Spring Break Fun & More

It is April and it is snowing. After living here for many years, I think I would be surprised if it was April and NOT snowing! At least April snow comes and goes quickly. This afternoon the flakes were the size of 50 cent coins, making it pretty easy to catch on your tongue. Aaron, Kaleb, and I had fun trying it out. :) Tomorrow it will be sunny and in the 50's.

Our computer is slowly coming back to life. Thanks to my husband and our external hard drive backup, I now have everything back except our files/pictures from January through March 7th. We still hope our computer store is able to retrieve that. To prevent this headache/heartache from happening to us again, we signed up with an online backup system recommended to us by my awesome brother. After what we've been though since early November, CrashPlan is worth every single penny to us!

Braylen had his first middle school track meet on Tuesday! Thankfully it was not snowing--just a little chilly. He loves to run and I really enjoy watching him run. It was my first time at a school track meet as a mom and not as a runner. I still had butterflies in my stomach when the races were about to begin, and it felt strange to be in the stands and not on the track. Funny how I can be 37 years old and still feel like I'm 14. With a lot of "last moments" coming up this spring as Braylen finishes up middle school, this was one of those "firsts" for me as we begin many years of watching our boys run in track meets. I like celebrating some firsts along with our lasts.

For spring break this year we traveled to Colorado Springs again. Only this time, we stayed with Derek's sister instead of in a hotel. We all had a great time together, and I hope our boys remember these times when they're grown. I let Aaron pack his own bag and guess what he brought? 18 stuffed animals, a pencil sharpener, 6 Minion Happy Meal toys, 2 Smurf Happy Meal toys, 2 Zhu-zhu Pet hamsters, a notebook, and several other misc odds and ends. Lucky for him I added clothing to his bag before we left. :)

Some highlights from our trip include...

Setting up Uncle Dave and Aunt Sarena's new select comfort bed--Aaron is trapped!

Nobody had to share a bed and that was wonderful!

See his pile of stuffed animals?!!

Ready to hike up Cheyenne Mountain in his new shoes.
1/3 of a mile up the mountain =200 feet increase in elevation.

My 3 hikers

It's a long way down :)

Tallest to shortest at the top of our hike

Braylen took lots of pictures this trip!

I thought this was pretty neat--flowing water and frozen water in the falls.

At Garden of the Gods with our nephew on Derek's back

Family picture--see Derek holding Danny's feet?!

Braylen found the ultimate walking stick!

One of our favorite places to climb around and explore

We ate lunch at Chick-fil-a of course, and discovered Gunther Toody's Diner another day. YUM!!! (Dad, you would really like it!) Sarena made us some delicious meals and breakfasts, and we took her and Dave out to BJ's on our last night in the Springs. It's always fun for me to try new places when we're there.

One of the highlights of our trip was playing outdoor laser tag Saturday morning! We were on the same team, battling it out with about 20+ other people. After the first game, I decided I was not used to running around in such thin mountain air. So I parked myself behind a fort, and picked people off with my laser gun. Who says this mom can't have fun with the guys?!

Yes, we all have red sensors on our heads. :)

We played boccie ball and frisbee at a nearby park. Pike's Peak is the snowy
mountain just peeking out from behind that house in the middle of the picture.

What a great vacation!

April is a very busy month for us this year, but I am looking forward to it. We have lots of soccer games and track meets, birthdays and parties, a visit with one of my cousins, turkey hunting, school projects, another band concert, and Braylen gets his braces off this month!!! Happy Spring, even if it is snowing outside! :)