Manitou Arcade

I had today off so I took the kids to Manitou to the coolest arcade this afternoon! It's still called the Penny Arcade even though the price is far from that. But what makes it so cool is that they have some super old games and some brand new games. They have this bank of "rides" that I swear are some of the same that I used to ride in when I was little. Like the helicopter that goes up and down...I'm pretty sure I rode that in King Soopers! And they have a "boardwalk" that all of these rides are on with a little creek that runs below it. Of course that kind of freaked out the kids a little bit!

Happy Easter!

We had a pretty low key Easter this year. Of course the fact that it was snowing all day long was part of the blame there since we couldn't even head to Nana's house for a bit. We colored eggs in the morning, had dinner later and then did the egg hunt. Emma woke up at 7 and begged and begged to be able to check out her Easter basket. It's fun to watch the kids when they start really getting the concept of things like the Easter bunny and Santa Clause! And even though it was snowing outside she insisted on wearing the tank top and shorts the Easter bunny put in her basket!

Easter egg hunting in our house isn't like other egg hunts. We have to keep it fair so we "hide" the eggs for Emma in almost plain view and we have the kids take turns each looking for an egg. It was driving Eli crazy to see the eggs for Emma! But the first one she found she said "yes!" like she had just scored big time! Too cute!

This is what happens when your 2 yr old doesn't get a nap....she beats up the poor innocent bunny cake that Nana made! This picture really doesn't do it justice but you can at least see the whisker's are a little off and one eyeball is missing! She took a nap after this.....

2008 in review meme style

I am not going to write some riveting year in review post here because, quite honestly, a big part of my year was a blur. Spending 3 months in bed kind of made those 3 months run together. Then I had a baby and suffered from lack of sleep and learning how to make sure 4 kids live through the day every day. So I really feel like my year was consumed with pregnancy, baby and kids! I am looking forward to clearing my head and focusing on other things this year!

I stole this meme from Mandajuice in place of a regular post.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
had an epidural, was put on semi-bed rest, had most of the summer off of work

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't believe in resolutions....if you want to change something just do it! Don't wait for the new year to do it. I do however have a goal for the next 6 months to clear out our storage area and get rid of EVERYTHING we don't need or use.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Besides me....my friend Justine had her 3rd baby (and my step-brother's wife just had their 2nd baby but that was the 1st so it is for 2009)

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My step-dad's mother - Grandma Betty

5. What countries did you visit?
This one.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
Money! my pre-pregnancy body (I will settle for pre-Hailey at this point!)

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Jan 6th - Eli's 8th bday, March 12 - Kayla's 12th bday, Sept 25th - Emma's 2nd bday, June 24th - the day we got the van because of June 27th - the day Hailey was born and July 1st - the day my sister and brother-in-law got here for their visit

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Definitely the birth of Hailey. Finding a good home for Chica. Getting Emma potty trained with the help of Nana.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I'm still too ashamed of it to mention it here....

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
If you can consider pregnancy and low amniotic fluid and illness then sure! Oh I had some horrible sinus thing going on in June too.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Boy...didn't do a lot of buying of anything with the exception of the van and that was a have to not necessarily a want to

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Kayla, Eli and Emma for how well they all adjusted to my bed rest and to bringing yet another human into this house!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I was very disappointed in one of my coworkers in the months leading up to the election for sure! Other than that I would have to say Eli's teacher at the beginning of the year...thankfully she is no longer his teacher!

14. Where did most of your money go?
Uhhh gas? bills....food.....diapers. Like I said before, there was nothing fun going on with our wallets this year since we knew I wouldn't get paid for my maternity leave.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Finally getting to meet Hailey

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
This is probably rather cliche but it would probably be All Summer Long by Kid Rock

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier for sure
b) thinner or fatter? I'm going to have to go with fatter on this one unfortunately
c) richer or poorer? This is always a hard time of year for us but we are poorer due to having half the income for the summer....still trying to come out of that slump!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I feel like I did everything I had wanted to do this year actually. I guess maybe making a trip or two to Boulder would have been nice since I didn't go at all this year.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Even though it wasn't an option I wish I wasn't in bed so much!

20. How did you spend Christmas?
At home with just JR, the kids and I and then dinner at Nana's with more family

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
With Hailey for the first time and with JR, Kayla, Eli and Emma over and over again

22. What was your favorite TV program?
I gotta admit I really loved Swingtown! And of course the requisite Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and Big Brother

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope can't say that I HATE anyone....

