The other morning, Julia woke up at O dark thirty... and the only thing that would appease her was looking at pictures on my phone. I realized I had a few nuggets hidden on there that hadn't been shared, and should be.

On Mason's birthday (back in October) we went on a bike ride. I think, judging by his smile, that he enjoyed it... and for all of you fans, yes, that is a Michigan State Spartan helmet.


The boys and I went camping last summer:


A few weeks ago, the fire alarm went off during the middle of church. The fire department had to respond... a good time was had by all. Especially all the kids that got to take turns sitting in the Firetruck while the firefighters were inside resetting the [fasle] alarm.

This is a picture of my dad. It's not a great picture by any means, but it tells a lot about him: He wears hats, he takes lots of pictures, he appreciates old barns, and he appreciates cities that find creative uses for old barns in our modern world. There are lots of other neat things about him... but this isn't the post for it.



Who knew the view was so good from Kaiser building on the east of town?



This is what happens when you let Grandma play with Julia...



Little girl with long shadow



Julia has discovered swings

Shadows

I couldn't decide which I liked better... so you get both. Not bad for the camera on my cell phone.

I just couldn't leave those yucky pictures of Julia up any more even though our lives haven't changed all that much. This is from Monday, laundry day. Julia and Cooper love to get in the basket before I put all the warm clothes in. They think they are in the hot tub. Julia learned to say warm.
Thank you aunt Chris and the Smiley's for all the new clothes! the boys are in heaven with their new wardrobe.

In response to BOTH comments already on this post, I'm not sure exactly what happened. We were at some friends house for a party. I was holding Julia and playing with a little squishy toy that shoots air out when you squeeze it. I was puffing the air at her face - I don't know if it was just the dry air of Colorado, the little puffs of air in her face, or her giggling so hard, or a combination of them all... I just know when Julia gets a bloody nose (and now that I think of it... she does get them regularly) it is like a faucet. SO needless to say, I quickly excused myself from the party, got her home and into the bath. ahhhh fatherhood.

watch out for bloody noses...



Nothing a sudsy bath can't fix:

Watch her neck when she laughs...

Fox sang in a Pirate Musical at school... Yarrrr....




Picnic in the Living Room:




Here are some snapshots of my girls...

Mason lost his first tooth:

This little ham never tires of posing for the camera

Neither does this ham...

Don't disturb her while she's reading.

I think glasses are a good look for her.

You Thought Rollerskating Was Dead

but you were so, so wrong.

Our sweet neighbor Zoe invited us to go rollerskating. Her mom offered to drive us in the preschool bus she had for the weekend. The buss may very well have been the best part.








It was a rough start, but the boys got the hang of it quickly.

All of this roller skating is hard work...

Old Film

Have you ever pickedup an old camera and realized there is still film in it? That happened to me this week. I broke out the old (1978 fully manual) Canon this week and found one fully shot roll, and a roll in the camera - half shot. Here are some of the highlights:

Christmas morning everyone is all in smiles and their new pj's.

Mmmmmmmm, spinach dip.

So, not to brag but we have had some amazing weather here this winter so far. New Years day we took the kids to the skate park and they rode their scooters and skate boards like crazy. Cooper thought it was so fun to slide down the ramps and Julia loved chasing everyone.

They got more brave the longer the rode.

Here is Fox catching some air.