4 years and 1/3rd! So grown....so big and strong! I'm so proud of you!

What a wonderful month for you and all of us, Aspen! It seems like all of a sudden you have become a full fledged little boy in every way. You are Mr. Independent, you love to try your best "like Marshall" and you want everyone else to try their best. LOL You think you should live outside and no longer want to watch a movie in the morning... you just want to get outside. You're waking up earlier than you have... more like 6AM!!!!! You are a ball of energy and are constantly moving, jumping, climbing and catching every butterfly, dragonfly and beetle that passes by. You have a net in your hand most of the time just in case something flies by. You have so much expression in your voice and your facial expressions are the sweetest. You love to swim, but aren't a fan of getting your head wet... unless you are at a HUGE slide in CO. :) Your appetite seems to have picked up this month, but you've been moving and exercising even more so we hope you've kept your weight on. You love pizza and sometimes want a quesadilla. You love all sorts of candy but especially sour gummy worms and chocolate (snickers). You remember EVERYTHING and so I'm hoping you will remember what an awesome and exciting month this has been. You caught a cold at the beginning of the month that was lingering, so Mommy had the doctor call in an anti-biotic... your first since August of last year, I believe. You could have gotten away with it but we really wanted you healthy for CO, so you took 3 weeks of bactrim. 

The month started out going shopping with Nelly and Co-Chri because they found out the day before that they are having a boy.... Thomason. We went to Buy-Buy Baby to register and to Freddy's. 

I'm learning that my jokes and funny things always come back to get me! LOL I thought it was so funny to put by feet in Mommy's face while she was driving. You thought that was hilarious and didn't forget it. :) 

You're a big helper... just like your Dada! 

Catching every bug that walks or flies by...

Dee Dee got a new swing for the backyard and I love how you will swing with me! 

It can't be! :) You are big enough for a booster seat and you LOVE it! You sometimes say you are going to unbuckle and that may land you back in a car seat... but for now... you are still riding in this. We thought it would be so much better for CO and it worked great! 

Always plotting and scheming with Bennett on what to do that you might not should... this time...throwing B off the top of the trampoline. hahaha  

A little rain won't stop you from coming for a visit. You almost ALWAYS take the long way up the driveway though. Even in the rain! :) 

I'm not sure who was more shocked... you or your Mommy that I jumped in the sprinkler with you and B! Mommy joined us and we had a blast! Now every time we turn on the sprinkler you think I'm getting soaked! hahaha

It was cold but so much fun! 

If there is water around... you and Bennett will find it! 

Some days I just have to! That slide is FAST! 

Playing hide-and-go-seek! You and I are on a team and we've hidden in your fort! 

It makes my heart so happy that you love your fort! 

You love to climb up in my bed and read or play with your I-Pad

See... I told you that you didn't forget that I thought it was funny to put my feet in Mommy's face when we were driving! LOL You LOVE to do that now...except you are a little more rough! ;)

Me and Pops were going to Mrs. Michele's and you helped me make dessert! You LOVE to bake and help! 

And you love to take Pop's hat off his head! HA! 

That little toy me and Bennett got on a B and Dee Dee date was a HIT! 

Dada brought y'all a treat home in his pocket! 

You know we love you because we jump in puddles with you! Mommy is a trooper! 

Dada helping you move a butterfly to your bug container...

You love, LOVE to play chase or hide-and-go-seek! 

We're hiding again! 

You and Pops found a Granddaddy long leg... neither of your favorites. haha

You love to blow dandelions and I love to watch! 

Pops trying to catch you! He just about can't. You are FAST! 

You LOVE, LOVE to fish with your Dada! 

Mommy got a new kayak and it was fun that you four could all go out! 

Who would have guessed that you would be telling BENNETT how to smile and look at Dee Dee for pictures! GO YOU! :) 

Snuggles with Mommy after a long day are the best! 

Dee Dee and Pops celebrated 33 years of marriage! :) 

You aren't afraid to hold anything! 

You want me to get in the creek so badly and that's one thing that just isn't going to happen. haha! "Come on Dee Dee! I got you! Just grab my hand. I won't let you fall!" Sweet boy!!!! 