24. What was the best book you read?
I would say Rockabye by Rebecca Woolf and Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen were tied for me. Twilight is up there close too!

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Didn't necessarily discover any new artists but I did help Kayla order songs off of itunes for the first time ever!

26. What did you want and get?
A vehicle to fit my family. To give birth to a healthy baby. New teacher for Eli. Kayla to do track again. Emma to be potty trained. To enjoy my maternity leave and do lots of stuff with the kids.

27. What did you want and not get?
Well besides money.....I honestly can't think of anything! I know there were lots of things but nothing so big that it stands out in my mind.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
The only two movies I even remember seeing was Baby Mama and Twilight....not sure which one I would say was a favorite!

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Went to dinner with the family and I turned 31.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Is this answer getting old yet? Money! And sleep would fall right in there with that one (and the lack of sleep is more from Emma than Hailey)!

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Uh yeah I don't really consider maternity wear fashion...and my post maternity wear of whatever fits wear it isn't doing so hot either!

32. What kept you sane?
Hands down having a helpful husband when it comes to the kids. And of course my mom and my friends Jess, Sue and Lew!

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Hmmmm not sure that I fancied anyone in particular!

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Besides the election as a whole - I am a democrat and work with mostly republicans, some being more outspoken than they needed to be and chose to bring the issues up with me instead of their fellow republicans! These bailout issues really bother me....

35. Who did you miss?
The main person I missed was my friend Lew while I was on maternity leave!

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Hailey of course!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
That I am that 1 in 100 women whose birth control pill doesn't work for! :)

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Cryyyyybabayyyyyyyy - Janis Joplin.....

Family game night

Kayla's school had family game night last Tues that we went to, of course! They had several different areas set up throughout the school with different activities/games going on. Of course Eli wanted to do rock band but it was way to chaotic with too many older kids (obviously) in it. So he is working on getting Nana to understand just how bad she needs that game! :) Anyways, the kids got their faces painted, bowled, did the cake walk and attempted to climb a wall! Eli decided he was going to be brave and try to climb the wall in their gym. I have no idea how tall this thing is but I would guess it to be around 15 feet. He got the lesson, climbed a couple feet and then was done! That was high enough for him! But I was proud of him for even doing that. Let's face it, the poor kid comes from a family of chickens when it comes to heights!

Eli with his spider and Kayla with her Santa hat

Eli starting his climb.....

And Eli finishing his climb!

Kayla getting ready to do the cake walk. Yeah, I made her do it which is why she has attitude. I did do it with her for 1 round but we had an extra ticket!

Pardon the photo quality...apparently I can't even remember to bring my camera anywhere anymore so I had to use my phone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was a nice relaxing, laid back day like any Thanksgiving should be! We went to Nana's house for dinner. She cooked all the food with the exception of the green bean casserole which was what we brought. And my step-sister Ayrah brought a pumpkin pie.

Yep...that's an H on her head...you see when you have 4 children it gets hard to remember who is who..... :)

So naturally we all stuffed ourselves silly and then the kids got out Nana's Wii to play for a bit. She has had this thing for over a year and this was actually the first time I had ever played! I can see why the kids love it so much!

Kayla and Eli playing Mario Kart....and Emma with her Dora game thinking that is going to allow her to play too!

And now, Emma is sleeping at Nana's house tonight so that JR and I can go shopping in the morning! Yep, you read that right, we are braving the crowds. His idea...not mine if you can believe that!


Oh yeah and the good news, it is FINALLY snowing here! It's coming down pretty slow so we will just have to see what it does overnight. But maybe there is hope that JR will have to plow at least once this winter! :)

Leaves!

Today was yet another gorgeous day here in beautiful Colorado! According to my computer the high was 72. Remember, this is Nov 2nd! The only way you can even tell it's fall around here is because the yards and now streets are starting to fill up with leaves. So the kids decided to make the most of it and went outside to play in the leaves. I swear this is the only time of year you will find kids everywhere WILLING to do some yard work! The kids would rake the leaves into a pile and then jump into them or throw them at each other. I think I will be picking leaves out of Emma's hair days! And you should have seen the tub at bath time! I don't know where she was hiding them!

