If you’ve continued to check-in on our blog despite the lack of content, my apologies. As is usual when I’m trying to catch up, there will be little if any commentary. Some photos from November:
4 days old…
Gwen and Grandpa meeting for the first time…
Since we moved here, June has taken part in several sessions of the “Little Learners” program at the rec center. One session focused on the Olympics, another session focused on farming, and the current session is focused on the Arctic Circle. Yesterday’s Little Learner adventure even made the newspaper. If you look closely, you can see June in the photos (green jacket with pink trim)…
Enjoying hot chocolate on Sunday at the Pumpkin Fest in Silverthorne…
an angel…
surveying the field for a good pumpkin…
enjoying hot chocolate and protecting our gourds…
some practice trick or treating on Sunday at the outlet stores…
Halloween night. Gwen the Polar Bear?…
Jolee the Ladybug and June the Eagle (costume by Louise)…
preparing for a stomach ache with a bowl of Nerds…
good ol’ plastic vampire teeth…
Gwendolyn Irene arrived at 8:12 am on Thursday. She weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces and measured 20 inches from head to toe. Here are a few pictures from her first 36 hours. We’ll post a more detailed birth story with more pictures when we get a chance.
about three hours old…
Adrienne just hours after delivering Gwen. This picture alone should tell how well she did and how she was feeling. Beautiful…
Big sister Jolee holding Gwen for the first time…
taking care of their little sister…
my three googlebeans…
Adrienne’s mom, Louise, getting acquainted with her new granddaughter…
Our family tradition: each girl has worn the same outfit and ridden in the same car seat on their way home from the hospital. June is on the left, Jolee is in the middle, and Gwen is on the right…
Gwen out for a walk in the fresh air for the first time…
And finally, the celebratory Schlitz tradition. Again, June’s birth on the left, Jolee’s in the middle, and Gwen’s on the right…
Our sweet little Junie turned five on Friday. Wow, five. We celebrated in fine style. I think she’ll have fond memories of this birthday for a long time to come.
In the morning, Adrienne made pancakes before we drove to Nathrop, Colorado for a horseback riding adventure. Adrienne stayed at the stables with Jolee for pony riding and cat wrangling while I went with June on an hour-and-a-half trail ride. Adrienne and I speculated that June’s head might explode from the excitement. June loves horses, but she’s never been on one for more than a few minutes, and certainly not out on the trails. Near the end of our ride, our wrangler, Rick, said to June, “You’ve been smiling since you first laid eyes on Jazz (her horse) and you haven’t stopped smiling since.” It worked out better than we had even hoped. The weather was crisp and beautiful, and the birthday girl was in heaven.
After the ride, the girls chased the cats for awhile longer, we enjoyed a quick lunch in Buena Vista, and then we enjoyed the beautiful drive back to Breckenridge.
In the late afternoon, Mike, Jenny, Emmett, and Owen came over to continue the celebration. June, Emmett, and Jolee always get wound up together, so when you throw a birthday party into the mix, they spin like tops. I think June was utterly exhausted by night’s end. For dinner we enjoyed the cheeseburgers and corn-on-the-cob that June requested, and for dessert, Adrienne created an amazing “snail terrarium” (see the pictures below).
Junie and Rovers on birthday morning, trying to be patient for our trip…
Jolee taking it easy on the drive…
June and Jolee would likely have been satisfied just playing with the kittens at the stables…
Jolee on her pony, Mighty Mouse…
not a bad view…
we are lucky, to be sure…
the stream crossings were June’s favorite part of the ride…
some deer along the way…
heading back to the stables…
back to the cat wrangling…
the snails…
genius. the terrarium scene was completely edible except for the glue attaching the eyes to the angel hair pasta…
Emmett, Owen, and Mike enjoying the festivities…
a fitting end to the day. Junie clearly satisfied to get the horse she drooled over in the toy store a few months ago…
Happy Birthday, Junie. We love you.
