Fall

I can feel it!  Fall is in the air.  The mornings are crisp and the leaves are changing.  This is my front door.  I'm loving all of the the flowers and their bright colors.  I think this is going to be my favorite season in Colorado.

Steamboat Springs

We spent a week of July in Steamboat Springs Colorado.  This was a super fun week and we loved discovering this fun city.  This was the whole family except for Tim's family who is in London.
I seriously could move to Steamboat.

Matt and Sara on the Alpine slide.  

Sara, Sawyer, and Lilly on the way to check out the down hill ski slope.

Tanner on the fake horse outside a shop.  We all went horseback riding later in the week but he ended up getting off his horse because he was too scared.  You can't blame him,  he has been a city kid all of his life.

All of the grandkids bought this cute cowboy hats.  They wore them later on in the week to the rodeo.

I had the best steak at this restaurant but I also wanted to show the beautiful hanging flower baskets that were all over Steamboat.  They really were so beautiful.
It was such a fun week.
If you ever get a chance to go to Steamboat you have to go!

Ten Years Later

Where were you?

What was your story that day?

It would be impossible to forget.

It's permanently scarred in your brain.

What a terrible day that was.

The loss of loved ones.

The stories to be told.

I am grateful for heroes.

The everyday person who became a hero.

What I do know is that our Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us.

Really bad things do happen to good people.

But that is because we were given the gift of free agency.

Evil people use their free agency differently than we do.

I know we chose to come to the Earth to gain these experiences.

We chose to follow our Savior and we accepted the plan.

I am grateful to know that I am a Child of God.

I am also grateful and proud to be an American.

God Bless the USA.

Thunder and Lightning

There is some crazy weather in Colorado.

Storms just seem to come out of no where.

Last week I was at Haylie's cross country meet. She was lined up ready to start the race.

It started to sprinkle and lightning. They postponed the race and sent the athletes to their buses. But this left the parents and siblings in the rain. We found shelter under a pavilion.

Then there was a sudden noise. It was unlike anything I've ever heard.

Lightning struck that tree in the picture. I was sitting exactly where I took this picture from my phone. Probably about 20 feet away. I didn't see the flash of light. I only heard the sound. It was deafening and powerful.

My head was ringing for the rest of the night.

A man was standing under the tree.

He was knocked down.

The police came so I don't know what his final outcome was.

The police cleared the area and told us to get our cars for safety.

The tree was smoking and spliced.

Mother nature really is powerful!

Milk Man

Now that we've moved to the country...

I've decided to fully embrace it and have the local dairy be our milk man.

We get fresh milk (milk from the cow 36 hours or less) delivered to our doorstep.

I don't drink milk but everyone else does and they say it is delicious.

The fun part is that it is packaged in old fashioned glass bottles.

I like that the milk is healthier for my family than the stuff I was buying from the grocery store.

Spider Bite?

Something bit me about 3 weeks ago. Ouch! I don't know what it was but this is what it still looks like today. It has felt like a sprained ankle and very tender.

This is what is looked like about 6 days after I was bit. My whole ankle was swollen. I hate spiders and bugs but now I think I hate them even more.

The Beach

Most of the time we spend at Newport is spent on the sand. This was Ryder's first experience in the sand and the water and he loved it.

Tanner is usually the first one out in the morning and he will stay all day.

Cade is usually looking for some sport to play and baseball is always a favorite.

There were a few days this year that it was way too crowded on the beach to play baseball so we had to fit it in when we could.

Grandma and Ryder watching the game.

Matt safe at 1st.

Please don't peg me! Cade can throw it hard now. Ouch!

The best games are always boys vs. girls. Of course the girls win every year :)

Weston will stay in the water all day. He's a fish.

The evenings are spent in the plaza hanging out and watching the sun set.

What a priceless picture of Grandpa & Ryder (and Kyle).

The last night was cousins night at Balboa. No adults allowed, unless you count me and Matt who were a decade older than any other cousin. Talk about getting old.

We closed down the arcade with a game of Deal or No Deal. Go Rob. I think he won a lot of tickets. It was so funny.

This year will be known as the year Wayne guaranteed perfect weather. And he came through. It was perfect every day.

911 Emergency!

How come there is always something exciting happening when you have kids? I'll tell you there is never a dull moment. Yesterday Cade had to be picked up 15 minutes early from school because he is on the school football team and they had an away game. So there I was with Ryder signing him out of school. It was a super hot day 97 degrees. We walked up to the car and I opened the back hatch so that Cade could get out his football clothes because he was going to change in the car. I started putting Ryder in his car seat and I was feeding him his bottle as we were waiting for Cade. I put my car keys on the front driver's seat and Cade opened his front passengers door. Then he said out loud, " I don't want to change in the front seat." As he was saying this and closing his door I was also closing Ryder's door. I heard the doors lock as they closed. What!!! Cade must have accidentally hit the lock button as he was closing the front door. I frantically go around trying to open each door but no luck. Remember my keys are on the front seat and now Ryder is locked in a boiling hot car. My first reaction was to break the window. But then I told myself to stop and think. I tried calling Matt but the call didn't go through. The service on my phone wasn't good in that spot. I left Cade standing next to Ryder's window. I ran into the school and asked them to dial 911 because my baby was locked in the car. The desk lady did and then I ran back outside. I tried calling Matt again and this time it worked. Thank goodness. I told him he needed to run home and get the spare car key and meet me at the school because I had locked the baby in the car. I always wondered what he must think when I call him with these crazy stories. Suddenly we had two school administrators at our car with us. They were really nice. Still no police or emergency people. I didn't know how long Ryder would last. Luckily he wasn't crying at all and he had his bottle. But still imagine how stuffy and hot the car felt. He just sat in his car seat looking at us. I would say after 10 + minutes the police finally arrived and it was just when Matt drove by on his way home. The police tried to open the door with some tool with no success. Then about 4 minutes later Matt pulled up and saved the day. My poor baby. I few more minutes and we would have had to break the window. Cade and I were both a little frazzled but a bad situation turned out OK.

Beach House Year #17 - Sunday

One of the best weeks of every year has to be the week we spend in Newport Beach. It is the Hart family tradition and this was our 17th year. We are all lucky to have Grandma is our lives and since she and Grandpa started this whole family I thought I would give a shout out to her. I've often thought that if everyone in the world had a Grandma like her the world would be a better place. People would be kinder and think more of others. They wouldn't judge others-just like Grandma has taught us.

Ryder's first year at the beach house!

Sundays have become one of my favorite days at the beach. After church we eat a family dinner and then it seems like the tradition is to go to the park at Newport Elementary. A school and park right on the ocean! What could be better?

I love these next two pictures. The first one the brother-in-laws are relaxed and spread apart. Enjoying some peace and quiet.

And now they have some company.

We usually play a game of baseball or duck, duck, goose.

I think the kids were waiting and begging for the game to begin.

It is so much fun to spend time with our families. Now Sara and Mike live far away :(

We will miss seeing them as often.

I'm already dreaming about next year. How about you?