Our Cute Little Cowgirl

I think I have mentioned before that Ashlyn really, really likes horses. Her grandparents in Buena Vista have several horses. She just loves petting them and being around them. Ashlyn really likes one horse in particular. Her name is Pistol. Ashlyn now refers to horses as "Peeoohs" (did my best at writing how she says it) since she can't say Pistol. Ashlyn's grandparents decided to start entering her in some horse competitions. Now, I know NOTHING about horses. I can't really tell you what each competition entails. They are every other Sunday in Woodland Park. I do know that she has an absolute blast at them! I have not gotten a chance to see her compete yet. I hope to the next competition. Joey went with her this week and got lots and lots of pictures. I included a ton because they were all so darn cute!

Joey said she had a great time like usual. He said that everyone there knows her. He said a lot of people were saying she is a natural and very talented for her age. He said that when they announce her the announcer says "she is only 2o months old!!" Every week she competes she comes back with several ribbons. I just can't believe my baby is a cowgirl. I think she is one of the cutest ones I have ever seen! Since I can't really explain anything, here are some pictures to give you an idea of what she does


All dressed up in her cowgirl gear. Too cute!!!

On the horse. This isn't Pistol. I believe this horse is Dodge. Can you see her little spurs?

Talking to Grandpa

Riding the horse

Look at her grabbing the reins

Entering the ring for an event

Not sure which event this was

Waving to Daddy

Looks like she is having a blast!

She does look like a natural!

All dressed up

She looks so tiny on that big horse!

She just has too much fun up there.

Showing her horse her ribbons

Holding Grandpa's hand

In another event

Back on the saddle

She even got to eat a donut. Yummy!!!

Pure chocolate heaven!

Fireworks and Flying Kites

As usual, we had another fun weekend! We started the weekend by watching the Sky Sox fireworks on Friday night. Ashlyn has really been enjoying watching them. She also likes that she gets to stay up late because they don't usually go off until 10:00 pm. or later! She just loved watching them! The Sky Sox always puts on a great show.

I bought Ashlyn an Elmo kite the other day on clearance at Target. I thought it would be fun for a windy day. Well, of course in Colorado we didn't have to wait long to use it! On Saturday morning, we headed to the park nearby and flew the kite. It was the perfect amount of wind. Ashlyn really enjoyed seeing Elmo in the air. It didn't hold her attention for too long. I think she was too distracted by the nearby playground. We headed over there for some fun playtime. After the park, we went down to Old Colorado City. We got some really good fruit and vegetables that Ashlyn and I have been enjoying all week. We went to lunch at an AWESOME pizza place in Manitou Springs. It was a great day!


Clapping her hands for the fireworks

Cuddled up with her Dad.

She is just mesmorized by them!

Waiting to see what this kite is all about

Ashlyn thought it was pretty cool to look at!

What a neat kite!

A nice ride on the swing with Dad.

Renaissance Festival

As we do every year, we headed to the Renaissance Festival last Sunday. We always have a great time there. This year, Ashlyn was at a much better age to enjoy it. I still think she may be a little young to fully comprehend and realize what it is all about. We went on rides, watched shows, and ate lots of junk food! The weather was great and we had a wonderful day!

Ashlyn has continues to talk up a storm! She has turned into our little parrot. EVERYTHING we say she repeats. It is really cute. She says so many new words each day. She continues to put sentences together. We are continuing to work on counting, colors, and the alphabet. She is pretty good at counting. We will work really hard on one color each day, and she then seems to forget the previous colors she has learned. I know that everything will come together in time.

We are also in the full-blown terrible 2 stage. It is the most challenging stage by far. It is very difficult to discipline, talk to, and reason with a 20 month old. Ashlyn has always been a very strong-willed and stubborn girl. (Just like her Mom). When she wants something, she gets very upset if she can't have it. We are working on this. I am very clueless as to how to fix this, but I am trying several techniques. I will keep everyone updated on how it goes. She is very sweet and polite. She has gotten very good at saying "please" and "thank you". If we could just fix these tantrums, we would be great!


Riding the swing. We rode it last year and she really enjoyed it then. She loved it again this year.

This year she got to hold the rope.

We went high!

A boat ride she rode with Dad.

She had a great time!

Waving to Mom

Picking grass while waiting for the jousting to begin.

Watching the jousters with Mom and Auntie

Halfway through the day, she was passed out! Of course sleeping with her Ariel.

Eating a corn dog. Yummy!

She had a great time.

The highlight of the day was riding an elephant with Dad. She is obsessed with elephants now. She has an elephant book that has now became her favorite.

She even got to pet the elephant.

What an adventure!

Everyitme Joey and I have ever been to the Renaissance Festival, we have taken our picture here. Of course we had to take one this year!

More Backyard Fun

Ashlyn just loves playing in her backyard so much. She loves it so much, that when we have to go in she gets very upset! We try to take her out there as much as possible. Here some pictures of the fun we had in the backyard this weekend.

Playing in her sandbox. Of course, her sand is pink!

Playing with bubbles with Daddy.

More fun with bubbles.

Cute close-up shot

I think this one is so adorable!

She just loves the monkey bars. She can hold on for a long time too!

Look at that little monkey!

One of her favorites is still her swing. She likes to go really high as you can see in this picture.

Always smiling in the swing.

What fun!

Running around with Alli

Alli makes a great playmate!