We Love Visitors

We love visitors! My cousin, Steve, and his wife Amy came all the way from Seattle to visit us for an extended weekend. We had a blast catching up with each other. It was their first time meeting the kids too. As you can see in the pictures below, the kids didn't have any problems warming up to them.

We even had a special treat with Chris, Jamie, and Tucker coming to spend a portion of the weekend with us. It was a great family weekend filled with yummy food and fellowship. Here are some pictures:

Hot Chocolate 5K

I did it again! Here's the most recent 5K that I ran with my running buddy, Rebecca. We had a bunch of fun. Surprisingly, the hot cocoa was the worst part of the after party but the chocolate fondue was pretty tasty! :) 

R to L: Martina, Me, Rebecca in front of the marshmallow tree after the race

R to L: Rebecca, Martina, Me in front of the hot chocolate mug after the race.

What a fun day!! 

Another 5K...Okay!

It wasn't in my original plan but our pregnancy center was having a 5K in Santa Fe. Since they are pro-life, I had to fit that in my schedule! Here are some pictures of me at the race. The entire family came out to support me. YAY!!!

Trash Day!

It's trash day!! Yay!! Here are some pictures of the kiddos enjoying their favorite Friday event. To a kid, the trash truck is as exciting as a gigantic ice cream cone. :)

Adventure Day - BIG Thumbs Up!

Today we were supposed to go to the State Fair for free with a homeschool group. After having some anxiety about going all weekend, I decided to listen to my Motherly instinct and stay home. I'm glad I did. It's just too hard to go to such a big place without a designated helper and three toddlers. Anyway, I told them kids I was taking them to a park and we would tailgate at the airport with Il Vicino pizza. Trust me, this is better than ANY fair! ;)

Here are some pictures of our great day. Look below for our amazing surprise! :)

Morning at the Park:

Tailgating at the Santa Fe Airport:

...Then a pilot came up to us and asked us if we wanted our own private tour of their private jet (he just couldn't help himself when he saw the kids - those were his words, not mine!) :)

The kids said I planned an awesome morning for them. I even got a thumbs up from each of them during lunch: 

English-style Afternoon Tea

Our family got to experience an English-style Afternoon Tea with some friends from England. It was a wonderful evening with delicious homemade food, dessert and great friends. Here is a snapshot of our fun night.

Delicious fruit and tea sandwiches

The hosts: Michael and Craig (playing with Billy)

Ben and Billy

Michael playing peek-a-boo with the kids

Brittany getting attacked by giggling triplets

Delicious homemade scones, cream and jam from England (YUM!)

A fun and scrumptious melon side

I don't have pictures of the delicious desserts. Michael and Craig made homemade chocolate mouse (to die for, by the way!) and an awesome yogurt ball with fresh berries. Soooo good! 

Great week with Grandma and Grandpa

We had a great week with Grandma and Grandpa. We did so many different activities. We fished in the family room, danced on our outside stage, played with bubble guns, hide in the grass, went to the Children's Museum, played play dough, went for a train ride and lunch out and read lots and lots of books with Grandma and Grandpa. We miss them already! Here are so pictures of our fun week together.

Dancing with Grandma on our stage

Solomon and Grandma building a castle

Grandpa and Simon working hard

Grandpa and the kids playing with bubble guns

Group picture - A Fun Week with Gma and Gpa

Isla and Grandpa building a cork bulletin board

Fishing in the family room

Simon hiding in the "jungle"

Play Dough!!

Puppet Show Too!

Date Night

What?! Did that title really say "Date Night"? That can't be...oh wait! It's true!! :) Ben's parents came to visit us for a few days and insisted that we take time to go out on a date and an overnight somewhere. So, we did and we had a blast. Here are some pictures from our night on the town, kid-free. :) Thank you Dave and Sharon!

Girl's Weekend (plus kids!)

Ben left for the weekend to visit some friends in Minneapolis and to participate in this year's Fantasy Football League. That left me at home with the kids for the holiday weekend. Although, I got a wonderful treat too. Ben went to stay with our great friends, Alex and Christa but Christa decided to come stay with me for the weekend. So, we had a Girl's Weekend!! Of course, I had the kids too but we found a babysitter to get out twice during her stay. It was a great weekend - I miss her so much already. Here are some pictures of our fun weekend together.

Big slide downtown - fun for the kids

Kids climbing the "ladder" to the big slide

Waiting in line

Christa looking through her wristlet ... her movie ticket is in there somewhere....

Dessert and drinks before the movie

This is how you get your company to sleep in...you have the kids camp out in your room  :)

Great night!

Christa and the kids during our picnic on the plaza

Girl's Night Out!

This IS packing light...