Estes Park in a day

Well we recently visited Estes Park for the day and the girls and Bryan and I had a great time! It was a little foggy on the way up which made us nervous for a nice day but by the time we got to Rocky Mountain National Park there were no clouds in the sky and it was lovely! The last time we had been to Estes was when my bro and his wife got married and Morgan was only six weeks old so we thought it was time for a visit.

A nice family shot if only Morgan wouldn't have been quite as involved in the "junior ranger" packet they gave her-oh well, take it as it comes!

And Morgan with her signature half interested half smile to make her mommy happy she got at least one photo of her for the day.

And don't even think that Skylar is actually posing so innocently for the camera. She wouldn't stand still while we were trying to get a picture, so we had to sit her down on the ground. And this would be her thinking she is just as cute as can be trying to make it impossible to get a shot of her.

This was a Big horn we saw on our way into the park. They were just walking along side the car in their pack. Um...no I don't have any food for you. I can read park signs! And Skylar, once we said sheep, "baa-ed" for about 45 minutes.

Once we were in the park there were elk everywhere! They must just know they can pretty much chill there. We had a great little picnic in the park and then headed back down to town. Morgan, all the while wondering where Estes PARK (as in playground) was.

She gave up on looking for it for a minute. Thinking Mommy and Daddy were big fat liars telling her we were going to a park all day!

So instead of Morgan thinking we were totally lame we did find a park and it was beautiful! And the girls had lots of fun. It was even right off of Lake Estes so we went down by the water and daddy showed them how to skip rocks. Skylar wanted to go in-of course!

Life on a ranch is hard sometimes...

WARNING-THE FOLLOWING CONTENT MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME READERS. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!!!!

Well, we had a bit of a tragedy the other day. Those cutest little baby chicks, well, they were taken last night. And by taken I mean eaten. Not sure if it was a neighbor dog or a coyote but the baby chicks are gone. Luckily Daddy was the first to arrive on the scene so he cleaned everything up and destroyed all evidence of their existence. We weren't sure if the girls would notice and for much of the morning when they were outside they didn't. Whew! We counted our blessings and thanked the lucky stars the girls are 18 months and 3. But when they went to play outside after nap time Morgan noticed right away. It was very sad and emotional and tearful...even for mommy to see her that sad.
So when she asked us where they were, natually, we lied! Right through our teeth! And if you saw Morgan's sadness you would have done the same without a second thought. We told her that they were big enough to fly away, so they are happy now flying around in the sky. Sometimes that is just what baby chicks do. And sometimes it is better to lie to your children. Times like this...

Morgan Turned Three!!!

We had a great day celebrating Morgan's 3rd birthday!! We did a lot of reflecting over what the past three years have given us and what the next year will bring. We have been truly blessed with an amazing little girl!

Morgan really wanted a black puppy, so we set off to Build-a-Bear! Thank goodness they had a black puppy for her! She has been before, but as you see she is still on system overload in a place like this! So she picked out her puppy and off we went to bring that little puppy to life!

After the puppy is stuffed the way you want him stuffed (huggable, or sittable, etc.) then you have to give him a heart. So the build-a-bear lady had her rub the heart on her head so he was smart, her ears so he would be a good listener (gee if only I would have known it could have been so easy), her tummy so he was always (I can't remember full, I guess? maybe a good eater, I was more interested in the look Morgan was giving her than what she was saying), and her heart so he felt loved. Then they stuff the heart in there and sew him up.

Okay, now we're talkin'! This is the part Morgan remembers! The bathtub! She loved giving him a "fluff" bath!

Okay so then he was complete! Now on to accessorize! He had a little puppy that came with him and she got a leash and dog house for him too! And lastly, we named him-Snoopy. So after we got his birth certificate we were done. Whew!

Then, of course, the puppy wanted to get out and stretch his legs a little in the mall, so Morgan took him for a walk (or a drag, depending on how you look at it). After that he really could have used a real bath. Mall floors are nasty!

Then it was on to tradition. After dinner we went to Wendys to enjoy a frosty. This was the first thing I had after I gave birth to Morgan after not eating for almost 48 hours. So, naturally, I fell in love with the Frosty! Frosty and I were a match made in heaven. And, in all reality it could have been dog food and I would have gobbled it up, but it was a yummy chocolate Frosty. And now that I think about it was two! HAHA! Michele and Joe brought Bryan and I one and I remember asking Bryan if he was going to eat his-I must have looked desperate because he said I could have it. So, essentially, that was Morgan's first thing she ever had too! Long story longer, we now have Frosty's on Morgan's birthday!

I don't think Morgan minded-do you?

LOL! No, I don't think she minded!