A Family of Four

This weekend has been full of nostalgia for me. This weekend last year, we made the same trip up the canyon as a family of three. It was three days before Isaac was born. At the time it was hard to imagine our life beyond just the three of us. This time, I couldn't imagine our family with out our little Isaac.

In addition, my sister, Liz, had a little baby girl on Wednesday. Little Lily is almost exactly (off by one day) a year younger than Isaac. It just brought all sorts of memories of bringing a little one into the world. I really can't believe it has been a year since I was in her place, participating in such a miraculous process.

Anna was so excited to see the leaves this year. She even planned a picnic and wrapped it in a little basket for she and Isaac. So cute. The picnic consisted of grapes, a DumDum sucker, string cheese, and a slice of turkey. Delicious.

Even though we missed the peak of the Aspen color display, there were still some pretty amazing vistas. Nothing stirs my soul like Mother Nature in the mountains.

Isaac's Sweet Spot

Isaac has mastered the stairs. He can go up and down and hasn't had a spill in days. He's so proud of himself. This is his favorite spot. He likes to turn around and just sit. He also does a fair amount of babbling, screaming, waving his arms, and is just generally pleased with himself.

I couldn't leave out Anna. She is just as proud of Buddy as he is of himself.

Fall Festival

Karl's Market is a little family run market and farm near our house. Every year they put on a two-day Fall Festival with a petting zoo, hay ride, funnel cakes--the works. I have been dying to do something Fallish, so even though it was 85 degrees (blech.) we headed down to the farm.

Anna's favorite attraction was the lasso. We went back twice.

Playing on one of the two playgrounds set up.

The petting zoo.

The hay ride. I love Isaac's belly in this shot. He looks like an old man.

Funny how sometimes the most memorable moments are not the most exciting. We found some shade and Jeff went into the market and bought drinks for all of us. Cokes for Jeff and I, milk cartons for the kids. We spent the majority of our time at the festival sitting under this tree, listening and dancing to the live band, and just hanging out. It was by far the best part of the day.

Isaac's new trick--standing. No walking yet.

Not the most flattering picture of Jeff...

Out of the stroller=freedom!

Stupid Glasses

I like to wear my glasses at night. In my pajamas. When no one is watching.

But my last pair of contacts ripped and I haven't ordered new ones because of a block on our flex card because of a medical bill discrepancy and I don't want to pay our of pocket and a little bit because I'm too lazy to get it straightened out.

So. My point. Apologies for all the terrible pictures. Glares and such. I'll try to rectify the situation soon.

The First Day of Fall

60 degree weather?Check.

Storm clouds? Check

Homemade chocolate chip cookies? Check.

Soup and crusty bread? Check.

Over-sized, unflattering hoodie? Check.

Cozy hut with snacks? Check.

Welcome back yellow leaves, crisp air, and harvests. I've missed you.

Backin' it Up

In case anyone cares, there are a few of new posts that I dated in early September.

Labor Day Breakfast

Boulder Weekend

Service in Fishing

TheMattBlack

Check out this great interview featuring my brother, Matt. He's so talented. I wish I could tap into some his creativity and perspective on life. My favorite line from the interview:

"Something magical happens in almost every bit of mundane life..."

Some of his work is featured along with the interview, but to see more check out Matt's video sketchbook here: http://www.themattblack.com/

Service in Fishing

Jeff, being the good man that he is, volunteered to be a judge in the South Platte Carp Competition in Denver. Did you know that there is a major river that runs right through the city? Yep. And there are carp in there. Big 'uns.

The event was organized to raise money for clean up of the river and to encourage fisherman to use the river as a viable fishing spot.

It was a long day for Jeff and I think he found it annoying to watch decked out rich guys who couldn't fish very well. (Posers!) But I think he was glad to be a part of the fishing community at large and enjoyed meeting most of the people involved in the organization.

Personally, I think carp are purty nasty.

Boulder Weekend

Jeff had an Executive Retreat the past two days in Boulder. Lucky for me, the spouses were invited up Friday night for dinner and invited to spend the night at the St. Julien Hotel (where they pow-wowed for the last two days.)

These pictures are from dinner at La Frasco. (Or something like that.) It was a delicious, four-course meal. It is always great to be in the company of the people Jeff spends so much time with during the work week. We love these people! They have become great friends and we spent a lot of time laughing over dinner.

Todd (CEO) and Toni

On the left side is Chad (you can just make out his profile) and Jenn (COO)

Megan and Kevin (CFO)

Erica (CNO) and Josh

Me and the Administrative Fellow

Labor Day Breakfast

For the Black/Sollis families, Labor Day is traditionally celebrated in the mountains over pancakes and eggs. Unfortunately in Colorado, you have to fight the crowds up and down the mountain side. We opted to steer clear of the four hour traffic jam made our way into the city for breakfast.

Lucille's is a Louisiana style Creole restaurant. It was busy, but lovely to sit out on the grass in front while we waited for seats. They provide grass mats for guests to sit on (brilliant!) and it was superb people-watching conditions. When we finally made it in, Anna was beyond pleased to receive Mardi Gras beads from the waitress. She couldn't believe that they just gave away such "beautiful jewels."

It was beneyes (spelling anyone?) and chocolate milk for the kids and rich southern goodness for the adults. I think Jeff had some sort of Andoui (anyone?) sausage omelet and I had creamed spinach with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce.

Colorado State University

Last Saturday we drove to Ft. Collins on a whim. We mostly checked out the CSU campus. They had their annual flower gardens in bloom. The were so pretty. The colors were so vibrant.

Then we walked to the University Center for the arts to check out Andy Warhol's soup can. It was fun to see such an iconic piece of pop art. Anna kept complaining that she couldn't see the soup inside because it was too tall.

We tried to go see the stadium and take a picture. We wanted to send it to Ethan and Tanner since they are huge BYU fans and follow the MWC faithfully. (At least as much as a three and five year old can.) The gates were locked, unfortunately.

Park Days

One of our favorite activities of the summer have been our weekly park days. Once a week a play group meets at a park somewhere in the area and the kids play. It's been a great time for Anna and Isaac to play with other kids and I've enjoyed the chat time with other moms. These are the only pictures I managed to take all summer long. I think this was the first time I was able to get shoes on Isaac's fat feet and when did Anna get such long legs?

I Burned the Enchilada Sauce

I was distracted...

Don't tell Jeff. We're not supposed to jump on the couches.