Birthday Boy!

Here's our sweet birthday boy with our traditional first birthday banana cake. What a cutie!

He really wasn't sure what to do with all of the presents...

but he had no problem figuring out the cake!

Maybe not the best...

Our trip to Colorado was packed full of funny moments and some really funny pictures to go along with them. So instead of using the best pictures to give you the highlights, I decided to use the funniest pictures! Danny will have more vacation photos and stories up on his blog in a few days(www.griffisfamilyoutdoors.blogspot.com).

We started our week of camping with a two-night backpacking trip. I carried Zane in the backpack carrier (and a few clothes), so Danny had everything else in his pack, which as you can tell is pretty large!

Why did I even bother to bring toys for him?

After our backpacking trip we took a quick side trip to Colorado Springs to see Danny's parents for a night (they are moving to Denver soon) and then drove back to the mountains to camp for another three nights. Noni and Papa drove up from Lubbock and camped with us.

Smores every night - yummy!

We drove over to Great Sand Dunes National Park and spent a day playing in the sand and water. The kids had a blast, but we're still getting sand out of their hair!

We had a wonderful vacation and there are so many more stories to tell - like the bear everyone saw while they were fishing at the lake, Danny almost rolling the truck on the four-wheel drive road, the bruises up and down my leg from my first mountain bike ride and the boys sleeping in a tent by themselves for the first time!

Mountains, Trees and Water - July 10

We are headed for three of our favorite things - mountains, trees, and water! We leave for a camping/backpacking vacation in Colorado tomorrow. We will be gone a week, so our blogs will be quiet, but expect lots of pictures and stories when we return!

Zane's First Bike - July 8

Zane and I were outside today watching the kids ride their bikes when I realized that Zane was probably big enough for out little riding toy. I found it in the garage, dusted it off and put him on the seat. He immediately grabbed the handle bars and started trying to ride. This kid knows a bike when he sees one! His legs are still a little short to push it around much, but he was content sitting on his bike and watching everyone else ride around him. Such a cutie!

Picnic Time! - July 6

The kids are loving our new picnic table! It's a great place for snacks and meals, especially with the beautiful summer days we've been having lately.

Silly Monique - July 6

This picture just makes me laugh! Those long legs on that little tricycle. The curly hair sticky out from the bike helmet. Those pink sunglasses. The little pout. So silly...so Monique!

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July from our little firecrackers!

Fresh from the Garden - July 4

Our little garden has had a rough time this year. It has been really windy and dry (even more so than usual!) and we've already lost several plants. It looks like we should get some squash, tomatoes and peppers in a few weeks, but for right now the only plant that is producing anything is Wyatt's broccoli. We haven't fixed any for a meal because the kids eat it all when they are outside! They other day I asked Wyatt if he wanted a snack and he said, "I'm not hungry, Mom. I just had a little snack of broccoli." : )

Neighborhood Bike Rides - July 2

Since Sabrina got her new bike we have taken the kids on several bike rides around the neighborhood. Our favorite one was our ride to church today. We played on the playground and ate a picnic lunch. Danny even rode from the clinic to join us for lunch (he rides his bike to work most days). The bonus for me was that the kids were nice and tired by the time we got home for naps!

Zane and Bananas - July 1

Zane's favorite food right now is bananas. He eats bananas and Cheerios for breakfast every morning. I think he would eat a banana at all of the other meals too, if I would let him! I was dutifully cutting his banana into bit-size pieces until about a week ago when he just reached out and grabbed the freshly peeled banana from Danny's hand. Since he took bites and didn't try to shove the whole thing in his mouth, he now gets a peeled, not cut, banana at breakfast. He has always wanted to be in control of his food!

A Tiny Friend - June 30

Wyatt and Colter found a tiny frog while they were playing the mud outside today. They were excited to show Daddy the tiny friend they had found, and caught, outside.

Sabrina's New Bike - June 29

Sabrina's new bike came in the mail yesterday and she got to ride it for the first time today. She loves being able to go as fast as her brothers. We had a little rain yesterday, so Danny sat outside with the kids and let them ride back and forth through the "creek" in our ditch. They were wet and muddy by the time they came inside, but what's a little extra laundry when they are smiling like that!

Just a glimpse into our morning... - June 29

Getting five kids ready for the day can be a daunting task at times! We follow pretty much the same routine everyday - eat breakfast, get dressed, make beds, brush teeth, comb hair and then play with toys. Since we do the same thing on "stay-at-home days" and "out-and-about days" the kids don't fight getting ready as much, which is nice on days like today when we have to get to church. It also makes those days when we stay in pajamas all morning even more special!