Dada made a contraption to hold all your findings from the creek. LOL 

Dada made Hawkins Hash for us and it was SOOOO good! 

I love that y'all love to use the pool! Makes the cost worth it! 

Sunglasses on and ready for our trip to Colorado! haha

Your back pack is full and you are ready for the airport! You have gotten so tall! 

SO excited! 

You LOVED looking at all the planes! 

Here we go... your first flight! 

Making silly faces! You LOVED flying. You were not scared one bit! We were so proud of you! 

Waiting at baggage claim... so happy to be here! 

They upgraded us to a Yukon XL! Score! 

You thought The Broadmoor was a castle and you called it that ALL week. SO cute! 

They gave you a box of chocolates when we arrived. You loved the castle so much and I'm already wanting to go back! SO sweet! We stayed here for 5 days.... the first 2 nights you and Mommy were in our room. It was cramped but so much fun to have a slumber party with you. 

They had a huge lake with HUGE fish! We couldn't walk past without you wanting to look. You wanted to show Dada! SO sweet! 

We broke you in hard to the Thomason way of traveling. We didn't want lunch and then went to the Garden of the Gods. By the time it was dinner time... it was 11:15 GA time and you were over it. hahaha! You did SOOOOO well and I couldn't be more proud of you!

You said... "Wow!!! We're never been to this pizza place before!" Nope, little Mister... we sure haven't! LOL 

The visitor center at the Garden of the Gods had some cool things.... You were the first one to spot an animal on our trip! You said..."Look at me!!!!! Look at meeeeee!!!!! Deeeeeer!" And sure enough... there were some deer at Garden of the Gods. You have a good eye just like your Dada and Pops! 

You just wanted to go higher and higher! "Let go of me Dee Dee! I got it!" Yeah...right! LOL 

I didn't come prepared to climb (shoe wise) but so grateful that we did. Fun memories! 

I love this picture of you and your Mommy! 

On Saturday we took a dirt road over a mountain and had so much fun! It was bumpy and long but we were able to get out and climb on rocks and see some beautiful scenery. We went to Victor, CO! On the way you said..."It looks like the car is dancing!" We were bouncing around pretty good! 

You were so excited to see Aspen trees! 

And of course, every opportunity to climb.... you did! 

"Ta-da!!! It's trees named after ME!" 

We climbed all over rocks at this beautiful overpass. SO.MUCH.FUN! 

You amaze me with your climbing abilities at 4! We already have a hiker on hand! 

Pops went to the top with you...

Me and Mommy went too! 

A cool tunnel on the way to Victor, CO! 

We left Victor and decided to make the drive up Pikes Peak! We didn't come prepared (hence the shorts) but we had so much fun! You kept saying what GINORMOUS mountains there were! So cute! On the way up... it was an hour drive and Pops told you that you could probably take a nap. You started laughing and said, "silly Pops!" Pops forgets you do NOT take naps these days! haha

Thankfully it was in the 50's.... it was 15 the week before! 

You were so excited to see snow! As soon as you saw the mountains in the distance with snow on them... that's all you talked about! SO, finally you got to throw a snowball! 

You weren't phased by the altitude at the top of Pikes Peak and we were SO grateful! 

We stopped on the way down and played in the snow! Mommy captured this cool picture of us throwing a snowball at her!

Saturday was such a fun day! We even stopped in Manitou Springs and had ice cream at the place that Mommy and Dada had ice cream on their honeymoon. Mommy said it was "the best" and it truly was! YUM! 

Chilling on Nelly's legs! Nelly met us at the castle. She and Co-Chri had been on an adventure in AZ and Utah! 

You were digging our hotel rooms! :) 

The hotel had an escalator and an elevator and you wanted to ride both...only the elevator was called an alligator. hahaha

We got spoiled! We had breakfast outside by the lake every morning and actually got cold. Such good memories. 

Riding the "alligator!" :) 

On Sunday.... Father's Day, we went to The Royal Gorge! 

You aren't afraid of heights and I love it! Dee Dee wanted to do the zip line. You were too small but said you would do it with me when you got bigger! LOL 

We all rode the carousel 

And you and Mommy climbed on the playhouse that was for 5-12 year olds. hahaha! Go, Mommy! 

