Birthday # 27

Rusty threw me an awesome birthday party this year. We went down to the tennis courts by the community center and taught all our friends how to play nerfis. Everyone loved it, and we need to do it again soon. It got dark a lot more quickly than we would have liked, so we ate cake and snacks in the complete pitch black. Thanks to everyone for coming!
There is only one pic of me, and my mouth is full of cake, so I don't think I'm going to post it. You'll just have to imagine how great I look.

We also had a very fun FHE last night. Last weekend Sara and I went out to dinner and then to Women's Conference at her Stake Center. (It was also awesome to have a girls night away from the kids) Well, on our way we passed this awesome park I'd never seen before. It had a cute lake and a huge playground. So for FHE last night we packed up a picnic and headed over. The kids loved wading in the freezing lake and feeding the ducks. Josh is obsessed with music right now, so his favorite part was the "piano" (see pic below). Halle's favorite part was playing on the swings. It's amazing that you can live somewhere 3 years, drive very near this park A LOT, and not even know it exists. So if anyone is needing a change of scenery let me know.

10k, new car, and firefighter museum

On Sept 4 I finished my last race of the "Erie Series"--the 10k. I made my best time yet, and finished 2nd overall in the series. This was the first race where I really feel like I hit my stride, and I had so much fun, and it felt great. Running the 10k was my goal for the summer, so I'm glad to check it off my list. Now I'm looking forward to the "Erie Erie" in Oct!


We also got a new car this month! (Well, new to us anyway) It's a 2003 Toyota Sequoia and WE LOVE IT. Sara and Brian got one a few months ago and we fell in love with it on our drive to Estes Park. Now, we didn't mean to copy them so completely, but theirs happens to be white, and of course the one we found and liked was also white. So we are twinners. Now we need to have about 3 more kids so we can fill the car up! (triplets anyone?)


Now on to the firefighter museum. Sara and I took the kids to downtown Denver to the firefighter museum. We were all in need of a distraction, and the kids were glad to get out of the house and go on a little adventure. Well, it wasn't quite as great as we imagined it might be. I should qualify--Sara and I weren't that impressed, but the kids seemed to have a great time. The favorite part was the firetruck the kids could climb on and "drive," as well as the cool outfits they could dress up in. We thought we'd be there all day, but after about 1 1/2 hrs we were pretty much done. So then we took them to Chic-fil-A where they had a blast in the kids area and probably would have stayed all day! but I guess the day must have been somewhat of a success b/c every night since then Josh says "Thank you for Firetruck" in his prayers.

In Loving Memory....

I feel like I can't do another post until I mention the biggest thing that's happened in our lives this month, the loss of Sara's sweet little baby Peter. Sara has a beautiful post in honor of his sweet memory. Although is has been such a hard time with many questions and many tears, it has also been one of the most faith promoting times. There have been so many amazing stories associated with this tragedy that have made me sure that we have a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan for our lives. I had the opportunity to go out to Utah for the funeral, and in seeing Peter's perfect little body I was filled with a sense of his spirit, and what an amazing, strong, courageous soul he his. I am so thankful for our knowledge of eternal families and the eternal perspective the gospel gives our lives. Our hearts and prayers are always with Sara, Brian, Braxton and Bree and we know little Peter is keeping a close eye on them from above.

Weekend of Water

We had a fantastic, fun, water filled Labor Day weekend. It all started on Sat with a trip to the Boulder Reservoir. Umm...Native Coloradens, WHY HAVE WE NEVER HEARD OF THIS PLACE UNTIL NOW??? It was AWESOME! There is a sandy beach for the kids to play, and you can rent canoes, paddle boats, etc. This was like a little bit of Heaven to Halle and Josh. Halle kept insisting that it was the ocean, and no amount of reason could convince her otherwise. We rented a canoe and paddled around the lake. Josh was a little nervous, but by the end he was sticking his hands in the water and rocking the boat. He is now totally obsessed with watching the little video we took of the boat. We have probably watched it 200 times since Sat. I have a feeling that next summer this will be one of our favorite hangouts. (Boat Video is on the sidebar)

Then Monday we went to bid a fond farewell to pool season. Vista Ridge was holding their annual Labor Day pool party, but we tried to get there early to avoid the annoying DJ they hire every year. The kids LOVE going down the slide (also on the video sidebar) and Halle can swim from the slide to the edge of the pool by herself. She must have a GREAT swim teacher ;). But the fun didn't last--Josh was running up to the slide and of course he slipped and konked his head. He cried forever and never fully recovered enough to have a good time. So we cut our losses and headed home for LONG naps.
After a delicious BBQ dinner we headed over the Anthem, a neighborhood near us, to walk around their beautiful pond. The kids loved throwing rocks and wading in the water and mud. We are sad that summer is winding down, but Halle is looking forward to Fall so she can wear all her new, funky tights.

