Fall Fotos

The boys recently had photos taken, so we wanted to share. Aren't they looking so grown up these days?! Or perhaps it's just that they are all cleaned up with their hair nicely combed. Ha! Enjoy these recent individual photos of our little guys.

Reid's 4 Year Pics

Taken near the beautiful fall trees

in Papa's neighborhood

Luke's 1st Grade Photo

Bump Watch :: 24 Weeks

24 weeks. 6 months. Feeling great!

The last month has flown by and has been filled with some fun pregnancy milestones and memories.

• Baby boy has been moving so much lately! At our recent doctor's appointment, the baby had some super strong kicks when Dr. Weary was trying to zero in on the heartrate. The baby also wakes up at 3 a.m. nearly every morning with enough movement for a dance party! Love our active little guy!
• Speaking of movement, Mom has been staying active with morning workouts and even continues to run sometimes (although the distance and speed are quite scaled back.)
• Plans for the nursery are in full swing. We're decorating in a contemporary nature theme with colors of brown and blue with white accents. The nursery will be a wonderful combo of old & new. Old ... Great-Great Grandma Pearson's rocking chair, the chambray blue crib bedding that the older brothers used, and several sentimental blankets. New: Vinyl tree decal for the wall and a round hanging pendant lamp (the moon for our nursery.)
• This month has had a few interesting pregnancy symptoms, but thankfully, they don't last long. One week it was allergies. This week -- hello, heartburn! Steering clear of the marinara sauce and orange juice for a while...

Trailbusters

Colorado Springs is known for being an active, outdoorsy community, and it's great to see that trickle down into our youth! Today Luke's school held its annual Trailbusters fundraiser. Prior to the event, the children raised donations and pledges to benefit school playground renovations. At the event itself, the kids walked and ran laps outside on the field, earning 1 rubberband per lap to wear on their wrist to help them count the laps (6 laps = 1 mile). Our little trailbuster Luke completed 10 laps! Way to go! A popsicle at the finish line has never tasted so good!

Off he goes! Luke runs with the other 1st graders.

Look at that stride!

Walking and talking with his teacher Miss Lee.

Mom was excited to cheer for Luke

and volunteer for this event as an official

rubber-band-counter-and-certificate-writer!

Fall Foliage Field Trip

With the leaves changing and great weather upon us, we escaped to the mountains today for a little trek to one of our favorite spots ... the area near Pine, CO. Our last visit there was about 2 years ago. This also marked the last road trip for our beloved Mazda Tribute. We've had so many wonderful excursions in that vehicle, so it was fitting to take it out for one last spin before it's traded in next week!

The bridge by the Bucksnort Saloon,

our destination for lunch.

If you double click on the photo,

enjoy a little giggle about the sign ...

and don't "block" the bridge!

Look who just rode in on his Harley!

Well, maybe not Luke, but lots of other folks did!

Pre-lunch pool game.

Bear Attack Ice Cream Pie ... WOW!

Wrangled up a few guys at the saloon...

Mama & the boys.

Next stop ... Pine Valley Ranch Park.

There's no better entertainment than watching

two boys play in a mountain stream.

These little guys braved some chilly water,

and they loved every minute of it!

Expert Rock Tossers

The leaves were just beginning to change.

Watching the stream below.

Luke with the surrounding scenery of the canyon.

On our drive home, we passed by this area

burned by a wildfire several years ago.

Sad to see how the damage remains.

We caught several sights of mountainsides

lit up with vibrant gold hues. Amazing!

Happy Apple Farm

Autumn in Colorado ... how we love you! Today took us on a little road trip adventure to the Happy Apple Farm near Penrose, CO, just over an hour drive from our house. We packed up the wagon and the kiddos and off we went for "harvest time." Our friends Debbie, Nathaniel & Kayleigh joined us for this fun outing. The apples have been in season for some time now and were a bit picked over, but we still enjoyed meandering up and down the orchard rows. Afterward, we stopped by the neighboring patch to pick out a pumpkin. What a beautiful day to be out & about enjoying fall!

Farmhands hard at work

Luke was so, so excited to use this

special apple picking tool!

Little kiddos ... BIG PUMPKINS!

Mama & Luke

Our friends Kayleigh, Debbie & Nathaniel

"Ready ... set ... pumpkin race!"

Leahy crew down on the farm

Brothers hitchin' a ride

Bike 2 School

Because we live less than a mile from Luke's elementary school, it's nice some mornings to enjoy the fresh air with a walk or bike ride down the hill to school. Time to soak up those autumn days now ... before the snow sets in!

