In good company...

Scott & the boys enjoy a sweet treat on Pearl Street!

Today we embarked on a fun fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants road trip to Boulder, where our K-State Wildcats were playing football at the University of Colorado. Our hope was that we could hang out on Pearl Street for a while, then head over to campus and maybe rustle up some super cheap tickets for the football game (because taking 2 small children to a football game doesn't mandate having really good seats.) Pearl Street was as entertaining as ever -- stopped in some shops, got a yummy ice cream treat, let the boys play on the outdoor kid play areas, and watched the street performers. Our favorite was Zip Code Man (if you gave him your zip code, he could tell you the city in which you lived ... amazing capacity for memorization there!) 

Then off to the stadium where we enjoyed a self-guided tour of the CU campus (saw many random tailgate parties in their many parking lots). We scouted out a few ticket options, but all too much for what we wanted to pay. That's okay. We'd spent the day in Boulder with our team and its many fans and in good company. (Sorry to report K-State ended up losing 14-13.)

Small Wildcat. Big Buffalo.

Reid fell asleep on the car ride from Pearl Street to the campus. So we got to take turns carrying the sleeping Reid around campus. 

Jami and SuperFan Luke -- Go Cats!

More fall fun...

Mimi treated her lil' punkins Luke and Reid to a day out at the Pumpkin Patch!

The fun of fall festivities continued today as we ventured to Denver to visit Mimi, while Papa was working. She scouted out a pumpkin patch in Littleton, so that was at the top of the day's agenda! The boys enjoyed the hay maze, bounce house, pony petting zoo, and pumpkin bowling, while we all enjoyed the wonderful warmer weather after the recent cold snap. We're so glad Mimi is feeling better and that we could spend the day out and about with her!

Help me ... I'm lost in the hay maze!

Mama and the boys near an inflatable yet decrepit looking haunted house!

When pumpkin bowling, it is best to launch the small pumpkin at the pins ... and hope it doesn't break open!

This just in...

Luke's soccer coach Sarah just sent us these team photos from the final day of his clinic last weekend. Look how cold everyone is?! Brrrr... (If you can't tell beneath all the layers, Luke is in the front row, center, holding the ball.)

Scooter school.

Though the weather was dreary today, the boys spent a bit of time outdoors riding their scooters in the driveway. Big bro Luke helped teach Reid a few things. Now that Reid's got his new helmet, Luke is ready to teach him some wild tricks! Let the good times roll...

Another big birthday!

Today marked the other big birthday in our house -- Scott turned 32! We celebrated with a fun fall donut breakfast and some early morning gift opening before he jetted off to work. Happy birthday to Scott!

Happy Birthday 2 Reid.

Today Reid celebrated turning a fantastic 2 years old. He enjoyed Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast, playing at the YMCA, a long nap in the afternoon, reading new books and playing with toys he received as gifts, and then the grand finale of dinner out with the fam to celebrate the two birthday boys. We learned Reid is a big fan of sopapillas! (Who wouldn't be?!) 

With this milestone of turning 2, here are some of his latest feats:

• He can count to 7 (yet to be captured on video but hopefully coming soon!)
  
• Favorite toys: Trains. Mickey Mouse. Superman. Diego.
  
• He's started dancing a lot. He particularly loves the music at Mexican restaurants. Olé!
  
• He can climb in & out of his crib. When he climbs out and leaves his room, he always shuts the door behind him. Funny! 
• He talks a mile a minute and is very opinionated. 
• He loves playing with big bro Luke, unless someone gets in Reid's personal space and then look out ... Reid will let you know LOUDLY that he doesn't approve.

M-I-C-K-E-Y birthday pancakes!

Check out my new bike helmet from Mom & Dad. I can wear it for skateboarding, too, when I get older!

Neighbors Night Out.

In addition to loving our new house, we've also found we have some great neighbors! Last night, the women of Wuthering Heights ventured out to the Second Street Art Market & Wine Bar in Downtown Monument. Previously only housing local artisans' creations, the art market recently turned half of its store into a wine bar ... and they even feature entertainment on the weekends! We listened to cowboy crooner Clay Canfield while we sipped different varieties of vinos and tried their tartines (tar-tans), French-style open-faced sandwiches. The weather turned pretty cold and rainy yesterday, so this was a great way to spend the evening ... out with the neighbor gals!

Jami, Kat & Melissa on our Neighbors Night Out

Kat is Jami's neighborhood running buddy, and we hit the road early on Thursday mornings. Melissa is our next door neighboor, and we've had many conversations over the fence while our kids are playing on the swingset!

Happy Birthday to...

... Reid & Scott! October is a fun birthday month for us because we are fortunate to have many family birthdays to celebrate this month. Two of these birthdays are Reid (Oct. 13) and Scott (Oct. 14). Today we partied it up with these back-to-back birthday boys with their favorite ... pizza! Mimi & Papa came down to join us for lunch and watched the birthday boys open a few gifts early. We even had German chocolate cake for dessert. 

Reid models the new headphones that Scott received from Eric & Charity! 

Soccer star!

