And In Other News

So I realize we've been keeping up with trips and large events, but I've kind of been remiss on blogging about our day-to-day lives this summer. Here's the recap in one post. We've spent lots of time with friends











And family




(Checking out our new Mazda!)

Sabine went to preschool camp this summer, for a taste of what's to come this fall. She loved it, and made some new friends, who will be in her class. Here's her picture on the first day.



She also tasted her first donut this summer.



We've seen any number of beautiful rainbows with all the rain we got in June and July.



And tasted the fruits (or veggies, rather) of our moderate labor. The carrots from our container garden are puny but tasty.



And we made time for painting. (And coloring, and cloud dough.)





We also just celebrated Grandmom's birthday.



Sabine helped make the cake--there were plenty of sprinkles!



And speaking of birthdays, the biggest news of the summer is:



Sabine's going to be a big sister! And she's thrilled, happily.

First picture of the newest member of the family:

Family Visit and Durango

Mom's cousin and his family came out to visit Colorado this month, and we had a wonderful time with them. Sabine was especially taken with her second cousins, who were fantastic temporary big sisters.


(Getting coffee and bagels on their first day in town.)

We all went down to Durango for a week, and rented a house together. It worked out really well.



We spent one day at Mesa Verde, and Sabine really seemed interested in the Native Americans, who she started calling "The Relatives" for some unknown reason, but we went with it.







Another day everyone except mommy (who played designated photographer) rode the Silverton/Durango railroad. Fortunately, it came right by our house.



We went to the county fair another day, and all the girls enjoyed seeing all the animals.

 

The bunnies were a particular hit for Sabine.



The baby goat was a particular hit for mommy.

 

We also saw a tractor just like the one Grandpa used to drive when mommy was a little girl.



We stayed up late to go star-gazing another night.



The bears.



The camera on my phone didn't do too well in the pitch black, but the stars were beautiful.



We went to the farmers's market another day, and all the girls got balloon animals/flowers.



There was a pretty river walk that we could follow all the way back to our house, so we went home that way, stopping to play along the way.







We also spent some down-time at the house, and the girls all played really well together. Sabine is ready for them to adopt her.





After Durango, we headed home while our cousins went on to explore more of Colorado and Moab. They rejoined us about a week later, just in time to celebrate H's birthday.





And watch one last movie before our family had to go home.



Come back soon, we miss you all very much!

Welcome, Cousin H!

The big news in our world is:

Sabine has a brand new baby cousin!



 H arrived at the end of July, several weeks before his due date, but he is doing amazingly well. He is already off the respirator and breathing on his own. Sabine got to meet him for the first time last week, and we have talked about the little baby a lot, ever since.

 

 We can't wait for him to come home! Congratulations, Aunt Dani!

Belated Fourth

Happy belated Fourth of July! We are falling way behind, here. We had a great day, daddy got off work for a long weekend, and we had some great family time, including celebrating cousin E's birthday.

And on the evening of the fourth, we went over to the local park, where they had a nice fireworks display.




Sabine was a trooper, we had to wait for over an hour, but we had a good time relaxing on our blanket.



She was impressed by the show, we've talked about it a lot since.

Delaware and Virginia

The second part of our trip was in Delaware. We saw lots of good friends and family, although I only managed to get a handful of pictures.





We met our old Colorado buddy, G, at the beach again.













And Sabine and I stopped off for a mommy/daughter dinner date at Grotto's pizza on our way home.



We also saw Great-Grandmom several times, and I am just kicking myself that I didn't get more pictures. Sabine was very impressed with some of the artwork on her walls, she didn't realize that Great-Grandmom was also (once) an avid painter. We also poured over photo albums together.



The next leg of our trip was in Virginia. It was a short but sweet visit. Aunt Judy had a broken arm, but still managed to keep Sabine quite entertained.



Aunt Judy and Uncle Fred have a wonderful swing in their yard, and I think Sabine and her second- cousin would have stayed for hours if Aunt Judy hadn't suggested hunting for toadstools.







The east coast has gotten an incredible amount of rain recently, and Aunt Judy and Uncle Fred have some wonderful oak trees (the mushrooms like to grow over their roots) so we found many different specimens. Along with an equal amount of mosquitos! We will remember bug spray next time.



Gratuitous ice cream shot.



I wish there were more pictures, but mommy wore out by the end of the trip! We had a wonderful time, and are looking forward to at least seeing the second cousins out here in Colorado later this summer. Thank you all for making it such a special trip. (Extra special thanks to Aunt Betsy and Uncle Butch, somehow we didn't get a picture with them, but they took good care of us in Delaware, and read lots and lots of good stories to Sabine.)