Summer Hike

One of my favorite hikes in Idaho leads to Table Mountain(Rock).

It is nestled in the Teton Range of the Rocky Mountains.  

The view from the top is breathtaking! 

You stand shoulder to shoulder with the Grand Teton

 and overlook glacial valleys and canyons.  

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L-!  

It is well worth the strenuous 6 miles you climb to get there.  

Brad and Addison hiked it with the Nelson cousins, my dad, sisters and brother-in-laws. 

 It was not easy for the kids or for the adults, but they made it to the top!  

It was such a great experience for Addison, she loved it!

Elevation: 11,300

Distance: 12 miles(roundtrip)

Elevation Gain: 4,000

Dad, Isaac, Brigham, Addison, MaKyra

Kambria, Eric, Brad, Matt

Cute Cousins

We had two darling Daybell cousins here to visit this week!

Amanda and Alyssa traveled from Utah to spend a few days with us.

We LOVED it!  The girls had so much fun exploring Denver.  

We were excited to learn that they love to shop as much as we do!  

We shopped for two days, it couldn't have been better.  

We had a great time.  Can't wait to see them again!

Riverfront Park-- LoDo Denver

Amanda, Ella, Addison, Alyssa, and Olivia

On our way to H&M (my girl's favorite)

riding the bus--16th Street Mall
 

Loved the street performers and downtown fountains. So fun.

School Is Out

The last few weeks have been very busy!

Fun activities, lessons, getaways and visits from grandparents,cousins and friends.

We are so excited that school is out and summer is here!

I absolutely LOVE having our little sweeties at home during the summer!

UPDATE:

On the last day of school we had a surprise water party.

We had cute little treats and all of our good friends to celebrate.

The kids loved it.  

They were so excited to welcome summer vacation!

The blow up slip 'n slide was a hit!

 C-u-t-i-e-s---Best Friends

They have been busy swimming, playing at parks,

jumping on the trampoline, rock climbing at the gym, 

and going to piano, cheerleading and gymnastics.

Addison, MaKenna and I were so excited 

to go to the musical Wicked.  LOVED it---new favorite.

We planted a small garden...

cherry, yellow and roma tomatoes, 

cucumber, squash, mini sweet peppers,

rosemary, basil and cilantro.  

Everything I need for my favorite greek salad.

Addison, Brad and I ran in the Bolder Boulder 10K race.

So happy for Addison, her first race--over 6 miles!

She loved it, made it look easy.  So excited for next year!

Sweet little Ava is loving summer and we are loving her!

We all enjoy watching her make new discoveries.

She is a sweetheart---growing up so fast!  We adore her.

Happy Birthday Ella!

Our little Ella turned 5 this week.

She is a sweetheart---such a cute age!

She is energetic, talkative,

clever and always witty.

We love her so so much!

Ella wanted to have a

B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y

P-I-C-N-I-C

We invited 15 little friends to join us.

Ella was so excited to decorate her birthday candle.

She was very proud of her design.

C-u-t-i-e.

Ella's birthday picnic...

sack lunches full of her favorite picnic menu,

pink and yellow layer cake,

dipped marshmallows and balloons.

We walked to a near by park to eat and play.

She has so many sweet little friends.

They had a lot of fun playing together.

After Ella's party, we went to the American Girl store.

She picked out new pajamas for her and her doll.

After visiting American Girl, we went to a"doll friendly"

restaurant next door(White Chocolate Grill-YUM).

Ella's doll sat in a cute little high chair next to her

and received a free dessert for stopping by. It was so cute.

Ella's HUGE backyard chalkboard.

She helped me paint it.

All of our girls are enjoying this new birthday gift. :)

Beauty and the Beast

Another lovely evening at the theatre.

This time...

Beauty and the Beast

It was fabulous--so fun.

Olivia and Addison

Denver Center for the Performing Arts-Buell Theatre

Girls night out with my little darlings.

We had a great time. They are sweethearts.

We shared the evening with good friends--the Westhoff girls

(Dads went to law school together)

Kennadie, Olivia, Addison and Addyson SO C-U-T-E!

Sisters and Birthday

We love having a house full of girls!

I am the oldest of 3 girls.

My sisters and I are very close--best friends.

It is so fun for me to see my girls build

the same bond that I have with my sisters.

Love it.

Ava and Ella

best friends-little roommates-cute sisters

Last week, my sisters and my mom came to Denver for a shopping trip.

They were here for 4 days and we shopped 'til we dropped...seriously!

The weekend was a success--new clothes, purses, accessories, shoes...FOOD.

We have adventurous palates, so we set out to try unique dishes, flavors, and treats.

We scoured the farmer's markets and dined in fabulous restaurants.

My favorite was the Israeli couscous (topped with roasted pistachios)

at White Chocolate Grill--DELISH--can't wait to go back!

Kambria, Mom, Shilo and I

out for sushi at Happy Sumo---SO fun.

It was great to have my family here so close to my birthday.

Sad to see them go, but fun to have a birthday to celebrate.

Brad and the girls made my birthday so perfect.

I was excited to get a new dining table

and a fun new cake stand to add to my collection.

Unfortunately, I was very sick for a few days

and had to take a rain check on birthday cake.

So, we are having a red velvet this weekend...

can't skip birthday cake, it only comes once a year. :-)

Olivia's 7th Birthday

Olivia celebrated her 7th birthday!

