Riding and Fishing and Hiking? Oh Yes!

It has been a busy couple of weeks for our family.  For me, the summer is officially over since I started back to school last week.  My first official day is next Tuesday, but I wanted to take a few weeks to get some lesson plans done before the school year gets started.  It is also good for us to get into a little bit of a routine since we haven't been in one all summer.  Hannah and I have been staying up later and sleeping in, so it takes a little while to get re-adjusted to our school year schedule.  So Hannah's been going to school and so have I.  She loves going to school to "see her friends" so the transition has been pretty smooth.  The only problem is getting used to waking up early.  This two weeks is nice though because we don't have to get up as early as we will once the semester begins so it is helping us transition.  It's also been nice because Hannah likes to come snuggle in the mornings and asks for "five more minutes."  I know that soon we won't be able to take "five more minutes," so I am enjoying it while it lasts.  Also, next week Hannah will begin her transition to pre-school.  She has no idea that it's coming, but her school does a really nice job of helping the kids move up to the next class.  

My dad came to visit over the weekend, so that was a nice little break from our "pre school routine."  We had a great time with him and got to do some cool stuff.  I was supposed to go to work on Friday because I wanted to get a little more stuff done, but then I changed my mind.  I slept in and decided to go to breakfast with Dad and Hannah instead!  I figured I may as well do it while I can because that won't always be an option once school starts. 

We went to a great little breakfast place called The Omlete Parlor, a local restaurant that's been around forever.  The food is great, the portions are big, and the prices are reasonable.  See the example above.  That's Hannah's "kid pancake" for $3.  Are you kidding me??  She barely ate a quarter of it, but at $3, who's really complaining?!  She was pretty jazzed up about it because it took up the whole plate.  Before long, she's going to be requesting "giant pancakes" from her Daddy!

We also got to do some horse back riding at the Air Force Academy, so that was super fun for Hannah.  While we were there we toured the campus, watched airplanes, saw the chapel, and looked in on my classroom.  Dad and I had a good time, but I don't think it even compared to Hannah.  She LOVES horses...and her one hour ride was just not long enough!

I got to lead Hannah's horse around, which was perfect because I am not a huge fan of horseback riding and I wanted the exercise.  She road for an hour and I walked for an hour.  It was great!

Our other big "event" for the weekend was a fishing trip.  Dad originally planned to visit during the weekend that the fire broke out here in the Springs.  I called him and said that it wasn't a good idea to come because you just could not walk outdoors, let alone go hiking, fishing, etc.  We ended up leaving because I have terrible allergies and the smoke was almost unbearable at times.  As we were headed out of town, I saw something that I will never forget.  I saw our city in flames.  It ended up working out nicely because we got to go to Wyoming to spend some time with Jon's grandparents.  His mom was also there because she was going to a cousin's wedding, so we tagged along for that too.  It is always great to see family and friends...we love weddings!

Anyway, we were supposed to go fly fishing that weekend with my Dad, but obviously that got cancelled since our town was in a state of crisis.  I was extremely dissappointed because I know how much my dad wants to try fly fishing.  We looked into a guided tour, but decided against it since Hannah wouldn't be able to come.  We will try that in a few years or when Dad is here for a longer period of time.  So instead we went to a lake in the Pike's Peak area to fish.  It was a beautiful location!  

We brought our boat, but ended up not getting to use it because we didn't have enough life jackets.  So we huge out by the water and fished while Hannah played.  It was a great day for us all!

Hannah helped Jon reel in his fish.  It was the first of the day and it only took something like four hours!  Hannah LOVED the fish!  She wanted to play with them and look at them.  We were planning to just catch and release because we didn't want to bother with cleaning them and frying them.  Hannah caused us to have different plans.  She wanted to keep them and really didn't care if they were in a bag in the cooler...she just enjoyed checking on them periodically!

My first fish!  I would like to point out the fishing pole at the bottom of the picture.  That would be Hannah's pink, Barbie fishing rod.  That's what I used to catch this guy with!

Of course, when there's a fish around you have to pet it too, right?  Doesn't everyone? ;)

Dad finally caught one too.  The fishing wasn't great because we got there during the worst fishing time, so we were pretty lucky to catch the fish that we did catch.  Also, I cannot leave without saying that I totally caught two fish, which made me the winner for the day.  Fishing is ALWAYS a competition and I was the clear winner!  There are not too many things that I can beat Jon in.  He's very competitive and pretty much good at whatever he tries...but there's one thing that can give him a run for his money....and that's fishing!

