20 month update... LONG overdue!

Hey everyone!!!

WOW, has it really been since January? Am I a bad mom or what? Actually, I had kinda thought maybe people had lost interest, so it was a somewhat intentional slack-off. But recently several people have asked about the blog, so we figured it was time. I will try to just include the best-of-the-best pictures so this doesn't get too long. And I am not going all the way back to February- just the past few months!


I guess a lot has changed in the past 7 months! Lucy started walking in January, and by now she is obviously running, dancing, and the whole bit. Her run is hilarious- she picks her knees up real high and puts her hands up limply in the air... picture a guy making fun of how a girl runs, and that's what Lucy looks like! She LOVES to dance and has some super sweet moves, but we have had a tough time capturing it on video so far because she gets a little camera-shy whenever we try!

One of my favorite pictures ever... we call this "packing for naked baby vacation"

The talking has become really fun lately. For a long time it seemed like she just had a few words here and there, but in the past month or so she has started trying all kinds of words and she surprises us every day with new ones. Some of our favorites are "boobies" (blueberries), "schwee" (sweetie), "bashu" (bless you), and "taju" (thank you).

Making her famous "goofball" face

In February we welcomed a new member to the family... Katie and Pete welcomed little Cooper into the world! I was extremely lucky to get to be there for the birth- what an amazing experience. Cooper is an awesome little dude- super mellow and happy and we love him very much!

Katie, Pete, and Cooper (at around 5 months)

This spring we built a huge garden in the backyard, which was QUITE a project! Rick did most of the hard work, along with lots of help from family and friends. It turned out great and we are loving all of our fresh produce! Gardening in the Rockies is quite different from gardening in Southern California... namely 8-foot fences to keep the elk out, and a nasty hailstorm that wiped everything out in mid-June... but most of it came back and it is doing awesome!

While Rick did most of the hard labor, Lucy and I helped when we could!

The "greens" bed in July

Lucy helping me water the garden... sort of

One of the major highlights of the year so far was our trip to Maui with the Grabowsky clan! With the exception of Lucy getting very sick at the beginning, we all had a fabulous time. Lots of fun in the sun and just relaxing with the family.

Grandma and Grandpa with Lu, Cooper, and a very sad Sydney :(
The whole clan!

We also went to the High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, California, over 4th of July weekend which was super fun! It was Lucy's first camping and festival experience, and she rocked it like a champ. It was so wonderful to get to hang out with lots of our Cali friends and their kids. We joked that Lucy was the "most popular girl in camp" because all of the older kids wanted to play with her constantly... which meant Lucy had a blast and mom and dad had a little relaxation too!

Lu was a rockstar at her first High Sierra!
See?

Having fun in the famous 4th-of-July bikini

Just this past weekend we got to go camping with a bunch of our old Steamboat friends at a beautiful spot, just a couple hours from here. We had so much fun with everyone, just hanging out, playing in the river, and of course a little hiking and biking too!


Other than that stuff, we have mostly been hanging out enjoying the Colorado summer. Hiking, swimming, going to Rockies games, barbecuing with friends and family... life is good!

Rick and Lu at a Rockies game

Me and Lu hiking near our house

Rick and Lu hiking up near Mt. Evans

Lucy in her backyard pool

Lu was reunited with her first love, Axel, who just moved back to Colorado!

Elk behind our house- we counted 52 this time!

Lastly, for those of you who have not heard, my brother Matt has joined the Navy and leaves tomorrow for basic training! Although we will miss him so much, we are so very proud of him and very excited for this next chapter in his life.

Backyard bbq with my dad and brother

We hope you are all well and having a great summer!

14 months: Christmas, Walking, Gigglebox, and Kauai!

Happy New Year everyone!

This last month has been big. First we had Christmas, which was wonderful. Technically it was Lucy's second, but it was the first one where she had any idea what was going on! Things started out well, as we got a good snowstorm just a couple days before Christmas!

View from our back patio

Lu all bundled up to go Christmas tree shopping on a VERY cold day!

Christmas tree shopping!

On Christmas Eve-Eve, we had Gangy, Pop-Pop, Great Aunt Leah, and Uncle Matt over for dinner and tree-trimming.

Ricker, so proud of his fire!

Lu and Uncle Matt



Our front porch- it looked so pretty all snowy and lit up!

On Christmas Eve, the whole family celebrated over at my parents' new house in Evergreen, fondly known as "Camp Keystone". It was a great time, and both Lucy and her cousin Sydney really got into the spirit of opening presents!

Me, Katie, and "Flanders the Fetus"

Lucy and Sydney in their matching dresses, on their matching ponies!
(All courtesy of Gangy and Pop-Pop)

On Christmas morning, Lucy got her first official visit from Santa at our house. It was a mellow morning of breakfast, presents, and Christmas movies on the TV!

Opening her presents from Santa

Love this pic!!! What a goofball.

Other Christmas visitors...

For Christmas dinner, we went over to Katie, Pete, and Sydney's house for our first Turducken. It was an awesome meal and a great finale to the holiday madness!

Right after Christmas we had a busy week: a visit from our Santa Barbara friend Danielle, another visit from our Cali friends Curtis and Kristie, and we had a great ski day at Keystone with my dad, Greg, and Alyssa!

Lu loved Danielle!!!

Keystone!

On New Years, our friends Jen, Ethan, and baby Cassidy came over for a little celebration. We had an awesome dinner, lit off some fireworks in the backyard, and amazingly made it up to midnight! The girls celebrated in their matching outfits!

Me, Lu, Cassidy, and Ethan

Jen, Ethan, and me

Rick and Ethan scaring the neighbors :)

We had a great trip to Vail with Ginger, Jeff, and Carter. It was, by far, our best ski outing of the year so far... they had just opened the back bowls and Ginger and Jeff took us to all the best stashes... we were in deep powder all day! Woohoo! (Unfortunately the pictures are all on Rick's phone, so I can't post any here, as he is in Vail yet again at this moment!)

Lucy started walking shortly into the new year! As many people had witnessed, she was definitely ready, she just needed to get up the guts to "let go". Once she finally did, she was off... dragging toilet paper around the house!!!


In mid-January, we left Lucy with Bubbe and Papa for a few days while we took a whirlwind road trip to Arizona to pick up our new camper, the Gigglebox! We are SUPER excited for years of family camping adventures! And, since we were in Arizona and New Mexico, we could not pass up the opportunity to squeeze in stops at Trader Joes and In-N-Out!

Rick, Reggie, and the Gigglebox

The Gigglebox in all her popped-up glory

I'm sure you all can understand my excitement...

Later in January, I was insanely lucky enough to get to go on a girls' trip to Kauai with Amy! We were both in need of a little break, and Rick (being the best husband ever) encouraged me to go get some relaxation, which is exactly what we did! Aside from a little surfing and sightseeing, we did a whole lotta lounging, reading, eating fresh fish, and sipping pina coladas. It was just what we both needed! I am SO grateful to Amy for making the trip possible, and SO grateful to Rick for being so supportive of girl time and for taking care of Lucy all week!

the amazing beach we stayed at

Me and Amy: surf day at Hanalei Bay

Me in the taro fields near Hanalei

Now we are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Lucy's newest cousin "Flanders" (due in a few weeks, courtesy of Katie and Pete)! We wish them luck and can't wait to meet the new little man.

Hope everyone is well! We'll leave you with a few more random fun pics...

Fun with blueberries!!!

Nice winter walk

Back of our house on a nice bluebird day

Great sunset from our backyard