She is a sweetheart---so darling. We love her so much!

Olivia wanted a late night birthday party.

We invited 10 of her good friends to a "night owl" party.

We celebrated with flashlight games,

sledding in our backyard and a lot of chocolate.

Olivia loves chocolate--she is related to me. :-)

We had a chocolate fountain,

hot chocolate and chocolate cake. YUM

It was so much fun.

H*a*p*p*y B*i*r*t*h*d*a*y

Olivia L-O-V-E-S American Girl.

She was so excited to get Ruthie (Kit Kittredge's best friend)

from our family and Kit's summer dress from Grandma.

So cute-love her!

Addison's BRACES

Happy Birthday Brad!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

We celebrated Brad's birthday this year

with peanut butter cups (his favorite).

His cake was loaded with

peanut butter cups

and rich chocolate ganache.

Soooo D-E-L-I-S-H.

Happy Birthday to our dashing fellow. :-)

We all adore you.

RECIPE

1 devil’s food cake mix

3 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups chopped peanut butter cups (plus more for garnishing – I used 2 bags)

8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup peanut butter

•Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Line with wax paper and coat paper.

•In a large bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil on low for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape down sides after 1 minute. Fold in 2 cups of the chopped peanut butter cups.

•Pour batter into pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

•Cool cakes completely.

•Place chopped dark chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring cream just to a boil and then pour over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts. Add peanut butter and whisk until smooth.

•Trim each cake layer so the tops are flat. Place one layer on a cooling rack and pour 1 cup frosting on top. Spread evenly with a spatula. Add second layer and pour remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Smooth out with spatula.

•Allow frosting to set for a minute and gently press remaining chopped peanut butter cup pieces all over top and sides of cake. Place in refrigerator for about an hour to set.

Remove and serve with vanilla ice cream

Christmas-New Year

We had a fabulous Christmas.

L-o-v-e-d the time together---away from school and work.

Santa found our new house and left a few surprises.

The favorites...

Addison's new alarm clock (her top request). She's a cutie.

Tickets to Beauty and the Beast and Wicked. Can't wait.

Ava's wooden instruments.

Instead of playing them,

she pushes them around in her stroller.

SO s-w-e-e-t.

The girls received a plethora of American Girl crafts to keep them busy.

Olivia was so happy about her new sewing machine. She loves to sew.

After Christmas, our little Ava spent some time in the hospital with pneumonia.

She was in the hospital for 4 days and on oxygen at home for another 4 days.

NOT what we had planned to celebrate the new year. Poor little girl!

She is such a sweetheart and has made a full recovery. So glad.

While Ava was recovering, we spent a lot of time at home.

So, I decided to give our bedroom a makeover...

I painted our bed, armoire and even our old pillows!

Brad knows how much I love to paint furniture, but pillows?!?

I wasn't too sure, but it worked. :-) Here is one of my favorites.

New home

The last few weeks have been busy!

We moved into a new home and we are loving it!

We were so excited to find a home within the same

community, school and village of fantastic friends.

Our girls are adjusting beautifully to the change.

Our cute little Ava is walking now.

She started walking soon after we moved.

She is excited to have new space to explore. So fun.

The last few weeks have also been

full of holiday fun! So much more to come. :)

Love this time of year!

The Lion King

The Lion King at the Buell Theatre.

We spent the evening spellbound by costumes

and magical theatrics. The costumes were unbelievable!

We were captivated from the start. Loved it!

Fuzzy picture inside the theatre.

The girls were so cute--so excited.

They loved every minute of it.

Baby Ava

Having a 4th little girl join our family has been a delight!

Baby Ava is a s-w-e-e-t-h-e-a-r-t.

It is so exciting to watch her grow

and see her little personality blossom.

She loves to be with her sisters.

She follows them everywhere. They LOVE it.

Watching a movie---all in a row.

Ava thinks she is so big! :)

A few snapshots from my phone...

Eating a banana before church--her favorite.

Shop 'til you drop.

She sleeps anywhere. I love it. She is a very easy baby.

I could kiss her little cheeks all day.

Morning run--she loves to ride in the stroller.

Listening to the story at Pottery Barn Kids story time.

She is growing up so fast. LOVE HER!

Halloween

C*O*S*T*U*M*E*S

Angel---Ladybug---Mad Scientist---Fairy

Sweet Little Ladybug

She loved Halloween.

Halloween highlight--creepy Hillary Clinton mask.

Brad went to the Costume Shop in search of a

costume for work. The last minute selection

was terrible. He ended up with...Hillary.

His costume was H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S.

Little Ella could not get enough.

She thought it was the funniest thing ever!

She had a great time in photo booth,

laughing hysterically under the mask.

H-a-p-p-y H-a-l-l-o-w-e-e-n!

First Snow

Snow, snow and more snow

in Denver today!

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L

Olivia and Addison after school--

SO excited about all of the new snow!

Training-Day #1

Ella, Ava(hiding in the stroller) and I---early morning run.

Brad and I are looking forward to our next race. Training started today. We are training with my sisters, cousins, and other family members. Our goal: Train together and run in a race Thanksgiving morning. We are going to run different races since we don't all live near each other. Brad and I will be running the Turkey Chase 10k. I love my family so much! We are very close. It will be so much fun to train together. Love it!