Anna B.

We cannot believe Anna is already 16 months old! Time is really flying by. I used to send out pictures of Jackson every month and I rarely get around to organizing pictures these days.
We call this cutie Anna B. (short for Anna Banana). Here she is watching tv with her big brother who is kissing her hand. She doesn't even notice the kiss because she is always getting kissed---what a sweet brother she has! Sharing a quick snack before heading outside to play

And all of a sudden Anna is really into dress up. Auntie Em helped her pick out this precious outfit!

She likes to wear this stereoscope ALL DAY. We think she must think it's a necklace. Guess it's time for some girlie things in this house!

And finally after a lot of work Anna is a much better eater (still picky but better). She is eating pasta now and this is her first shot of food all over her face! It makes us smile because after almost a year she will eat

Hanging out at Barnes and Noble

Anna is truly a delight to be around. She is a very happy kid. I don't think I've ever met a toddler who smiles such huge smiles at everyone all the time (unless you try to leave her with someone). She is always giggling and being goofy and trying to do everything her big brother does!

Family Vacation--Rocky Mountain Trip

Here are more pictures of our trip to the Rockies. The kids were fantastic car travelers (esp. for their first cross country car trip) and absolutely loved the mountains. Since Mike and I are not beach goers it's a good thing mountains are also in our kids' blood. Jackson was a great hiker and hiked 6 miles his first day! We had so much fun being with family too. It's been almost 3 years since we were all together.

Here is a view from the house balcony where lots of grilling took place Here we are all on our first day hike

There was so much snow and Jackson said that was his favorite part of many hikes. This particular hike we couldn't make our destination because of all the snow but we gave it a good try Anna was quite the trooper too

Here's one of our lunch spots

Dow and Jackson crossing a creek

Jackson throwing snowballs

Anna enjoying climbing over the snow

Hanging out on the deck one evening enjoying the view

Three siblings FINALLY all together again

Another fabulous lunch spot!! Wish I could eat lunch here every day

All the guys (plus Anna) taking a short break

The original 5 Mowrers

And the new four

Jackson and Uncle Tim make a snowman

All the kids---wait---where's Mike?

Having fun enjoying some shopping one night in Estes Park

The big kids out on the town

And after a good day of hiking who doesn't like soaking in a hot tub overlooking the Rocky Mountains?

We miss it already. Such a great time with family and exploring the mountains!

9 years and still going strong

Happy 9 year anniversary to us!!! Our anniversary was on June 2 but we decided to wait to celebrate until we were in the Rocky Mountains last week. Mimi and Dow kept the kids for an entire day (we haven't had a whole day together in a very very long time--18 months to be exact). It was great. We did a wonderful hike up to Locke Lake and then went to a wine tasting and ended the night with a fancy dinner at the Stanley Hotel (from the Shinning). It was wonderful and kid free!

How can you not love the Rockies?? And check out all the snow!

Good thing we could follow other footprints because the snow was really deep (here is the trail marker, normally up to my eyes)

Here we are at our lunch spot on the lake which was still partly frozen

This is my favorite picture---oh take me back!

And nothing says bad wine like Estes Park winery---oh well we still enjoyed it!

2 peas in a pod

or 2 kids in a box!Over Memorial Day weekend we tried our best to stay cool. The kids played in the fountains...

And one day we went to Rita's Italian ice---YUM!

Way cool!

And finished off the weekend with a favorite Mexican restaurant and neighborhood pool party