Brooks had a BIG day!

Yesterday was a big day of firsts for our little guy. When we woke up in the morning to another diaper catastrophe, we decided to upgrade his diapers to size 2. Thankfully, diapers.com delivered a fresh case of Pampers the day before. I had to give away about 20 size 1-2's to our neighbor who just had a baby a few weeks ago.

Then, while at work Brooks and I were having a serious tummy time session and he did his first roll from belly to back! I was so thrilled, I put him back on his belly to do it again, and he went the other way! This boy has super skills!

To top it off, when his daddy got home, we put out his "gym" and he immediately did his rolls for daddy, and for the first time, was intentionally grabbing for and batting his hanging toys. Whoa!

The icing on the cake was at bed time, when he drank his first entire bottle.

What a day! I am exhausted just thinking about it!!!

Photo Shoot!

Last Wednesday I was in bed with mastitis, a horrible illness that often ails nursing moms. Aunt Amy Jo rescued Brooks from a day in bed with mommy and took him to her house to play. While he was there, she took some adorable pictures of him...again! It is such a wonderful treat to have an aunty with such great skills!!!! Thanks, Amy Jo! Here is a sampling of her work...

Brooks at 3.5 months

Dinner Date

 

 

 

One of our favorite summer activities is dinner outdoors with the Everett's. Friday they snuck away from their clan of munchkins and joined us for dinner al fresco at Restaurant 689 in Carbondale. We sat under huge trees lit with strings of lights talking and laughing for almost four hours. Now that is a great summer night.

Brooks joined us because his sleepy time is around 8:00, so he slept the entire evening.

To many more memories.

The B's

Swing Low!

 

We had such a fun weekend! Friday night we went to a great dinner with Trev and Amy to 689 in Carbondale. I have never been disappointed with this restaurant. We hung our for almost four hours under big trees and strings of lights. It was a perfect summer night.

Saturday Bryant and I went to watch two great friends renew their vows and went to a park in Snowmass afterward to celebrate. It was a gorgeous day full of asada, chocolate cake, football, volleyball, and Brooks' first experience on a swing.

And the grand finale was Sunday. After going to church we met a large group down on a beach on the Roaring Fork River in the gorgeous North Star Preserve and watched our friend, Billy (who renewed his vows on Saturday) be baptized along with a several others from our church. It was an amazing experience for baptisees and spectators alike.

For a sampling of our fun adventures, take a look at the photo album on the right!

Still swarming around at work, but being busy is a good thing these days!

All the best,

The B's

Quick Update

Dear Family and Friends,

Life has been a little crazy these days with a super cute and active little boy and actually being busy at work with some deals in the cooker and marketing projects on my plate. So, my apologies for brief and spuratic updates.

We went to the Carbondale Rodeo on Kyla's 8th birthday last Thursday and had a blast! We then followed up with a dinner and party on Saturday night at the Everett's.

Take a look at both albums using the links on the right.

Sorry for the quick note. We are all doing great!

The B's

We're Kind of a Big Deal Around Here...

Joshua & Co. Raises the Bar...Again! The owner of Joshua & Co., Joshua Saslove, and Newton Bartley a Joshua & Co. broker associate closed the largest single family deal in the USA in 2009 and the largest deal of this magnitude in Colorado...ever!!! Way to go guys!!!


Joshua & Co. | News Release


For release on Monday, July 13, 2009:

$43 Million Estate Sells in Aspen, Colorado

July 13, 2009 – Joshua & Co., the exclusive Aspen affiliate of Christie’s Great Estates, announces the closing today of a real estate transaction valued at $43,000,000.

The property is located at the base of Red Mountain on Willoughby Way, one of Aspen’s most prestigious neighborhoods.

Joshua Saslove, president and founder of Joshua & Co., represented the Seller; Newton Bartley, also of Joshua & Co., represented the purchaser. The Seller was represented by the law firm of Krabacher & Sanders P.C. by Joe Krabacher. The Buyer was represented by the law firm of Garfield & Hecht P.C. by Chris LaCroix. Title Company of the Rockies was the escrow agent for the transaction.

This represents the largest single family residence sale in the United States for 2009 and one of the largest on record for the state of Colorado. Other noted sales by Joshua & Co include the sale of the Historic Hotel Jerome in downtown Aspen in 2007 for $55,000,000, Mandalay Ranch in 2004 for $46,000,000 and Crystal Island Ranch in 2006 for $47,000,000. Garfield & Hecht, P.C. also represented the Seller of Mandalay Ranch and one of the largest investors in the Hotel Jerome transaction.


About Joshua & Co.
Joshua & Co. was founded by Joshua Saslove in 1992 and specializes in luxury real estate sales; exclusive rentals; ranch properties; and estate management and concierge services for a discerning clientele. Joshua & Co. is the exclusive Christie’s Great Estates affiliate in Aspen/Snowmass. Offices are located at: 300 South Hunter Street and 516 East Hyman Avenue in Aspen; Aspen Highlands Village Plaza; and 16 Kearns Road in Snowmass Village.

