March has come and gone!!

3-18: Mom and Dad took us on a train ride through the Royal Gorge. It was so fun! We had the back quarter of a train car to ourselves and were able to spread out for the trip. It was a 2-hour ride right over nap time, but Charlie did awesome and really, really liked it. He spent some time on the open railcar with Matt and my dad, but Mom, Alanna and I stayed inside and out of that day's CRAZY wind.

Baby dedication! We had the kids dedicated while my parents were here so at least some family could witness the occasion.

With the Pastor Jim. He's got some inches on us. :)

Pastor Jim asked us a few questions and then laid hands on the kids and prayed for them separately. He held Alanna, but for Charlie (who was up and down the entire time), Pastor Jim knelt down next to him. It worked!

3-17: Tummy time on Daddy's tummy. Precious.

Two beautiful ladies!!

I LOVE pictures of people walking hand in hand, and it's extra sweet that this one is of my momma and my son.

Trying on Grandpa's glasses. Pretty cute, but I'm so thankful that Charlie doesn't have to actually wear glasses!!

3-16: Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit!! Charlie sat with Grandma so nicely reading book after book together. Once Charlie found this one (Noah's Ark), he spent 10 solid minutes using Grandma's finger as his own personal LeapFrog tag reader. Charlie manipulated Grandma's finger, and Grandma labeled the object. It was quite the system! Charlie was captivated.

3-15: Little boy, big shoes. He makes my feet look HUGE!

3-13: Crazy hair in the bathtub. This is the only mohawk we will allow!

3-12: Our lil Monet!

3-9: New wheels, take 2! Charlie loves his new wagon, and I love the fact that I got it at a garage sale! I paid $15 for the wagon, two pairs of jeans, three books and a sippy cup, so you do the math on how much I actually paid for the wagon itself. He sat in it for almost an hour straight after we got it.
3-8: Playtime on the blanket. I love, love this outfit, but the vest is always up in Alanna's face. Small price to pay for fashion.

3-7: Keeping up with the weekly growth pictures! This is week 17. (Recognize the outfit, Michelle?)

3-3: Oops! I looked over at Alanna and her Pooh (or Poopy, according to my niece!) book attacked her face!

Much better!

New Car

We sold the the Dakota and purchased a 2004 Ford Escape. The truck was starting to act up a bit and we wanted to sell it before having to spend money on repair costs. I'll be saying good-bye to owning a pickup for a while and enjoy driving something with 4-wheel drive that also has the space to carry the family and camping gear.

Ptarmigan Survey - Colorado

I helped out the Forest Service with a ptarmigan survey on Granada Pass March 10th. It was a gorgeous day and although there was snow on the ground, I actually was getting hot. We had to snow shoe in through, at times, waist deep snow. I left the house at 4AM and didn't get back until after 8PM, but it was worth it . . . I had a lot of fun. We spotted 10 birds in the group I was in. They let you get very close to them because they rely on camouflage for protection from predators.

However, on a side note when at high elevation with snow on the ground, make sure you put sunscreen on every where. I thought I did a good job, but apparently I missed my eyelids, which got burnt and swollen. Nothing terrible, but I'll probably wear sunglasses next time.

Can you see the ptarmigan in this picture?

Alanna Giggles