Life has been like a whirlwind. In between working and school, we have been super busy packing and getting ready to move.  Again.  Don’t worry, this time we are only moving a couple streets away.  Soooo, I am going to post some pictures of our last couple weeks and leave it at that….

Did I mention that we have company.  Oh yeah, that too.

Never a dull moment…..

We were all (mostly all) up bright and early this morning and unanimously voted to run up to Copper for some doughnuts.  After a day of snow flurries, the mountains were breathtaking.  After eating doughnuts the size of our heads, we hopped in the car and headed out for a quick drive to see the Rockies in all their splendor.  Our first stop was Mayflower Gulch.  Let me just say that my picture does not do it any justice.  The only word I can think of was majestic.  

Every year, as you all know, I dread the start of school.  What I really dread the most about school starting is the morning routine.  I end up using my “ugly voice” and somebody under the age of 10 cries.  It isn’t pretty.  I hate it, they hate it, and nothing gets done.  So this year, we made a morning list a couple days before the start of school.  We did a trial run and have been working to the list ever since.  The list is a great tool for all the kids.  They are constantly checking it to see where they are and what needs to get done.  One hard rule: they may not eat breakfast until the list is done.  That is a huge consideration for them.  You know how my kids love to eat.  They don’t want to miss a meal.
The list has changed our lives. Too dramatic?  Okay, so at least it has changed our mornings.  We still have the occasional crier but rarely are we hearing from the ugly voice.  My kids work to a list really well.  I am not sure why we didn’t do it sooner. Oh well, live and learn.  And drink.  No, just kidding….maybe.
The best things about this list?   Everything gets done and I don’t do it.  They do it all and get it done earlier than later.  I don’t pack snacks, start showers, make beds, throw dirty clothes into hampers or stir oatmeal.  They do it and have taken ownership of it.  It goes so smoothly (most of the time) that I think I could add in another kid.  Just checking to see if Scott is reading 🙂 
Anyway, we are loving our list.

Look at me!

Look at me!

Look at me NOW!

It is fun to have fun

But you have to know how.

― Dr. Seuss

There is definitely not a dull moment around these parts.  We are staying super busy and having lots of fun along the way.

Wild Olive Tees is giving away free t-shirts.
All you need to do is pin.
I know you all love Pinterest, right?!?!??
Well, I won’t go into detail but I do spend  a tiny bit of time over there pinning all sorts of fun things…..including these awesome shirts.

Kids are back to school…

Rainy afternoons have passed…

Nights are cooler…

Bikes are going out and parkas are coming in….

Leaves are changing…

Fall is upon us.

Fall is not usually my favorite season, mainly because I know what is coming after this lovely but oh so short season.  Winter.  It is cold, super snowy and long, really long.  And cold. But… I have to admit that I am totally digging this time of year up here. The weather has been perfect and the views are fantastic. I might even say it is my second favorite season (right behind spring for obvious reasons)….maybe.  Ask me again in the spring:)

We went on another beautiful hike this weekend.  We have had a ton of company lately and we are loving it!

Happy Monday!
jennifer

Today I got to hang with my biggest kid.

He was home sick with a yucky cold but not quite sick enough to be in bed all day.  Unfortunately I had to get some work done at the store so he came along with me and helped the employees at the store with some demo that we are working on.

We went out for lunch and it was so awesome for me to enjoy some one on one time with him.  With four kids, it is crazy hard to get each of them alone for more than a nanosecond.

Anyway, now everyone is home (read: chaos) and we are up to our necks in backpacks, snacks and homework.

Even though we didn’t plan it, Sam and I had a great day just hanging out.

Achoo.

Our Sunday hike was especially awesome this week because we actually made it to our destination. Well….sort of.
We headed out with the hopes of making it first to Mayflower Lake, then up to Mohawk Lake.  We were also hoping to see Continental Falls.  We did see the falls but not up close 🙂
Well, after hiking 2.5 miles we arrived at Mayflower Lake.  It was so beautiful, right at the base of the bowl. We had fun exploring around the lake and hiking up into the bowl a bit.  Scott and I knew that it would take a while to hike back down so we decided that the falls and the upper lake would have to wait until next time.  Mason’s little legs get tired and we didn’t want to push it. We were super jazzed that we made it to the first lake.  We saw cool old mining cabins along the way and had fun jumping over streams and finding tree bridges.  The falls were gorgeous, even from afar and now we know that we have a new destination to look forward to 🙂  This bird below was stalking us, hoping that someone might drop a pretzel.  The kids named him Fluffy.  They, of course, knew exactly what type of bird Fluffy was but I don’t remember.

Today was my first day back to work after the summer break. I am going to be working a few hours every week in the Frisco store.  It was a good day and nobody called me mom all day long. It was a bit refreshing 🙂  I happily picked up my little cherubs from school and now we are back to homework and chores.  Happy Wednesday!  Off to make some dinner.  Black bean burritos are on the menu tonight!
Jennifer

Again.
They keep doing this to me.
Getting bigger, older, smarter, cuter and definitely sassier.
They all went back to school this past week and left me at home alone.  Even Mason couldn’t be persuaded to stay at home another year. He trotted off to Kindergarten without so much as kiss or wave.  I guess that I should be excited that they all love school (or their friends) so much that they want to go back every fall.  Well, we ALL survived the first four days of school.
I have to admit that although I was really truly sad to see them off, I felt a tiny bit of freedom.  So, what would any good parents do with all this extra time?  We have kept busy, don’t worry 🙂  We have been mountain biking, running and enjoying a couple breakfasts out all by ourselves.  It does feel good and I am seeing a tiny bit of my old self emerging!  Soooo, since I haven’t blogged all week I have lots of pictures.  Aside from the first day of school pics, Sam got new glasses and looks very old and super cool.  We had a busy weekend with some coach training for me, our first weekend of soccer, a team BBQ, a super fun hike, sleepovers and father/son backpacking.  Whew.  And we lived to talk about it 🙂  Today the kids have the day off and only had to go to school for some testing.
Now we are just hanging out….breathing slowly before another busy week…….