Luke and his teammates after the big soccer game!

Today marked the final day of Reid's soccer clinic. The skills have been building so that in today's final session they could put them to use in a real game. Only problem was the freezing cold weather. So the game was a short one (a mere 8 minutes) in 40 degree weather with wind. The awards ceremony was moved inside to the warm YMCA! 

Luke & Coach Sara

Laughin' with Gaffigan.

Dining at 5280 Steakhouse before the show.

Last night Scott & Jami enjoyed a Date Night Out in Denver. Long ago when Reid was born, we received a gift certificate to TicketMaster so we could enjoy a night out on the town to a show. We finally put it to good use with getting tickets to see comedian Jim Gaffigan at the Buell Theatre in Downtown Denver. His delivery style is one that includes joke after joke, so we were laughing the entire time! The boys enjoyed an evening with Mimi & Papa. Fun for all!

Pumpkin Patch Kids.

We joined some Junior League friends today at a Pumpkin Patch in Monument. Our morning was filled with 2 hours of fun including a hay slide, petting zoo with goats, 'sandbox' with ground corn, hayrack ride & haybale maze. The boys had a blast and even got to pick out a pumpkin in the end!

Luke & Reid decided to wrestle in the petting zoo pen. Watch out, goats ... you might be next!

Luke takes a time out from the haybale maze.

Mom & Reid take a fast ride down the slide while sitting on a potato sack. Whee!

City boy meets farm life. Reid loved driving this tractor!

Cell phones & suspension bridges.

Normally, these two things should have nothing in common. Today they did. Jami's cell phone has been on the fritz and seemed doomed for any further use. So we did a little research only to find the nearest location to get a new phone with our provider Alltel was in a town nearly 90 minutes away ... Canon City. Not such a popular cell phone provider in CO, eh?! It just so happens that this town also is the site of some correctional facilities (prisons), a dinosaur museum, a quaint downtown district, the only Alltel store in what seems like most of the state, and the Royal Gorge Bridge. Jami & the boys took off on an afternoon adventure to 1) get a new cell phone and 2) get a view of the Royal Gorge.  We have no pics from our 1st mission to Alltel, but the 2nd mission certainly made the trip even more worthwhile.

The Royal Gorge Bridge is the highest suspension bridge in the world!

"C'mon, guys. This way to the big bridge!"

Tiny tourists.

When standing in the middle of the bridge, the wind is pretty strong and the bridge sways a bit. That didn't seem to scare someone away...

It's a long way down...

A fall hike to the falls...

This morning Jami & Reid set out for a beautiful fall morning hike to Queen's Falls in Glen Eyrie while Luke was in school. This area is by Garden of the Gods, so only about 20 minutes from our house. As Mom hiked along the trail winding along a mountain stream, Reid chattered a mile a minute about "trees ... water ... rock ... bird ... leaf" while perched in the backpack. We had some tests of balance as we had to cross over the stream via stepping stones and wisely placed fallen trees (the center of balance is slightly skewed when transporting someone on your back!) We reached the falls and found an absolutely amazing view. Take a look for yourself...

Queen's Falls

Crisp autumn morning.

Jami & Reid by the waterfall and pool. Brrrr ... that water was cold. No wading today!

On the way down, we met up with our hiking friends from the Moms Walking Group. They got a little later start, but we enjoyed seeing friendly faces along the trail!

Reid's Room.

The painting is done. The furniture is rearranged. Reid's room is starting to take shape. He has a new theme ... monkeys (specifically, sock monkeys.) How fitting, too, since these days it's hard to keep him in his crib because he likes to crawl out! 

Fun sock monkey art on the wall!

Someone loves his new room!

Another angle.

A new hue.

The previous owners of our home did a fantastic job selecting paint colors. Very stylish and our decor matches amazingly well with the paint, except for one room -- the girly lavender bedroom upstairs now inhabited by a little boy named Reid. Our K-State friends might say, "Well, just turn it into a Wildcat themed room and show that purple pride." Unfortunately, the lavender was too much for even that. Today, we set to work repainting Reid's room a lovely brown color, which Luke described as looking like a "chocolate shake." After taping, painting edges, rolling, touching up, etc., we finished the job in just a few hours. We utilized the skills of 3 painters -- Mom, Dad, and Luke -- while Reid was sleeping. (Yes, we used a drop cloth and Luke was highly supervised.) Mom later broke out the antique dark silver spray paint to refinish some light switch/outlet covers and coordinating picture frames. We have a few finishing touches to put on the room before we show you the finished results, but here are some action shots of the Leahy Painting Co.

Scott paints the edges first.

Picasso shows off his painting skills.

Superhero saga.

Okay, so the Halloween costume plans ended up taking a different twist. The Superman-with-muscles costume arrived for Reid, and well, it was too big. So we asked the superheroes if they'd be willing to switch ... still fighting crime and saving the world but in a different get-up. They were agreeable to this after long contract negotiations with their lawyers. Below are the Leahy superheroes all geared up for Halloween. Now we just have a few more weeks to wait... 

Superman, Superdad & Batman. 

