... but you don't know what we did because I haven't blogged all summer! Here is a photo montage to help catch up. School starts on Monday (can you believe that?) so hopefully I will get in a better routine again and start keeping up with this all again!
We were very busy with lots of fun stuff this summer. Starting off with a trip back to OK for Memorial weekend (which I already blogged about
here). And a lot of baseball (which I also already blogged about
here).
In June, Jake spent some time in OK with his grandparents for 9 days (it almost killed me for him to be gone that long!). He had a fantastic time playing with his cousins and taking a trip to Dallas to Lego Land. Every time we asked him if he missed us, he said "nope!". While Jake was in OK, we had Trent's brother Gavin visiting. The two boys had so much fun together playing wii and riding bikes. We went to the Denver zoo and went on a hike at Devil's Head with the boys and Ella. It was her first hike. She loved it and so did the boys.
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| Hiking Devil's Head |
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| Brothers Hiking |
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| Ella loved the trees |
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| The boys meet the forest ranger (Bill) |
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| Lots of stairs to climb after a long hike! |
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| Ella loved resting in the forest |
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| The boys played A LOT of wii |
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| Jake and Ella (the day after Jake got home) |
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| Three boys eating watermelon |
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| Happy 10th Anniversary |
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| Father's Day 2011 |
At the end of June, my sister Jen came with her family for a visit. We visited the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and went to Pirate's Cove. We also made 'smores and had a great time playing (the kids) and hanging out (the adults). The house was crazy with 6 little boys ages 7 - 1 1/2, but it was also very fun. Trent went back to OK for the week with them and had a great time spending the 4th of July there with his Brother and cousins. He even got to play on Gavin and Drew's baseball team for their tournament and is said to have hit the "game winning hit" in one of the games (a big highlight for him!)
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| Crazy boys at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo |
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| Ella, meet Wallabee |
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| Ella fed the giraffe! |
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| Drew with his dad Brian |
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| oops! blow it out! |
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| I think we need a bigger picnic blanket! |
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| back yard s'mores! |
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| 5 boy cousins |
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| Cousins! |
We spent the 4th of July as a foursome here in Denver. The weather was great for a change and we enjoyed the Highlands Ranch parade, a cook out with some great friends, and Jake and I watched fireworks that night with some friends. It was a great day!
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| Happy 4th! |
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| Little cutie |
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| Self pic at the fireworks show |
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| Brother and Sister! |
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| We saw several of these with all the rain we got this summer! |
Finally, at the end of July, we met the Pham Damly :) in Dauphin Island AL for the week. We rented an amazing beach house and had the best time playing and laughing together. John's sisters and their families as well as his parents all bunked together in a fantastic 5 bedroom rental. All 15 of us! If you are looking for a quiet, remote beach island, Dauphin Island is the place for you. The Island was hit hard by Katrina so most of the houses (including the one we stayed in are newly remodeled or brand new buildings all together). It was Ella's first time at the beach (and Trent's that he remembers). Ella was unsure of the sand and waves but tolerated it all for many picture sessions. Trent couldn't get enough of the ocean. He played in it and the sand for hours. Jake also loved the beach and really liked the little pool that the house had on its deck. It was a small 4 foot deep pool that was perfect for the kids. They spent about 75% of their time in either the ocean or the pool. Talk about tired kids each night. There were definitely no issues with them going to sleep every night! We loved the place so much that we plan to return - someday soon hopefully!
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| En Route |
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| Beautiful Dauphin Island Alabama |
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| Fun in the sun! |
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| Lovin the beach! |
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| Yea! Beach! |
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| Trent in the waves |
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| 7 grandchildren |
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| Ella and her Ba Noi |
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| Ella and Mommy |
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| Picture perfect |
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| Cute Boy! |
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| A walk on the beach |
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| Cousins |
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| Crazy boys |
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| have saucer will travel |
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| peace! |
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| missing one boy |
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| on a treasure hunt! |
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| Jake flying a kite |
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| pretty girl |
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| sand in her toes |
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| we love the beach! |
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| loving the sun and surf |
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| sisters and brother |
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| i'm going to get you! |
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| helping Ella stand for a picture |
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| cute kids! |
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| wish you were here |
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| we wish we lived at the beach |
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| The only family picture we took! :) |
Phew! That's a brief recap of the summer. It was filled with lots of swimming, sunning, laughing, and playing. I am so sad to see it go, but am looking forward to school starting and getting back in the good old routine (once we get over the initial shock of the daily routine that is!)
