CHAUTAQUA "Sea Legs"

Last weekend we went to Chautauqua w/ the Petrie Family!! What is there to say, but it was a BLAST! As fun-packed as it was, it was equally just as relaxing. Derek and I felt privileged to have that quality time with our oldest nieces/nephew and honestly to see them grow before our very eyes. Both Logan and Morgan conquered the raging waters and succeeded in knee boarding ~ it nearly brought tears to our eyes to see them NEVER give up!!! Kayla also had her "first" water experience and braved a wild tube ride w/ me ~ thanks for sharing that experience with me sweetie! The kids just loved being outdoors and Logan truly can't figure out why the DuRoss's have any other home but Chautauqua (really, why would you live anywhere else???). As sweet as that is, we're glad they live right here ~ only 10 minutes away (most of the time!!!). Selah soaked in every second w/ the "cousins" and came up with more imaginative games than I can even remember, gotta love that. As for Judah, our boy has his "sea legs" on and loved every minute/hours we spent on the boat!!! Thanks Petrie's for the wonderful memories ~ lets do a redo soon!

July Fun

Selah was invited by her friend, Emma, to come join her for a princess gymnastics class at the Little Gym. How can you resist that?? She did awesome on the balance beams and fit right into the class routine. Seriously, could she look any cuter??

Bear town Lakes was our adventure on Sunday. We went over w/ Ne-Ne Heather & Uncle David for bike rides and fishing. It was the first time Selah had officially taken her new trycle out (thanks Grandma & Grandpa Austin)! She was AMAZING. She just took right to it and went through the whole bike path all on her own. She even hung on for dear life when going down a hill a bit too fast!!! You go girl. Even Judah got in on the action ~ at first in the stroller and then thanks to Uncle David, he got his own bike ride!! Here is a shot of Morgan and Logan fishing ~ they're quite gifted in the art of casting I must say! Kayla was sweet enough to share her fishing pole w/ Selah so Derek could give her a fishing lesson of her own. Our girl has PATIENCE ~ she really hung in there for the fish, but they just didn't bite this time!

4th Of July

Our weekend was filled w/ some fun activities. I was in the Aurora 4th of July parade for RE/MAX ~ my job was to drive a white convertible through the crowds of screaming kids begging for candy & beaded necklaces! Daddy brought Selah and Judah to watch their mama in the parade ~ thanks for helping him out NeNe Heather. Morgan also got to join in the festivities ~ she rode in the car w/ me and threw out the beads!

Then we went over to Grandma & Grandpa Austin's for our family gathering. I would post pictures ~ but in all honesty if you scroll down to the Memorial Day shots, they look exactly the same!!! No kidding! Slip-n-slide, 4-wheeler rides and "extreme" croquet for the men (still doesn't sound manly!).

As for the kiddos ~ Judah had a belated 1 year doctor appointment and he is truly quite the peanut. He only fell into the 3rd percent in weight (18 lbs 11 ounces) ~ what can I say, I bear petite children. His latest "things" to do are talk on the phone all day long, he always seems to be calling daddy (on his pretend phone that is), open and shut every door ~ ALL DAY LONG, and wrestling with his big Sis!

Selah's phrase for the summer is "are we going to the water park today?" She is swimming like a little fish, braving the raging water slides and body surfing in the wave pool (look out Outer Banks ~ here she comes)! Her other new thing ~ which is especially exciting for mommy, is she is determined to have all her toys picked up before daddy gets home each day!! Yeah, now we're talking!!! Gotta love that girly.

A Day In The Life Of Selah & Judah

Summer fun has begun ~ we're loving our backyard this year and more importantly, the kiddos are loving our backyard! The yard is filled with a mini-pool/picnic table, water/sand table, riding toys and a mini slide ~ what more could any child ask for!


CHAUTAQUA = Relaxation! I always seem to forget just how peaceful it is in Chautauqua, it's like time just stands still. We went up w/ Mom & Dad DuRoss and the kids last weekend ~ it was awesome to see Selah & Judah soak up all the attention from their Nana & Papa and really nice for us when the kiddos went down for the night to soak up all our time w/ them too ~ we love you guys!


