Happy 6th Anniversary to US!

Jeff and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary on October 9th! We were blessed to be able to go away for a long weekend to celebrate! My parents flew out and stayed with the 3 kids while we enjoyed a nice relaxing weekend in Colorado!

Jeff had a conference out there, so he went out on Thursday and then I flew out on Friday. I got there about 5pm Denver time. We went into downtown and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe which is on the 16th Street Mall ( a very cool pedestrian only street with shops and restaurants right in the middle of downtown) After dinner we walked the street a bit and then we headed to "d bar desserts" (http://www.dbardesserts.com/) The owner Keegan Gerhard is the former host of the show "Food Network Challenge". He was there, however I didn't get a picture of him. Nobody else was making a big deal out of it, so I didn't want to be "that" person. Anyway, we had to wait about 40 minutes to be seated, but it was SO worth it. It was delish!! Check out our desserts...



Saturday, Jeff had to go to a few more sessions, so I was able to head out and do some shopping. About 5 minutes from our hotel, which was right out side of Denver was, "The Container Store". TCS carries every organizational tool, caddy, or whatnot that you could possibly ever need! I love just taking my time looking at every single thing! I was then also able to go in my first ever, "Super" Target. Another amazing store! Why don't we have one of those?

Saturday Evening we drove to Boulder and we went to dinner at a restaurant that was recommended to Jeff by two separate people at his conference. Flagstaff House Restaurant sits on the mountainside and overlooks the city of Boulder. We sat right by the glass wall that overlooked the mountains and city. It was absolutely beautiful. The food... oh. my. word! It was excellent! I got the Filet and Jeff got Duck. They brought us appetizers "compliments of the chef", a palette cleansing grapefruit sorbet, and also a dessert sample plate "compliments of the chef" and then even a mini loaf of blueberry bread to enjoy the next day! This place was high class all the way!!!

Sunday was our sight-seeing day. I told Jeff I would go for a hike with him. He picked out a hike for us to do that was in Rocky Mountain National Park. Our 2 - 3 mile hike ended up being 6+. Jeff blames National Geographic for incorrect mileage labeling on their map... but... I'm not quite convinced he didn't know better! : ) The first part was great, beautiful sights, not too rough terrain and I was feeling pretty good. However the end was not great. I was ready to be done, I kept loosing my footing on the rocky and rooty terrain, and I was just done with a capital D. All in all, it was an awesome experience, and I would do it all again just to see the smile and excitement Jeff gets out of doing it. Some pics from the hike...





After the hike we went and grabbed some pizza, and then went back into the park to just drive around and see different areas. During our 30 minute drive we encountered, clouds, sun, rain, a rainbow, snow and about a 20 degree drop in temperature. Craziness! As we were leaving Estes Park (the city right out side the National Park) we encounter some Elk walking IN the street. They were huge! Walking around like they owned a place. We saw a road sign when we entered the city, that I now wish I had taken a picture of "Watch out for Animals on ALL roads in Estes Park". After our hike we went back to the hotel, showered and then went to dinner at Red Lobster.

Monday morning we got up and went to breakfast at Chic Fil A and then went and enjoyed the hot tub that was out on a deck at the hotel. My legs needed it!
After that, it was time to get packed up and get ready to head home. We grabbed lunch at TGI Fridays and then headed to the airport. Jeff got bumped up to First Class and he gave it to ME!!! Such an awesome hubby! It was my first time flying First Class!!! All those work trips he's had finally did pay off for me! : )

It was an amazing weekend, and it has been and amazing 6 years! I love you Babe!

The finished Patio

Well, a month after I (with much support from my friend Lisa - see blog post "and the walls came tumbling down") decided to rip down the wooden privacy fence around the patio, it is completed with it's new look!

Jeff worked very hard and put in some hours (even took days off work) to get it done. He did a fantastic job and it looks GREAT! I must give credit where credit is due... I power washed the patio AND I put the mulch in the bed. I know, I know... my part was very strenuous! Jeff is so meticulous, but it is one of the things I love about him! The wood bed is perfectly level all the way around. Starting with only one level of wood, going to 5 levels out in the far corner... all level! He also, has such an eye for detail. I couldn't quite picture in my head what he was describing, but he knew it would look good and it does. The one bed with the Feather Reed Grass and the mulch and Wood border, then the other bed has a stone border with tiny stones and the circular fire pit. The Patio, wood bed and stone bed are at all different levels and it all comes together wonderfully!

Next time you see him, be sure to tell him how awesome it looks! Check it out...

Hayley's New Gymnastics Class

Hayley started a new gymnastic's class last week. We switched from the YMCA to the Livonia Rec Center. The gym is a lot nicer and I think the program in itself is just run better there. Here are a few pics...

EIGHT Months

EIGHT MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whatever!

I seriously can not stand it! Especially since in the last couple of weeks he has done SO much! Cole has cut a bottom tooth, he has waved, clapped, and most importantly said his first word... MAMA!!!!!!!!!!!! Woo Hoo!! I finally had a child to say my name first!!! Yay! (Just a bit excited about it!)

He is growing and just learning so much! He is still such a happy baby and so content. He is now eating baby puffs and LOVES them. When I put them on his tray it is like mana... he grabs as many up as fast as he can! Really cute!

I have to start to wean him, but am not mentally ready to do so. Jeff and I are going to Denver in October for our anniversary and my parents are coming out to stay with the kids, so Cole needs to be on a bottle by then. Hopefully, the transition goes well!

All in all, he is doing great!

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

Grandma and Grandpa Gerwing came and visited over Labor Day weekend. The girls (and Cole too) enjoyed having them here and spending time with them. They played outside, went to the park, played games, read books, horsey rides... they slept good, (and so did the girls!) Ha Ha!

I'm How Old??

Ok, so I know I say it like every month how fast my kids are growing... but today is completely different! I am 35! What? WHAT? Where did 35 years go??

I had a great birthday (with the exception of feeling like I was going to vomit) On Saturday the 4th, Jeff and I went out to a nice dinner at a Mexican Restaurant I had been wanting to try and then afterwards we met up with some friends at Melting Pot to enjoy some dessert fondue. However, not long after we were at the Melting Pot, I started to not feel so hot. I actually told Jeff we had to leave. Thankfully, I did not get sick and I think it was just a combination of REALLY bad heartburn and something not just agreeing with me 100%. Other than THAT, it was awesome! On Monday my birthday we celebrated with the kids and had cupcakes and then Jeff cooked a delish meal on the grill - shrimp, asparagus, garlic bread... YUM-O!

35 can't be all that bad right? Bring it!! : )

And the walls came tumbling down...

At the end of August, Jeff had a work trip where he was gone all week. While he was gone myself and my (5 month pregnant) girlfriend decided to take down a wooden privacy fence in our back yard. This fence boarded our patio which was nice for privacy, however, it prevented us from seeing the kids playing in the yard. I had been saying for the last few years that I wanted it down, so I decided (with much encouragement and/or peer pressure?!) : ) to take it down.

Now the last two weekends we have been working on it to get it finished. We are planning on putting some tall grasses on the side and then in the back we are going to put stones and a fire pit. Can't wait to get it finished and enjoy it!