Labor Day on Mt. Graham

*Warning...this is a REALLY long post*

It has been years since we were able to go to the mountains for Labor Day. We used to go all of the time but the drive from Denver for 3 days was too much. So, 7 hours seemed a little more doable.

We started up Friday afternoon and had some time to get settled in before the party animals arrived (you know who you are). The kids did some digging for worms and we just relaxed and enjoyed the cool weather.

(isn't this the cutest face ever? Mason not the dog.)

Jess even loved the mountains. Aside from falling out of the back of the truck and being lost for like 30 minutes, she had a blast. Seth said when he found her she was SOOOO excited to see him. Poor little puppy!

Awesome find huh.

Seriously, Mason wanted to grab this thing so bad. If he wasn't going to put it straight into his mouth I might have thought about letting him get it. Logan was so cute. He really took care of Mason and made sure he was having a good time. Saturday night we had some special visitors. Grandma and Grandpa Skinner joined us at the cabin for dinner and church on Sunday. Grandma played with kids, took some walks and helped pick raspberries. She wasn't worried about any bears. Logan made it very clear to everybody that his cap gun was very dangerous (exact words) and no bears would get us 'cause he would shoot them. Oh, and our dog would get the bears too. Made me feel better.
Grandpa made sure the ground was soft enough for anybody looking for a place to sleep.
On Saturday morning we took pictures (the Jacobs) and headed up the road to Webb tower. Our fearless leader (Seth) said it was only like a mile and the road would be easier for the little kiddos that were walking (Logan and Madison age 4).
We'd stop to rest and Curtis would play a little pine cone baseball with Logan. Almost everybody was carrying a kid and between the 3 families we had 6 ages 4-9 months. Crazy, yes but it was fun. See, doesn't Seth look like he is having a blast? Can I just tell you the only thing that made him carrying Chloe heavier than me carrying Mason was the water and snacks he had in his pack! Mason is heavy!
Anyway, after our 2 mile hike up the road (yes, Logan and Madi did the entire thing, with only a few tears from Logan) we snacked, rested and much to the kids delight found ladybugs! Chloe had them in her hair, pants, you name it. So fun.

Aren't we beautiful? Two days without a shower and hiking up a mountain carrying a sleeping baby and you can look this good too!
When we got back and Grandma and Grandpa got there we left Grandpa to his post and went to pick raspberries. I had never done this before and it was so fun! Mason had the best seat in the house!
And Logan and Chloe ate more than they picked. This was after the hike with no naps and picking on a pretty steep slope. Can you say exhausted?

After the traditional potluck dinner, getting kids to bed and breakout the snacks (yes, we had more treats than food) we stayed up late playing cards (another tradition) by lamp light. Great for the already going blind! We went to church on Sunday at the flat and felt the warmth of the Spirit in all senses. Great meeting and everyone was fried from sitting in the sun. Who does umbrellas and sunscreen? Apparently most there but us!

We rounded off the trip with some yummy French dipped subs (another mountain tradition) and some horse shoes. After the guy's round, the kids got in on the action. Really in this picture, Chloe is crying because he won't let her have a turn as he is saying, "Chloe, let me show you how okay, you can have a turn in a minute." Ironically, this is after he begged her to play with him.

As always, we had an awesome trip. The food, the company, the games, the hiking... the mountains are always awesome. And, as always, the time spent there was way too short.

Thanks for joining us Jacobs family and here's to another 3 years! Just kidding!

The time has come...

for this handsome dude to start preschool. We really debated it for a while, not ready to let him go but knowing that his shy, timid (initially anyway) personality would get some good use out of going to school. I was pretty particular. I wanted someone who did it out of there home, a few days a week, just for a few hours. I know even more-so know that we are supposed to be here.

This is Miss Sue. She is in our ward here. She had been teaching preschool for like 25 years and made room in her small class for Logan. He loves her and loves school! Seth says I'm going to really start loving, Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings! ;) So far so good. Chloe and I weren't sure what to do with ourselves for 2 1/2 hours and really missed him but I'm sure we'll figure something out!

The New Place

Someday I'll get it. I'll figure out how to put pictures up on here in the right order. Until then...
The back porch. If you look beyond the cement wall way in the back that is the apple orchard. I guess there was a late freeze last year so we have only found ONE apple! Sad day huh. Next season I guess.

The super cool, super huge back yard. We LOVE being out here!

My favorite part. The multi-colored carpet. The light is new, the blue was in the entire house except for the brown, indoor/outdoor that is in the kitchen. The brown and blue are going when we can put wood floors in. Nice huh. I bet you all want carpet like this now! :0)

Chloe's room. The colors will match the pictures on the wall, teal, pink brown, etc. The bedspread fits so it is on there for now. I also have some super cute fabric I'm going to make drapes out of. It will be way cute when it is done.

The boy's room. We are going to do a vintage airplane/ Wright brothers theme. Again, everything is a work in progess.

The front. The house is like 30 years old. We are excited for some eventual updates.

My super cute entry way. I found this birdcage at Hobby Lobby for $8.50! Love it!

The family room. Nice, comfy, casual. I didn't want this to be another formal living and it has so far worked out great. Again, I found some super cute fabric to make curtains and we are going to put bookcases on the wall where the chair is someday.

Kitchen and part of the great room. I'm loving having this one huge room!

Another view of the kitchen/great room.

We have lots of dreaming with this home. All of it is going to take a long while to accomplish but we are loving being able to dream. I'll add updated pictures as rooms get done.

Newest Addition

Meet the newest member of our family. This is Jessi (we call her Jess). She is a Vizsla that joined our family the same day our stuff joined our new house. It was a pretty crazy weekend. Seth wasn't sure if his flight out of Durango was going to leave, the dog was already on a plane from Chicago and we had a garage full of our stuff that we needed to get. It all worked out and we are all totally in love with her. She is smart, cute and loads of fun (already so much like the other 3).

I told Seth that he was going to have to get up with HIS baby in the night since I got up with the other 3. Much to my dismay, she has only whined twice at the most, goes potty and right back to sleep.

The kiddos are really loving her and love to show her off!

And, when she isn't in her kennel, the kids have found a new use for it for me! Shhh, but sometimes I'd rather it be this way than the dog in here! ;)
She knows she is the baby around here. I found her outside asleep in the stroller the other day.

4th of July

So, our 4th of July festivities weren't too exciting this year. Del and Lina came up and painted and we played some serious Catan (which, we can no longer do we will all end up hating each other, pretty intense stuff). We did the traditional cookout with homemade ice cream. We had sparklers for the kids and then met some people from the ward down the road to watch the fireworks. What can I say, when everything you own except for the kitchen stuff is in boxes, its hard to want to celebrate much. We did have fun though and even though we didn't celebrate, we are so thankful for this country, our freedoms and those men and women that have and are serving to help keep it that way. God bless America!