Grammy's Sink

No trip to Grammy's house would be complete without a bath in her sink.  Each of us Evans Girls have a picture as well as each of our kids.  It's a special right of passage you might say :) 

Summer Fun

Oh sure the calendar says December, but I have some August posts to catch up on! This was our trip to Manzanita.  We had such a great time and the best part was my sweet niece Kelsey got to come along and join the fun.  She and Riley had so much fun!  There's no better place than Grammy's Beach :)
 

Dance Dance Dance

The great debate began this summer of whether or not to put Riley in 3yr old preschool. I was for, Dan was against. The great compromise??? DANCE CLASS! Great interaction with other kids her age, and SHE HAS FLOURISHED. Her instructor has the patience of a saint and there are 5 other little girls right about the same age as Riley. It is a combination of tap, ballet and a little tumbling. Here are a few pics. The first was the day we bought her tap and ballet shoes, the second was after her first class :)

Hi!

How can you not just love and adore this crazy face?!

Corn Update #3

Just waiting for it to dry down so they can come in with the combine. So tall!

My First FOOD!

Maesyn trying out some Rice Cereal for the first time.  Not quite sure at first, but she has soon decided she likes "real" food quite alot! 

Maesyn

Here's a pic of Maesyn from a few months back.  It's hard work having tummy time! 

Corn update #2 (belated)

oops! This was supposed to be posted sometime in August.  I was hoping to get a picture of Riley and the corn once a month, but it looks like I missed September and I better get one quick because it's just about ready to harvest! LEANNA--the rows you planted are looking the best by the way :)
I'd say it's a good things kids don't grow as fast as corn, but considering Maesyn is going to be 8 months next week I beg to differ...Where has the time gone???

Whaaaat?!?

Apparently my house is not the only thing I have been neglecting!  I can't believe I haven't posted A THING since July!  Poor Maesyn...I had posts of her sister almost every week....Well, here's to getting a few more out there so her blog posts won't look so sad when stacked up against her sisters...You feeling me Leanna?  Angela, you and Riley can brag about your stacks of first born pics later :)

Looks like the dust bunnies will just have to camp out for another week...or two...I have pictures to download and sort through.

So, to my family and friends who read this, I will be better!  Thank you for your patience and soon, very very soon I will begin work to bring you up to speed on our adventures we call daily life :) 

Love you all of you,

Em :)

Sisterly Love :)

Riley showing her love for her sister with stickers...

Happy Fourth of July!!!

 

 

FIREWORKS! FAMILY! FOOD!  The three ingredients to one very Happy Fourth of July :) On the actual 4th we went to Brighton had dinner and then sat up on the hill to watch the fireworks below.  Personal fireworks were banned throughout the whole state due to all the fires.  Few municipalities were allowed to have fireworks shows and  Brighton was one of them.  It was pretty quiet up where we were, which worked out great for us, we could see the fireworks and we didn't have to fight the crowds!
That following Sunday we had our Gibson Family Gathering.  What a hoot! Grandma Pam had the stereo going and Riley had us all dancing the night away!  Cousin Jenny brought some cool glow lights to keep the party going even after dark!
The food was awesome.  Grandma Pam and Papa Russ brought some Famous Dave's BBQ for the occasion...YUMMY!!!  Not to mention easy clean up because I don't think there were many left overs!
BRAG ALERT!Grandma Pam gave me free reign to bring what I thought was fun :)  So I made a flag cake, the top is mine and the bottom is the Betty Crocker recipe picture...not to shabby!  I even got kudo's from Uncle Matt!  (that's a big deal) then I made fourth of July drinks--notice the red white and blue layers (hint: science project!)  and then some festive strawberries.  I had such a great time making them!  And Riley, I need to add, helped some too.  I can officially say I have actually DONE something I have seen on Pinterest!
All in all, we had a great time celebrating this country we love so much. 

Gibson Family Adventures

 

 

 

During our excursion down to cousin Joey's graduation we decided to stay for a weekend down in Colorado Springs (it was just 30 min further south).  We got a great rate with one of my crew hotels and as you can see above the pool and free breakfast were a hit!!  We don't get breakfast in bed like that at home!!  Somewhere I have a video of Riley jumping on the bed.  Our rule is NO JUMPING ON THE BED at home...but at a hotel...JUMP ALL YOU LIKE!!
Riley, I and Maesyn had a great time in the pool and Dan had a good time sitting on the side of the pool.  Can you tell he's from a land-locked state???  Along the way there was a buffalo farm, so of course we had to stop and take some pictures with them!  They are so big!!
We also stopped at Castlewood Canyon State Park.  The rocks there are very unique.  There were a bunch of trails, so we took a hike around one of the shorter ones with the girls.  Check out that twisted tree from the wind.  Reminds me of the wind blown trees you see on the coast.  We had a great time walking around and Riley even picked you some flowers!  Next time we'll bring a picnic as there were a lot of tables and grills perfect for picnics!  Maybe you will come join us?

