Camping: Guanella Pass

All Mike wanted for Father's day was to go camping.  We had never taken the kids before and thought it would be a fun family outing.  We (more like I) packed up all our gear and headed up to the mountains for a few days.  The girls were excited to say the least.  They had been talking about it for weeks.  

 The girls love picking wildflowers so of course, this is the first thing they did when we got to camp.

We also got rained and hailed on during our first trip.  Our tent made it through with no leaks. Phew.

Mike's sister Tasha was flying home to Wyoming and had a layover in Denver when her flight got cancelled so she came up with us.  We were so excited to have her.  This was the kids first night.  I was worried about Braxton but he did great!

The next day we went fishing.  The rivers were all moving so fast that we didn't catch anything until we found a lake not to far down the road from our campsite.

This little guy was following us everywhere and took a liking to Braxton's car seat.  He wouldn't leave him alone.

Kyia caught the first and only fish.  She casted and reeled in the line all by herself!

It was a fun trip although I never realized how much work camping is. The kids loved it though and that makes it all worth it.

Wyoming Cook Out

This summer we took a trip up to Cokeville for a weekend.  Although it was a quick trip, we had a lot of fun!  The whole family decided to go up the mountain a little ways and have a cook out.  We brought the horses, 4 wheelers and dirt bikes so there was always something to do.  This trip was right after we moved from Houston and the temperature change was a shock to us but we love being in the mountains.

I love this picture

We took the horses for a couple rides up the mountain.  Kyia decided that she was old enough to ride the horse by herself this year.  She did really good and directing and controlling it and was really proud of herself for riding all by herself.

Brooklyn's new pose.  Her head goes straight to her shoulder when the camera comes out.  

Although she liked riding the horses, she was usually found down by the water throwing rocks into it.

Mike and his dad took the dirt bikes out and Mike's stalled right when he went through the water.  He was lucky enough to have me there to take a picture of it.  

Braxton stayed warm in the blanket with Grandma.  

Braxton's first time on a horse.  

Cousins

After almost three years, we were finally able to get all the cousins together. All six of them, ranging from 4 months to 5 years.  They had so much fun together! It was my first time meeting my brothers daughter and their oldest, who is Brooklyn's age, I last saw when she was four months old.  It was great to see all of them and to be able to have them play together.  It was loud at times, really loud,  But they kept themselves entertained and enjoyed being together.

Ashlynn, Kyia, Adam, and Brooklyn

All six 

and their cute little feet

Such a cute little guy! (4 months)

Now that we live closer, we'll have to get them together more often!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Back in June, (yes, I know, I am way behind as usually and am playing the catch up game yet again), we went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. This is one of my favorite zoo's and one of the best ones I've been to in a long time. I'm not a huge fan of zoo's but this one is one I wouldn't mind going to often. All the grandkids were there and it was so fun to be with everyone and to watch all the kids. It is a more interactive zoo than most and the kids all loved it.

Feeding the giraffes. This picture makes me laugh.  Kyia was not a fan at the beginning.

She eventually warmed up to them and loved feeding them.

Ashlynn and Brooklyn watching the Tigers

We'll definitely have to go back again soon!

Bluebonnets

We made our annual trip to see the bluebonnets this year. I found a place that was close to our house instead of making the 1.5 hour trip like last year, and I think there were a lot more flowers in this field. It was a good find. We went up at around 10:00 a.m. and it was hot, really hot! My three kiddos did not last long in the sun, but they were troopers and let me take all the pictures I wanted.

This little guy loves to smile. Almost every time I pull my camera out he will smile for me. He must know I love to take pictures.

Who's Who?

Can you tell the difference between my three? Each of these pictures were taken when they were 2 months old. I think Kyia and Braxton look almost identical to each other. Even down to the same hairline.

Kyia

Brooklyn

Braxton

Easter Egg Hunt

Our community does an Easter egg hunt for the kids every year. My girls loved it this year! They were so excited for this and had been talking about it for several weeks. The egg hunt for Brooklyn's age group was first. Daddy helped Brooklyn find the golden egg while we waited for it to start. Once they said "go", Aunt Tasha helped Brooklyn run to the golden egg. There are so many people and kids that the egg hunt only lasts for about a minute. She seemed to get the idea of picking up the eggs and prizes this year. Last year she just stood there and watched.

While some of us were over with Brooklyn finishing up her egg hunt, Kyia and Grandma were waiting for her age group to start. As they were walking to find a spot, look what they spotted.

Yep, the golden egg right in front of her with no one around. Everyone was at the other end of the field. She waited for them to start and off she went. She was so excited!

The girls were able to trade in there golden egg for a prize and this is what they got:

I'd say they made out pretty good! When we got home, we dyed easter eggs. I decided to try it a little different this year. I saw a tutorial on dying them with silk and had to try it. I think they turned out really good! They're almost too pretty to eat.

I went to the Goodwill, picked up some 50 cent ties and wrapped them up. The uglier the tie the better I say.

The girls loved unwrapping them to see how the design was going to turn out.

All of our finished eggs. I'll have to do this again next year!

Pickin' Strawberries

Last week I took the girls to go pick some strawberries. The best part was you could eat as many as you wanted off the vine, which the girls took full advantage of. We had a lot of fun and after almost two hours, the girls still didn't want to leave. We filled up our strawberry box and went home with red stained hands and clothes. We love going to these pick your own fruit farms! Braxton decided that he wanted to be held the entire time we were there and I forgot by baby bjorn so I didn't do much picking but it was a lot of fun to watch the girls and spend time with them.

On our way to the strawberry field.

I think they ate more than they actually picked!

(I'm not sure what brooklyn decided to put together and wear on her head but she didn't want to take it off)

So many strawberries to choose from.

On our way home. If you look closely, you can see the strawberries all over Brooklyn's face and shirt.

April Fools

I really fooled my girls this year. I even fooled Mike for that matter. I decided I would make these for dinner:

and then we had this for dessert.

My family was shocked that I would give them cupcakes for dinner, but when they actually starting eating them they quickly found out that they weren't cupcakes at all but meatloaf with mashed potatoes as the frosting. Kyia is not a fan of meatloaf but these she would eat. I guess its all in how it looks. When it came to dessert, they were equally as surprised. What looked like mashed potatoes with gravy, chicken fingers and peas and carrots, was actually ice cream with carmel, cinnamon twists and orange and green tootsie rolls. Pretty tricky huh?

My Three

I'm slowly getting used to the idea of having three kids and adjusting to not saying "my girls" anymore. This handsome little blonde baby boy fits right in with his older sisters. I decided to try and take a few pictures and had about two minutes where they were all cooperating but I think I got a few keepers.

Braxton Michael

On February 24, 2011 we welcomed a new little addition into our family. Braxton Michael Sparks was born at 1:15 p.m. weighing in at 7 lbs. 4 oz and 19 1/4 inches long. He already has us wrapped around his finger. We are in love.

The handsome little man

The girls are doing great and are so excited to have a little brother. He loves all the attention he is getting from them. Kyia is a little mother hen and loves to hold him and help out whenever needed. So far we haven't had any of the jealousy issues I thought we would with Brooklyn. She just loves her little brother and loves to help out. She is pretty protective of him and was not happy with the nurse at the Dr.'s office that had to give him shots. All three kids left in tears. He is pretty content for the most part and I'm slowly adjusting to three all though it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be. We are so blessed to have him in our lives and excited for the adventures to come.