10 months

10 months means only 2 more until he's 1.  I can hardly believe it.  What a sweetie this little guy is.  We love him to pieces.  

Rock-a-bye

Thief

My kids got a boatload of candy at the parade and their favorite thing to do is set up a shop and trade it. They had it out the other day and after wondering what was keeping Josiah quiet for so long I discovered that he had stolen a tootsie roll from Morgan's stash.  It wasn't a regular old tootsie roll, it was the really big, really long kind.  She was a little peeved at him for stealing her good candy.
She left the room and I grabbed my camera.  These 4 pictures happened in a 5 second time frame (I love the info on digital images!!).  This just cracks me up.

Parade

Cuteness

Morgan snapped this picture the other day and I just love it.  Problem is, I'm not quite sure who's kissing Josiah!!!  It's either Aaron or Greta and I can't believe how much they look alike at that angle!  Morgan, do you know??

Mean Mama

I thought it would be cute to take a picture of Josiah just waking up.  By the time Morgan got me the camera it was not so cute anymore.  Poor baby.

All better

Jewelry Queen

This girl loves her jewels.  I think they are her favorite "toy".

In case you're wondering what is on her forehead, it's a painted crown from the church fair.

Gettysburg

This week allowed us a bit more family time. We took an overnight and went to Gettysburg.  Steve has been wanting to go there for awhile and my mom got us a pretty banging hotel discount so it was a win-win.
Steve and I both knew that we would be overwhelmed with that to see and do while in Gettysburg so we adopted the motto that less would be more.  We kept it pretty simple.  Toured the museum and then walked around one of the small battlefields.  There was much to take in there and the kids seemed to understand and appreciate what they were seeing (to varying degrees, of course.  Greta asked me, "Why all these people fighting?  Try explaining that to a 4 year old.)
The weather was simply beautiful and it was a fun time as a family.  I told Steve I think he was born to be a tour guide.  He loved explaining everything to the kids.

This sweet girl was particularly moved by the realities of what she was seeing

I couldn't have asked them to line up more perfectly!

This is what little Mr. thought of the battlefield tour.

Fan Club

Though there are not many Bronco fans in the area, Steve has his own little fan club going on here at home.  Claudia always loves an excuse to throw a party and she took advantage of the Broncos first live game to throw one.
Last minute on a Sunday afternoon she whipped up some bacon appetizers, a layered taco dip, and some Oreo footballs.  She sure is a keeper.
And yes, the Broncos did beat the Steelers that night.  It must have been the food.

Tubing

This was Greta and Aaron's first time going tubing.  In spite of the look on Aaron's face on this picture, they loved it.

Helper

Steve had Aaron helping upgrade our new patio set.  Love his expressions.

Little Hawks

Thanks Dad and Bev for hooking the boys up with their Hawkeye gear.

I was shocked when we laid Josiah down how still the boys laid together.  It was a cute moment.

Hmm..Grandpa.  One of these boys seems to be missing his Hawks gear.

Oops

This picture was supposed to make it onto the Black Rock pics.  I've finally discovered the world of Instagram and love it!  So fun!  I do not have my own smart phone so I only have limited access to Steve's.

Black Rock

Since our church building is finally nearing completion, Steve has been able to take some much needed time off.  He's been doing lots of reading and chilling and I think I'm starting to finally get my hubby back!  :)

We were able to spend 3 days/2 nights at Black Rock last week.  It is such a beautiful, peaceful place.  Unfortunately the weather was not real great, lots of rain.  So we spent more time inside than we would have hoped for.  We did get a beautiful afternoon to swim and a morning hike.

Grateful for the time away, the flexibility that homeschool allows, and my sweet, sweet family.

Evening chess by the glow of the iPad

He loves his weapons

Beautiful cabin we stayed in

We started off on a hike and these 2 stormed off ahead, chatting away.  I love that they are becoming the best of friends.