So Blessed

 

This weekend several people asked me how things are going bringing Brooks to the office every day. It made me sit back and realize what a wonderful opportunity it is to be able to bring my baby to work with me full time, and as an added blessing, he is an incredible baby! As I type this he is sittin in his chair, under my desk, smiling and coo'ing at me. What a joy. My cup overflows.

Love,

The B's

Positive Thinking...

This is the view on my drive into work every morning. We see this herd of elk almost every day in the winter.


Lately Bryant and I have been making a concerted effort to transform our thought life and to perceive things more positively. Many of you may have read or at the very least heard of the book, The Secret. Ironically...or not, we, as Christians should be living the principals of The Secret not because some secular brainiacs had major transformations in their lives due to rearranging their thoughts and focusing on more positive goals rather than negative ideas, but because we have been rescued from the bowels of this world through the sacrifice Jesus made for us and because we are told that "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness." (2 Peter 1:3)

Our church has grasped the coat tails of technology and launched a new feature on their website that allows people to listen to weekly sermons on smart phones. Isn't that amazing?! All you have to do is go to www.mobile.ccaspen.com on your phone and pick the sermon you want to listen to. Bryant and I have turned off the tv (except for a few minutes in the morning to watch our hometown hero, Lance smoke the Tour) and turned on our cell phones to listen to past sermons together. Although they have all been tremendous, there are two sermons given by Clint Philips about transforming your thought life that have had a generous impact on both Bryant and I. As icing on the cake, our Sunday morning pastor, Steve has delved into a new series called "Growing in Recession," which has tied in so well with a more positive thought life and challenged us to have breakthroughs in our relationships with God.

So, in an effort to share a smile with you today...I am so thankful for what the Lord has so generously provided for us...

An amazing, healthy, happy little boy
A wonderful and supportive family
Jobs that put food on our table and still allow us to give back
Friends that continuously challenge us to be better people
The opportunity to live in a gloriously beautiful place that reminds us daily of God's amazing creativity.
And so much more...

Thanks for reading my rant today. I hope you found a little encouragement in it. Back to the mommy posts as soon as I remember to charge my camera battery...

Happy Friday, Friend.

The B's

Happy 4th of July...a Little Late

As you know, we were away from computers and cell phones this weekend. Bryant asked me to post this message for you to read about the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Happy Birthday, America!

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors,
and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army;
another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or
hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes,
and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants,
nine were farmers and large plantation owners;
men of means, well educated,
but they signed the Declaration of Independence
knowing full well that the penalty would be death if
they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and
trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the
British Navy. He sold his home and properties to
pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British
that he was forced to move his family almost constantly.
He served in the Congress without pay, and his family
was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him,
and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,
Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that
the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson
home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General
George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed,
and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.
The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying.
Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill
were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests
and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his
children vanished.
So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and
silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

I hope you will show your support by sending this to as many
people as you can, please. It's time we get the word out that patriotism
is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer,
picnics, and baseball games.

Camping Fun

We had a great weekend camping up at Ruedi Reservoir with both old and new friends. We enjoyed amazing meals of lobster and tenderloin and great weather while we were on the lake. Brooks was such a happy camper (pun intended!). He slept great and seemed to enjoy his first day on the boat. I will post pictures from the weekend that can be viewed under the albums on the right.

Bryant sent me a link to a hilarious email and rather than forward it to you, I decided it was blog worthy. Brooks is trying out for the next Evian commercial!!!

It won't be like this for long...

Last night Bryant and I were talking about how much fun Brooks is these days. We wake up every single morning with anticipation because of how much his personality is coming alive.

This morning I checked into Facebook and read my friend, Kim's status mentioning the song It Won't Be Like This For Long, by Darius Rucker, so I found the song online and listened to it. Although he sings about his little girl, it still hit home and was another reminder of how fast this life flies by. I can't believe how fast the last 10.5 weeks have already flown by us.

We are off on our great glamping adventure this afternoon! I am really excited to be outside for a few days and play on the lake again. The first summer Bryant and I met we were on Ruedi almost every weekend and any evening we could get out of work a little early.

Until Monday,

The B's

Snoozing

 

 

 

Last Sunday we got up early and went to church at 9:30 and headed home for our neighbor's 4th birthday party. We had a lot of fun hanging out with fellow parents and watching the kids ride a pony (not Brooks yet). Afterward, we were all three exhausted so we fell asleep on the couch. Bryant snapped some sleepy time photos of my boy and I cuddling.

After he took the picture of him in his frog shirt, we finally figured out where he got his big eyes from. :)

We are off on our first camping trip as parents this weekend! We are meeting up with four other families, so it should be a lot of fun! Bryant is off to Glenwood Springs today to upgrade our tent from the honeymoon suite to the family compound. :)

Happy Birthday America!

The Ragan's