Camping (and Paragliding) in Glenwood Springs

This weekend (well, Sunday and Monday), we headed up to Glenwood Springs. Nate's step dad, Dave has always wanted to go paragliding, so for his birthday that is exactly what Nate's mom got him. The flight was scheduled for Monday morning so on Sunday we headed up the mountain to camp the night before. It was our first time camping with Riley and we considered it our test run before our big group camping trip coming up in a couple weeks. We camped outside of the Dotsero exit just before Glenwood Canyon. We were hoping since we where there on a Sunday that we would luck out and get a camping sites near the stream but they were all taken so we camped a little higher up the road. It ended up working out really well. Although we didn't have the shade of the trees, there was lots of space for the dogs to run and we had a great view of the I-70 valley.
This was actually the first time we had camped with Nate's parents. Pauline made chicken stir-fry for dinner and after we put Riley to bed, the rest of us played cribbage in the van. Riley was sleeping very well in the tent but shortly after we went to bed he woke up. The rest of the night was spent trying to get him to go back to sleep both in his pack-n-play and in the speeping bag with me. Needless to say, I don't think I actually feel asleep until after the sun was starting to come up.
See more camping photos here.
After a sleepless night, the next morning, we got up early and packed up so we could be in Glenwood Springs by 8:30 for Dave's flight. When we arrived at the meeting place (the landing site) we learned that there was an opening for one more so Nate decided to go too. The company is called Adventure Paragliding and the couple who owns it spends part of the year in Glenwood Springs and part in Mexico. It's about a 2,000 feet between the launch site and the landing site. Nate and Dave had a blast, I hope that I'll be able to try it someday. See all the pictures of Dave and Nate's flights here.

(Nate coming in to land)

Leanne's 30th Birthday: A week of celebrating

It's kind of strange to believe that I'm 30. Not because I've had a hard time accepting that I'm 30 but because it seems so grown up. Other than having more gray hairs and an almost 9 month old son, I don't feel any different than I did 5 years ago. I guess that is a good thing...

... Anyway, because it was such a monumental birthday my entire family came to Colorado to help me celebrate. My mom flew in on Sunday the 29th. On my actual birthday (30th), we went to dinner at a near by sushi restaurant.

Tuesday evening my brother, Brian and his girlfriends Ally along with my brother's dog Denali got to our house. They decided to drive and took advantage of some good climbing on the way out stopping in Utah and Rifle, Co.

On Wednesday, my mom, Brian, Ally, Riley and I went to the pool while we waited for my dad and grandparent's flight to arrive. Wednesday night we went to dinner at Frasca in Boulder. Frasca is a nationally acclaimed restaurant inspired by the cuisine of Friuli, Italy. It is an amazing dining experience and I highly recommend going but you must make a reservation 2 months out.

Thursday was our 3rd annual 3rd of July BBQ. Our neighborhood launches fireworks on the 3rd of July and we have a front row seat. This year we had over 60 friends and family at our house. Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate.



Friday, the 4th, we all went to the theater to see Wall-E, including Riley. It was his first trip to the movie theater. Shortly after the movie began, Riley got really restless and was squealing and squirming all over my lap. I decided to leave the theater so I didn't disturb anyone. I ended up sitting down with him on the floor in the hallway between the door and the seating area. I was still able to see 2/3 of the screen and was able to watch most of the movie while Riley rolled around with his toys on the floor. That evening we all entertained ourselves by playing the Wii. It was fun to get the whole family involved. My grandparents got in on the action with Wii Sports Bowling and Tiger Woods Golf. We grilled up some more burgers and brats for dinner and enjoyed the weather by eating out on our patio.

(This is what happens when my brother gets a hold of the camera)

Saturday morning my grandparents caught their flight and Brian and Alley left to drive back to Reno. The Hume's invited us to a BBQ at the lake that their family bought last summer. The guys were able to do some fishing and my mom and dad went out on the paddle boat.


Sunday morning my parents headed to the airport to head home. It was so special having all the family here to celebrate and I only wish that it could happen more often.

June 21st, 2008

So I'm still behind but I plan on getting all caught up in the next couple days...

June 21st was a very busy day for us because we had 3 parties to attend.
11:00 am
The morning started with Riley and I going to Lakewood for Beck's 4th birthday. It was a lot of fun and great to see all my friends from Grad school. It was also the first time that any of them had met Riley.

