Family Update

It doesn't seem like we have written much about Tarik lately. So here is a quick update...

She is definitely in that stage of constantly pushing boundaries and is often frustrated that she can't fully express herself. This is the third little girl we have gone through this with and we all agree that this is a really hard time of life for all of us. But in the midst of that she does things that are beyond wonderful - like when she randomly asks for a "hod" (hug).

Tarik's vocabulary is amazing. The pediatrician recently asked us how many words she knows and we couldn't even fathom a guess. She will sometimes hear a word used only once or twice and then start using it!

Potty training is going well. Everything will be perfect for three to four weeks and then she will have one really bad (and messy) couple of days.

All three girls could not be better friends. Tarik is independent enough that she isn't always messing up what her big sisters are doing and the big girls are really good at playing with her. Poor Frank gets the brunt of Tarik's attention. She often mistakes him for a body pillow, a horse, a trampoline, etc.

It is a busy time and our posting on the blog is slow, but know that our family could not be better. We could be more rested... but definitely not any happier.

This is Funny

There are few things I enjoy more than funny caricatures of Calvinism...

Glasses

Adeline got glasses today!
Before leaving the parking lot of the store, Jennalee was crying that she didn't get glasses and Adeline was crying because she had already broken the case.
Nothing happens without a bit of drama.

Tarik Sleeping

Not quite sure what to say about this picture. Notice that Tarik's lips are partially wrapped around one bar of the crib while her forehead is mashed up against another bar.

The Sweetest Little Heart

Adeline has to be one of the best little sisters in the world. Her birthday is in two days while Jennalee's is still ten weeks away. Yet, tonight in her prayers, the ONLY thing Adeline prayed for was her big sister's birthday party. She prayed that Jennalee would have a wonderful cake (made by Adeline and Lee Ann), that she would get exactly what she wanted in gifts, and that she would even get to watch her favorite movie. Of course, rather than being moved by such a selfless prayer, Jennalee was going absolutely bonkers over the thought of her ten-week-away party.

Sweet Pictures

While on vacation we got a couple of cute pictures of the big girls.

Rocky Moutain High

We got to spend one wonderful week in Lake City, Colorado this month. Some of you that read this blog have spent a good deal of time there and I hope you enjoy. For those of you who haven't been there, it is a gem of a town. It is at 8,600 feet above sea level and surrounded by five fourteen thousand foot peaks. Hard to match that! Also, there is basically nothing to do. This is not a vacation town for those with ADD; this is a place to sit and relax, and then do it some more. The days were beautiful and the nights were downright cold... that makes for wonderful tent-camping.

The sixteen hour drive seemed imposing but the girls (all of them) did great. We caught one of the most glorious moments on camera...
This is a place where many of the tallest mountains don't even have names - there are just that many peaks! The ridge on the left of this picture composes part of the Continental Divide.
This is the "main drag" of Lake City. It hasn't changed much since the mining days of the late 1800's. I assume they have better ice cream now, though - it's fabulous in fact.
Watching the two older girls play non-stop was by far the highlight. They played in a wooded area almost everyday that they appropriately named the "Clubhouse". They seemed to have a different little project going on every hour or so.
Someone (and it wasn't Lee Ann) let Jennalee buy a sling-shot. Jennalee tried to shoot the millions of chipmunks that snoop around Southwest Colorado, but when that showed itself to be too much of a challenge, she turned her sights towards Barry from Bee Movie. He begrudgingly offered himself up as great target practice and gave us some wonderful laughs.
This is a deer that hung around our campsite. If she looks a little overweight, I am sure that has something to do with the packages of Fig Newtons she consumed from our hands.
Here we are at the Alfred Packer Massacre Site. Jennalee & Lee Ann are reenacting the cannibalistic actions of Lake City's most notorious character.
We all got home safely. All of us except one, that is. The only fatality was this bird we found in the grill of our car when we were unloading. Nobody said vacation was easy!