SUMMER FUN

 

Birthdays, graduations, and weddings fill our weekends!  First was cousin Jenny's birthday where we had hot  dogs, burgers, and roasted marshmallow's for smore's by the fire pit.  Then came Nicole Mettler's graduation where we got to eat cake with her school colors...can you guess was Riley's favorite?  Cousin Joey's graduation was next and we got to see lots of cousins we haven't seen in quite awhile!  Maesyn took to Cousin Teri's arm like nobody's business! If we could patent her arm as a pacifier we'd make millions!  Well, at least Maesyn thinks so.  We also got to spend a minute with cousin Brooke who came up for a visit with a SURPRISE!  She has been down in Argentina doing some work for the US Dept of Agriculture this last year.  Apparently she met a VERY nice man, named Crisitan,  and they got married!  They married in Argentina and her dad had a small reception here in the states which we had a blast attending and can't wait to go and visit them down in Argentina next summer.

Corn Update #1

 As you can see the corn is growing!  This is what it looks like on June 8, 2012.  Roughly a month after Auntie Leanna helped plant a few rows!

It's beginning to look a lot like Summer!

 Bubbles! Helping Dad mow the lawn, and Maesyn--chillin in her swing.  Happy times :)

 

Proof

 If anyone ever doubted whether or not Riley enjoyed her sandbox, I took a picture to put their doubt to rest.  As you can see the proof is in the pudding..er..I mean bath.  :)

The AUNTIE'S are HERE!!!

My sisters came to visit a few weeks ago.  Just them.  No kids.  And although I really missed my nieces and nephews it was WONDERFUL to have them here.  We went to Riley and I's favorite cupcake place Gigi's down in Denver, IKEA, Starbucks (are you surprised?!) and the zoo.  Now that I am writing about their visit, I am wishing I had taken more pictures!  We took Leanna to her first time to Chik-fil-A and she has been won over!  And no trip to Hudson, CO is complete without a trip to the Pepper Pod, complete with giant buffalo heads on the wall--or as Angela describes it..the place with all the dead animals on the wall :) 
Each evening we spent eating our cupcakes, drinking coffee, and watching HGTV together :)  Glorious.
Leanna even got to ride in the tractor with Pops as he was planting some corn.  Dan and I still laugh at Lanna's comment when she first arrived at our house..."I knew you lived  in the country...but, I didn't know you lived in the COUNTRY COUNTRY!" 
Ang and Lanna have also been dubbed "The Auntie's" by Riley.  Each morning she would come in my room and ask if she could go see "the Auntie's" or if  "the Auntie's" would play outside with her.  She and Maesyn both enjoyed having so much one on one time with them.
Ang and Lanna also got to meet more of the Gibson Clan by attending Dan's Dad's birthday and Cousin Michaels birthday over at Pam's (dan's momma) house.  Now everyone can put a face to a name!
I am getting teary eyed as I write about their visit because I miss them so much.  We always have such a good time together, which as I get older I realize is more and more precious.  Not everyone has that special bond that we do.  But more importantly it was so nice to be able to share my part of the world with them. I have a few tears, but they are happy happy tears, and I can't wait for them to visit again next year. 
I LOVE YOU ANGELA and LEANNA!!!

A Shout Out

Maesyn just wanted to send a "shout out" to all her super fun Uncles--Jerry, Jory and Matt
I LOVE YOU!!!!

FOR SUMMER HIRE:

 Riley got a Bubble Mower for Easter, and Maesyn got her own swing.  Riley thoroughly enjoys mowing our yard and anywhere else she can.  Maesyn enjoys supervising.  Both can be hired to mow your lawn or supervise any other workers you may have.  You will have to provide the bubble mixture and swing ....

A bit more Easter Fun :)

We spent Easter Lunch over at the Yeager's (Dan's Aunt Linda and Uncle Ron's house) and their kids Jenny and Michael made a super awesome fabulous totally cool Easter Egg hunt for Riley...needless to say, she had a BLAST.

Happy Easter!!!

 

From our family to yours, we wish you the most wonderful Easter celebrating our RISEN LORD!

Easter Eggs!

 A couple of days before Easter we went over to Great Grandma Bobbies house to decorate Easter Eggs.  Riley thought it was pretty fun and enjoyed showing Grandma Pam and Uncle Matt how its done.  Maesyn and myself were there too, but I forgot to take our picture...isn't that how it goes?  Albums full of family fun, without the mom because she's the one taking all the pictures???
Anyhoo, a big THANK YOU! to Great Grandma Bobbie for hard boiling all those eggs and Grandma Pam and Uncle Matt for setting up the dyes.  We had a grand ole time!
p.s. and Dan enjoyed the egg salad sandwiches that came after!!!

Palm Sunday FUN

 Sure Palm Sunday was awhile ago, but I'm still playing catch up from the Picasa upgrade :(  So bear with me :)

Riley wanted to show you how her dress twirled "really good!" (her words) and wish you a most joyous Palm Sunday celebrating the season of what our Lord has done for us. 

GUESS WHO?!

Can you guess which one is Riley Joanne and which one is Maesyn Margaret?