Don't quit

So I've been reading again.. "I am a Mother" (thanks again Chrissy for the recommendation) It is supposed to motivate me to be a better mother and appreciate the stage of life I am in. This time reading this poem stuck out to me so I thought I'd share it.

DON’T QUIT

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit…

Success is failure turned inside out.

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit.

It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

~Author Unkown

Take it as you like, but hope you enjoyed! Have a good day!

Our Rocky Mtn hikes..

We had a blast getting one more outing in before Ben starts school. We went camping for a few days up in Rocky Mtn National Park. We had some extra hands join us (Ben's Dad and wife Paula) so we could actually do some hiking. Here is our campground

And the kids picking some flowers..

Playing in the dirt...

Linc climbing in the trees...

Let the games begin..

Nymph lake - the first of many that we would come across in the 3 days.

Start of day 2.. we planned on seeing a few lakes and waterfalls and to spend the whole day outside hoping the kids would take a good nap in the carriers. It ended up pretty darn good. The naps weren't the best, but the kids Loved the carriers and being outside.

We made it to Loch Lake and decided to skip out on Sky Pond. It was beautiful and a perfect place to take a lunch break and let the kids throw rocks in the lake. We could see the Waterfall you'd have to climb up to get to sky pond and figured that was good enough.

Our company- Jim (Ben's Dad) and Paula

"Why are we just standing here Grandpa . . . can't you move it?" says Tatum. Any time she wanted him to go faster she would just start kicking him in the back - kind of funny.

Mills lake view.

Long's Peak is in the background, Ben and Jim were so proud everytime they could see the Peak since they hiked up to it 2 years ago.

Day 3, Sprague Lake.. just an easy 1 mile walk around that we took our time on.

We love feeding the ducks...

Now back to real life, Ben starts school tomorrow and I am back to being on my own throughout the days. I have been spoiled with the help at home for the past two months- we'll see how I can manage. Good Luck to Ben!! He is such a good student and husband and Father, and pretty good at multi-tasking, but I can't wait for him to be done with school. Almost there...

Our New Love

We have made it back to Colorado. We are back in our old house to start a new life, or something like that. Lucky for me- Ben has been home for a few weeks to help set up camp. There was some fixing up to do to our house and then the decorating. I am so not good in that department and we didn't want it the same as before. Plus- we have 3 toddlers now to make space for. They have a lot of junk to store which is hard to fit in our non-storage house. After a few weeks we are about moved in. Only a few piles left to find homes for. As we've been here, we have accumulated a few things. Ben built an awesome tv stand/ wall unit. We figured there is no space on the floor for an entertainment center- so on the wall the tv has to go so toys can be stored underneath. Ben had many trial runs and complications come up- but after a couple days work that got done. Then we decided our round table needed to go. We are still waiting to find a buyer for it though. However, we found our replacement table; Black, square, counter height. Pretty Sweet! It is working out great. Seems a little big for our kitchen, almost all tables are though. Next addition.. a trampoline. The babes think their beds and couches are for jumping so we thought this would be the best entertainment/investment. It is less than 2 ft off the ground and only 8ft across- so no biggy, but they LOVE IT!! (Hence, our new love) I got a video of their first time jumping on their tramp, but it has Linc falling off backwards. I think it is funny, we'll post it sometime but don't think we are bad parents. Obviously I was right there to help him after the fact, and all was fine, but I'm not getting a cage for them so they can bounce off of the sides and be more crazy. Kids are flexible right? and they got to learn sometime. Anywho- they love this and I can't wait until they are experienced enough to play in the back yard all alone . Here is Linc reading the directions for us..

Breaking it in slowly...

I am pretty impressed at how well their balance and coordination is, plus- the happy faces!! The boys still love their seat drops!!

I also realized I haven't take any pics of our house upgrades- we'll see if I get around to getting some for those interested in seeing. I am rather impressed though at what we've done with this place though..

Way to go Linc

Here is a video I found taken at Grammie's house swimming. We were pretty impressed with Linc's skill level...

We love peanuts!

Life in AZ

Celebrating uncle Danos birthday..


Reading books at night with Grammie and Brentos and Lacey while Daddy was gone
More yard work-- gotta rake the grass and help Papa rota-till the garden





Riding the Lucchesi's Gator and playing at the Cabin- Tatum finally warming up to Uncle D while he gets them with a mop. Yep- They loved it!


Helping Papa in the Garden and Dancing with Grammie




Our hanging monkeys.. and little fishies







And more playing outside in the sprinklers and waterslide and regular slide..



Dan and Kelli's New pool with an awesome low diving board they could jump off (I like to say they get that from me)

Running in the irrigation..








Our long vacation in Arizona was a blast. It was fun to see friends and family and especially fun to hang outside and play in the water. We are going to miss Grammie and Papa's house and always having extra hands to help and to give some love. We are now back in Colorado and moving back into our house. Oh what fun!