2:00 pm
Party #2 was Emma's 1st Birthday Party. Emma turned 1 year old on June 24th and she shares her birthday with her mommy Abbey. We enjoyed a fun Elmo pool party at the Keeney's and stuffed our face with yummy food. It was a warm and sunny day and it confirmed that summer has indeed arrived. It also made me realize that Riley is the next one to turn a year. How is that possible?


8:00 pm
The final party of the evening was a get together for Ari and Jared's engagement. We got the leave Riley at home with Nate's mom and enjoy an evening out as adults. Sam, Betsy, Emily and I hosted a "We love Ari and Jared" party. It was a small gathering of close friends and family. We had drinks and appetizers on the patio at Bella Bistro. It was a lot of fun. Congratulations to Ari and Jared.

First Father's Day

So I'm a little behind...
Father's Day weekend was a busy weekend. Saturday, was the E Print company picnic at Elitch Park. It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun to be in the Park. Sunday we went up to Estes Park and had lunch with Nate's mom and step dad, Dave. It was another gorgeous day and it was nice to get away, even if only for a couple hours. We eat lunch in the gazebo and it was so relaxing. On the drive home, we decided to take the long way and came down the canyon into Loveland. We continued towards home on small, rural back roads. It was fun to explore something new.

Riley is 8 months old

Another month has come and gone. Riley weighs 19.25 lbs and now has 6 teeth (4 on bottom and 2 on top). He is rolling all over the floor. His baby babble is starting to sound more like actual words, although it is still gibberish.

Rubber Ducky...

Bath time has become a favorite activity for Riley. He loves to watch the water fill the tub, splash with his hands, grab for his floating friends and kick his feet while floating on his back (with my assistance of course). And now that meals time are getting messy, we are taking more baths.

First trip to the pool

This past Tuesday, I decided to take Riley to our community pool. The pool is really nice and has a very large kids area. It was a beautiful day in the mid 80's and the pool was packed. We went with our neighbor Amber and her kids, Jack (who was born the same day as Riley) and Ashlynn, who is 3. We sat at around the edge of the pool were the water is only a couple inches deep and Riley splashed around. Then we decided to put him in a baby raft that Amber had. He loved it. He was very content to just float around all day. I think he would have fallen asleep in it if I had let him. I'm sure we'll be spending a lot more time at the pool this summer.

My brother, the photographer

My brother is an amazing photographer. He is also a rock climber and has found a unique way to merge the two. He will be the featured artist this month at the Backseat Gallery in the Comma Coffee Shop in Carson City, Nevada. The show is called... you guessed it, Transitory Moments. Too bad most of us won't be able to check it out. It opens today and will be up until June 28th.
Read more about his show here. Visit his website nip9.com here.

How does he do that?

Vielehr Designs, LLC.

Thanks to Ari's help, I now have an official logo and business cards for Vielehr Designs, LLC.
As most of you know, I formed Vielehr Designs, LLC. and have been doing residential landscape designs for Kevin and his company, Collegiate Landscape, since the beginning of the year. It's been a lot of fun and so far Kevin and I have 4 yards installed with 5 or 6 on the way. I have also done 4 independent designs and I'm excited to see how my little business grows.

Before


After

Finger Foods

Riley has been grabbing at the spoon while i have been feeding him so we decided it was time to introduce finger foods. Knowing that the first attempts would be more about learning how to pick up the food and not necessarily about putting it in his mouth, i bought some sweet potato flavored baby cereal (that are actually quite tasty) and put them on his tray. He was immediately interested and grabbed for the cereal pieces. He managed to pick them up pretty well and they kept getting stuck to his sticky little fingers. Bella and Gunner immediately positioned themselves under his highchair to catch the pieces as they dropped over the edge. It was fun to watch Riley try and pick them all up. He even gave a few to Bella (watch the video). I'm excited for the day when he tries to put them in his mouth and masters the pincher grab.
PS: Riley now has 4 teeth, 2 top and 2 bottom.

Rolling over

Riley has been able to roll from his stomach to back for about a month now but last night he rolled from his back to his stomach for the first time. Nate and I were getting ready for bed and Riley started fussing so I went in to his room to check on him. Not only was he rolled over on his stomach but his feet were where his head used to be. I'm not quite sure how he managed to get in that position but he did it again this morning.