You and Mommy at the top! 

We rode the gondola back across the gorge and you loved every minute of it! 

Sunday night we had the "welcome reception" for GBA. You got to pet a wolf and see an eagle. It was hard to get you away from the wolves. You had a blast! 

Such a big boy eating at the work tables! You were SO good! You had a bison burger and some trout! You wanted Mommy to try your trout because it was SO good. You even had seconds. 

You even got to shoot a toy gun...

We went to a dinner overlooking the Garden of the Gods... So beautiful! 

You sat through a several hour dinner like a champ! 

Every time we walked by the fountain, you wanted some coins to "make a wish!" I don't know what you wished for.... but I wished for a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis! 

So thankful you and Mommy could go on this trip with us!  You loved the castle SO much. You asked to go back there when we were away. ha! 

So handsome! We got you a spider in the gift shop and you took it everywhere... until you lost it. You loved it so much... Dee Dee got talked in to buying you another one. LOL 

Downtown Manitou Springs... You actually asked to have your picture made! :) 

What a beautiful place to be! 

You walked in to their pool and said, WHOAAA!!!  You had so much fun on our family pool day! 

"Look at me, Dee Dee! I'm holding my breath under water!" hahaha

You rode down those huge slides ALL alone and we had lunch by the pool! You ate almost all of your corndog! 

We let Mommy read for a few minutes and me and you went on a peddle boat ride! 

You thought the lounge chairs were hilarious! You wanted me to show your Mommy what you were doing so I took this super cute picture! :)

Pina Colada for me and strawberry for you! 

You and Miss Melissa looking over the pool into the lake for fish! :) 

SO proud of you! You went down all by yourself MANY times! 

We left Colorado Springs and went to Boulder on our way to Rocky Mountain National Park. This town has grown so much, we aren't sure if we are a fan anymore. It was fun to see and we ate at Chipotle. 

So many memories in this town! SOOOO thankful to have this journey with you and your Mommy! 

Be still my heart! :) I hope that you'll love National Parks as much as me and your Mommy and Pops do! 

I can't wait to frame this picture! 

We drove right up Trail Ridge Road when we arrived. It was warm in town but cool and SO windy on top. The wind must have been whipping 50mph. We couldn't stay out long but we wanted to capture the moment. You said..."I wish I could go back to the castle where the water slide was!" LOL! At that point... I think we all wished that. 

Our first moose to the left and a beautiful site in front of us made for an awesome first night. We ended up eating dinner at 9:30pm again... but that's the last night we would eat so late. I stepped on your toes in the BQ restaurant and you said.."It's OK Dee Dee! You didn't mean to!" Sweet boy! Even late at night... still going like a champ! 

SO cool! These elk were right in downtown! 

We even went back to the place that Mommy and Dada got married! 

Aspen trees in downtown. You asked to have your picture made almost every time! SWEET! 

Breaking you in to hiking in not the best of ways. LOL But, you were a trooper and had so much fun until the end. This was Lily Mountain... a 5 mile hike and a lot of elevation gain. We started out on this beautiful (not a cloud in the sky day) and ended up....well....More on that later! :) 

You and that walking stick. OH MY!!!!

And your new chaco's that Dee Dee and Pops bought you! SO cute! 

What a beautiful view about 1/2 way up! 

You thought the stacked rocks were so cool! You and Pops added a tiny tock to the top! 

I love this picture! 

It will be interesting to see if you remember this hike or not... you almost made it to the top and said..."I just want to rest and go get pizza!" Dee Dee and Pops hiked a little further and a storm started to come. Dee Dee and Pops got back down to y'all as quickly as we could have but we got rained on and hailed on. In all of my 53 years, I've never been hailed on... so this is a first. I think Pops took you down off the mountain by one hand. It was quite the experience but we made it ok. And when we were almost back to the car... it quit raining for a minute. We were soaked but what memories we have! 

We had a nice cabin in Estes Park. It took you a few minutes to realize we weren't going back to the castle but you grew to love this place! :) You would throw open the blackout curtains and make sure everyone knew that the sun was OUT and it was time to go! LOL

We hope we didn't scar you with our hiking trip yesterday! You were very certain you didn't want to hike a mountain with your feet today! "The mountains are really hard to climb on with my feet. I just want to do it with our car!" LOL! 