We had our playgroup over for a splish-splash day at our house ~ which really consisted of all the kids taking their shirts off and getting really wet! Gotta love this age of innocence!

Two weeks ago Selah went to her very first VBS (Vacation Bible School) program out at my friend Jen's church. I was amazed at how much she took in from the program ~ she really learned so much from the bible that week. She had a little "performance" at the end ~ which was sooooo adorable, here is a little clip to share (sorry it is a little dark).



This past week ~ we had VBS at our church and I got to teach the 2 year old classroom, while Nana & Morgan got to be in Selah's classroom and teach her all about the Lord. She learned that Jesus helped a blind man see, and he healed a leper, she learned that he rose again and saved us! What a blessing to have her heart turning to Him at such a young age.

Here is a fun shot of our fabulous duo. Seriously ~ how could we have stopped at just one, when there is such joy in watching the two of them play all day long together (sorry Judah, it was Selah's idea for the dress-up)!!!

Uncle Chip & Aunt Audz

Picture of Papa winning the Artist of the day. We all did our own take on drawing shapes and Selah was the judge for best picture. Sad to say, mama didn't win ~ she really loved Papa's the best!

Everyone had their turn at trying on the ears! Don't know how well they really worked, but it was fun to see!

This is the big tree fort we got to got through and even Nana braved the SCARY snake slide ~ way to go Nana!

Uncle Chip won Judah's heart over ~ no surprise there though!!
Can you tell why we love them so and are holding out hope that they will become part of the Eastern DuRoss clan once again! Please come back to us!!!!

Happy Birthday Judah!!!

OK ~ so I very shamefully haven't posted anything in quite some time! For those that don't know, I have a new job working for a real estate agent. I am so excited about this opportunity and LOVE the work ~ but it keeps me very busy (since I do almost all of it from home!!!). Excuses, excuses ~ I know!!

The past couple weeks have been crammed with all sorts of fun things ~ so I will start from Judah's birthday (ofcourse he has to come first) and then go back a bit!

Our "little man" turned one year's old on Friday ~ we can't believe how fast the time has gone. He still seems like such a babe in our eyes, but he trys to remind us each day that he is a BIG boy (he walks/runs, chats up a storm, claps for himself, brings me lots of books to read, climbs any stairs he can manage before I catch him, etc...)! We threw him a BIG birthday bash Saturday night over at NeNe Heather & Uncle David's home. Besides 10 minutes of rain ~ the night was perfect. And the biggest hit of the night for all the kiddos (and there were tons of them!) was the bouncy house, even daddy & mommy got in for their own turns! Judah's biggest hit of the night was his many rides on the 4-wheeler, he is hooked!!!! Literally would scream when the ride was done ~ looks like he will be spending plenty of time w/ Uncle David out in the woods some day!

Memorial Day weekend was filled with lots of fun activities! We went Friday night to the St. Anslem's fair w/ Brett & Jen (and kids too) ~ and Selah shocked us all. Her fear of rides has disappeared ~ she wanted to go on EVERY ride. But as you will see from the picture below, she passed her fear right onto her little brother! Don't worry, it just took him a bit to get over the fear of the huge lurching beast (ferris wheel)!!!

Our next round of activities was the Blossom Time parade w/ Nana & Papa on Sunday. It was a crazy long parade which Selah thought was all about the candy! Gotta love Chagrin for putting on the best of the best ~ the kids loved dancing to the music!

Then came the end of Memorial Day with our traditional Austin gathering. The day was filled w/ croquet matches for all the men (just doesn't sound very manly, does it???), slip-n-slide rounds for the kiddos, and sled rides on the 4-wheelers. That is where Judah discovered his love for the vrmmmm, vrmmmm as he calls it!

And last but certainly not least was our weekend before all those activities ~ with Chip & Audz. The kiddos loved their special time w/ you, especially at the zoo ~ what troopers you are. We are treasuring up all our time w/ you to last until the next time. Thank you for making such great efforts to come visit us in the midst of your big move to Portland. We love ya! I would post all the pictures ~ except I need Derek to come home and see why they are on Picasa but I can't upload them. Rhhhh, computers. Will get them on here soon!!!!