This weekend we traveled down to Penrose, Colorado for a birthday party at a pumpkin patch. The girls had a blast exploring around. Both of the girls brought home a small pumpkin. This was Brecken's first time getting a pumpkin. This little pumpkin patch was so cute. Not only could you get pumpkins, but earlier in the year you could pick your own apples and berries. They have a tractor the pulls you down to the pumpkin area and Brecken loved it...she was pretty upset when we had to get off it.Blake and Brecken hanging out at the barn

Brecken's first pumpkin

On the Tractor

Last Monday night I was made the best homemade macaroni and cheese I have ever made...unfortunately I didn't get to enjoy it very much. When I was straining the boiling noodles into the sink, the boiling water spilled out on to me. Andy called my folks and they came and they watched the girls while we went to the hospital. We spent three hours in the emergency room on Monday night. I had second degree burns on my left thigh and on parts of my very pregnant stomach. At the hospital, they hooked us up to a fetal monitor and did an ultrasound and Quinn is just fine. My thigh is healing quite nicely, my poor stomach still hurts quite a bit. When my parents came to watch the girls, my mom saw the noodles and the cheese sauce and was able to salvage the mac and cheese...thank goodness, because it really was the best I have ever made.

Revisiting the 'poo

At the beginning of summer, I stopped shampooing my hair...I just gave it up cold turkey and I sported a ponytail all summer long. I wish I could say how I instantly loved the no shampoo effect on my hair and that my hair never felt thicker or more manageable...but that would be a complete lie. My hair was so gross, it was oily and it clumped together sometimes. Gross. Yuck. Ick. It was bad. I went three whole entire months with out shampooing my hair. I finally broke down, went to the grocery store and purchased some natural, vegetarian shampoo. I ran home and shampooed my hair like I have never shampooed it before and it was so wonderful. Now I only shampoo my hair on Friday and my hair is so much happier for it. I can feel the difference of when I was washing my hair daily and now, I can honestly say that my hair is healthier and much easier to manage. I am thrilled I gave my hair the shampoo break it needed this summer and I highly recommend it...just be prepared to sport the ponytail.

We are starting to enjoy those crispy cool mornings in Colorado...mornings where I can actually make a cup of coffee and use my oven before the day starts the heat up. The last few weeks we have been trying to adjust to the newness of school...two days a week we wake up and get ready and hurry out the door to get Blake to school on time. I have been trying each Friday to get up and make something special for breakfast. I have been scouring the web for recipes for breakfast and came across the most wonderful blueberry muffin recipe. I followed the recipe the first time I made these muffins and they were so wonderful...the muffins were soft and sweet, the blueberries were warm and juicy, the topping was amazing. I made it a week later and decided to tweaked the recipe a bit to make it a bit healthier (we still kept the topping) and they were still great! Even Andy said they were still great and the girls absolutely devoured them.

Here is the recipe with my changes:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk + more if needed
  
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place applesauce into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 3/4th of the way, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

re-emerging

So I believe I am ready to re-emerge again. So much has happened in the last few months and it does make me so sad that my sweet blog has no record of it...but I needed my break. We found out I was pregnant in April and soon I was completely overtaken by morning sickness and hormone related depression. I couldn't stand the pressure of trying to write posts...so I just closed everything down for a while until I was feeling better...I never thought it would take this long to start feeling better. I was really angry about the whole situation...I'm pregnant...this is supposed to be an exciting time, a time when I am thrilled about the future of our family and thrilled that I can even get pregnant again...but I was just so very sad about it all. Over the last few months I have had to really embrace my crazy emotions and realize that depression is terrible a sickness that will eventually pass. It is amazing how common it is for women to experience depression during pregnancy, yet it is something that is so rarely spoken about. The March of Dimes estimates that 1-2 pregnant women out of 10 experience some symptoms of major depression. Depression is something that must be spoken about.

I also had to learn the to accept help from others. I am blessed with an amazing support system and all these people who I love and who love me gathered around me to help me however they could. Thank you so much to my friends and family who supported me during the last few months by cleaning my house, driving me around, providing meals, watching my girls, and continuing to call even when I really did not want to talk to anyone at all. I have been so very blessed by all of you.

The last few months have been so difficult. I am blessed to be going into another season of this pregnancy. We found out a few weeks ago that we will be welcoming a boy into our family in December. We will name him Anderson Roy Dunn V, but we will call him Quinn. He is healthy and strong and we can't wait to meet him.

Blake and Breck have been so amazing this summer. They have both grown in so many many ways. Brecken turned one on May 23rd. We had a big celebration at our house not only celebrating her birthday but just the fact that she is ours. We learned that day that she has a major sweet tooth...she completely dove into her cake and loved every minute of it. She started walking over 4th of July weekend. All of a sudden she took eleven steps at once and then sixteen steps, and then there was no stopping her. She loves to walk and explore things. She is amazing. I just look at her and realize how many ways she has blessed our family.

Blake is an amazing big sister. She absolutely loves Brecken and is so excited about Quinn. She has been so sweet to Brecken. Each night she gives her a kiss before she goes to sleep. She comforts Brecken when she is crying. She amazes me. This summer Blake started soccer...she is a soccer star. In August, Blake started preschool two mornings a week...she went right into her classroom, said goodbye to mommy and daddy and started playing. I actually made it out to the car before I started crying like a baby. She loves going to school and loves to help her teacher. She is starting art lessons next weeks and is just so excited about them. Blake turned 4 yesterday, Sept. 8th. Unfortunately, Andy, Blake and I all had the flu so it wasn't the funnest birthday ever...we are going to have a birthday dinner later on this week when we are feeling better. I can't believe she is 4. Each year just goes by faster and faster.

So that was our summer in a nutshell...here are some pictures for you as well...