We saw 2 bull moose...and 6 moose total! You got to see this moose up close and said..."WOW! That's the biggest moose I've ever seen in my whole life!" hahaha

Shopping in Estes Park! 

You saw this elk at the place we got pizza and said..."Take my picture and send it to Nelly!" So cute! 

You picked this as your prize for being such an awesome hiker! 

You are so silly! We played outside while Mommy and Pops got coffee! 

Friday morning, the three of us ate at "The Egg and I" (the place we ate the morning of Mommy and Dada's wedding) while Pop's went fly fishing! Mommy and Dada gave him this gift for his birthday and Father's Day! He had SO much fun!

We were talking about fishing in Idaho and you said..."Wait!!!! What??? You were in Hide-A-Ho??" Like you knew where Hide-A-Ho was. hahahahahaha

You scared us as we were waiting to go in... you started throwing up BILE... it was bright yellow. We learned that if someone with CF gets too hungry... they can do this. 

You ate ALL of your eggs and 1/2 of Mommy's. You were so hungry. I don't think you ate enough after our long hike yesterday! 

You loved riding through RMNP and looking for animals...

Mommy got you your own pair of binoculars! If you weren't looking out your binoculars... you were singing "Flying High in the Sky!" At first we weren't sure where that song came from but it seemed appropriate for Colorado :) but later learned it came from Peppa Pig! ha

Pops found these big horn sheep "horns" to look at closely at the park store! So cool! 

I could look at this picture ALL day! You were looking off into the mountain sides for wildlife! 

So glad you got to see these pretty close up...

I hope your love for the outdoors and nature continues...

On the way to Grand Lake, we passed the Continental Divide. So cool! 

We left RMNP and went to Vail, CO! 

You weren't ready for a "new house" until you saw our new place. We got the Presidential Suite at the Wyndam and you were SO excited!!!! 

We all agree that we had the best hamburger of our lives here! SO good! 

We got up Saturday morning and headed for Aspen (about 1.5 hours away). We went to Maroon Bells first. Such a beautiful site! 

You always blow a dandelion if you see one! 

SO handsome! 

We had breakfast in downtown Aspen. It was delicious and you had fun chasing the birds! 

There was a cool market in town. I'm so glad it was there the day we were. You wanted some beef jerky and loved looking. 

Downtown Aspen has the coolest playground. You could climb up on a boulder! 

I loved getting to take you to Aspen for your first trip there! 

The gondola ride up to Aspen mountain is the 2nd longest in the country... we gained 3,000 ft in elevation and it took almost 15 minutes. You love heights though. 

Here we go!

You loved seeing your name on everything! 

At the top of the mountain... 11,200 feet and SOOOOO gorgeous! 

Having a snack in this beautiful place! 

Downtown Aspen had leaves everywhere. We LOVE this place! 

Mommy got you a snowball maker, so we were so happy to see a little bit of snow! :) 

We drove up to Independence Pass! SO beautiful and most of the road didn't have guardrails. 

At the top at 12,095 feet.  We played in the snow and walked to the summit. Gorgeous and WINDY! 

Throwing snowballs! You had so much fun! 

You even built a snowman! 

We had pizza in Glenwood Springs after spending all day in Aspen! You were just a little silly! :) 

We woke up early so we could get to the Denver Airport (over 2 hours away) on time! We arrived at the airport a little after 9am! We were being silly on the bus ride over from Enterprise! 

And we're off to ATLANTA!  You wanted to land the airplane at our house instead of the airport! We sure wish it worked that way! :) 

Dada and Bennett met us at Frontera! You were so excited to see Bennett! I wish I had taped y'all running to each other and hugging so tight! SO sweet! "I missed you, Bennett! I missed YOU, Asbee!" Oh my heart! 

We held hands and went to have dinner! 

After sleeping... it was back to the creek for you and Bennett and Mommy! You told Mommy, "this is the biggest fish I ever caught with my hand!" You wanted to take him inside and cut him up and cook him. hahahaha! 

