First Day of School

Yay!  The first day of "school" was an exciting event in our house.  Even though we had "learning time" most of the summer and we've been easing into "home school" the last couple of weeks, it still didn't feel official until we packed the lunches, strapped on the backpacks and said our goodbyes.  I have to say, it was really nice this year to have both kids going to places they already feel comfortable and had plenty of familiar faces to greet them.  This is River's second year at preschool and it is such a special place - he was so excited to to stay "all day" on this year.  That's right, I actually have both kids staying all day on the same day this year and I am SO looking forward to having some one-on-one time with Ryder, a break from the older 2 chatterboxes (I don't know where they get that?) and most importantly, a chance to drink my coffee in peace (while it's still hot!).   After taking River to preschool, we headed down the road to Scout's "school" where attends a home school enrichment program.  As a first grader (I still can't get used to that) she gets to change classes this year and chose the courses she most wanted to take.  She is most excited about her Robotics and Hands On Science classes.  River said his favorite part of his day was learning about frogs and eating goldfish.  So there you go!  Looking forward to an awesome, exciting, fun-filled new school year...

Aurora Reservoir

The sand may not be as pretty as Florida and the water not nearly as clear as California, but our kids get their own little "beach" adventure every weekend at the Aurora Reservoir.  Now that Tony and I are both training for the Crescent Moon Triathlon on Sept 15th, spending the day at the Aurora res is the perfect way to have a fun family day and still get in a little training : ) Sunday is family day in our house and it is definitely our favorite day of the week.  Our usual routine is to make a yummy breakfast and head to the res.  I bike around the res while Tony and the kids get the shade tent setup.  Then I nurse the baby and Tony swims laps in the freezing water lol! Meanwhile, Scout and River have a blast splashing in the water and building sandcastles.  We all eat our picnic lunch together while Ryder naps : ) Then I swim my laps and we head out.  (I have to say that I do look forward to the day when I don't have to worry about training or nursing the baby and I can just enjoy the sun while the kids splash and play, but that day will come...)
I'm really looking forward to the next few weekends before the swim beach closes for the season and I can't wait to come out here even more next summer when Ryder will be older. 

Ryder loves chillin' in the shade : ) 

Tony headed out for a swim in the freezing water

Lunchtime!!! Yum!

Ryder loves his Sunday nap!

Deceptively Declicious... Banana Bread and Coffee Cake

I decided to combine these into one post because for some reason I didn't get any pics of the cauliflower puree that I used for the banana bread and the coffee cake was sort of a flop so it didn't deserve it's own post : )

The banana bread recipe has actually been one of my biggest successes so far.  The only major problem is that the kids weren't really into it.  But, Tony really liked it (shocker!) and I liked it too - with a cup of coffee : ) It's not super sweet, so the coffee brings out the subtle sweetness.  I think I acted a little too excited about it, for the kids to be into; they sensed that something was up... 

 











The batter

Ugh! The Coffee Cake.  Just the name makes me smile, because it describes 2 of my most favorite things; coffee and cake. Yum! right?  Well, this was definitely not Yum : (

The recipe called for butternut squash puree and I was amazed by the following:

1. How simple it was to cook the squash
2. How much puree one squash made
3. How beautiful it was and how good it tasted!
(Ryder is really gonna enjoy this in a couple months : )

The Batter : ) 

Now, here's where it all went wrong.  The recipe called for spreading the butternut squash puree over

 half the batter and then sprinkling it with marshmallows.  If you look closely, you can see the orangey mush...



The kids were more than happy to help with the marshmallows : )

We were all so optimistic!











This is the crunchy topping that was supposed to bring it all together...

I REALLY wanted to like this, but unfortunately the butternut squash gave it a slimy texture that just didn't work (sad face)  At least the coffee was good lol! 

Our Little Mountain Adventure

(Tony)  Our family and Ally's parents recently spent a couple of nights at the YMCA of the Rockies campus in Estes Park, CO.  We rented a cabin for two nights and enjoyed being surrounded by the gorgeous scenery of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed swimming in the on-campus indoor pool, playing parachute games and put-put golf, collecting and learning about local bugs, and hiking near gorgeous Glacier Creek.  The campus was beautiful, the workers were really kind and helpful, and the chance to be in such amazing surroundings was priceless.

(Ally)  Yikes!  Packing for 5 is insane - how can 1 baby require so many things? (and since he's just nursing, we didn't need bottles, babyfood, etc. and it was STILL a lot)  After the stress of packing, 2 trips back to the house for essential things we forgot, and a good bit of car sickness driving up the mountains, I was just glad to be able to sit down and nurse the baby while staring out the cabin window at the God's magnificent creation.  I could seriously get used to the amazing weather and the peace and quiet of the mountains.  I am super proud of us for doing this with a 4 month old.  It would have been much easier if we just had the older 2 kids, but we are a family of 5 now and I gain a little more confidence every time we make it through another family adventure.  There were definitely some stressful moments, but there were also some precious moments of pure bliss as well.  My parents were a HUGE help to us and I think everyone but myself slept wonderfully ( I was just so nervous about the kids sleeping lol!) Ryder was awesome the whole time and the highlight for Scout and River was sharing their own room.  They actually woke up at 6:15 the first morning and "made their beds" and "played quietly" in their room - very sweet.  I think the best part for me was not having TV, cell service, or internet.  I feel like we learned what to do better/differently next time and there will definitely be a next time.  After we go to the trouble to get everything packed up and hauled up the mountain we are definitely staying at least 3 nights next time : )

The view from our porch.  I think coffee tastes better when you're looking at that.

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