A few FotoFavorites from the past week.
On this particular day I asked Ella 3 times if she intended brushing her hair at all...Each time she smiled and said no... Thankfully we were not leaving the house.
Picking home-grown tulips for teachers.
Brother and sister hugs.
Rocky gets a hair cut.
Fashion Trashon Day at school.
Volleyball.
LegoFest Denver.
Lunch at Chipotle.
Sunday chores.
It was a beautiful Spring weekend with lots of time spent outside.
We arrived home yesterday after a very busy but fun vacation in Orlando and hit the ground running with a birthday party for Luke to attend yesterday afternoon.
In spite of winter weather warnings today, it's good to be home. I always seem to catch a cold when we're in Florida and will spend the next few days finding my way back to health.
Austin and Rocky, both now 5 months, were cared for by my mother-in-law who came to stayed at our house in our absence. The boys were definitely thrilled to see us again. A gaping hole in one of my kitchen drapes a few teeth marks at the base of the kitchen table may indicate there was a little separation anxiety in our absence which I did anticipate and am accepting as being all part and parcel of having dogs.
Our 9 days was a busy mix of pool time, theme parks and food planning around the various food allergies and preferences in our family. It's always harder for us to accomodate our diets when we are away from home. Eric was able to join us several days into the adventure.
This years trip included a return visit to Sea World as well as first visits to Hollywood Studios and Legoland. Sea World has always been a favorite but Legoland fulfilled a promise I made to my children last Fall and was the driving force behind our visit this time. The coasters were the biggest attraction though Luke had a few difficulties with the motion. They loved Legoland.
We were lured to Hollywood Studios by the Star Wars and Disney Channel Kid Rock Show attractions, however, as time goes by it's becoming more apparent that we are just not Disney fans. Ella enjoyed the princesses at Magic Kingdom when she was younger but neither one of my children have ever been interested in Micky Mouse.
We were also able to spend some time with my parents, a.k.a Mama and Papa. It's a bonus to see them more than once a year and this time was a little extra special as we were together to celebrate my Dad's birthday.
I my favorite part of the trip was climbing into the car to complete the last leg of our journey from Denver International Airport to our home. Almost in unison, Ella and Luke thanked us for taking them on such an awesome vacation. I was quietly proud. As parents I think we always feel we need to do more, take them to see more, even spend more on them to feel like they have a good time.
Eric and I questioned more than once whether we'd made the "right" selection of parks or whether we should have done more. The truth is the more you do, the more they expect. Ella and Luke were equally happy and grateful for the time they spent playing in the pool at the house, jumping in fully clothed, playing with Lego and games.
I have been on a less is more kick for well over a year and we continue to see it enrich our lives in so many unexpected ways. Most of all I think helps you to appreciate more and learn to enjoy what you have.
But there was a lot of happiness.
A few tears.
A few Tebow moments.
And a lot of love.
I don't think I could have asked for more.
I picked up the camera this past week after a brief hiatus. I struggle with taking photos in January and February when we always seems to be indoors. My ancient Canon 20D doesn't really cut the mustard in low light conditions and I so I have to work at maintaining my enthusiasm. Focussing on the reason for the photo as opposed to it's technical quality always helps.
Presently, Friday nights are my favorite and have become our night to crack open a bottle of wine and try a new recipe. Eric has always loved to cook but my interest tends to eb and flow. You might remember my New Year intentions for reducing the grains in my diet... I have since become completely grain-free. Partly in support of easing the effects of Eric's food allergies and but also because I feel less tired and enjoy better quality of life.
We're following a modified Paleo diet and even Eric's enthusiastic. Thumbs up.
Friday I picked up some cassava (yucca, manioc) root, red snapper and dragon fruit from our local Asian store and modified this recipe.
Luke was completely unimpressed and had a staple hot dog.
Ella on the other hand will try and eat copious amounts of anything.
She loved the dragon fruit chopped on a new $5.00 chopping board from Target.
Presently, I'm enjoying the variety of the fruits and vegetables we're eating thanks to the Paleo diet.
A blueberry omelette with maple syrup for breakfast on Saturday.
Chicken liver stir fry for lunch on Sunday.