This creek has brought y'all so much fun! I sure pray that you won't culture anything from the germs but a boy's got to be a boy and you LOVE playing in the creek! :) 

I think you missed Bow Valley too! You always love letting her out to play when you come up to see us! 

Mommy and Dada went to church and you two stayed with us! We played hide and go seek and chase and you rode your airplane! Such a beautiful night! And of course... we looked for butterflies and dragonflies! 

Dee Dee bought y'all these outfits and y'all are so cute in them! It cracks me up when I ask you to put your arm around Bennett... your hand always lands at his neck! LOL 

Mommy had such a good idea... we ate at CFA and made butterflies and adopted a caterpillar that will turn into a butterfly. It was SUPER crowded... but y'all sure were cute. 

You named yours Buddy! :) 

You are so cute! You miss Colorado already and we feel ya! You told Mommy...."But Mommy I want to have a slumber party with you like we did in Colorado. I want to go back to our new house!!"

You're having trouble figuring out where Aspen trees and the mountains went. It makes our hearts happy that you love Colorado as much as we do! 

Bennett found the snowball maker and wanted to make snowballs. You said..."BENNETT! There's only snow in Colorado and you're too little to go to Colorado!" You crack us up! You were convinced that only you could go to Colorado because you were four. And, I guess you are right. 2 is a little too young to take on the adventures that we did!


One of the first things you said when we got off the plane in Atlanta was...."Why is it so hot here?" HAHAHAHA!

We couldn't be more grateful that we had such an awesome month! Everyone was healthy and we were safe and we made memories to last a lifetime! 

We had no way of knowing how you would do at the high altitudes but you did WONDERFUL! Sometimes it's easy to forget that you have CF. We sure don't let that define you and I'm so grateful. Your energy and love for jumping and all things UP are such a blessing! Thank you, Lord, that Aspen is such an outdoors kind of little guy. 

If you are following Aspen's blog... please continue to pray for our little Mister. CF is a progressive disease. Right now, other than digestion issues, Aspen isn't very symptomatic but that doesn't mean that he won't be. We are doing ALL that we can to keep his lungs healthy and are so grateful that they are healthy thus far. Last month he cultured "staph" for the first time ever. It's those things he cultures, the infections and sicknesses that he comes down with that COULD damage his lungs and cause permanent lung problems. So many people have asked how he could go so high in altitude. It's because as of right now.... he has healthy lungs. Over time... that will change. That's why we do ALL that we can to keep them healthy as long as possible and keep him away from sick people. Aspen will have his first CT scan on August 22nd. We will get a better idea of the condition of his lungs. 

Prayer Requests...

* Pray that Aspen won't culture anything and the staph will be gone on his August clinic visit

* Pray that the CT scan will show good results. It's a high powered machine that shows much more than his previous x-rays

* Pray that he will adjust to being back home and will get used to no leniency with his treatments 

* Pray for Aspen as he goes to Sunday school for the first time EVER! He is SO ready. We are praying he won't get sick from other kids. This is a HUGE change for all of us!

* Pray for Aspen as he prepares to start Pre-K in August. Pray for his teacher's to understand CF and that he will do well. He is sooooo excited. He's already telling Lindsey that she will go back home and won't be able to stay with him! SO cute! We're excited that the school had a student with CF last year, so they have some idea of what it entails. 

* Pray for Lindsey and Chris as they help Aspen fight this battle and make some tough decisions! 

And, if you don't mind... pray for me. I go for my first CT-scan with contrast after having my kidney removed. I'm a little nervous. It's scheduled for July 11th. I want to be around many more years with my sweet family! 

Aspen... I love you to the moon and back and back again! I couldn't love you more! You are spunky and strong willed. You are sweet and loving. You are funny and determined. You are independent.
I'm so proud of the boy that you are and pray daily for the man you will become. I pray for a CURE for CF. I pray for a determined spirit that won't give up the fight. I'm so happy that we were able to go with you to Aspen and to experience so many incredible journey's. I pray you will have a lifetime full of many amazing journeys and will always know how much your Dee Dee and all your family LOVES you!

Happy 4 years and 1/3rd! :)