Kayla jumping in

Emma "jumping" in. She is a little too short to jump so it was more like a run.

Eli jumping in. I LOVE this picture. It shows his care-free nature and the smile on his face is priceless.

Eli, Cassidy (lives next door), Kailey (lives across the street and I'm not entirely sure I spelled her name right!), Emma, Kayla and Hailey. The were taking a candy break here!

While this nice weather was good for Halloween and this whole weekend....enough already! We need snow!

Happy Halloween!

So despite the fact that I live in Colorado, have lived in Colorado for almost 31 yrs now (I was around 5 mo old when my family moved here) I just didn't feel like it was truly Halloween in Colorado. You see, Halloween to me always meant that it was either snowing, had been snowing or there was still ice on the ground from a snow fall a couple of days prior. Heck for years we would have had a snow fall by my birthday on the 18th! This year, we haven't even had a single snowflake hit the ground yet! Weird, very weird. As a matter of fact, it was so nice last night that JR and I only had to wear sweatshirts (matching I might add!) and the kids were fine without having to have layers on underneath the costumes! And typically, here in Colorado, we have to plan costumes for getting at least one warm layer under whatever you wear!

We usually trick-or-treat down our street and then one other street to the east of us. Don't know how we started going to the east except for maybe that you have to tackle a hill, albeit a small one, to go that direction and we didn't want to bother! Anyways, we obviously had Hailey in the stroller because I wasn't too interested in carrying her in the Bjorn. I debated on whether Emma should even participate since is only 2 and won't be eating most of the candy she gets. But I figured since she was able to say "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" that she could go ahead and do it. We started her out in her stroller but as soon as she got out at the first house, she didn't get back in! I think she walked about 3/4 of a mile once all was said and done! And we didn't even do both sides of the other street because it was so late! Of course, Kayla and Eli could have kept going. But every year we go to Nana's house so she can see the kids all dressed up.

Eli's costume from the front view.

And then the side view. That is a green glow stick in the jar to make it look like his head is in formaldehyde. However, it fell out a couple of houses down the street so it was in his candy bag the rest of the time.

Here are all 4 of them all dressed up and ready to start walking! Or riding! Kayla is dressed up as one of those High Voltage boxes, Eli is a man carrying his head in a jar, Emma is a dalmation and Hailey is Tigger.

This was some hard work for Hailey! She had to take a nap after a while!

All in all, it was a good night. Nice weather. Happy kids. Well until the end of the night and Emma was up past 8! JR did have to run back home halfway through to poke some more holes in Eli's costume because it was fogging up from him breathing!

Sky Sox

So apparently we haven't done our parental duty with Eli by taking him to a baseball game of our local team the Sky Sox. Let alone the Rockies! Well the kids participated in the Summer Reading Program at our local library and the final reward was 2 tickets to a Sky Sox game. So we decided to have a night with just JR and I and Kayla and Eli since that is a rare occurrence these days. I don't know that Eli would want to go back because he didn't seem to really find it very exciting. But at least now he can say he has been to a baseball game!

Kayla and Eli at the beginning of the game

Can she be any more of a teenager than this?! Talking on the phone during a baseball game!

Eli being goofy

A day at the park with friends

I met up with my friend Jessica at our favorite park here in town, America the Beautiful, so that our kids could play and cool off in the fountain. We have been friends since we were in 5th grade so not only did we basically watch each other grow up but we have watched our children grow up. Jessica has 5 children of her own plus my 4 kids so it makes it a little bit of a challenge to try to coordinate our schedules and get the kids together to play. But we were able to do it on Tuesday afternoon. And boy was it a scorcher! Phew I am done with this heat. It has been in the 90's all week long here which seems too hot for me!

Emma on the big girl swing

Allorah hanging out in her stroller....she doesn't like cold water so she wouldn't play in the fountain

Gabby, Zander and Christian playing in the water

Zander, Kayla, Emma, Christian and Eli playing in the water....not really sure why it is fun because they basically just run around and around the fountain kicking the water...guess you gotta be a kid to appreciate it!

Emma followed Zander every where he went! Made it nice to keep track of her since I just had to look for him and she would be right there!

