Tiny Town and JumpStreet

Steph and Jack came to visit so we all got together and took a day trip to Tiny Town with our babies.  Kell just had her sweet little baby, Taylor, a few months ago so now we all moms now.  Crazy how it felt like yesterday we were having sleep-overs in junior high together.  

Riding the train with Steph, Lindsey and Jack.

Ashlyn LOVED the train ride.

Every time I saw Jack he would run up to me and put his arms up for me to hold and love on him.  *heaven*

Eating at Yogurtland with the Ellsworths (my second family).

We took the kids to JumpStreet and they had a blast.  Steph and I were sweaty from chasing them around and taking them down the slides.  Also that fact the the A/C wasn't working didn't help our situation.

Steph, you need to just move here so we can make this a weekly event.  So glad you came to visit though. I am going through withdrawals.

What we have been up to this summer...

Lots of pool days.

Ashlyn and Brooklyn

Ashlyn and Sophie

Ashlyn with her only boy cousin, Jaxon. She is obsessed with him.

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Went to visit Grandma and Papi.

Heather and Jessi came to visit!!!

Ashlyn went to NURSERY!!!!!!!!!!  We all enjoy church again now. ;-)

Ate at Bonnie Brae Ice Cream with Zach and Sara a few times.

We got a grill.  Hooray for Mike cooking dinner!!!!

These babies enjoyed some backyard fun in the sun.

JumpStreet with Sophie (bad picture!)

We bought some new shades.

Other things not pictured, we moved closer to the mountains into a house.  We are loving all the space and being close to our family and friends.  It has been a crazy summer here in Denver with all the wildfires , too many over 90 degree days, and then the shooting in Aurora. With all of the devastation around us lately it has really made us realize that each day should be lived, enjoyed, and not taken for granted.  Life is too short to dwell on petty things that won't matter in the long run.  We try to just enjoy the simple things in life because that is where real happiness is found.

Ashlyn at 18 months

She is in such a fun stage. I probably have said that about every stage since about six months, but she is so interactive now. We get a kick out of all her little quirks and preferences.  Here is what she is doing these days...

-Any kind of animal. She notices every bird, rabbit, dog, cat, horse, you name it.

-Babies! She takes her baby doll everywhere. She puts her baby down for "nigh, night" complete with a blanket, a pat on the head and a good night kiss. When she sees pictures of herself or another baby she points and says, "baby!"

-Fruit.  She will eat any kind of fruit we put in front of her.

-"GoGoes" = Gogurts.  Asks for them alllllll day long. I limit her to two.

-Playing with her cousins. They fight a lot but they are always quick to give each other hugs and kisses. 

-Throwing stuff off the balcony in our house. Yesterday she was upstairs and she dropped a diaper downstairs. When I went to go check on her after not hearing her make any noises (you know something is up when there is silence) she was playing with Mike's retainers naked. Luckily she didn't have any accidents.

-Music and dancing.  She is starting to recognize certain songs on the radio and will sing and dance to the music.

-The pool.  She asks to go to the pool everyday.  She always notices if there is a pool on t.v.

-Snuggling in bed in the morning with me. It's probably my favorite time of day. Just me and my baby enjoying some morning news in bed together.

-Bubbles.  My sister bought her a bubble machine and we use it almost everyday.  She asks everyday for bubbles.

  -Stickers.  Obsessed with them and don't even think about taking them away from her.

-Throwing things in the trash. She insists on throwing away her own wrappers. I have to watch her though because she will try to throw away things that aren't trash too.

We love watching this little girl grow up.  She is just so darn sweet and we can't get enough of her.  She has been such a good girl since the moment she came into our family and we feel like we won the lottery. We are so lucky to be her parents and to have her in our lives.

Love you little Ashlyn Jane.

McCabe-Marcum Vegas Trip 2012

What is it about Vegas that keeps you always wanting to go back?  The last time we went we had a blast with Aaron and Viv Burrup, but when we left Mike said to me, "you know, I am glad I saw Vegas but if I never go back I don't really care." 
Then I said to him, "the thing about Vegas is that you are really sick of it by the end of your trip, but give it a year or so and you will be itching to go back."
And sure enough....we did just that.

Since we were little girls Steph and I would talk about how fun it would be to go on vacations with our future husbands together. It was so fun to finally take that trip we have always talked about. We needed a quick, inexpensive trip that we could all go on and leave the babies at home, so Vegas was the perfect place.

We stayed at the Tahiti Village, which I would highly recommend because it is just south of the strip, doesn't have a casino, doesn't smell like smoke and drunk people, has really nice rooms, a beautiful pool, and a lazy river. They should pay me for saying all that!  Anyway, we were very impressed with the whole operation. I should have taken more pictures of it.  Oh well. 

Speaking of pictures I brought my Nikon and had every intention of using it, but instead used my handy iphone to document the trip. I just didn't feel like lugging around a huge,  heavy camera all day and night. So the picture quality it definitely not the greatest.

The guys were FLOCKING to this Nike exhibit.  What's the big deal anyway? Just a bunch of manikins with jerseys on.  Guess you have to be a football fan to appreciate it.

 

THIS on the other hand is something I had to get a picture of. A three story H&M?!? 
Yes, PLEASE!

The second level of shopping heaven.

 

The garden at the Bellagio. Such a blurry pic.

MEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Everytime I go to Vegas I HAVE to see my bff, Mel.  Miss and love you sooooo much!!!!

 

The lazy river.  I could have floated in that river allllllll day, but let's be honest I got tired of dodging the waterfalls. Now that is lazy.

 

Brandon found this shirt at H&M made out of body suit material.  It was hilarious and Mike and I made him try it on. 

The guys having a moment.

 

The Cosmopolitan Hotel.  So cool inside.

Inside the Cosmopolitan Hotel is this pizza place that doesn't have name.  It's on the second floor of the hotel. You walk down the hallway and its this New York pizza cafe.  Soooooo good.  Jack and Melissa Sanofsky showed us where it was and bought us all pizza.  You're the best friends that anyone could have. ;-)

Jack, Mel, and Steph

 

Mel and her little baby bump!

 

Not sure what Mike is doing with his pool stick....

My mouth is watering just looking at that pizza.





 

Thanks Brandon and Steph for such a fun trip! We love you guys!!!!!!