COLORADO

We were able to travel back to Colorado last weekend and see everyone we had not seen in OVER A YEAR!  I can not believe so much time had passed since we were last back there, but I can assure you it won't happen again!  We have been really lucky this past year to see my parents quite often, but with a new niece and a new child of our own, it was really difficult to find a time to go home.  My 10 year highschool reuinon was this year so we planned a trip back to Colorado during this time.  It was a quick trip and pretty much a whirlwind, but we were able to see just about everyone.  Caroline kept saying that she wanted to see Emma before we went and couldn't quite understand why she wouldn't be there.  It was a little sad to miss Missy and her family, but hopefully we will get to see them soon. 

Josh wasn't able to take a lot of time off so we decided to do things a little differently this time.  When we made the tickets for us to fly up there, we had just gotten back from Florida.  Remember that trip?!!  How could I ever forget?  Well, I wasn't about to fly with the two kids myself, so I left early Wednesday morning and just took Cooper.  Suzanne watched Caroline for part of Wednesday and then Josh and her flew out early Thursday morning.  Both kids were great and it was nice to have a little one on one time with my little Coopster! 

 Grami and Pop Pop's house is the place to be!  They have more toys than we do and anything a little kid could ever want.  Here Caroline is watching a movie and insisted on Mickey sitting next to her.

 Thursday night we had all of the family over to meet Cooper for the first time and see Caroline.  It was so wonderful to all be together again and catch up on everyone's lives.

 Cooper looked so big sitting up in the swing.  He loved this new point of view!

 

Grami took us on a little fieldtrip down the road to a local dairy.  It was so fun to see these baby animals up close!

The bunnies were Caroline's favorite of course!

Cady stopped by before all of the craziness of the reunion festivities started and said hi to Cooper.  He loved all of the attention!

"Rosie... Where are You??"

Somewhere in these bushes, if you look close enough, you will see a tiny baby rabbit!!  We've seen several in our backyard lately, but the other day one ran out of the plants while I was watering them.  It was so scared that it crunched down next to the fence and did not move.  Caroline saw it and was SO excited!  She loves bunnies and was even more thrilled to see a real one.  With my back turned, she actually got close enough and was just about to pick it up when I was able to stop her.  We named her Rosie and all day she kept asking to go and find her.  It is so cute how she calls for her.  "ROSIE... Where are you???"  And then says to me "Find her!"  Well, the next night we were out eating popsicles and out she ran from some plants and into another.  I'm so glad we actually saw her again!  I know these bunnies are probably tearing up the plants and we probably shouldn't want them, but with this heat, everything is pretty much already dead in our backyard.  It was so cute to be able to show these bunnies to Caroline and how she talks about Rosie all the time!

Zoo time!

We spent the actual 4th of July holiday at the Zoo!  Josh and Erick planned this all by themselves and thought it would be a great way to get the kids out of the house and have some good family/friend time!  We arrived right when the gates opened and had a great time!

She has definitely gotten taller from last year!

Getting so close and feeding the giraffes is the best part!

The girls cooled off in the water area in their swimsuits!  What a great play place!!

Relaxing!

It was so nice to be able to just relax the day after Caroline's birthday party!  After going to church we just hung out as a family and enjoyed the nice weather and each other. 

While Josh and I were busy doing our own things, this is how we found Cooper and Caroline. She took it upon herself to give Cooper a check up!  :)

Cooper and Caroline gave Josh an ice cream maker for Father's Day.  This was the perfect time to get it out and test out some great homemade recipes!  We made some french vanilla ice cream and even topped them off with gummi bears.  A perfect way to end our day!

Birthday PAR-TAY!!

This year we decided on a 4th of July themed birthday!!  I know this will probably happen more than once in Caroline's life with her birthday being on July 1st, but with Cooper being born and time flying so quickly, I really didn't have a lot of time to plan.  We were busy on most of the weekends around this time, so we had her party on the Saturday of the fourth of July weekend!  She had a blast and enjoyed spending time with all of her friends and family.

YUM!!  CAKE!

Caroline's birthday present from Grami and Pop Pop was a BOUNCE HOUSE!!  We set it up Friday night for her to "open" and then put it up again for her party.  Eventhough it was REALLY hot outside, the kids had a great time jumping and sliding down the slide.  It is so easy to put up and has been up quite a few times since!  Thank you guys!!

Always a fun time to be had with cousin Sam!  Two silly kids!

Sam insisted on getting Caroline a doctor's kit for her present.  She LOVES it and insists on "making people feel better".  Grandmother was more than willing to partake in the fun!   "Caroline sick!"