Labor Day in Colorado

Adelina lives in Colorado. Much too far. So my newest obsession is flying to see her as much as possible. Over Labor Day weekend, I had a couple of days off so I flew out there for a long weekend. Isaac picked me up from the airport and we got home too late to see Adelina, but I woke up to this cute face the next morning. :)

Isaac worked that day, so I hung out with Dominika and Adelina. We went to Sam's Club and Adelina was being pretty cranky, so I took her away and found things to occupy her, such as taking a nap on the mattresses.

In the car on the way home, I heard a squeaking noise and turned around to find her chewing on the sole of her shoe. This sassy girl cracks me up.

Once Isaac got home from work, we all just hung out, ate dinner, and watched Adelina play. I told Isaac and Dominika this is why people get boring after they have kids - all of a sudden, they're perfectly content just watching their kid for hours. I'm right there with them. :) Adelina was getting a kick out of climbing up on the first step of the stairs and "jumping" off - really, she just walked straight off the stair, landed on her face, laughed, and climbed up to do it again. We were cracking up.

Isaac started running about the same time I did, so we talk about it a lot, but he's been much more aggressive about his goals than I have. He works on improving his pace and challenging himself. I'm more into distance and stress-relief. One of the goals he set for himself a while ago was the run to the top of the A - a giant A on the hillside next to their house. It's a six-mile run round-trip; I'm not sure what the elevation was. I knew I'd struggle with the incline and altitude, but I agreed to go with him Saturday morning to see the sunrise. The sun started rising before we got to the top, but we got a great view once we made it up there. I struggled and had to walk for about half of it, but it was a great start to the day!

Baby Girl loves shoes. :)

After the run, we got ready and headed to the Swetsville Zoo - a park full of metal sculptures in various shapes - animals, machines, robots - all created by the same guy. He was suffering from insomnia and had a bunch of scrap metal, so he started welding at night. They were really cool!

That evening I hung out with my friend Kyler - we went fishing and shooting and played some basketball. He beat me in almost every game we played, but it is important to know that I did win one game of Around the World and one game of One-on-One.

I love getting ready with this little face tugging at my skirt.

Sunday after church, we went to Glen and Marneen Camblin's house - our boss from the temple. We enjoyed some delicious tacos and played catch in the backyard. I also copied a chalk dragon from a book that Alyssa picked out for me, and I have to say, I did a pretty good job.

The next day, Labor Day, we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. We stopped by Chick-fil-a on the way so I could introduce all of them to the wonder that is the chicken biscuit. Even Adelina loved hers.

It was rainy and chilly once we got up to the park, so we didn't get to hike as much as we wanted, but we walked around Bear Lake and up to Nymph Lake.

Adelina loves to inflict pain on people - she thinks it's the funniest thing - so she was cracking up when she was tickling Isaac's ear with some pine needles.

We didn't see much wildlife while we were in the park, but once we got down into town - Estes Park - we saw a whole herd of elk just chillin' in town like they belonged there!

We walked around Estes Park for a bit - got pizza and then followed it up with ice cream and toffee. Both Adelina and Isaac can't help but get the ice cream on their faces when eating.

It was a super fun weekend, and I'm always sad to leave. Don't worry, though; I just bought a ticket to fly out there for Thanksgiving. :)

Progress

One of my New Year's Resolutions this year was to lose 40 pounds. Well, it was originally to lose 30 pounds before I turned 30, but then I went ahead and gained 10 more, so it became 40 before 30. :) Nine months later, I'm down 25 pounds. I've still got 15 to go, but I've made some progress! The other day I took the picture on the right because it was the first time I'd worn that shirt in a while and I was impressed with how well it fit. Out of curiosity, I pulled out my before photo from January to compare and I couldn't believe the difference! I really feel like I must have been bloated on the day I took that picture, because I can't believe how round I was. Last night, I pulled out some of my pants that I haven't been able to wear in a long time and they all fit. A couple are still a little snug, but I can now fit into every item of clothing in my closet. That's a great feeling! 

Sleepover with Nalon

A couple weeks ago, Jacob had to work on the weekend so I picked Nalon up after school and he came and hung out with me until the next day when he went to Columbus with my parents. We had dinner, exercised (well, I exercised while he researched white tigers for a school project), and watched "The Big Green" - one of my childhood favorites. The next morning, my roommate made us pancakes and we all played some games before he had to go. It was a fun night! He slept on my floor and was out in less than three minutes.

Emerson's Birthday Bowling and Bikes

For Emerson's birthday activity, she chose bowling. We had a great time! She struggled with the bowling (no bumpers at this place), but she found quite a talent in tap dancing on the hard floor. :)

Emerson is one hilarious eleven-year-old. There were several times that night when she made me laugh for real. Not because she was silly or goofy but because she was witty and clever. She has a huge heart - she loves and wants to protect every living creature and can't bear the thought of anything going unloved. She's always willing to help and is very thoughtful. She's smart and fun and I love her!

When we got home, Campbell was riding her bike because she'd had her training wheels taken off. She's a pro! So she and Emerson rode around the cul-de-sac doing tricks and showing off.

All Pro Dads Feature

Last year at a conference, I connected with a guy name Jeff Newnam - the director of the Indiana Fatherhood Coalition. Together, we went over some options for how to get dads more involved in my school and we decided to use a program called All Pro Dads. It's a monthly breakfast where kids and dads come together, eat a small breakfast, and discuss a prepared set of questions focused on a different topic each month. It's really simple but really fun for kids and dads to get quality time together talking about things that matter. One of my favorite parts is in the beginning when they open it up for any dad to stand up and introduce his child to the group and share why he's proud of his child that month. It is absolutely heart-warming to hear these sweet men share what they love about their children and see the smiles on the kids' faces while they listen to it. It's so great. 

Last month, a local news reporter saw a post I did on Twitter publicizing the event, so she came and did a short feature about it. It was so fun to have her there and then to see our students and dads on TV that afternoon! It was definitely a very rewarding professional moment for me. 

Summer Roommates

Since moving in together in May, my roommates and I haven't had a lot of time together. We were all gone at various times throughout the summer and our schedules often don't coincide. We did find a couple of times to hang out this summer, though.

Rebecca's family stayed with us one weekend, so they left us a Graeter's gift card as a thank you. It was delicious!

Another time, we went to the drive-in to see "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." I'd only been to a drive-in theater once before - this summer in Colorado with Holden - so it was really fun. We made snacks beforehand and had a great time on a beautiful summer evening!