Pella Crossing Hike

It's Spring Break around here and we're making the most of our time off from classes.

We took a little hike today with our good friends Alex and Ruth O'Connor at Pella Crossing (north of Boulder, right outside of the town of Hygiene, a place I ride past a lot on my bike but had never stopped to explore).

We even drove past the buffalo farm on Nelson Rd. on our way there.

We have beautiful Spring weather around here, a perfect day for a hike.

When Ruthie lagged behind it was Alex who took her hand and hiked with her to help her keep up with the group:

I think this was the first hike in 6 years that I didn't even take the Ergo with me! Last year there were a few hikes that Ruthie did all on her own, but I at least always brought the Ergo backpack just in case. We've moved on to a new phase in the hiking world.

Anna and Josie along the trail:

Tally-ho and away we go! Pella Crossing is a series of 6 different ponds so we had fun exploring the waters edge and seeing what different birds were out at this time of year. Lots of Canadian Geese, robbins, hawks, herons, red-winged blackbirds, and wigeons. We'll have to come back later on in the Spring to see pelicans, killdeer, cranes, and all the smaller songbirds.

The girls thought being a train was the best way to hike:)

For your viewing enjoyment, the train in motion:





We found this huge cottonwood tree at the furthest out point on our hike and of course it had to be climbed before we could move on down the trail.

The wind came up and it got pretty blustery while Anna was in the tree. She didn't seem to mind, though. She looks pretty relaxed up there enjoy the view!

Four little girls taking in the vistas.

At Long Last...

Josie's long-awaited Tea Party!!!

Two weeks later, now that our whole family is finally healthy again after a long battle with the flu, after a second round of baking of muffins, cookies and a birthday cake, after the easiest picking up of the house ever when I asked the girls to make the house look fancy, after Josie looking through all of our wardrobes and picking out our fanciest clothes and accessories for us to wear, after re-sending out invitations... Finally we were able to have our fancy tea party for Josie's 5th birthday.

When our little guests arrived first we had fun painting nails:







Then the girls decorated the sugar cookies we had baked for the tea party with different colored/flavored frosting (strawberry, blueberry, chocolate and lemon):

And then we sat down to tea. Josie had made name cards for everyone to show them where to sit and then all three girls had helped me set the table with their tea sets. Friends had loaned us fancy serving dishes, including a three-tiered serving tray.

Josie requested banana-blueberry-chocolate chip muffins, triangle egg salad sandwiches, heart shaped peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches, sugar cookies, Hershey kisses and strawberries. Mitch and I kept their little tea pots filled with tea for them to serve themselves, chamomile and peppermint with a hint of honey. We always have tea parties with either a table cloth or placemats on the table. That makes it fancier, as Josie would say, and it also immediately soaks up any inevitable spills before they run off the table and onto the floor or onto fancy dresses, as this Mommy appreciates.

There's even a little bit of sugar in the sugar pot, with a teeny-tiny spoon, and cream in the cream pot.

Triple layer lemon heart shaped cake with lemon cream cheese frosting. Mmm mmm mmm.

Josie had us sing Happy Birthday to the accompaniment of her singing card that she got from Grandpa and Nona.

Happy birthday to my special Josie Joy.

I'm glad we were finally able to celebrate you in such a fancy, Josie-style way. We wanted to show you how much we love you and your spunky spirit, your constant energy and smile, your daredevil attitude and your sweet compassionate way of interacting with those around you. Thank you for being you.

The Beginnings of a Celebration

We had the beginnings of a birthday celebration yesterday, but then the festivities were cut short by a sick birthday girl. Everything seemed fine in the morning (although Josie seemed a bit tired from getting up at 5:30am!) But halfway through the morning she came down with a fever and spent the rest of the day sleeping on the couch. Poor Josie. After months, literally, of preparation and anticipation for her fancy tea party, we have had to postpone it.

First thing in the morning the birthday girl and her Daddy'O went on a date to go pick up donuts for breakfast. That was the special birthday breakfast treat she chose. Donuts, baby yogurt and juice, to be precise:

Ruthie ran and got her gift for Josie and it was opened at the breakfast table. A purple water bottle that matches the pink one that Ruthie got for Christmas. Ruthie knew what her sister wanted! It's fun to see Ruthie at an age that she can start to take such pride and joy in finding the perfect gift for someone she loves.

