House Warming Par-tay!

So a little after we moved in...
my sweet awesome Jessie threw us a house warming party!!

It was so great to actually have a place to
throw a fun summer time get together!
We are just lovin our backyard!
But more than that we are loving
that we now live in the same neighborhood
as all of these great friends!

We even rode our bikes over to Jessie's house tonight!
I love that we have friends so close...
and the bestest friends too!

Here are the besties at the party!

Here's a big group shot of the partiers!
And Matt grillin...

It was such a fun night!
Very entertaining all around!

The kids ran through Laura's big globe sprinkler...
in their clothes most of the time.
Allikaye had about 5 wardrobe changes
during the party...
which is actually only like 2 more than a usual day. Here is Laura.
She is our next door neighbor!
I play volleyball with her
and Allikaye and her daughter, Delaney are great friends.
She "found" the house for us!
Yay for Laura!
Here she is tattooing the kids.
I told you it was a killer party!

Here is my sweet friend Brittney and her newest baby, Maya.
Brittney is becoming such a great friend too.
Her family is so fun to hang out with...
only more times to come!!

We played lots of cornhole...
or bean bag toss...
whatev.

The boys played teams...
and you could see a lot of chest bumps
and fist bumps throughout.
They were hardcore cornholers!

Then for some reason...
the mini tramp made it's way outside.
??

So why not take pictures of us in mid air?

Here are the best shots of us crazies...

mine...

Laura:

Jessie:
even with a skirt...

We are volleyball players who like
to pretend that we are small and agile enough to
have been cheerleaders earlier in life.
So bring out a mini tramp and our dreams are alive.

Oh! Here's a neighbor shot of Laura!
Hi, neighbor!

Then the mini tramp went from a
cheerleading training tool
to a volleyball tool...
our true colors.

We hit off of this for awhile.
All mid-party.
Tell me you do things like this too with your friends.
Jessie could still rock it with her skirt.

Or maybe not...

Here's a really pretty shot of me...

Where were the kids during these shananigins?
Just hanging in a tree next door...

So, yeah,
I am super thankful for these great friends.
They bring me joy and silliness.
And I love that they all came to celebrate us moving into
their neighborhood!

So fun!

Oh, and I am cleaning the house this weekend -
so I will post a little tour coming up soon!
We really do love the place!

Camping Fun

Friday:

Arrive at the PERFECT camp spot!
We actually got one of the top sites
at one of the top 100 campgrounds!
Little wading stream on site with a big river next to that!
After we set up, daddy got the slingshot out!

Did a little stream fishing...
Watch out fish!
Princess fishing pole coming your way!

Took some family pictures while waiting
for our friends to show up!

Here's one minus Tre...

Exploring with dad...

Saturday:

Mallory and Allikaye...
ready for a day of fun!

The girls...

Allikaye caught her FIRST fish!
woohoo!
it was very exciting...
except she was totally offended that the fish tried to slap her!
Sunday:

We ended the trip with a fun little scavenger hunt!
Here's Allikaye showing her
"piece of moss"
They also had to find something shiny,
something red,
bark, different leaves,
and lots of other fun things!

Seriously, I usually do not
LOVE camping.
But this was a hit!
Maybe it is because of the amazing company we had.
Maybe it was because we slept on an air mattress.
Either way,
I am so thankful for family and friends and God's beautiful mountains!
This is a memory that is top 10!

Hello

We have been crazy busy
over here!
And in the midst of the fun craziness...
my computer says it is full...
no more hard disc space...
nada.
So I can not download any of the fun pictures that
are awaiting their debut!

We are talking some fun times!

A house-warming party my friend
threw for us!

Our garage sale!

Camping with our most favorites!

But until the computer is fixed...
by the hubster, I hope...
I will leave you with one picture
that made it's way!!

Here's Allikaye
just hanging out...
coloring...
eating her mac n cheese...
in her new backyard!!!

Hope to update this bloggity blog soon!

xoxo

Aunt Katie!

Matt's youngest sister lives in
Fort Collins.
We have wanted to go up and visit her for
awhile now...
and we finally did!

Fort Collins is such a neat city!
Beautiful houses,
streets,
and awesome parks!

