Just the Two of Us

Aaron and I got to have three whole days to ourselves while we were in Colorado! Thanks Mom and Dad for taking great care of Aiden while we enjoyed ourselves in Denver!

 

We went to several great restaurants

Spent an afternoon at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Aaron docked a space shuttle and we went to the planetarium

We got to conduct lab experiments at the museum

My lack of chemistry skills was pretty obvious

during the experiments we conducted. However,

I think I look pretty scientific in this picture.

According to one exhibit at the museum, I am 5 feet 6 inches tall..

that discovery made me feel pretty good about myself since I always thought

I was a measly 5'3.

We went to a few movies, we did a lot of shopping and SLEPT IN!

 

It was really nice to not worry about naptime, sippy cups, snacks, diapers, and Matchbox cars. But we missed our Aiden a ton and were so happy to see him!

Butterfly Pavilion

We got to go to the Butterfly Pavilion while we were in Denver. I was really happy that I was able to experience this with my Mom, Dad, Aaron and Aiden.

 

 

Aiden and I held Rosie!

Rosie really liked my Dad

Good job, Ma!

Listening to bees

 

Aaron has a pretty big fear of spiders. Initially he said that he did not want to hold Rosie.

After watching us all hold her, he finally got up the courage to do so!

Feeling pretty proud of himself

We got to pet a starfish!

Absolutely beautiful

This butterfly liked Aaron's hand

Fun with Grandma and Poppy

Butterfly hitched a ride on Grandma's back

Still there!

JJG 6383

On June 14th, the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad in Ohio, dedicated the JJG 6383 locomotive in honor of my Grandpa.

 Love you and miss you, Grandpa.

Summertime

It's officially summer and I finally got some flowers planted. I normally plant them in May, but it was chilly and rainy for weeks and I figured I should wait until after our trip to Colorado. My friend Teresa gave me the two Topsy Turvys pictured below. I hope I can get a few tomatoes to start growing in them.

 

Kountry Junkin'

Today I went to the first annual antique and vintage show called Kountry Junkin'. Vendors were there from South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana and Oklahoma who brought their "best-of-the-best" finds. I came home with some pretty cool stuff:

 

Vintage sewing box and pin cushion

 

Crock

Vintage sheets

I plan to use these as quilt backings

 

Antique oil paining

 

Lamp shade skeleton

I plan to use this for hanging necklaces, bracelets and earrings

 

The lady I bought this from told me it was a vintage laundry basket

After doing some research, Bri informed me that it's a bassinet!

I plan to roll up some of my quilts and display them inside

 

Label inside bassinet

Slow Down, Time!



Time needs to slow down over here at the Loudenburg household. Aiden is getting too big.

 

We just got home today from a trip to Colorado. Going to Colorado is always nice, but it can be a little stressful. We often deal with a little guy who doesn't sleep as good as he does when we are home. We were a little concerned because when we were in Colorado last time, Aiden was obviously outgrowing the pack-and-play at G.G.'s (Great-Grandma Marge) house.

 

I think it must have been Great-Grandma intuition that lead my Grandma to decide to get rid of the pack-and-play and buy Aiden his very own twin-size bed.  Aaron and I were a little concerned about how our baby would do in his own room, on his own twin-size bed for the very first time. Aaron actually planned to spend the night sleeping with Aiden. We both figured it would be a rough night.

 

To our surprise, Aiden slept through the night! He didn't fall off the bed onto the cushion of pillows I made for him on the floor! He actually slept until 8 AM, which is a pretty big deal when we are in Colorado! (He normally gets up around 6 AM.) I'm still amazed that he did so well.  

 

So when we were getting him ready for bed tonight, we decided that the time had come to transition his crib to a toddler bed. As you can see in the picture above, he was pretty excited about the transition. We told him that just like at G.G.'s, he isn't to get up out of bed during the night. And guess what? We haven't heard a peep from him all night. It's almost midnight and our baby (I guess I should start saying our "big boy") is sound asleep.

Lords of the Prairie

I remember learning about buffalo and the importance of this beast to the Native Americans in my high school American History class, taught by my Dad. Buffalo and the history of Native Americans has always interested me, and has been fueled by my experiences living in South Dakota. We recently visited Cuter State Park and happened upon these buffalo who were standing in the middle of  the road.

 

Buffalo were the lords of the prairie. To European settlers traveling across America’s Great Plains in the early 1800s, the prairie wind was a constant companion: a gentle whisper echoing across the vast sea of grass that carpeted the center of the North American continent. Sometimes, however, the rumbling of thunder could be heard in the distance, though no storm clouds could be seen. Then the ground would begin to tremble, and suddenly the astonished newcomers would be surrounded by a thundering herd of hulking animals that stretched further than the eye could see. The majestic welcoming committee made it clear that the settlers had, at last, arrived in the buffalo nation — a land where tens of million of American Bison held sway.
Courtesy of American Buffalo: Spirit of a Nation.