Train Ride

A few weekends ago Fred had the entire weekend off and so we looked for something fun to do with the kids.  There were a few things to choose from and so we let Blaiden choose what he thought was the funnest.  It came down to going to a farm or going to ride a train.  Blaiden finally decided that the train is what we would do this weekend.  It turned out we didn't really research what we were doing and so it was a little bit farther away than we originally thought and it was a little 4 mile ride on a mini train.

When we got there, there was a huge line and it took about an hour of waiting before our 10 minute ride.  Blaiden got to run around and watch the trains so the wait wasn't horrible.  The ride was fun and I think the kids enjoyed it.

Because we had drove all that way for a short ride we decided it would be fun to go and eat some ice cream for lunch.  We found a little homemade ice cream shop and Blaiden loved getting to pick his own flavor.

It turned out to be a fun day even though we didn't do much.  I love these little family days.  I know that it is just going to get better when Adilene can be a little bit more excited for these little outings.  

Trip to Colorado, Part 2

Thursday Sept 4:  The kids and I went up to Creede to see Fred and his family.  On our way up there we went into my mom's office because everyone was working that day and I wanted them all to meet Adilene.  She was a big hit with everyone, that seems to be a growing theme.  It was great to see all the girls and Dr. Avant because I haven't seen them in over a year.  Then it was time to let the kids nap while I drove up to Creede.  Fred was getting done with hunting with Casey and so we met up at his grandparent's house.  Fred's mom and aunts also were there.  We got to hang out and let them play with Adilene then we went over to his dad's house and they took us up to a ranch to let the kids ride a horse.  Blaiden loved it, all he kept saying was "yeehaw cowboy," and he still talks about Daisy.  Adilene wasn't sure about it all but she did good.  Then it was time for me to take the kids back to my parents for the night.

Friday Sept 5:  This was a busy day but we moved some things around so we could fit it all in.  It started out by my mom and I having hair appointments.  She went first and so I walked around downtown Alamosa with the kids and did a little shopping.  It's funny because when I lived here I hardly did this and now when I go home I always want to walk around to all the shops.  Then my mom watched the kids in the salon while I got my hair done.  Jed and his family came in and we all went and got a cookie for a treat.  Then we headed to the park so the kids could run around and play together.  Adilene rolled around on the grass and Blaiden and Hadley chased squirrels around the trees.  When it was naptime, I put the kids in the car and headed up to Creede for Fred's grandpa's 80th birthday party.  The party was at the firehouse and so Blaiden had a blast running around.  He got to go and throw rocks in a pond and climb around on the mountain.  Adilene also got to see Phil and Felisha.  After the birthday party the kids and I headed back to my parents house for the night.  It was a short trip today because the kids were getting a little worn out from being so busy and tomorrow would be no different.

Saturday Sept 6:  Fred came down from Creede with his uncle Robert and we all headed to go watch Sangres' football game.  It was about a 2 hour drive and so that wasn't the funnest part of the day.  We got to the game perfect timing.  Blaiden saw the game and all he would yell was "Go football go!"  It was so cute to see how excited he was.  He got to run around and play with other kids that were there.  We got to see all the people involved with the school, which we hadn't seen in a long time, we also got to see Kit and Miles.  Sangre won the game so it was great that we got to be there and see Jed coach.  Then it was time to make the 2 hour drive home but the kids slept most of the way so it wasn't to bad.  That night my parents wanted to take us all out to dinner.  We went into town a little early so we could run by Fred's moms house and see her, Casey, Phil, and Felisha again.  Jed and Kaitlyn left the girls with her parents but everyone else was there.  Blaiden was a little wild at the restaurant and so we pretty much ate and then headed home.

Sunday Sept 7:  Fred was so excited for this day because he was heading up to Denver to go watch the Broncos season opener.  He left early with Buddy and said it was great to be surrounded by Bronco fans all day.  I was going to take the kids down to Sanford but when we all woke up we weren't feeling the best.  Adilene was the worst and so I decided we were just going to take the day easy.  Margaret, Casey, Phil, and Felisha came out to my parents house to see the kids one last time before they all had to go home.  Blaiden was having so much fun with Casey, he would make him chase him outside and then try and wrestle him.  Casey is so good with kids.  The kids got a great nap that day and then we went to a park to have one last party with the Larsen side.  It was fun for the kids to run around but it was a little cold so it was a short party.  We had a great time and it was hard to say goodbye to everyone but we have our next trip planned for May.  Fred stayed the night in Denver because the game didn't get over until late.

