Summer: We Had Fun, And Now It's Done

Okay, so it's been nearly two months since I've blogged. I sorta fell out of the habit and my consequence is that I have so much to record. I know this blog will not be a quick one.

1 July 2009 Bree was two months old and had a visit with her pediatrician. She weighed in at 10 pounds, 9 ounces, and measured 19.75 inches. In other words, she was doing very well.

3 July 2009 brought my parents, Mike and Lanna Spears, to our home in Colorado in order to witness and participate in Aubrielle Elise's blessing the next Sunday, 5 July 2009. How wonderful it was to have my parents with me again! On the 4th, Richard's folks joined in the party.



Leave it to boys to never grow up. Here Richard and my dad are leg wrestling.


No complaints from the peanut gallery about the yummy barbeque dinner!


What a cool dad, JP! Dry ice to make ice cream. Far out!

The kids loved the ice cream JP made.

This is the rocket JP shot at the park across the street after the 4th of July barbeque at our house. It was awesome!

My dad is smart. Though it meant Elijah would get his birthday present a month early, while Grandpa Spears was in Colorado, he took Elijah shopping for the gift of his choice to avoid spending twice the amount of the gift on shipping alone. As you can see, Elijah chose a skateboard. He is posing in front of Grandpa Chubbs' hotrod rental car.

Aubrielle honored Grandpa Spears with a smile. =)
Grandma Spears taught Dallin the art of Sudoku a few years ago. Now whenever they are together they enjoy solving Sudoku puzzles.


Mom is a yoga / pilates istructor. A couple of times she showed everyone some moves.

Mom and I had many scintillating conversations in the kitchen. Wish I could remember what we were discussing in this picture. The state of our economy? Not likely!

Grandma and Grandpa Chubbs love their newest grandchild (#18 for them!)


Grandma Spears loved to hold Aubrielle and play with her. I think they bonded.

Grandma Spears (my mom) is a fantastic grandma. She loves to help with the kids in any way she can. One night while visiting us, she asked Richard what she could do to help. He told her Aubrielle needed a bath. She said, "No problem." I sure wish she lived closer to us. California may as well be the other side of the world since it's more than a day's drive.



On 7 July our family joined the Schneiders for a trip up in the mountains for hiking, fishing and picnicking. It was a beautiful day to be outside and after the hour-plus drive to the site, we were anxious to stretch our legs so we hiked first.
Ready to go hiking up the mountain in the picture below...



Gorgeous, isn't it?

The hike was exhausting for Aubrielle. She was ready to go home!


Hiking, fishing, and lots of good food to eat, but Elijah had to find something to climb, too!


Elijah loves to fish. This is his first attempt which yielded no fish. That was okay with him.


Felicity was more than happy to share her bath in the kitchen sink with her baby sister. This was Bree's first bath in the kitchen sink, and she was grateful for her sister's arms to hold her tight!


On 24 July, I joined my girlfriends for our monthly "Moms' Night Out". Knowing I was going to be away from Aubrielle for more than a couple of hours, I pumped some milk for her. Richard said Bree took to the bottle right away and without any fuss. I think I am offended at how easily she accepted a replacement for me...



Wednesday 29 July through Saturday 1 August, our family went camping in Fort Collins with the Schneiders, Haakmeesters and Hornfecks. We had a blast and look forward to doing it again next summer. The KOA site we stayed at offered lots to do...
Though this digger at the playground was broken, Mimi still wanted to play with it.

Jake chased us all around the park wielding his light saber.

Lauren just hung around.

I had a lot of fun at the park with the kids.

I've always wanted to be taller, but not this tall!
Even Bree had fun at the park!

Ziplock eggs for breakfast!

Tera and I agree that no matter what you cook while camping, everything tastes better over a campfire.

All the kids took turns fishing.

Doesn't she look peaceful? Is there anything better than a nap outside on a beautiful day?

Out for a walk with my baby, armed with a burp rag.

Hey, Elijah! The jumping pillow is for jumping!




Who doesn't love a s'more?

Felicity spent time in the big pool with her daddy.

Elijah's hairdo is compliments of JP. It's so him!

Erich and JP threw Dallin into the pool quite a few times. Dallin was a good sport about it.

Dallin slapped the water a couple of times going in. Check out his leg!

JP bought Drumsticks for all the kids. It was particularly nice for Felicity because the ice cream in them didn't contain eggs.

Am I surprised that Eli tried to get the whole ice cream cone in his mouth at once? No way!

The whole group gave the Drumsticks two thumbs up!

Bree nursed while I watched the kids swim. The sun sure was bright that day! (31 July)

Lauren and Elijah are hams, that's for sure!


Bree took a nap in the rec room while the other kids watched "Star Wars" and the moms and dads played card games.

Tera and Ethan take moment to pose. Not fair that even while camping Tera looks good!


Erich and Chloe nap together. Camping is exhausting!


Mimi enjoyed the exercise equipment in the rec room.

Lauren was often a big help with Bree so that I could use both hands to help prepare meals. She's going to be an amazing mother.


Tera made Eli a birthday pancake in the shape of an "E".

Star Wars toys for Eli's birthday. Slam dunk, Dad!

Elijah also got a RIPSTICK, which consequently got returned to the store and exchanged for Star Wars memorabilia. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, eh Richard?

Today Bree is 3 months old and still no one makes her smile like Elijah does. (1 Aug)


Happy 14th Anniversary, Richard! (4 Aug) It's your turn to entertain the fussy baby.


It's August and Bree is now 3 months old and still a fan of her mama's milk.

At the park again and trying to sleep. (7 Aug)

Close to Mommy is where I wanna be!

On 8 August, Richard and I went out for the day. One of the many things we did that day was take Bree to get her ears pierced. She didn't appreciate the gesture, nor did she appreciate her daddy restraining her...

But when it was over, I nursed and cuddled her and she forgot all about it.

On 9 August our family went to a birthday party for a neighbor at Splitz Bowling Center. It was a lot of fun for the kids since they'd never bowled before. Here's Mimi posing with her bowling ball. It looks a bit heavy for her!

Dallin really got the hang of it quickly, and had fun doing so!

Elijah had great form and a great time.

Richard says that holding Bree while bowling was good luck!

Here is Bree: Richard's good luck charm.

17 August was the first day of school for Dallin, and Dallin only, since he is now in the sixth grade (middle school). It was also my first day of jury duty since I neglected to send in my request to be excused. Because Elijah and Amelia didn't have school yet and I didn't have anyone to watch the kids, I walked into the court house pushing Bree in the stroller, my three other children in toe. The jury commissioner was not impressed. She took one look at me and my brood (little did she know I was sans one child!) and told me to fill out a form and be excused. That was fun. Not!

18 August @ 8:05a.m. meant I was sans three of my five children. Richard asked before he left for work that morning when the party was starting. Ha! Poor Felicity. She was heartbroken to leave Dallin, Elijah and Mimi at Quest Academy. Poor me. I had to entertain her all day. We both couldn't wait for the older kids to return home from school!

19 August meant another Weight Watchers meeting. I weighed in at 105.2. When I got pregnant with Aubrielle, I was 102.5. I'm very close to my goal of getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight. It's very exciting for me! I am sure enjoying my old clothes again.

Today is 20 August. Yes, this post has taken me all week to put together, but now I am caught up. I never want to fall behind again.

It was a great summer filled with many fun activities including swimming lessons, story time at the library, summer movie camp, the park, the Denver Childrens' Museum, camping, company, and many barbeques. Summer: we had fun, and now it's done!

Love, Cara