Sadie's Baptism Song

Sage, Ashlyn, Sadie and Nate sang at Sadie's baptism last weekend. We recorded it the day after her baptism (and after the cousins had a sleepover and stayed up late...hence the many yawns). What we didn't get on video is Nate during the real performance, taking advantage of the microphone opportunity and amplifying his voice a couple times. Too bad I was playing the piano and couldn't see it all.

Colorado Hikes

Shane and Dave took the kids on a hike in Boulder. I hear Sage was like a monkey climbing all over the rocks. Never thought I'd hear Ash say "Mom, I want to go Bouldering." I didn't even know that was a word.
Cousins picking flowers on their hike.
We were so excited to find how close these beautiful hikes are to our house! The Poudre River was "busy" as I guess I said casually and then Nate kept saying that the river looked busy. It's full and looks like a fun ride on a raft!
Nate was a little grumpy for the picture. Can you tell?
We brought a picnic to eat by the river. This was not the "busiest" part of the river.
Sadie spotted a snake in the trees by the water. Nate loved holding him. Nate LOVES to tuck his shirts in. I loved his ensemble he picked for the day.

Happy Birthday Sadie!

Sadie turned 8! Ash wrapped up a homemade "Faith in God" bulletin board that she made for Sadie.
In case you are wondering why Nate is wearing gloves in the summer. It just happened to land on Sadie's birthday that the sugargliders were ready to be picked up. So Dave and the kids drove down to Denver to get our two newest pets. Pictures of them will show up here eventually. They are just a week old, so they are nervous about their new environment. Nate was wearing protective gear in case he got a little bite from "Window" or "Ice-cream". I think those are the latest name choices for the two little girl sugargliders.
We had a SURPRISE visit from Emily, Beck and Gibson...just 4 days after we arrived in Colorado. Beck and Gibson showed up at my door wearing Halloween costumes (with masks) holding some of our favorite snacks to eat together. We were all thrilled to have visitors! The kids had so much fun playing together...hide and seek was a highlight.
Ashlyn said that the boys and girls had some race, and the deal was that whoever won, got to do whatever they wanted to the other. So I guess the girls won and this was part of the deal. Ash took pictures - I didn't even know this happened until I looked on the camera.
On our drive to Colorado, we passed through Joplin. We decided to take the 15 minute drive off the freeway to find where the tornado hit. It was shocking to see the devastation there. I didn't know if I should smile or cry in the picture. Usually you smile for pictures, but we sure didn't feel like smiling in Joplin. So many sad scenes we passed by. Made us so grateful for what we have. I really wanted to stop, so the girls could have a visual in their mind when I explain that life really isn't fair, or when they complain about having to share or having to do chores or when they don't like the meal I prepare. Life could be worse...you could lose your house and everything in it...and many even lost family members.
Monday night we drove away from Rolla. Saturday night we had a bonfire in our backyard to burn all of our boxes and trash. We roasted s'mores to make for one more fun night with our friends.

Baby Shower

We had a couples shower for our friends having their first baby. It was a fun shower and also fun to have so many friends over just a couple weeks before we left. We had a game and there was a tie for the winner (and there was a prize). I think it was Dave's idea to have the women arm wrestle for the prize. This was the best part of the party! I even saw money flying around for best on who would win. I really wanted to arm wrestle Jane (the winner) but I used self control since I just had surgery. Someday, Jane.

We had chocolate and cheese fondue with all sorts of dippins.
Just some of the group at the shower. We miss everyone so much!

Nauvoo

We squeezed in a quick trip to Nauvoo before we left Missouri. Our friends joined us. We got a fun vacation home right in downtown Nauvoo.

Patty Sessions is one of our relatives. She delivered about 4,000 babies. She was a strong, courageous pioneer.
With the Whittekiends by the Nauvoo Temple.
Watching the sunset on the Mississippi River.

At Carthage Jail. This is the window Joseph Smith fell from when he was shot.

Surgery

I know it's been forever since I have put any pictures on the blog. I have a few good reasons. The first week of April Dave and I went to Colorado to look at houses and the business. Then we came back and had 2 days before Mom came to help for a week while I had a hysterectomy. I was recovering, or so we thought, and then I ended up back in the hospital with an infection that put me in the hospital for 9 more days and I had another surgery to get rid of that stubborn infection. My second recovery was even longer and then we moved to Fort Collins, CO. We are somewhat settled and now I finally found a second to put some pictures on.

Nate caught a frog almost daily. He even got Grandma Shelly to put the frog on her head.
Our good friend picked Mom up from the airport. They came first thing the next day to visit me at the hospital. I was like an old grandma waiting and waiting for my visitors to come. I was watching out the window and started to cry (because I was so happy) when they arrived. We were doing lots and lots of waving when we all saw each other. It was a happy moment for me.
Grandma came armed with fun things for the kids to do. The girls made fun flip-flops. She knows that Nate doesn't like sleeping alone, so she brought him a monkey and pillow. I was so glad to have Mom's help, and the kids were just so happy to have time with Grandma!
It was such a rough 9 days in the hospital. The highlights were visits from my family.

Sheriff Nate

We had a talent show for Grandma Shelly's birthday party. This was Nate's talent.

Here are the words in case you don't catch them all.

Once there was a dragon, and he was flying in the sky.

He was flying to find people he would like to eat and kill.

Nate and Daddy were sheriffs and they got their swords and Nate was a daddy.

And there was daddy.

And they were so big.

And they can fight.

Then all the people said "Thank you sheriffs."

And Sheriff Nate said "Just doin' my duty!"