Where We Stand

Dear Dale and Rose,

On June 26, 2013 the United States Supreme Court struck down DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, calling it embarrassing and unconstitutional, and today we are writing you this letter because we want you to know where we stand on the issue of gay marriage.

It's simple.  We stand for equality.  We stand for what is right and what is good.  We stand for hope and love.  We want you to know this, because it matters.  We do not agree with the masses who try to define marriage as between a man and a woman.  We think love is love no matter who you are, and we believe in seeing beyond gender to define a person.

Our hope is that by the time you are old enough to understand this momentous time in history, this will not be an issue at all.  Our hope is that marriage will be legal for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.  And our hope is that you will not be able to comprehend the hate it takes to ban love.

We think it's important for you to know this, because no matter who you become or who you choose to love, we will always love you for you.
Be who you are.  Be proud, and be strong.

Love,
Your Mommy and Daddy

Pianos About Town

If you find yourself out and about in Fort Collins, you're bound to run into an awesome colorful piano waiting for you to play it.  One of the many reasons why I love this town is the city program called "Pianos About Town."  It's a program that marries visual art and music for the public to enjoy.  Love it!

So here we are out about town...

And here we are enjoying art and music.  Isn't it lovely?

by Francesco Esteban

Sand and Stripes

Another evening in good ol' FoCo.  Time to play in some sand!  In case you weren't aware how adorable my daughter is, here's another picture of her cute-ing the crap out of the camera.

While Rose stayed in one general place at this playground, Dale now makes it his mission to play everything at least once before we leave.  He's getting pretty hard to take photos of, because he's faster than me.  Don't tell him that though.

He seriously thought he was hiding from me.

Meeting Friends in Old Town

We had a fabulous afternoon one May with the Palte girls.  We met for lunch, shopped 'til we dropped at Clothes Pony, and then rode the giant fish and hugged the giant bear.  Good times.

Emily gave the bear a giant hug.

And of course on our way back to the car that afternoon, we encountered a fabulous alley with a fabulous piano.

We must always play.

Freaking Cute

My kids.

Freaking cute.

The end.

Laundromat

Our temporary Colorado headquarters does have a laundry room, but honestly if you saw our apartment complex, you wouldn't go there either.  We choose to go to the nice clean brightly lit laundromat.  And strangely enough, our kids kind of like it.  (They're weird.)

Umm, I think Dale is playing with the trash can.  Whatever.

Laundromats are hilarious!

We try to bring crayons and paper or other toys to keep the kids entertained.

Deep in princess play.

Dale and Rose may like our little laundry outings, but I think Mommy and Daddy are ready to be done.  No, I don't think...I know.

Trying to find the beauty in everything.

Out and About

Old Town Fort Collins is full of little surprises, and all you have to do to find the fun stuff is look around a little bit and be adventurous.

The Waffle Lab is seriously awesome.  Seriously.  Finding it is part of the adventure, as it moves around town just a little bit, but once you have located this fun black truck, your belly will thank you.

Find truck.  Eat waffles.  Be happy.

Rose could tell you where to find the waffle truck, but then she'd have to kill you.

Three words:  Chicken and waffles.  Yep.  The chicken was good, the waffle was superb, and the sausage gravy made me drool.  In fact, I'm drooling right now just thinking about it.

Definitely not good for you in any way.  Do not be fooled by the tiny green thingy.

After eating at the Waffle Lab it seems perfectly logical to ride a giant fish...

And then take some back streets downtown that lead you to mysterious colorful doorways.  Finding doorways we love is quickly becoming a Mommy-Dale hobby.  Dale loves to help me find the fun stuff, and I love to photograph it.  We're a great team.

And don't forget what is lurking down dark alleys.

Zachary Turns Five

Lucky for us we were visiting Daddy when Zachary had his fifth birthday party.  Zach and Dale were friends when they were babies, and although they didn't remember each other, they became fast friends once again.  Zachary's party was at a crazy huge jumping play place, and Dale went wild sucking it all in.

It took Rose a little longer to warm up to the new people, but every once and a while we'd catch her having fun.

Mason, Zachary's little brother, quietly explored the play place.

The birthday boy was so sweet and welcoming to Dale.  We're pretty excited to play with Zachary and Mason more once we get all settled in Colorado.

Zach got to eat special Pizza Hut wings for his birthday.

The Watkins family is so much fun.

Another Day to Play

We are serious playground addicts.  Thank goodness we live right next to one in Fort Collins.  Off we go again!

When it's really hot and sunny, we like to dig in the sand under the playground set.  It works.

And of course no trip to the playground is complete without a smiling swinging Rose pic.

Old Town Ice Cream

When we visit Daddy in Fort Collins we have to take advantage of every moment and cram in as much fun as we can.  Enter ice cream.  One rainy evening we decided to introduce the kids to our good friends Ben and Jerry.  It was a giant success.

Dale and Rose were so happy after eating ice cream that they splashed in puddles and gave each other hugs.

Pretty Dresses and Pool Party

Three cute two year old girls.  Wait, did I say cute?  I meant INSANELY ADORABLE!
It's inevitable really.  If Emily, Addison and Rose have matching dresses, we will photograph them all in a row.  Okay fine, we'll photograph them without matching dresses too, but we love excuses to take their picture.

I adore these girls.

How handsome my Dale is!  He was an excellent photography assistant and did a great job making the girls smile and giggle.

Don't let this somber expression fool you.  This dude was full of happy energy.

Once we got our sweet little pictures, the kids turned the Palte backyard into a water playground.

Emily and Addison were worn out and kept retreating to nice quiet spots under their towels.

Elizabeth stayed in the shade and observed everyone.  She had a great time.