Its a jungle out there

We loved having Sarah this weekend, she and Monroe connect great, I think because they are both sandwhiched between two brothers!

Little taste of Jude

Not only is my 7 yr old addicted to his Nintendo DS, but his 2 yr old brother is as well. Can't figure out his colors, but can clearly identify Bowser, Princess Peach, Mario, Luigi and what place he is in on Mario Kart.

My little Judeman always so gracious wanting to say the prayer before supper, too bad you can't hear/understand a word.

Ripped

Monroe has put in 6hrs at the gym this week and her hands are paying for it. She got her first "rip" on bars, actually 2 in one night. The big girls totally took her under thier wing and taped her up and congratulated her. It was super sweet and I loved watching her being mentored by them, of course she loved the attention too.

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Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!
Happy 4th Preston Henry Pond!

Sing us a song, you're the piano man

Xander has been asking since Kindergarten to take piano lessons and we decided now (2nd Grade) would be a good time to start. He has only had 2 lessons and has loved it, hope he stays motivated.

In Good Hands

Monroe and Mrs.Runyan

Mrs.Miles and Xander

Scootin to the first day of school.

May the force be with you...

and me and Jude when you go to Kindergarten and 2nd grade tomorrow! Perfectly pleased to meet their teachers tonight and see that their classrooms are right next door to one another.

Losing sleep

-thinking about my kiddos going to school in 2 days!
-b/c I've worked the last 2 of 3 night shifts
-b/c my little Jude dude has a smokers cough
-b/c Im blogging at 11pm

Flip Flop

We went to open gym today and Roe did her back handspring by herself, she was sooo proud. She started on the trampoline and then went to the floor. Can't tell so much from my phone video, of course didn't have my camera there.

Mr.Big Stuff

who do you think you are?
Coming into our bed every night?
How come it is my oldest, going to be second grader that I find sleeping betw us in the morning?

Cabin Fever

love these multi-tasking dads with their babes

We decided to ditch the Walnut Cafe back at the Y, and go out for a nice dinner on our last night. It was a beautiful view and their was a duck pond on the back the kids enjoyed. We got some crazy looks from others trying to enjoy their evening at the restaurant.

Wild horses

We, me, Xander, Monroe, Mike, Audrey and Ava decided to go on a horseback riding adventure, little to my knowledge was straight up a mountain on a steep, narrow, rocky terrain. I was thinking it was already a little too adventurous, for my little ones... Next thing you know the guide hops off her horse to fix Monroe's saddle that was completely crooked and the guide horse takes off in a sprint down the mtn back to the stable. Thank goodness Ms.4 yr old Ava who was left in the lead pulled back on her reigns and Trooper, her horse, did not follow. I was spooked!


love this pony face

Game time

the kiddos gathered everynight to play their Nintendo DS, I thought it was only my kid that had an addiction.

my attempt at horseshoes

YMCA pose

Take a Hike

(Brett, what are you doing laying down in the background of this pic??)
The hiking in the Rockies was amazing, Xander's quote, "this is the best day of my life".

Adventures in Estes: Day 1

So forty plus New Hopers left from Target at 6am on Thursday to headed to the YMCA in Estes Park, CO. The Adventure began really began at Target have you ever had a caravan of so many peeps, 1/2 of them being under the age of 9, and 3 preggos. Considering the passenger population, we made it in pretty good time and some of us enjoyed a hike the evening of the arrival.



The kiddos fell in love with our dorm room with 2 sets of bunk beds that were sandwiched betw the Stewart and the Ballou kids.

Blue Jean Baby

They have buy 1 pair, get one pair for $10 at Gap right now (for kids) and then your 5th pair is free, go get ya some!

Racing Stripes

Have I discussed the fact that my kids wear halloween costumes year round.Scored this little zebra number off ebay for $24, think we may need to add a little to it by Halloween, may be a bit chilly. Now to find some overalls for Xander he is dreaming, NOT KIDDING YOU, of being Mario (aka Super Mario), he has been practicing his moves and lines for days.

Chiclets