Happy 1st Birthday Max

This weekend we had Max's first birthday party. It's amazing how fast a year can go. It was great to see everybody. There were probably a dozen baby/kids there and the focus was of course on them. Oh how our get-togethers have changed...

Our Garden

We decided to grow a veggie and herb garden this year. Nate built a box that we put along our north fence near the patio and Kevin came and ran a new drip line so we could water it separate from the rest of the yard. We also did separate containers with strawberries and mint since those can become invasive. We are very excited about having fresh veggies and herbs and if all goes well in about 60 days we'll have cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, red and orange bell peppers, jalapenos, zucchini, sugar snap peas, green beans, green onion, basil, oregano, thyme, Italian parsley, and cilantro.

Hickies

Last night we were at dinner with Nick Godman and Riley was starting to get tired and really fussy. We didn't have a pacifier with us because Gunner had pulled it out of the diaper bag and a new one hadn't made it back in the bag yet. So anyway, because we didn't have a pacifier, I was letting Riley suck on my chin which he often tries to do if he is hungry or sleepy. Needless to say, I ended up with 2 hickies on my chin. Oops, lesson learned.

Riley- 7 months old

Riley is 7 months old today. He is eating baby food like a pro and he officially has 3 teeth with a 4th on it's way. He has made many discoveries including his fingers, his toes and his tongue. His new milestone is that he can pass an object from one hand to another. He also tries to grab onto the spoon when I'm feeding him so I think it's time to introduce finger food. He is so much fun and I'm so blessed that I've been able to stay home with him.

My First Mother's Day

It was so nice to be home for Mother's Day. My uncle Ron flew up from LA and we had the whole family together. My Dad and Nate were in charge of dinner and we all enjoyed an overdue family evening together.

Becoming a mother has been the most amazing experience and I credit my calmness and confidence in being a mother to my mom and grandmother. They are amazing examples of how to be a great mom. My brother Brian and my mom playing with Riley

Keri and Chris are Hitched

This past weekend we flew to Reno for Keri and Chris's wedding. It was not a full flight so Nate and I were able to spread out and use the entire row. Riley did great on the flight. He was awake the entire flight but decided to fall asleep on our descent and landing into Reno. On Friday afternoon we drove up to Squaw Valley for Keri and Chris's wedding. They got married at the PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn. It was the last weekend that Squaw Valley Ski Resort was open and it was a little strange to see people heading up the Cable Car to the top of the mountain in May to ski. The weather was absolutely beautiful. The rehearsal was out by the pool where the ceremony would be held and the rehearsal dinner was held steps away in the Village at Mamasake where we were treated to a wonderful sushi dinner. Nate and I were in heaven and completely stuffed by the end of the night.
On Saturday, since the wedding wasn't until 4:30, I got up and had breakfast with the girls (Keri, Jen and Kelley) and then we went to Starbucks (which I desperately needed because Riley had woken up every hour and a half the night before). Since it was such a beautiful day, we took a walk across the valley, along the golf course before we needed to be back to get ready for the wedding.
The wedding was beautiful. The wedding colors were green, black and white and the dining room was simple and elegant. We had such a great time and it was especially nice to hang out with my girls Keri and Jen who I don't get to see as often as I'd like. Thanks Keri and Chris for hosting a great wedding. See all the pictures here.

Adventures in Sweet Potatoes

Riley is starting to get the hang of eating. He opens his mouth and gets food all of his face like a pro. He loves to try and grab the spoon and his best trick is wiping his messy face all over his sleeve. Today we managed to get winter squash all over his eye brow and in his eye lashes. Thanks to Uncle Brian, he's styling in this fire engine bib. Just don't tell dad that he was eating off the pink spoon.

Smile !!

There is a photographer in our neighborhood who has her studio in the basement. See was offering special photo sessions for Vista Ridge residents so we decided to take advantage of it. We had a 15 minute photo session and got surprisingly a lot of great shots. It was a lot of fun.
Thanks Kerry. Kara Photography

Happy Birthday Nate

So we've gotten a little behind on our blogging so I need to catch us up. Nate turned 31 on April 27th. We decided to have a small group of friends over for a last minute BBQ. It was pretty low key. Jumin brought over the Wii game Guitar Hero which was, of course, a big hit with Nate.