I am so glad that Dad got to visit...we had a great time and some much needed R&R before the start of the school year.  It is going to be an exciting time for our family and I look forward to the opportunities that arise in the next few months!

Disney World Vacation

Jon's parents took our family to Disney World in Florida and it was a super fun treat!  The pictures certainly the tell the story in this post, so I will get to that.  I would like to say though that we had an absolute blast and that it is definitely a trip that Jon and I will never forget.  Thanks so much Mike and Cindy!

The first evening there, we decided to try to get a little time in at one of the parks, so we went straight to the Magic Kingdom, where all of the "magic" begins!

The whole group, minus Jon in front of the castle!  We didn't spend a ton of time together because the boys a older than Hannah and wanted to do some other things in the parks.  We often ate meals together and swam at the end of the day!

Since we were there, we of course had to watch the fireworks.  Hannah was absolutely mesmorized!

 After two days, I had zero proof that I was even on this vacation, so Jon snapped a picture of me while we were getting lunch ready!  I was there!

 It took Hannah a while to really understand what was going on, but once she did she was all aboard the Disney train and ran around like any good, Disney-lovin, three year old girl should! 

 Hannah was also a big fan of the shuttle buses that brought us back and forth between the parks and the hotel...mostly, I think, because she didn't have to ride in a carseat!  Being silly with Daddy and Grandpa.

 Nan got to meet her favorite Disney peeps of all time...Buzz and Woody.  They were the first characters that she had met, so she was a litttle timid, but then again stranger-danger is usually a good thing.

 Cooling off in the water play area.  We could have stayed there all day!

 We went to a different park to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride.  One our way out of the ride, Hannah suddenly took off running and screaming.  We ran after her to see what the heck was going on and when we caught up to her we saw what all of the commotion was all about.  She saw Buzz walking around the park.  She was SOOO  happy to see him that she could barely contain herself.  So we wait in the line to see him again and this time she was not afraid one bit.  In fact, she really didn't want to leave whatsoever!

 The Animal Kingdom was pretty cool, although the lines were insanely long!  Hannah's the kind of person that is highly excitable...we can get her excited about nearly anything.  With that, crazy long lines aren't so great because the excitement wears off just as quickly as it comes.  This is in the first five minutes of our wait...the 80 minutes that followed were not so exciting!

 Chip and Dale

 Donald Duck...after Buzz, she insisted on hugging every character that she met.  It made for some really adorable pictures too, so I'm glad she did it!

 You've gotta love Goofy right?!?

 Finally!  The big man himself...the star of the show...the one that we waited four days to see...Mickey Mouse!

 We all had to get in on the Mickey action!

 This one's super cute with Pluto!

 She was so happy to see Minnie again...they chatted.

 Of course you have to get a beer in Germany!

 And Italian food in Italy with fantastic gelato to wash it all down!

Our favorite swimming spot at our resort...there were two pool, a lazy river, and a bar to order up pina coladas just steps away from the door of our building.

 The pirate ship pool at our resort.  I really wanted to check it out, but I knew better because Hannah is too little to do anything there.  It looked really cool though, so maybe next time!

Getting a little sun before leaving the resort!

Hannah played and played and played...she had a wonderful time.  We could have spent all four days at the resort just swimming and doing the activities!  This was such a wonderful vacation for all of us...it was relaxing, yet jam packed with cool things to do.  We truly made some great memories on this trip and I actually look forward to the possibility of going back some time!

Louisiana-Part 2

We also got to go see some alligators!  When Mom and CJ picked us up from the airport, they took us to eat some lunch at a place called Sparhs.  They swore that alligators were always there and that Hannah would get to see some.  I told them not to make a promise that they were not certain would happen, but they insisted because Hannah was so jazzed up about it.  As it turns out, no alligators.  So they had to deliver on their promise by taking Hannah to a swamp tour.  We didn't actually go on the boat, but went to the little zoo thing.  Hannah got to hold some alligators and was not afraid at all.  I was so proud of her because she really enjoyed playing with them.  On the way out she was almost crying...she whispered in my ear something to the effect of: "Mommy, I forgot!  I forgot!  I forgot to talk to the mommy and daddy alligator to ask if I could take the baby alligator home with me!  I forgot!"  Needless to say, the swamp tour was a hit!

In addition to alligators, they had turtles, goats, racoons, and a plethora of other animals for Hannah's viewing pleasure!