Bike Ride with Daddy - June 24

Danny took the kids on a bike ride through all of our neighborhood driveways today. Wyatt, Sabrina and Colter rode their bikes and Danny pulled Monique and Zane in the trailer. The kids had lots of fun and keep asking Danny when they are going to do it again!

Life According to Zane (@11 months) - June 22

Just some of my favorite snapshots of Zane from the past month...

playing peek-a-boo with "horsey"

sleeping essentials:"horsey", "Noni blanket" and "paci" (although this one will disappear sometime in the next few months!)

using his push toy as a climbing wall

hiding in the tee pee

finally deciding that yogurt is good enough to let me feed him with a spoon

I think a big brother or sister helped with this one!

bath time is all about splashing and splashing and more splashing

finding a sweet baby to play with on the trash can

Rain and Snails - June 21

We haven't had much rain this summer (unlike some of our friends in other parts of the country who have had more than their share), so we have been really excited to have some rain the past couple of evenings. Colter, who has always been fascinated with all kinds of creatures, was thrilled to find some snails outside while he was waving to Danny this morning. He played with them for a while and then put them in a jar to save for later!

Happy Summer! - June 20

Wyatt, our little naturalist, has been counting down to the first official day of summer. So we celebrated with a picnic in the front yard, complete with homemade snow cones for dessert.

Future Blackmail Photo - June 19

This was the scene Danny saw when he came home from work today. They were pretending to go to a "princess movie" and needed to wear their skirts. Danny felt better about all of this when I told him that before they put the skirts on they had been running around shooting each other with their foam disc guns. We did decide to order some swords and pirate hats for the dress-up box to give it a little more balance!

Wyatt's Rainforest - June 18

Wyatt gathered up all of the random plastic trees in the playroom (some from Playmobil sets, others from plastic animal sets - I never realized we had so many plastic trees!) and started playing with them on the floor. After about 30 minutes he said, "Look Mom! I made a rainforest!"

Papa and Grandma - June 11-15

We had so much fun when Danny's grandparents, Papa and Grandma, came to visit us from Florida. Here are some of the highlights...

Wyatt and Papa spent at least a few hours each day snuggled up in the chair reading and discussing Wyatt's tree books. Wyatt even took Papa on little "field trips" around our yard to see all of the different trees. He was so excited to have someone new to "talk trees" with him!

Our kids love to read books so there was lots of reading and snuggling on the couch.

We took a trip to the Panhandle Plains Museum in Canyon one afternoon. The kids loved showing Papa and Grandma some of their favorite things at the museum.


We also spent lots of time outside, swinging and sliding on the slide.

We are so happy Papa and Grandma were able to come visit us! The kids are so blessed to have been able to spend this time with their great-grandparents.

These Three... - June 11

I took this picture (along with many more!) while we were all outside on the porch enjoying popsicles. As I was browsing through them later on the computer, I realized that just one short year ago these three were not here. Oh, they were already part of our family, we were praying for them and each one had a special place in our hearts, but all we knew is that they were coming. We didn't know them. How did we ever live without them? They have each brought so much joy to our family and helped make our life richer. God has blessed us greatly in the last twelve months!

Swimming Fun - June 9

It has been really windy lately which is not very conducive to backyard swimming. We finally had a calm day today, so we pulled out the swimming pool. The kids had fun splashing, sliding and jumping into the water!
Zane has his own little swimming mat, so he can splash in the water and watch all of the commotion in the other pool without getting stepped on or knocked over!
I think next year we may have to get a bigger pool!

Vacation Bible School - June 2-6

This week was VBS at church. Danny and I helped with Sabrina's class. There are lots of sweet kids in her class and it was fun to spend time with them and watch her developing so many strong friendships.
The kids always like playing musical chairs at the end of music class. This is Wyatt (in the red) and some of his buddies fighting for that last chair.
Colter and Monique's class did a quick little program for us at the end of the week. They were the cutest little cowboys up there!

Legacy Park - June 3

I had to make a quick day trip to Lubbock, so we left after breakfast and spent the morning at Legacy Park. If you can't tell from their smiles, the kids' favorite part was the super tall slide!

Zane hung out in the stroller and snacked on crackers. My mom met us there and took my camera from me so that I would be in some pictures. Thanks, Mom!

Driving in the car for almost three hours round trip is not exactly fun for these guys, so a trip to the park certainly helped sweeten the deal!