Earth Day 2012

In honor of Earth Day, we made our annual rounds of the neighborhood collecting trash along the way. 

Of course, Jessie did anything she could to avoid helping the effort:  eating a lollipop,

making wishes on dandelions,

and sneaking into our neighborhood park for a quick swing.

Rian wanted to keep some of her trash "finds" for herself, but we persuaded her to put them in the garbage or recycling can where they belonged.

Everyone started losing a bit of steam towards the end....

But they were all proud of how full their bags were at the end of our patrol.

Happy Earth Day!

The little oak seedling Hayden planted according to their very specific directions.  She made sure to plant it 15 feet away from any other tree or shrub and measured the depth of the hole before planting it.  She also made a chart to track it's growing progress!

Denver Museum of Nature and Science

The older girls had the day off of school so we thought it was the perfect opportunity for us to head to the Museum of Nature and Science in Denver to see the Snakes and Lizards Exhibit Hayden has been wanting to explore since it arrived in February.

The girls looking at some snake vertebrae, rattles, and skins. Everyone picked up the rattles and shook them to hear how they sounded. 

Monitor lizard.

The Burnese python was absolutely huge.

Green tree snake.

Red spitting cobra.

After the exhibit, Hayden had to buy a large stuffed snake (with her own money of course) from the gift shop, where Jessie and Rian couldn't leave without a mood snake necklace each, and then we headed to the cafeteria to eat our lunch. We spent the afternoon in the "Human Body" experience before heading home, where I was very thankful that we do not have any snakes of our own!

Daddy's 40th Birthday!!

Mike didn't want a big party to celebrate his 40th Birthday, so the girls had fun decorating the house, baking cookies, and making lots of homemade birthday cards for him for a family "party".  Rian picked out some fun 40th decorations, and Hayden and Rian hung them all over the kitchen.  Hayden also made a big Happy Birthday poster that the girls hung on the outside of the garage door so Mike would see it when he came home from work.  All three girls set up a special "Hotel" experience for him to relax- complete with foot massages and room service! 

The Birthday Boy Hotel.  As you can see by the blue box on the door, he even needed a special hotel key to enter the room.

Jessie was employed as "Housekeeping" while Rian and Hayden took care of the food and drink orders, as well as foot massage by candlelight!

The next day Mike got to celebrate his birthday by going on a long bike ride with his buddy, Jim, up to Carter Lake ending at  Pinewood Reservoir.  Though he was tired when he got home, he showered up and we took a scenic drive to Boulder to see the tulips, which were in full bloom. (After making a pit stop at Thunder Mountain Harley dealership where daddy was drooling over the motorcycle he keeps threatening to buy as part of his "mid-life crisis".) 

Pearl St. Boulder, CO

A trip to Pearl St. is never complete without a climb on the all the rocks!

For dinner, dad decided we should eat at Chez Thuy (our favorite Vietnamese Restaurant) before heading home.  I think we enjoyed it even more than he did. 

Daddy and Jessie enjoying their favorite soups:  egg drop and sweet and sour.

Hayden always gets the giant bowl of dumpling soup with steamed vegetables as her meal.  And little to none ever goes to waste! 

Happy Birthday Daddy!!! We love you tons and can't believe you're 40 years young! xoxo

It's Easter Time!

We colored Easter eggs on Friday night and the dye on the eggs hadn't even dried before Rian and Jessie were cracking one open to eat! 

We are such mean parents and made the kids wait until 7:00 in the morning before hunting for Easter baskets and eggs.  I think it was worth the wait! 

Waiting for the countdown to begin searching for eggs.

Jessie found her basket under the dining room table. All the girls got Camelbaks in their baskets, along with pink bubble gum, strawberry soda and a little chocolate bunny. 

Rian found her basket behind hidden behind the chair in the paino room.

Hayden's basket was in the pantry, hidden behind the bag of recyclables.

Rian had left a sweet note for the Easter Bunny and he left her a note in return- saying that he really likes kittens too and that Easter is also his favorite holiday! 

The girls got cute little baskets and goodies from Joan and Arlen, Kathy and our neighbors Willey and Diane.  Talk about spoiled!

Jessie was only too thrilled to find Pop Rocks in her bag from Kathy!

Rian surprised everyone in the family with handpainted wooden eggs which she put in cute little boxes that said "He is Risen" and cut up green construction paper for grass!  Thanks, Rian!! XO

After the egg hunt, we showered, dressed and headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's for a nice brunch.  The girls each found a couple of eggs there with gold coins and coupons in them for special time with Grandma and Grandpa.  So much better than candy!!!

We sang Happy Birthday to Hayden (again!) and she cut the biggest piece of cake for herself.

And her eyes were definitely bigger than her stomach!

After brunch, we headed home for a quick change of outfits and went on a nice hike at Devil's Backbone.  Even though the keyhole was closed due to nesting Raptors, it was a beautiful day and the girls loved using their new hydration systems.  (I think that's why there was no complaining on the trail and everyone walked the entire way on their own two feet! 

A nice view of The Backbone.

Taking a short lunch break.

Daddy amazed at how much he had to tighten the waistband of the backpack since the last time he used it- 30 pounds heavier!

Happy Easter!!!!