Family Vacation - Hiking Day 1 - Pikes Peak

We had a lot of fun on our vacation.  We were able to keep it quite simple, with three days of hiking.  Of course no long routes.  The kids LOVED going along the trails and finding acorns, leaves, daddy longleggers, frogs, flowers and whatever else we might come across.  Plus, the views were gorgeous!

Oh, the spiders!  The kids could not get enough of finding them and picking them up.  

The simple joys in life!

Big Brown Eyed little girl!  She loved riding on her daddy's back.

Waterfall!!!  Purple Girl was ready to climb over and then under this railing. 

 Mom decided her holding onto my hand was a good idea.

Family Trip - Treehouse

We were blessed to go on a family vacation.  

We started our vacation off by stopping by The Big Treehouse.

If you have never visited, I would say it is worth the stop.

The kids really enjoyed it and I could tell Big J's mind was thinking about him and his friends could build one.

It is 12 floors high!

Purple Girl is FOUR

Our Purple Girl is FOUR years old today.   She is so excited to be turning four.  This little girl continues to add so much fun and excitement to our home.  She brings lots of energy and keeps us all on our toes.  She is our climber, our tumbler, our dancer, our baby doll lover, our hugger, our run-every-where she goes little girl!  She can't wait to be a MOM when she gets older and loves to dream about being a princess.  She always wants to wear a dress - but only if it twirls of course.  

If you came into our home, you would most likely find this little girl in the playroom putting on a princess dress, playing dolls with her little sister, tickling and loving on her little brother or outside swinging with her big brother.

We are so thankful for our Purple Girl.  

Eliana's name means "God has answered."  

The Lord truly did answer our prayers when He blessed us with her.  

Kitchen Help

Big J does a wonderful job helping around the house. 

 Of course, with his helps comes some creativity.

Always 1

There seems to always be one who doesn't want to pose for a picture.  Whether we had two kids or now four, there seems to always be one who when the camera comes out is not willing to smile.  

I guess that is the way it goes with kiddos.

Can you guess who the one was this day?

Funny Man

Big J enjoys entertaining us at times. He thought this new outfit was quite funny.  When I (mom) wasn't quite amused, he wanted me to take a picture of him and text it to his friend (who he knew would laugh).  So I did, and yes, his friend did laugh and tried to put on the same outfit.

Break

Taking a little break on one of our many walks around the block!