 Hannah also had her first encounter with crawfish!  She's a true cajun girl and I love it!

 Mimicing the crawfish on the ground.  He only had one arm, but he was a bully.  Hannah kept two crawfish out of the bag to play with and she kept telling the smaller of the two, "It's okay little guy, that's your daddy!  Don't be afraid, Daddy's don't hurt people!"  I am glad to hear that that is her perception!  It means she has a good daddy! :)

 Sis, Me, and Mom.

 Gearing up for Disney World!

 Hannah likes to get her way...and when I say "likes" I really mean that she insists on getting her way every time she does anything.  I guess it's the result of being the only kid and the only grandkid on both sides...while Jon and I try not to cater to her every whim, the grandparents usually do.  When Grandma would not get in the pool like she demanded, she brought the pool to Grandma (and Grandpa too)!  From the pure delight on her face, you can tell that she got away with it too!

 My sister and I picked Jon up from the airport late Friday evening.  Jon's never been to the French Quarter in all the 10-15 times he's been to Louisiana, so we all went after picking Jon up.  There's a place called Pat O'Brien's that is famous for their hurricanes.  Since a hurricane is one of my favorite mixed drinks, we decided to sqing by and get one.  They didn't have food because it was too late, but we were all starving.  So Jon graciously braved the French Quarter to get us some food!  It was delicious!  I am so glad we went...the three of us really had a wonderful time and Pat O'Brien's is a really cool place, just in case you are curious! ;)

 The last day that we were there, we had a family get together (as we always do when we visit).  I didn't know that my other family (Jon's side) would be attending the party!  They were on their way to Disney World.  Jon and my mom arranged for them to surprise me by stopping by.  My aunt Cynthia took a few pictures and I thought that this one turned out really good!

So did this one!  Hannah was in serious need of a nap, but she humored us and took one more picture!  The next day we were off to Disney World.  I will definitely post some pictures of that in the near future!

Louisiana-Part 1

For some reason, half of my pictures didn't upload, so we'll have to this in two posts.  Hannah and I went to Louisiana because Jon had to work the week of my 30th birthday.  I was already struggling with the idea of turning 30, so the last thing I wanted to do was sit at home, while Jon worked late and be miserable (a little dramatic, I know but that's how I felt at the time).  So I decided to go visit my Mom's house for the week.  Mom had to work a little while we were there, but she was sure to provide plenty of entertain for us while she was gone. 

This was some unexpected entertainment though.  Our neighbor drove up on his Harley the first day and I thought Hannah might be interested in seeing it.  So I asked her if she wanted to say hi and before we knew it, she was going for a quick ride around the street.  I know, she doesn't have on a helmet, but it was literally a circle through the yard and back up the one block street...plus, it really didn't cross our minds at all.  She LOVED it and commented on it every time she saw it.

My sister took me to lunch at Copeland's, a local cajun/steak place.  I was excited to get to have a glass of wine and some desert!  Can you tell that we were all having a good time?? 

For dinner, my mom ordered me some crabs...it's one of my two favorite foods on the planet, so it was appropriate for a birthday dinner.  Hannah likes animals, fish, etc. and has very little fear so we always let her check things out.  She wasn't sure about the crab, but she warmed up to the idea a little later.

My uncle brought over this power wheels truck for Hannah to play with while she was visiting.  She apparently didn't like us telling her how to drive the truck, although we were trying to be helpful, so she insisted on driving it around the yard in reverse.  She thought it was hilarious!

Hannah was really anti-pictures at various times throughout the trip and one of those days happened to be my birthday.  This was the best picture that we got together, but then again, maybe it's appropriate!  You can't beat the fishey-face!

My sister made cupcakes!

 This is an old fashioned phone handle that plugs into cell phones.  Hannah wanted to talk to everyone on this phone.  I think she talked to my dad more in one conversation than in all of their other phone conversations combined!  We are going to have to get us one of these!

Self-applied sunscreen.  Mom got a blow-up swimming pool for Hannah to put in the front yard.  She played in it just about every day!

We also got to go to Chucky Cheese and Hannah was a HUGE fan.  Now I understand why people take their kids there.  It's pretty fun to watch the kiddos have so much fun!

Hannah's favorite part of the night was playing air hockey with Grandma.  She didn't really get the concept of the game, but there were a lot of happy squeals and a good deal of jumping/cheering.  This is one side of the table.

And this was the other...Hannah and Mom truly had the best time!  I think they played two or three times!  Part 2 coming soon!