Send out the bat signal...

The first Halloween costume has arrived! Batman (AKA Luke's costume) arrived in the mail today, and he was beyond excited about it! Can't you just see the superpowers activating above. (For some reason, they seem to activate better when jumping off the couch.)

Stay tuned for the smaller superhero's costume yet to come...

Lap of Leahys.

Goodbye, September ... Hello, October.

A nearby lake is speckled with fallen aspen leaves.

Dear September,

We kind of forgot what you were all about living in that Arizona heat for so long, but it's nice to see how you really play up the change of seasons here in Colorado. We've taken every opportunity to enjoy the warm days & cool nights, the many new hues present in the foliage, and the fun fall festivities that abound. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful attributes for the past few weeks, and we look forward to what your close cousin October has to share (although we hear Halloween can often require snowboots!) Oh, well. That keeps things exciting, right?

Much Love,

The CO Leahys

Jailbreak.

It's happened. Reid has climbed out of the crib. Although it's funny because Reid seems to be more of a climber at this age (Luke was more of a runner), yet it's taken Reid a bit longer to hoist himself up and out of the crib despite his Spiderman-like climbing abilities. Here's the story. Some scheming on behalf of Reid was involved.

When Mom put Reid down for a nap, she noticed that he'd positioned a small child's chair next to the crib. Not thinking much about it, Mom left it there and proceeded to put Reid down, who was all too ready for a nap. Upon waking up, Mom heard the rumblings and soft talking of a young child upstairs. She attempted to open the bedroom door, but found it difficult to do so ... because some small person was standing on the other side trying to get out!! Low and behold. Reid was out of his crib and walking around his room. Could it be that Reid had a grand plan for his great escape that involved positioning the chair just perfectly to aid in his dismount? Maybe so... Or maybe it was just convenient that it was there and the timing was right to give it a try today.

We'll see if he repeats this feat tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. If he does, Daddy-o can get up with him...

Brought to you by the letter E...

Excursion. Elk. Estes Park. 

This sums up the weekend's fantastic Red Van Road Trip (what we now call treks in Papa's red van.) Saturday afternoon we drove to Denver and loaded up in the red van with Jami's parents for a family trip to Estes Park. The reason for our autumn adventure was twofold: 1) to see the elk who wander out of the mountains this time of year and 2) to see the leaves changing with the onset of fall. Mission accomplished on both accounts, and it was a wonderful trip! We spent several hours driving through Rocky Mountain National Park, where we spotted numerous elk and even saw two fighting with antlers locked! We also hopped out of the van for a bit to wander down to the creek so the boys could get in their wading time (a mandatory event when Papa's around!) The leaves are just starting to change, and the hues up the mountainside are already amazing.

This morning after enjoying some Donut Haus goodies, we spent some time at a park and then hit the road for more scenic driving for the road home. The boys got a little antsy and needed an outing about the time we passed Nederland, so we stopped in this quaint mountain town. It has a unique story in that it is home to a man whose family kept him cryogenically frozen in a shack behind their house. True story -- read more here -- and there's even a festival related to it! Anyway, we didn't tour this landmark in the town, but we did enjoy a nice lunch in Downtown Nederland and perused a few shops. In all, our trip was a great one ... what a way to celebrate the beautiful fall season!

The Leahy crew at Rocky Mountain National Park.

"Dad, I think I see something through these binoculars!"

This was probably the closest we got to the elk. These guys were grazing on the side of the road.

Boys + water (even cold H2O) = FUN!

Papa & the boys at the park

The entire drive home from Estes Park was filled with scenery like this! Good timing for a road trip!

Fallorado.

Someone must have told the trees in Colorado that this week marked the start of fall. They are starting to change and are beautiful! Today we hit Fox Run Park just up the hill and in the mountains east of our house. The boys had a ball playing in the creek that trickled down the slope. We snapped a few fall photos, too!

Playing beneath the Aspen trees.

Dalton's Gang.

Usually, our posts are about our own little blue-eyed boys, but this one is about another sweet little blue-eyed guy in our family ... our nephew Dalton. At 19 months old, he is busy prepping for a big event ... one that benefits a cause near and dear to our hearts. On Oct. 18, Dalton and his proud parents and many other friends and family members (fondly known as Dalton's Gang) will participate in the Kansas City Buddy Walk. Their goal is to raise money for Down Syndrome education, research, and advocacy programs to ensure all individuals with Down Syndrome -- including Dalton -- are given every opportunity to reach their full potential. 

The amount of support that Dalton's Gang has rallied is truly amazing. The Chicago Chapter of Dalton's Gang (better known as Great Aunt Janette & Great Uncle Dick) just sponsored a garage sale where they raised more than $625 for Buddy Walk! My sister has recruited several of her students to join the team and walk with them on that Saturday.

We wanted to blog about this to help spread the word, too. If you'd like to support this great cause, simply click on this link: Donate to Dalton's Gang. If you or someone you know might want to walk or get involved with this event (they have walks in many cities), check out more info on the Buddy Walk website.

For more info, you can also click on the flyer above to enlarge the image.