Cool Water

I learned about a new park here in town last summer but we never made it down that way. So I figured since I had most of the summer off of work, I would take the kids down there. We finally made it today and the kids loved the place! They have a spray park for the kids to run around and play in the water. The only bad thing is that there really isn't much shade for us parents to sit in around the area which wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for having Hailey and not wanting to roast her! Even Emma enjoyed playing in the water despite the fact that the girl was turning purple from being so cold! She did finally decide to get out and stand by me but still wouldn't let me wrap her towel around her. Eli found these giant water gun things to play with and that was pretty much what he did the entire time. Kayla got to follow Emma all over the place and even tried to knock herself out from not ducking when going through this rainbow thing! We will definitely be going back at the kids' request!

They had to check it out before they could really get in there and play according to Kayla

Trying it out

That rainbow thing in the background is what Kayla hit her head on....

And here is what Hailey got to do....

See her purple face! This was on our way out when she finally let me wrap her up

Zoo trip!

My sister and brother-in-law wanted to go the zoo and decided to not only treat us to that trip but also purchased a membership for us so we can go all we want for the next year. So the kids and I will have something to do this summer for sure! We have the best zoo in my opinion compared to other zoo's that I have been to in other cities or states. They have done a ton of work there over the last 7 yrs or so and it is turning out to be even better!

Anyways, we had a good time despite the heat and managed to walk almost the entire zoo. And while that might not sound like a big deal, you have to know that our zoo is on a mountain so it is all hills. So much so that they have put in "Sky High Adventure" which is a ski lift that goes from the bottom to the top of the zoo.

The sad part of all of this....my camera broke after taking 1 picture. I'm not sure what is wrong with it and I am hoping and praying that it will be an easy fix. Fortunately I have an old camera that I can use but obviously didn't have it there with me! So sorry that I don't have any pictures to share with you!

Happy 4th of July

My sister, brother-in-law and brother were all in town over the last week so we celebrated the 4th at my moms house. We had a BBQ and then went down to their neighbors house to light off some fireworks. JR and Hailey stayed in my moms house because of the noise and excessive amount of sulfur in the air! Emma was either up on the front porch or in Aunt Lorie's arms most of the time because of the noise. JR and I ended up taking the 2 little girls home to go to bed and let the big kids stay with Nana and come home after all the fireworks. It was a little surreal for me to wait until after 11 for my kids to come home! :) Here are a couple of pictures.

Nothing goes together better than fireworks and beer right?!

The kids with their sparklers

Front view of the kids with their sparklers....the girl in the white shirt is the granddaughter of the people who's house we were at

Another Baby Shower

My mom threw me a baby shower yesterday at her house. It was lots of fun and gave me time to catch up with some friends that I didn't realize just how much I missed them! I haven't exactly been a social butterfly since being put on a "rest" order. Hailey got tons of cute little outfits and is definitely set for the summer time! Now I just have to wash everything and we are good to go.

Emma and her friend Morgan - neither one of them were real interested in smiling for the camera

Kayla and Eli - they spent a good part of the time in the pool in the back yard

My friend Jessica and my sister Ayrah

Pretty Emma

Not the best picture of me and it doesn't really show the belly but here it is!

The cake....see below for a really funny story.....

So we weren't sure what this little baby and flower were made out of. It looked alot like marzipan/fondant. So we pulled it off the cake and inspected. Kayla tried to pull one of the leaves out but it wouldn't break. She licked it and swore it tasted like sugar. She even tried to bite into the leaf. Still wasn't happening. So my mom washes the frosting off the bottom......made in China! turns out to be fake and not edible by any means! But it sure did give us a good laugh!

Another beautiful Spring day

We had yet another gorgeous day today. Temps in the 70's again. Sunny enough to get a sunburn as both Kayla and Eli learned (from missing spots while applying sunscreen). JR is doing a job at my mom and step dad's house so they invited the kids and I to come over and they were going to grill for all of us (JR was already there working) plus my stepsister and her son. We hung out on their back porch the entire time while the kids played and JR worked. Needless to say we were all worn out by dinner time. Most of us because of being in the sun all day. JR and Kayla from working.

Emma posing for the picture....my pretty little flower childKayla, Joey (cousin), Emma and Eli hanging out on Nana's swing

Not sure what was happening in this picture but it looks like Joey and Emma were studiously listening to Eli's directions

Light saber fight! Check out Eli and Emma's expressions...

Kayla pulling Joey and Emma on the tricycle