New Hobby

At the end of summer 2010, Drew and I took up a new hobby. Some friends convinced us to try golf. Drew was instantly hooked, and I now enjoy it too. Even if I am not a great player, I still enjoy getting outside and spending some time with my hubby in beautiful places.
This year, for our 16th anniversary, we went to the mountains with another couple to go golfing. We went to Fox Hollow in Denver, then headed up to Eagle. We played at Aspen Golf Club, Roaring Fork, Eagle Vail, and Rifle Falls. We were able to leave our girls with some friends from church, and although we missed our girls, it was great to have a weekend away together as a couple.

Winter Park

We spent a long weekend in Winter Park enjoying the mountains and the snow. We went skiing/boarding at Sol Vista, we went sledding, and we visited Rocky Mountain National Park where we saw three moose. We had a great family weekend, and also spent some time with good friends.

RMNP

We love to visit Rocky Mountain National Park in the fall. It is a great time to see some fall color and to view wildlife. It is rut season for the elk, and the bulls are busy rounding up the females. What an amazing experience to see the elk up close. The elk are also very vocal at this time of year. The bulls bugle and the females signal to their young to keep them close.

Every time we go to RMNP I diligently scan the meadows and forest for moose. Every time I have been disappointed to not see any. I have been told that there are moose in the park, but they are very shy. This year, we finally spotted moose, not one, but four! The first two we spotted because there were several cars pulled over. It was a mother and her young. We also spotted a bull moose. It was very exciting because I first saw his antlers as he was running through the willows. It was getting dark, so I wasn't quite sure what I was seeing at first. I asked Drew to pull off on a side road so we could get a closer look. As we came around a corner, there was a massive bull moose! Look at the size of those antlers!
It is hard to imagine their bulk until he is a stone's throw from your car. He was amazing! We also saw a female moose nearby and figured that the bull had probably been chasing after her. I did take some photos, but they did not turn out very well since it was dusk. The girls had a great day. They especially liked that Drew let them watch the moose out of the sun roof of the car.

We had a free day of skiing at SolVista on our Colorado Gems card, so we took advantage of that on January 23. We went with a great group of friends, who helped us with our kids. Drew and I even got to board together a little bit! The girls had such a fun day. Even Natalie enjoyed all the hustle and bustle of the lodge.

Helper

Now that she is a big sister, Keira loves to be a helper.  We went on a hike recently with some friends, and Keira took this little boy's hand to help him along the path.  So cute!

Skiing

I'm sorry that I don't have any new photos of Natalie to share...you'll just have to come visit her! Actually, I have been taking a lot of pictures. The problem is that I have been taking too many pictures in the last few years, and my computer is overloaded. I need to delete and do a full backup before I can download any more new photos onto my computer. I promise to post some soon.

For now, I wanted to post this photo of my two older girls skiing with their Daddy. (I have not been able to ski with them this year because we were expecting Natalie.) They really enjoy skiing and are doing well on the slopes. Hubby started a tradition of getting donuts whenever we take a trip skiing, we really wanted them to enjoy skiing so we have tried to make it fun for them. We never push them to stay on the slopes longer than they want to. It has been a fun family activity for us so far. I love how they completely wear themselves out on the slopes! See photos for evidence of what happens on the trip home!

Natalie is doing very well and growing fast. She is very sweet. I think I am enjoying her the most out of all my babies. I think it is because she is a content baby, I have older girls to help me, and I am more confident in my abilities as a mother. It is so fun to have three girls!

Paint Mines

We went for a walk in the Paint Mines, a CO state park, a few weeks ago. The sky was very blue, but it was a bit windy. The girls did not enjoy it very much until we found the rocks to play hide and seek.

Skiing

We took the girls skiing last Saturday and had a great day. The girls enjoyed themselves and the weather was great. They are improving their skills and we enjoy the activity together as a family. Oldest daughter, Rosebud, enjoys skiing so much that she asks to ride the lift again even before we have finished our run. Youngest daughter, Pixie, enjoys it too, but gets worn out a bit faster.