There's nothin' better than a house full of babies.

I love organized racing events. The air is filled with anticipation, the spirit of friendly competition, and the heady, thrilling feeling that comes with completing a task that most would find impossible. And if you're lucky, some really cool people will travel half way across the country to take part in one of your local races, and hang out in your house for the weekend. And if you're super-lucky, they'll bring some cute babies with them.

Last weekend the Denver Rock 'N Roll Marathon brought us the cool people and the babies. Our thanks to Lisa, Ryan, and Braydon, and their friends (and now ours) Sarah, Corey, and little Reid for letting us hang with them for the weekend. Let's do it again some time!

While everyone was here we enjoyed a trip to the mountains...

(The precious little pumpkin on the left up there is Reid; the handsome guy in the middle is, of course, Braydon; and the gorgeous grin on the right belongs to Ava. I love this picture.)

We dressed up in Iowa gear to support everyone's favorite team. Braydon kept a really close eye on the game for us in case we missed anything; and yes, that's Ava sitting in the dog's bed again...

Oh, and Andy, Lisa, and Sarah ran 26.2 miles. :) Congratulations, gang! You're awesome!

And in case you missed my texts, emails, carrier pigeons, or the skywriting, Ava has officially started walking!! For the last couple of days it's just been 3 or 4 cautious little steps directly into the arms of a waiting parent. But today our brilliant girl stood up, knitted her little brow into a look of sheer determination, and toddled an impressive dozen steps to her high chair.

That girl does everything in her own time, and I can't help but love her for it.