Monday Sept 8:  It was a slow morning for the kids and I then we headed into town to go pick up Fred.  We said good bye to Margaret and did a little grocery shopping and headed back to my parents so the kids could get a good nap in.  That night we had family pictures taken.  It was great to get some good pictures taken and we did our entire family which we hadn't done since right after Hadley was born.  It was a little difficult trying to get 7 adults and 4 kids to all cooperate but I love all of the pictures.  That night we ate dinner and I packed up all of our stuff so we could leave bright and early the next morning to head to the airport.  (I will have an entire post with our family pictures)

Tuesday Sept 9:  Our trip was finally over and it was time to head home.  My Mom (well actually Fred) drove us to the airport, we had to leave at 4:30 to make it on time.  I was so happy Fred was there to help me through security with the kids.  Everything went really easy and Fred got to sit with us until we were starting to board.  He had to go find his plane.  The kids did pretty good on the flight home.  The beginning started off rough, Blaiden pooped just as everyone was got on, I had to have a flight attendant hold Adilene while I changed his diaper, the pilot walked in on us in the bathroom and I could hear Adilene screaming the entire time.  After that whole thing both kids cried during the take off and I was thinking it was going to be a long flight.  It only lasted about ten minutes and then Adilene fell asleep and Blaiden calmed down and started playing with a few things I brought along.  The rest of the flight went pretty uneventful.  When we landed it was a little difficult to get everything organized and get out to the car but people helped and we made it.  After have a minor freak out because I couldn't the car keys we made it home and both kids took a nap.  Fred got in at 9pm that night but he had a friend get him from the airport so that the kids could get to bed .  It was a very long day but it worked out fine.  We had wonderful time in Colorado and we are excited to head back in May. 

This is all the luggage that the kids and I came home with.  It is the only picture I got that day.  We were all pretty tired and taking pictures was not very high on my priority list. 

Mobile Snapshots #10

Adilene 11 Month Birthday

Eleven Months Old

My Appearance:  I am now weighing in at 19 pounds 8 ounces and 27.5 inches long.  It was another month of slow growth but I am moving all over and this is how I burn all of my calories.  My hair is just growing and growing and it is so long that it gets in my eyes sometimes.  The back is still a little bit shorter and it doesn’t cover my neck yet.  I have beautiful blue eyes just like my dad and brother still.  My eyebrows are very blonde and you can’t really see them.  My face is round and so when I smile I get big round cheeks that mom says are the cutest things ever.  I am getting longer and now I wear all my 12 month clothes.  A few of my shirts are tight around my arms because I have some extra chubbier then normal.  My legs are also chunky but that is nothing new.

Milestones:  This month has been another month of good practice for me.  I haven’t really done anything new but I am getting really at the things I have done.  I can get anywhere I want to go; mom and dad have had to start closing the gate to downstairs because I am interested in looking down there.  I also love to go to the front door and try and eat all the shoes.  I am working on eating.  I am getting better everyday and I really like sitting in my high chair. 

Daily Routine:  I am on a very good routine right now and nothing has really changed from last month.  My morning nap is getting pushed back a little more but I still take 2 naps.  I wake up around 6:30 and go to bed around 7.  I still sleep all night which my mom is thankful for.  I love to go outside now and roll around on the grass, play with Blaiden and Kiara, and go for walks.  I practice on sitting up and playing with all my toys.

Special Events:  I started this month out in Colorado where I got to go swimming, meet a ton of new people, and ride a horse. I had a great time going to Creede and meeting my great grandparents’ and helping my great grandpa celebrate his 80^th birthday.  I got to ride on a plane again when we came home.  I also went to a pumpkin patch with my mom and brother with the school I go to.  I started going to a playgroup at the school I’m involved on Friday mornings and I love it.  