Ruthie also made a book for Josie. Here she is 'reading' it to her:

She had us all laughing with her storyline! I don't remember what it was, now, but nothing that made very much sense as she made it up as she went along:)


Josie opening her gift from Anna (a fancy dress to wear at her tea party, earrings, and a few other fancy things). I'm not sure who was more excited, Anna to give her special gift, or Josie to receive it.

Opening the books from Grandma Jo!

Butterfly finger puppet that Anna made for her:

After skyping with Grandpa and Nona Josie said she was tired crashed out on the couch. Poor thing. This is pretty much how she spent the rest of the day.

I have to say, though, that it made for a relaxing birthday for Mommy! There has to be something positive in it all, right? It was pretty special to just sit around and snuggle with Josie on her birthday, read stories, listen to music, and give her some special attention that usually feels like we are fighting to find the time for on birthdays because of all the work that needs to be done to pull off a birthday party for our special girl.

Josie does seem to be on the upswing today. We're hoping she'll be all the way better by tomorrow and we can have the much anticipated fancy tea party in the afternoon.

Our plan for the rest of today is just to rest and knit on this rainy/snowy afternoon. Soup is cooking on the stove, I'm making some rolls soon, and we're just taking it easy. One of my gifts to Josie for her birthday was some yarn and knitting needles because she has been asking me to teach her how to knit for a while now. What better day to begin knitting lessons than a chilly, wet day and a sick/recovering girl who needs some motivation to stay still on the couch!

Notice Anything?

Yup! Two little girls got their ears pierced this weekend. Pretty exciting stuff in their world. Josie has been telling us for a while now that she wanted to have her ears pierced on her 5th birthday. Anna didn't want to be left out.

We're gearing up for a fancy tea party in our household tomorrow to celebrate my favorite 5 year old birthday girl in the whole wide world. I just finished making a heart shaped triple layer lemon cake. We'll take some pictures of our day of celebration to share with you, so check back soon!

Another Ruthie blog post was in order. This crazy, determined girl has a new skill:

Can you believe it? I'm a bit in shock. She's had a little balance bike she likes to ride around on, but that was getting a little short for her. Her balance seemed pretty good on that so I thought we would give the pedal bike a go. I can't say I had a lot of patience to teach her, I kept getting frustrated when she would stop pedaling and tell her we were waiting until she was a bit older. But then she would get frustrated at me because she was really determined to learn and wanted me to keep helping her. She wants to keep up with the big girls. She can't get started on her own, and has a ways to go before she's just riding around the courtyard in laps on her own, but I'd say she's doing pretty good.

One more video:

I'm excited to have three kids riding their own bikes. That feels like a huge milestone as a parent! Ruthie has been wanting to ride her balance bike when we go to pick up Anna lately, and has even ridden all the way home twice, over two miles! But it's slow. I'm pretty much walking my bike behind her. And Anna and Josie get tired of riding a few feet and then waiting. Riding her own two wheeler will let Ruthie be a part of everything but will still allow us to get home in a decent amount of time. Soon, that is. She's not ready for a long bike ride yet. But soon! Good job little miss Ruthie. We're all proud of you.

I'm sold on the idea of learning to ride a two-wheel bike in the winter. Long pants and mittens means no scraped knees, no scraped hands, no tears, soft falls into the snow... By the time warm weather hits we'll be past the dangerous stages. I'd recommend it to any parent.

Climbing and Running

Ruthie and I went for a walk along the creek path this afternoon and ended up at the camel tree. You can't end up at the camel tree without climbing the camel tree.

Can you tell why we call it the camel tree?


It's a huge Cottonwood that's growing laying over on it side so it bumps up like a camel. It's branches stick straight up in the air. Perfect for a three year old to climb.

Higher than Mommy's head!

From her lookout in the crow's nest Captain Nancy Ruth of the pirate ship Amazon is watching for her sisters and Daddy to return along the creek path.

Pretty cute for a pirate, if you ask me.

Here they come! Anna, Josie and Daddy'O went out for a run.

Ruthie and I were the cheering squad.

