Last week, we had to take Harrison down to the Children's Hospital in Aurora for a surgery to fix what didn't heal correctly from his last surgery.   Taking your baby in for surgery (hydrocelectomy) is never ever fun, so we tried to focus on the positive.  I took some pretty pictures of the sunrise turning the Rocky Mountains pink, but editing out phone poles and such just wasn't worth it, so you'll just have to use your imagination.  The hospital is only a stone's throw away from our old apartment, so I was looking forward to a trip down memory lane, but all I got was shock and dismay!  Being a server in the suburbs, I never drove in Denver rush hour traffic.  Ew.


I remembered parts of Aurora being ugly, but dang.  Bulletholes through the street signs, refineries everywhere, crane yards and cargo trains.  Not my cup of tea!


We got all checked in and waited for literal hours in this tiny room before surgery, not easy with a baby who hasn't eaten or had anything to drink in 14 hours and is due for a nap!


Popping bubble distracted him for about 15 seconds.  Long enough to get a picture of that middle finger doing all the work!


The surgery itself only took about 30 minutes, Harrison woke up quickly and demanded food now.  After chugging one bottle of pedialite, the nurse hesitantly gave him another.  After chugging that one and still demanding more, the nurse thought he would vomit, but we know this baby can eat, so he downed a third.  I loved feeding them to him, because they're the last bottles he'll ever have. :*(  Being somewhat satisfied after the third, he took a long nap while being monitored.


We got home around three, and Harrison was acting like nothing had happened.  We went outside to play in the yard, and after he and I plunked down in the grass, I noticed that the entire lawn was COVERED in spiderwebs.  There's been a ton of spider activity because of all the construction.  It's both creepy and festive to have all the trees in the neighborhood covered in webs.


Of course, the only things Harrison wanted to do were throw rocks and climb up and down the concrete steps.  Perfect activities for babies who have just been under general anesthesia!  I've always said that this baby is impervious to pain, and while he was a little grumpy the next day, his recovery went smoothly and we were able to take out his drain yesterday.  Hopefully no more surgeries for a loooong time for this sweet little guy!

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa

We were thrilled to have a surprise visit from Grandma and Grandpa last weekend!  We didn't tell the kids that they were coming, so they were mighty surprised and excited when the doorbell rang!  Friday night, we had dinner and the kids showcased their improving reading skills.


We had planned to drive up into Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday, so we were a little nervous when we woke up to dense fog.  Normally you'd see a bank of houses in this photo, and it made me a little excited for how  beautiful it will be here when the snow falls!


Luckily, the weather cleared up nicely by the time we were ready to go, so we loaded up the van and started our drive into Estes Park, a beautiful mountain town just before the park.  We saw some long-horned sheep on the way!




Dropping into Estes Park is always beautiful, but even more so with the fall foliage!


Estes Park is nearly always busy, but there was a festival in town and it was the last really warm, beautiful weekend to get up and see the leaves, so traffic was CRAZY.


We had a picnic lunch, then went on a little hike to an old stone lookout, from which you can see the whole town.










I am seriously not okay with how old my baby girl is looking.


Pretty view of Lake Estes!




For this color junkie, it doesn't get much  better than October!




On Sunday, we holed up inside to escape the wind and rain, but did venture out to go snooping in the row of nearly-completed homes.  They're beautiful, but their views of solid houses don't hold a candle to the open space behind us!  Grandma baked cookies with the kids, which they loved!


We think Alaina confused the cookie dough with playdough.  Nothing flattens it out better than being pounded with an elbow!


Before hitting the road on Monday morning, Grandma and Grandpa walked the kids to the bus stop.


 Our visit was wonderful!  Thanks for spending the time, money, and energy to come, Mom and Dad!  The time for you to go home always comes too quickly!

Catching up!

Here's what's been going on in our neck of the woods...

After literally months of her asking us to pull out her top tooth (this girl is all about the cash!), Daddy finally plucked it out!


She left this note for the tooth fairy, but Anthony and I explained that the whole reason the tooth fairy comes is to take teeth with her when she goes.  We explained that she might be upset if she had to make the trip AND leave money and still get no tooth!


When Anthony went into her room that night, he found this follow up note...


...as well as an offering gift of a "nice caterpillar".  You can't turn that down!  She was pretty excited to wake up to money AND a tooth!


Just in case any of you think that years of lightsaber fighting might get it out of one's system, here is proof that it is and has been here to stay!


Harrison woke up with the best bed head the other day!  I know that we're closing in on his first haircut, but cutting off his mullet is just too much for me to handle.


We celebrated Ryan's birthday.  Who's to say that cake smashes are only for one year olds?


Harrison was appalled by Uncle Ryan's table manners.


Once he realized that everyone was laughing, he thought it was pretty funny, too.


The girls eat it up!


As we were bringing the dishes in, a round-tipped butter knife fell off of a plate.  I guess that knife wanted to show everyone who's boss and make quite the statement.


Alaina still loves to squeeze herself into tiny containers, but it's getting harder and harder as the months pass!


I love that I get to drive past this lake almost every day (school, grocery store, inlaws, center of town).  Some days it is just too pretty to not pull over and snap a pic!