Cabin Fun

We had a wonderful time at the cabin with Jen, Kate, Nana and Grandpa at the beginning of August. The kids had fun playing all day long....boating, swimming, hiking, "camping" in the basement. During one of the camping sessions in the downstairs tent, it was decided Sam and I would be kids and Charlie and Kate were the mom and pa. "How old are you Kate? I'm 40...no how old is pa? I'm 41 and you're 38 Kate. I need to go to work. I'm making my lunch and going to work." It was so cute how serious Charlie was about it all.

Ben loved all of the new things to suck on at the cabin. He worked hard all week to try and crawl but didn't really figure it out until we got home. He loved the water even though it was cold. He also loved watching the big kids play!

Sam had fun playing with his cousin Kate. He pretended to not want to get kissed but giggled the entire time!

Sam loved getting spoiled by Nana and grandpa. Thank you for such a great week of fun everyone. Can't wait to do it again next summer!

Ben's first crawl!

This morning after breakfast Ben figured out crawling. He was getting close yesterday so I thought I'd tape him. Here is his very first time crawling. I love how his hips and legs are all over as he's trying to figure the crawling thing out. By tonight he was crawling to things he wanted very slowly but with better body control. He's also started clapping and is big into feeding himself with much more proficiency. It's amazing how quickly babies learn things.

Crawling is one of the cutest baby stages I think. Chris and I smiled all day as we watched Ben crawl around looking for things to explore. Watch out Charlie and Sam....here comes Ben!

Family Reunion

We had a great time at the Tripp (Bigelow) family reunion at the YMCA at Snow Mountain Ranch. It's near Winter Park on the west side of the Rocky Mountains. There were 60+ family members from Chris' family. The two youngest are pictured below. Ben and Luke.... in three years they will be running around with the rest of the pack!

The craft shop was a favorite stop for the boys. Charlie and Sam spent a couple hours painting and embellishing their wooden trains.

Charlie said the best part of the reunion was "playing with my cousins". Sam became a part of a new family at the BBQ. He loved being old enough to run around and try to keep up with all of the bigger cousins. The reunion was a fun end to our adventures in the Rockies this summer.

Ben...smiling, talking and trying to crawl.

Ben is almost 9 months old. He's talking, trying to crawl, and smiling all day long. He loves to play with his brother's toys and works all day to try to get to them. On his belly, back to sitting, a little crawl here and there, eventually he makes it to the toy!

He gives the brightest smiles when someone new comes into the room. I love big baby smiles! He has 3 teeth and another one trying to come in. He puts his arms up to let us know he wants to be picked up and tries to help a little when we dress him. The other new "accomplishment" is screaming. When we aren't feeding him quick enough, a loud piercing scream comes out of his little angelic mouth. It works...we move quicker and try to get the food in his mouth. Anything to stop the scream.

Ben loves the water! Cold, freezing, pool, lake, bath tub...it doesn't matter. As soon as he sees water his arms flap and legs kick until he gets in...then they continue to splash and kick. He giggles and bounces up and down when he's in the water. I love it that he enjoys the water so much.

Happy Birthday Pa!

The Rockies

1900 miles away from home....We had a wonderful family adventure to the Rockies in the beginning of July. We camped in Roosevelt National Park at Pawnee Campground. The campground was surrounded by mountains and beautiful lakes and streams. We hiked to the Indian Peeks Wilderness with 8 kids to see Mitchel and Long Lake. All of the trail heads were walking distance from our campground. Charlie had his "poker" stick out for all of the mud and snow we encountered along the way. He made pokes in them all...

Our campground was at 10,300 ft above sea level. Everyone got a little altitude sickness the first day but most were great by day 2. There was lots of playing in the snow at our campsite, moving of rocks from one place to another, and digging in dirt. The nights were cold but the days were perfect. I can't wait to go back and take the hike to Isabel.


The BIG rock we played on everyday at the campground.

Hiking through snow and making pokes in wood. Notice poking stick in hand on last picture....my favorite one from the trip. Love the mountains and trail in the background.

Charlie had a blast hiking (most of the time) with all of his cousins. Ben and Sam were in backpacks most of the time. Charlie put his feet in the mountain water at Mitchel. It was COLD.

Everyone enjoyed throwing rocks. Sam is throwing into Brainard Lake, walking distance from our campsite.

Ben won the best camper/traveler award. He was excellent the whole trip. The boys all did so well with the long car ride and tent time. I can't wait to plan another adventure for next summer! Any ideas?

Happy Birthday Will!

Charlie's good buddy Will turned 5. We were all invited for a jump o rama party! It was fun to spend the afternoon with good friends and watch all of our kiddos get some energy and laughs out...(and cries). I can't believe our little boys are turning 5!