ColoRADo

My brother Clark and his new wife Elaine moved to Fort Carson in Colorado Springs a few weeks after they were married in November. A short time after they were there, Clark found out he was to be deployed to Afghanistan in April. So my mom and Aunt Coreen made plans to go see them for a quick weekend... and I decided that Emma and I would go and surprise Clark! Elaine helped us pull it off and it was a huge success! We shocked his socks right off :) We packed lots of fun into a very short time... Friday night we went to an authentic German restaurant to relive Clark's time last year in Heidelberg, Saturday we explored the Garden of the gods, toured Focus on the Family, and saw some of the places Clark and Elaine go during their daily lives. We spent the rest of the time relaxing at their house, playing with sweet puppy Iggy, and just enjoyed spending time with them! Thanks for the special time, Clark and Elaine; and taking us in when we just show up at your doorstep!

"helping" pack on Thursday

so much activity to watch at the airport

Surprise!

Iggy made Emma feel right at home :)

the really neat German place

Garden of the gods

Focus on the Family toddler room - she loved the boat

food is always better with friends, yes?



ready to head home :(

So exciting for Emma to ride a bus, train, and airplane all in one day!

Go Green!

Last week we had a fun invite that gave orders to come in full green attire for a St. Patrick's Day feast... and since we knew Cheryl probably wouldn't let us in the door if we dared show up un-green, everyone complied! What is it about color-themed parties that bring out the high class style in us all??? What a great night with silly friends enjoying some tasty food with some good laughs :) Thanks Stuart and Cheryl for a fun-filled evening!

not sure about the dot on my head -
but love Emma rockin' her headband
and Clinton in his awesome rubber overalls

our very green hosts



the Brunks that could have ALL fit in
Mary's $380 blazer :)



the Bowmans with Gina in the super-cute coat

kiddos



A Foundation at Last

After waiting and waiting for the rain to stop long enough to pour the foundation... it is done! It was an exciting morning at our house to watch the crew get in their places as the cement trucks drove in. Even though it's just a concrete slab, it's enough for us to walk around and picture where the walls will be, where I will stand at the kitchen sink, where Clinton will walk in from work, where little feet will run down the stairs...

So fun to have family join the party...
of course Gina brought the donuts!



Here comes the first truck!



this piece is attached to the big crane thing and spits the
concrete out

The bosses

My poor Bodie who everyone was ready to shoot by the
end of the day because he howled aaalllll day long

All done! This is taken from the garage entrance... not sure why
I didn't get one from the front of the house. The front is to the left.



Beautiful Blossoms

Aaaaaahhhhh..... the best time of year! When it smells like heaven and there is beauty all around. I had grand expectations of getting perfect pictures of Emma in the blossoms. Notice the had.
Only one problem.
My daughter finds it impossible to sit still long enough for my camera to focus. Sooo most of my pictures are of her in "mid-run run run Memma!" Throw in 2 dogs that won't leave her side and we have for some not-so-perfect pictures.
Then I realized that is just the way I like it.
This is us.
This is our for-real life ~ wiggles, dogs, dirt, and all.
And we love it.

...and then she completely charmed me with these

until it started to rain so we headed for home!