Presently, we just about have a handle on these puppies. They seem to be calming down, Austin is responding to training and life is finally returning to what I recognize as normal, only now we have dogs. E and L love them.
Saturdays are typically bath days.
Presently, Luke has an ear infection. A cold progressed and we ended up with an Urgent Care visit today resulting in a round of antibiotics for the little man.
Presently, we still have the weekend celebrations on our mind. My father-in-law turns 70 years old this week and he wanted to celebrate by taking the all the Grandchildren to Jump Street on Saturday. We then hosted a simple dinner at our house.
My mother-in-law, and my husband for that matter, always cook enough to feed an army.
E and L enjoyed having their cousins over.
There was cake, a candle and singing.
And big hugs and smiles.
Imperfectly captured. I'll take it.
A few photos from the weekend.
Caught in the act. Double trouble.
Wii Sports Resorts. I totally thought we were done with the baby gates.
Snooze.
Why do they never sit straight at the table?
Basking in the sun.
Apple and blackberry Paleo pancakes.
Another week zooms by.... Even more so since our latest addition to the family.
Meet Rocky! Our new little Shichon. We picked him up last Tuesday and I would have introduced him earlier but not only have I literally had my hands full, it's taken several days to agree on a name. It's actually quite fitting for him. Austin is intent on herding him and he doesn't do himself any favors by bounding around in front of him in all his cuteness.
I had to get this little ball of fur groomed. We're still knee deep in snow and apart from him getting wet/dirty everytime we go outside, I'm sure he couldn't see where he was going, and more importantly I can see when he's peeing! Also less fur for Austin to grab onto.
Austin is reluctantly getting used to the idea. He wants to play but he's learning that carrying him around the yard by his tail is not OK. He's always looking for his next opportunity though.
Luke and Ella are loving the new puppies and participating enthusiastically in the training and care taking, at least for the time being.
I'm getting used to the freezing cold jaunts in the yard, in pitch black with flash light in hand wearing Eric's boots. Those who have ever had a puppy will know all about this.
Quiet moments are rare at the moment with a little time to drink a cup of tea and catch up on email.
Valentine's preparations are well underway.
Life is full right now so please bare with me as we get through this current adventure.
It pretty much revolved around this little guy bar a few basketball/soccer games for Luke.
Last week was rough but we're making progress. Eric's working on the training and it's already showing.
Austin is trying to dominate Luke. As a result Luke is a little afraid and doesn't get too close. He'll be going to training with Eric on Wednesday.
Ella is the least interested in Austin. She wants a Yorkie. She's the first to defend him though and will quite happily watch while multi-tasking with the iTouch. I find it interesting how different Austin acts towards Ella compared to Luke.
The reason I finally gave in.
A photo of me and a new hair cut looking a little tired but feeling great since cutting all grains out of my diet. Loving the variety of vegetables we're now trying and not missing the desire for sugar.
Good weekend. Hoping for a great week.
We've taken our merry little time this year but festivities have finally begun at the Aspnes house.
It began Friday with me frantically tearing around Denver trying to find an elf. It took a few stores, but as luck would have it, there were a few remaining. The result was a very happy girl who talks to her elf Sam and looks forward to where he might land each night.
We also managed to get the rest of the house looking like Christmas.
Some of my favorites from decorating.
Luke's little feet peeking out from behind the tree.
A gift for Santa and a letter that has been written since Thanksgiving, but continues to be edited.
Sunday jammies...Though every day is a jammies day as far as Luke is concerned.
Luke singing "rudolph the red-nosed reindeer" while he decorates and suggests "it would be really cool if Santa could ride on the reindeer".
A German ornament from my childhood.
A break from tradition with Luke placing the angel on the top of the tree this year. Ella has always done it but is simply too big now, and as Luke quitely rightly stated, it's about time he gets a turn.
Hints of a teenager shining through.
Big and little.
Aspnes times 3.
Attempt at bokeh but a little more practise required.
We woke up again to another blanket of white. Deja-vous. A quick hat change and I was Mom instead of designer today. It's pretty much been the story of my week. I'm just going with the flow at this point.
I did manage to snap a few shots of the beautiful snow when the storm cleared this afternoon though...
And now we brace ouselves for more on Saturday. Hoping for another god ski season this year.
