Denver Zoo with the Baumgartners

(catch up post!)

We spent a great day at the Denver Zoo with the Baumgartners awhile ago and here are a few shots of the girls' favorite part, the carousel. Sabrina still talks about how she went "round and round and up and down" on a "leopard" and Celia went on the "monkeys."

Sorry for the lack of captions!

NOTA 40th Annual

June 17-19th was the 40th Annual of the None of the Above Ranch (no, it's NOTA Ranch) and we brought it in with a frenzy. We gathered in Northern California to celebrate with about 50 people who are all connected to the Ranch in various ways. There were ranchers (new and original), their kids, their grandkids, their husbands & wives (new and original), caretakers who have become part of the place, new friends, old friends, old traditions, a new old house, wonderful food, and great music. We walked, we talked, we danced, we sang, we laughed, and laughed, and swam and swung (?), and then did it all again the next day.

Sabrina's first trip to the Ranch (outside the womb, at least) was a complete success. We couldn't have asked for a better sport! She slept when she could, she stayed up until all hours of the night without complaint (except once...which was loud!), she slept in a tent, she laughed at us playing volleyball, she hiked in the backpack, she walked in the tall grass, she charmed the crowds. She also had an amazing group of girls who took such great care of her all weekend. Maddie, Bronwyn (BoBo), Sophia, and Claudette were sweet, caring, fun, and conscientious of her - it made for a great, relaxing weekend for me and Brent! Between her "ladies in waiting" and Nana and Poppy, we barely saw her! She has been catching up on sleep ever since we got home a week ago, but it was well worth it.

Here are some photos of the fun.

Burley and other happenings

The Burley has officially become Sabrina's favorite mode of transportation. She walks out the front door, runs to the garage and stands in front of it saying "Burley" and pointing to the door. She then squeals and stamps her feet in ecitement when we pull it. She often says it twice too, and it sounds like she's singing the song "booly booly, booly booly, booly booly" i hope that translated because it's pretty funny and I've had that song stuck in my head for about two weeks now. She also beeps like a large construction truck when we back it up which Brent is very proud about. It's pretty hysterical. Beep beep beep. She says it very seriously too, like she's helping us get it out of the garage.

We had an absolutely great memorial day weekend with a visit from Lexy and her parents, Kristi and Andy, numerous bbqs, a wedding for Sabrina's babysitter, Hannah, an impromptu party at Nana and Poppy's with our friends, Charlie, and his parents, Kathryn and Rob, another impromptu party at Nana and Poppy's to celebrate the new Adoption Option baby they picked up (#47), the Boulder Creek Festival, and then a mellow family hike and quiet day at home on Monday. A little bit of everything. It was exhausting, relaxing, and really fun. Sabrina impressed us all with her great mood all weekend (except once when she couldn't go in the Burley and Boy, did we hear about it!) and her ability to party with Celia until almost ten o'clock two nights in a row! They have so much fun together these days, we can hardly compete when Celia is around!! I think Sabrina has been a great buddy to Celia too when her world has been pretty turned around with the addition of her baby sister, Delaney (Della). She has handled it like a champ, but it's great to see her have a good friend like Sabrina to play with day after day. Della is cute, but she's still a little dull if you're two! We have fallen head over heels in love with Della ourselves and it's probably good for Sabrina to have Celia at the same time! I can't keep my hands off that little baby, she's such a sweetheart.

Here are some photos from the weekend.



Sabrina's best words these days are Burley (of course), airplane, motorcycle (very adorable how she says it), and applesauce (said very emphatically). She is still progressing on two and three word phrases and it's getting easier and easier to have a conversation with her. I noticed that today while taking a walk and she really does answer correctly which always surprises me. She's definitely paying attention!!

In other news, I got an iPad for Mother's Day and this is my inaugural iPad posting! I hope it comes across ok! If anybody wants to FaceTime or Skype with me, let me know! Sabrina is starting to get it too. I called her from upstairs yesterday as she was eating breakfast and she just squealed "mama" when she saw me on Brent's computer. wow - it's amazing how different her understanding of technology will be than ours! It's a good thing she has a tech nerd for a papa (and I mean that in the best of ways). I can't believe it's June and our baby is nearly a year and a half old. Time sure does fly when you're having fun!