Now This is Summer!

This weekend we celebrated that the stress of the move is finally over! We needed a weekend "away" so we drove 10 minutes to the Hyatt. Talk about a wonderful place to relax...our favorite thing is the lazy river. We both got a tube and put Elli in her baby tube and relaxed on that river. Elli loved watching the other kids and splashing. There are so many fun things to do there. We went on scenic walks, roasted s'mores, spent time reading in the many beautiful areas and Elli got her first backpack ride. She loved it more than we thought she would. Anyways, we feel so refreshed.

Sippy Cups, Ponytails and Crawling

Elli is hitting all kinds of milestone...she learned how to drink out of a sippy cup recently and loves loves loves it! She is officially mobile now...watch out! Today she got her first ponytail, too! All kinds of accomplishments:) Oh and yes, there are 4 more teeth coming in...6 total.

So I have to include an update about our new life in Texas. Though we miss dear friends in Colorado (and the wonderful Colorado weather), we are loving Texas. We get to see Brian and Leann and Landon more often. It's all about community and I am so thankful for Maggie's friends taking us in. I get to hang out with Maggie almost everyday, either walking or whatever. We already feel like we have community here, plus we feel settled in our house...visitors come on down. But there are some differences we are noticing...

I know I am not in Denver when...

1. I have to slam on my breaks for a bobcat and her cub a block from my house

2. There are racoon tracks all over our back porch (and all of our neighbors fish have been murdered in the night)

3. Deer droppings are found in our front yard

4. I vacuum up scorpions in my house--bedroom and office (luckily dead)

5. Temps in the 90s are considered a cold front

6. I have snake traps in our garage

7. An UMSA (unknown medium sized animal) walks behind us as we are enjoying our back patio in the evening

Happy 4th of July!

We really enjoyed dinner/hanging out with Brian, Leann and Landon at the Ski Lodge tonight. Elli loves watching Landon and waves her hands uncontrollably. Landon decided to imitate her and it was hilarious! Thanks, Mia Warren, for the cute outfit:) BTW, Elli took her first few crawls today! We better start babyproofing this house!

New Home and Crazy Hair

This is our new residence in Texas! We are starting to feel at "home". I had to put a pic of our bedroom view because I think the fav thing of our new home is the oak tree outside our window. A cardinal and red/blue bird have made the tree their home as well as fly into our windows many times a day, but have not learned that they will get hit by a window...definitely not the smartest birds. Our friends, Brent and Maggie, who live 2 doors down have made us feel so welcome. We have gotten to join neighborhood/mommy Bible Studies and social events with them. Makes the transition actually fun!

Elli's First Swimmng Experience

OK, so last Friday was one of the funnest days in Texas so far. I met Leann and Landon and her bro Ryan at the Hyatt by our house. Talk about a resort! It was beautiful! We hung out and Elliana dipped into the pool for the first time. She loved it! Thanks for inviting us!

Elli Rescusitating Dolly

When we were in Kansas last week, we looked over to see Elli giving "mouth to mouth" to grandma's doll. I think she has the "head chin tilt" down:) Poor girl, this is what you get from 2 medically minded parents.

I will blog a pic of our home and life in Texas some day! It was nice that the packers took all of our stuff out of boxes, but that just means everything is in unorganized piles throughout the house. We are still searching for Elli's crib components.

What was funny was that the first day of our arrival, everyone had to tell us their "creature stories". The neighbor across the street told us how they are dealing with scorpions and spiders in their bed. Our dear neighbor friends, the Feldts, told us about Griffin, their 2 year old finding a coral snake by their back door. So the first night we were here I barely slept and the first people we called, as a spider crawled across my countertop, was pest control! I am feeling so much better now.

Welcome William Andrew Banz

Julia and Bryan welcomed William into their lives early Monday morning! I can't wait to meet this little one!