Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Last week, I took the boys to Colorado Springs to visit the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. What a beautiful place! The highlight of the zoo are these guys...

...and this one in particular:

Isn't he gorgeous?! At this zoo, you actually get to feed these beautiful animals. Here's Mason helping Maddox reach them - although the giraffes' tongues are so long that he may not have needed any help!


We met up with some people who are very dear to me... this is Jeff. Those of you who have been around through my high school years may recognize his face...

He is the nephew (and spitting image) of my high school sweetheart, Scott. Tragically, Scott passed away in 2004, but I continue to keep in touch with his wonderful family. Jeff has just moved to Denver for college (sheesh... I remember long before this kid was even born!) and his mom and older sister drove out for the week to visit him. I was thrilled at the opportunity to spend some time with them. As you can see, Maddox took to Jeff quite nicely. Don't let his serious expression fool you... he was glued to Jeff the whole morning.

...that is, when he wasn't busy holding a bird. :)


We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the zoo. They have some beautiful animals there - including this fella:

He pranced around everywhere - and occasionally, he'd even give us some excellent photo opps!

Another beautiful day in Colorado!

Michele

Brothers = Friends... Sometimes.

Mason & Morgan like to horse around a bit - here was a photo of one such time:

...and before you scold me, Dad, the 4-wheeler wasn't even turned on. :)

I love it when these two get along...

Michele

Hiking 3 Sisters Again

We went back to 3 Sisters one day last week for the big boys to ride with Dad and the little guy to go hiking with me... I tell you what, I have never been hiking on trails as beautiful as these. Maddox and I took a different one this time (there's several trails to choose from in this park) and like the first one, this one took my breath away.

Maddox is an old pro at this now... notice the hiking stick? He found that himself!

He insisted I take a picture of him at just about every rock we came to. See his serious "mountain man" look?! Oh, and you simply can't go hiking unless you're clutching a dandelio... er... yellow flower.


I wanted to prove that I was actually along for this beautiful hike...

And what a gorgeous hike it was... at one point, we came out of the woods and saw this...

No simple photograph can do it justice... you simply have to come see for yourself!

And at the end of our hike, Maddox presented me with the most beautiful "yellow flower" he could find!

Life is good... (have I said that already?)
Michele

Momma's Favorite Spot

There is a charming porch swing out in our front yard between two big trees. Here's a photo of it from when we came house-hunting...

But now it's MINE! I just love it there. Especially when I have a cute little guy who wants to cuddle & blow bubbles!


The next best thing is to escape the real world right there on that swing with a blanket, a cup of cocoa, and a good book! When the little one is napping and the older two are... doing whatever... this is one of my favorite places to go. I have my very own retreat right here on this mountain in the midst of all these trees... won't you come join me?!

Ahhhhh... this is the LIFE!!
Michele

Boys & Boxes

Anyone who has moved knows just how many boxes you end up with... we're still emptying them and probably will be for another couple months!

But when you have boys, extra boxes just mean extra fun!

Besides playing this trick on Mom... "Michael, where are the boys??"... these three had a good game going. While one of them hid their eyes, a second one would climb into one of the many boxes we had on the driveway that day and hide with the help of the third brother. Then the first brother would have to guess which box the second one was in without looking. They were popping out of boxes all over the place.



The joys of childhood!
Michele

The Zip Line

We're not wasting any time in making this place a kid's paradise... as soon as Michael found his tools again, he and the older boys got right to work on a new zip line in our back yard.


Here's the finished starting platform:

And let the fun begin!!



And yes, even Moms can have some fun.

Here are two very happy boys:


Unfortunately, however, if you're too small to ride it, you get stuck with the job of retrieving it. :)

Alright, so now we have tractors, motorcycles, 4-wheelers, a zip line... WHAT'S NEXT?!

Michele

A Comparison

Since we're comparing kids... I thought I'd share this too. The photo below is of Morgan in October of 2001 - about 2 1/2 years old:

And this next one is of his little brother, Maddox, in September of 2008 - just over 2 years old:

Two peas in a pod, huh?! They both have the same "mean" look! Actually, to make the story even cuter... this is Maddox "closing his eyes". It took him forever to understand how to do it and he was just so stinkin' cute when he tried!

Michele