Trip to Colorado part 1

My goal was to write about our trip the week after we got back so I could remember all the little details but here we are 3 weeks later and I am just getting to it.  I decided to split it into 2 parts.  Part 1 is the first part of our trip with just me and the kids mostly doing stuff with the Larsen side before Fred flew in.  Part 2 will be the rest of the trip when Fred was with us.

Saturday Aug 30:  A day I was excited and nervous about.  I was going to be flying to Colorado alone with 2 kids.  I had decided weeks before that I was not going to get stressed out and just take our time doing everything to try and avoid any extra stress.  Security at our airport is easy and so we got to our gate only losing a gel ice pack from our cooler.  I let Blaiden run crazy while we waited for our plane to try and get as much energy out as possible.  We got on the plane and a very nice mom, who said she was missing her babies, sat next to us.  I had packed a ton of activities and candy for Blaiden and we went through about half of them during the flight.  Adilene had a little problem with take off and landing but she took a little nap and played the rest of the time.

When we got to Denver my parents were there waiting for us.  We loaded up, Blaiden ran a few laps around the Carousel and we headed to dinner.  Dinner took a while but that was okay we had a booth so Adilene could stretch out and Blaiden was loving all the attention he was getting from G-ma and G-pa.
It was a very long day and we didn't get home until about 2am but it went better then I ever expected.

Sunday Sept 1: We were all a little tired but that helped us adjust to the 2 hour time change a little bit easier.  We got up around our normal time and got ready to go to church with my parents.  Blaiden entertained himself by using a mirror to apply lipstick.  When Fred sees this he might be a little upset.  Blaiden went to a class without me but he only lasted about 20 minutes before he realized I was gone and needed to come find me, it didn't help that he was very tired.  That night we had a party with all the Larsen's.  It was so fun to get to see everyone and they all got to meet Adilene for the first time.  We ended the party with jump roping and singing happy birthday to 4 different people.  The kids ended up singing happy birthday and blowing out the candles about 20 times then ate the cake with their fingers.  I think Blaiden was in heaven.

Monday Sept 2: It was labor day and we decided we would just hang out around the house and then have a cookout later that night.  In the morning my dad had to work a little and this thrilled Blaiden because he got to go out and ride the tractor for about an hour.  My dad said he touched every single button twice asking the same question "what's that?"  After he learned what everything did he was ready to come home.  After naptime we started a bonfire and cleaned up all the dead wood from the summer.  Blaiden loved taking all the wood to the pile before we started it but after the fire was started he was kind of over it.  Adilene didn't really like the fire either but I think it was because of the smoke.  Jed and his family came over that night and so the kids got to play and have some cousin fun time. 

Tuesday Sept 3:  I decided to head down to Sanford today to have lunch with Kella, Chera, Cindi, Audra, Pixie and all the kids.  They couldn't come up on Sunday and so I was happy I could spend this time with them.  We also stopped by Granny's house and Blaiden got to go out and see the horses with her while I fed Adilene.  We also got to stop by Fred's mom's work, this was the first time we got to see her this trip.  Blaiden had a great time running around her office and was trying to get into everything.  That night we decided to go swimming.  Jed, Kaitlyn, the girls, and my parents came with us.  The kids had a blast!  I think this could have been the best night of our trip, Blaiden actually tried to swim and wasn't hanging on for dear life like he usually does in water, Adilene would not stop laughing, and everyone just had a great time.

Wednesday Sept 4:  This is the Day Fred flew in!  We were so excited we would finally get to see him (for a few minutes anyway).  Fred flew into Denver at 9 and his brother Casey picked him up and then they headed to the Valley.  I pushed off naptime a little and we met at his mom's work.  Fred's aunts were also there and so they all got to meet Adilene for the first time.  We hung out there for about an hour and then Fred headed up to Creede to visit his family up there while I took the kids back to my parents house.  Fred tried talking Blaiden into going with him but he chose to stay with me (Yay! I'm happy I am still his first choice, not sure how much longer that will last!).  That night I got to cook for the whole family.  I made one of my "hippie" meals as my brothers like to call it but I think everyone enjoyed it because there was not much left over.  To end the night my mom got out a cup of flour so we could play a game.  It started out innocent but it ended up a little crazy, just look at the pictures.  This is what G-ma allows at her house! 

Continue to part 2.