keep up with Cooper
From Denver Zoo Day


Cooper using his very own binoculars to get a closer look
From Denver Zoo Day


A little posing
From Denver Zoo Day


My family, a proud man.
From Denver Zoo Day


And my favorite series of photos from the day...
In the first frame, Cooper is giving Lauren an elbow to the head
From Denver Zoo Day


Then Lauren cues into the fact that brother has a frozen treat
From Denver Zoo Day


And is none too pleased that she has not sampled said treat...
From Denver Zoo Day



Friday, August 24, 2012

Muddy buddies

Both of our kids love the sandbox / water thing in our backyard. Lauren loves to grab handfuls of sand and fling them, and Cooper plays for hours in this thing. We were in and out of the house while they were playing the other day, only to come back to find Lauren with a little sand on her...

From Aug 02, 2012


From Aug 02, 2012


From Aug 02, 2012


From Aug 02, 2012

And here is one from a previous day that Jill and I both love. No idea how she got two seemingly real smiles from these two at the same time...

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Cooper turns 4!

4 years ago our lives changed forever. We've gathered a lifetime of stories and fun in short 4 years and they've really flown by. Life is really before kids (BK) and after kids (AK), and there are a lot of times that I can't even remember what it was like when we had the simple life of being DINKS.

Jill bought some streamers to decorate Cooper's door and room up after he went to on his birthday eve.
From Cooper's 4th Birthday 3


From Cooper's 4th Birthday 3


Lauren got her party dress on for the big occasion
From Cooper's 4th Birthday 3


From Cooper's 4th Birthday 3


From Cooper's 4th Birthday 3


Cooper helped Jill make a birthday cake, and we cut a piece off to take to Sarah and Reese
From Cooper's 4th Birthday 3


Jill and Lauren celebrating into the night
From Cooper's 4th Birthday 3


From Cooper's 4th Birthday 3

And some footage from the big day....