Enjoying a Beautiful Fall

We have had a good month. The weather has been great and we've been enjoying various activities. Last weekend was Fall Break and we headed to Glenwood Springs for a quick get away. 

The boys love coming here.

We first came the summer they turned 3. 

Leah loved the water and Ryan and Luke had a great time playing with her.

I put on floaties for Leah for the first time. She was really proud of herself for being able to float in the water on her own.

On our second day we took the gondola to the Adventure Park. Leah was pretty apprehensive about our ride up - she's wasn't too sure what was going on. 

The boys are about an inch too short to ride the alpine slide by themselves, so Greg was lucky enough to go twice.

Ryan would not ride the zipline. Luke was game, but was a bit nervous.

I think they both had a good time.

No trip is complete without lots of treats along the way.

Like father like daughter. Leah insisted on her own spoon-she is very determined to do everything on her own.

Ryan and Luke are in their last year of Cub Scouts. They made their raingutter regatta boats by themselves this year. They both did a good job and were matched up in one of the winner rounds.

Ryan wins!

Leah had the best time at the Pack meeting. She would run across the room and yell "Ryan, Ryan" and sit in Ryan's lap, and then jump up 30 seconds later, come back to me, and then started all over again. Ryan, as usual, was so sweet with her.

Ryan working on his boat.

Various pictures from the month.

Leah and I waited in the car for the boys to get out of school one day to avoid the wind. Leah had a great time climbing all over the back seats.

Bike ride!

Leah got a hold of Luke goggles and thought she was pretty hot stuff to wear them around the house.

 Ryan and Luke successfully completed their Lego Death Star.

They really worked great together on this project. They divided up tasks before they started and were patient taking their turns. It was a hard set to put together but they stuck with it and should be proud of themselves.

Bounce house fun at the neighborhood Fall Festival. Both boys were so protective of Leah around the other kids. Luke yelled at 2 other boys to watch where they were going and Ryan worked hard to help Leah jump.

Window crayons are the best.

 Various daycare pictures:

And lastly, 2 videos for our own enjoyment:

Ryan is still sticking with the trombone. He's made progress over the last month and can now play a few recognizable songs.

And Leah counting in her sweet little voice - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 11, 11....

Back to School Routine

We have been busy adjusting to the back to school routine. Greg has been in and out of town and various activities for the boys have been starting up again. Leah has been rolling with the punches and does fine with just anything that comes her way. She loves hanging out her brothers and is interested in whatever they are into.

Leah still loves walking to the bus stop to pick up her brothers. She usually has to bring something with her or collect various objects along the way. In the pictures above, she brought her tea pot, tea cup, and an ear of corn. She managed to walk, pour herself some tea, and hang on to her corn all at the same time.

Leah's favorite spot in the house - sitting on the hearth next to her basket of books.

Daycare adventures: 

Leaf collecting

I think Leah's tree has already lost all of its leaves.

Pumpkin week fun.

We drove to the mountains a couple of weeks ago to see the leaves. It was a cold day and Luke was not interested in enjoying the view. 

Summit of Guanella Pass.

Picture from the car. I couldn't get all 3 kids out at this point to take a picture of them.

Picnic lunch in the wind. Leah had a blast.

Ryan was still a good sport about it - his brother, not so much.

Leah and I had a couple of days together last week - we went to the Children's Museum, she loved it just as much as her brothers used to. She had the best time running around the Young Children's room and checking out all of the fun stuff to get into. 

The firetruck is always a favorite.

And here are Ryan and Luke at the Children's Museum at about the same age:

Greg's parents celebrated their 50th Anniversary this week. We had a party for them this past weekend.

All 5 grandkids - always cooperative at the same time.

Leah had a blast at the party, too. She thought she was pretty cool trying to be the center of attention.

Leah loves to get a hold of a box of kleenex and pull every tissue out one at a time and pretend to wipe her nose.

The big news for Ryan and Luke is their recent purchase of the Lego Death Star. They have been saving their money for about 2 years and finally had enough to buy the new Death Star that came out a few weeks ago. They are now spending their weekend in the basement assembling the massive set.

 Ryan has started to play the trombone this year. He was so excited to try it out for the first time.

I think he's ready for marching band practice:

Leah singing Old MacDonald:

Leah also recognizes almost all of the letters. She loves to put her letter magnets in her purse and carry them around with her. She especially loves it when we pull them out one at a time and ask her to name the letter:

Summer Wrap Up and Labor Day Fun

There might be a couple of weeks left of summer, but for me, it's over when the pool closes for the year. I had a hard time dragging the boys to the pool today. I think summer is over for them once they go back to school. They're now ready for winter. Leah still had a blast.

Friday was our first Go Purple Friday. All 3 kids wore their TCU purple and indulged me in some pictures. 

And here we are a year ago.

Leah is such a little ham.  I asked the boys to kneel down next to her, so she kneeled down, too.

Little cheese.

Leah having fun at the pool. She says "suit" when I tell her it's time to get ready to go swimming.

Luke had a good time playing with his sister today.

Before the pool, we went to The Taste of Colorado. All 3 kids loved their gelato the most.

Last year at the same event. We seem to follow the same yearly traditions. 

 Other things going on:

Leah is a master of the IPad and IPhone. Not sure if that is really a good thing, but it is funny how quickly kids figure out technology.

Kelsey sent me a picture of Leah last week - it reminded me of Holly Hobbie.

Aunt Conny sent Leah a box full of goodies from her new-ish job. She is rocking the cute owl stuff.

Now we have a growth chart - I need to transfer the marks from the border of her closet to the chart. Leah looks so teeny tiny in this picture.

Leah and her friend Davis. He is the most tolerant cat ever. 

Greg likes to make Leah scrambled eggs on the weekends. She is clearly a fan of her big breakfast.

Luke lost his book for a weekend due to poor behavior. Taking away electronics and other such things doesn't seem to bother him too much. I guess he didn't really mind losing his book, because he easily found another one to read.

Little Mischief Maker.

Kelsey's son's birthday was a couple of weeks ago. It was a superhero theme - complete with costumes for the kids. Leah looked awesome as Wonder Woman.

And here is a short video showing how Leah truly has the best big brothers.