Here are some random pictures and events from the end of summer that I wanted to share...

Lennon playing in his sandbox

Lennon's First Rockies Game of the Season

We got to take Lennon to a Rockies game in August--we had friends give us tickets and Lennon had a blast! He knew exactly when to clap and was dancing and singing along to the music.

We were amazed at how well Lennon actually watched the game--I guess it helps that we watch all the games at home. There were times when he would start clapping before we would get a chance to--but it was always at the right times!

We left after only 4 innings--they were a great four innings, I think we scored like 8 runs. It was quickly approaching Lennon's bedtime and he was crashing hard:

Girls Weekend!

Denae, Nicole, Sarah and I escaped up to Silverthorne the beginning of September and it couldn't have been more wonderful. Sarah's aunt graciously let us use her beautiful condo for the weekend. We spent the time shopping the outlets, eating out (aka...not cooking!) and resting. Though it was good to get home to our families, we all agreed that we could have used another day!

Summer Fun with Grandma & Papa

Lennon's Grandma and Papa came for a visit and we had a great time. Don and Marilyn didn't stay with us, but we still spent most of Lennon's waking hours with them. One of the nights when Don, Marilyn and Beka were heading back to Beka's house, Lennon was busy playing and didn't want to say bye. Five minutes after they left, Lennon looked up and said, "they left?"--"no say buhbye"--"Lennon sad"--"poor Lennon."

The next morning after they left to go home to NY, we were with friends and Lennon was just moping. We asked what was wrong and Lennon said, "Grandma and Papa gone--Lennon sad." We skyped them that night and Lennon was fine after that--he just gets so attached and it's always hard to say goodbye.

Here's some of the fun things we did during their visit....

The Lake
We went to Lyla's first birthday party at Bear Creek Lake Park. Lyla is the little girl that we've been watching every week since the spring. Lennon loves Lyla--he calls her "pretty Lyla!" The park has a big reservoir with a swimming beach and Marilyn and Beka came with us to enjoy the beautiful day. Lennon had a blast!

Lennon's awesome mohawk! He kind of has a natural mohawk anyways (to his dad's great pleasure!) and I think he pulls it off!

Grandma and Lennon:The Park

We love the park and lake that is right across the street from our house--it's just the right distance, it's beautiful and it's a ton of fun!

Lennon's getting braver and braver (and bigger, obviously)--just a couple months ago, he would have never climbed the fish-scale bridge by himself. He's naturally a pretty cautious boy, but it's fun to see the explorer in him emerge!Lennon, Marilyn, Lyla and me:

We always have to go out on the dock before we leave the park.

The Zoo
We have a zoo membership, which is the only way that we could justify going, because Lennon only lasts an hour or two. But it's a perfect way to start out the day with a morning trip to the zoo! Lennon's favorites are the elephants (or elphalants as Lennon says!), monkeys and the lions.

Looking at the monkeys:

Riding the train with Papa. It's about a 5-minute train ride and Lennon was all excited until he realized that I was staying behind the barrier. He started to cry, but thankfully the train started and he great time. This is him just as he is realizing I'm not coming:

Papa "Singing"

Lennon has a Peter Cottontail book that plays the tune and you're supposed to sing along. Much to our dismay, Lennon loves it and wants you to sing it again and again. He wanted Papa to read him a book and, much to Don's surprise, he chose that book! Here's Lennon laughing at his Papa's rendition:Here's Papa singing--you have to play it to the end, Lennon's response is priceless!

4th of July

We had a busy, but fun 4th of July. In the morning we went to Lennon's friend, Elias' first birthday party. Nicole, Alex, Adam and I were all debating whether we should venture to a park to watch a fireworks display, but that sounded so exhausting for us, and we weren't sure if the kids would even like them--so in the end we decided to have a party at Nicole's parents' house. It was a really hot day, so swimming in their pool was great. We go over there quite a bit, and Lennon loves Harper and Huck, so he had a great day. We ate well and played hard!

Lennon and Harper decorating the flag cake. The finished cake was covered with blueberries and strawberries, though most of the fruit ended up in their mouths:Our homemade "sparklers"Denise and Harper with the "sparkler"

Huck having a blast with the snappers and the fireworks:

Lennon spent half the time riding in the little car--we would just drive the perimeter of the pool over and over.

The fireworks--Alex had to hold onto Huck to keep him from running up to it.Adam and Lennon watching the fountain fireworks:

We got a couple boxes of snappers that the kids loved. Harper got over them and the noise pretty quick but Lennon and Huck kept having a blast. Because they couldn't throw them with enough force to snap them, they would just stomp on them.

Since Lennon had been to Elias' birthday party earlier that day, he really wanted to blow out a candle. So we decided to have the kids sing happy birthday to the USA and Lennon got to blow out his candle!


After all the festivities we went in to watch the fireworks on tv. Lennon learned the "ooh-ahh" response to the fireworks real quick (my cousins, Tim and Jim would be proud!). On the drive home Lennon had a blast seeing all the random fireworks in the sky--ooh-ahh's all the way home!