Monochromatic

There is something to be said about monochromatic photography. I absolutely love color, but there is something timeless and enhancing about the monochromatic world. The focal point of the image pops out, making the personality and feelings almost tangible. 

  Riley above looks a little creepy... It almost looks like I used a fish eye lens. Unfortunately, I don't have one of those yet, but hope to in the near future.

 I love how these photo's turned out. Most of all I love the subjects in them. 

Blog Restored!

I have been contemplating the thought of shutting down my blog. I even deleted it for a week. The digital age has brought a way for people to stay connected, but has also created another pathway for unwanted advice and rejection. I would love to keep my blog up for family members to keep connected. It's a fun way to peek into each others lives and share happy memories. It also serves as a journal for me and my children. With that said, some day they will be reading this and I hope only positive things enter this site. 

With summer here already coming to close, I thought I would share some fun memories. First we love the fresh produce summer brings. My kids make tomatoes look like the best fruit on earth. Lorelei and Riley both found a love for watermelon, blueberries and strawberries this year. Lorelei, is finally getting her 2 year old molars (which explains her terrible two attitude lately) and is talking up a storm! Riley, is starting preschool in two and half weeks and I'm not sure how I will take it. He is really excited and asks me many times a day to go.

 Above is Riley's first day of swimming lessons. Since then, we got passes to the Grange here in the meadows, and found we love the pool. Lorelei, however, will need a life jacket. She thinks she can swim all by herself and has pushed me away many times. Luckily, they have a shallow pool area.

 Have I already mentioned we love splash pads? With water prices so high this year, we have not been able to turn on our sprinklers. Instead, we have become addicted to Sonic drink runs and many hours at different water pads. Luckily, there will be a free community one opening here in Castle Rock next summer.

 Riley's take on "The Scream". The water fall is where he spent most of his time.

The coolest cumulus cloud I have ever seen!

Cziep Family Reunion

My parents have decided that it's time to start their own family reunions now that they have grandkids. Luckily, Mindy graduated with a Bachelors in speech pathology, giving my parents a great excuse to turn it into a shin dig. We even got to see aunt Dorothy and Gram again! 

Above is Mindy thinking and i'd like to think she's debating grad school here in Denver. Please Mindy, please!

Gram reprimanding me for taking her picture.

Gram really tried to stop Riley from picking his nose in this picture. Unfortunately she lost.

Mindy's friends

Mindy couldn't join us the whole time due to her multiple jobs, and Brandon was in Korea, so we had to do some things without them like the Rose Garden, Beach, and Enchanted Forest.

Lorelei and Riley's first Ferris wheel ride. Everything went well the first two times around and by the last time Lorelei was in tears. Riley however enjoyed it. 

 

Above Grandpa is pretending to be a Zombie. Riley really wanted to go into the Haunted house, but quickly changed his mind as soon as Opa opened the door. Instead Opa went through the house with Alex and I and returned as a zombie. Riley didn't believe the gig. However I love that I got a picture of my kids in the witches mouth. I believe my parents have one of me and my siblings when we were young. 

 Alex became a great horse

Our day at the beach was a success! The fog cleared out and it was a bombing 65 degrees. The water was even warm that day, which all Oregonians know is rare. We were so lucky and we thoroughly enjoyed it!

 Love, love, love, my Oregon and hope to someday move back. It may not be for a while, but it's not far from our minds either. Thanks Nana and Opa for all of your help, loves, and kisses. We can't wait to see you in two months! 

First Crush!

This little cutie, (who always likes to be close up to the lense) has a crush on a girl, who also happens to have a crush on him. One day Riley ran up to me and said "I love Ava". I thought it was so adorable and couldn't get any cuter until Yesterday. Ava came over to play and in her hand was a gift for Riley. Stephanie, (Ava's mom) told me how she had to write down Ava's words correctly and recite them back to Ava for approval.  She did admit to leaving out the fifty million I love you's. I still need to catch a photo of these two little lovebirds together before they find out about cooties. I was told she painstakingly cut out each paper and decorated them just for Riley as well. I'm definitely putting this in his keepsake box!  Have fun clicking on the picture and reading what she said.

7 Years!

It's our 7 year anniversary! All I can say is the Honeymoon phase came and went with Our First child, but we still have love. Our thoughts about being all knowing parents left when we had our second child, but we love them both unceasingly. The little pet peeves we have for each other tend to get on our nerves, but with each day we learn to tolerate and accept them. Marriage is certainly no picnic, but so incredibly worth the challenges, struggles, and hardships. In the happy moments I am reminded of why I chose to be with Brandon. He is my best friend, my secret holder and sweetest guy I have ever known. It's his kind heart that I love the most about him. I'm happy he is mine and glad that I can have him for all Eternity. There is always joy in the Journey and here is to many more years we get to conquer with each other. So enough of my cheese! Happy Anniversary Bo! 

Memorial Weekend!

This Memorial Weekend snuck up on me. Ever since I have taken the non fussy Holiday approach my mental Calendar doesn't keep track anymore. On the upside our weekend was really low key and fun. Here is a little of what we did. 

We discovered a new park here in Castle Rock! It is the Rhyolite park. Of course it got it's name from the large Rhyolite rocks all over the park. Personally, I think the best find with this park is the three story tree house! The red tube slide in the back goes all the the way to the top level. Lorelei only went on it once, she decided the tan one was more her speed.  Riley however loved it!

 I'm thinking Riley really loves to rock climb. Maybe a future membership to a rock gym would be fun for him...

Love the picture of Riley above because that photo is of him in mid air jumping to reach the bell. I love it when I get action shots!

We also got spend an afternoon at our old stomping grounds. We wanted to go to another splash pad, but they closed it down due to the drought. Luckily, Civic Green was open for business because they constantly recycle the water used at this park. 

 First Lorelei wasn't sure about the water, then she decided she could touch it.

  Now she is enjoying it

 My sweet Riley loves the water

 Some cute random stories from this weekend. During church on Sunday, Riley started to sing out loud "When can I see you again? When can we do this again? I got to know, when can I see you again?"  Ever since we got Wreck it Ralph (his new favorite movie) he's been singing the main song so much that I didn't realize he was singing it out loud in church until people started to look back at us.  I guess over time you really do master the art of selective hearing. 

Lorelei, whenever I ask her to pick a movie it is always Willy Wonka.  So tonight we were watching Willy Wonka and she turned to me in the kitchen and asked "are we having bacon?" Almost every night she asks for bacon lately. It's so cute because she said it with this happy perkiness that made me wish we were having bacon. Unfortunately I had to burst her little bubble, but the chocolate chip cookie after dinner eased the blow.

Oh, and speaking of chocolate we went for a walk on the trails near our house. At one point there is a gulch that still has some water in it. Riley looked down at it and asked "is it chocolate?" I guess watching Wreck it Ralph and Willie Wonka has caused him to believe that some water may actually be chocolate.  I guess that can be easily confused when the water is murky and brown.

Also, before I forget, a while back Riley was standing at our sliding glass door one afternoon. I caught him with his hands outstretched towards the sky and he declared "Heavenly Father where are you, when will you come to me?" I couldn't resist laughing , he was so melodramatic.  Riley noticed me laughing and asked "why are you laughing mommy." I told him it was sweet of him to think about Heavenly Father and that someday he will be with him again. That quickly made him feel better, and I was happy that he recognized his Heavenly Father.