Father's Day Fun

Last Sunday we had a wonderful day with Clay and the kiddos, celebrating Father's Day. We had brunch in the morning, then Clay and his family took off to do some hiking at El Durado Canyon- just 40 minutes west of us- while I took on the task, for the first time ever, of smoking and slow cooking some ribs. After the hike and right before dinner the dads and the kiddos went to a nearby park for a few minutes so I could finish dinner. Upon their return we feasted on ribs, potatoes, green beans and brownies for dessert.

I know that my kiddos are so happy to have such a fantastic dad. I hope you both (Chris and Clay) had a great day. Thank you for being GREAT fathers!

Chris swinging with Jonathan and Hayden

Chris dancing with his little girl, while Jonathan surmounts a kitchen table chair (Jonathan was helping me make the brownies, but decided to do a little something on his own, apparently)

Clay on their hike at El Durado Canyon

Clay's adorable kiddos: Sloan, Cole and Haden

Sandbox

Chris and I finally broke down and got Jonathan a sandbox. I have been trying to hold off- or not do it all- because of the messiness of the sand. But, it was either a sandbox or him continuing to dig up our dirt from the trees, in between all of our bricks in our landscapings and my "garden." I am learning to deal with a little sand in the house... plus he has blast with it!

Clay's visit

Just a few days after we got back from our trip to Illinois, Clay and his kiddos came to visit us for the weekend. We had a great time relaxing with them and they, too, had a great time seeing some sights in Denver. We went to the pool, played at some parks, they went hiking at a close-by canyon and did some grilling on Father's Day.

One of the places that was visited over the weekend was the Butterfly Pavilion, http://www.butterflies.org/. Which of course has butterflies:

But also insects and starfish that you can touch:

And a tarantula that you can hold! Sloan, Hayden, Cole and Chris all held the spider. YIKES!

And of course, they had a place where the kids could crawl and play... I believe that this was a honeycomb.

Clay and kiddos, thank you for coming to visit!! We had a grand time with you!

Big Boy Bed

Jonathan is now in a big boy bed! He was totally excited to sleep in a bed with cars, trucks and helicopters all over it.

When I made the switch expectations were fairly low. But, so far I have been pleasantly surprise. He'll come out of his room but will go back in if we tell him too. It is only day 3 so that could totally change... but I will take what I can get.

Just hangin'

Here are some more pictures of us just hanging out in Illinois. Again, these pictures are compliments of Clay.

Chris's mom has so many "Where's Waldo?" books! So, Chris and Cole spent lots of time looking through them.

Amy was really good at reading to the kiddos. Whereas, I was good at just sitting around.

Sloan having a blast with all the toys

Cole really did teach Jonathan well! He had a blast with that scooter!

Again, more fun times at the park down the street from Mary and Dave's house:

Family Portrait

Another thing we did while visiting in Champaign was get a family picture. A picture with all of the immediate brothers, sister, nieces, nephews and in-laws. It totaled to 17 people- four of which are under the age of 4.

After we were done taking pictures everybody ventured over to the nearby park. (Chris and I headed back to get packed, as we were leaving a few short hours later) Catherine and Jonathan joined them at the park. So, these pictures are compliments of Clay, Chris's oldest brother.

The photographer trying to get a picture with grandparents with all of their grandchildren.

We were trying to get the kiddos to look at us and smile for the camera

Grandpa Dave holding Catherine at the park

Catherine having fun in the swing

Emily, one of Chris's nieces, playing on some tires at the park

Sloan, another one of Chris's niecesHayden, one of Chris's nephews

Sloan, again!

Chris's sister, Amy, playing with Jonathan
Cole, another one of Chris's nephews

Decatur Zoo

A venture that we had while in Illinois was a visit to the Decatur Zoo. Curt, Chris's brother, and one of his daughter's Samantha joined us. Jonathan had a great time seeing the camels, zebras, cheetahs, turtles, etc... The day was a little overcast, which was perfect! We also found out that it was free admission that day... even better!!!

Well, I have tried uploading the pictures from the zoo numerous times... and they just won't take. So, you will have to take my word on it. he he