Fruita, CO

We finally made it to Colorado to visit the Dares (it took us long enough - 2 years? 3 years?). Anyway, we had an absolute blast with the Dares (why wouldn't we?).

We played the Wii ...

We went to a farmer's market and saw a fire engine for an airport ...

Cameron lost a tooth ...

We went to the local reservoir and played on the beach ...

We also went to the mountains and watched a movie at a volunteer fire station. It was sooo much fun!! Thanks, Dares, for putting up with us. We'll definitely be back next year!

Four Corners

We recently took a trip to Colorado. Our kids decided it was in the Strader's best interest to stop by Four Corners. It was a miserable drive, but well worth the stop. Yipee.

Here's a portion of us ...

Here's the better part of us ...

And some solo shots.

Good ...

Better ...

BEST!!!!

If you ever decide to visit (which we recommend you do at some point in your life), take cash. The Bureau of Land Management charges admission and they don't take plastic. Grrrrrrrr!!

Newport 2009

We just got back from Newport Beach. It was a lot of fun. Here's a couple of pictures from the trip.

We're on our way!

What's a trip to the beach without being buried in the sand?

And, of course, there's the obligatory visit to an amusement park.

All in all, we had an absolute blast! Let's hope it happens again soon!

Happy Birthday Papa 2009

It's been way too long since we posted on our blog. We thought we'd start up again by singing "Happy Birthday" to Papa. I hope you like it. (David was too tired to join. Sorry.)

Square Foot Gardening

We decided to put in a garden this year. Since we haven't had much luck in the past with grass choking out our plants, we are trying a different method of gardening called Square Foot Gardening.

First we built our boxes and put cardboard in the bottom (so grass and weeds can't kill our plants again):

Then Brad and Grandpa made the special soil:

Next, put the soil into the boxes (with David and Cameron's help):

Now we need the grid on top to guide our planting:

Cameron is supervising

Brittney's quite the carpenterLook at all the helpers
All done!
Finally, we get to plant:

Making the holes for the seeds

Don't plant the rocks David

Very cute Dani!

Team work

Can't wait for the seeds to start growing!

David's First Snow Trip

Well, we figured it was time to take David to the snow. We went over President's Day weekend up to the Rim for some fun in the snow. We went with the Whitings and had a blast. We were quite impressed with how well David did in the snow for his first time.


We had to do the best we could with our "winter clothes." They were more like "spring" clothes, so we layered.

I especially like Cameron's gloves. Hey, "Eat it up. Wear it out. Make it do. Or do without." We made it work.

Here's the Dynamic Duo. They worked quite well together, although David definitely outlasted Cameron in the "tolerance-to-snow" department.

Here's the boys helping Mom make a snowman. I don't think Mr. Snowman ever actually came to fruition.

David and his cousin, Braden, are "chillin'" in the snow. Clearly, Braden was far more prepared for snow outings than David. Oh well.

Brittney and her cousin, Brianna, were sure having fun "boogey boarding" down the slopes.

Either Dani wet her pants or the snow did. Either way, it was time to change into the next set of dry clothes. Hi, Dani.

Go, Riley! That's a really good likeness of you. I think you made your hands with too many fingers, though.

All in all, we had a great time. I'm looking forward to next year. (Though, secretly I'm glad it's a whole year before we have to do it again.)

Dani's famous .... I think?

Dani's recently been the star of a hit video on YouTube.com called Kitten vs. Girl.



Gripping!

She was at her friends house and they put this together. It's pretty funny to watch this with Dani because she's laughing at them and we're laughing at her. Hope you enjoy.