two-wheeler

 ellery was surprised with a two-wheeler over labor day weekend!

it's extremely out of my comfort zone to gift on non holidays but a darling girl at church, also named cosette!, had gotten a new bike & when her grandparents asked what she should do with her old bike (they knew we'd started our lookout for miss e) she thought giving it away was a great idea. she helped her grandpa clean it all up & bleach the white tires. & when sweet cosette realized that the streamers were missing, she ran & took them off of her scooter & attached them to the bike. how priceless is that?!

 jellybean biked around all weekend calling to passer-byers that she was a lucky girl & had a new bike. :)

ellery is beyond herself with excitement. 

& i was excited that she did so well her first day.

they have not stopped asking to go outside to bike.

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 i even have to fight them to take off their 'bike hats' when we come inside. ellery fell fast asleep in hers tonight. i woke her up to write this: 

how cute is this little thank you note to her "friend cosette, didyouknowthereare2cocos"?! she usually does better lettering but look at that bike! she kept asking me how to do pedals, handlebars, her bell, etc. & i had zero answers for her. haha

she really is very very grateful for her brand new to her bicycle. :)

my girlies

but even though we miss him loads, i do enjoy having my girlie beans to myself ;)

 hahaha i'm obsessed.

work trips

austin's been on a lot of work trips lately & it's no bueno to have him away. the girls miss him tons when he's away & get into lots & lots & lots of trouble. lots.

colorado state fair

our friends the whittingtons had us join them for the colorado state fair. with 2 for 1 coupons & kids too young for tickets the whole evening ended up being crazy cheap. fun fun fun.

plus the girls got ice cream cones! which they did not know how to eat cleanly. 

fair food is always fun - i was shocked at how many things they'll fry... like fried poptarts, fried peanut butter cups, & friend captain crunch. haha awesome.

 there were a ton of friendly farm animals to check out. my turkey call really got the turkey to gobble back & forth with me. hidden talents, my friends.

 i love that austin gets in the cages with the kids. i makes me just a touch jittery. 

 the pony ride was everyone's favorite!!

 my brave cowgirls ;)

after the fair we had a very long & shady night in already sketchy pueblo when somehow my phone ended up on the street where we'd parked (i don't know how i do these things sometimes... ridic.) & we then followed the gps tracker to the parking lot of an ihop. 2 hours later, police called, & phone located in the exact vehicle; austin was extremely unwise & confronted the guy. i about had a heart attack but the guy gave us the phone no problem, though he was shocked that we found him, & we got ready for the hour + drive home. only problem? this was the state of the phone:

here's to my knight in shiny armor who thinks he's invincible!

elder hodgman's 21st

my little brother turned 21 today. i miss him. i was listening to the radio & some stupid rap song came on that i would never listen to & i realized i was singing along to the chorus. i only knew the words because michael has a horrid acceptance for this genre of music that i do not share. but it made me cry. i miss him.

flying horse neighborhood bbq

our neighborhood had yet another bbq get together right in the park. costco catered, there was a petting zoo, multiple bouncy houses, face painting (don't get me started. my kids have never had their faces painted so i waited in line for seriously an hour & finally left ticked at all the teenage kids cutting in line & no one listening. should have put an age limit up. grr.), snow cones, 3 legged races, hula contests, etc. 

 porcupine!

tortoise! see ellery making a tunnel for him to walk through? the animal guy thought that was the most entertaining thing he'd ever seen. :)

 nasty snake. chief spear headed that one...

bearded dragon!

 have i mentioned i like our neighborhood?

i've choked my last choke

long story short: been choking on my food for years & it has gotten progressively worse. finally had it checked out. they did a dilation of my throat that did not go routinely. it sucked. & hurt. but now i swallow!! without fear of dying!! how cute are my little nurses? my MIL was a huge help & stayed a day past my FIL just to help us out. sorry if that xray grosses anyone out. cuz it grosses me out.

now the girls play 'broken throat' & one makes some mechanical sounds with her hands over the other's neck & then they say "my throat's all fixed! yay!" & run off. it's odd.

feeling great now! yay!

pikes peak cog railway

i was so excited to finally go up pikes peak but was nervous about the drive. when the hills suggested taking the train, i was thrilled. it went slow enough & the windows are down the majority of the time so i didn't feel nauseous once. whoop whoop!

 every kid loves a good train ride :)

 the girls adore having their grandparents around.

 with an average 16% grade, we attempted to give the beans gum at the halfway house at 8,913 feet.

despite all 4 adults in the midst of explaining the concept of gum, they both swallowed it pretty promptly. :/ guess i should have been giving them gum before...

the views were unbelievable. it was incredible to be on the mountain after staring at it everyday for 6 months.

 as you reach the timber line, the scenery abruptly changes. it's pretty awesome.

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 we were very prepared with coats & jackets for everyone but it didn't end up being as cold as we thought it would be.

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 did you know america the beautiful was written about pikes peak? purple mountain majesties.

 at the top! 14,110 feet elevation!

ellery fell fast asleep just before we reached the summit & cossette literally could not walk straight at the top. haha i kept thinking she was just being goofy but she really couldn't do it. 

 the hills!

 top of the world :)

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 goodbye peak! until next time!