Ever since Anna and Josie watched Uncle Chad and Daddy'O run in the Bolder Boulder last year they have wanted to run in it again this year themselves. They say they are training for it and keep talking us into taking them out for runs. They ran 1 and 3/4 miles on this run. The Bolder Boulder is a 10k, 6 miles. They've got a ways to go in their training if they truly want to do it this year, but the running has been fun and good for all of us in the meantime, whether or not they actually run in the Bolder Boulder. What do you say, Uncle Chad, are you coming out again this year to run with your nieces?

More Ice Skating Videos

We have really been enjoying the ice skating this winter, every time we go we get there when they open mid morning and end up staying until dinner time. Ruthie has been a couple of times now and this last time she was actually able to skate around a bit. I only have one video of her because most of the time I was skating next to her. She did a lot better if she wasn't holding on to me, then she would actually find her own balance instead of just depending on me. I would take her out to the middle of the ice and drop her off, telling her I had to help out Anna or Josie, and then she was fine to skate for a while on her own.

Anna and her friend Juliana (in pink) were practicing and then performing an ice skating show for the adults in attendance. Here's a couple of videos of their moves:

Josie didn't want me to take any videos of her this day so you just get to see her skating in and out of videos of the other two.

Tea Party Uncle Michael Style

I'm not sure Uncle Michael was particularly thrilled when the girls told him they wanted to have a tea party with him but when he saw the spread that the waitress brought out, he was won over. Who can resist mango, chocolate, blueberries and marshmallows? (Thanks for the marshmallows, Grace!) And little sips of tea, of course. I was a bit confused when he asked for a toothpick. He already had a fork at his place.

But can you tell what he is doing? That's right, roasting the mini marshmallows over the candle.

You sure upped the ante for tea parties around here, Michael! Look at that golden beauty.

Complete with a bit of chocolate and some graham cracker.

Come back soon, Uncle Michael! And bring your whole family next time, these girls want to roast marshmallows with Maia and Paxton!

Uncle Michael's Igloo

Uncle Michael came to Denver riding on an airplane

And then the snow came flying down and this is where he ended.

Uncle Michael thanks for comin', Uncle Michael stranded

Uncle Michael had some fun though this was unintended!

(sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle)

We did love having you, Michael, although we're sorry you didn't make it all the way to South Dakota to see your family.

The girls woke up last Friday morning to a snow day from school and Uncle Michael sleeping on the couch. When a foot and a half of snow is on the ground, what little girl wouldn't be asking to build a snow fort? I told them Uncle Michael was the expert. Which he was. Just check out this igloo! Digging out the inside:
Ruthie checking it out:

Josie crawling in:

Uncle Michael thought he was just making an igloo for some little girls to play in during the day. Little did he know that two certain 4 and 6 year olds would want to sleep in their igloo that night.

Yes, seriously, they did sleep in it. Josie made it until 3 in the morning and Anna made it all night. They had to have adult supervision of course, so Uncle Michael was recruited to sleep in it too. He tried to make a case for young 'uns wanting their mom and dad to sleep with them, but Anna and Josie really wanted their uncle. Aw shucks, who can resist that?!

No, I didn't let Ruthie sleep out there, but she sure is a cutie playing in the igloo:

It was pretty big, Mommy even came in to play for a while during the day!

The moral of this story is: don't get caught in Denver in a snowstorm unless you want to spend the night in an igloo. Or something like that.

Today Josie went outside to play in the snow and climbed up on top of the igloo. Pretty soon she was jumping up and down on top of it and yelling to me about how strong it was. The next thing I knew, she had disappeared. Not knowing if she was stuck somewhere between on top and inside, I ran outside and peaked in. A giggling Josie looked up at me and exclaimed "I made a chimney, Mom!"

More Silliness

I could do a post on silliness pretty much every day in this house.

I hope these give you a bit of a laugh:)

Josie putting tattoos all over Ruthie (pieces of wet paper):

Swimsuits in the snow?


At least Ruthie had boots on!

Some 'real' swimming in the bathtub:

This swimming would have cracked you up even more if you could have eavesdropped on more of their conversation.

Josie: "I'm doing it! My elbows aren't even touching the bottom! I'm really swimming!"

Anna: "Get out, it's my turn now! I'm 6 so I need to be first so I need to practice more. You're only 4 so it doesn't matter as much if you don't know how to swim yet, but I need to learn. That's not fair that you learned before me, Josie!"