Ben's Triathlon

Ben has been busy ramping up for his IronMan race in late September. He did a triathlon (placed 3rd in his division) and duathlon (1st in his division) in July and just yesterday, did another Triathlon (1st in his division and 19th place overall) in Cherry Creek. His time was 2:34. Nate, Link and I went to show our support. It was such a hot day. Of course, it's all madness to me but if every body could do it then it wouldn't be much of a challenge. I'm real proud of my man!

I'm so irritated that I didn't get a better shot of him coming through the finish line. :(

"Whew! Glad that's over!"



You're my number one, baby! haha

Nate & Ben

Drum roll please...

It took WEEKS to come in but Linkan's first tooth finally broke the skin and made it's appearance last Monday, August 2nd. It had been such a long time coming that I couldn't believe it when I felt it! It's on her bottom gum...just one lil tooth. As of today, it still hasn't come all the way in. Last night, she slept through the whole night, making me think that it may not be hurting her anymore. We're crossing our fingers! Here is a picture of that cute lil toothless grin that I'm going to miss! PS- Linkan's Grandma P made the sunhat for her. Isn't it the most darling little hat you have ever seen?? Lots of love, Grandma!

T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!

Ever since Linkan learned how to crawl, she has been exploring every inch of our house. Her newest thing is to crawl over to big objects and pull herself up onto them. I caught her doing this on her walker. Check out her feet - she is balancing on it. She fell a few times but has pretty much (I said - PRETTY much) learned how to fall so that she doesn't hurt herself.

Busted!

"Watch me, mama!"

I think she was pretty pleased with herself. Can you tell? :)

Hammie!

Rockies MLB

Our friends, Rick and Kris Young and their kids Payton and Tanner (whom we hadn't seen in years!), were vacationing in Colorado last week. They stopped in Denver and stayed with us for two nights. We had such a great time catching up with them. I worked with Kris in Wichita and we all became friends after Ben and Rick met at a company Christmas party. They took us to a Rockies game. It was Linkan's first. The Rocks lost but we still had a good time!

Kris, Payton and Tanner

Rick and Ben playing with Linkan. They gave her a Leapfrog talking doggie which has since become her absolute favorite toy!

Poochin' around

Let's just say that Boss "tolerates" Linkan. I'm sure he wishes that life would revert back to the days where there was no Stella and no Linkan. He is our first "baby" and always will be. These days, he is an old man who is set in his ways. He allows Linkan to climb on him a little and then gets up to find a more comfortable place to lie down. On this particular day, he was feeling a little more playful and allowing Linkan to use him as a jungle gym. :) He's a good boy and will probably become more attached to Linkan as she gets older.

Thompson Wedding

Some of our favorite people in the world and our "family" here in Denver, Nate and Heather, finally sealed the deal on July 3rd, 2010. The locale was beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado. This, actually, was my first time in Breck. The weekend could not have been more perfect. It was amazing beautiful in the mountains. Ben officiated their wedding - it will be his last, I'm afraid! :) After the vows, we danced the night away. On the 4th, Ben and Nate took a group climbing. I was able to catch some pictures of the wildlife. Before we headed back home, Ben, Linkan and I rode our bikes from Breck to Frisco and back. That is a great bike path! It was a wonderful weekend and we were so glad to be able to be a part of it. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Thompson!

The lil Diva on the wedding day

The beautiful view!





Denise (mother of the groom) and Kikki

Creepy Crawly!

Not long after my last post, Linkan began crawling for the first time on July 19th. It's been a few weeks since she has learned to crawl and it feels like she has always been able to do it. I barely remember the days when I could lie her on my bed and know that she wasn't going anywhere because she wasn't even strong enough to roll over. Now that she can crawl, she is always wanting down so she can explore! She has even mastered climbing up the steps. Here is a video of her first day of crawling.