Season Wrap-Up

Luke's summer baseball season came to a close today after 6 games. Coach Scott & Coach Todd did a fantastic job coaching the team, and it was wonderful to watch the team's hitting and fielding skills evolve. This first summer baseball season has really sparked an interest in Luke for playing baseball, so this is sure to be the first of many summers spent at the ballfield!

Dad pitching. Luke hitting.

Super fans (and little brothers) Reid & Braeden.

Luke scores a run!

Coach & Hollywood post-game.

No autographs please...

Family Ties

The month of July wrapped up with some special family visitors ... Jami's Aunt Marcia and Matt. What a treat to spend time with them and show them around Colorado Springs! We had some great weather while they were here, so we maximized the outdoor time.

Matt & Reid at lunch at Shani's

in Downtown Monument

Check out this pint-sized putter!

Luke joined Marcia, Matt & Papa for a round of golf.

Yes, a full 18 holes! Luke reported his favorite part

was driving the golf cart, and he discovered

that he really likes to play golf.

Matt, Luke & Papa

on the Gleneagle Golf Course

One evening we attended a concert in the park

to hear the melodies of these bagpipe players.

What a fun evening with the family!

All in the family: Matt, Reid, Luke,

Papa Jim & his sister Marcia

News!

How we told the boys.

How we told our families.

Yes, that's right. Big news for the Leahy family! We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting Baby #3!

Mama has been feeling great, aside from being quite tired in the afternoon during the first trimester. Thankfully, that energy is bouncing back in the second trimester! The big brothers would like to name the baby Bernie if it's a boy or Rosie if it's a girl. We let them know we could perhaps consider those names. The due date is Jan. 20, which happens to be Jami's birthday and 4 days before Luke's birthday. Hooray for January birthdays! We should find out in September whether we're having a boy or girl. Stay tuned...

Good friends.

The most beautiful discovery true friends

make is that they can grow separately

without growing apart. ~ Elisabeth Foley

Such is the story of these friends: Jami, Heidi & Terese.

We were first linked together by Theta ties and living in Phoenix. Heidi and Jami were Thetas together at K-State, and then we both moved to Phoenix after college. There Heidi met Terese (also a Theta) when they lived in the same apartment complex, and we all became friends soon after. The road since then has been filled with great memories.

It was such a blessing to have Heidi and Terese visit us in Colorado this past weekend. We enjoyed some wonderful girl time together, and we toured the sights of Colorado Springs & Denver. On Friday, Jami, Heidi & the boys spent time in Downtown Denver ... brunching at Snooze, walking around 16th Street Mall, and cooling off with ice cream at Sweet Action. Terese arrived on Friday night, and we were off and running on Saturday with Luke's baseball game, lunch at Shuga's, and a drive up Pikes Peak (complete with a sleet storm & rainbow view for the drive down). On Sunday, we enjoyed a nice cool morning hike up the Palmer Reservoir, outlet mall shopping, and lunch in Cherry Creek with another friend of Terese's.

What an amazing weekend with great friends! Regardless of how long it's been since we've last spoken or emailed, our friendship always picks right up where we left off. We now are separated by 3 different cities, but get-togethers like this are always full of such meaningful conversations and lasting memories. Looking forward to our next time together!

Happy Campers

One of the joys of summertime includes camping trips, especially when Papa's Airstream RV is the outdoor residence of choice! Yesterday we ventured up to Bear Creek Lake in Denver to visit Papa and enjoy the warm (well, let's be honest HOT) temps that we've been having lately. We spent some time at the beach, had lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant Morrison Inn, and then returned to the Airstream for the afternoon. The boys ended up staying for their first overnight camping trip with Papa ... and they were on Cloud 9! They loved playing around in the Airstream and exploring the campsite. Evening brought a trip back over to the lake to paddle around on the board of Papa's windsurfer, roasting s'mores and eventually bedtime. Such happy campers!

Beach boys ... Reid, Luke, & Papa in their innertubes.

Back at the ranch ... or rather RV.

Papa added a new awning to the Airstream

to provide some shade while camping.

Snack time! Reid invades the marshmallow bag a little early,

while Luke has one of Papa's chocolate chip cookies.

Looks like they just made themselves right at home!

Colorado Getaway #2 :: Day 1 :: Beaver Creek

Colorado ski resorts are quite the popular destinations in the winter, but these resorts shine just as brightly in the summer months with all the outdoor activities! This weekend we took off on a little road trip to the Vail area on Friday & Saturday and Aspen on Sunday.

Day 1: Beaver Creek

Riding a ski lift to the top of the mountain. Seeing a deer from our bird's eye view on the lift. Playing in a sky-high sandbox. Touring the Western town at the mountaintop. Splashing away the afternoon in a fountain. Dining at Blue Moose Pizza. Roasting s'mores and listening to live music at the base of the mountain. Riding in the gondola (or the "box" as Reid calls it). Visiting the horse stables. Bravely trying trampoline bungee jumping. Exploring Beaver Creek to the fullest!

Up, up & away on the ski lift

Cruising up the mountain

This sandbox is more than 2 miles high

at the top of Grouse Mountain at Beaver Creek!

Outlaws at the Saloon

Yeehaw!

Going down the mountain.

Splash fountain at the base of Beaver Creek.

Water + boys = good thing we had some beach towels in the car!

Roasting s'mores in the evening

Reid's favorite part of the day...

riding the gondola and eating his s'more.

A stop at the stables

The sun sets on a wonderful day at Beaver Creek!

::::::::::::::::::::

Two high-flying video adventures

First up: Reid

Listen closely and you can hear his shrieks of delight

(over the jazzy music in the background!)

Luke's Turn

Check out his flips!

Day 2 :: Vail

The next day of adventures took us to Vail where we toured the area on bicycle. Fresh mountain air, beautiful sunshine, a trail that followed the stream, pedaling around the European style village ... what a way to see the sights!

Pedaling around Vail Village ...

Luke, Scott, and Reid (in the bike trailer)

Ahoy, matey! We cruised over to Pirateship Park.

The boys LOVED it!

Walking the plank...

After playing in the park and a picnic lunch,

we hopped back on the bikes to explore a bit more.

Family photo by the stream.

Great scenery with the ski slope in the background.

Park 2 for the day ... in the town of Eagle where

our hotel was located. Oh, the joys of the tire swing!

Day 3 :: Aspen

Our 3rd and final day of our trip, we ventured through Glenwood Springs over to Aspen. We didn't spend too much time in the town before we were off and boarding a bus to travel about 30 minutes to our main destination: the Maroon Bells. The name is a bit misleading, but the Maroon Bells are actually two 14ers (in non-Colorado speak, those are mountains higher than 14,000 feet). This area happens to be the most widely photographed scene in Colorado. And for good reason, it was beyond beautiful. This is Colorado, at its finest.

Maroon Bells

The lake. The mountains. Our family loved visiting here.

"Do you see what I see?"

On this weekend trip, we also celebrated our anniversary.

Here's the happy couple married for 11 years!

Two boys with a stick, a rock & some water...

quite the entertainment!

Boys will be boys...

That mud was just too tempting!

This is debris left from an avalanche.

Mountain Men

Bridge over a mountain stream

Over the river and through the woods...

and up some really big mountains!

Returning home, we drove over Independence Pass.

This is the view from the top of the pass. Amazing!

Tour de Tooth

Over the holiday weekend,

we embarked on a family bike ride

down the hill...

...to get some red, white & blue sprinkle donuts.

Little did we know losing a tooth

would be part of this adventure.

Goodbye to Tooth #2 for Luke!

Back to home sweet home

with the tooth carefully tucked away.