One Love

Our favorite neighbors EVER, Sarah and Todd FINALLY got married last weekend at The Boulder Mountain Lodge up in Boulder Canyon! 

Ashtyn was one of Sarah's flower girls, so we got to share in all the fun festivities!

On Friday night we went to the rehearsal dinner and had a BBQ!

It was so great to meet all of Sarah's family and friends from Chicago.  I hear a lot about them and it was so nice to finally put the names with the faces...



Carlin with the Flower Girls!

 

 Eli entertained himself with a sucker, which by the end was all over his face and clothes...

On Saturday we headed back up to get ready with the bride and the other flower girls..

 Ashtyn looked beautiful as usual, and was so excited that Sarah got tiaras for them to wear in their hair!

 The three flower girls - Elle, Ashtyn and Alyssa...

 Thank god Auntie Em was around to do hair...

 The ceremony was beautiful and of course very emotional! 

Sarah and Todd have SO much love for each other and you could totally feel it that day!  It was so special to be apart of and finally witness the two of them tie the knot!

 Louie fell asleep during the ceremony!

 Although the ceremony was beautiful it was missing one of the flower girls! 

Ashtyn got really scared right before they had to start walking down the bridge and refused to go!

Of course it was filled with drama and tears and crying and fighting - so Ashtyn sat here at this picnic table while the rest of us enjoyed the ceremony!

I was very disappointed and a little embarrassed that Ashtyn couldn't participate for Sarah's wedding, but once this little girl makes up her mind, there was nothing we could do about it.  So future flower girls offers will probably be turned down! 

Luckly, Sarah is a very loving lady and was very understanding with Ashtyn... 

 Grandpa Butch was the only one to get Ashtyn out of her "funk" - so she was able to enjoy the rest of the day being a flower girl...

 Sarah is so cute with the girls - she even twirled with them!

 There was a river that ran right through the place and all the kids LOVED playing in it - especially Eli, who did eventually fall into the water!  Luckily I prepared for such an event and had a change of clothes...

 Too bad this didn't happen during the actual ceremony - look how cute they are...

 Elle, Sarah and Ashtyn!

Sarah looked absolutely AMAZING that day!

 Jacqui, Sarah's cousin, and Karen, Sarah's mom, are my favorite people EVER!  They are so fun and full of energy - what else would you expect straight from the city! 

Can't wait till they come back to town to party again!

Congratulations to the most perfect couple I have ever met! 

They compliment each other in every way possible and they make living life so simple, but SO much FUN!  We are truly blessed to have them as great neighbors and friends, and feel so, so honored to have shared in a day that was so special to them! 

I wish them the best of everything and hope to spend many days sitting in the front yard, drinking beer and watching our kids run around together!

As Sarah always says - One Love!

Spruce Lake

 For our last camping trip of the summer we headed up to Estes Park and stayed at Spruce Lake!  I absolutely LOVE Estes Park - it is so close to home, so PRETTY and has so many fun things to do. So this camping trip was highly anticipated and it couldn't have been a better weekend away with my husband and sweet kids!  Last year we stayed at Jellystone and decided to try a new place this year.  The camp ground was quite nice with lots of amenities including a river, a lake for fishing, putt-putt, clean bath house and the best part - it was so close to town!  We pulled in on Friday night, made dinner and got to know our new little home...

 The campground didn't allow camp fires, which was a little disappointing, so once it got dark we snuggled inside the camper drinking beer, watching movies and playing scrabble...

 Eli of course made a game of climbing over the table and jumping onto the couch...

 We woke up to a beautiful morning and went for a little nature walk to see the river and the lake...

 We had a big SURPRISE planned for Ashtyn that day and she was so antsy all morning long waiting for it.  So after having breakfast we headed to Cowpoke Corral for Ashtyn's surprise!

I finally found a place where they allowed four year olds to ride alone on a horse - usually you have to be six!  Of course they don't let you ride double though, so Eli and I missed out, but I was still excited for Ashtyn to get to take a horse all by herself up into the mountains...

 When we pulled into the stables and Ashtyn could see the horses her eyes immediately lit up!  She knew right away what her surprise was and couldn't be more excited...

Good thing she packed her cowgirl boots!

 Ashtyn's horses' name was Shadow and was very sweet to her...

 Usually Ashtyn is very shy and timid at things, but she climbed right up on that horse with no fear, looking like a natural!  So cute...

 Matt saddled up on Big Jake!  I heard Big Jake was an older horse that went very slow up the mountain and would sporadically stop to pee or just look around...

 While Ashtyn and Matt were off on their horse ride, Eli and I walked around the amazing grounds of where this Horse Farm was located and then played at the playground and sandbox...

 

 Ashtyn said they saw deer while they were up there on the trail...

 I am very jealous I didn't get to go - so next year its my turn!

I had originally thought while Ashtyn was on her horse ride, Eli could ride the little ponies they had.  So I bought him a ride, but he kept saying

"No, too scary" and "No, too big"

(It seems lately he is always saying "No" to everything followed by an excuse...)

and after watching one of the ponies "poop" he was totally grossed out, so he opted to NOT take a pony ride...

 Ashtyn of course was sad to get off the horse when they returned, so she jumped at the chance to take Eli's pony ride.  She quickly saddled up on Peanut and we walked around the farm...

 Ponies seem to me to be alot like Donkeys - very stubborn!  We kept trying to walk and Peanut kept wanting to eat the grass, which I am sure was not allowed!  So finally Matt had to take the rains and get Peanut moving along!

 I think Ashtyn could have stayed there ALL DAY LONG!  She got so sad when we had to leave and kept asking if we could go for another ride...

 After horse back riding, we were all starving, so we headed downtown to the River Walk for some lunch.  It was perfect.

After lunch we walked up and down the river and of course stopped for a snack at Starbucks and then played at the park before heading back to camp...

 Eli took a nap when we got back, so we laid around the camp site and got to relax!

 

 After dinner we headed over to the putt-putt where Ashtyn and Eli played for hours...

Its amazing to me how the simplest things entertain kids!

Eli found it so amusing to stick his face in front of this tube while Ashtyn would roll a ball down it, eventually hitting Eli in the face - and he would GIGGLE!

Then they would do it all over again, and again, and again...

 

 It was quite entertaining to watch...

The weekend was perfect! 

I love that we can get away for a couple days and enjoy the mountains we love so much!

It was the perfect way to end our summer and hopefully we can make it happen every year because Estes Park is quickly becoming our favorite little getaway!

What a great summer we had and I hope my babies will always remember these camping trips - I am already excited for NEXT summer!