Tent Rocks

This handsome fella and myself ventured up to Tent Rocks National Monument this weekend. It is the best kept secret for hiking. You get canyon views and mountain views and beautiful weather which just comes with the southwest. We packed a picnic lunch and hiked for about 2 hours which was all we could handle and Hayden made it all the way up but his little legs were failing him on the way down. Oh well, at least it was down. Its a lot easier to carry him that direction since it is uphill to the end of the trail. Clare rocked the bjorn with a little chapped chin to show for it. Here's the pictures for it.

A little to big of a bite of sandwich.

Having a little lunch

"Draw" says the potbelly cowbaby

Hayden under the exposed roots of a tree in the canyon that was still standing tall. Guess we can expose our roots and still survive.

Some narrow spots in the canyon

The tent rocks

A celebration smooch at the top

A view from the top

Clare Turns 1 and the Celebration!

Baby girl turned one on Sunday! I cannot hardly believe that it has been a year and I can when I look at all we've done and all that's happened. To celebrate her milestone birthday, we returned to Kansas where a large majority of family lives to have her birthday party. Her aunts flew in for the celebration from New York and Colorado and friends even drove from Kansas City area. We had a great time (minus the exceptionally windy day). It was relaxed and fun and playful. Even the adults got into it.

Playing peek-a-boo through the playground equipment

Grandma K taking her down the tunnel slide. (She eventually ended up doing this on her own)

Aunt Michelle pushing her on the swing.

Hayden and his Aunts playing around

Grandpa and Hayden (hiding his face for the picture)

Michelle feeding Clare her birthday party lunch

Grandma B and Clare

Great Aunt Kay getting a smooch in

Daddy teaching her the fine art of eating a cupcake

Clare giving it a try and doing pretty well at it

The day of her birthday we bid farewell to our out-of-town visitors (Michelle and Rachael) and had a quiet late morning and lunch at Gage Park. It is a great little place that I loved in my childhood. It was just as much fun for my kids. We ate our lunch at a picnic table, played on the playground for a bit, rode the carousel, and walked through the rose gardens. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the scenery so much!

Balloon Fiesta '11

Four score and...alright 6 years ago, my darling and I, sans babies and heavy one lab puppy, went to our very first Balloon Fiesta. You have to get up very early to go the mass ascension to get the real show and it is always a gamble. If it is too windy or rainy, the balloons do not go up and you have balloon hangover without the benefit of watching any balloons go up. We decided to risk it this year and wake up our kids who are trained to sleep until 7:30, a grueling 2 hours early to go to it. The Balloon Fiesta park which is a glorified stretch of grassy open space normally is about 8 minutes from our house. It took us and hour and 15 minutes to get there. Yes, people from outside our state, this is a BIG DEAL. Ok, now that I've nerded myself out here. There really isn't anything like it for adults and kids alike. To watch literally 1000 balloons go up in the air in a matter of two hours and float within view, you really cannot capture the sight with a picture. However, I made a feeble attempt at it. More successfully, I believe, I captured our family's joy in sharing this amazing experience together. I'm telling you, folks, its worth adding to the bucket list.

A returning favorite from Germany. Complete with stormtroopers walking around.

The middle bee is smaller than the other two because it has been added in the past year. Usually the other two fly holding hands in the sky. So the middle bee is their baby. We thought it was pretty cute.

My snuggle bunnies all bundled up taking in the show and waking up.

Imagine this times 50

The end.