Here is Katie's house...
she has fixed it up so nice!

Then Katie took us to a cute little

farm that is by her house...

We got to pet and see lots of cute animals!
Allikaye loved it!

See that smile!?

She was pumping away!

Sweet baby cow...
I like cows.

After the farm,
Katie took us along a river path
that led to this...
rope swing!

Here's Katie...

And Matt...

Allikaye and me passed on the swinging...
maybe with swim suitsAllikaye and me passed on the swinging...
maybe with swim suits - but no wet clothes for us!
The tree climbing was fun though!

Allikaye also LOVED Katie's chickens...

here's her coop...

It was quite exciting for Miss Thang!

She is still talking about them!

Oh, and she had to wear the Ariel dress
for the chickens...

of course!

Then we headed downtown Fort Collins...

it was so great!
There are lots of cute fun shops...and restaurants...
like this one!!!
Big Al's!
(that's what Matt calls her)

We actually ate here though...
Snooze's...
an a.m. eatery!

It was an old school diner style...
I loved it!

And look at the cute coffee mugs!

Yummy pineapple upside down pancake
that we shared!

And this girl wanted eggs, eggs, eggs!
Have I mentioned that she loves eggs?!
She would eat them all day...
hard-boiled, scrambled, loves.

We also shared a yummo breakfast burrito.

Thank you for the fun brunch, Aunt Katie!

Then we walked downtown some more

and found cute fountains...

Action shot...

We even found some that sprayed our faces!
Here is the waiting face...

Here is the sprayed face...

Seriously, I loved this part of Fort Collins!

I had never seen this side before...
only experienced the CSU side!
We are already planning another trip up -
with swimsuits for the rope swing...
and time to ride the trolley throughout town!

We love you Katie!

Thanks so much!

60 years of marriage...wow.

The family came in from out of town...

and we celebrated!
We celebrated the 60 years my grandparents
have been married!

Here are some shots of our fun filled family weekend!

Allikaye, Addie, and Emma
or "the cousins" as Allikaye calls them.
She loves them, as do I!
I am still hearing every day,
"how many days til we go to Nebraska and see my cousins?"

Here's the cake!
And the happy couple!

I love this picture!
We had a big family and friends lunch at Zio's...
and everyone shared how they know my grandparents.
Those smiles show it all!

The cousins!

After the lunch we swam at the cousin's hotel
and then went to see Toy Story 3 (very cute)!

Here is Allikaye and cousin Luke...
see what I have to say about this boy below!
I want him!
We stopped to watch some street performer...
a guitarist with a bird that sang along.
Entertainment.
Matt, Addie, Emma, and Amber!

The next day we had a big family picnic...
reunion style!
Here's my Auntie Peggy and sweet Luke,
my cousin Amber's son.
He makes me want a boy soooo bad!

Feeding the ducks with grandma at the picnic...

Granny! I love her so!

Gramps!! Always makes me laugh!

My cousin Anna's twins!
So adorable!

Oh look what made it's way in here...
my cousin Amber
(who is so much more than a cousin - she is such a great friend)
bought this necklace...and I LOVE it...
so I took a picture!
The next day we all headed to
Roswell Community Church.
This is the same church my mom went to growing up...
my grandparents still go...
my parents, and my mom's siblings,
were all married there too!
History people!
This is the original part...
I think it's perdy.

Good 'ol fashioned hymnals!
Those are my parents...
and my cousin Mike and his wife Jill...
singing beautifully!

My grandparents were so proud to
have all their family together at their church...

Sweet cousins!

Happy 6oth anniversary, you love birds!

At the picnic I asked
them their happiest memory...
the first thing that pops up in their minds.

Granny said:
"When he came home from his time with the marines."
Sweet!

Grandpa said:
"Back in 1949 when they were 'seeing eachother,'
I was working at the St. Mary School,
laying brick,
and granny came by to see me.
All the guys started teasing, saying,
she was coming to get his paycheck
and they weren't even married yet!"

He laughed really hard about this!

So special.
I am so thankful that the family was
able to get together and celebrate.

The smiles from my grandparents having everyone
together was priceless!

Happy 4th of July to you all!!