6 down, Eternity to Go!

Last week was our 6th Anniversary! This weekend Sara and Brian offered to watch our kids so we could have an overnight get away. It was so fun for just the two of us to be able to spend time together. I am going to spoil Sara big-time when her baby is born to repay the favor. Needless to say, the kids had a BLAST with Braxton and Kambree and they both wanted to go back to the Loveridges today. So THANKS YOU TWO!!
Rusty and I went to Red Feather Lakes, which is about 45 min outside of Fort Collins. It is a BEAUTIFUL little desserty mountain town with about a million little lakes. The first thing we noticed when we got there was the Quiet. Seriously--it was the kind of quiet you imagine after a nuclear bomb has hit the planet. We stayed in these cute little cabins called "Hilltop Cabins" that were right on the edge of a lake. That night we took a walk by the lake, went to dinner and Del-Rae High Country Restaurant (can we say FRIED FOOD???) and then got ice cream and watched the Olympics all cozied up by our cute fireplace. On Sat we did a little more hiking and then rafted down the Cache La Poudre River. The river was beautiful, but the ride wasn't quite as wild as we had hoped. Lots of very calm floating, and not so much white water rapids. But we still had a great time. We then picked up the kids from Sara and Brian and drove home. Sara called just a few min after we got home and told me I had left my purse at her house! GOOD GRIEF. So, being the kindly folk they are, they drove all the way to our house to bring it to me. In her prayers that night Halle said, "Thanks that Braxton and Kambree could come give Mommy her purse so we could have just a little bit more fun."

Two 14000' peaks with Pops

Hi y'all, Rusty here. Last week my Dad was in town so we decided to hit a 14er while he was here. We were going to hike Longs peak, which is the big one you can see from my house, but a freak August snowstorm blew in on Saturday and buried everything above 12000 feet in snow. Longs peak is pretty technical. There is a part called the keyhole followed by the trough where you are scrambling up slick granite over a 1000 ft drop. This is challenging when it is dry, but if it's covered in snow you need climbing gear (which I haven't invested in). So we decided to do something a little less technical but just as close, Gray's Peak and Torrey's Peak. These are two 14ers about a mile apart. As you can see from the pics, it looks like we could have been hiking in January. This was 14er number #9 for me (I have already done Grays) and 14ers #1 and #2 for my Dad. Good times!


Starting the ascent of Torrey's



Hiking in the snow up to the saddle.



Summiting Torey's Peak



Dad's first 14er



Going up Gray's Peak



Two 14ers in 2 hours



View from the top - This is the supposed to be the hottest, dryest time to hike!

Begindergarten!

Halle's first day of Preschool 2008 was today!! She was so excited to get back in her preschool routine and reconnect with friends we hadn't seen all summer. When I asked her what her favorite part of preschool was she said, "We looked at real bugs with a magnifying glass." WOW. Halle is doing so great at reading. We got this series of books called "BOB" and they are awesome! I highly recommend them if you have a kid just starting to read. I already LOVE preschool--it's in the afternoon this year right during nap time so I have 2-3 glorious hours all to myself. Think of all the hobbies I can take up! Grandparents--check out the side bar for a cute first day of school video

Racing Day

The "Coal Creek Blaze" 8k race was this Thursday. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. The rain threatened to make things interesting, but it held off until after the race. I love racing--hate training, but love the race. I came in a little faster than my goal time and I was able to take 1st in my age group, and 4th overall, which was exciting. There was a fun little kids race after and Halle ran the whole way!

Me and my running buddy Allison. I love running with her because she pushes me to go a little faster than I would do on my own. Our friend Joanna also ran the race--I don' know where she was at picture time!
Halle and her friends Autumn, Taylor, Jude, and Levi at the starting line.
My little racing pal