Spring Update...

It's been a busy spring, but I wanted to drop in and update this space with a few new pictures.  We spent Mother's Day morning at Helen Hunt Falls, which is a popular and BEAUTIFUL hike in Colorado Springs.  It has everything that kids need for a fun day.  Several waterfalls....

 awesome stone stairs....

 some awesome wooden stairs....

 and a cool stone overlook at the top (with more small falls).

At the end of April, Owen had his 1st grade musical, called "Bugz!"  He was a bee.  It was adorable.

 

Owen had a day off of school in May, so we headed to Rock Ledge Ranch, which is one of our favorite places to explore.  All the kids were really excited to go see the farm animals and wildlife, especially Molly.

We found a couple new areas that we had never visited, which included this natural teepee.

 

 

Spring Break 2013

We spent the last half of our Spring Break in Los Alamos, NM with Becky, Devin, Logan and Laila.  If you asked our kids, the highlight of the trip was playing non-stop with their cousins, especially on the trampoline.  One the other highlights was this fun hike...

 

Owen is really concentrating on his solo trip up the ladder.

 

 Molly didn't worry one bit about climbing a ladder by herself.  Devin made sure she stayed safe:-)

Laila and Wyatt are little kindred spirits and had a blast the entire time, both on and off the hike.

Owen and Logan are best friends, too.  Owen suggested that we all move into the same house.

Molly is an adventurous little trailblazer.  Despite being pretty tired from the long car ride the day before, she walked most of the 2-mile hike herself.

She and Laila sang the "Wonder Pets" theme song together on the way out.  Holding hands was Molly's idea.

We were in New Mexico for Easter, so we dyed eggs in the backyard.  Easter morning was pretty chaotic with 5 kids and Easter baskets and hidden eggs, so we'll save those pictures to be posted by the Close family...if they got any...

Picture Roundup!

When looking through the pictures for Owen's birthday post, I came across so many cute pictures (mostly of Molly!), that I just had to do a little picture roundup post.

 

This was Molly's washing-the-car outfit one morning. 

 Laila and Wyatt are the best of friends.  They laughed through an entire meal when visiting in late February. 

Molly tried on some spring pjs and did a little dance.

This is what Molly did when she first met the baby chicks that hatched at Josh's school.  She was in love!

Molly loves books and reads to herself for big chunks of each day.

Happy 7th Birthday, Owen!

Our sweet Owen turned 7 this month.  It's hard to believe that it's been so many years since we first became parents!  This year, Owen really wanted a party where his school friends came over to play.  We stuck to a simple Lego-theme, with a Lego building activity at the beginning and Lego-shaped brownies, but the boys mostly just had fun playing in the backyard.  

 

 

 

Here are our little 3 Musketeers before all the friends arrived... 

 Seven candles on one little brownie!

 

On Owen's real birthday, we went to Josh's school to see some baby chicks that had recently hatched, he got a birthday crown at school...

 ...and we opened presents from the family. 

Adventure at the Dinosaur Museum

We met Ben, Brenda, Amelia, and Cavan at the Dinosaur Resource Center in Woodland Park.  We discovered that it was one of the few months of the year that all the kids are consecutive ages.  So, here are the little Hobgoods about to be chomped by a megalodon:  Molly (2), Cavan (3), Amelia (5), Owen (6), Wyatt (4).

 

 The kids had a blast exploring the fossils, but they were hard to round up for pictures.

 

As we were preparing to leave, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo set up an exhibit of animals at the museum.  We saw many native Colorado species, such as prairie dogs, ferrets, and borreal toads, and Owen even got to hold a snake!

Be loud, let your colors show

Wyatt loves putting on little concerts for us.  This is a few snippets of "Colorshow" - The Avett Brothers.

Bathtime with Molly

Bath time is one of the best times to really have a long conversation with Molly.  Here is an example, with a little bit of Wyatt's imagination thrown in.