Pink Eye and Pirates

It has been a long week. We all (except Rob) came down with Pink Eye and have had a dreadful cold as well. My (not so fancy) camera also died so no new pics here. We are all starting to feel better and hoping for a new camera soon. We have had a lovely, loungy, (I know that's not a word) weekend watching the LDS General Conference (we see it a week late here). Here are just a few very random pics of the last couple of weeks. I know I promised a post about Sydney but I just don't have it in me today and wanted to get something up, so sorry...eventually.

We went to 'Talk Like a Pirate Day' at our local library. Easton looked pretty awesome in those old pajama pants and felt eye patch.

It ended up being kind of lame with lots of babies (it was supposed to be for 3-5 year olds) but they got to make a pirate hat which made everyone happy.

Easton and Beckett were the only ones even remotely dressed like pirates (the website said 'come dressed as a pirate', I swear) so that was kind of funny. They had fun. And the library is just a short walk from our house and it is right on the beach, crazy, huh?

Before the pink eye took over we were enjoying the beautiful spring weather and taking lots of walks down to the beach with lots of ice cream stops. My boys love their ice cream. I don't think I have mentioned on the blog before that Easton wears his shirt in this off the shoulder fashion nearly everyday. He likes to pretend he is Tarzan.

I love that the beach (it's just a little bay beach but that counts) is just a 10 minute walk from our front door.

Summer in Review

We had a fantastic summer in the states. The boys and I were in Colorado for a good 2 months and Rob bounced back and forth from London to spend some time with us too. Then we headed to Salt Lake City and then back to Colorado. Here is a little recap...it is hardly comprehensive...just a few highlights.

The Greeley Independence Day Stampede:

If you know me well you know of my love for this great event. It encompasses everything Greeley (my hometown). It is so trashy yet so fun and fantastic. Rob and I got to go see Keith Urban with Amy and Stephen. Stephen had never been to the Stampede before so after he got over the culture shock (don't think Baltimore has anything quite like the Stampede) we took him (and us) for some quality fried food.

First, Coke Balls:

We had never heard of it but they weren't half bad.

Next, funnel cake...a personal fav:

Not pictured was a fried snickers bar and some delicious fresh squeezed lemonade.

My dad and Nancy took us kids to a Rockies game. Here I am with Amy and Stephen:

We spent endless days outside in the little pool. Here are the boys covering their eyes, waiting for my dad to come and pour a bucket of water on them. Awesome.

Easton got to fish with my Uncle Jim. They brought him his own fishing pole and tackle box. He had a lot of fun and still gets the tackle box down everyday to look at all his fishing stuff.

We headed to Utah for some more family fun. All of Rob's siblings and their families were in town so it was a fun reunion.

We spent a lot of time on the lake. Easton got to tube and jet ski and just be in the water a lot.

Owen caught up on some sleep in the boat.

We also had a little reunion with my best friends from college. It was so fun to be with them and their families. We had a picnic up at Silver Lake. Lots of little boys made for a lot of dirt and sticks.

In Salt Lake we got to see lots of friends and family. We got to meet our new nephew Jack and got to see construction on our little business venture (an assisted living center in Alpine) begin. While in Utah we also found out that we are expecting baby number 3! Whoohoo!

We headed back to Colorado for a long weekend for some exciting stuff.

Stephen proposed to Amy! We spent the whole weekend with my whole fam and Stephen's whole fam (who are absolutely fantastic) celebrating. Rob and I both are so excited for their wedding next summer and to have Stephen as a brother in law.

Me, my mom, and Amy check out the bling:

The happy engaged couple:

It was such a fun summer but we were ready to get settled here in Sydney. Next post will be full of Sydney...our house, neighborhood, my loves, and gripes, and all that jazz.

A New Start

Don't hate me 'cause I'm a crummy blogger. I feel ready to start up again...new blog title, new pictures, new country...I mean we wouldn't be us without a new country. I'll be back soon with some updates!

A drive around the track

This is Rob. I had the opportunity to go to Palmer Sports in Bedford England. They have a race track with real race cars. We drove 2 F1 style cars as well as Caterham Superlights, Karts, and an off road experience in Defenders. There were some very good drivers there. The best part of the day for me was driving the 2 seater F1 car with an instructor. They would talk to you on an intercom system and really tell you to push the car. It was a blast! Here is a video of one lap of me driving the car. The best is the end....watch and see!



After the drive with the instructor, they put you in a single seater where it is just you and the track. It was scary! Here is a picture of the master driver (me) at work.



I didn't place in the overall standings, but it was a fun day!

Whew

Sorry for the lack of posting. I have a lot to post about...a great trip to San Francisco with some of my favorite ladies, a great day in London with some more of my favorite ladies, and of course leaving London, and all that jazz. But...the only pics I have are the ones I have taken since we have been in Colorado so here is an update at least of our happenings here.

We ran the Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day. It is a 10k road race that is full of crazy people dressed as gorillas and fairies and racing in their underwear. I got really crazy and wore my BYU t-shirt. The boys met us at the finish line. Here is Easton in his "Run, Mommy, Run" gear that my aunt and cousin made him, with Stephen and Amy. (And that's my cute cousin-in-law, Joelle, next to Amy).



We have been eating outside lots...which I love.


My dad takes the boys to get donuts a lot. Since we are going to be here so long this summer we have had to limit it to a Saturday tradition.

Easton is apparently allergic to Amy and Stephen's dog, Annie. Look at those sad eyes!

These horses belong to my dad and Nancy's neighbors but graze in our pasture. The kids love them. The boys with Nancy:

We have also been doing a good amount of gardening, worm hunting, and lettuce picking.

We are having a lot of fun but we all miss Rob...we'll see him for a long weekend in 10 days! Sorry if I'm a little hard to get ahold of these days as well...I am never online (I used to ALWAYS be online) and don't have a real cell phone.

And, do I need to change our blog title again? Maybe "the Airds" would suffice?

Super Owen

Easton has been pretty obsessed with 'The Incredibles' lately and is constantly talking about his ' super powers'. Today I asked Easton what his super powers were and he said "running fast and being really strong."
I asked him what Owen's super powers were and he said "dumping all the crayons out and pooping in the bath tub." Definitely powers to be reckoned with.

Who am I?

Facebook?! Believe it. I've been putting it off for a long time now...I already spend enough time on the computer and worry that Facebook would just mean a lot more wasted time and lots of random people coming out of the woodwork (cause I'm popular like that) that I would feel a need to keep up with.
I've mostly done it to keep in touch with our friends from Ireland because Facebook is the name of the game over there.
Not much going on in London this week. Did the London Eye on Saturday:

(Big Ben and Parliament. Our apartment is just West of there.)

Rob took a little inventory today at church. It was testimony meeting in church today which is where anyone can get up and share their feelings about the Gospel. These were the countries/nationalities represented in order:

Czech
American
American
British
Latin American
British
German
Australian
British
Ecuadorian

And there's lots more where that came from. It is fun to be in such a diverse ward. And the BYU study abroad crew showed up today...there were lots and lots of BYU girls...reminded me of the good 'ol days :)