Sunday, July 25, 2010

Cabin Fun

My Dad's cabin is one of our favorite places to go each summer. It is just so beautiful up there and there is so much to see and do. We have been dying to bring Ashlyn up there ever since I was pregnant with her. We have always just deemed her too young. She had been up there once before, but only for an hour or so. We decided this last weekend, that she was finally old enough to give it a try. We decided to only go up for one night to see how it went. We had a great time!!! Ashyln absolutely loved it up there. It was so nice to leave everything behind and enjoy nature. We had such a great time, that we decided to go back again next weekend. We hope to spend the entire weekend up there.
Ashyln's favorite part was definitely feeding the chipmunks. St. Elmo is famous for their chipmunks. It is amazing to see the amount of people that flock to them each weekend. We got there bright and early and fed them before it was too crowded. Ashlyn is dying to feed them again. One of Ashlyn's favorite movies right now is "Alvin and the Chipmunks". She was so excited to see some real live ones. She kept calling all of the fat ones "Theodore". It was too cute!

In other news, Ashlyn had her first dentist appointment this week. Joey found a great pediatric dentist to take her to. I was sooooo impressed with the office. From the moment you walked through the door, you could tell that this place was geared towards kids. The entire office staff was so friendly and great with Ashlyn. Ashlyn did amazing! She even sat still for x-rays! She did a great job during the cleaning and exam. The dentist said her teeth looked wonderful. She also said she has great spacing between her teeth which is important for when her adult teeth come in. Ashlyn really enjoyed her time there and I'm sure she will be excited to go back in December.

Ashyln is also doing a great job with potty training. I waited a while to start training her. I'm a very firm believer in waiting until they are ready so it is much easier on everyone. She is definitely ready. Since Ashlyn is lucky enough to have a plumber for a Grandpa, he came and installed a special toddler toilet for her in her bathroom. She loves using that thing! She has been doing a great job staying dry all day. We haven't tackled pottying when we are out and about yet, but I am confident that will come in time. I am so proud of my growing up girl!

Ashlyn's first time roasting marshmellows and making smores.

She was kind of confused at first.

Eating smores with Papa. She LOVED them!

We had a great time sitting by the fire.

Daddy and Ashlyn by the fire.

She was all cuddled up and ready for bed.

Up bright and early and ready for the adventures of the day.


Alli playing in the water. I think Alli may have even more fun then we do up there!


Ashlyn enjoyed throwing sticks for Alli.

Each and every time I go to the cabin, I am amazed at how beautiful it is up there. I truly think it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It always takes my breath away. We are so fortunate in Colorado to get to see this stuff.

Getting ready to feed the chipmunks

Daddy showing Ashlyn how to feed them. (While I have fed them before, I was more than happy to be the photographer. They kind of scare me.)


Trying to pet one.

Getting the hang of things.

They love their food!


She was quite popular with the chipmunks.

They loved her!


I was very amazed when I saw this. While the chipmunks are VERY used to humans, they generally don't like to be touched. I looked over and saw that she had one in the crook of her arm and she was petting it.


The girl is like Snow White. LO

Walking down to the river.

Having a great time with Auntie






















4th of July

Like we have the past two years, we had a 3rd of July party. This year Joey decided he wanted to make it extra special by getting Ashlyn a bounce house. She has LOVED them other places, so we thought it would be a great idea. She had a blast in it all day long. There were lots of kids there to jump with her and she just couldn't get enough of it. We were all sad to see it go that night. The Sky Sox put on an amazing show this year. We were very pleased. Ashlyn even managed to make it to the fireworks. That girl is a party animal!!!

Like in years past, Joey and I were very pleased in the turnout for the party. We had lots of family and friends to celebrate the holiday with. This year was extra special because Ashlyn's Uncle Adam and Aunt Jane were there as well. I would say that we had between 30-40 people come this year. The food was great and the company was even better. When I went to write this blog entry, I realized we didn't take that many pictures. I guess both Joey and I were having too much fun with our guests. Here are some of the pictures that we got.
The excitement of watching the bounce house being set up.

It's starting to look like something.

There it is! A princess castle perfect for our little princess!!!


Ashlyn hanging out with some kids. She has so much fun playing with kids.



Ashlyn playing in the bounce house.

The girls were having soooo much fun!

Silly girl!

In her chair waiting for the fireworks to start.

She couldn't wait!
On the the 4th of July we went over to our friend's house for a bbq and fireworks. We had a great time there as well. Ashlyn had a great time playing with bubbles.

Daddy's little girl.














Thursday, July 1, 2010

Denver fun

Last week we decided to take a little "vacation" to Denver for the night. Ashlyn, my mom, sister, and me went. We had a wonderful time! We shopped, ate great food, and went to the aquarium. I have been wanting to go to the aquarium for years now. Ashlyn is always so drawn to fish tanks. I knew she would just love it. Any time we have ever driven by on the weekend, the place has just been packed. I like to avoid crowds like the plague, so I wanted to wait until we could go during my summer break. We went there right when it opened and were very lucky to be some of the only people there. We saw lots of great fish and Ashlyn just loved it. We really enjoyed our little getaway and hope to do it again soon some time!










This fish was HUGE!




We thought the face on this thing was very creepy.

My mom was the only one brave enough to feed the stingrays. I did touch one.









Horse Competitions

Ashlyn's grandparents entered her into the Gymkhana again this year. She has competitions every other week. She missed the first one when we were on vacation. A week and a half ago was the first one she went to. She gets to do 4 events each time. She has such a fun time. She really likes getting to spend time with her grandparents. I shouldn't really call them competitions, since they aren't placed and everyone gets a ribbon. I just love seeing her on the horses and the fun she has. She is still one of the youngest kids and everyone seems to love to watch her ride.


Riding with Grandma

Doesn't she look adorable in her cowgirl clothes?

Watching the riders


Waving to her adoring fans.

During the flag event

She has to place the flag in the bucket.

Her favorite part

High five for a job well done!



All that riding makes a cowgirl tired.