The Gymnast

With the start of the school year, we scoped out some extracurricular activities for the boys, too. For Reid, we decided to give our local gymnastics program a try because we'd heard so many rave reviews about it. Reid is in a Tuesday morning class with 5 other boys who are 3 and 4 years old with Coach Steve as their fearless leader. The boys run through obstacle courses, practice forward rolls, try cartwheels (that was funny to watch!), and hop on the trampoline. There is never a dull moment, and Coach Steve keeps these little guys on the move. This has turned out to be the perfect activity for Reid ... he LOVES his Tuesday class!

Ready, set, run! A gymnastics classmate, Reid wearing green,

and Coach Steve during their warm-up exercises.

Bump Watch :: 21 Weeks

We've had some requests for a new "baby bump" photo ... so here's Baby Boy at 21 weeks! Thanks to the big brothers who have been so helpful with taking photos.

Scott & Soccer

For years now, Scott has played in soccer leagues ... indoor, outdoor, co-ed, men's over 30, you name it! He started playing soccer long ago with some Motorola friends (pre-kids) when we lived in Phoenix, and he's continued to play ever since. When we moved to Colorado Springs, our realtor Ray connected him with an indoor league here, and Scott started up playing right away after moving here. As for his current soccer schedule, he's playing in a men's over 30 league on Wednesday nights and in a co-ed outdoor league at our YMCA on Sunday afternoons. The "fan club" was excited to see Dad play this weekend on this warm autumn day. Enjoy the photos of our star soccer play!

Blue skies. Green field. Perfect day for some soccer!

Reid goes for the goal!

Scott works his way around this defender.

Go get 'em, Scott!

Balloons at their Best

This week didn't hold big plans for us ... pretty low-key and uneventful ... that is until a fun little impromptu neighborhood gathering popped up on Wednesday night! One of our neighbors is a magician (how cool is that!), and they had a friend in town visiting who also has some very entertaining talents -- he's a balloon artist. When we went over to our neighbors' house for pizza and socializing, little did we know we'd come home with such balloon masterpieces! Check out the fun below...

John the Balloon Artist

The neighbor kids with their balloons!

From left: Spiderman-hanging-from-a-building-hat,

motorcycle, another Spidey hat on Reid,

Thomas the Tank Engine, and Ariel the Mermaid.

Luke & his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

23 Reasons to Love Labor Day

With a long holiday weekend, what better way to spend the days than with a family gathering of the Nelson crew! We gathered in Georgetown, a quaint little mountain town just off I-70. Here are 23 reasons why we loved this Labor Day weekend...

#1. Boys playing bubbles in the front yard.

#2. Cool fall evenings enjoyed on the front porch.

Craig & 9-month-old Gracyn (in her purple tutu .. go K-State!)

#3. Spying on the neighbors.

This family of deer lived on the slope

behind our rental house. They mostly

ventured out in the evenings.

#4. Spending the weekend in our Georgetown rental house.

This mountain town was booming back in the mining days,

and it still maintains much of the character of that era ...

like the Victorian home where we stayed which

was built in 1876 by the town pharmacist.

#5. Lounging around in PJs right before bedtime.

Such cute cousins!

#6. Monkeys in the bunks.

The boys were super excited that our room

had 2 sets of bunk beds!

#7. Driving through the beautiful

Rocky Mountain National Park.

#8. Spending a quarter to get million dollar views.

#9. Crossing the Continental Divide.

#10. Sitting & swinging on a peaceful afternoon

at the historic Grand Lake Lodge.

#11. Seeing the cousins enjoy their time together!

Reid (3), Luke (6), Gracyn (9 mos.), Dalton (3)

#12. Sharing some "girl" time!

#13. Dining on the deck at Grand Lake Lodge

with this as our scenery. Incredible!

#14. Riding the rails of the Georgetown Loop Train.

Long ago, this was a mining train. Today, it just

hauls tourists and train fans (like us.)

#15. Taking shelter inside the covered car...

That train whistle can be LOUD!

#16. Chugging over a very TALL bridge.

Don't look down!

#17. Twirling round and round on the tire swing

at the Georgetown Park.

#18. Wowing your parents

with your pull-up skills!

#19. Practicing for the firefighters' academy.

#20. Spending the afternoon watching

2 very happy boys play at the park.

#21. Stopping downtown for

an afternoon sweet treat.

#22. Sharing an old-fashioned

root beer float with a cute boy.

#23. Hanging out in the fort behind our house.

What a fun amenity!